THE SPIRITUAL SUN

Volume 2

Jakob Lorber

Editor's Notes

In spiritual works the terms of morning, midday, evening and night, is often used to refer to directions – East, South, West, and North.

Old terms of measurement:  1 klafter = 1,90 meter; 1 mile = 7,42 km (German mile)

Translators Note

This work has no copyright attached but we ask that no changes be made to preserve the integrity of the original work.

CHAPTER 1

Jesus on the wonderful paths of His love

1. Look, there is again the well-known land with the lovely little houses. But this time it appears in an even brighter light than the previous times. The reason for this is that the love of these three unto the Lord is exceedingly powerful and great.

2. See how the Lord Himself, in His supreme simplicity, explains to these three all the marvels of the principal midday heaven and shows them who and where all the blessed inhabitants are in this region. On the Earth, such an explanation would certainly have seemed very heretical to our prior since this extremely glorious and endlessly vast heavenly region is mainly inhabited by Protestants. But since he is now in a completely different light, he cannot praise and glorify every demonstration of His infinite goodness, love, and mercy enough.

3. Now we have already come back to our well-known river and the Lord, who is having a repose, speaks to the prior and thus also to his wife and the lay brother: See, here is the border between morning and noon. At My side, you can see both areas, but those who dwell here are not yet able to do so. They can only see the area inhabited by themselves and that in great clarity, but the region of the morning they may see not any differently than a reddish glow, which radiates over them from a distant, very high mountain range. But since you see both regions, tell me, in which region do you suppose I live?

4. The prior, looking around a little seeing a large city on the left bank of the river, says: O You most loving Father! There on the river, surely full of the living water, your heavenly Jerusalem will stand, which is written, that it is the city of the living God. So, perhaps it would not be too wrong of me to say that You dwell in this holy city; for something more decidedly exalted as is this holy city, can no angelic being ever imagine.

5. The Lord says: My dear son, friend, and brother! You have not guessed wrongly at all, for in such cities, whose number has no end along this ever-widening stream, I do certainly not infrequently find Myself in. But I am not quite fully at home there, except in the sun which you see, by which I am equally at home in all the heavens. Therefore, you can keep on guessing.

6. The priest says, "O Lord, and most loving Father, may You be at home in one or another of those great wonderful palaces, which are also visible at the moment; for You have spoken of a great house which is in the heavens. But since, in such an unfathomably great palace, there will surely be a great number of dwellings; can you possibly be at home in one of the greatest among the endlessly many?

7. The Lord saith, I say unto thee, My dear Son, brother, and friend. Here, too, you have not given too much thought to the matter, for indeed, as in the cities, I also do find Myself personally on great occasions in these large dwellings. But I am not continually or particularly differently present in this great house than in the cities; therefore you may like to consider again.

8. The Prior says: O holy, loving Father! A light is going on for me now. Since in the world you have only approached the small and the insignificant so lovingly and friendly, You may also have a region here where, on the hills, where there are small, sweet houses, hospitable and inviting. But since these small dwelling-houses all resemble each other, it would be difficult for me to determine the right one from among the many; and to take the next best, would seem to me to be before you, O Lord, somewhat inconsiderate and unworthy.

9. The Lord saith, My son, brother, and friend. This is where your "maybe" has hit you; for behold, you can choose what thou wilt and it shall be right. But do you know that you once bore Me on the earth? - Would not you advise Me now, how, when and where?

10. The priest said: O Lord! I can remember this "perhaps”, and now, with a great, blessed longing I await the revelation thereof. With regard to the bearing of your most holy Being on the earth, I am certain that I have borne You in the symbols of bread and wine in my hands. Here it seems to me as if the three conditions: how, when and where can be sure. Otherwise, I would not really be able to produce anything worthy of carrying you.

11. The Lord saith, My dear Son, brother, and friend, look at the city, and at the river. This represents the form of bread and wine; - as I am at home in the city, in My primordial peculiarity, also in your breads and wines. See, therefore, there is still a problem with the carrying, and you have not understood the meaning of the question, for you have not carried Me, and you will, therefore, have to search somewhere else for the how, when, and where.

12. The prior says: O Lord and Most Holy Father! If I have made a mistake, I truly know nothing except when I think that you were in Your Holy Spirit in my mouth and on my tongue, when I preached in Your name to the people and spoke Your word. For Your word is surely Your most pure dwelling according to the testimony of John!

13. The Lord says, My dear son, brother, and friend, look at the splendid palaces. Behold, these are full of light and full of life from Me. But just as I am actually at home in these palaces, so you have also carried Me with your mouth and with your tongue. But you have seen that I am not essentially at home; so it will also point out a problem with your carrying. And it turns out that you have carried Me neither preaching the Word nor serving the poor; neither as a friend and successor of My first disciple nor as a brother, as a witness to and preacher of My Word. Therefore, you can also here express yourself more clearly about the how, when and where.

14. The prior says: O Lord and Most Holy Father! I suspect greater things, and I scarcely dare to say. Could it not be, for instance, when I, as a boy, still loved You so passionately in my heart, that I often burst into tears with love, or perhaps also in my office, since I also secretly felt such a powerful love for You that I was not infrequently almost sick with great delight, or perhaps at those moments when I was moved to tears at the sight of my poor brothers, and helped them with Your grace as far as I could. "If I have borne You once in such a way, I would not know who from all this is the one where You, dear Holy Father, have so deeply humiliated Yourself to let me carry You.

15. The Lord saith, My dear son, brother, and friend. Look at the small dwellings of the morning: as it is there, so is it here. Wherever you go, you go to the right place; - and, here, this is how, when and where become united. How did you carry Me? - See, always in your love for Me! - When did you wear Me? - See, always in your love for Me! - Where did you wear Me? - See, everywhere and always in your love for Me; so you always kept Me in your heart!

16. But whoever carries Me in his heart, carries Me also in the preaching of the Word and in serving the poor. But as in helping the poor and in preaching the Word is no carrying power, if it does not precede from the heart, then no one can carry Me by preaching the Word and helping the poor, who do not first carry Me in the heart. So the "perhaps" is revealed to you, for you were uncertain of how, when and where you carried Me.

17. Now, however, is when the how, when and where are merged into one, and from the friend and brother has come a son. Therefore, I say no more to you: My friend, brother, and son, but alone: My beloved and loving son, follow Me now to those high places to the dwellings; we shall dwell and work together under one roof forever. Amen!

CHAPTER 2

The great being of a child of God on the earth.

1. Behold, our most exalted Father ascends with the three who, as has already been mentioned, are now surrounded by an even greater glory. And as you can see, the sublime group moves on quickly.

2. But now, have a quick look at our morning region, and especially at the heights of the hills, and see an innumerable multitude of angelic spirits in garments shining brighter than the sun, kindly raising their hands towards the Lord, letting the newcomers understand Who He is Who is leading the three home! Psalms sounds from all sides, and blissful shouts of joy rush towards us; and all this, especially to show the newcomers that the Lord is in His house!

3. You say and ask here, "It looks as if the Lord had left the whole highest heaven for a short time out of love for these three; and when He returns home, all these blessed Heavenly angels rejoice overjoyed that the Lord and holy, most loving Father returns from such a harvest trip.

4. I say to you that it is indeed like that on certain occasions like this, for with such works of redemption, the Lord will not infrequently make the impression as if He leaves the morning, and after such a journey He is also - except in the ever - visible Mercy Sun - nowhere to be seen personally in the whole infinite heavenly morning kingdom.

5. This condition, in which, during such absence, the blessed spirits do not see the Lord, is called a "Blissful Rest"; for in this state all the blessed are preparing themselves again for a higher salvation, and the great longing with which they await the Lord is that which prepares them.

6. For this reason, however, we now see the entire endlessly stretched out region of the morning before our eyes coming to life, for from all the endless spaces of this heaven, the angelic spirits rush closer to receive the arriving Father with all the love in their hearts.

7. Now, however, we also look at our highly astonished company. The priest turns to the Lord, and says, O thou, ever more holy and most loving Father, what is this for Your holy will? - Are these blissful angelic spirits, or is it all a mere appearance? Because it could barely be assumed that mankind of the earth, because of their very great wickedness, should populate Your highest heavens. For on the earth we knew from the mouth of the pious, the men with pure exalted spirits, that only very dreadful few would enter into this highest heaven; a little more in the two lower heavens, very many in the so-called cleansing place, and even exceedingly many - O Lord, protect us from it - to hell!

8. Since the earth now carries the human race for just more than five thousand years, this appearance of this host of visible spirits is incomprehensible. There are so many of them, after a quick estimation with our eyes, that they are so many that if they, would stand man beside man and replace each other continually for a million years, being replaced by new ones, that they would fill the earth to such an extent that if an apple would fall between them, it would not reach the ground. O Lord and most loving Father! This is a completely incomprehensible sight for me! Only in Your supreme heaven should there be perfect proliferation; this is otherwise purely incomprehensible to me.

9. The Lord says: Yes, my beloved son, you will still encounter many sights in My house which will seem even more incomprehensible to you than this. Here, however, is no such thing as a pure apparition, but only the most complete, most solid truth!

10. Here there are nowhere any deception of the eyes at all, also no reflections as in a mirror, but everything you see here is perfectly solid and palpable. In the realm of love, everything is completely without guile and everything is tightly joined together. Therefore these spirits are as much as you, completely true beings and are all together and all My dear children!

11. If you extend the standard of all these children to your own earth, you are certainly right with your account, for My children from the earth are certainly not so many here, and those of them who are, are the exclusive inhabitants of My Holy City.

12. But if you have ever looked at the starry sky on a bright night, you will be convinced of the countless numbers of stars. Do you think that these stars are merely sparkling dots in the immeasurable heavens? Behold, these are also numerous worlds, where similar men dwell everywhere and know Me everywhere as the Lord of heaven and their world.

13. But the children of the earth are closest to Me because I have made them there personally in the flesh to be My first children. Thus, according to Me, these are the ones who judge the twelve tribes of Israel, which, in this most celestial and spiritual sense, means so much as:

14. To these My children, it is given by Me to rule with Me, to investigate and to judge the infinity and all countless creations in it. And the children of the other stars are at their service, as the members of a body are always ready to serve the will in the spirit. Hence, these spirits, together with one of my children, form, on a large scale, according to the activity of their love, a man, provided with all the necessary structures of his will

15. A child from the earth out of Me is, therefore, a perfect will of countless other spirits from the stars, who, in and of themselves, each have their own will and can do according to their free, joyous pleasure what they want. Nevertheless, in loving instances, the will of My main children goes into them all, and there are billions of them like one man whose active will-spirit is that of one of my children! "You certainly do not quite understand this, but do not make too much of it yet, for in My eternal city there are still many high schools, in which you will learn many new things.

16. But for now, be content with your question with this My Love-answer, and now go with Me and your wife and your brother into this hut of Mine, which we have just reached. There you shall first satisfy thyself in My kingdom at My table and enjoy the eternally true bread and the most living water. So then, come with Me into the dwelling!

17. See, they all go inside and the prior's eyes grow wide when he sees the golden simplicity of the cottage, furnished with quite ordinary rural household utensils. The Lord asks him, "My beloved son, how do you like My household? The Prior says: O Lord, Most loving, Most Holy Father. It pleases me very well, for it seems as if one were on the earth in a clean, peaceful country-man's hut. But it is only very wonderful to me how You, the holiest Father, to whom all heavenly and secular glories are attached, may be content with such a simple dwelling. Indeed, this makes You unspeakably more lovable and more sacred, than the most perfect spirit could only imagine in a very limited way.

18. The Lord says: See, My beloved son, with Me it is as well, and surely rightly: Sapienti pauca sufficiunt! (i.e., little is enough for the wise). The prior bows down in utmost love to the ground and spoke, completely overwhelmed in his mind: O most gracious, most loving, Holy Father! Not Sapienti, but quam maxime aeterne Sapientissimo!  This means: O Lord and my most loving Holy Father, certainly not pauca, but also quam maxime immense multa! (this is not little, but very much). For these, in themselves, simple and few things are certainly in themselves of such extraordinary and wonderful importance that I would hardly apprehend the slightest part of it forever!

19. The Lord saith, My dear son! Stand up again, and after you have taken the meal at My table, it shall soon be clear of how much of this little bit you will immediately be able to grasp. But do not make a great deal of the meal, for here you will find, as in the literal sense of the word and meaning, that short hair is soon brushed. Here is nothing of the so-called great heavenly dining tables, but here one dine quite simply and, so to speak, live off bread and water. But you will soon discover in My children that they look very good on this simple diet. Therefore, sit down to the table, for it is already provided with bread and water, and eat and drink as you will see Me eating and drinking.

CHAPTER 3

Continuous growth of salvation through activity

1. Behold, our sublime company dines, and our priests, as well as the others, are astonished at the infinitely good taste of this bread, as well as that of the living water. The priest speaks with the greatest reverence: O Lord and most loving Holy Father! This bread tastes just as if it were made up of the most delicious and most nutritious foods on the whole earth; and the water, as if it is made of the very best wines which have ever grown on the earth if one could dare to possibly make such a comparison here.

2. The Lord says, "Yes, My dear, beloved, yes most beloved son!" You have not appraised the taste of this simple meal badly at all. See how from the pure love in Me, all the good fruits of the earth, as well as on all the other world bodies come into being, and how these fruit through their taste, their fragrance, creates their fitness for food, and their estimable effect; so should this bread be considered to be the first fundamental principle of all that occurs in all the world-bodies, and contains it in a loving and useful way

3. From this bread, every bread is derived, because this bread is a true, living bread, and is equal to My love, which here presents itself to all My children for eternal living saturation. And the water, just like the bread, is also the foundation of all things, for it is the light of love, and is thus for all My children the eternal joint pleasure in My wisdom; that is all My children who are here with Me are in the depth of My wisdom and are therefore also in all My power and might!

4. See, this is the true living water of which I have spoken on earth with the woman at the well of Jacob, of which I said that those who shall drink of this water shall never be thirsty again forever.

5. The prior says: O Lord and most loving, Most Holy Father! I now see this clearly. Indeed, after the enjoyment of this water, I begin to see into the incomprehensible depths of Your omnipotence and Your wisdom, causing me to really begin to shudder with a pleasant, glorious joy. But I would like to know whether I will ever drink such a water and eat such a good bread again.

6. The Lord saith, O My beloved son, therefore you do not need to be afraid of. This food and drink will never become depleted forever, and you will always be able to have it so abundantly that you will never have to complain of any want. For in this My kingdom, there are eternally inexhaustible springs, rivers, brooks, and seas in endlessly great multitude. Therefore, it is not to be feared that there would not be sufficient amounts for everybody.

7. See, I am only somewhat economic on the material bodies of the worlds, and keep My true confessors and followers in as much shortage as possible. For since man has to tediously study the ways of life in order to make eternal life his own on these paths, there is no fully satisfied stomach. For you have an old proverb in your studies: "A full belly throws everything to the wind and smoke", or: "plenus venter non studet libenter."

8. For this very wise reason, I am also a little sparse on the worldly bodies, but here I am the infinite liberality itself, and everything must be richly and abundantly available forever. On the worldly bodies, I do not like to see that one would say: This stone is mine. Here, however, as you are used to saying, I will put it on your back. For I, in fact, have such treasures in endless amounts; the whole of infinity is filled with the greatest miracles of My love, wisdom, and omnipotence. Why should I be sparse? If a thousand klafter of land costs a thousand dollars on the earth, I will give here for one dollar, a thousand suns with all their planets. I reckon that this should be a great exchange.

9. So do not worry whether you'll always have something to eat and drink; for, with so much land, an honest piece of bread will be won with the slightest effort in this world.

10. The Prior says: O You, my dearest, most beloved, Jesus! For Your promise, I am far too daft and stupid. I am so infinitely satisfied and unspeakably blessed here in this house that I could not wish for a sunspot more. Therefore, I leave this infinite estate, which You have mentioned, wholeheartedly to another person, more worthy than me. If I only have the assurance that You are constantly at home here, I need nothing more for all of eternity. Just the thought of being in Your presence for life eternal, and the wonderfully blessed sights of the works of Your omnipotence, together with this woman you have given to me, and this my brother whom I took in with my compassion and affection, and sometimes only a piece of bread and a little sip of the water, since I am unspeakable blissfully cared for the whole of eternity!

11. The Lord speaks: Yes, my dear son, I see that well; but see, this blessed feeling is but a first glimpse of true bliss. Would you were to enjoy it all in peace and inactivity, you would become oversatiated with the length of the duration of all your grace, and there would be no more pleasure for you. For this reason, I have provided for eternal, ever-growing bliss by the fact that every one of My children continually have well-designed measure of activity and a good sphere of influence; therefore there can be no question of staying in such a hut.

12. We will therefore leave this hut for a period of time and go to My City. There you will first get to know your property, as well as your true eternal destiny. That is why we want to rise again and continue our journey. But the hosts of spirits which you have seen before our eyes are by no means the full inclusive number of all the inhabitants of this eternal supreme heaven, but these armies belong only to your future course of action. But not here, but in My city and in your own dwelling-house therein, you shall get to know the details. See, the prior sinks almost into the ground because of the infinite utterance of the Lord. But the Lord strengthens him and now beckons all three to follow Him. So we are following this sublime procession.

CHAPTER 4

The three heavens - their structure

1. Now see then how all the countless armies of blessed spirits draw closer to our street, and form a kind of living fencing, which, as you can easily see in your mind, form a straight lane into infinity. Look in your minds at the manifold, heavenly beautiful figures we are passing by on both sides during our walk, for here you can see the inhabitants of all the stars, but you should not think that in these endless rows there are many of one or another star or planets present here, but of each celestial body only two are here, namely a male and a female being. For if several would be present in every single celestial body, then this, in your eyes endlessly stretched out space, be in the spiritual sense too small to accommodate them all, and you would not be able to see them all.

2. You ask here: After your inner knowledge, there are gigantic human beings on so many great planets, and particularly on the sun, it is quite peculiar that these blessed spirits are here of a quite ordinary size, with only small differences as on the earth. I tell you, where the Lord dwells, are nowhere any differences, but only in other heavenly regions, where the Lord is present only in His Sun of mercy.

3. Such heavenly regions are, in the first place, the first or lowest heaven, in which only the wisdom and the coming forth from this, the love unto to the Lord; and secondly the noonday or second heaven, which consists of those who are out of faith in the love unto the neighbor and from this, unto the Lord.

4. Both these named heavens are infinite in itself and contain all the countless myriads of spirits, who have once lived uprightly on their own worldly bodies. Exactly for this purpose are these two heavens so divided that, each part has in its corresponding form, the blessed spirits of the planet have their dwellings just at that place in heaven, which corresponds with the nature of their earth's body. You must, therefore, imagine this heaven so that its spiritual surface space is endlessly spread out, and all the suns and planets are in themselves expressed as individual points.

5. You ask, of course, how such things are possible since there are in the first place three distinct heavens, but the planets are undivided, and the planets and suns are also placed underneath and above each other so that they can not agree with a planimetrical surface. How, then, is this to be understood?

6. I say to you: It is, of course, to find the correspondences in a natural sense, but in a spiritual sense it can be very clearly and lucidly be seen. Nevertheless, a natural image can also enlighten the matter very much. Let us try to see if we are able to set up one which would suit our purpose. And so listen!

7. Take for example your earthly body. The solid ground and its populated surface form the first heaven, the region of the air, especially that of the clouds, form the second heaven, the etheric region, the region above the clouds, the third and uppermost. Thus, all these three heavens take hold of each other, yet they are separated from one another in such a way that from the lower heaven no one can enter into the second, and even less into the third, as well as from the second to the third; but the opposite is the case.

8. On your earth there are countless living beings in each of these three regions. On the ground, coarse material, light and spiritual in the cloudy region, ethereally light and completely invisible in the third region. And yet these three natural forms stand in continual interactive correspondence with each other on every celestial body.

9. Now we would have a part of the picture. But you also know that every free-moving body of an earth will be illuminated by the countless rays of other distant celestial bodies. See, in this way, he takes parts of the whole universe into his three regions or his three surfaces.

10. Through this reciprocal action, he is also in constant contact with the whole universe, and this influence is continuously dispersed through each and every one of the three regions of the earthly body. The etheric remains in the ether, the atmosphere in the atmosphere, and the telluric on the earth.

11. Thus, the atmospheres of all the suns and planets always interact with each other in reciprocal correspondences in the likeness of that the etheric foreign planets connect only with the etheric of your planet, the atmospheric with the atmospheric, and the telluric with the Telluric.

12. Now we have shown such connections clearly, we can go over to the third consideration of our picture, and this is the corresponding spiritual. Things that fully correspond with each other represents in a spiritual relation, a planimetric area which is everywhere alike; accordingly is the natural or telluric equilibrium of all the world-bodies to be regarded as an endlessly extended surface, as well as the atmospheric and the etheric.

13. The correspondence, however, exist in the spiritual world only in the emotional life of men on the earth. You say that the Tellurian in its endless variety corresponds to the many natural stars. So it is. The natural mental life of a man also corresponds to the natural mental life of the people of all the stars; the same is the case with spiritually wise, and so also with the love-spiritual part of man on your earth body. Now look and give attention!

14. Man of your earth is as it were in his nature the center of all men on other earthly bodies, and that is because the Lord has become Himself a man in the flesh on the earth.

15. The first or lowest heaven, which is also called the natural-spiritual heaven, houses blessed people of your earthly body, and every such blessed man forms an equal surface, in which all other people of other stars behave themselves like the lines diverging from the center of a circle, or converge back into the center of the biggest possible circle.

16. But the natural surface is, and cannot be, an uninterrupted continuum, but in itself is always as if apparently enclosed. Therefore, you will always see the natural heavens separately, as if being innumerable separated societies.

17. The second heaven, which we know as the midday, is already more concrete, but still has, in its endless extent, certain subdivisions consisting of endlessly stretched out seas, which the spirits belonging to this heaven, can only cross under a higher direction.

18. But now look at the third etheric division, in which, naturally, all the numerous bodies of the world swim. This is everywhere perfectly concrete. Thus, in the same way, the highest heaven of love is so arranged that it surrounds, guides, and leads all others. It will not be difficult at all to understand that with this supreme heaven, everything else must end up to be equally concrete in the end, where everything is fully and actively infused by it.

19. Therefore, the blessed spirits of the earth in this heaven have also this infinite circle of influence out of the love of the Lord. They can be everywhere they want. There is an even way before them everywhere. For them there is nowhere an "up" and a "down", as you can not in an equivalent manner also assume that an etherically light person, on whom no earthly body can any longer exert gravitational attraction, becomes lighter and heavier in the lightest ether-sea, moving "up" or "down", for he can move with equal ease in every direction, like a thought, for which the "up" and "down" are surely all the same.

20. But this is called "plane" in a correspondingly spiritual way, and is as an infinite surface, for which reason also spirits of all other worlds are keeping out of necessity to this corresponding area, together with their corresponding world-bodies, and stand then also with us, central spirits from the Lord, in conducive relationship.

21. This is a good answer to your question for the time being. If, however, with our next viewing, the Lord will settle His company in their eternal destiny, you will be able to experience all this from His mouth in an active and much brighter light.

22. It is difficult to connect spiritual and natural phenomena with the natural language. Nevertheless, the great love and wisdom of the Lord can work miracles everywhere. Therefore, here too, you will get the better part from the Lord's mouth. But now we are nearing the holy city, so we will turn our attention to it.

CHAPTER 5

The essence of love.  Love unto the neighbor out of love for God and love for God out of love for the neighbor.

1. See, this time even greater crowds in the highest glory are coming towards us! And if you also want to open your ears, you will hear great choirs singing, where the Word is perceived in itself in the highest, most perfect of all music.

2. Here, of course, you are wondering how such things are possible. But I say to you, nothing is more easily possible, as nothing is more spiritually correct than the music of the Word. Why then? If you place your articulated word here, which in itself is only the outermost bark of the actual true word, which is wholly within the external word, the musical representation of the word will probably be a little difficult. But if you go back to the proper foundation of the word, you will find the matter quite naturally and reasonably in order.

3. But what is the foundation of the word? The first foundation of everything and of course also of the word is love. But how does love express itself inwardly? Love's discourse has a desirous undertone, that is, it wants to attract everything! This noble characteristic looks around itself in every direction, and whatever its eyes encounter, it absorbs it in the way it is, and endeavors to bring the object closer to itself, and finally to unite with it.

4. You call this characteristic, desire. What actually lies in this desire? It is nothing but the need to be increasingly filled with what this desire is perfectly in harmony with. This desire, however, is also a continually living sensation, through which the desire in itself perceives the need to fulfill itself ever more and more.

5. Now give attention! The love of the Lord, and out of this for the neighbor, feels, therefore, the need for the Lord, and for all that is of the Lord.

6. But "evil love" is, as you know, the opposite in all things. Now if the good, noble love in itself is the ever-growing fulfillment with that which is a single need, it feels in itself a saturation. And this saturation is the self-conscious feeling, which, through its saturation and the life activity resulting from this saturation, produces the light of love within itself. In this light, everything that is absorbed in itself becomes as if it were malleable and goes into harmonious forms of the most exalted kind.

7. Out of the consciousness of saturation, and from the intuition of the living forms in itself, then comes the first glorious feeling which is known to you to be the concept of the salvation of eternal life.

8. Now, give some more attention! When the living love is saturated in this way and transcended into its light, it finds a second desire, namely communication. And this communication is then equal to brotherly or neighborly love, which can never be more perfect than when man, in his love for the Lord, has just mastered this rightful saturation.

9. Therefore the true order of charity is only the one who loves his brother through the Lord. On the contrary, if a man loves the Lord through his brethren, then this is an inverse order, which is not harmoniously connected with the first order. Why then? Because it is, hopefully, more natural to look for everything inside the most perfect, in which everything is, than to search for the perfect in everything which is still far from being perfect. Or even more clearly said:

10. It is certainly more orderly to seek the brothers in God, than to search for the infinite God in the brothers! In God, everyone will find everything, but in his brother, who very often finds himself in the twilight, he will not find the supreme being of God. He probably finds it there, but there is a big difference between find and find!

11. You can calculate this difference in an earthly way, like if you would have a good telescope. If you would position it correctly by holding the large objective lens outwards, and set the small lens before your eyes, you will find the objects you observe in natural magnification; you, therefore, look as out of the center of the visual range of the lens. But if you turn the telescope around, you will see the objects which you have seen before; but these objects will appear very much reduced in size compared to their formerly magnification, and you will have much trouble if you would want to see some distant objects, and want to fully recognize them.

12. You ask whether that would be, spiritually seen, a sin or not. Oh no! It is not at all sinful. For if you look at the regions through a reversed telescope, they will be beautiful and wonderful to you, but as you said, it will cost you a great deal of effort to recognize them exactly as they are.

13. So it is with the love unto the Lord through the neighbor. The Lord is in every brother, for He is life itself in everyone, but in the smallest image, that is, as the man himself is the smallest image of the whole infinite heaven, or - man is a heaven in the smallest form.

14. But whoever loves the brother out of the Lord, looks from the center of the focal point, from the objective of his telescope, loving all his brothers, and sees in his brothers much more than he has seen before.

15. He firstly saw and observed, or rather, that a divine spark dwell in his brothers, and he therefore saw a lot of divine sparks. But now he sees in his brethren that the Lord is all in everyone, and instead of the sparks, he now sees great suns blazing in his brethren from whose light continually new glorious forms, like the wonderful creations of God, develop.

16. I think that this should be clear to you now, so let us now see how we will get our word music out of this all. I tell you, nothing is easier than this. Just one question we have to ask and this is: What is the music in itself? Music, viewed only in earthly form, is nothing but a means of representation of the inner harmonic feelings, consisting of tones made perceptible by the outer coarser senses and is presented in a structure which represents the inner harmonious feelings.

17. If, however, the inner harmonic feeling represented in the outward is music, the feeling in itself will be all the more true music; since it is the reason for the outer music.

18. We spirits feel in our blissful love-saturation, and think through the love-light in the forms originating in us from the Lord. These feelings and thoughts are our greatest bliss, for precisely therein is the life of the Lord expressed in us.

19. Now think of the harmony. The Lord is in us the basic word, the fundamental tone; our saturation from the Lord is the second harmonic interval, the light from this saturation is the third harmonic interval which is forms out of the light, which is called melody.

20. But you have a counterpoint in your music, for it to be more complete and a comprehensive whole, since you can accompany a melody in a lively way, and this accompaniment in itself can also be posed as a pure theme.

21. We want to see whether this is also present in our basic music. Certainly; for what is the reciprocal exchange of ideas and forms, or the exchange of our inner, blessed feelings, other than a truly heavenly musical counterpoint, since a blessed brother takes up the bliss of his brothers and harmoniously blends it with the bliss of others. In this way the blissful mutual blending and connection, and again the letting go, will be in its nature like a most artfully built, great heavenly oratorio. Do you understand this?

22. You ask if one always hears such music? But I ask you, When do you hear music on the earth? You say: When musicians unite for such a purpose, and then, after the prescribed sign, begin to elicit their sounds from their sound tools. Well, I tell you; so it is also the case with the basic music in the sky.

23. On such occasions, when the Lord returns, as now, the blissful feeling of all heavenly spirits is driven to the utmost, and this highest level of the most universal feeling is expressed as the most glorious music.

24. In the usual state, though, the word is spoken as with you. Nevertheless, every heavenly spirit here has the perfect ability to perceive everything in itself in its full harmony, as well as to let others know what it thinks and feels in a harmonic sense.

25. So can you, A.H.W., on earth, if you would compose and write a single tone work, straightway be able to hear it within yourself as if it is accompanying the greatest possible orchestra.

26. I think now that everything is already clear to you. Therefore, you can in the spirit also have a little pleasure with me, as the glorious harmonies from the still approaching blessed multitudes enter our ears.

27. Look also a bit at our prior, who is beside himself and cannot help himself in overjoyed delight, and has just asked the Lord what the meaning of all this is. But the Lord said to him, My beloved son, have but a little patience, and feel the blessedness of the first degree; at the right time and place, everything will be clear to you. We first want to reach the city and then in the city itself, we shall arrange things further.

28. However, see the first small group coming towards Me and guess who are they who make up the multitude?

29. The priest said: O Lord! How could I know that out of myself? These are obviously overly blissful brothers and angels, that it is certain; who they are named, I could never guess.

30. The Lord says, "Well, then I will make it known to you: these are My brethren. The first two in front, are the well-known Peter and Paul; behind Peter, you see My dear John, behind John you see Matthew and Luke. But Mark is following us and was the one who first visited you out of Me. And those following further to the back, are the other apostles. But now, nothing more, but as I said: in the city, My beloved son, the revelation will follow.

CHAPTER 6

Personal details of the apostles depicted by distinguishing insignia.

1. See, we are at the well-known city gates, which, like the wall around the city and the houses in the city, are all made of precious stones.

2. Look down the lane, which is called the main street, the street of the Lord, and the street of the center of all light, as in this street, many of the most blessed angelic spirits, like children, are flowing in from all sides.

3. See, everything is fully aglow with the highest love-wisdom. But look at the Lord, Who is in contrast still as simple as we have seen Him from the beginning; a blue coat is all that externally adorns Him. His brothers look just as simple, and as you may notice, each one bears a small insignia on the robe, showing that which has distinguished him on the earth from his brothers, as well as what his occupation on the earth as a natural man was to provide for his natural needs.

4. Thus, on this occasion, you will be able to see that of Peter with two crossed keys. Under the two keys, however, you will be able to see a fish net on a small scale, like small diamonds. I do not need to explain the meaning of these two insignias. Sometimes, on special occasions, such an apostle gets several insignias. Thus, sometimes, as a penitent, one sees the cock as well as a sword.

5. Look at Paul, who has a two-edged sword; but under the sword, a small carpet embroidered with colored diamonds. On special occasions, he also has a reddish horse, and above the horse a ray of fire, but underneath the horse, a scroll and a pen. And like these two first Apostles, so to have all the others on such occasions on their clothes, insignia related to their earthly works.

6. These insignias are of very great importance, and serve their owners in the highest and most profound spiritual sense, likened to what the Thummim and Urim tablets have once served for only as a model in the Jewish community of the High Priest. For here also the most righteous spirits are not in the same degree of inmost wisdom from the Lord, but also, in this case, a change of state takes place, which is to be compared with the state of action and the resting place. In the state of action, each one is equipped, as required, with the deepest wisdom of the Lord, but at rest, no one needs such depth, but only a certain Sabbath rest in silent heavenly love for the Lord.

7. For this reason, the Apostles, as well as all other blessed spirits, are likewise provided with similar insignia according to the state of their work; not as though they would not be placed in the fullness of wisdom without the same from the Lord, but because these insignia show the root, as well as the original seed kernel, from which all their wisdom came forth from the Lord. That is why they are also called "princes of heaven", which they are in the truest sense.

8. But now, we are already in front of a really mightily big, great, splendid palace. The Lord, in front of the majestic gate, from which new glorious songs of praise resound, says to the Prior: Well, my beloved son, here we are at our unchangeable, eternal welling and home. How do you like it here? Tell me if you have a great desire to stay here? The prior says, sunken into a thousandfold humility: O Lord, Thou alone, everlasting King of Majesty and Glory! You God, holy, most holy, You Almighty Creator of all heavens and all worlds! When I was guided by You to the former heaven, there remained so much room in my heart that I was still capable of expressing some desire. But here, where Your infinite glory presents itself in such a never-suspected endless abundance, and I look up and down with my eyes onto countless creations, and your endlessly wide plains and paths full of the most supreme light, my Lord, is my heart before You no longer able to speak, for You are too great, too glorious and holy, and I am an infinite nothing before you.

9. In the former heavenly region, I would have wished to be a very poor housekeeper with some blessed brother. But here, where everything seems so infinitely sacred to me, where I scarcely dare to breathe, and put my most unfortunate foot upon the ground of this holiest city, which indeed lets a far greater light shine than all the light of all the suns together, and according to the infinite majesty of these sacred dwellings and their inhabitants, I am completely consumed by my utter vanity; there remains, O Lord, no wish. But if I were to ask You for something, it would be that You would let me move somewhere out into such a simple hut; for I am unworthy of this infinite delight and bliss.

10. The Lord says: But my dear Son, your greatest desire was to be with Me. But if I live here, how can you be afraid of My house? Thou hast expressed thyself, saying, O Lord! Wherever You are, there it is good everywhere! If, however, I am here always eternally by preference at home, shall it not be good to be here? Therefore, consider and speak!

11. The priest says: O Lord, Most Holy, Most Holy Father! With this saying, it will probably be eternally correct as well as the fact that it would be here to live infinitely blissful and blessed. But only the only one, O Lord, I observe here, that there are only princes, and none of them has any servant and little servant. If it were possible to find such a place of service in the very last corner of this holy city, of the most general kind, provided that there are such ministries here, I would like to ask for that place from among all other places in the whole of infinity. But in such a palace as this one is, in front of whose gate we now stand, the very least possible position seems too great, important, and sacred to me to be able to acquire such out of myself.

12. The Lord says, Have you not heard that in My kingdom, it is the greatest who will be the least and the last? If, then, you are so small, there is no other choice but to make you the greatest possible.

13. The priest said: O Lord, greatest, most Holy Father! If I knew it was so serious, that the man who is the smallest and the least important, but who considers himself to be the greatest and most important, then quickly make me the greatest and most glorious prince of this city, so that I may be the most insignificant and the most unimportant!

14. The Lord says, My most beloved Son! Whoever wants to wax great your way is truly great with Me. Therefore, I also tell thee that not a servant, nor a servant in this dwelling-house, shall you be with Me, but this house I have erected for thee for everlasting peculiar splendor. So go here with your wife and your brother at My side. I want to settle you in here and give you control over this whole house. You have already seen the service of this house. It consists of those blessed spirits who have come to us in countless hosts at the first entry into this kingdom. And so enter with Me, and I will reveal to you in this house your full eternal destiny.

CHAPTER 7

Communion with lamb, bread and wine

1. Look there right before us, there is a broad, glittering staircase, which is lined with balustrades of transparent gold. This staircase leads up into the middle mansion. Our company is now moving upwards, accompanied by the apostles; so we follow them. Here we are already at the entrance gate into the large auditorium. The Lord opens the door, and we all go into the hall. See, what infinite magnificence and glory is to be found in this oversized hall! The floor is also like transparent gold, and when you keenly look at it, you will see all over embedded writing as if of shimmering gold.

2. What does this scripture say? I tell you, nothing more and nothing less than all the deeds our prior has done from his true inner love. Then look, on either side of the great hall are five red luminous pillars, which look like incandescent brass, as would be seen on earth from a quarter of an hour away, like a bright red, due to the density of the air through which such a ray must pass. Only, of course, as you can see here in the spirit, is the luster of these pillars unspeakably more intense.

3. But now look also at the bases of these great pillars, as they are once again adorned all over, with writing more luminous than all the suns. Read it and you will find that the Ten Commandments are written on it. But look closer at the Scriptures, and you will discover a smaller script in each individual letter, from which Scripture the inner meaning of the commandments can be recognized.

4. But look also up, and you will see a brilliantly shining arch on each pillar, reaching in toward the center of the high ceiling, converging like rays. On the point where the arches converge, you can see a powerful, radiant sun, and in the middle of the sun, you will find the endlessly significant word 'love' written in bright red, flaming letters.

5. Have also a look at the walls of this hall, which are built with the most precious jewels. Go closer to a part of the wall, and have a close look, and you will discover writing everywhere, inside the rocks, shimmering like little stars. And if you would begin to read a bit, you will soon find that this script contains the Word of God, firstly in the literal sense, then deeper in the stone, the spiritual; and still deeper, the heavenly sense. These four walls contain only the four Gospels known to you; the two long side walls have Matthew and Luke, the narrower walls at the back and front contain Mark and John.

6. You would also like to know whether the Old Testament is nowhere to be found here? Not here in this building; but what you call "leveled earth" with you is all built from the Old Testament, and what you call the invisible foundation of the house on earth is the primitive congregation of the earth.

7. Now look at the foreground; there is a glorious table, set with a roasted lamb in the middle in a golden bowl, a loaf of bread beside it, and a great chalice full of the most glorious wine.

8. Behold, now the Lord says to the prior: My beloved son, behold here is another table; how does it appear to you? The prior says, O Lord, You, most Holy Father! Though the endless glory of this room is pressing me down, I still notice that this table has a very strong resemblance to that which You have kept on earth before Your bitter suffering with Your dear apostles and disciples.

9. The Lord says, My beloved son, thou hast spoken rightly; for therefore I said at the table that I will not again enjoy of the Lamb or the wine until it will be newly prepared in the kingdom of God - see, here it is newly prepared! Here then, we want to have this meal together again, and do not want to go into sadness, but into the highest joy. Therefore, all of you sit with Me at this table, in the same order as we have sat on the earth.

10. But you are asking after Judas, whether he will be at the table. What do you think, would the traitor be sent here? The priest said: O Lord, Most loving Holy Father! I know well that Your righteousness is as great as your love, grace, and mercy. But, notwithstanding this, I must frankly confess it to You, it would still be hard for me if I had to miss this lost apostle forever; for You, Yourself said that this one was lost, that the scripture might be fulfilled. This text has always secretly given me some consolation with regard to this unhappy apostle, for I said to myself: Judas, perhaps even after his free choice, had to be such a serving instrument, that is, an apostle of the dead, so that through Your betrayal, Your holy plan, which was surely eternally predetermined, came into the holiest and glorious execution! - Behold, O Lord, greatest and Most Holy Father! This always gave me a blessed hope for the poor, unhappy apostle. But I was still more at ease when I considered how You, on the cross, begged the Father in You for forgiveness for all Your enemies; and then I could not exclude poor Judas in spite of his suicide. This was evidently caused by the devil who besieged him. Therefore, I should like to know if this apostle, if not already here, but at least somewhere, is not unhappy in the highest degree.

11. The Lord says: Listen, My beloved Son, there is not one, but two Judas Iscariots. The first is the man who lived with Me on the earth, and the other is Satan, who, in his freedom at that time, had made people taxable to himself. This second Judas Iscariot is still the very foundation of hell, but not the man Iscariot, for it was forgiven him, and in how far, you only have to look around. For the one who is presently talking to your brother and is also now committing a betrayal of love by showing my brother already in advance My great love, is precisely the Judas Iscariot, whom you were worried about. Are you satisfied with Me?

12. The priest, almost lost in love for the Lord, says: O Lord, thou most loving Most Holy Father! Faithfully true, I have always imagined You to be always very lovingly and endlessly good. Nevertheless, I would never have dared to think that Your infinite mercy, grace, and love should extend to Judas. For on the earth I would certainly have sinned with such an idea. But now I see how endless Your infinite goodness, grace, and pity surpass all human ideas. O Lord, what shall I do? How am I to love you, that I could only correspond in my heart to such an infinite love?

13. The Lord embraces the prior, presses him to His breast, and says to him, Behold, My beloved son, just as you love Me now, you give Me the greatest reward for My infinite love. Therefore, go to the table with Me, and eat and drink the true living supper, so that you may, in this enjoyment, receive the strengthening in you, a great prince in My kingdom, which you shall eternally and increasingly need.

14. See, they sit down at the table, and the prior, his wife and his brother are placed on the Lord's right side. To the left, you see John, then immediately after him Peter, and then Paul, as well as the other apostles and disciples.

15. On the right side of the poor brother of the prior sits Judas and beside him, still a few others, which I will not name you here yet. Further beyond, you also see our Joseph, and beside him Mary; next, Mary of Magdalene and still other well-known female beings. You see Lazarus, Nicodemus, and some great friends of the Lord.

16. You ask now since there are still several chairs left unoccupied, whether no one will sit on them? Yes, my dear friends and brethren, I too must sit down at the table, and you, as earthly spirits, must not leave my sphere. Hence, we shall have no other choice than to seize the three empty seats, according to the secret promise of the Lord. Follow me therefore courageously to the table, and eat and drink there with all the others.

17. If you have been fed on this table - though unperceivable to your senses - you will feel an inner feeling filling your spirit, that you have dined in the spirit at this table. It will give you a great, significant strengthening, which you will definitely feel. Do not be timid, but enjoy the meal of eternal life in humility and love. And so, follow me quite bravely and without reservation to the table!

CHAPTER 8

The significant meaning of the supper, especially for the earth.  We leave Markus’ sphere

1. As we are now at the table, we will also take part in the high treasures of the table. But hear what the Lord says before the meal, saying: My beloved children! When I came to you on earth after My resurrection, I asked you, because you were hungry and had not much food to eat. "Little child, do you have nothing to eat?" Then you showed Me some bread and some fish. I blessed the fish and the bread for you and then I sat with you at the table and ate with you. Now I ask you no more whether you have food to eat or not, but of My infinite treasures and provisions, you have in endless abundance forever. But is this word, which was expressed by Me on earth, to have no validity here?

2. I say to you, this question shall have even more perfect validity here than on the earth, and I can still ask this most important question out of this kingdom: little children, do you have nothing to eat? You will answer Me on that:

3. O most loving Father! We have endlessly much to eat in Your big house. But I say unto you,

4. This question is not to be asked to you as if it were meant for you, but this question is to be asked by you as if by Me, to let it pass through My children to My children and through them, into all of infinity. The children of the earth are now in the state in which you were immediately after My resurrection. They are full of sad thoughts and do not yet know what has happened to the Lord. They also have only paltry food, which is like the fish and the bread you had.

5. The "fish" are the old, and "the bread" the New Testament. But as this food is among the children on the earth partly salted, partly moldy, partly dried up, it is here among us all the more the time to turn to these children with this question and to ask them: little children! Do you have nothing to eat?

6. They will show us their store, and we will bless them for a good, living prosperity, as I have blessed for You your little fish, and your bread. Let us then sit with them at the table of their faith and their love, and eat with them; we will teach them, in spirit and in truth, to know from their feeble treasures the true ways of eternal life.

7. Behold, here is the meal, the table covered with the well-prepared lamb, bread, and wine. "The Lamb," a food equal to My heart, "the bread," a food equal to My love and mercy, "the wine" a drink from My infinite wisdom.

8. You enjoy it with Me, and I have no need to ask you: little child, do you have something to eat? But if you enjoy with Me, remember the poor children on the earth and ask them out of My supreme love in you: Children, brothers, and sisters, do you have something to eat? And the children will answer you, O brethren. Look at us in our great poverty; a little hard bread and a few heavily salted fish is all we have! Just make it somewhat enjoyable.

9. When you hear this, return to them, and bring unto them the living remnants of this table; give them a living enlightenment; help them clean their room so that I can also move in with them and then ask them Myself: Little children! Have you nothing to eat?

10. And when they say, O Lord, Most loving Father! Behold, a little bread and some little fish, I will say to them, Bring all that you have, and I will bless you with My love, grace, and mercy, and I will give you a living, inner, spiritual bread! If ye shall eat this bread, and drink of My wine, your hard-baked bread, and your salted fishes shall be softened and purified, and it shall become a living food, in which you shall be sufficiently satisfied unto eternal life.

11. As such, My dear children, brothers, and friends is this question, once asked to you by Me, of the greatest importance and the most profound significance here!

12. So, therefore, eat with Me, and drink, unto remembrance in all love for those who dwell in the depths of their flesh, and cannot see My kingdom, My grace, My love, and mercy.

13. See, now the Lord partake of the Lamb, as well as the bread, and divide it to all. Now it is distributed; we have our portions before us, we thank the Holy Giver for such good gifts, and then enjoy, in joy and great love, our sacred meal of eternal life!

14. Behold, they all are now reaching for the meal proffered and eating it with great, joyous emotion, with regard to the most loving Holy Giver. So let us follow suit and do what the others do.

15. We are now consuming the sacred meal of life. How glorious, how delicious, how powerful and invigorating it is! With each swallow, we feel as if our glances are extended to the infinite depths of divine grace, and the flame of eternal love begins to blaze brighter in our hearts. With the enjoyment of the flesh, wonderful new great thoughts of God are revealed in us. With the enjoyment of the bread, these great thoughts become an endlessly great new reality, and with the enjoyment of the wine a new and gloriously wonderful life flows into the new creations. We see in the totality a consummation, before whose greatness, majesty, glory, and holiness of the Lord Himself, shake our most great heavenly thoughts and feelings, and sink down before the Lord as if in nothingness!

16. What do you say, my dear friends and brothers, of this meal? I notice that you are silent in the face of the great revelation which has been given to you with this meal.

17. But I say to you: On such occasions, we do not get any better than this. For the Lord is never greater and more unfathomably wonderful than at such moments, since He is most devoted to His children!

18. He always loves all His children equally, but He does not always let them feel the great power of His love in fullness. In such moments, however, He permits such things. Hence, His children are also filled with such a blessing that they are seized by the greatest love for the Lord, but at the same time, they feel the greatest humility in their hearts.

19. Now, as you see, the meal is already over, and the Lord turns to the prior, and says to him, "Well, My beloved son, how did You like My meal?

20. The prior speaks in a very contrite tone: O Lord, most good, most loving, most holy Father! This meal has not only tasted good to me, but I have been filled with a new life. Now everything is clear to me. I now see my destiny, and Your infinitely wonderful ways in which You lead Your children to life are revealed to me.

21. I now know what I have to do, and I see my greatest delight as a clear path before me; How I have to go and do my work. The sphere of activity which You have graciously assigned to me as a most unworthy servant is endlessly great. But I also see how You are all in everything, and how easy to accomplish the greatest things with You!

22. Therefore, I am also most greatly and blissfully pleased that You have given me such a sphere of activity, and it will give me never-ending joy, when it shall please You, to let me do the first service in Your kingdom.

23. Only one thing, O Lord, and Most Holy, most loving Father, is still a little unclear to me, namely, the habitation of this house, and the service which You have shown to me already outside the city in Your kingdom. Shall I also dwell in this house, or shall some other house be given to me, and shall those blessed spirits dwell in the house where I shall dwell in this city?

24. The Lord says: My beloved son, see, this whole city is for all intents and purposes My great house. Nevertheless, this very part in which we are here is, in a certain sense, My principal residency, and I am here the most perfect Lord of the house.

25. Many spirits dwell in separate houses of this city, and these houses are their perfect eternal property. A lot of houses like this, I tell you, in the big city are already inhabited. But endlessly many are empty, so I could easily give you any particular house. But I will not do this, but I will keep You together with your wife and your brother in this principal residence. All those who have dined at the table are inhabitants of this My Residence, and they are therefore out of Me the principal foundations of My Heaven and the chief stewards of My creations. So, therefore, will you remain here forever with Me! As to service, she dwells not in the city, but her dwellings are in the endlessly wide orbits of this city; but you have it all in you. You can call in yourselves, whomever you want, and he will be there.

26. If I will send you to one or the other world, the spirits of this world will call to you, and you will see their world and the need of this world in the sphere of these spirits. If you have seen these things, then call forth the power of My love in your heart, and work out of this according to the needs of one or the other world.

27. I could make you see all the spheres at a glance, but you would be deprived of a mighty degree of bliss. Therefore, for your own greatest possible salvation, you shall see one world at a time in all its miraculous and profound depths which arise out of Me, when you will be in one or the other world out of My love. Behold, there is, adjacent to this hall, an equally large dwelling-place; in this one, you will find your permanent dwelling, and you will dwell together with all these My children, brothers, and friends. You might also want to know where My living quarters really are in this house?

28. I tell you, I have no particular living quarters in this house which I would like to inhabit as a direct master, but I always live among you, now with one, and then with another. And this hall is our council chamber; from here all our business always ensues. There shall now, due to My panel talk, be several who shall descent to the earth to there present My question to My children. But you shall only after the next meal receive a very important assignment.

29. If, however, you sometimes wish to discuss with My children from the Old Testament, then let yourself be escorted down to the leveled ground; there you will meet them all. And so I bless you, same as all who are present here, and through them, all of infinity, and so, rise from the table!

30. See, now everyone rises from the table, and all thank and praise the Lord. And the Lord goes, and embraces everyone, and blessed them all personally. Then the Lord leads our prior, his wife, and his poor brother into the appointed dwelling, and saith to his poor brother: Behold, you have no wife yet, but there sure is already one on the earth meant for you. When she is to come here, you shall enter into marriage with her. But be in the meantime a faithful brother to all your brothers, and be a dear brother to all your brothers.

31. Now the great settling in is done. You have seen wonderful things on this tour. So far I have been leading you; but now another one will guide you. Therefore, you may now step out of my sphere again. - you have come out and see, Your Lord is already waiting for you in your already quite well-known place!

CHAPTER 9

Diversity of the sphere of every blessed spirit for the sake of mutual indispensability.

1. Now I, your chief, ask you again, How did you like it in the sphere of this My brother? I see in you the answer written with many letters, and this answer is: O Lord, Most loving, Most Holy Father! In the sphere of this spirit we have seen things so extraordinary and important that we can not express ourselves at all. If we have not seen all of Your ways, we have nevertheless obtained a general overview, as to how Your infinite love and wisdom seeks and finds the stray sheep, that we may well assert that we have been guided in the sphere of this spirit to a focal point of a general overview, from where we have come to know the spiritual world from the most imperfect to the perfect sphere, for which we can never thank You enough forever. Indeed, it seems to us as if the essence of the spiritual kingdom could no longer be traced more easily in the brevity of time, with regard to the comprehensive sight and experience, than the way we saw it in the sphere of this brotherly spirit.

2. Yes, My dear children, this is sure, right and true; you saw situations in the full light of truth. Nevertheless, I draw your attention to My Diorama, already made known to you before your entrance into the spiritual spheres, and I consequently say to you that things in the world of spirits are again quite different in the spheres of individual blessed spirits and are therefore structured differently, being just as good and true than in the spheres of the previous spirits. This must also be in the perfect kingdom of the angels, otherwise, one spirit would be dispensable for the other, and no one would be able to prepare a new great happiness for the other. But since each spirit has something special, and I allow it to be so for everyone, that his own environment should be formed according to his nature, therefore the blissful joy of an angel in the salvation of another will never end. In order that you may properly understand and comprehend this, I will still illuminate this for you by means of some vivid examples before you return to the sphere of a tenth spirit.

3. Suppose there was a hundred really deeply learned men in a great hall. These men would discuss a very significant subject, namely the calculation of the radiation of the light. But among these hundred scholars, not all scholars are the same, but the one is a famous accountant, the other a philosopher, a nature researcher, an astronomer, a botanist, a zoologist, a mineralogist, and others a geologist, a skilled optician, a geographer. Another would be a historian, an archaeologist, a poet, a philologist, a psychologist, an anthropologist, a physician, another a physiologist, a mystic, the other a theosophist, and so on, through all grades of human scholarship. All of these hundred scholars certainly have the literary character to put their thoughts about the discussed topic down on paper.

4. When all these hundred scholars have finished their work, then take every work to your hand, and read these written records of thoughts regarding the presented subject, and you can be fully assured that there will not be two among them that have treated the subject in the same way. The mathematician will be, quite different from the poet, will be quite different from the mystic, and will be quite different, as I have said, from each one expressing himself compared to the other, and if you carefully examine these elaborations, so shall every formulation easily reveal its own occupation of choice.

5. But if you were then asked for a judgment about which from all these hundred scholars have in truth treated the subject most appropriately, you would be able to say nothing other but: We find that every man has hit the nail on the head. There is no one in his own way to object against, everyone is right. In the main thing, they all agree, only the character of the representation is different according to the love of the presenter.

6. Very well, I agree. If the thoughts about the same subject are different among many men, the spheres of the angelic spirits are also different; but at the bottom of it all, they all go out from one and the same truth. But to make the matter more clear, let us take another example:

7. Say that a psalm of David needs to be set to music. A king of some country places a great prize on the best musical arrangement of this task, and soon the most capable musicians from all over, get to work. After the deadline, the compositions are sent; there are forty copies. The King, as a great lover of such classical music, successively performs one composition around the other from day to day. But go to these performances and listen to them. And if you have heard them all, how will your judgment be, after they have been worked on by the most ambitious composers?

8. You will surely say, "Indeed, in one way, a work is as competent and beautiful as the other; from each one, the great master can be recognized. But how different the various musical rhythms, how different the fundamental notes, how different the instrumentation and distribution of the song, how different the melodies, how different the accompaniments of the song! In completely different kinds of relationships and completely different solutions!

9. I say: Good, but now tell Me what composition - of course presented as well as possible - you liked the best. Then, after all, you will be able to say nothing other than: Each of these compositions has pleased us in its own way; but there were some of them, which appealed to us more than the others.

10. Very well again, I say; concerning the being "more appealing": it lies in the similarity of the composer's sphere to yours. However, every composition is full of life, spirit, and truth.

11. Which one will get the first prize? I tell you, that if the wise King would be as just as I am, he would have to open his moneybag for the promised prize, and would give each one the stated amount.

12. From this, however, you can very clearly see that the spheres of the angelic spirits have to shape themselves just the same naturally, yet only in the most concrete, visual appearance, as this second example has shown us clearly. There is truth everywhere; but because of the different degrees of love, the forming light is also different, the forms are also different, but they are always situated as such that they correspond entirely to one and the same basic truth.

13. But do not let yourself think that such is only to be seen in these two given examples, I will give you according to My very inventive character, a few others. Let us suppose that a morning landscape should be supplied by ten great painters. The landscapes are ready and delivered. Go and look at it, one is fairer and truer than the other. Each expresses a striking depiction of the morning, but not one looks the same as another in any given aspect.

14. Behold, this is because every spirit has its own wonderful sphere composed by Me, through which he is able to prepare for himself and all his brethren the greatest bliss and happiness. Every spirit is at the same time infinite, and in its nature always and ever inexhaustible in the greatest varied of original forms. Yet, as endlessly wondrous and manifold the various forms in the sphere of an angelic spirit can be, one has to say after some consideration: no man can imagine any more than this infinitely miraculous variety! Then I say unto you, go quickly into the sphere of another, and your judgment shall be the same, and ye shall say, Yes, what is that? There are quite different shapes again! And I tell you, so it is the case with the spiritual diorama. The outer window is the same, but you only have to look in and you will everywhere find a different world!

15. But I have one more example available: If you look in the Scriptures at all the prophets, then the evangelists, as well as the letters of Paul, all the way through the other apostles and disciples, and in the end also the revelation of John, everyone is writing a different language, using other pictures, and working on a completely different subject; even the four evangelists do not agree with each other on the historical facts. In his letters, Paul does not preach one or the other gospel, and the revelation of John is in itself enveloped in such wonderful pictures that one can never be entirely clear about it.

16. Now I ask: because in some respects each one has written differently: Who then wrote the truth? The answer can not possibly be different from this: everyone writes the same truth, everyone preaches Me, each one commands love, humility, meekness, and patience. Everyone reported about the same events; whoever receives it in the right spiritual light, will find the most wonderful correspondences in it. If you compose the various verses from all the prophets and evangelists, they will be, seen in the true light, like the fruits of the same tree.

17. Now then again, it is the same with the spheres of perfect spirits. I could give you a lot of examples, but for the time being, these are sufficient.

18. But on My side there is always the same Spirit, in whose sphere you all will objectively see, and in the end you will say: indeed, things were quite differently formed in this spirit's sphere; but at ground-level, they still go out and show that the Lord is the eternal and infinite love and wisdom Himself, all in all, therefore, everywhere.

19. Now as you know this in advance, you are going to enter into the sphere of this tenth spirit, and you must pay attention to everything.

CHAPTER 10

Difference between the light of faith and the light of love. The spirit of man.

1. You are already in his sphere, and so I will also tell you that you are in the sphere of My dear John. Hold on to him, he will show you much more wonderful and exalted things in his own way. - John beckons you to follow him; so follow him!

2. John says, My beloved brethren in our Lord Jesus Christ, you have seen me already from the sphere of another blessed brotherly spirit; but then it was not time to take you into my sphere. But since you have now been taught by my dear brother Markus in so many important matters, it is now time that, according to the will of our Lord Jesus Christ, you also experience in my sphere, which in their own way shall, because of their nature, initiate you entirely and particularly into the secret love of the Lord.

3. In all the earlier spheres you have seen apparitions, and from these apparitions, you had to find the truth. See, this is the first way in which a man sees the first forms according to the light of his faith, but he never sees the foundations thereof, and only get to understand it when they are revealed to him in the supreme light of the highest love.

4. For this reason you have seen all the apparitions in the spheres of my nine previous brethren like a blind man would the colors. You see many forms and actions, but you did not understand anything at first sight since you looked out of your faith. But a second, much deeper sight is that which comes from love. Not everything which is there is initially seen, even though it is already there, but one sees only what he takes hold of with his love, and then he comprehends it from the foundation.

5. Man searches in the light of his faith, being a searching observer of what already exists; from the inner love-light, which is the actual living light of the Lord in man, man becomes a creator himself and then sees everything man created, from its foundation.

6. You indeed think that the earlier state was more favorable than this second, inward, deeper one. But I say unto you: this is false; for the more solid a created being perceives the outer form, the more imperfect is its being.

7. In his natural life on the earth, man finds himself initially in such a state of perception. He is indeed content with the creation of constant forms; but how does he relate to them in his spirit? I tell you, like the poorest beggar in the hallway of the house of a hardhearted rich man. He also sees the marvelous rich splendor of the great house of the rich man, but if he wishes to enter into it, he is rejected by a hundred servants of this house. What has the poor gained by the sight of this beautiful house? Nothing but a distressed, aching heart that says to him: you have no right to enter into these palaces!

8. See, this is precisely the case with them, looking at constant external shapes. What pleasure is it to stand before a tree and to look at its forms? But if one knocks at the tree and wants to be let in to look at his living, wonderful works, one is always harshly rejected and it is said: Only up to my surface, up to my outer form, but from there no hair more! You can take a stone in your hand and throw it wherever you want; you can also crush and grind him, dissolve and completely vaporize it, and yet the stone is your master, and will not let you look into his secrets.

9. So it is with all the external forms presented to the eye for contemplation. They are continually the lord and master of the spectator, and the latter can do as he pleases, he can never get the entrance to the foundation. Therefore, long-winded explanations and elucidation must be added whenever the spectator wants to get only a little light about the things he has seen.

10. The forms in the world of spirits are likewise if they are already present in a certain conscious definiteness to the eye of the beholder. The spectator sees them well, but he does not understand them. So you also saw many forms in the sphere of my dear brother; but tell Me, if you have understood more than the guide has enlightened to you?

11. But did the leader see it the way you saw it? See, that is another question. I tell you: that if he had looked at them as you did, he would hardly have been able to provide you with a correct light about one or the other. But he has looked at it from himself, that is, he hath created them out of the light of the Lord in himself, and you have therefore seen his creations. They were the perfect truth in all their parts, but you did not understand it without his explanation.

12. Now, however, in my sphere, you will have a completely reversed experience, in which you can immediately see from our quite irregular, hazy point of view. Do you see any form, a world, a sky, or any light other than the gray darkness that surrounds us from all sides?

13. You say: Dear friend and brother in the love of the Lord! Besides us, you and the gray darkness we see nothing in all directions. "Well, I tell you, my beloved brothers, you need to see no more; for it is precisely this point of view that is necessary for you to be initiated into the true vision of the Spirit.

14. You know that the spirit of man is a perfect living image of the Lord, and has in itself the spark or focal point of the Divine Being. But if he undeniably carries this in himself, he also carries the Lord's all within himself. He thus carries the infinite from the smallest to the greatest completely divinely within himself; or, he has united this 'all' of the Lord in himself through his powerful love for Him, in one focal point.

15. Now, if this is so, why then the perception of extraneous forms? Come forth with what each one of you carries, like I do, and we will soon see things as we have created it.

16. You ask: how would this be possible? But I say to you: have you ever examined your thoughts and your desires beside your thoughts?

17. Where do thoughts come from? The answer lies simply and endlessly in the focal point of God within you. See, this powerful focal point is the factory where your thoughts and wishes are created; your thoughts are conceived in this focal point, and the number of your thoughts are infinite because, in this divine focal point, the Divine is present in you in all His infinity.

18. You would like to say: If so, where would bad thoughts come from? But I say to you that there are absolutely no bad thoughts on this focal point as well as no bad wishes. All thoughts are free and immaculate, only the desires are placed under the arbitrariness of the free will of every human being. If you think out of yourselves, your thoughts will all spring from love, and you will soon perceive in you the blessed need of the continual communication, according to which you wish to share everything with your brothers. In this way, you will be the creator of all the good works that will follow you.

19. But since every man also has a free will, together with the faculty of externally observing foreign forms, he can, with his will and his love, which is subject to his will, take hold of these foreign forms and make them his own. See, these foreign forms are then, as if stolen, also overly desired thoughts in man, and these, because they arise from self-love, which is a looting and overruling love, because they take possession of all foreign forms for themselves, and rule over everything they have seized for themselves; these then, are the real evil thoughts. You yourself say: Foreign things do not fare well! This is surely the most important condition of the main question of life, and everyone who does not build on his own foundation builds on sand. But how you build on your own foundation, I shall teach you in my sphere.

CHAPTER 11

The whole universe and heaven are in you

1. John: Can you think of something here? You agree. So think of an object, whatever you like; do not look for long, but take the next best. But if you have the thoughts, hold onto it firmly and do not let it go.

2. You have a thought; what is its picture? You say: It is a single star that we are thinking of now. Well, I tell you; imagine the star so vividly, do not let it go, and then tell me how the star appears to you.

3. You say: The more firmly we grasp him, the greater and brighter it looks to us. Again, I tell you; take hold of it even stronger, and fix him with the glances of your inner vision. What do you see now?

4. You say, dear friend and brother, it seems to us as if the star is beginning to open up like a flower bud in the spring, its light becomes even stronger and more powerful, and it seems to us as if the star gained size and is already measurable.

5. That is good, I tell you, but go deeper, even more, let your eyes be keen and fixed, and will in yourself for the star to develop closer to you; then tell me how the star appears to you.

6. You say: Dear friend and brother, the star has already become as big as the moon, and its light is already almost blinding to the sight of our spirit!

7. Again, I tell you. So it is; for I already see the radiance of your star from your eyes. But I will tell you further: Do not let go of the star, but look at it more intimately and more and more firmly, and be even more powerful in your will, and the star will at once be in focus according to the power of your will and sight. What do you see now?

8. I see already how you are full of astonishment, for you see your star already so much widened and enlarged before you, that you can see with only little effort, great, sublime details of it. Now you can even notice movements on the surface of this star. You would like to know in advance what these movements are and what is moving there. But I say nothing to you; for you shall discover everything yourselves.

9. Fix your star even firmer and stronger and more powerfully with your will, and it will immediately show what these movements are and what moves. What do you think about these movements you see?

10. You say: It makes us think of clouds and of a billowing sea.

11. I say: Now, hold onto the star, which you can not lose anymore, and also to these thoughts firmly and then tell me what you see.

12. You now ask: Dear friend and brother in the Lord! We are now truly looking at clouds, which are very close to us, and between the large landscapes, we discover even larger areas of billowing sea. We also see great irregularities in the extensive landscapes, and we clearly see islands in the midst of the great sea-surfaces, but we can not see anything else.

13. Very well, I tell you; now draw nearer to the great lands and the great seas of this star, and you will see much more of it. I see from your eyes that you obey my advice. Well, what do you see now?

14. You say, "Behold, the land has already come very near to us. We are already discovering vast forests, also a lot of scattered houses of a very strange shape as well as large rivers. And, behold, now we can discern even smaller brooks, and on the shores of the great sea we discover also here and there what seems to be like erected cities; we can also see movements on the surface of the waters of all kinds of ships.

15. Well; what do you think this is all about? You say: Dear friend and brother, we do not know. But I ask you, Where did the star come from? You say: this we thought up and then held it firmly in our thoughts.

16. Well, when the star came out of you, why should its development be different from yours? For as the star became greater and greater by holding onto it, then by his greatness he developed in you the thoughts filled with the desire to see a world on the star itself. You then involuntarily held this thought with the star itself, and as a result created all of what you now see on the vast surface of this star.

17. But you know that without power and a counter-power, you can never ever think of an action. So I say to you, and ask, Why then could you think of a star in the first place? You look at me with amazement; But I say unto you because there is not one, but many stars, in your mind, in the smallest imaginary forms. From these many stars, you took a copy out of yourselves and drew increasingly closer to you.

18. But how was the enlargement of this minute image possible in your mind? This is where the force and the counterforce come into play. The power lies in you, the opposing force is created and eternally strengthened by God. When you call forth the power in you, what is more natural than, at that moment when you take action, that the corresponding counterforce from God, to always increasingly merge with your will? For the power lies in you; the opposing force is outside of you, and all that you thus evoke in you must then find in God its eternally exemplary antithesis. The star as a contrast is created by God, as it is in its order, form, and character; but its perfectly regular image is also laid in you as a derivative because your spirit itself is an image of God.

19. Now, do you know in what way all things are to be viewed? You say: Through the light. Well, I tell you; the light also falls, on earth, for the most part, through the infinite free space. But what else do you see on a cheerful day in the well-lit blue atmosphere? You say: We see nothing but the blue color of the air. But I ask you, Why not? You say: Because there is no resistance. But what do you mean by resistance? Why do not you rather speak of 'object' rather than resistance? You do not know what you should say; but I say to you, if you look at something according to its form, then the thing is clearly something which opposes you, that is, a counter-state. But if something was put between the thing and you, for example, a wall, a veil, a cloud, you would surely say: This stands in front of the object which we want to look at, and is thus a manifest resistance, or an obstructing object, But if, according to such an obstruction, you cannot look at the actual object, what is the reason for this? See, nothing else but that the rays thrown back by the object cannot meet you, and thus cannot evoke the model which is already enlivened in you.

20. Know this: if you had not the sun in you, even if there had burned millions in the heavens, you would not be able to see a thing; And if ye had not the earth in you, and all things in it, and on it, from the first atom to the greatest general form, to perfection, then you could neither see one thing, nor think of it.

21. And if you had not possessed the whole universe in you, all the heavens would be starless for your eye. And if you had not in you the spiritual kingdom of heaven and eternal life from the Lord, verily you could neither think nor speak it. But as all these things interact, it is likewise with the force and the counterforce.

22. In the natural world, the ray falling into you from outside invigorates the resting image in you, and you see through the action of the counterforce and the force in you, the object you are looking at.

23. How then does such a thing happen in the spirit? What is the true spiritual vision? Just the opposite. You take an image from you. This image, however, finds its contrast, when it is firmly called forth in you. The more you hold on to the object conceived in you, the more it strives for its eternally placed antithesis, develops it more and more, and thus makes it more and more visible.

24. If, as with your own star, you have brought it so far with the inner vision that it is already very wide and revealed to you, you must not think that it is a work of an empty imagination. Oh no! Not in the least, but it is full reality. Only its basis is still unknown: wherefrom it is and where it rests. Can not you know this? Of course; for where it rests in reality, there also rests its name, its order, its sphere of action, and its position.

25. But it is said in the word of the Lord: "From the fruits, ye may know the tree." If we know this, it will not be difficult to come to the reality of what has already developed so close before your eyes , Therefore, try to elevate the activity of your spirit: Look at the presented world more closely, bring it closer and closer until it is so near to you that you may place your feet on its ground.

26. If this has happened, you have entered into a living connection with this object; it will be your foundation, and you will be able to act on this basis. If in this activity you will have brought it so far that you will feel the mighty gravitational power of the love of the Lord within you, and this love becomes stronger and more fiery, and will be ignited, fully bursting into bright flames, your basis shall, wherever you will look, dissolve into independent, living forms according to their nature in which they are present in your image. These forms will then enliven with retro-action, the originally present forms lividly before you and will reveal themselves to you who and where your basis is.

27. See, therefore, all recognition is a consequence of the preceding seeing; but the seeing is the consequence of the radiance and the counter-radiance, or the consequence of the force within you, and the counterforce outside of you. We have already brought our world very close to us in this way; therefore only one more strong move in the spirit, and we shall be at once with our feet in the world which is coming out of you.

CHAPTER 12

Correct building- development of what is in you

1. Now see, the world is under our feet; let us try to walk a little on it. You are amazed that this world carries you so well, and you are looking at the splendid landscapes, many mountains with forests; the most beautiful corridors, fields, and gardens with everywhere, various homes. You say: But we did not think of that!

2. But I say to you, it is not strictly necessary either; for if you have attracted the counterforce within you with the force, which is really the foundation of the force in you, then the attracted counterforce already gives what it has in itself anyway. For your power corresponds to the counterforce in all its parts.

3. Through the effect of the counterforce which you have attracted in you, the parts of the power are developed within you, and so the act of this apparent creation from you is nothing other than a development of what is in you.

4. You can therefore not create such a complete world at your own pleasure, but only bring forth the foundation which lies in you. It is not necessary to think of all the parts of such a world; If the world is conceived and your love fully developed, then it cannot possibly present itself in any other way than how it was primordially ordered by the Lord.

5. Therefore, you are in all seriousness not the creator of this world, for the right of creation can never surpass a creature. But the ability to produce the created, which is endlessly present in you, from you in the manner which you now know, lies in the capacity of every perfect mind. Imperfect spirits also have a similar ability; but because they have no firmness, they can not evoke the foundation underlying them. An imperfect mind is an inconsistent mind. It is a weather vane, and a pipe blown by the wind, and at the same time a foolish master builder who builds his house on a loose foundation. For this reason, an imperfect mind can only produce ephemerides, which is like the flighty eyelid images, which you may look upon if you close your eyes in the night. You then see a chaotic confusion, and in the midst of this confusion, various caricatures evolve quickly and then pass away just as quickly.

6. But it is not so with the perfect spirit that is fixed in its center. What he calls forth, he calls forth in the order of the Lord and does not call forth something uncreated, that is, an empty fantasy, but a pre-created thing.

7. Look, so the things stand. But we find ourselves now in this world, which you have called forth from you, and therefore you want to walk around in them and investigate them a little.

8. There in front of us is a large garden with a very splendid building, which stands in the middle of the garden, we will go there; so follow me!

9. Look, there is already the garden gate. But as I notice, you are builders who appreciate beauty, for the garden wall consists of pure jewels, and the gate is of solid gold. And then, look for once: the garden paths are all strewn with sand mixed in with gold and silver, and the fruit beds of the garden are embellished with the finest little golden frames, and the clasps of the railings are all filled with various precious stones. No, really, that is excessively built! Even the splendid fruit trees set in the most beautiful rows are surrounded by silver banisters, and a small fountain is placed in the middle of each of the beds. Because the paths are so splendidly ordered, we just have to take a walk deeper into the garden.

10. The paths, as I see, are even upholstered like sofas from below; indeed, it is an ever-greater waste in your building. We have already traveled a good distance in the garden, but the main building of the house still seems to be far in the background.

11. But there in front, I see a wide gallery of columns; the columns are of pure polished diamonds, the splendid arches above the columns of pure rubies, the passageway over the arches of pure gold, the gallery of the purest transparent gold, and the clasps of the gallery of the finest white gold. I call this exquisite beauty! And under the passage between the pillars, that is, on level ground, I see a channel of water over which the most splendid bridges stretches. Just look there, over the canal is a very large, freestanding plain. The floor-surface of this place is of the finest, transparent gold. Near the glorious building, I see the sky-scraping columns of white rocks, and on the top of both columns there is a large, three-colored flag of white, red, and green

12. Indeed, the more you look at your structure, the more grandiose, enterprising, and sublime it becomes; and the actual residential building in the background has an almost mile-wide front consisting of three floors! Each floor has a measure according to the eye of six hundred and sixty cubits; that is the number of a man. The windows are high and wide. The entrance gate is high and broad and is made of the purest gold, and from the windows, those in front also counts 666, a white light radiates from the lowest row, a green light from the middle, and a red light from the top row. The roof of this oversized building forms a single, immense pyramid. The whole garden and building are lacking nothing but residents. Where did you leave them when you performed this magnificent building?

13. You surely say: dear friend and brother, you are indeed a great darling of the Lord, but with this language of yours looks a little like teasing. For from such an immeasurable, rich splendor, we have never even dreamt of even in our wildest dreams, let alone that we should be builders of such an endlessly glorious and most splendid work. If we had built such a thing, we ought to have been "there." But we do not have the slightest hint or even the slightest notion. Therefore, there is also quite a problem with regard to the inhabitants, who are supposed to live in this indescribably splendid palace.

14. My dear friends and brothers, you have it wrong here. You have not built this work, any more than this entire world. But you have called this magnificent residential building together with this world out of yourselves, and that sure is something. But do you not often speak among yourselves: this and that has built me. What do you mean by that? I tell you, nothing else but this and that has aroused from my inner life a power which has animated me in this or that way. This stimulation formed in me a sublime spiritual form, and I recognized in this form, that the Lord is everywhere the supreme love and wisdom self! My heart burned in this realization, and I prayed to God in spirit and in truth!

15. This is the correct "building". And now, we have a form of building before us. You have built it inside of yourselves; the building became a form, and in this form of divine love and wisdom you see infinite might and power, and this is a great wonder which always precedes love. Why then? Which of you has ever fallen in love with a female being before he had seen and admired her?

16. Look, such is the case. Who could love God if he had not known Him before? Thus, knowing necessarily precedes love! But how can man know God?

17. When man hears the word of God and looks at His works, the thought of God is called forth in man. Once the thought has been called forth, man shall no longer omit it, but take hold of it more and more firmly. This holding on stronger is faith. When man then, through his firm faith, that is, by the ever greater fixation of the idea of God in himself, has made it such a living feeling in himself, that he has stepped with his feet into the world of God within himself. In this world, he sees wonders upon wonders.

18. This is the waxing recognition of God. But this world, the marvelous, is still essentially empty, the splendid building still has no inhabitants. But see, there is a sacrificial altar in the middle of the building, which is now standing before us, and a lot of fresh wood is laid on the sacrificial altar. We will light it, and it shall immediately become evident whether this world is essentially empty or not. But with what shall we light the wood?

19. I tell you, the very strange lighter is also in your heart; it's called love! We will bring these to the altar, and you will then convince yourself as soon as you realize that not only the pure thoughts of God but also the living beings dwell in man. What would it do, if any man said, Behold my brethren, behold my sisters if he did not love them? But if he loves them, he certainly does not love them outside, but in his heart. And so they are not outside for him, but in the love of his heart. So we ignite the wood so that this building can become inhabited!

CHAPTER 13

Jesus, the name of all names and effects of this name. Mystery of the Incarnation of God in Jesus.

1. You ask: How will we elicit fire from our hearts so that we may kindle this wood? O, brothers and friends! What a question from you! Is not a single thought of Jesus sufficient to make the heart burst out in flames for Him? O, brothers and friends! If you could comprehend what this Name of all names says, what effect it has in it, you should instantly pass into such a powerful love for Jesus, and this fire would be sufficient to ignite a whole army of suns, making them burn a thousand times brighter in their endlessly wide space regions, than is presently the case.

2. I say to you, Jesus' greatness is so tremendous that, when His Name is spoken, the whole of infinity trembles with great reverence. If you say: God, you also call the very highest being; but you call it in its infinity, it is fulfilling the infinite universe and works with His infinite power from eternity to eternity. But in the name of Jesus, you designate the perfect, powerful, essential center of God, or even more clearly:

3. Jesus is the true, most authentic, essential God as man, from whom all divinity, which fulfills infinity, emerges as the Spirit of His infinite power, might, and form like rays from the sun. - Jesus is, therefore, the sum total of the Divinity, or: In Jesus, the Divinity dwells truly physically in its most infinite abundance; and therefore the whole Divine infinity is always animated when this infinitely most sublime Name is spoken!

4. And this is, at the same time, the infinite grace of the Lord, that it has pleased Him to accept the grain kernel of mankind. But why did He do this? Listen, I will reveal to you a little secret!

5. Before the Lord's incarnation, a man could never speak to the true nature of God. No one could ever see it without completely losing life, as Moses says, "no one can see God and live at the same time!" The Lord in the primordial Church, as well as in the Church of Melchizedek, to whom Abraham himself was acquainted, was often seen in person, and has spoken with His saints and taught His children Himself. But this personal master was in fact not the Lord Himself but at all times only an angelic spirit filled with the Spirit of God for this purpose.

6. From such an angelic spirit, the Spirit of the Lord then spoke, as if the Lord Himself spoke directly. But, in such an angelic spirit, the fullest perfection of the Spirit of God was never present, but only to the extent necessary for the immediate purpose.

7. You can believe it: during this time even the most pure angelic spirits could ever see the Divinity differently than you see the sun at the firmament. And none of the angelic spirits would ever have dared to imagine the Divinity under any picture, just as it was very strictly commanded in the Moses era to the Israelite people that no carved image was to be made of God.

8. But now listen: It once pleased this infinite nature of God, and at a time when men were least inclined to think about it, to unite Himself in His whole infinite abundance, and to take on in this union, the perfect human nature!

9. Now think: God, who never looked a created being in the eye, came as the most infinitely loving and wise Jesus into the world!

10. He, the infinite, the Eternal One, before Whose breath eternities sputter like loose chaff, walked among and taught His creatures, His children, not as a father, but as a brother!

11. But all this would still be too little. He, the Almighty, was even persecuted, captured, and slain by His own insignificant creatures. Tell me: Could you think of an infinitely greater love and a greater condescension than what Jesus knew?

12. Through this inconceivable act, He has changed everything in heaven. Even if He dwells also in His Sun of mercy, from which the Light inexhaustibly flows to all the heavens, He is still the same bodily Jesus as He has walked on earth in all His Divine fullness as a true Father and brother, being present as a perfect man among His Children. He gives to all His children all His grace, love and power, and guide them to His personal essence, to work endlessly and mightily in His order!

13. There was an infinite gap between God and the created human beings, but in Jesus this gap was almost completely abolished; for He Himself, as you know, has made this known to us, firstly through His human incarnation; secondly, that He did not call us brethren only once, but several times; thirdly, because He ate and drank with us all and carried our burdens for us; fourthly, that He, as the Lord of infinity, was obedient even to the secular powers; fifthly, that He has even been captured by these worldly powers; sixth, that He allowed Himself to be overcome by the worldly mighty intrigues to be crucified and killed and finally: seventh, that by His omnipotence He Himself has torn the curtain in the temple, which separated the holy of holies from the people.

14. Therefore, He is the only way, life, light, and truth. He is the door through which we can reach God; through this door, we cross over the infinite gap between God and us, and find Jesus, the eternal, infinite, holy Brother!

15. We can certainly love Him who wanted this gap to be abolished, above everything!

16. Therefore, as I said at the outset; enough to awaken our love for Jesus, surely a single thought - only His name in our hearts should be eternally enough to burn in all love for Him! Therefore, you also dignify this Name worthily in your hearts, and you will see for yourself how great the fire of love will pass from your hearts, to kindle the wood of life through which the Gentiles should recover at this new sacrificial altar.

17. Of such heathen the likes of whom my brother Paul once converted, there are still many in our time; there are pagans who call themselves "Christians," but are worse in their hearts than those who once worshiped Moloch and Baal.

18. When the wood on this altar will ignite, then you will see in this world, which you have called, many things that you have not yet seen. For I say unto you, In the world of spirits there are unfathomable depths. No created spirit could ever measure it, but we are in the Spirit of the Lord. His spirit lives, governs and works in us, and in this spirit, no depth is unfathomable to us; for no one can know what is in the Spirit, but the Spirit alone. Thus, no one can know what is in God, for only the Spirit of God. - Jesus, who united God in all His fullness, but has filled us with His Spirit. And with His Spirit in us, we can also penetrate His Divine depths. So remember the Name of all names, the holiest of holiness, the Love of all love, the Fire of fire, and the wood on the altar will burn.

CHAPTER 14

Love as the great means to knowledge

1. You have done it, and have remembered the Name, which is holy, holy, holy in you. And see, already a glorious flame blazes upon the altar, consuming the wood of life as food for the revival of the beings of this world in you.

2. Now look a little. Look up into the splendid galleries of this splendid building and tell me what you see. You say, O friend and brother, we see a great multitude of people of both sexes. Their forms are glorious and wonderfully beautiful, and they are clothed more gloriously than the kings of the earth. How is this possible? Are they also in us?

3. Dear Brothers, I say to you: Where a whole world rests, there must be that which bears the world. You say: is there a world of such glory in the immeasurable space of creation? Yes, my dear friends and brothers! You must not measure other bodies of the world according to your earth, for this is a begging-room compared to the palaces of the princes. In the natural representation of the sun and of some planets of your sun-region, you certainly made comments on how much more splendid and glorious these are arranged than your earth. But I say to you that all this is still a pure beggary against the many glories of the larger world-bodies in immeasurable creations. Even this world, which you have evoked from yourselves, and on which we are wandering about, is by no means the most glorious.

4. In the regions of the constellations of Orion, the Lion, and in the constellation of the Great Dog, there are sun-worlds, before whose glory and immeasurable splendor you would soon pass away at the shortest sight.

5. But you would like to know what a world is. But how are we going to explain this? If you ask a resident of this world, he will only enrich you with a strange name; but that will be all that you may know. If I tell you, you will not gain much more. But you shall find it in you. If ye are capable, the knowledge of this world will be useful to you in the sphere of spiritual science.

6. But how do they do this? This is, of course, another question. We want to try it anyway. An example will show us the way. And so be attentive! If, for example, you are looking at some object that is at a moderate distance from you from any point you are at, you could easily determine what object you have seen, for in this case, as you are used to say, orientate yourselves.

7. If you want to look closely at the object, you need nothing but a powerful optic instrument or a possible journey to the previously observed object. That would be the natural way. But if you encounter a strange object the first time, it will be a little more difficult to determine from which external points of view this observed object can be most easily seen. And if you have really discovered such points in the wide periphery of the remarkable object, you will be compelled to travel to all these points, in order to obtain from each point the conviction of what your near object looks like. If you have done so, then you have surely come to the conclusion that this object can be most beneficially viewed from only one point.

8. That would be clear and understandable, you say; but our world, on which we are, is not yet known to us. Never mind, my dear friends and brothers, we are not yet done with our discussion. It will become clear at the right time. Give attention to the further discussion of my example.

9. If you are on the earth and look on a starry night at the starry sky, and you have a good star map at the same time, it will not be too difficult for you to name one or the other star by name. But did you win something? Do you know the star now? Or will you recognize him as one already observed from the earth, if you would walk on him? I tell you, this will be the case just as now.

10. But I would reverse the situation, proposing that you are on some sort of star which is still very visible from the earth, e.g. on a solar body in the constellation of the so-called Pleiades. But then, if you come back to your earth, would you be able to indicate with certainty which one of the ninety stars of this constellation is the one on which you have found yourselves? This, I think, will also be a little difficult because the stars of this constellation form such an image only from your earth, but in their proper position, they are immeasurably far from each other. And if therefore, you are on one or the other, the others, which, from your earth, make up this constellation, will be among all the other star groups of the starry sky, and you would surely never really discern which stars formed the constellation of the Pleiades, as seen from your earth. Therefore, you will not be able to determine on which star of this constellation you have found yourself.

11. You say this is true again, but we are still in a strange world. I say to you, this is true too, but tell you that this world will not be revealed to you by this ordinary mode of observation and knowledge. How then shall we decipher these things? For neither observing, nor mathematics, nor star chart or the very best mathematical visual tools can help.

12. This is true, but there is nevertheless a very simple means of recognizing such a world with only the slightest effort in the world. In the course of this example which I have just begun, I will only send you so small tips, and you will soon be able to hit the nail on the head, as you would say. Now I will give you the first hint; so be attentive!

13. Do you know where your children are from? Do you know where their spiritual and psychological principles have been before they were born to you from the women? You say: we do not know such things. But I ask you again and give you a new hint. How do you recognize the born children as your children, and the children their parents? This question should give you a very strong hint. Is not it the love that you give to your children? Are they not received in love? When a child is born into the world, the mother and the father embrace him with great love, and that is the first baptism. If the child does not have a name yet, a sign has burnt into the hearts of the parents, which is indelible. This sign is nothing more than love. Through this love, the mutual recognition of the child grows ever bigger, it unfolds more and more, finally becomes so intimate, strong, and powerful, that you will recognize your child quickly in any circumstance, and the child will surely be able to do the same, especially when it is in some kind of notable trouble.

14. See, in your children, you have come to know through love, a world which is vastly marvelous than that which we are now entering, and you know it quite well, and will not easily forget it, or lightly let it fade in your hearts

15. How do you like these hints? Can you not hit the nail on the head yet? I see that this blow will not yet readily succeed, so we will try to give you another hint: you are coming to a strange country on the continent of America, and indeed to a city. It is alien to you, and you may look as you will, and listen as you will, and no known ray will fall into your eyes except one of the sun, the moon, and the stars; no known sound reach your ears. You feel yourself such a stranger that you almost do not know yourself.

16. But as you wander around the streets, you meet a man who looks at you with heartfelt friendliness. This look has made this street feel a little more friendly, and you will remember it best.

17. This man, however, goes to you, speaks to you in your mother's tongue, and the still very strange alley will feel quite like home to you. Then the man receives you with all love; you are going to his house. This very strange city has suddenly become so homely that you begin to embrace it in your heart.

18. The man also leads you into several houses, where you are most lovingly and kindly received; and you are at home in the strange city. In a short time, you will also learn the language of the country, and you are like a native. The regions of this alien world, or of the foreign continent, will feel quite like home to you, and you are, so to speak, quite at home in this country. If you leave it for a time and then come back to it, you will immediately recognize it.

19. But what is the attribute, what is the characteristic feature of the country, that makes you recognize it so quickly? Ask the loving and the joyous sentiment of your heart, and they will at once give you the ground upon which your knowledge of this land rests. In this way, with the slightest effort of the world, after a brief development of our observations on this world, you will recognize this world itself, that it will be impossible for you to say: we do not know it! I say unto you, as love is, all in all, so is all out of love.

20. How can a fruit be known? You say: From shape, color, and taste. Whose products are form, color, and taste? They are products of love. You recognize the Muscat-grape taste; why then? Because this taste corresponds to a certain part of your love. So let us also see here, which part of our love will correspond to this world. And if we have found it with the slightest effort, we have already everything. The How, Where, and When will be self-evident.

CHAPTER 15

Beings of the Three Wise Men from the Morningland (East). The great importance of our earth.

1. You say that it would be good if we could immediately know what part of our love, or to what heavenly regions, we should connect it with. But I say to you, my dear friends and brothers, since you have already found the principal thing in you by means of my hint, you shall not find it so difficult to find the fourth quart by a few tips. I will straightway give you a question whose answer you have before you. The question is this: Have you never heard of the so-called ancient astrology? You say: O sure, such books are still to be found among us today. But one should not attach too much worth to it? I say to you, in the way you usually use it, certainly not, for that would be an absurd superstition, and it would be sinful to hold onto it. But it has two sides, a light, and a shadow side. We shall not, therefore, use the shadow side but the light side of this ancient mystery.

2. But what is it? Its name is Knowledge of Correspondences. With the method of correspondence, however, everything, every form, and every mutual relation between forms and things, has a corresponding spiritual meaning. In this sense, all the stars and all their images still have such a meaning. Whoever can read and understand these images from the side of the light, is also an astrologer; but no astrologer with the help of the dark powers; but an astrologer from the realm of the spirits of light; that is, he is a truly wise man, as the three astrologers from the Orient were truly wise. They had known the Lord's star, they had been led by it, and they have found the Lord of glory through it.

3. I am well aware of a question in you concerning the three wise astrologers from the Orient. I know that you have already received an explanation. But you do not know that there is no knowledge whatsoever with the people of the earth from the heavens, but all the knowledge is always covered with a shell. For, without such a shell enclosure, no knowledge from the heavens, which is purely spiritual, could reach man; no more than any of you would be able to absorb the etheric food which is only suitable for the body, without the addition of coarser matter.

4. The bread you eat consists of nothing but small hulls which are the carriers of the actual nutrient.

5. But if therefore, your already received knowledge of the three wise men from the Orient is likewise somewhat obscured, we can here also somewhat dissect it. From this revelation, there may also emerge a small hint, and our light side of astrology, which we now need, will become even clearer.

6. You have learned as much about these three ways as that they were there - representing Adam, Cain, and Abraham. This is true; but if you were to take it literally, you would be just as astray as if you were to believe in the ominous heavenly sign in which you were born according to the calendar. You say: That may well be; but how then shall we understand the matter now, about which is spoken here and there mostly rather straightforward? - I tell you: It shall presently be clear how man should understand this.

7. You do have all kinds of tangible objects before you as there are all kinds of minerals, plants, animals, and humans. Tell me, if you want to take these objects and understand them simply as they are before you, do you understand them? You can say for example: It is a high mountain; it has a very romantic form; its rock consists of limestone; its summit has a magnificent view, and in its interior many metals may rest. If you have said this about the mountains, then you are already done.

8. You will not fare one hair better with plants and animals, as you can only judge that what is superficial, what you can perceive with your senses or what is right before you. But what is the standard or measure concerning the inner, higher, spiritual order?

9. Likewise, are Adam, Cain, and Abraham standing before you in the image of the "three wise men," according to the knowledge which came to you from the heavens.

10. But just like you do not yet at all understand the kingdom of minerals, plants, and animals from its foundation, so it is also the case with the three wise men from the East.

11. Yes, Adam, Cain, and Abraham were present. This has been given to you to know the importance of the three wise men from the East. But how were they present? Look, this is another question which you have not asked yet; therefore, this question remained a hull over your knowledge. Now, however, it is time to break this hull, since we need the purest truth for our purpose. And so know:

12. These three wise men were three ordinary priests of a better kind from the lands of Assyria. You know that at the time of Solomon, the great Queen of the Assyrian Empire, who had been known to you, came to Jerusalem to hear Solomon's wisdom. So at that time, a prophecy was made regarding this pagan nation by its better part of the priests, saying that their sons would once discover a star which will rise to all the peoples of the earth. Since that prophecy, a part of the better priesthood of this people has always remembered it and has continued to observe the starry heavens. These priests also traveled to all countries where, at the same time, great wise men resided, and so learned of much deeper wisdom, and especially wisdom in the knowledge of the correspondences.

13. At the time of the birth of Christ, the committee of these priests had become quite large; but with exception of three, all became profiteers, and thus served mammon. Only three remained with pure wisdom, scorned the world and their treasures, and sought the reward of their spiritual activity alone in spirit and in truth.

14. What then happened at the time of the birth of our highly praised and above all beloved Lord?

15. They discovered an unusually bright star and watched its course and the constellations under which he arose and through which it passed. When they were so concerned with the inner corresponding meaning of this star, and the star came to stand straight above their zenith towards the middle of the night, three men with white clothes appeared to them, and said to them, "Do you know the star? And the wise men said, We know it not. But the men that have appeared, said to the wise men, "Let us touch you on your foreheads and on your breasts, and you will recognize the great significance of this star. But the wise said, "Are you wizards from India, that you may administer to us these things?"

16. But the three men who came to us replied, We are not by any means, for we will not unleash the power of hell over you, but we want to show you the power of God and guide you to where the eternal Lord of Heaven and earth have descended onto earth in His full Divine Godliness. Infinite grace was given to a virgin; she received from the Lord, and she bore the child of all children, the Man of all men, and God of all gods. - Behold, we will show you, and for this reason, let us touch you. And the wise men said, let it be according to your will, but first tell us who you are?

17. And one of the three who appeared, said: Have you ever heard anything about how it was in the beginning of the world? Behold, a body was given unto me by God, and I bore him nine hundred and thirty years, and was thus made the first man of this earth; my name was Adam, the firstborn of God on this earth. According to these words, the elders were touched by the spirit of Adam, and when the spirit touched the elders, he was immediately invisible; but the elders were filled with the spirit of Adam.

18. The same was done by the other two, and they were fulfilled, the elder with the spirit of Cain and the younger with the spirit of Abraham, but without losing any of their peculiar individuality. But at the moment of this action, they recognized the great significance of this star and the words of the prophecy, which was prophesied, as I have already said, at the time of the great queen of this country.

19. Therefore, as soon as they set out from their place of observation, they prepared their camels and commanded their servants to buy myrrh, gold, and incense. For in the same country, this was the customary offering to a new-born king; myrrh to the child, gold to the king, who was called in their custom the man of men, as such a royal child was called a child of children, and incense was also offered to the king, because the king was regarded as the anointed master of the Godhead on earth. When all had been brought together, the journey commenced at once. The star was the signpost, and the three spirits were the inner leaders of our well-known three sages from the Orient.

20. See, in this representation, you have uncovered your knowledge, and at the same time also received the inner truth that in these three wise men, Adam, Cain, and Abraham were present. Abraham, who for a long time has rejoiced in his spirit, that he might see him, as the Lord Himself said to him, has also seen Him through the wise, spiritually in himself, as well as in heavenly sense, in the sight of the Child of children, Man of men and God of gods!

21. From this representation, however, you can also sufficiently see how true astrology should be. We have also seen a star of a very unusual kind in us, or in the firmament of our spirit. If we are right astrologers, we shall surely find our last quarter, with the least effort, and we shall be able to see how it really is with our star.

22. It is true, there are billions and billions more stars and worlds in you, but one of these billions has just been solved. This one stands before us, and lies beneath our feet like a glorious heavenly Fatherland; but we ask: Where do you stand, glorious world, in your great reality? From what region of the wide sky did your mighty ray strike your image in us and set out, a glorious reflection from you? But we do not know where your ray came from!

23. O, friends and brothers! Such a question does sound odd when one has the work under his feet. Have you never read anything from a great castle of spirits like of a castle of souls? See, there are small hints of a great secret truth, which, however, has still remained undetected. But I say unto you, That which is the will of the Lord's shall happen according to His will. I say to you with even more weight, "Rejoice, for the Lord has chosen the earth out of billions; it is the birthplace of the spirits who desire the Lord, from all the endless regions of creation!

24. Now we are not far anymore. See this world, which is now under your feet, the old Father-house of your spirit! You find great splendor here, and this affinity for beauty, you have taken with you to the earth. But the Lord does not like glamour, so He has humbled the earth. - Do you not know now how it is with our world? Yes, I see you cannot quite digest the astrology yet. But I will draw your attention now to something else.

25. It is an all-time custom with all peoples to say, and also here and there firmly believe that this or that is "their star." Literally, however, there would be little reason for it, but would be spiritually more accurate; for whence any spirit is from, from there he has also his love. Now, however, all the myriads of stars are either pre- or post-dwellings of the spirits. If this is the case, it is also clear that every spirit of the earth is from a star as a predecessor; and this star is the first one to reliably emerge in the inner contemplation.

26. Now you may look at the starry sky and look at the star appealing most to you; the one shining upon you most comfortably; that is where you lived. See, this will be the one on which you were awakened.

27. This is then also the difference between the children of the world, who are from below, and are children of the earth, and the children of light, which are from above, and are children of the suns, or children of light, and are called to serving one another like they would the Lord, and shine upon the children of the world, that they might be made children of the light and true heirs of eternal life, which the Lord prepared for all His created spirits from all eternity. He has established for this purpose, in the infinite spheres of creation, an infinite amount of schools for the achievement of the freedom of life, and has even established upon this earth a holy goal through His cross, for them all to become true children of His love and most blessed heirs of His mercy and grace!

28. I mean, the fourth quarter is hopefully known to us. But if we have looked around the world a bit, we will be able to understand many secrets which you and all the world have not dreamed of too much.

29. But the Lord, after His resurrection, has still spoken much to us, His chosen ones, which was not recorded; and had it also been recorded, the world could not have understood the books, due to the measure, the greatness and the depth of the content. Here, however, many things will be made known to you; therefore, you may well be spiritually attentive to take hold in your spirit of the great mystery of life and the inner great wisdom of the Spirit! "(John 20:30, 31, Jn.21,25)

CHAPTER 16

Two kinds of people - creatures and children.  Prerequisites to achieve childhood of God

1. We will now make a further attempt to familiarize ourselves some more with these human beings, in order to deduce from them whose spiritual children they are, and at what stage of inner spiritual relationship we stand with them. - Look a little closer at the forms of these people, and you will soon see that these people have a very significant resemblance to you in their form. This observation gives us a great hint that their spiritual faculties must be very much similar to yours, because their external forms, even if somewhat superficially, reveals that.

2. What their inner spiritual nature, like their love and their desires, as well as their understanding, would be like, we will gather from their conversations; for what the heart is full of, the mouth overflows. And the Lord has put into every human heart the impulse, according to which he is never satisfied with what he has, but continually strives for something higher. This instinct, like all things, has two sides, a light, and a shadow side. In the shadow side, man is blind, and the higher he aspires to, is lower than what he has. But in the light side of this impulse, man abhors all that is given and desires only the Most High, namely, nothing more and nothing less than the Lord Himself.

3. And so we shall at once hear how these people are not at all satisfied with what is theirs. The indescribable splendor of their dwelling, of this garden, as well as of the whole world for whose possessions your earthly kings would wage war for a thousand years, these men do not see with any other eyes than with which you look upon a very typical country house. They, therefore, have a continually greater desire for something more sublime, more grand, and far more important. But we want to listen to them a little, in order to infer from them what desires are in their spirits.

4. Behold, there is a venerable old man standing before us, who will just this moment make a speech to the inhabitants of this palace on the occasion of the sacrificial wood being ignited by itself on the altar; for such a phenomenon is to the inhabitants of this world as a secret symbol, from which they deduce that the Lord wishes to fulfill their wishes. - And so listen! He speaks:

5. All of you who inhabit this my home are witnesses that a holy flame has come upon the altar to consume the fragrant sacrifice. Many, who live in this world, do not pay attention to it, and only hold it to deception and illusion of the senses. We inhabitants of our house, however, are faithful to the ancient revelation, in which it is said that God, our Lord, is a single God, who has made this world for us to dwell, and has given us the free will, to either keep on living blissfully on this world in spirit, or to to be lifted from this world into some other, where He is eternally at home among His children.

6. Whoever, therefore, has the great desire and longing to enter onto this way to this end, may now turn to the Lord, since He has turned His ear to us, so that the Lord may transform him, and put him into the world where He is at home among His children.

7. You know that the Lord, our only God, has created two kinds of beings who can freely determine themselves. The first kind is we creatures, endowed with free will and an understanding mind, in order that we may be self-employed to our joy and our great prosperity. But to these His creatures, the Lord has granted only this world, both spiritually and physically, as a dwelling-place.

8. To reach this pleasant destiny is very easy, for whoever believes that the Lord is the only God of heaven and all worlds, like the one we walk on with our feet, and with this in mind gives the Lord glory and honor through sacrifice and worship according to the known custom of this whole world, as far as we know it, has, as you all know, made himself worthy of this pleasant destiny. The transformation will take place, as we all know, in the most agreeable and soothing manner upon which every one of the inhabitants of this world is most fully entitled.

9. But if we consider the second kind of creatures, which, indeed, of whom there may be much less, we find in them, according to revelation, that they are not only creatures like us but true children of the one God. These children are in all the power of God, and their bliss is like the bliss of God; for they have all that God has, they do all that God does, and God does what they do.

10. To them, God is no longer a God, as He is for us eternally inaccessible, and no eye of this world can ever see Him; but to them He is a true Father, who is always among them, guides them, and leads them, and speaks to them as I am with you, and He takes care of them, build for them, and cook for them; for them to never have any concerns; they are perfect masters, like their Almighty Father, and rule over all of infinity, and rejoice in their infinite perfection of power, which is from their Father.

11. Such a destiny, indeed, is quite different from ours; indeed, it is really in no way comparable with our circumstances!

12. Are we, however, forever excluded from the creatures of this world to attain this unspeakable destiny? What does the revelation state, which we have received in the primeval times of a mighty spirit for all the ages of this world?

13. Such was spoken in short: "An altar is built in your dwelling, and on this altar should always lie fragrant wood, lain over each other crosswise. Should any man recognize the one God in his faith, he may ask his heart, if it would burn; the flame of the heart shall ignite the wood on the altar, and consume it with bright flames. In these flames, the ignited of heart shall read the great, holy, but very heavy conditions through which he can become a child of God.

14. Now I say unto you, Whosoever of you, my household and children, wants to read the conditions in the flame, come and read! If anyone has found the very heavy conditions acceptable, lay the hand upon the altar, according to the revelation, and God Almighty will take his spirit, lead him into that world where He dwells and will shape the Spirit into a new man, who will only have to drag along a mortal, painful body for a short time, and will have to humble himself to death in this body. And when he then is humbled through and through, then he will have to be painfully killed, in order to rise from death to a true child of God!

15. Now see, a man comes out from the midst of the whole great multitude, and reads from the flame the following condition: "Dissatisfied with your blessed fate! What do you want? Where do you want to go? - You have had no suffering so far, and never has any pain touched your being. Death is strange to you, and never has a heavy burden touched your neck. If you remain in this world after the eternal order of God, you can never fall, be spoiled, and perish. What your heart desires and feels, you have and will always have it.

16. But if you are not contented with it and want to go there where the children of God are begotten, know that God your Lord will test you through all sorts of great sufferings, sorrows, and tribulations until the last drops of life has been powerfully tested, before you would be transformed into a child through death! But woe unto thee, if thou hast not passed the test; then you will have to pay for the vanity of your striving forever in the wrath of God, and it will never be better with you, but always worse and more agonizing in your eternal state!

17. But in this world, where the children of God are begotten, you will be struck with the most perfect blindness, and nothing will remain in your consciousness of all that you experienced here to give you further conscious guidance; because you will be obliged to begin a whole new, painful and difficult life. Nothing will be left to you, but your greatest danger, the desires of the life of this world.

18. You will be yearning for all the similar perfections and glories, you will be distinctly aware of great faculties and abilities of the spirit; but you will not be able to amount to anything in your heavy, wearisome body. But if you will nevertheless find a means to put some of this remaining impulse what your spirit yearns after, even if imperfect, into practice in the world, then you will already sin before God; and if thou shalt not desist from it, then an everlasting condemnation into the everlasting wrath-fire of God will be your destiny.

19. What you have received from God here, is yours; there in that world, you will not be allowed to own a blade of grass. Wealth and magnificence belong here to virtue, but there it will be reckoned to you as a deadly vice. Here you may wish, and the ground obeys to your command, but there you will have to laboriously prepare your food in the sweat of your face. "

20. These are the conditions that you will have to fulfill if you would want to rise to higher realms of the childhood of God. It is not impossible that you will find grace and mercy with God, if you will love Him above all things, and will be the least and lowest, and will suffer all sorrows and afflictions with great patience and full devotion to the will of God; but it will be much easier for you to fall than to stand firm. Therefore, consider, and then lay thy hand upon the altar, that it shall be according to thy will.

21. Now see, so it is with the matter. We do not want to be content with this, but rather to observe this negotiation. You shall from that quite soon have a great light arise in you, and you will begin to understand the when, where from, and whereto, very clearly.

CHAPTER 17

Love for God as the center of conditions

1. Our candidate for the childhood has now read everything written in the flame and turns his gaze to the elders again. His question is very easy to guess; you already have it in you. Therefore, you only need to get it out, and we will soon hear our candidate for the childhood, as you have previously felt it in you.

2. The conditions are hard, and our childhood applicant is shuddering before them; therefore he also asks the elders, saying, I have read the demands of God in the flame of His zeal. I see from this the advantage of this life and the great disadvantage of a higher one, I mean, it will be wiser to remain what one is on this lower level than to rise to the near unattainable.

3. It may indeed be unthinkable for us to feel like a god in a child of God; indeed, it must be something incomprehensibly sublime to penetrate into the infinite depths of divine power and wisdom with a glance. Yes, how unspeakably blissful it must be to stand in an always most visible, most friendly relationship with the everlasting omnipotent Creator of all eternity, and to be in God the Lord a joint lord of all infinity. But the conditions to achieve such greatness are too terribly difficult and are stated as such that, among many thousands, scarcely one will be able to reach the high purpose of his undertaking.

4. Therefore, I have considered it well, and am completely renouncing this undertaking. But he that dare in my stead, I will not stand in the way; but I will tell him what I read in the flame.

5. The former candidate for the childhood has ended his address, and the elder is just getting the answer from us, that is, he will discuss what has already been spoken in us.

6. Surely you can not clearly perceive this in you, but in the order of the Lord, it has already been established that the speech of a man is a product of all that is hidden in the depths of his life. And when a man speaks, he is compelled to do so by his inner stimulus, which emerges from all that corresponds to that which is hidden in the depths of his life.

7. As we have brought these things out of us, let us now also hear what the elder says. Hear, these sounds are from his mouth, and this is their meaning:

8. My son! You have read the great truth in the flame of divine zeal. Everything is true except for one problem, and no sign came to light in vain in the blazing flame; but a sign which lay hidden in the midst of the flame above the inner glow, you have not seen.

9. Behold, if you add this sign to all that is read, everything will appear to you in a different light

10. Behold, this was the sign which thou hast overlooked: In the midst of the glowing flame, from all sides with the living flame, a heart is put, and the heart blazed, and this flame from that heart formed the very signs which thou could read. If you read these signs for yourself, they are terrible, overwhelming; but if you read them out of this heart, they are full of blessed hopes. For themselves, they are a judgment from which there is nowhere to be seen a free escape into a better life; from the heart, however, they are a mercy of God, in which no man who is in the heart, can ever be lost.

11. See, my son, it all depends on whether you can love God or not. If you can love God in all the humility of your heart, you are in this heart; but if you cannot love God, you are not in the heart but in the judgment. Then it would be better for you to remain here in this light judgment, than to strive after the childhood of God, to there fall into the great judgment which, according to the signs in the flame, an escape will scarcely be found.

12. These are the conditions in the fullness of truth. Indeed, we know it from the mouths of the angels of God, that God has bestowed to no world so much grace, mercy, and love, as the one He Himself bears witness to and where He educates His children. For He Himself has established the order, so that He became like unto man, and carried for His children all manner of sorrows, and would even allow Himself to be killed for a short time in His body by the hands of His own children!

13. See my son, all this is well-known to us, and it is true. But it is also true that the Lord our God is most likely to ask of His creatures to act in His order, because He has worked most of all out of His divine fullness. Now you know all that is necessary to enter into the kingdom of the childhood of God.

14. Therefore, you may now do what seems good to you. If you wish to enter the conditions, you must enter them in your heart, and you will not be lost. For we also know that the Lord would rather destroy a whole creation before He would allow a child to be lost!

15. Therefore, if you are in the heart, the Lord will care for you as a most trustworthy Father. But if you want to take the conditions without the heart, you will be under the burden of the great trials of God; for He has not given any law to those who are in His heart, other than that they always love Him more and more.

16. But those who are outside the heart, are surrounded by laws upon laws which are difficult to keep; and the transgression of a single one, at the very moment of transgression, leads to a deadly judgment, in which case it then becomes continually harder and harder to hold the other great number of laws. - From this, you can now judge with full certainty what is necessary for the attainment of the childhood of God. Then you can act accordingly; because you are free!

17. Now let us look at our candidate again. Behold, he takes the matter very seriously, and speaks to the elders: hear, father of this house! I have now come to a thought, and the idea is that if I take the earnest decision not to become a child of the Lord, but only a subordinate servant of the least of His children, in order to in this way quite secretly come closer to the omnipotent Lord in love, to see Him up close, I mean, this cannot be wrong. But will the Lord in the other world be aware of this principle, and put me in such a situation in which I could attain my goal? If this is so, I will lay my hand upon the altar.

18. The old man said, "You can be fully assured of this; for, by whatever rationale someone desires to attain the childhood of the Lord, by this same rationale the Lord will let it be for him in that world through which he can attain the basic goal of his life. If thou wilt be the least, the Lord will bear thee upon His hands. But whosoever shall be the greatest shall not be guided by the Lord, but the Lord shall come after him, and shall hearken his walk and steps, and when the great man shall reach an abyss, and he shall not repent freely, the Lord shall neither call nor pull him back from the abyss, but leave it up to him to either turn freely or to fall freely into the eternal abyss.

19. But you have decided on the most humble ground; this reason will irrevocably produce your life and mercy from the Lord, and so you can put your hand on the altar!

20. Now see, the candidate says, Lord, You Lord, in Your love, grace, and mercy. For no other reason, for out of pure love, I will go to You. Therefore, do not leave me in the time of my weakness, and let You alone be all my strength and power. In whatever form I will appear in the new world, Your love is the sole, eternal, powerful example of my life, according to which I will seek out all my own life-giving power. Cover me completely, what I was here, and had here, so that I might more readily strive for all my lowliness in my great love for You; but let the reason always arise in me, that I may always be stronger in love for You. And so I surrender, O Lord, to Your infinite love, mercy, and grace.

21. See, here the applicant places his hand on the altar. The mighty flame takes hold of him, and immediately he is no longer among the inhabitants of this house.

22. Where did he go now? Behold, at this moment, his soul is already laid in the body of a loving mother who has received and is born as a male child. This probably amazes you, but I say to you, is it then less wonderful that the spirits of your sun which are visible to your eyes are born from the plants of your earth-body, subsequently becoming the great variety of animal species? You see these things every day, and wonder a little about them, and yet this process is much more complicated, greater, and more protracted, for this is the resettlement of a spirit. For, in the transmission of the solar spirits, we are concerned with the development of your body and your soul, which appears to consist of a thousand times a thousandfold laws; but here, that is of this sun-world, which is a central solar world, is the resettlement of a spirit finished, which, according to the new body of its foundation, has nothing to do but to become united in its love with the living soul in the love of the Lord.

23. And this union is the attained childhood of the Lord, from whence a new creature emerges, astonishing all the heavens; for it is a creature from the marriage of heaven, and a creature of the salvation of the Lord, and this creature is great before the Lord, and is a child of the eternal Holy Father. - See, this is the great mystery of the incarnation on the earth now revealed. Therefore, you are also. But not all men of the earth have their spiritual origin here, for there are still many such spirit-suns in the endless space of creation. But let us have a closer look around here before we will go to another.

CHAPTER 18

The will-power of the Spirit works miracles together with Jesus' power

1. We have nothing more to do here, so we can move around some more in our world; for once you have a world, that is a good foundation, you can then walk on it as you please, and gain all kinds of good experiences.

2. But where shall we go now? Here I will not say, "Here or there," for this, you have to decide. But I must draw your attention to one thing, and this is that you have to hold onto a definite determination to go here or there, and you must stay with the first thought. For here it is the case that if someone would say, "I am not sure, but doubtful whether I should turn left or right, that this world would disappear before you due to such doubts. Therefore, every thought must be held, and no second must displace the first. In the spirit this is the case throughout; for he that is not steadfast, is not fit for the kingdom of God. Also, as the Lord, Himself says, "He who puts his hand to the plow, and looks back, is not fit for the kingdom of God."

3. But, in other words, in our present purely spiritual state, this would have meant nothing other than that one should not be fickle of mind at any time. The first thought must also be the first decision and the first perfect firmness; for if such was not the case in the spirit, it would be bad for all creation.

4. If you only accept the slightest doubtfulness in the Spirit of God, a momentary withdrawal of His most incorruptible firmest will, an instantaneous destruction of all things will follow at once.

5. You indeed say: one can easily think like that of the Spirit of God; but whether the same steadiness is a requirement for the related spirits for the preservation of things, is not so clear.

6. But I tell you, the one is as obvious as the other. For this very reason, nothing unclean can enter the kingdom of God; for the heavens are the central rule of the Lord. They are, in their own way, perfectly one with the will of the Lord; and if any man enters into heaven, who is not one with the will of the Lord, this would be perceived as soon as all the spheres of creation are perceived. For this would cause all sorts of disorder in creation, and a thousand of the fiercest hells would not do such harm in all their free rage as a single disorderly spirit in the kingdom of God!

7. As long as, under the guidance of other spirits, you were mere passive observers of the spiritual relations, you could, indeed, change with your thoughts as you would; and yet everything, as you say, remained the same. But now you are active observers of the spiritual relations, that is, you do not look at things that are in my sphere, thus not on my soil, but you are now looking at yourself as the spirits of your sphere. You were formerly guests of another brother, and would not depart from him, you would enjoy in his house, but now I am your guest, and you could lead me where you want.

8. But, as I said, it is important that your thoughts stay fixed, in order to fix your creation; otherwise, we will all three at once again be in our previous haze.

9. When my brother once led you in his sphere, he also had to keep his creation; otherwise, you would have seen very little. This, however, is easy for the pure perfect mind, because it has its willpower entirely from the Lord. You have your will, indeed, from the Lord, but it is not yet firm and perfect enough to be able to fix it everywhere like the perfect spirits. Therefore, I also told you this, so that you may know how man is to live in the spirit and preserve the treasure of the power of his spirit.

10. If a man lives on the earth and wishes to preserve his property, it must be guarded properly, lest thieves and robbers should destroy it, and take away the possessions. Here it is; Thieves and robbers are fickle, desirous thoughts in the spirit. Anyone who does not set up solid protective walls soon loses the beautiful property of his mind.

11. So the Lord also said, "To him, that has shall be given more, that he may be in abundance; but he that has not, from him shall be taken what he has, or he shall lose what he hath. But what is it that can be taken from a man what he has not, and be given to a man that has, to possess it in abundance? - It is the spiritual will-power unified in the Lord! He who has it will find endless riches in his spirit, and then be in the possession of power and goods, and that is a possession in fullness.

12. But whoever does not have this power of will combined with the Lord in the spirit, what will be his lot, since there is no other possession for anybody but the highest of his own? I tell you, the lot of such a spirit will be no other than either sudden or successive impoverishment; for if any one of you wants to have a garment, but is not a tailor himself, he must go to a tailor, so that he may make a coat for him. But if there were no tailor, or if one could drive out all the tailors from one place, and no one could make a coat for himself, it would take some doing to get a garment.

13. See, so it is also the case here; the Lord created man in His image, and have equipped him with creative power. But He has placed it in him like a seed. But you yourself already say, and know it from the Scriptures, when it is said, "And the works follow them."

14. If so, then an unsteady, powerless, and unemployed spirit, who have never attempted to any strength, can impossibly arrive in the pure spiritual realm other than completely empty. But how much virtue is accredited that man should be a steady, unchangeable spirit, is shown by the Lord on various occasions.

15. He favors Peter because of the firmness of his faith; again he is called the wise man who builds on a rock, again He speaks of John the Baptist, that he is not a reed moved by the wind. He often said, "It will be to you according to your faith; your faith has helped you! "Thus He also expresses clearly, saying," Be perfect, as your Father in heaven is perfect," whereby He also wants to say that, to whom He has spoken, he has to have a will of equal steadfastness like God, and by no means to be deviated from the firm direction of their spirit. So He also praises the power of the spirit with the following words:

16. If you had faith as large as a mustard-seed, you could say to this mountain, "Lift up yourself and fall into the sea." It will be done according to your faith.

17. From these few cited texts, of which there are still a multitude, you can also deduct in sufficient detail what is most important in the realm of the spirits.

18. But I will tell you what may seem strange to you, and yet it is the most incorruptible truth. If the people on earth knew what was important in order to affect something in their will, many wonderful things would happen; but for the most part, human beings scarcely know that they have a spirit because the latter has long been absorbed by their matter. How then will they know what is in their spirit?

19. But to you, who have already come to know the spirit a little, I can now give a little account of what is most important in order to produce powerful, infallible, definite, and truly wonderful works.

20. What does it really matter? - Listen, I'll give you a small recipe. Take a good spoonful of it every morning and evening, and you will convince yourself that this recipe is a veritable miracle secret.

21. The first ingredient consists in unifying with the Lord through love in His will immediately after waking up; this must also happen in the evening. If anyone wants something, he has to pay attention to his thoughts first; this is the second ingredient. He now takes hold of this, and never exchange it for another.

22. If he has done this, he should ask the Lord that He would unite His infinite strength with the weakness of his own will, but also take hold of the Lord with his love, which is the third ingredient. If this has been done in all steadfast strength, then add a fourth to these three ingredients, and that is steadfast faith.

23. If these four ingredients are together, the miracle medicine is already prepared.

24. Whoever does not want to believe it will probably hardly be able to carry out the test; but let him that believes, go, and do the same, and he shall be convinced of the unified power of the Lord in his spirit. This secret I had to tell you here because it is the right place here.

25. So you also now know what you have to do here in this world so that we can go on; a thought, a fixed destiny, and we shall have the place before whence we will.

26. This mystery, however, which I have now told you, applies to all natural as well as to all spiritual worlds; for it is wholly the same which the Lord and all His Apostles and disciples have taught, on the occasion when He said, "Without Me you can do nothing; with Me, of course, everything! "

27. And further, when He said, "Whatever you will ask the Father in My name, He will give you." Here the Lord did not make an exception in his request, saying, "Whatever."

28. So He also showed that when two or three are gathered together in His name, He will be in the midst of them; and what they will ask shall be given to them. The continuation of this world-mission, however, will, as I have already pointed out, lighten up many hidden secrets to you. But the new place is already before us; so let us approach it!

CHAPTER 19

A new place - splendid building on a hill

1. I should ask you how this new place appeals to you. Since I am on your land with you, I cannot keep to the known order of things, since the stranger, if he comes to a householder, cannot ask him how his property pleases him; but the house owner can ask such a question to the stranger. But you may not ask me about this since you are still very much strangers in your own property; so I must then reverse the order and give you the question which you should have given me.

2. This would otherwise be quite good; but I see another problem, and this consists in the still very deficient spiritual contemplation in you, which, on my question, should not lead you to the proper answer. - What is going to happen? We shall at once find a middle way in which we shall agree, and this path will consist in the fact that we omit the question altogether, and then proceed to a contemplative discussion.

3. Now see, this new place is still significantly more glorious than the first. On a substantial height stands a very magnificent building. The walls are of pure transparent gold, the pillars in front of the walls are made of diamonds and ruby columns, the roof of the exceedingly large building forms an imperial crown, which is covered with the finest, large precious stones.

4. From the plain to the top of the mountain ascends a broad staircase to the first pillar colonnade, the steps of which are made of opaque gold. The balustrades on either side of the steps consist solely of pyramids, which are connected to each other by chains of red gold.

5. In the middle of each pyramid is a white, round sun sphere, emitting an exceptionally beautiful shine; between each two pyramids, behind the chain, is a beautiful, fully grown poplar of which the leaves sparkle as if with the finest velvety, gold laced strips and all the trees are equal in size.

6. I also see that three velvet bands of about one klafter breadth are laying on the broad staircase; two are green and the middle one is a beautiful red color. They are so precisely fixed to the steps, that they seem to be part of the steps.

7. This staircase does not follow through in one flight, but I can see roomy landings after every thirty steps, each adorned with a beautiful triumph arch. Every triumph arch consists of, as I can see, stretching over the full width of the staircase, thirty diamond pillars, connected on top by arches, which consists of exceptionally brightly shining sunstones.

8. Beyond the bows, a gallery is added, on which it would be lovely to wander about and I see that such a gallery is built of intermittent rubies and emeralds. Truly, I would call this royal sun glory!

9. Look some more; the completely round mountain looking like a rather low, but topped-off pyramid, is surrounded at its base by a beautiful moat of about a hundred klafter width. The whole moat is artistically constructed and paved with the finest white marble, while both banks are lined with golden balustrades. The roads to the sides of both balustrades are paved with shimmering jasper and along the roads, on the side of the moat, stands the most beautiful fruit trees.

10. Here, where the staircase ascends the mountain, is an exceptionally shining bridge made out of red marble. The artistically decorated banisters are made of white gold and the decorations are set with very precious gems. But the most beautiful, are the pointed obelisks, rising from the water in the middle of the moat. These obelisks are of topaz and from their tips surges water-spouts up high, which then falls as countless shining pearls back into the moat. Just look how the water is inhabited by various shining little fish; truly, it is beautiful to see!

11. But let us go over the steps and take a closer look at our magnificent building on the mountain. Walking up these steps is really very comfortable and gentle. Just look here again; we have reached the first landing.

12. Look down at the floor; it is blue, and inlaid into this blue floor are white, shining stars, and the extraordinary purity thereof surpasses all imagination!

13. Let's move on; there you see the second resting place. This one has a green floor base like a piece of polished emerald, and from its surface glitter, the most beautifully arranged rose-red stars.

14. But let us go on; there you see the third resting place. The floor is red as carmine, but shining like ruby, and in the most beautiful new arrangement, light-green stars glitter on its surface. Let us go further; there is already the fourth resting place. Look at this floor; it is violet, as of amethyst, and in its surface glitter stars in the most beautiful arrangements.

15. Let us go on again; there is already the fifth stop. See the floor; it is yellow as a topaz, and its surface is crimson. But let us go on; there we are at the sixth resting place. The floor is dark green, and the stars, which glow from its surface, are multi-colored like cut diamonds.

16. But let us go on; there is the seventh resting place already. Look at this floor; dark red as the velvet of a King's robe, and dark orange-yellow stars that shine almost unbearably strong on its surface, giving the red, transparent floor a strange, mysterious illumination. - No, I must say, I have expected many other things, but not such splendor in you. There are still a lot of such resting places above us; they may still be about twenty-three.

17. But let us now go all the way in one session, for I am almost tired of seeing such great splendor. - We have now made quick progress, and are standing under the first arch, supported by pure diamond columns.

18. Just look at this floor between the pillars; it forms a brightly radiant rainbow, and each color line is filled with correspondingly brightly shining stars. Truly splendidly beauty!

19. And there, outside this arcade, more toward the building, rises a common circular staircase, consisting of thirty steps. These are made of pure emerald but are inlaid with bright red shining stars, and above these thirty common round steps is again a second arcade, supported by pillars of the most precious shining suns. The arches above the columns are made of pure rubies and the railing over the ruby arches, of green gold. And then, look at the floor; this is of sky-blue color, as if of uniform hyacinth, and is divided into seven successive series of red and green shining stars.

20. We are through this arcade. There you again see a winding staircase, again consisting of thirty steps, with which one can reach the broad plateau of the mountain on which the actual mansion building is built. These steps are also made of hyacinth stones and are also decorated with red and green shining stars.

21. Now we are only on the actual main plateau, but look at this splendor! The plateau, as smooth and glossy as the surface of a polished diamond, is of azure blue color and is laid-in with wonderfully beautiful rows of different shining stars. From this edge to the main building, it has a diameter of a hundred fathoms. Indeed, this splendor is almost inexpressible!

22. But now look at the main building! It is a circular building of three storeys, each of which has a height of thirty klafter, and the walls consist purely of columns, all lined up very closely together. Each storey's floor shines in a different color, and the floors are distinguishable from each other by the most splendid galleries.

23. And then, within the rows of columns, a continuous wall is built of the most costly white, self-luminous sun-stones; - the splendor, the splendor! The outer column wall of the first floor consists of emerald; the pillared wall of the second storey of pure ruby, the pillar wall of the third storey of pure hyacinth. How splendidly the powerful light of the inner continuous wall breaks through these columns of the outer wall! It looks as if you can see all the countless color gradations in the brightest light. Indeed, too much splendor is compressed into one point.

24. The building seems to have a circumference of seven-thousand klafter, giving the eye a far-reaching range of view; but one become seriously tired of such overly magnificent sights. For this reason we shall for the sake of our main goal, go inside the building and see what it looks like there.

CHAPTER 20

Description of the unimagined splendor. Parable of winter splendor and spring heat

1. We are already at the entrance; but as it seems to me and certainly also to you, we are just coming from the rain into the eaves. As you can see from only the almost inexpressible splendor of the entrance door itself! It has the full height of the first floor, that is, a height of close to thirty klafter and a width of twelve klafter. The side pillars of the gate are massive diamond pillars, made into perfect squares, and the surfaces of these two pillars are also adorned with three rows of blue, red and green stars of the brightest shine. The arch of this portal is made of the most precious white sunstones and are also decorated in the most beautiful arrangement, with red, blue and green stars. Above the portal, that is above the arch of it, is also a massive red-gold railing, and at the very top of the handrail of the balustrade, are round spheres of the very finest and most precious white sunstones, which radiate an extraordinarily beautiful white light. The doors are made of artistically perforated, finest gold, and are covered with cross-braces of white gold, in which all kinds of precious stones of the purest and most beautiful hone are used wonderfully.

2. That would be just the gate. Through this, we enter the beautiful foyer, which is decorated on either side with three galleries of white columns. The corridors of the galleries are equipped with railings of rubies and diamonds. And just look at the floor of the lower level ground gallery. It is a pure mosaic floor, in which you see the most glorious garlands of flowers shining brightly. The colors of the flowers in the garlands alternate with each turn and sparkle like an artistically made rainbow, that is, if it was possible for a man to put, instead of the rainbow, a multi-colored flower garland, of which flowers would always change their colors like well-polished brilliance in the rays of the sun.

3. What do you say to this immeasurable splendor? Is that not more than a human mind can bear at once?

4. But let us only go into the central space of this building, from where a whole beam of light is coming. Look, it is a very large rotunda. The ground is azure blue and is laid in with the well-known stars of your visible sky. The stars, however, are far more powerful than those you see at night from your earth. The walls of this rotunda also consist of three interconnected, rows of mighty pillars. The lowest row consists of pure rubies, the middle row of pure emerald, and the top row of purest hyacinth. Each row is interconnected with the others through white arches, on which magnificent galleries of transparent gold are constructed.

5. Behind the rows of columns, you can see a continuous wall of a self-illuminating, light rose color stone, through which dividing wall, relatively large windows, and doors lead to the splendid galleries.

6. But now, lift your eyes even higher to the ceiling of this rotunda! Behold, it is nothing other than the miraculous great dome, which we have already seen from the outside looking like a great imperial crown, laid in with the most splendid and self-illuminating gemstones of this central solar system, and these gemstones spread a wonderful light towards the inner rotunda.

7. But what is there in the middle of the rotunda? Behold, it is again an altar, a ruby piece, in which, in the most beautiful circles of shining stars are embedded. On the altar, however, we see wood laid cross-wise. We cannot ask: why this? But only remember our former palace, and the answer is already there.

8. But now I see something in you, and this reads as follows: the endlessly rich splendor of this palace is ineffable. Indeed, if such a thing could be represented on the earth, even the greatest emperors and kings would feel themselves too insignificant to be masters of such endless splendor, but they would consecrate such a palace to a universal temple of the Lord with the utmost respect. Yes, indeed, this endless splendor is absolutely intolerable to the boldest spirit to contemplate.

9. But with this splendor, we are already missing the main object, namely the people. Without these, the greatest splendor is dead, and we can not gain any inner pleasure from it. We may well say: infinitely great is the wonderful power and wisdom of the Lord, which alone can design such glories. But if we were to enjoy them without brothers and sisters, the most meager hut with brothers and sisters would be unspeakably more desirable.

10. Yes, my dear brethren and friends, you are judging according to a good and right feeling; but do you know what is the reason why you always look at the dwellings of men rather than the men in the dwellings?

11. Behold, this is due to the fact that, as natural beings, you are more than two-thirds more in matter than in the internal spiritual. But this matter is dead, because it is judged, and it is meant to be developed. Therefore, you see from your natural sphere that which is related to it.

12. If you were to see the living, you would have to break through the two-thirds and again reach the center of love, where life is at home. Then the wood will begin to burn on this altar, and we shall at once convince ourselves that the halls and chambers of this great palace are not so uninhabited as it appeared to you at the first natural sight.

13. You are asking why here the ignition of the wood on the altar is always necessary for the visual realization of the people who inhabit such a palace?

14. I tell you, to see the reason, there are already a lot of examples on earth. I will show you only a few, and you will be wiser at once.

15. Look at the great splendor of a winter day and also a bright winter night. The whole wide surface of the earth is dotted with countless diamonds, which, in the light of the sun, radiate like countless stars, almost blinding the eye of the spectator with its excessive light. The branches of the trees are covered with pure diamond crystals, and the stars in the sky sparkle in multiplied splendor. But when you look over this wide surface, glittering with numerous diamonds, it is dead, for life seeks warm rooms, and may not be amused by this cold, stiff glory. But when in the early year the sunbeam begins to provide not only light, but also warmth, the great splendor of the earth ceases; but the life which has retreated from the cold splendor comes from the inner rooms. This life spoils the splendor of winter and re-creates it into a much more glorious one.

16. In this example, you need not add anything but that the heat is equal to the invigorating love, which comes forth from the midst of the sun; then you will easily understand why on this altar the wood must first be kindled by your love before you can see the living inhabitants of this splendor.

17. For a second example, you could look at two people working on Earth. See there for example a palace, inhabited by a despised, miserly degenerated man. Go there; you will not even see too many flies flying around this palace, let alone people. Why does it look so empty here? Because there is no love in the house.

18. But go to another very beautiful house; it is inhabited by a wealthy, great friend of men. See, it is teeming with people, old, young, great and small; the trees are animated by birds, the roofs of the house by pigeons, the yard by poultry, and other useful tame animals; even for the flies there is always something to eat, and everything you look at is cheerful and hopeful. Yes, why is it so lively here? Because love is in the house! The warmth of love is felt at a great distance and draws everything to itself.

19. I mean, from these two pictures you will be able to see more easily why we have to light the wood here before the life of this palace begins to gather around us. Therefore, gratify your love for the Lord and for all who came forth from him; and the wood shall be set ablaze, and we shall soon be surrounded by thousands of people, who at all times inhabit this splendid habitation.

CHAPTER 21

Love kindles the wood on the altar

1. You have done what I have suggested to you, and look, a splendid flame, glowing as the dawn, is already igniting the wood on the altar, and an indescribably glorious aroma fills the supreme halls and galleries of this great palace.

2. But now also look up at the galleries, as it begins to teem with people; and everybody hurries down into the great rotunda!

3. Look at these people, of what indescribable beauty they are! The women, as if formed by the finest etheric light, and the men look like flames of fire which have gathered themselves into a wonderful, loving-earnest, majestic human form.

4. Now, behold, an elder from the great multitude of these glorious people comes forth and carries a shepherd staff in his hand. His hair is as white as freshly fallen, sunlit snow, and falls down in rich curls down half of his back. His beard, just as white, frills down to his abdomen; his size is venerably superior to the size of the other men. According to your earthly measure, he should probably be about seven feet.

5. You'd like to know why he's carrying a staff? Is he perhaps a ruler, or someone exalted among his fellow men? I tell you, he is only an elder, and he has the reputation of a patriarch. He rules over a thousand such palaces as we have already seen before, and he is also an epitome of wisdom.

6. If the people in the subordinate dwellings need some higher advice, they come to him. But he never sends messengers to instruct the subordinates in one or the other kind of wisdom. For here the principle of perfect freedom applies, and this must never be endangered neither by word nor deed. Therefore, the inhabitants of the other subordinate palaces can do what they want, without consideration of this main palace.

7. But nobody can dare to enter the vast territory of this palace with animosity. If this would happen, the powerful patriarchal staff would at once be activated into mighty movement, by the will of the patriarch. But the same thing is not easily conceivable in this central world, although it is not at all impossible. For every subordinate house also possesses in the first place every conceivable wealth, splendor, and treasures of all kinds; in addition, every house always has wise elders, like the one you have already come to know, and there is thus hardly any talk of hostility.

8. There does exist one threatening situation though, which sometimes begins to look a little menacing; and that is the mighty love of women of the inhabitants of this central sun-world.

9. The women of such a main palace are, as you see, more beautiful than those of the subordinate palaces. This is also your situation on the earth, because, as in the latter case, the homes of a cultured and rich house, as well as of a whole better city, is more beautiful and charming than those of the countrymen, who naturally have a lesser spiritual development, and by the manifold cares and burdens of a life of heavy handwork. If a rugged countryman's son would be able to win the hand of a woman, respectable and well-educated city-father house, he would surely be leaving his peasant women. The reason why is easy to understand.

10. A similar case can also occur here, and this is almost easier than on earth. Thus, when the young men, according to their freedom, occasionally visit such a principal palace, and not infrequently perceive the etheric feminine beauties, they begin to jolt with great violence, and then they will risk everything to reach such an unspeakable beauty. - But the question is, if they can accomplish such a thing by a legitimate way? This, too, can happen the same way as is the case on earth.

11. How, on earth, can the son of a so-called common landlord be able to obtain such a distinguished daughter of a prominent townhouse? By spiritual diligence! Such a country boy diligently follows the scientific way, and then, by his acquired abilities, attracts the attention of the landlord. This makes him a high official, and our former peasant boy, as a great gentleman, can now knock with the calm conscience of the world at such an elegant house, and he will not be pushed out the door. This is one way.

12. Another country boy summoned to the plight of a soldier in a troublesome time, but the situation is certainly very much contrary and unfavorable for the kingdom of heaven. But, if it is required in a general emergency, it can also be justified, as it was in the time of David.

13. If then, such a peasant boy then distinguishes himself as a defender of the fatherland through courage and judiciousness, he will quickly be promoted by his king or emperor, to the dignity of a landlord. As such, he may then knock at the houses of princes and counts, and being the Emperor's favorite, who is of birth nothing but a simple peasant's son, will be met with open arms.

14. Look, it goes here very much the same way. There is, of course, nothing to be done on the burning path of desire; but on the way of merit through a distinguished degree of high wisdom, every human being of the lower order can take possession of such an etheric female palace beauty.

15. But what are these merits? You only have to look a little at the splendor of the buildings, and you will easily come to the conclusion and say, "If these buildings are constructed by man's hands, then these men have to be great masters of the architectural art, as well as of a variety of manufacturing arts." Yes, so it is; what you always see and meet here, is all a work of human hands, and since they have a great quantity of noble material on this world-body, they also do everything conceivable to render their dwellings as miraculous as possible.

16. If someone has invented and produced something meaningful through his wisdom and then brings it before the council of the elders of a main palace, and if his work is recognized as something special, he is honored with the dignity of a master in his art. If he has done something for the splendor of the main palace by his talent, then he can knock with the best conscience at the main palace, and he gets the wife who pleases him.

17. This, however, is the highest wage that such a master of wisdom can wish to obtain. But he also does not ask for anything more; and I am of the opinion, inasmuch as I know you, that you would be willing to sell a whole empire for such a reward. Such a happy master of his art is then accoladed with his own special advantages. Firstly, he is given his own land and soil, which for a certain territory, has to be awarded only by the elder of the main palace. On this new grounds, he can then build a new palace according to his personal taste.

18. But how does he get the builders? Nothing is easier, for everyone would search out such a beneficiary, everybody tries to achieve merit for himself by him, in order to gain in him a favoring friend and advocate in the principal palace, which some of them will occasionally receive.

19. But on such occasions, there are also several who cannot receive such benefits because of many factors. The result is then sometimes a degree of bitterness, and, because of such bitterness, that some, striving for some luck and benefit, would join up and try to achieve by force what others have achieved by virtue. A small war ensues, always turning out to be fruitless for the villains, for the elder of the palace only needs to show himself holding his staff, and the violent men are put to flight.

20. Yes, but why do the men of violence fear the staff so much? Because the staff is the symbol of the will-power of the sages and elders of the palaces. You have already come to know the will-power of men in the sun, in the natural part of it. This willpower is also present here in its fullness, especially with the elders.

21. In this central sun, however, the power of will is even more determined, and the difference between that of the arch elder in comparison to that of the ordinary human being, is just as distinct as the differences between the central suns, the planetary suns, planets, and their moons; so that the will-power of such a principal palace sage is well-known among all the other people who dwell in his wisdom and will-territory. But whoever would have a taste of the wisdom of such a sage, would immediately stand in the greatest astonishment.

CHAPTER 22

Conditions for the attainment of the childhood of God

1. Behold, he raises his staff, which will say as much as: Listen to me with the most intense and deepest attention! After all, as you can see, and in yourselves easily notice, are all the people willing to listen carefully; the elder lowers his staff and says: All my children and offspring of my children! You are initiated, and the guidance of the Most High God, the Almighty Creator and Master of All Things, is not unknown to you. You now are also initiated into the words of the prophets, who once came as a great spirit in the name of God, over the endlessly wide paths of our world, the end of which has not yet been measured, and none of us knows what incomprehensible depths of creation penetrates its surface.

2. This great spirit alone transcended the world from one end to the other; for his motion was like that of flashing light, and his voice rolled like mighty thunders, and our world trembled to its very foundations when he spoke.

3. His words stayed with us, and we have preserved them in our starscripts. You may go and stand in this my house, wherever you will, this celestial writing will shine upon you with its bright glow, and will always revive your mind's inner wisdom.

4. But how does the mighty words of this prophet's spirit sound, which is written around the altar with the stars, from the many words? - Who of you can say, I cannot read it, for I myself have taught you all to read the signs of the stars?

5. But let us look up into the endless, bluish sea of air, and you can always see there what the great Creator created, what our hand has imitated here. - What is the meaning of this hint? Hear, I will repeat it to you: In the midst of the great court of the Palace of the stars, you should erect an altar to the one God, and lay the wood upon it; but the wood shall be perfect and its aroma the best. But you shall never kindle this wood with a worldly fire, but a fire from your spirit shall bring this wood to flame. But if the wood is kindled by the fire of your heart, go forth, you and yours and go into the house of God, and enter into the light of the flame, to investigate whether anyone of your house is able to enter. He who feels himself capable will step up to the altar and read in the flame the conditions which he has to fulfill in the world which the great God has created for Himself and for His children. - Such is the hint.

6. But you all know how long, according to our exact time-keeper, the wood has already been on the altar, and no one of us could ignite it, for all of us lacked the power of the spirit. I am well aware that no one of us touched the altar of the Lord after the laying on of the wood with a fingertip, and yet the sanctified wood has miraculously burst into flames. What shall we do now?

7. I tell you, let everyone, man or woman, test his mind before God the Almighty. Who out of you all has the courage to take hold of the Supreme Being of God with his love? Whoever can put down everything before the altar and keep nothing but the love of his heart for the all-powerful, eternally great God, should come out and try to read what the flame shows. Indeed, whoever will be able to do so will have a great road in front of him, a road from the greatest freedom to the lowest servitude, a road from this perfect life through to death, a path from this highest light level into the greatest night; and also a path from this greatest happiness and bliss that we all feel, to the greatest tribulation, the greatest misery and the greatest distress, a road from our uninterrupted well-being, to unbearable grief, to reach the home of God after an undetermined time. Well, the one who can reach this home can become a child of God!

8. But what a road it is! It would be easier to explore our world, however endless it may be, to achieve this ultimate goal.

9. So much I could tell you all in advance; but whoever has the courage, the path is not cut off, for where the Lord Almighty is doing one thing, He will do the other.

10. Now see, our elder has spoken. He directed his words with great knowledge and profound wisdom; so we will now pay attention to the effect they have produced in his children and children's children. Do you suppose that after his dissuasive journey description, someone will decide to step onto the road to God's home?

11. See, no male being wants to step up this time; but there, a wonderfully beautiful feminine being emerges and speaks to the elders: you are the witness of my life by the power of God in you! My breast swells up with mighty love for the one God, without whose ever possible visible presence a perfect bliss can never be imagined. I would like to go to Him, and would like to be a most humble maid in one of His smallest houses, which He will surely have in infinite numbers. The way does not frighten me; where and how He can be found, the flame will tell me. If I have gained that certainty, then let me also follow the suggestion of the mighty prophet, who spoke to all the people of this endlessly great world in the name and power of the Almighty God!

12. The elder said, "Come, then, come here before me and turn your face to the flame, and read what it is saying to you. - The female being comes before the elders and reads from the flame: Your God and your Lord is a God full of love and mercy and will give you to bear a gentle yoke and a light burden! Be humble in your heart; forget this world's great beauty and splendor, and commend yourself to the almighty protection of the great God! He Himself will carry you invisibly on His own hands through a short material life to His dwelling, where you will be given the great childhood, and will live eternally in the Almighty Divine Father's home. If you have the courage in your love for this great God, put your hand on the altar!

13. The elder says, "My daughter, you have read the condition of the great grace of God; what do you want to do now? The daughter says, I will, in my increasingly powerful love for my and your God, and I will be there, so I want you to remember, when it will be the Lord's will, that you also follow, with many others. I am well aware that this world is also glorious, and that we have a splendid society with pure spirits, who have assumed finer bodies than our own. We can look with little effort at their great bliss, and this is of such a nature that it does not disturb the bliss of our natural life; yet, the blessed spirits of this world is in no way ahead of us, except that they can ascend according to their will and make faster movements than we are able to make it in our natural state, for we are not capable to lift ourselves up like them, high up into the space of bright light.

14. But just consider, what can be said against it, to be a child of God, who can see with one glance more than we are capable of in countless revolutions of times. Therefore, I will lay my hand upon the altar, and step unto the marvelous road.

15. Look, this daughter puts her hand on the altar, and she is no longer to be seen among the company. But what will society do now? We'll have a look at the next opportunity!

CHAPTER 23

Speech of the sun-elder to his people

1. Behold, our elder has just come forth and speaks to all those present: My beloved children and children's children! You know where we take those stones from, which, as self-luminous stars, are inserted into the other precious building blocks. Our well-trained divers get them from the bottom of the great, very deep waters. Likewise, are all glorious, great, and precious things hidden in inaccessible depths; and we are likewise superficially created to be capable of deep wisdom of God Almighty.

2. Since we are first of all here, we feel no difficulty in our existence; it is so easy to continue our lives here. If, however, we wish to revive the abilities present in us, let us penetrate into the depths of wisdom, life will then be no jest anymore, but shall be subject to a great seriousness and an exhaustive search for what corresponds to divine wisdom.

3. People who have found the great treasure in the depths of their lives are also like the sea itself. They are like other people in their outward motion, and their waves are the result of their wise actions.

4. The difference between the surging activity of awakened and ordinary people consists in the fact that the one who is awakened in himself does and acts according to the eternal law of the divine order found in him. The ordinary man, however, acts according to the laws given from outside, which are derived from the living law of those who have found the inner wisdom within themselves, which has laid within them since the primordial beginning, by the highest wisdom of the Creator.

5. But then, if there is almost no essential difference between the self-aroused and the merely external imitating men, how can one, therefore, investigate and deduce from the experience: "Behold, is this a self-awakened, or only an external imitator?"

6. My beloved children and children's children! Look at the altar, the sacred flame is still blazing. Which of you have the courage to lay his hand upon the altar after hearing the conditions for obtaining the childhood of God?

7. When I have shown you the requirements out of my wisdom, you all shuddered, and all retreated from the altar of conversion to the childhood of God. But a virgin, who was probably the simplest in this my palace, so that no one of any of us could have imagined that in this very simple, virgin being, would be such profound, already awakened wisdom(her work guarantees us). Let all of us see how these people are and should be, in whom the inner wisdom is awakened by the silent self-activity and self-investigation of one's own spirit.

8. We are inhabitants of this principal palace. Deep and inner wisdom is supposed to distinguish us from all other ordinary people; but how is it with our manly wisdom, as it was put to shame by a weak maiden? How is it then with our wisdom that there would be such courageous wise people from the subordinate homes, who have enough courage to put their hands on the altar of God, out of humility and love for God?

9. You jerk your shoulders and make an ambiguous movement with your heads and eyes; and I tell you: Truly, our wisdom is like the foam of the sea, whose bubbles on their surface make a beautiful play of shimmering colors; but one only has to breathe on such a shimmering bubble, and it, together with its color-play, completely disappears from existence.

10. But the wisdom of the girl, who had enough courage to lay her hand on the altar, is like that splendid rock in the deep bottom of the sea, with which we adorn the walls of our dwelling in the form of stars, and lay the figuration of the stars, the words of the prophet. But we ourselves are scarcely equal to the flat building blocks, whose surface, but not their interior, is inscribed with the radiant stones.

11. Who among you can actively disprove my address? Who else has the courage to lay his hand upon the altar, while the flame still blazes? I see none of you raising up and coming closer, but you all withdraw, and none of you would answer me.

12. What shall we do, since the flame still blazes? I will give you a counsel, and it is this: "All of you, fall on your faces before the altar of God, praise and exalt the Almighty God, that He may at least awaken us all to the extent that we may thereby know in the depths of our lives, how far we still have to go, to become what our sister has become, our wise girl."

13. And if we should never get the high courage to lay our hands on the altar, then we ask God the Almighty that He would, at least in this respect give us life in this world, enlivened by His infinite wisdom, that we would always in a worthy manner be able to be an example for the great multitude of people who are subject to our main palace, and are most fortunate enough to receive favor from this main palace or even a bride. And as we have now shown, we are with all our other wisdom, stupid enough to always give away the most wise when a bride is to be given; while we were of the opinion that we gave only those who are the least suited to our palace. Is it right that we should do so?

14. I tell you, we are doing it wrong, the way we do it; but in view of how the omnipotent God of heaven and the earth can make also our stupidity worthwhile, it is absolutely right what happens; and especially in the case of such bridal commitments, when our stupidity turns on us, and the all-wise God takes a flower from our main palace, of whom our palace is not worthy, and as we ourselves are not worthy of keeping this holy flame blazing at the same strength on the altar of God.

15. The extraordinary miracle of our great patriarchal habitation witnesses about the extent to which I am right or wrong in this speech to you all.

16. Tell me who of us have ever brought a stone hence, and who of us ever designed a blueprint? Behold, all this is the work of those men in the flat plain below, which are subject to us, that is of our supposed, deep wisdom. But if this is undeniably the case, it is also clear to the contrary that in the profound flatness of our great landscapes there are men whom we are not worthy to look into the face.

17. But if such men approach the palace by the merits of their wisdom, in order to acquire a better bride, is it not wholly right, and most reasonable, that the most worthy of them is given to them? Yes, my dear children and children's children, what God the Almighty does, that alone is well done; and so it is incomparably better that we give our daughters to the friends of God for their joy than to keep them from them and keep them for our own great stupidity.

18. Therefore, fall down together with me before the altar, and ask for so much wisdom that ye do not need to be secretly ashamed of them that are insignificant before us. And in the flame we shall then read quite clearly what God would want us to still do to achieve what would be more beneficial to us than our stupidity. - So be it! Amen!

CHAPTER 24

Prayers of the mind and the heart

1. Now, all the numerous inhabitants of this main palace falls in a circle on their faces before the altar, on which the flame still blazes. Even the elder does not neglect to do so.

2. You would then like to know how such people pray? Such people pray in the same way as you do. They pray to God, to the supreme Lord of heaven and earth. Their prayer is a prayer with the living wish that the Lord will give them what they ask Him for. You pray well in your own way, if you truly pray in your heart, and accompany your prayer with the desire for your prayer to be heard, which is true prayer.

3. Prayer with these people is more of a gesture prayer than an inner heart prayer; it is about the same as you are active your mind, and you are making involuntary movements according to the nature of your thoughts. So the prayer of these people is not a prayer of emotion, coming from the heart, but an intellectual prayer, which comes from the thoughts of the soul in the head. In this position do these people each one think according to the degree of his wisdom, about which would be the wiser way.

4. Their position is not, as in you, a certain humble and contrite devotion to the heart, but it is only a sign that they should not at all interfere with each other in this state. Everyone, undisturbed, thinks to himself in his mind, with the desire that God the Almighty might allow the same. If someone has found the wisest point in his own way, then he may stand up quite calmly all alone, and then read in the flame how far his point of wisdom can be found in the writing of the flame. If he finds it, the standing prayer keeps standing. If, however, his point of wisdom cannot be found in the flame, the prayer immediately lays down again on his face and prays or rather thinks further, about the what would be the wisest his sphere.

5. See, this is the general prayer among the people of this world-body; especially those who belong to the patriarchal houses. You are saying, of course, well, why do not these men turn to the Lord to show them the right wisdom? For they must understand that the Lord is wiser than all their understanding and that He can and will give them that which they ask.

6. I say to you that this is well thought, inasmuch as someone does not know the circumstances of this great world; but if one knows them, he will everywhere recognize the holy order of the Lord, and will say that these people too, according to their style is valid before the Lord, because this prayer is according to their order.

7. But why? The reason will be easily shown, and so listen!

8. These people acknowledge and say: If we would turn to God to give us true wisdom, we would thereby resent God and cause Him great disgrace, for in this way we would make the allegation that God, being the Most Wise and Most Just, would want to deceive us, and we must be in high regard of the prudence which the Lord God of heaven and the earth (the inhabitants of this body of the world, like every other, call their foundation earth the same as you do) and use it according to His order. If we have consumed this wisdom within ourselves, and we then feel the need for a higher wisdom, then we have the right to ask God for what is lacking and then use it according to His order.

9. See, according to this order live and pray the people of this world-body. To whom do they correspond in the essence of man? They correspond, since they are the inhabitants of a central sun, with the brain; although with only a single nerve in it, which is situated at the extremity of the optic nerve quite close to the brain. That is why their nature and their order is thus, that they are generally satisfied with what they have; in the same way as the rational men with you are satisfied with nothing so much as with their intellect, as each one thinks to have the best, and often, the less understanding one possesses, the more contented he is with it.

10. It is, of course, quite different with the emotional man who thinks in his heart. He recognizes that all human understanding is just patchwork and that the human is the most intelligent, and the wisest, who has made it so far as to say in his humility: I know nothing; because all my knowledge does not weigh a sun-particle against the infinite wisdom of God. Such a man has only then taken hold of the true hunger for wisdom, which allows him to find the great storehouse which the Lord has placed in his heart, amply supplied.

11. But are not there similar human beings on this central world? Oh, we've already seen two, namely those who have put their hands on the altar. For laying a hand on the altar says that one has found his great poverty within himself, but beside him also a brightly shining lamp, which stands before an inscribed tablet in his own heart, on which is written with clearly legible writing:

12. Immortal Spirit! Humble yourself in your highness; inflame yourself in your love for God, and return to Him who created you. There in the great father's house, you will find it in endless abundance, which is so much amiss with you here!

13. And now, if any man of these men has found such things in himself, he becomes a quiet sage, and strives, unlike anything else, to enter onto the path which leads to the goal which he has found on the illuminated tablet in his heart. It is true that every man of this world-body has such a plate in himself, but not everyone shines the glimmering lamp before it, but instead places the lamp in the center of his brain. Hence, it comes also that from the countless many inhabitants of this world-body, there are only a few who wish to place their hand on the altar.

14. But if you take a look back at your earth, you will find without much searching or any effort, the same situation. Think only of the word of the Lord, when He said, "Many are called, but few chosen." And you will be able to count the chosen ones of even a prominent place, very easily on your fingers.

15. But what is the reason? Because no one, or of the many, but very few, will be pleased with the words of the Lord, "Deny yourself, take the cross upon your shoulder, and follow Me."

16. It is true that this endless grace was not given to man in this central solar world, that the Lord Himself had taught and shown to them the straight and shortest way with His own holy mouth, and in this way not only a glimmering lamp but a whole central sun was put before their tablets, and they are therefore not exempt from the possibility of finding the tablet of eternal life in their hearts, and of setting up their lives. To this end, they also live long enough to find what is in themselves; - for there are people as old as half the human race on your earth. Moreover, even the spirit-souls of the dead can, when they so wish, be capable of the same resettlement as when they were in their body-life. There is no great difference between these two stages of the people of this world, for they can always see and speak with each other as often as they wish.

17. But we also have enough to understand the nature of the prayer of these people; the prayers have in the meantime raised and gathered themselves around the altar, and we will, therefore, give their further deference some brief attention, and then go forth on this world again.

CHAPTER 25

Difference between children of the sun and children of God

1. Our elder again raises his staff and opens his mouth. What will he say to his children? Listening ourselves will give the best answer to this question; and so we hear how he speaks. His words are:

2. My dear children and children's children! You have gathered before the altar upon which the flame of God is still burning. You have offered a worthy praise to the Almighty; therefore the Spirit of God speaks to us from the flame:

3. To the great I am great, small to the little, strong to the strong, and weak to the weak; but in this weakness lies a secret strength, which is more powerful than all the might of the great. Whoever is merciful, I am also merciful to him; whoever does good will be done good to. To the lords am I am a Lord; but a slave to the servant. The sage may not play with My light; but the corridor of My divine fullness shall be open to the simple. For those who are full of intellect, I am in the inaccessible light; but for the simple of the world and its glow, I will go out as a brother. The children of the sun have great power, their breath is stronger than the greatest storm is for the small earth, and before their thoughts, their world bows, and drives new flames out of their vast pastures. But those who are and want to be My children must be weak, and their weakness must first be a power in Me. The children of the sun may worship Me in their light, but My children worship Me in their fire. The children of the sun are what they are; but My children must not remain what they are, but they must be consumed so that only through their destruction they should become what they are to be.

4. What do you want, children of the sun? - You have your well-measured part; if you want more, you shall be given more; do you want a greater bliss, how can you ask for more than what will be for you according to your knowledge and your will? But if you want to become My children, you should not want to win, but want to lose everything. For your lot as children of the sun is such, that you can adorn yourself with eternally growing treasures and riches, on the other hand, the lot of My children is to become ever poorer, and to the extent that they do not even regard their life as their own. And they must always be willing to spend their love, which is the foundation of their lives, on countless brethren.

5. What you possess is given to you for eternal, unqualified property; My children, however, are not allowed to possess anything, nor even to provide for their own table, but for all that they need, they have to take it from nowhere but from Me in My house. You are mighty lords of your world; My children, however, must be poor servants; they must work with their hands. But if they have worked for something, they may not keep it as a property, but should bring it into My house, as soon as I give it to each and every one of them, which is necessary for the sake of loving care. You dwell in palaces that surpass all imaginable splendor and glory; My children, however, must occupy huts, about whose lowliness and utter glory you would shudder. But My children are still My children and are always with Me, and always do according to My will, which is endlessly powerful to the mighty, but also endlessly small to the weak.

6. If you want to be My children, you must consider this and let go of all the advantages of your life forever. Even your life with its clearest consciousness must be a sacrifice to Me; you must keep nothing but your completely emptied essence. For, as you are, you are also the vessels of life, which go out from My light; but as My children, you should become the dwelling-place of My own eternal Spirit, and this can not dwell in the flightiness of your light, but only in the great firmness which is dense enough to resist the almighty fire of My own eternal love-life.

7. You grace a mighty staff of willpower, and when you lift it, your great world trembles under the great compulsion of your will; My children, however, must lay a heavy wooden cross on their shoulders, which pushes them to the ground and gives them death, over which their little world mightily rejoices. Only from this death can they arise, be like Me, and then do what I do; but not to rule like you, but to serve all with the greatest love, gentleness, and fullest resignation in My will. Do you think this is a little thing to surrender entirely to My will? - Listen and hear!

8. To surrender completely to My will wants to say more than if anyone of you wants to grasp the whole of infinite creation in his fist and play with it as with the smallest grain of sand. Yes, it says more than if you would go to the vast pastures of your world, where, the immeasurable glowing power of the flames are continually raging inside of immeasurably wide clefts, and if one wants to fall down into the crater, and sip up with one draft the endlessly raging embers and flame mass. And yet My children must absorb My infinite eternal will into themselves, up to the last drop, before they can be fully My children.

9. You assess and know the infinite power of My will; who of you can stand against My will, and say: Lord! Let me fight with You? Will not the smallest little spark destroy him, as if he had never been there? Yes, the smallest spark of my will is enough to obliterate numerous sun-worlds, as this one which you inhabit.

10. But if you see it clearly according to your assessment, what will you say to it, if I declare it to you out of My fire, that it is a task and an indispensable condition for My children to subdue to My will? But in order to explain this unspeakably great task for you, My children or those who wish to become My children must continue to bear the burden of My will with much trial and tribulation during their period of freedom, and must be completely consumed by the fire of My zeal, so that they may thereby be eternally related to the endless, eternal fire of My will. And many, who have not passed this test in their individual period of liberation, will then have to be forced, after their passing over, to cleanse themselves for long periods of time in the fire of My will, and get themselves into to the most grievous trouble, before they can be taken up among My children, as being the very least.

11. What do you want now? Will you stay? Or do you really want to be My children? Behold, the little spark of My will blazes at the altar. If you wish to stay, then stay; if you want to acquire childhood, put your hands on the altar.

12. See, as such have our elder read everything from the flame. But what do the children say to this lecture? - They say: Great God! It is, of course, something infinite to be a child of Yours, but if Your will is even more violent than the endless glow which our world carries in its wide chasms, who then can bear such and live with it? - Therefore, let us remain what we are, and always make a sacrifice of our wisdom! Therefore, take back the terrible flame on your altar, and let us go and live in our peace.

13. A word comes from the flame: so be done according to your will. Nevertheless, the wood should always be on the altar; then I will preserve the ways by which My great love and mercy will remain.

14. Know, however, that what seems hard for you, is an easy thing for Me; and what seems easy for you, is hard for Me. You indeed love your freedom to rule, but I am only pleased with the simplicity and subordinate servitude of My children; for there is no master, to whom a different master is better than his own servant, who is always a most faithful servant to him. Therefore, one master gives the other only the compulsory portion; but the servant is rewarded by his Lord. My children are also My servants; therefore they also have My wages as servants and My heritage as children! - Consider this always; and if once again the new wood on your altar will begin to blaze, then think that a father is better than a master! Now go into your peace, and My flame will go out, so that you may be rulers in your world! However, only to those areas where the flames of My will blazes out of endless depths; no one dares to go there. For only the fertile soil should be subject to you; but the flame is Mine. Amen!

15. Now see, the flame at the altar is extinguished. The oldest of them lowered his staff, and the entire population of this palace went out into the open to re-establish itself after this great lesson. But we are going out again, and from there, to another place.

CHAPTER 26

Example of the rich youth

1. Here we are again on our well-known plateau: see, it has not changed yet. You would like to see the inhabitants of this palace, who have moved out before us, where they are now. Go only to the edge of the plateau, and you will soon see the beautiful inhabitants where they amuse themselves; some on the round galleries are known to you, some on the triumphal arch above our well-known staircase; and then, a whole legion is already swarming around the canal.

2. You ask how these people can get anywhere so fast? I tell you that this is quite easy. Firstly are their bodies much lighter than yours on the earth; most of the sun-dwellers also have a considerable will-power, according to which they are able to carry out many things which are certainly impossible for the inhabitants of the earth. And so they can move about their world-surface with much greater rapidity than you are able to understand.

3. This property, however, is of great necessity for the inhabitants of a world of such immense size, for if they could move on the earth as fast as they do, what would they do in many territories, often a single district, such as that of this palace, which has a larger area of space than multiple of your earth's surface area. Central sun-worlds differ from the planetary nerves in that they do not have habitats like these, but only habitable large areas which might be called oases. How much of such oases are on a central sun, the circumference of which is several trillion miles by your measure, can hardly be determined; but you can be certain that, in such a central sun-region, as much as there are planet-suns with planets around it, all belonging to this one central sun.

4. Are these oversized circular areas, of which there is an immense number, being separated from each other or not? They are very definitely separated; - how? - Mostly through endlessly extended rows of fire craters; now and then also by very high mountains whose tops, which, if they were on earth, were likely to disturb your moon in its orbit. These sometimes have a larger surface area on their height than about half the surface of your earth.

5. That the feet of such mountains will have a very great circumference and diameter, you can easily imagine by yourself. A third kind of limitation of such spheres is here and there either large and broad streams, or even exceedingly great world-seas, which have such enormous water content that your earth, if it falls in, would be taken up in the sea, and make the same impact, as if you would throw a pearl into the sea of your earth. It is, however, also necessary that on such an exceedingly fiery body would also be great extinguishing devices.

6. Here and there one discovers wide and very wide lightwater-rivers on this world-body. The water of such streams is not transparent and is much heavier than other ordinary, transparent water.

7. These floods of light, however, cannot be compared with anything similar on your earth, since it is unique only to such solar bodies. The inhabitants gather this light-water into certain containers, whereupon it soon petrifies and become so-called self-luminous white stones. In this respect, this water is almost similar to the water of your earth, in which soon grow salty crystals when it is separated from the total mass. But, this light-water does not petrify spontaneously, since it always absorbs the continually softening nourishment from its bed.

8. Where is the outflow of such a body of water? It usually springs from the numerous mountains, which are equipped with large fire-craters, and accumulates in a river not infrequently of thousands of miles long, and then flows through an area whose distance is often greater than the distance of the earth to your sun and then, sometimes, into another great sea of water, but in most cases, a great fire-crater burnt out here and there, fills them by degrees, and in the course of time makes a flat land out of the great and exorbitant gaps, which spreads an indescribable splendor. In time, however, it will also become solid and may be used as fertile land.

9. The white building blocks for the palaces are here and there cut from such regions; it is self-illuminating and is usually used to form arches above the pillars, as well as to fixed walls of a building. However, the broken and then trimmed stone does not have the same value as when taken fresh from the water currents, because it is less bright than those casted.

10. That would be the borders of our circular regions. But can these limitations or demarcations of the district areas not be exceeded? This is not easily the case here; for such a district is in the first place, already so vast that millions upon millions of people are able to provide themselves with a wealth of resources and live very comfortably. Then, on its surface, there are numerous glories and wonders that the inhabitants of such a district have to look at, study, and enjoy spiritually all their lives; they, therefore, do not care at all about the conditions of another region, just as little as you on your earth would care about what it looks like on a foreign planet, especially when you are well looked after on your own.

11. Moreover, many of the inhabitants of such a district, as long as they live in their bodies, do not know that there are other areas, but rather are of opinion when they come to one or the other impassable district-demarcation, either as a fire or as water, mountains or as a flood of light forever, that it would stretch out further forever.

12. Sages of high esteem do know because of their conversations with the spirits, that there are on this world there are still innumerable many other habitable circles. But they know this only under the seal of mutual strict secrecy, and only share it also with those who want to be initiated into the deeper secrets of divine wisdom.

13. There are from time to time really big friends of high mountains, who like to climb them if they only climb one way. But as far as these exceedingly high frontier regions are concerned, even the greatest friends of the mountains can lose appetite, for they are a little too high for them, and here and there too steep; and the highest peaks are not infrequently too near to the etheric light, in which even their fire-bodies might be even less able to exist, than your bodies of flesh at the heights of your earth, which also are quite similar in the air-ether.

14. Moreover, these high boundaries are usually shrouded in exceedingly strong luminous clouds, in which proximity these inhabitants do not at all come close to, because they emit such a dazzling light, that it blinds their eyes so much that they then cannot take in anything more of their surroundings.

15. See, therefore, the Lord knows how to keep His free creatures everywhere in their proper limits.

16. One or the other could, of course, say: What would happen if people from different circular areas could meet? I can say nothing more than that the wisdom and order of the Lord goes definitely always and everywhere deeper than any human being can measure with his little sense of reason. But you could even ask yourself on your earth why on this little world-body the nations that live on it do not want to intermingle, like grass and herbs in a meadow? - You will answer Me:

17. Because the nations have different political and moral constitutions, which can never be compared. It is true that each of them may well be in its strict order; but all together in a heap would produce an even more horrible disharmony, so as to make all the pipes of an organ sound at the same time.

18. The answer is good. From it, however, you can easily deduce how it would be possible on such an immense world-body, if the great nations on it could get in touch, as when the small nations on your earth would get in touch. I do not need to say more in this respect. In order that you may understand this even more thoroughly, let us at once go over to another district, and you will find a very important difference from this circular region. And so we embark on the journey to the direction of your will.

CHAPTER 27

Why there are almost no animals on the central sun. Explanation of the example of the rich youth.

1. I already notice the direction you want to go; and so we are already going there. - Look to the left and to the right, in this circular region which we are now entering; what endless splendor and glory radiate from all sides! Palaces and apartments of unimagined glory, grandeur and majesty!

2. You ask, "One become overwhelmed by this country's, magnificent glory, but how is it that we have not yet discovered any other four-footed animals, apart from the fish in the canal which went round the Palace Hill? - My beloved friends and brothers, besides the little fish, as well as very sparse birds, you will find no other animal on this central sun. Such animals are only present on the planetary suns, and on their planets and moons, because they are, so to say, incrementally lower, gradually formed more and more, by the excrement products of such central suns, whereby, as you have often experienced according to my knowledge, life must undergo a tougher existence , in order to arrive at proper diligence and purity; you can remember this relationship:

3. The more fire a world contains in itself, the less is the hard and coarse matter, which is not conducive to life, but rather a hindrance. But the less fire a world has in itself, the more crude it is, and life has to go through a tougher battle in order to reach its ever-constant freedom and purity.

4. Why then? How can this be evident? You can already see this on the earth very clearly, and indeed with the people themselves. People who are full of love for the Lord and their brethren are like the worlds that are full of inner fire. How easily such men come to the inner real life teach you many experiences and the own Word of the Lord Himself, when He says, "My yoke is gentle, and My burden is light"

5. People, however, who have less fire, and are thus more lukewarm, need a considerable testing substance until they are awakened and found life in themselves. It can not be done so quickly with them, because their matter still remains as a true fire-extinguishing medium against the fire of life, thus hindering the early awakening of the spirit.

6. Again we take another man who is quite cold with regard to the love of the Lord. This already resembles a planet, and there is a great deal of offense and impulse, until he comes into a regulated life-path, and can only there be gradually illuminated and heated up by rays acting upon it from without.

7. Why is it so? Because such a man has established himself completely in the coarse material world and it is very difficult to pass over from this into the pure spiritual. Again, there are people who can be described as completely fireless, burnt-out volcanoes. These men, therefore, have nothing spiritual about them at all and resemble the moons, which are also devoid of almost any atmospheric air, at least on one side. They always turn their most inhospitable side to their planet, and always turn the most efficient away from the same; likewise the human being.

8. They are not receptive to a higher life that still surrounds the planet; therefore they have only one direction, and this is their own selfishness. If, on the contrary, they turn to the light on their scarce side, they nevertheless consume it only for their material success, but never to the stimulation and formation of the spiritual life which expresses itself in the beneficial interaction through the spheres in which every spiritual life is effective. Such people have only half a sphere, being equal to their self-love, by always being averted from the sphere of the neighbor. They indeed operate together with the better part of mankind, but they are always very far from it, in order to not lose their material, vain riches, and have, in their actions, a constantly wavering movement, by which they avoid every opportunity where claim could be made on them to act in love.

9. How hard it is for such people enter into inner life, the Lord also speaks of at the occasion of the event with the rich youth, who also came to the Lord to enrich himself by His light - both materially and spiritually; but all together in a strong materialistic sense.

10. It would be easy for someone to ask why here then, a rich youth, and not some old miser, was used or allowed in the evangelical example. Look, all this must have its multifaceted reason. Thus, every moon is a worldly youth, and the essence of self-interest in a youth is always more lively than in an old man. For among a thousand old men, you could scarcely meet ten of the stingily selfish kind, which can be compared with the distant planets. But among a thousand youths, you will hardly find ten, which do not let themselves be directed and driven by self-interest.

11. Consider a young man, what he does and undertakes for his vain supply of the world! One of them runs his feet off to make some rich catch; the other is studying himself to death, to be able to, as soon as possible, attain to some handsome office. Another is moved to all kinds of meddling to help his weaker talents. And so, like the other, all of them almost completely sets aside all the divine and the spiritual, and turn with the wind, in order to chase after some earthly goal.

12. For this reason, a young man, and indeed a rich youth, is allowed and used in the gospel; a youth because he is mostly animated by such selfish interests, but rich, because a young man has the greatest ability to reach the kingdom of God, if he wants to deny himself, and follow in the footsteps of the Lord.

13. I think, from this example, you will be able to thoroughly understand my given example; and it always depends on this: the more fire and the resulting warmth or love for God and all neighbors, the less matter or the less death, and thus the more of life in itself. In contradiction, however, gradually: the more matter, the less fire, and thus the less true life, is present. Therefore, on such a central sun, consisting mainly of fire, the material, animalistic life is absent, to the degree of only a few insignificant little animals.

14. Since we now know this, we can also continue our journey with a freer mind. - Just look up ahead; we are on the shore of a light stream, which is already known to you, and we shall have to walk over it to get into another district of this country.

15. You say in your mind, looking with your spiritual eyes at this endless, radiant, immeasurable current surface, in your mind: How can we get over this sun-kissed sea with well-kept feet and unblinded eyes? But I tell you, as I have told you before, that there must never be any doubt on your mind. Firm volition and unwavering trust must be the eternal measure of the spirit. Therefore, if you do not consider, but want and trust it, this element will have to be usable to our will and trust. Now you want and trust, and the radiant floods carry us very well and with the speed of lightning, into another remote world.

16. See, there at a great distance, is already a solid bank rising above the radiant waves. Heavenly mountains, dotted with lush green forests, are the first trophies of a vast and habitable district, greeting our eyes with exceeding pleasantness and sublimity. Will we be able to cross these steep mountains?

17. Why would one then ask a spirit, to which the channels between the worlds are open, about the steepness of a mountain in a world? So we shall probably get through this place without an annoying tiredness with the very least of effort.

18. We are on the shore and therefore at the foot of the mountain. See the ground, how gently it is clothed with velvety grass, and what highest purity it presents to us for contemplation! Is not it a pleasure to walk on such ground under the green-shimmering trees? Yes indeed, that is already in and of itself heavenly glory!

19. You would like to know whether these trees are bearing fruit? These trees bear no fruit; but its green radiation is connected with the white stream of the current, making the white radiation more intense, more vivid, and more far-reaching. It is almost the same as someone who, with the white light of his faith is contemplating the green light of hope associated with it, and seeing that faith thereby becomes more saturated and more lively, for a faith without hope would be an intolerable light. But by the union of these two lights also a generation of love occurs; for whoever believes and hopes will soon begin to love Him whom he believes and trust in.

20. So here, too, is this vast expanse of green-luminescent forest region before us, a saturation of the white light. And look a little beyond the flood of the stream downwards, then you also see the two lights changing into a red one, which also says so much that in the course of faith and confidence, love begins to develop. The same can be seen in the reflection of every rainbow so that it can also be called a true arc of peace; it goes without saying, in spiritual sense. But as we know these things, we can begin to move very contentedly over the gently ascending forest floor.

CHAPTER 28

Love as the foundation of faith and hope, and at the same time, its fruit

1. Look, the mountain is not as steep as it seemed from a distance; for such mountains look very steep from a certain distance; in reality they are by no means what they seem to be. They occupy a larger surface; however, because they rise only moderately; and this is also necessary, so that from such a vast forest surface, a sufficient quantity of the green light can be emitted from it, flowing into the white light of the adjoining luminous river and then absorb the etheric saturating part.

2. For the white light of the current is still wholly and purely etheric, or, for you to understand it more easily, it is in itself an ether, which has not yet absorbed anything else into itself, but nevertheless contains in itself, in an undivided manner, everything within itself. Just like water on earth, which is a bearer of everything the earth has to offer.

3. The green light-ether, however, is very hungry of nature, after he has consumed almost all the other essential substances except for the green, which is therefore also the radiant one. As a result of his hunger, he becomes fully satisfied by the complete saturation of the white light-ether coming from the river, which is then expressed by the reddish tint.

4. You may also find many similar things on your earth; you only have to turn to most tree-fruits, as well as to so many flowers. How is everything in the immature state? Green; but this green, as a hungry color substance, continually saturates itself with the white light of the sun-and how does the total saturation, which marks the actual maturity of the fruit, express itself? Usually, mostly, in a more or less reddened color, or at least certainly in a color which has its base in the red color, or even passes over into the same color.

5. On the earth, however, this is only imperfect, while is most actively expressed on a central sun world. You probably say, "How is it that with us, there are many fruits which become during maturation and is at perfect maturity of a perfect blue color? Likewise, there are also a lot of blue flowers; and we do not know how such a blue color can be derived from the red. I say to you, consider only such a blue fruit (for example, plum) as thoroughly as this, and you will soon see that the blue color is only an outer, easily wipeable tinge; but the main color is red.

6. If you want to cover a red surface with a very fine glass powder, the surface will no longer appear red, but bluish. But to see the matter even better, you can only take the juice from such a blue fruit, and you will easily learn from it that the basis of the blue is completely red. An even clearer demonstration is the morning or evening blush, where the blue color of the air, with some certain motion of rays, passes easily into the red hue. Therefore, the blue color can be regarded as nothing but a hazy wrapping of the red.

7. You will see these things more clearly when inspecting a surely perfectly blue cornflower with a microscope, where you will often see the perfectly red color flashing out of the thousands of crystals arranged next to each other. I mean, we have enough to see that the saturation between green and white always expresses itself so well by the red color, as the faith fostered and sown by faith is expressed completely in love, the corresponding color of which is red. - You should understand and observe this matter; but in this respect, I am still seeing a small gap in you, which we can easily fill up during our mountain ascension.

8. But what is the nature of this gap? - You see, you do not understand how the mutual light color saturation just explained, corresponds to the mentioned related faith, hope and love. So be attentive, and let us examine the matter at once. The white color corresponds to faith. But just as the white color, as a fine, ethereal substance, carries all the other substances or colors within it, faith in the finest spiritual substance carries within itself all the infinite things of the kingdom of God and the Divine essence itself. Every man, however, is like this mountain covered with green trees, from which the green color of hope constantly radiates. And you will not easily find a completely hopeless person anywhere in the world, even though there is very little faith and love.

9. Hope, however, is continually consumed, never reaching any strength unless it receives the right food, which you can see from an abundance of moral and natural examples on your earth.

10. As a moral example, all the degrees and kinds of despair you can serve to be instructive, for every despair surely has its basis in the hope which has been completely consumed. - Natural examples are ample.

11. Put a flowerpot for a long time in a completely dark place; then look at it after a quarter of a year, and you will see only too plainly how the green color has fainted into a white light yellow, that is to say, the complete color of death.

12. It goes without saying that one must understand here only the color of the living plant world, but not the color of the minerals since in the minerals, this color is taken into complete captivity and resembles a man dead in hope, where also his hope was taken captive with him. For this reason, such people also appear in the afterlife in a dark green color, which, by the realization that their corresponding hope cannot be realized, either passes into the mold gray or even the completely black, but the latter color is actually no longer a color, as it is no light at all, but it is the complete lack of everything. So here we are concerned only with the more lively plant color.

13. It is true that the green color radiates its green and consumes everything else of the color of the etheric. But this is precisely the characteristic of hope. Hope also consumes everything with great desire, and we can not imagine a greater glutton than hope. Man often paints for himself fantastical pictures in the most brilliant colors of things he hopes for above everything else; this hope becomes his reality. He continually consumes all these paintings, but he does not consume hope. And if he comes in the situation that even his fantasy can no longer provide him with a painting, then he is already the most miserable, for he is biting and eating into his own hope. This is the flower in the completely dark place.

14. But how can hope be satisfied? Put the flowerpot back into to the white light of the sun, but not too suddenly, and it will start to become green again. Why then? Because he has become extremely hungry for a full saturation.

15. Let us turn to the corresponding moral part. Who would rather be consoled than a despondent man, that is, a man deluded in his hope? Or who is more eager for a real consolation, a moral saturation of a starved hope, than such a hopeless man? Bring him to the stream of light, and he will take it in with full drafts that which would satisfy him presently the most.

16. From this, however, it can also be clearly seen how hope can always be more and more fully realized through faith. A hungry man is miserable. If you wish to make him happy, satisfy him, and in his saturation, all hunger will pass away, a cheerfulness of mind will take hold of him, and in this cheerfulness he will embrace his host's love with the greatest of gratitude.

17. This is exactly the case with someone who is hungry for truth or for the realization of his ideas. Bring him to the true stream of light, and he will soon go into it and will satisfy his heart's desire and his own needs. And if he would easily and very soon realize that this saturation is a true one, which is perfect for all his still empty ideas, he will also soon become cheerful, and at the same time take hold of the great host with great ardor of his love; which love in itself expresses a perfect saturation; or, in love, everything of faith and all hope is present in fully realized maturity and saturation. And love, on the other hand, is the hopefully saturated by faith; but it is, on the other hand, because it includes hope and faith in its saturation, also the foundation of both. - You say: How can that be? I mean, there can hardly be something more natural and easy to understand than that.

18. Where does a tree come from? You say: From a seed. - Where does the seed come from? From the tree, you say.

19. Well, if so, then the seed will have to contain all the elements of the tree that emerge from it. But if the tree would make a new seed again, it must again put its whole being into the seed.

20. Surely you would like to know whether the Lord has created the tree before the seed? I mean, this secret can almost be grasped by the hands. If the Lord have created the tree before the seed, then you can be assured that He is also doing this at present, for He does not change His ways of conduct, and He does act differently today and tomorrow, for then you would continually and suddenly see newly created trees. But you see each tree gradually growing and developing.

21. But this act shows with more brightness than that of ten suns, that the Lord did not need to create a fully grown tree, but the seed only. And when it comes into the earth, it develops, and from this development comes forth a completed form of that which the Lord has placed into the seed-kernel.

22. But in the seed there is once again the ability to find itself again in the end, and the tree itself and its whole activity is then nothing but an effective process from the seed to seed; and it is, in my opinion, much more correct and wiser to suppose that a line is a product of many adjoining points, and is, therefore, confined by two endpoints, so as to quite foolishly assume that a point would be a product of a contracted line, and be bound by two lines (NB: of which it has a countless number) on either side .

23. I think that you would easily see from this little bit, that the Lord created the seed of corn rather than the tree; yet, He created both at the same time, He laid the tree undeveloped in the seed.

24. Love is therefore the foundation of all things, and everything must finally return to this ground, if it will not perish. On this occasion, however, we have also reached the height of our mountain, and so we will venture at once into our new district.

CHAPTER 29

Continuation of the journey - straightforward, with unchanging will, to the goal

1. Just look there - into the slightly deeper, infinitely large plain, which is bordered to the left and right, as far as the eye can see, by this forested mountain! What do you see in this level? Certainly nothing other than I. At a very great distance, a stepped, round pyramid rises high. From this distance, apart from brilliant radiance, nothing else can be seen. But, nevertheless, this first sight promises something unbelievably great and sublime, so we will also be quick to get ourselves there, to get as quickly as possible close to this great magnificent work. Behold, we have no footpath to go on, nor is there any road to follow; but when I look at this splendid ground, which looks much more delicate and finer than the finest silk fabric, I do think that one does not need a footpath, but only have to follow a straight line, and we shall soon be there where we want to be.

2. But do you know what the straight line means spiritually? The straight line signifies or means the immovably firm will, which cannot be deviated by any adverse appearance or other distractions; and it is precisely this straight line of will that is meant here as well.

3. You ask in yourselves whether, on this way, we can still encounter obstacles which might make it more difficult for us to achieve the goal? This will all show itself on the way. Until now it was still good. In the course of our conversation, we have already traveled a considerable distance, and so, if I look to where this extraordinary structure is situated, I can already discern much more of what I was formerly unable to do from the mountain range.

4. I can now quite well assume that this extraordinary edifice consists of twelve departments, which virtually rise above each other, as if on the earth the retractable telescope, of course, of the most gigantic proportions, having twelve parts and positioned vertically. And if you look at the matter keenly, you will soon discover without difficulty that each of these twelve floors consists of rows of columns, and see each floor glistens with a different color.

5. But what does the eyes see over the distance? We shall be able to look at the whole work up close anyway as if face to face; so we are only hurrying towards it. But I notice that your eyes are looking at a rather high wall, which is not far from us. This would seem to take on the appearance of a great hindrance and a distraction from our straight line since we do not have a wall breaker with us.

6. If the wall of this rampart rises upright according to earthly scale and has no gate below, there may well be a small issue with keeping the straight line intact, and yet we must not move from it; for in the spirit, to only move one line to the side, will say so much as to lose, in one moment, this whole beautiful world from our view. But we are not at the wall yet; so do not lose heart, and it will perhaps be better than we expect.

7. But I also notice great and wide stretches of tree-tops, from among which all sorts of pillars and pyramids rise. It might very easily happen that, in our straight line, we will encounter a tree or a pillar, and would, therefore, be compelled, on account of such obstacles, to deviate a little from the straight line.

8. You say: What if we could, spiritually, ascend into the air, and by this, maintain the easiest straight line to our grand goal?

9. I tell you, this we could do; but by this we expose ourselves to a double danger of losing this world from our sight; firstly, because such an upturn is also a violation of the straight line, and secondly, we must not separate our feet from this ground, as long as we want to look at this world. For if we separate our feet from the ground, the whole world will sink back into their first unrecognizable star shape. Therefore, we have no choice but to encounter all possible obstacles with a determined mind!

10. Now see, we have already reached the rows of trees. As far as my eyes can penetrate into this avenue forest, it is surprisingly straightforward; but there, quite deeply, I see something like an erected altar, and this altar stands, in my opinion, just in the middle of this avenue. It does not matter, however, if you have a fixed mind; and the path must be exactly the way we want it to be, for it would be a sad thing for a spirit to let the path be blocked by natural obstacles.

11. Well, there we are already at the altar. Indeed, this first monument shows, even if on a distant scale, of what indescribable splendor the principal object must be.

12. Look at this altar! It has a height of about one klafter, and consists of perfectly round rods, which are made of a very brilliant material, but which certainly does not appear in any other world-body in this peculiarity. Just look at the bars; they do not even look solid, but have an appearance as if they were gushing downwards, but they shoot downwards into golden funnels without so-called side-sprays. The flaming, radiating movement in these round bars are almost the same as if these rods were nothing more than round water jets, which, for instance, are first falling downwards through a central column, and here, as we shall see, fall downwards according to the rules of hydraulic engineering. To convince ourselves, however, we touch the bars with our hands. The whole is only a peculiarity of the material. This has in itself such a flaming movement that it appears as if it were pure flowing water; but in itself, it is as a diamond.

13. And then, above the bars, you see the splendid positioned round table; it radiates as if a small sun had been laid on these columns. The columns flow down into golden funnels, which do likewise into in a red and blue iridescent, most precious round crystal plate. Indeed, to see this altar on this beautiful round plain, surrounded by the most splendid trees in the most beautiful order, the branches of which rise like giant arms, is, in and of itself, something so charming that one would like to look at it with great satisfaction for a considerable time. If you consider the wonderful green velvet floor, and the trunks of the trees looking like powerful blue semi-transparent round columns, having not the slightest blemish.

14. What do you say about this first splendor? I must sincerely confess that this sublime simplicity appeals to me more than any of the already glorious sights of this world. We forget, however, when we contemplate this glory, that we must go still further.

15. But regarding the straight line, how will we work this out?

16. Should we possibly break down this supreme altar? Indeed, the heart would not be able to do such a thing, and especially when one considers that such a work required a great deal of effort and a great measure of diligence from the hands of this world and that it certainly stood for a purpose sanctified by this humanity. Moreover, destruction is something completely foreign to the divine order.

17. So what will we do here? You say: since spirits can go through matter, can we? The Lord has also come to His apostles through the locked door.

18. I tell you, this is indeed true, but we are not masters but servants of the Lord, and they cannot do all that the Lord has done except if the Lord wants it. So I have now no advice. We will turn to the Lord of glory, in the love of our hearts, and I am sure the straight line will be restored.

19. Well, I have done this, and you have done it in me; and see, a male being hurried out of the background, just touches the altar, and the latter divides at the middle, and we can follow our line further.

20. You are wondering if this altar has a mechanical device enabling it to always be divided equally for similar straightforward travels? I say to you that everything is arranged by the Lord in the most appropriate manner, that man may bind one thing so firmly together, but the Lord is the master of the matter. Man is well aware of the limbs of his work, and how these are to be separated, but the Lord knows the members of the substance and knows how to separate them.

21. Therefore, to observe the straight line of life, you need nothing but the ever-growing love of the Lord, and you will be able to walk through rocks, fire, and water as if you had no obstacle to fight.

22. But I would like to draw your attention to the phenomena which will occur to us on this way, and in the end, you will recognize many a situation of your world in it, as in a magnificent spell of mirrors. Now, however, we have a very wide open avenue in a straight line, and we can, therefore, proceed again with a clear conscience.

23. You would like to know what will happen to the separated altar. Will he mend himself again, or will he be left alone? But I say unto you: understand me, and let be what is behind us; for we have much before us and by far greater things. But if we are to get to the principal object, we shall, in any case, obtain a general overview from the height. And so, let us continue.

CHAPTER 30

Continuation of the sun journey - lack of knowledge and love of the world as hindrances to prayer

1. The open avenue lying before us is indeed somewhat narrower than the previous, but this phenomenon is not the least detrimental to our progress on our straight line, but just the opposite, for the narrower the alley becomes, the easier it is to keep to the middle of it in the straight line.

2. The reason for such a phenomenon, however, the fact that all these avenues are radiated and arranged radially from the center of the main building; and if we could look down from the height above the main building, we would see this whole magnificent design, as a radiant sun.

3. And see, this is a good sign; so the straight line is already set, we can only follow it, and we can not fail to reach the main goal as soon as possible. We have already, as you see, walked well over half of this second avenue, and the present end can be seen quite well. But I noticed a new obstacle, which could distract us somewhat from the straight path. But we will give little attention to this second obstacle, for, like the first, this second one will also have to give us a rightful passage.

4. But what is that, which is radiating so brightly for us? Only a few more accelerated steps there, at first sight, one cannot contain it all, because the grandeur of this alley decoration is too great. What would be the water artworks and fireworks evolutions on the earth? It is but a spark in the sight of such splendor and glory.

5. Behold, the plate which paves this second great tree-circle as if in one piece, looks just like a small-walled surface of the most pure water, yet the surface is perfectly flat and very firm. The most peculiar thing about this whole story is that, by remarkable refraction of rays, one's sight is so much deceived that the paving's surface seems wobbly, and every surge of waves shines in another light. I call this a brilliant ray reflection.

6. In the middle of this wide tree-circle is a pillar erected, and it looks just like as if one would see troubled water with you on the earth. Just see how the water form seems to bubble up and down as if in vortexes, and every vortex shines forth alternately in a thousand colors; see and feel this column, it is as firm as a diamond in all its seeming vitality. Indeed, whoever does not consider this material composition and the treatment of such an ornament to be wonderful, I would like to hear from his lips what he regards as a miracle.

7. And then look up all the way up to the top of this column, where it branches out into very radiant branches, like a weeping willow, and instead of leaves, letting all sorts of radiant extensions hang down.

8. What do you say to this splendor? Indeed, you are justly mute; for feelings cannot be readily described, and one has to be satisfied if one would be able to sketch but a vague silhouette of it with the most lively and most eloquent language.

9. It would otherwise be all right if this whole splendid sight were not in the middle of our wall line. What do you think, will this alley ornament be divided like the previous one? In the case of the first, one might rather try to believe that the whole thing was based on artificial mechanical principles, and was therefore also easily separated; but with this highly colossal ornament, any mechanism might be too short and too weak to divide this very powerful column, as previously described. - What are we going to do? You say that the one who has divided the first obstacle, the Lord, will surely easily deal with this second one.

10. You have answered correctly. But there is something you do not yet know, so listen: The Lord is indeed the omnipotent Helper and conqueror of all obstacles, but He must also be called to the aid of the degree and measure of the obstacle, then only then will be done what is to be done.

11. You say here, yes, but why? If we ask the Lord for help, He will help us no less than what we need. I tell you that you are right in one respect, but only to the extent that you are mistakenly assuming, that the Lord has little or no interest in your own capacity of knowledge. To accept such a thing, I think, would be a little misguided.

12. But the Lord will above all raise the self-knowledge of the children; so He lets all things be evaluated and appraised by them, so that their needs may be presented to Him according to their knowledge, and He will help them according to their own knowledge and desire.

13. For this reason, my dear friends and brethren, no one on the earth is to judge a sinful obstacle in the course of his life with a frivolous measure, or else he must attribute it to himself if, after many prayers, he had not yet received the desired complete help.

14. For the Lord is indeed exceedingly loving and generous with His grace and mercy, yet at the same time, always to the most perfect degree, respectful of the free activity of the spirit in every respect, both in the sphere of will and in the sphere of knowledge.

15. But said among us, it would be better for every man, concerning himself, as you say, would make an elephant out of a mosquito, and vice versa; and it will be then that anyone of such viewpoint would ask for much, shall also receive much; but whoever asks little, should not expect that the Lord would throw after him an unrecognized and unasked for advantage.

16. You do you on earth the same among each other. Why should not the Lord, who has the most loving and wise reasons, do so? Would even a very well-intentioned rich man lend someone the asked for two hundred dollars, even if he would know that he, in fact, needs two thousand dollars? I tell you, he will not do this, even though he would probably know that the begging borrower essentially needs the greater sum.

17. He will also say to the borrower from the noble ground of his heart, "I will gladly lend you the asked for sum, if it will suffice for your sake. If, with a stutter, the borrower still moves in his foolish, blind timidity, and remains with his first petition, tell yourselves who is to blame if the borrower with 200 dollars is not served.

18. But for the sake of this, everyone is to examine himself precisely, to measure his need, and then to turn to the holy, omnipotent Helper, he will surely receive the justified help, if he expects him faithfully, with trust, and in loving earnest.

19. And so then, we will and must now take hold of the Lord a little more firmly than with the first obstacle, then the Lord will open the way to us. But what does the greater firmness in the approach to the Lord consists of?

20. The smith says to his companion: "To melt a little iron, a lesser heating of coals is sufficient, and the forge does not need to breathe so deeply; but if a great lump of iron is to be melted, the master smith will say to his companion, "Now bring three baskets of solid charcoal, and let the forge go, else the great metal lump will hardly reach the red heat. I mean, this blacksmith rule, which is pretty much to be grasped with hands, will also be very useful for us. More coal, more wind to the forge, means as much as: more love and more trust, and it will be according to the faithful desire!

21. I have done this within myself, and you must do it within me and see, this water-column is already divided again, and we can continue our march with the slightest effort in the world.

22. Do you understand also this second obstacle, which is full of illusion and seems to be alive in every nook and corner? If it is touched, however, it is hard and resistant all over. See, to work through these errors is a far easier matter; for whoever has once been awakened in his spirit, will soon be able to easily separate the low stupidity from the most brilliant purest truth, and that is the overcoming of the first obstacle. But here it is about the world with its multicolored glitter on full scale; and it requires much more to get this obstacle out of the way, than the earlier one.

23. There are certainly many people on earth who have long ago recognized the truth in its radiant light. But they cannot separate themselves from the world, because its rays are too attractive to them. But just how much enchanting glittering rays this world can contain, and what they look like, can a keen look at this avenue ornament show. Possessions, money, all sorts of comforts, a good table, beautiful women, fashionable clothing, and much more are still very powerful glitter-rays of the world, even for already intelligent men. We do not even mention the women; because stupidity has its original seat in their homes.

24. But a person, who takes pleasure in such a world of tinsel, is like a rich man in a dream, throwing millions to and fro, but when he wakes up, not a single penny fills his purse. I think you understand me; and since our obstacle has been overcome, we can already move on again.

CHAPTER 31

Continuation of the sun journey - passing over from material to spiritual life in corresponding images

1. Look, there is again a glorious avenue before us, which also narrows itself towards the end; that is already the third one we enter. When you look at these three avenues in succession, they are inserted into each other like three cones, the end tips of which always fall into the base of the following; for if the first avenue ran along with its lines, the lines would have to cross at some point, where we have encountered the first monument. But the calculation is so arranged that the two rows of trees stop at the very point where we have always encountered at the end of an avenue, a large tree-circle, in the center of which stood the ornament. Therefore, this third avenue also begins again very broadly, and at the end, like the earlier, become narrower.

2. Could not someone say: I do not find this aesthetic at all? The avenue should either run parallel, or it is to become proportionately wider, and the lines should indeed diverge proportionately to the rate of which a parallel running alley seemingly becomes narrower. In this way, an avenue would, from the starting point, have the appearance of a rectangle, or of a perfectly parallel path to the end. Such a system would reveal more science and spirit, than such an apparent collapse of an alley.

3. This is indeed true; such a layout must appear oppressive to the eye, especially in such a long avenue as this one. But the people who have created this avenue have a much higher purpose connected with it than that of aesthetics. And so these three avenues denote the transition of the material into the spiritual, inner life completely perfectly, practically and correctly.

4. But how is this to be understood? We will be able to work this out easily; for similar things are also found on your earth, though not exactly expressed by an avenue. Certain examples will give us an idea of this matter on the occasion of the passing through this third avenue, in which there is not much to be seen in any case.

5. Let's say a man who is knowledgeable in his craft, writes a book about his subject. This book begins with a preface which is rather broad, dull and boring, and usually more extensive than the intellectual and subject matter of the subsequent work itself. This preface is gradually narrowed down to a very simple and, at the same time, not uncommon practical conclusion in only a few words, which was formerly unnecessarily and extensively extrapolated on in the whole preface. Now, fortunately, the preface is done. This is followed by a blank, white sheet, on which sometimes nothing, but sometimes with large letters, the important word: 'Introduction' is written. If this fatal leaf is turned over, an even broader introduction than was the preface, begins all over again. In this introduction, as in the preface, there is nothing but a somewhat general praise and recommendation of the subsequent principal work. What is the end of this lengthy introduction? Usually with the same expression: we will no longer surrender ourselves with these considerations, but proceed to the main subject; the honored reader will find everything properly illuminated there, which could only briefly be mentioned in this introduction. And that is the end.

6. Why, then, did the author begin his introduction so broadly, and then narrow it down so terribly? Could he omit them altogether? We can neither affirm nor deny this question, for its purpose is good; whether it is also suitable for the purpose of the reader, the reader will most easily determine when he has read through the whole work.

7. After this introduction comes the principal work itself. What will happen in this, which also begins again very broadly and with great promise? Certainly nothing else but what has been said in the preface and in the introduction, only with much more words. And so the geographer ends his work with the presentation of a usually very insignificant dwelling; because for big places he has a better place, they are always closer to the beginning.

8. The mathematician places at the end of his deeply considered work, a few short, unresolved calculations, usually the last of which is the least of all.

9. The historian also saves the most unimportant fact for the very last page of the page, while at the beginning he drew a terribly wide glance over the whole surface of the earth; and so, with the exception of the Word of God, you may look at almost all the works, and you will find that they end up quite narrow in the end. - That would be an example, which is hopefully well illuminated.

10. Let us consider the construction of a house, a tower, or a church; how broad it is at the beginning, and in the end the house ends in a converging roof, the tower in its top, and the church also usually into a very pointed roof. This example requires no further illumination; for the daily sight provides the right explanation.

11. A third example gives you the consideration of your ceremonial worship. The men come from the so-called sacristy, with great pomp, organizes themselves in front of the altar, as in the background of the church, the musical chorus performance swells wider and broader; but with time, after the third part of the ceremony, the determined parts are already shorter and usually less meaningful, and where would expect the greatest breadth, namely, on the occasion of the so-called "exit procession", it becomes ever narrower, until finally everything get lost in the extremely short "Ite, messa est."

12. A so-called act of you begins not infrequently with a mystery, and usually terminates in an exceedingly insignificantly blind marriage. So, too, your musical pieces, including the musical instruments, start very broadly, and often end so narrowly that one would have to seriously say: for this last, very simple outcome, it was not worth so much fuss. So also your scale begins with a thunder-like, wide-floating, deep bass tone and ends in the finest chords with a very fine and narrow thin tone. Do you already have enough examples?

13. But as we have not yet arrived at the end of the avenue, but are in an already quite right in it's narrowness, we may add an example to the great abundance, in order to give a very bright light to our cause; for in the spirit, it is as in the world. In the world, people never have too much money; and if any man have so much, he shall not refuse to add more. Likewise, one never has too much light in spirit; likewise, the sage wishes to be still wiser. That is why this example will not be superfluous to us since it increases the light.

14. But what is this example? This is very close to you; you can only look into the present education of your children, and you have already have the whole example in a nutshell. What great and broad plans a usual couple often make for their children? The son has to study and, besides master all kinds of other arts and crafts; and for the daughter at least half a dozen masters run into the house. It seems as if the son should become a ruler, and the daughter a wife of a ruler. At last the son has completed his course of study, and the daughter has escaped from the masters' claws with all sorts of meaningless skills. But what happens now?

15. The well-educated and well-studied son is pushed into a narrow office on a narrow trainee bank, from where no great future can be seen, and of the daughter is said: "Now we must give her some domestic education. If you consider this position only somewhat reasonably, the ever-narrower avenue of the human life, which is so broadly projected at the beginning, cannot possibly escape you.

16. But for the son, soon after his very narrow praxis sphere, a somewhat wider office avenue of office begins again, and the daughter is married to a man of whom at first very much was expected. But the son's sphere of office diminishes at last in the pension fund, and the prospects of the married daughter do not gain in breadth, but, like her feminine advantages, gradually vanish, and she becomes narrower in the end.

17. Now, what is the end of the third avenue of life? I mean, I need not describe this to you: you can only go to the nearest cemetery, where you will find a lot of offshoots of broadly begun human avenues of life.

18. And see, in the same sense, these sun-men build everything just as it perfectly corresponds to living conditions.

19. Once the people of the earth also built similarly. The so-called Egyptian pyramids are still testimony to this; for these magnificent buildings were nothing but the tombs of great and mighty men. The bigger and more powerful one was, the larger pyramid he built himself as a tomb. - Whoever wishes to measure them at the bottom, would encounter significant differences; but at the top, all ran to a completely narrow tip.

20. We find similar wisdom on a much more significant scale here, too, in this world of light, where people especially of this district, are true primordial sages. - However, what will come next, will provide us with enlightenment about it.

21. But as, on this occasion, we have returned to the desired, very narrow end of the avenue here, we shall now again take a brave look ahead, and see whether there is any obstacle presented which could bend our straight line. Until now, besides the great ring wall, which is close to us, I see no obstacle, so we can move about this remaining free plain quite unhindered as far as the wall. But how things will be when we get to the wall, experience itself will show, let us therefore courageously walk up to the wall!

CHAPTER 32

Continuation of the sun journey - palace complex corresponds to the conditions of the human being

1. It is about a distance of two miles, or eight thousand klafters of your field measure. This stretch is flat, and one can see nothing on this surface which may represent some obstacle. For from our present standpoint, apart from a circle of small pyramids, there is nothing to be discovered. The pyramids, however, stand so far apart, and are not on our line, that we cannot regard them as an obstacle, except it there would be something behind the pyramids. But I say, short and sweet, we are going towards it, and the way will show what we might yet encounter.

2. If I were not your guest here, but you were mine, we would have been at our destination long ago; but I must share your uncertainty and inconclusiveness with you. Therefore, the march goes a little slower. But no harm is done; for we know how to make use of the somewhat hesitant way, with the grace of the Lord.

3. It is also very pleasant to walk on this greenish-blue velvety floor, and so we can take pleasure in the slightly longer journey time. We are anyway already closer to at least half of the remarkable main building in the center of this circular wall, and so we direct our eyes straight ahead. We have already reached the pyramid rows, as you can see, and there is still no other obstacle than the ring wall, which is constantly rising as a result of our approach. This, we now come to see, is by no means continuous, but consists of nothing but columns, presenting an exceedingly splendid sight.

4. Oh, look, there are three galleries of columns on top of each other; but the pillars seems to be placed very close together. Let us go there quickly and not lose courage! I think that we soon shall see this great apparent obstacle to be no obstacle at all; for notice that the spaces between the pillars become more noticeable and perceptible as we get closer; and see, in front of the columns, a joint staircase is placed, with which one can at least reach the lowest gallery from every side.

5. Yes, just look, the pillars are quite far apart, and we can confidently go through them between the rows. Yes, yes, my dear friends and brothers, so it is. Every good labor is worth its wage; we bravely rushed towards it, and where we thought we would find the greatest obstacle, we find none at all. We have reached the end of this splendid staircase, which, according to my knowledge, is made of pure red transparent gold and is covered for the pedestrians between the pillars with a material which has hitherto not occurred on this world-body.

6. There are but twelve steps; we shall easily go up with them. So just go up! We are in the gallery. Look at the floor pavement of this gallery; does it not it look as if the round, wide, surface with diameter of ten fathoms of your measure are of finely ground diamond ? - Look at it keenly, it does not look like a composition at all, not a fragment to be seen, but it is a solid unit. Then consider the pillars that form the inner circle. Each has a spiral staircase made of the most precious rubies. Each staircase has the most delicate railings of white gold, and on top of the many bars of the railings are placed, bright, radiant blue balls, emitting a wonderful light.

7. You would like to know why all the columns has such identical spiral staircases around them? The first reason is evident: in order to reach the second gallery; but that does not mean that every column had to be provided with such a spiral staircase.

8. The reason lies in the wisdom of these people, according to which everyone may be able to go higher, without anyone being a hindrance to anyone else; for these pillars represent the teachers or leaders. For no leader or teacher should be so inclined that one would not be able to rise higher under his guidance, likewise may no column lack a rising spiral staircase.

9. You are now however asking why and for what reason, is the outer row of columns not equipped with staircases? See, this is again grounded in the wisdom of these men, according to which the outer row of columns also represents teachers; but teachers of nature, that is, teachers in external things. These, however, can not raise anybody with their doctrines, therefore are these outer columns without staircases.

10. If you can look at what you want, you will find everywhere the most perfect and intimate correspondences with the external as well as the internal conditions of man. Therefore has the path from our last avenue been quite monotonous. There was nothing but the beautiful ground and the somewhat sparse, not very considerable row of pyramids, followed by the happy enlargement in the spacious colonnades of the ring wall, which we had formerly thought to be a great hindrance, and rising above it, a view of half of the main building in the center. But that was all we encountered on the voyage over the open plains.

11. You think that there is very little important correspondence behind this very simple phenomenon. But I tell you, there is something very deeply hidden in this very boring journey. Of course we encountered little; but according to your saying that the wise needs little, and can find something great in the same, this little thing is so arranged that it can be perfectly adequate for us to behold with one glance. For you to get some idea of it, I will give you beforehand a few small examples, in which you can easily find its depth yourselves.

12. From the three avenues, that is, after the three degrees of humiliation of the body, soul and spirit, we have suddenly entered the free space or correspondingly into the inner freedom of the spirit, and that with the means which the Lord Himself has prescribed for us. These means are the external wisdom of the teaching of the Lord, which man must first observe, until he attains to the inner spiritual free consciousness.

13. Glorious is the ground on which one is walking, free and without obstacle, and blue is its color, full of gentle splendor; so is also the free consciousness of the spirit, which manifests itself in an unchangeable stability. But placed in the center of the free space, are pyramids. These are tombs; what do they depict? You might say: Perhaps the complete death of the world. This, my dear brothers and friends, is already happening during the trip through the three avenues.

14. These pyramids, however, show here only the deliberate abandon of external wisdom, and that there is no longer any obstacle to be expected in this sphere, correspondingly to the fact that man has deliberately freed himself of being able to sin before God. For every spirit, which has nothing external adhering to it anymore, can no longer sin, and for this reason, is pure.

15. Why then? Because he has become fully one with the Lord! I need say no more on this; for if a man does what the Lord wills and does, he will not sin.

16. When we were very near to the exit from the last avenue, the splendid colonnades still seemed to us like a solid, insurmountable ring-wall; that is, a dreadful line, offering no prospect. But when we were beyond the pyramids, the wall began to dissolve into separate pillars; and after a very short period of travel, it became a great glory, and no obstacle, as we had formerly feared for some time.

17. What does this represent? Consider the death of your body. This is surely the most feared moment for every person still living outwardly, that is, the strongest obstacle to life. It is also certain for everyone, as long as he does not have the pyramid row behind him.

18. But if a man has laid down his faux external wisdom and have fully taken hold of the Lord in his spirit, then this feared obstacle becomes a most glorious sight, and all will have the most fervent desire to accede the twelve steps as quickly as possible, to get to the lower gallery.

19. Where do the twelve steps come from? These represent the ten commandments of Moses, and then the two commandments of love from the mouth of the Lord. The three superimposed galleries represent: natural in the spiritual, spiritual in the spiritual, and heavenly in the spiritual. I think that after this explanation, you will now fully comprehend the phenomena on the walk over the bare plain, to the partial view of the central building, which signifies the grace of the Lord, and is only visible beforehand, until the galleries and the main cause becomes visible, which is the love of the Lord, or the Lord Himself in His Personality. Since we know this, we move on again.

CHAPTER 33

Revelation of the overwhelmingly radiant beauty of the Sun-palace

1. Will it be difficult to move from here, and will we have to observe the straight line from here? Let us go out into the free, very spacious room, which is found between this wide circular gallery and the main building in the middle, and we shall soon see what shall be done there.

2. Look through between the two inner pillars with the spiral staircases before us, and tell me what you see.

3. You say: Dear friend and brother, we have no words to describe this sight miraculously presented to our poor eyes! A surface of full-blown brilliancy presents itself to our gaze, and millions of rays upon rays are shooting in all directions, all of different colors; and the rays takes mutually hold of each other and form transient forms. The forms also converge here and there, creating new forms.

4. There, further towards the main building, we see these rays rolling into the most colorful circles, and the circles often rise themselves as spheres above the floor. These spheres glimmer in the changing light, whose charming and most beautiful appeal cannot be described with words. And finally, we see above these light-spheres the bottom row of pillars of this great central palace.

5. The pillars has the appearance of downward-swirling, bright red flames, and behind these peculiar pillars, is a wall radiating a light blue light, having entrance gates between the pillars, from which a marvelous greenish-white light radiates. - That's all we can see so far.

6. When we look at the undulating movement of this surface, it looks as if the floor is a body of water, over which one cannot firmly walk. We can refute this notion by looking back at the last avenue hindrance which also had such an undulating surface, but was in fact not fluid at all, and it may well be that the light of this surface here is likewise just a visual deception.

7. Yes, my dear friends and brothers, so it is with this matter. All that you see here as fluid, is only a play of light, which is particularly typical on the central suns, and this becomes stronger, the closer a place is situated to great equator of such a central sun. This is therefore a very solid material in itself and can be polished much finer than the finest diamond with you. The smoother such a large surface is, the more eagerly are the powerful light-rays of its sun-world body light-ether surroundings absorbed, and after saturation, thrown back again. And so, by the to and fro reflection, such billowing effect ensues in the vicinity, as waves form themselves into all kinds of light-forms, and in the distance, into circles. Why then? Because in the distance all movements, as well as all forms, are increasingly rounded off, which you can already see on your earth body from different phenomena.

8. Go for example on a great height, and look at the broad horizon, which is very uneven in itself, but you will still see it quite rounded; the cause lies in the fact that the small irregularities completely disappear against the whole wide stretch of horizon.

9. If you look at a multi-edged pillar from a certain distance, it will not appear edgy, but round.

10. If you would observe a broad river, and look at the flow of the water from the nearest bank to the opposite bank, this phenomenon will be well confirmed. At the closest bank, you will see the flow of the stream, and on the opposite bank you will see bigger intersecting circles, in which the flow of the stream seem to be slow.

11. How uneven the world-bodies are on their surface, your earth can show you enough; but from a great distance they become a perfectly round circle; if not quite perfectly circular, but the outer edge line appear to be perfectly flat.

12. There are a number of such examples; but I think that these are enough to comprehend the seemingly miraculous phenomena before us as a manifestation itself, without a spiritually corresponding meaning, to which we shall come at the appropriate opportunity.

13. We need only to know beforehand that the floor which is spread out before us is perfectly solid, and we can immediately move forward over it; and so we cheerfully go ahead!

14. We are out of the gallery and on the ground and see, it is firm, and the undulating light are not to be seen where we stand. We can now move towards the main building. But take a look at the building, which is now standing before us in all its revealed splendor.

15. What do you say about this work? You say the same as I do, that there are no words, and one becomes dumb before the most sublime sight! If one imagined such an infinitely exalted and glorified Babylonian tower, one would probably have the best picture of it; but one would have to take the spiral ascending passages of the Babylonian Tower and divide it into ten floors, each of which describes a somewhat narrower circle. But this would only be a naked form without light; but here the grandest and noblest form is engulfed with an indescribable splendor and glory of light. Yet, how much less is our imagined structure in comparison to this indescribably, exceedingly greater glory.

16. But let us go closer. it will develop itself more and more in its infinite splendor. You see the lower row from here as if consisting of single large pillars, each of which has a height of thirty klafter. You might have estimated the height correctly; but not the pillars themselves. When you look closely, you will see each column as if it consists of round bars. But we are closer now, and it is quite easy to see that such a column, which from a distance is a mere pillar, is seen from up close to be a full circle of pillars, same as we formerly perceived individual rods to be a single great pillar.

17. And now see, we have fortunately come to the great level of the Central Building, and we see that each such main pillar consists of thirty pillars, arranged in a circle, far enough from each other for us to comfortably enter such a column-circle and convince ourselves that it still has enough room to accommodate a thousand people.

18. But now look also at this splendid establishment; Along the circle of these columns, a splendid staircase winds upwards along the inner space with a gentle slope, and with the most splendid balconies up to the next floor. And see, every pillar, or rather every pillar-circle, which we see from here, has a similar arrangement.

19. The base of such a column is bright green, and the galleries, which border the ascending staircase, look like flaming gold; then look out, the ground of this first large, level gallery is that of a most beautiful amethyst, in which all sorts of diamond ornamentation is embedded like a mosaic. What do you say about this truly unbelievable splendor?

20. I can see that it with you as it is with me: one can literally find no words. Let us go up the staircase, and look at the second floor; there will we get to see things, which will overshadow all that has been seen so far? So follow me up the stairs.

CHAPTER 34

First floor - details of the Palace of the Sun and its correspondence

1. Look, there we are already in the gallery of the first floor. Again you see the pillar-circles instead of the large pillars, and in the center of this pillar-circle, you can see altars, similar to the altar we first encountered on our journey through the avenues. As you can see, the inner circle of the pillar-circle is, all around equipped with an inexpressibly magnificent staircase.

2. But what are the altars in the center of these pillar-circles? On the one hand they serve as ornamentation in the circle; on the other hand, they signify the first degree of the knowledge of God, while the pillar-circles on ground-level are completely empty, depicting the human in the completely natural state.

3. But see the splendor of these pillars; they are no longer smooth, but sinuous. In the hollow of the swirl is ornamentation of the most beautiful foliage, and the belly of the swirl is occupied with the most marvelous, self-luminous precious hemisphere shaped stones. The color of the columns itself is bluish-green, the foliage is like flaming gold, the floor of the circle is like strongly sparkling ruby, and the staircase here is made of white flaming silver.

4. But see the floor of the gallery. It is made from the finest hyacinth, the splendid balustrade outward from porphyry, and the inner wall of the main building is of onyx, which is a splendid gem. The arcuate vault between the columns and the continuous wall are of the most beautiful opal, in which all kinds of colored, self-luminous stones are placed in wonderful order.

5. Then there is a high and broad gate between the pillars of the main building. This gate, as you may notice, has two wings, which are attached to a quadrangular column placed in the middle of the gate, and open not in the middle, but on both sides. The square column is a blazing piece of diamond, and the gate-wings are of flaming gold, which is still more glorious than the transparent; This, of course, is not to be found on the earth.

6. A transparent gold could be produced on the earth; but how? Through glazing; for you know that all metals, when they have reached the highest degree of heat, kind of incinerates at this degree of heat. After burning, however, nothing but a kind of slag remains. When this slag is crushed again, and mixed with a salt solution, it becomes viscous, and when it is cooled, which became liquid by means of the salt, and naturally, by means of great heat. If, therefore, one would produce by this method glass from the gold slag, which is very costly on the earth, in the manner described above, it would yield the finest transparent gold glass of yellow-reddish color.

7. But to portray a blazing gold on earth would probably be the purest impossibility. Not even on the planetary suns, but on the central suns alone, where the light is at of the most immeasurable intensity. There, every transparent body is capable of continuous flaming, because it can never consume the light absorbed in itself, according to the light which surrounds it. And thus, by such a constant conflict between light and light, such a flame occurs, which appears as if matter were in a constant burning state. If, however, one would touch such matter, it is perfectly solid, and not warm in the least, but just the opposite: the more intense the flaming, the cooler it is.

8. Here is then a very close correspondence with the people on your earth, who are very fiery on the outside, and most zealous; but if their hearts are touched, one is astonished at their coldness. This is how you can have people who can state the case for the poor with fiery zeal; but when they would meet a poor man in secret, they are colder than the thousand-year-old ice of a glacier, which cannot be melted by an ordinary sunbeam, except however for here and there in small portions, a well-nourished flash.

9. The same goes for most of the famous pulpit preachers. They ignite hell with their excessive fire, in which none of the most fire-related beings could exist for one second; if you afterward would ask him what his heart says about such an exceedingly high hellish degree of heat, the answer will be: I am quite happy. A good roast and a not too small glass of wine after such a hot sermon brings everything in him back into balance.

10. This would be a correspondence for our flaming gold; but this is not the recommendable. However, there is also an acceptable value, namely a spiritually good one, and this is the following:

11. The love of the Lords works powerfully in those people who are full of love in their hearts. This causes a conflict between love and love; and this love then acts charitable to the outside. It enlightens and warms whatever surrounds it; but it remains cool in itself. Why then? Because it is not self-love. This is also shown by the flaming gold. Now we know this correspondence; and so we can take a closer look at the doors.

12. Then look only at what sublimities have been plastically incorporated into these gates! Does not the matter almost look like a picture-book, which is laid in with the most wonderful colors from the middle of the mass of which the wings are made? Then you can see through the smooth surface of the gate wing into the interior of the building! You are stepping back; what have you seen? I read it on your faces; you have discovered people, and that of never-before-seen beauty! ? Yes, yes, so it is.

13. We must not approach these people yet, we must become accustomed first by the ever-increasing splendor of this building, otherwise we could suffer some damage to our spiritual health. For a spirit of the highest heaven is never so perfect as to be able to look at all the beauty of the Lord's creation without the danger of a temporal injury.

14. In order to not become too much enchanted here, let us proceed very quickly into such a pillar circle, and up the staircase to the second floor, or to the number of the gallery, the third. There we shall encounter something different.

15. I note a point of doubt in you, and this consists of a incomprehensible numerical discrepancy, namely that we all saw from a distance this whole main building to consist of twelve floors, but in close proximity, only ten. Let the be good for now; only when we are on the tenth floor, the matter will be enlightened for you. For now, however, we are only going to our second floor, or the third gallery.

CHAPTER 35

Second floor - palace arrangement represents spiritual progress

1. See, it is only a case of preliminary exercise, and one then climbs with the same ease to a higher sphere, into an even higher one than one has previously ascended from a lower sphere into a following, higher one.

2. You say, of course, that it is not entirely the same on the earth; for the higher you go there, the heavier your feet become, and so every next step needs a little more effort than the previous one. That's right; but you must bear in mind that, if you want to ascend naturally, and you follow through all in one go, and do not make relative resting-places between one and the other points, then you must necessarily be fatigued. If, however, you divide a height that is to be ascended between appropriate relative resting places, where you cannot become tired from one to the other, you will be able, after an appropriate rest, to mount every succeeding section with equal force and without fatigue.

3. But that this is correct, you can easily see from your daily life. You often go back and forth here and do not get tired. Why not? If you would count your steps which you walk every day, it will be so much that you will be able to cover a distance of ten hours in a straight line. But if you make a journey of ten hours, you will fall over with fatigue.

4. See, therefore, my acceptance and explanation is correct; if any en route and in the ascent do not want to become weary on the way, he shall make provisions for a proper rest, and he shall have the same strength in his feet at the end of a journey of ten hours, than when he took the first step; and with the continued journey he will only get stronger rather than tired.

5. The same is true for the spiritual progress, as well as for what is half-spiritual and half-material. For example, if someone who want to become a virtuoso on some musical instrument; what will become of him if he does not put his instrument out of his hand all day long, and for about half the night, and rest only a few hours? I tell you, he will not endure such a routine for eight days. Why not? Because every movement of both the body and the spirit requires a much greater effort of life than the state of rest.

6. The exertion of the vital forces, however, consumes it, by which they must not be strengthened, but must naturally only be weakened. Man is, however, arranged to replace his consumed forces in the state of rest by the constant influx of the Lord from the heavens. And if the vital powers are as such consumed by frequent use, the vessels for the further absorption of the vital force are continually expanded and strengthened, whereby the strength and power of the human being who lives such a gradual and moderate lifestyle, must necessarily increase; because, as a vessel, it can always absorb more and more vital power in this way.

7. Thus a wanderer becomes more powerful every day by the proper use of the power of his feet. The musician who purposefully exercises on a musical instrument will become increasingly efficient, and he who wants spiritual progress, will also become increasingly capable in stages, without the insane fatigue of the spirit who strives to rise to the greatest heights and depths of wisdom.

8. If, however, someone would want to achieve from now till tomorrow what should have been achieved with success through an orderly progress over the course of several years, he would become a fool; for he will consume his spiritual vitality over the measure of orderly influx, and then his spirit will become weak and impotent.

9. The hungry vessels for life force will then begin to absorb, like a polyp, everything that falls to them, ordure and gold, light and darkness; so everything is mixed up. But these dissimilar substances will then begin to ferment in the vessels, the spirit of such fermentation will soon tear the weak vessels, and the condition will ensue where you would say, "He's running on a hamster wheel", will be true.

10. From this, however, you will, in my opinion, already be able to clearly see that any effective progress or ascent must be divided into proper resting pauses; and one will then be able to reach every good goal with the greatest ease in the world.

11. Whoever has a large barrel of new grape must and pours it continually from one vat to the other, in order to clarify and strengthen it, will surely find himself greatly disappointed in a hundred times over. In this way, the must is certainly not going to become clear and strong, but since a little must is left behind in every vat, it will in the end lose most of it. If, however, he leaves the must in the vat in proper peace, it will be active, work out all the uncleanliness by itself, thereby continually clarifying itself more and more, and thereby become increasingly saturated with the spiritual power.

12. Once he has attained the first stage of clarity, it will be right to pour it over into another clean barrel, since very little marc will lie in the bottom which weakens the spiritual power of the wine; but it will now deal with itself on a purer basis; that is, with his own strength, and will increasingly strengthen himself by his own power.

13. This is precisely the case with man; from stage to stage it must rise and from floor to floor. He raises higher and higher in the sphere of his life and all the knowledge of it. And so we have now reached our second floor without the slightest fatigue, and now, in these splendid, quite broad galleries, and as you may say, spread ourselves and consider all these great glories.

14. Concerning the construction, it is exactly the same as that of the first two galleries we have already seen and entered, but the mighty pillar-circle of pillars which supports the next floor, is placed somewhat deeper in than that of the preceding galleries.

15. The difference between this and the preceding gallery lies firstly in the entirely different coloring of the building material, and especially in the fact that in the middle of these pillar-circle is, instead of an altar, a kind of large garden vase of the most magnificent ornamental work, in which a natural small tree grows.

16. You will think, for example, that the roots of this tree will eventually crack the vase. There is no need to worry. The wisdom of these people has already provided for it; for when the sapling becomes stronger and stronger in the course of time, then it will be carefully removed, and placed in a big, strong pot, which we shall find on the next floor. Then, a fresh seed is placed in the vase of this storey, from which a new similar noble tree grows.

17. Does this horticultural operation have any spiritual reason? Indeed, my dear friends and brothers! On the first floor we saw only one altar in the middle. The first, so to say, was merely a literal knowledge of God; that is, a seed-kernel, which must first be put into the ground, in order to grow from it into a tree, under whose branches the birds of the heaven can dwell.

18. And see, here is the seed-kernel, which was put in the earth on the first floor, and already became a little tree. It signifies the state of man, as soon as he becomes a moral being, as soon as he has received knowledge from God, and is already suitable for the bearing of fruit in the future, to host the dwelling of the birds of heaven. And so you will also find everything else in this second floor.

19. The floor of the gallery looks like an incandescent ore, the pillars are reddish-green, the floor of the pillar-circle on which the vase stands, is white as a sun. The vase itself is formed from a piece of ruby, and rests on a three-legged frame made of flaming gold, and the ground in the vase looks like emerald velvet. The staircase around the pillars is made of a light blue material and decorated with green, strongly shimmering foliage. The wall of the main building is red, the gates to the interior are of emerald; the central pillar on which the two wings hang, is of transparent gold, and the ceiling of this gallery, together with its splendid ornamentation, is lighter and brighter than sunlight through a light-green glass.

20. Now, however, we are going to a doorway and want to take a look through the transparent material. We are here; so look inside! What do you see? You are sinking back in complete helplessness, what have shaken you so much? I already know that there are much more beautiful human beings on this floor.

21. Yes, I tell you, the visual beauty of these people is so great that on your earth you would not be able to look at such a beauty without suddenly losing your life. I tell you even more: the splendor of this beauty would literally even completely dissolve your whole earth in a few moments. Therefore, we again leave this gallery also and go to the third floor, or to the fourth gallery.

CHAPTER 36

Third floor - Forms and colors correspond to the formation of the mind

1. We have reached this fourth gallery, or the third floor. The fact that everything here is still more glorious and transfigured than in the previous floors, need scarcely be mentioned.

2. A glimpse into these gleaming galleries, illuminated in a thousand flaming radiating colors, shows us with more than spoken clarity the unspeakable beauty of this fourth gallery; but the odd vessel in the pillar-circle deserves closer attention. Look at it carefully, and from all sides, and you will have to say in the end: Indeed, this looks more like a boat than any garden pot. And yet this boat-like vessel is filled with a reddish-blue shimmering earth, from which, in the center of the vessel, a very sound tree has grown, the stem of which is blindingly white of color, and smooth as polished silver. But the branches and leaves on it resemble the branches and leaves of a fig-tree on the earth; but the branches are brilliantly red as corals in the bottom of the sea, and the leaves are blue-green, and the edges are brimmed with small strips of gold, and buds above the leaves looks like they are very much ready to burst open.

3. The boat-like pot, however, appears to be of bright red gold, and is bordered on the edge with a relatively firm banister, made of transparent gold, which has a railing of small, inwardly bent tubes which continuously drips and as we can see, moistens the soil in the vessel. The water has a pleasant smell, like the finest nardus oil. And the floor of the pillar-circle seems to be made of a mass similar to that of the great courtyard between the three-fold ring-gallery and this main central building; for one can look every which way, the surface seems to be constantly waving and undulating, and yet we certainly know that it is solid.

4. The individual pillars of this circle is peculiar. Their color is light gray, but transparent, and in the middle of each pillar is an apparent red, transparent glow, flowing up and down in winding tubes, like a red transparent liquid, giving the pillar a unique, peculiarly sublime appearance. What is also remarkable here is that all the other pillar-circles and their pillars look exactly the same in every aspect. In every center is a vessel of this kind, with a tree, and everywhere we discover, in the middle of the pillars, winding tubes, in which uniform red fluid ascends and descends. The circular staircase within these pillar-circles are here apparently somewhat steeper than in the previous ones, and appear to be from a material which resembles our dark green glass, except that the glass of the earth has no natural light, and thus do not positively glow in itself with such a vivid color.

5. So it is true, my dear friends and brethren; but what does it all say? We do not want hang around for too long without addressing this case according to the right order.

6. With regard to the tree standing in this ship-like pot, we have already learned in the former gallery that it is transplanted here from the vase there, if it has reached the proper size. What then happens to him here, if he too becomes too big for this container? We have already seen similar avenues. When it has borne its fruits, the fruits are gathered, and the tree is easily moved out to the avenues and other groups of trees, where he can continue to flourish and bear abundant fruit. When it has fulfilled its time there, its wood is taken, its branches, and its foliage, and it is all laid upon the altar, which you first saw in the avenue, and then set alight on this altar, and thus offered unto God. This would be the fate of the tree; - but we still have the container before us.

7. Why is this such a ship-like form? Because the ship also here on this world-body portable vehicle on the surface of the waters. But the tree is planted in it to show that this is not the place it should stay. The billowing floor seems to suggest a still insecure foundation on which one can base himself. The gray color of the pillars signifies the nostalgia of the still unstable life of the tree, and the red surging juice in the winding tubes indicates that true life must be in the midst of all external strength when the external life becomes firm and permanent, it is intended to provide a permanent support and free movement of inner life. Hence the form and nature of the pillars of such a pillar circle.

8. The staircase, which is somewhat steeper, shows that the progress is more difficult, with sometimes more resistance, on a non-solid ground than if one were to walk over solid land. In a more understandable way: the staircase, which is somewhat steeper, shows that man, when he has once become an independent moral being, proceeds forwards and upwards with more difficulty with drops of insight, than the red fluid which easily rises and falls in the center of the pillar, which is still veiled in the free moral man, but still shows clearly enough, which way is the most suitable and the least cumbersome to attain the true height of life.

9. Through the tubes, which bend inward from the railing of the boat-like container, we see drops falling to humidify the earth; but an unbroken mass of juice is continually rising and falling in the center of the pillars. What does this show? The drops from the tubes are the external insights and are, in a sense, never a whole, but always bits and pieces. Through them also the outer lifeform is built, but not the inner life itself.

10. Man is thus indeed well formed by all sorts of knowledge, but in all his cultivated education, he remains a scattered man, but not a united man, and as such resembles a tree which grows in a container, where it has no strength, and for him in this way is still no permanence. The best thing about him is when he brings good fruit on the many and colorful branches of his external knowledge; these are kept, but the tree is not. But the pillar, which lets a united life rise in its midst, continues to be a firm, glorious support for the kingdom of God.

11. See, all this is depicted by this pillar-circle standing here in front of us on this fourth gallery; and you may deduct from this knowledge the very easy conclusion that people who perform their buildings in such a high correspondence of life must surely be exceedingly wise. This is also reflected by their radiant beauty. These people, who live in this fourth gallery, also have correspondence with everything you see here. They are exceedingly wise and beautiful, which is greater than all we have seen so far.

12. We will therefore not look at them either, for the sight of them might bring you more harm than good, for, as I have already remarked, you must be made frigidly dull beforehand by the great splendor and wisdom in the contemplation of this central building before you will be able to take into account these people who live in many thousands in these huge buildings. And so we shall go up again, to the fourth floor, or to the fifth gallery, and see there again more of the splendor, glory and wisdom of these people. And so we ascend with these, even if only a little, steeper stairs.

CHAPTER 37

Fourth Floor - The ordinary man and the divine-spiritual man

1. Here we are already on the fifth gallery or on the fourth floor. What do you see here, which is quite different from the previous gallery? You say: The most striking difference here is a white, rather high pyramid, also placed in the middle of the pillar-circle. The top of the pyramid is curiously enough for us, for the first time adorned with a small statue, representing a naked human being. This statue has a reddish-white color and is so beautifully shaped in its juvenile measures, that one could easily believe that it is alive. We have not yet seen a similar presentation since we came on this world body.

2. The rest of this fourth floor, or the fifth gallery, it is not so much different from the lower gallery, except for the floor of this gallery being a flaming blue color, the pillars of reddish-white, like the statue on the top of the pyramid, and the solid wall of the main building, a dark red, is quite different from the previous gallery. But we must confess that we are already so dulled to the great splendor and glory of the colors, that we no longer pay much attention to such differences. But this ornamental structure of this pillar-circle is rather foreign to us, since we have not yet seen anything like this on this world-body, as we have said. It could surely not be a mere ornament, but have to have some meaning, and we will discover it by closer by experience.

3. Well, my dear friends and brethren, your remark, and your wish is right, perfect, and good, and so listen to me; I will try to discover the meaning of this ornament within you. What does the pyramid mean? I have already told you the importance of it on another occasion. But if you wish to bring out the meaning as it is well founded here, consider how a pyramid has been constructed in its form, and what its purpose is, and you will be able to see a very effective indication about the meaning of this ornament within you ,

4. The pyramid is broad at the base, and ends in a point at the top; so shall also be the just, humble life of man. How man's life develops, we have seen in the preceding galleries in the tree, which develops from a small seed and spreads itself wider with its branches and twigs. The human being likewise spreads himself in his various basic skills and henceforth acquired manifold insights, but also with all kinds of desires.

5. But what happens over time with this expanded man? He is taken out of his fluctuating ground and buried behind the site of the graves, in the avenue of trials. Or, in clearer words, everything belonging to matter is again intertwined with matter, and no one cares for those fruits produced for still some time, through assimilation of matter. Only those fruits which the tree carried in the containers are preserved as substantial.

6. See, so it is with man. What he has done good in the time of his life, which is like a spread tree, is preserved. But when man dies, his body is buried, and thus all his worldly knowledge goes with him. Does the body remain without the fruit in the tomb? Oh no; on its many branches and twigs are still a great number of worms, which gradually become masters of the tree on which they were produced, and then gradually absorbs it to the last atom. The worms themselves, however, have in themselves other guests, which gradually transform them into the mud of the earth and finally into the earth itself.

7. This is the image of an ordinary worldly human being. Through this pyramid, however, an unusual man is represented. But this unusual man is in fact presenting a man as he should be in the depth of his being. How then?

8. The man who has spread himself begins to unite his knowledge and his desires more and more to a single point, and this point is God on high! The more he focuses in on Him who has created him unto a free life, the narrower the circles of his knowledge and desires are driven and drawn; and this for as long as it takes man to reach the point or culminating point of humility out of total self-denial of all his secular desires.

9. What does the pyramid then become for the human spirit who finds himself at the top of humility? It becomes what it was for the ancient Egyptians, namely, a tomb for all his knowledge, desires, and passions, which became completely dead unto the world.

10. But what do we see here above the top of the pyramid? A very well-formed little figure of a man of reddish-white color. Behold, a splendid picture of the rebirth of man! From humility and complete self-denial, that is, from the top of the pyramid, he emerges. How did he get to the top? This shows its color; by faith and love to God! And his small and perfect form says as much as what the Lord once said unto us, His disciples: "If ye shall not be like the little children, ye shall not enter into the kingdom of God."

11. The extremely soft plastic shows the gentleness; the strength of the material the small statue is formed of, but shows that man has only advanced into the unchanging strength of eternal life in such a true rebirth of the spirit.

12. The flaming blue floor also signifies the simple but stable ground for eternal life. The pillars of the same color, however, signify the supporting pillars, which are the true, living faith in God the Lord, and the love for Him.

13. See, this is the most significant meaning of this ornament. Let us now go to the sixth gallery or, as we know it, the fifth floor. There we will again encounter a higher degree of wisdom of the inhabitants of this central building.

14. You would like to have a look at the present inhabitants of this fourth floor. But I say to you, "Let this desire pass away, for you can not yet bear such an exalted sight, even less than in the earlier galleries. At the right time, however, we shall enter into a closer encounter with the inhabitants of this whole building; and so we will not tarry, but will, as I have said, go straight to the fifth floor or to the sixth gallery.

CHAPTER 38

Fifth floor - advanced level of development of the human spirit

1. We are above; how do you like it here? You say: Very well; but it is here from this fifth floor or from the sixth gallery already quite horribly high up! It is only good that every lower gallery stands above the other; otherwise we would scarcely be able to bear such a height. That otherwise everything is posed in the former way, can be seen at the first moment; but as far as the ornamentation of the pillar-circle is concerned, this is really quite new. A majestic large white shining globe rests upon a round, green circular plate, somewhat raised in the middle; but on the globe here stands, in a very manly male position, a very masterfully executed statue, representing a perfect man. The man looks upwards; the left hand is held against the breast, and with the right hand it points into the distance in the manner in which a ruler would. The color of the statue also goes into the reddish-white; but the hair is completely white and so is the beard. The nails on the fingers glow like stars, the mouth is half open. This, however, is all that we are able to get from the form of this remarkable ornament.

2. It is striking that here the pillars are blue, but the floor is red, and here not so strongly undulating and flaming as with the lower galleries, but the swinging motion which we do notice on the floor is more like the swinging of an elastic body, since the movements are similar. The wall of the inner building is dark green here, and together with green light, a bright red light is also constantly being vibrated.

3. If one takes a look at the matter, it seems to me that the building here is in a constant state of vibration. Only the columns emits their beautiful blue color quite calmly; what we have also noticed in these columns, which have not been seen in the preceding ones, are the capitals which are placed above each column, as in transparent gold, in an indescribably most beautiful form. My dear friends and brothers, this is all that we have noticed here. But what all this may say, we are not yet able to handle, and least of all, the meaning of these ever-increasing extraordinary decoration of these pillar-circles.

4. Dear friends and brothers! You have had a sufficient look at the necessary and useful things. What is especially noticeable to you here is precisely what we can use for our purpose. It is true that here, every ornament, however small, has its most wise reason; but this is concerned with certain conditions which are exclusively and only applicable to this world-body, and especially to this circular region.

5. But as to the peculiar ornaments you have noticed, they have a general meaning, which, like a light from this central body, applies to the whole of creation. In order that you may see this ornament as quickly and as well as possible, we must take a quick look at the previous gallery. There we saw a small statue on the top of the pyramid. It described the "rebirth of man" in his spirit. Underneath, the renounced world was still visible in a perfect pyramid.

6. Now, however, look here at the green round plate, slightly raised towards the middle. This is nothing other than the previous pyramid, compressed by the great weight of the great regenerated human spirit, or here it is where the mountains and valleys are leveled. - That is true.

7. But whence came the great white ball, and what does it say? The sphere as well as the circle is the symbol of perfection; but at the same time it also shows that the spirit of man, in the perfect victory over his worldly nature, creates for himself a new world, which is the result of his completed wisdom. Thus every perfected spirit will once become the creator of his own world, or he will inhabit the world which has emerged from the works of his love and from the living light of his faith. And to this end, the sphere design shows the highest possible perfection of such a world, completed in love, completed in wisdom, and completed in all efficiency.

8. But the fact that the ball indicates such a perfection can lead you to the conclusion that you are looking at a world-body, or the other world-bodies, which the Lord, created as what they are. But what do these world bodies look like? Look, they are perfect balls. But why does the ball express the perfected? - Measure the sphere once with a circle, and you will be able to make countless circles on this sphere from the largest to the smallest. The surface or the outer circumference of the sphere will give the same circle in each direction. Further, wherever you wish, you can make a smaller circle on the sphere, so that it will be entirely in the center of the whole surface of the sphere. This is not possible on any other shaped body, even on the circle; for if you make a smaller circle in the circle, or rather on the surface of the circle, it will surely no longer be in the center of the circle, but on the surface of a sphere it is everywhere in the center. See, so the ball, like no other body, expresses the highest possible perfection, as does the highest possible freedom of spiritual life.

9. But how? On the surface of the sphere, you can place a smaller circle or point wherever you want, and it will be perfectly centered, in the center of the entire surface of the sphere. And then you can do as you please, and you can not possibly transgress this most mathematically correct law in any way.

10. See, so it is also with the perfect freedom of action of the completed spirit. He can do whatever he likes and wants, and it is a pure impossibility for him to violate the most perfect divine order. And this is the foundation of this highly symbolical statue.

11. If we now know this, the perfectly masculine statue shows us nothing but a man perfected in the spirit. The upwards gaze is the unobstructed view to God and justifies the sentence: "Look steadily at Me!" The left hand, placed on the heart, shows the exclusive love for God; the other hand, stretched out into the distance in ruling fashion, says that everything is subject to the law of love.

12. The symbolism of the man standing on the sphere, shows his sublimity above all of creation; for all of creation in its perfection makes up the whole content of the sphere. No other sublimity is to be found on its surface; only man, like a mighty ruler, stands above all creation, like a second god, over all of infinity.

13. The half-open mouth shows that besides God, there is no other being capable of speech than man alone. The nails on the fingers, which shine as the stars, denotes the creative might, power and wisdom, which are present in every perfected spirit.

14. Further, the blue pillars, the unshakable permanence and their transparent golden capitals, signify the divine wisdom, and that the slight elevations of the floor shows the quiet, regulated, simple life, need scarcely be mentioned.

15. Since we have come to know this important ornamental piece of this fifth floor in such a useful and convenient way, we can go up one floor again. You say: How are we going to get up there? for in these pillar-circles we see no circular staircase? But I say to you, look a little more closely, and you will see it soon. It is here made only of a very transparent, but otherwise firm material, in order to characterize the purely spiritual ascension or the most impeccable way in which every step can be fully observed. As we are still aware of these things, we shall therefore cheerfully proceed to the sixth floor, or the seventh gallery.

CHAPTER 39

Sixth Floor - Man shows his weaknesses In the state of fear

1. You say: Dear friend and brother! On this very strongly transparent circular staircase, it is a little awkward to climb upwards, for it seems to us as if one is going to rise up into the open air, and then look down onto the ever-deepening ground; it is something rather dizzying! And if the ascent is so strange, the return will surely be even stranger. Yes, yes, my dear brethren and friends, the matter certainly seems so and seem to justify your concern; but you will instead in the end find out that all the circumstances you now worry about, will work out as such, that you will not at all notice how easily and gracefully we will return.

2. I also have to mention that the heights are only dizzying for those who stay in the depth of the plain; but for permanent inhabitants of the heights, and for those who have much to do with the heights, they are not at all; in either a more natural and civil state. So does the mountain-dwellers, and many other friends of heights, climb up and over the cliffs and crests, whose sight makes a permanent inhabitant of the plains almost feverish, while the inhabitant of the mountain and heights gazes jubilantly over the most terrible abysses with his journeying and climbing apparatus.

3. Thus, even if a man of low rank is in a situation, where he has to appear before his sovereign, and in fact in his splendid court, with what fear and awe does he approach the face of his sovereign. His feet becomes heavier with every step, the closer he come to the chamber, in which the prince of the country usually keeps his counsel.

4. If, on the other hand, we consider a minister or a high commander-in-chief, especially if he is still a prominent favorite of the sovereign, and therefore also the insignificant court servants. These certainly approaches the country's prince without the slightest oppression, and the latter, who are accustomed to this position as if inborn, often mischievously frolics over the steps which seemed so dizzying and threatening to our simple countryman.

5. Yes, even from a citizen point of view there are no lack of examples; let us assume a simple, well-educated young man, whose life circumstances and conscience permits him to take an dear wife. He knows a house, and the daughter of the house pleases him very well; but the circumstances of this house surpass the earthly advantages of his own significantly. He knows that the family father of this house is a very respectable and honored, good man; but the superiority of his position gives so many dizzying doubts to our bridegroom that he can hardly dare, even with the aid of reliable guides and signposts, to overcome the difference of class with his chosen house.

6. But since he cannot eradicate it, he have to take the risk; but how does he fare when he enters the doorway of this fateful house from which he expects his happiness? His pulse is quicker than when he would climb a high mountain; he becomes short of breath, and his whole body begins to shake as he approaches the door behind which the housefather, father of his bride lives; Fear, faith, hope, and love are all intermingled.

7. At first he barely utters a word, or he measures every syllable before he pronounces it, in an attempt to show no signs of weakness, of which every man is secretly so very conscious. But why? For man shows his weaknesses, his vulnerabilities, even his faults, more easily than when he is in the state of fear.

8. Take for instance a virtuoso, even if he is ever so capable, but is still aware of a few places in his plays to be performed, which have sometimes failed him somewhat under two ears and eyes, he develops a dread for these places which he struggles to master, and therefore keep making these mistakes at these very doubtful places. Fear was therefore the condition in which our virtuoso showed its weaknesses.

9. A good walker on a flat country does not know of any weakness in his walking. But if someone would tell him: Friend, you must go with me to the top of that mountain; will he do this? So our good walker would probably say: What do you think of me? That I shall not dare to go to the top of the mountain? I who have already walked several hundred miles in the field. But then it becomes reality. Our good walker is facing a great height for the first time in his life.

10. When climbing a very steep part, his feet begin to tremble; after every step, he begins to doubt the next one, and begins to seriously reconsider whether he should continue or not. But if his friend shows him the crescent, our good pedestrian will begin to tremble all over, and let himself be tied together with the others with the safety rope.

11. What is to be deduced from this? The fear of height has revealed the weakness in the feet of our good walker, so he lets himself be tied with the safety rope, still considering every step very carefully, and yet is still afraid, avoiding with all the effort in the world to make the slightest misstep. So it is with our bridegroom; he was quite confident in his daily walk of life; but on this serious height, where the safety of every step is important, one has to weigh every step, every syllable, on a very accurate scale, as you are used to say: to make no tallow from the pastry.

12. However, as is the case with these three examples of earthly presented human viewpoints, it certainly corresponds with the spiritual.

13. The fraud of the fruit of fear does not end: the higher you go, the more fearful and timid you become in your mind, and thus also correspondingly weaker in faith.

14. If I wish to speak to you in the fashion of highest heavenly wisdom, you would begin to despair and lose heart, and if none of you would be able to write down even three lines, even with the most courageous attempt.

15. But I will therefore speak with you according to your nature, and I will or I will walk on your habitable ground and terrain, and will elevate you barely noticeable, little by little. But even with this scarcely perceptible elevation, you begin to feel a little dizzy on the ascent to our sixth floor or the seventh gallery on this rather strongly transparent staircase.

16. But if our countryman, who visits the sovereign of the country, will spend some time in discussion with the very condescending prince, he will get over the stately vertigo and all fear, and he will have a much more pleasant return journey over the named steps of the palace than before, towards the palace of the sovereign.

17. The high-altitude climber will be bolder and less dizzy on the top of the mountain, and the way back will, as you say, be a real pleasure.

18. Thus, even our bridegroom, when he has come to know that he has found firm ground in his beloved house than he expected, will surely have a more cheerful return, than he had going there.

19. And behold, it shall be the same for us; we shall still experience some vertigo to reach the height of this building; but the summit will then balance everything, and we shall experience a cheerful return journey.

20. On this occasion of our instructive conversation, we have also ascended our very transparent staircase, as you may notice, quite comfortably, and in this way we take advantage of each step.

21. Now, however, we are already on the seventh gallery, or on the sixth floor, and thus I say to you: Look at everything here at your leisure and attentively; for what you will find here will be of much greater interest than anything we have ever seen and then discuss it in the manner of the wisdom of these inhabitants. So, as I said, on this sixth floor or on the seventh gallery, actively take your eyes in your hands, look at everything well, and then relate to me what you have seen; and we shall surely not miss the meaning.

CHAPTER 40

Ascent from love into wisdom

1. I notice that you have looked at everything well, and now you can also reveal what you have seen; and so you say what you saw on this seventh gallery, or on the sixth floor, as something particularly conspicuous. I can tell you that you are not yet quite familiar with this mode of representation, and you can not describe the thing you looked at properly; therefore I must help you somewhat.

2. First things first, my dear friends and brethren, you can see the rounding of this seventh gallery, while in the lower galleries, you have not been able to perceive the form, due to the great size. Secondly, you will notice that the pillar-circles here are no longer of the considerable extent as in the earlier galleries; also does a pillar-circle no longer consist of thirty pillars, but only of twenty pillars, and the inner space is therefore also somewhat more limited. Thirdly, you notice that here the floor is light red, the columns, the walls, and the ceiling are light blue, but the doors in the walls of the main building are a dark crimson red. In all this you do not notice any flames, though instead a very strong glow, and you say in yourselves: with regard to the outward splendor of this present gallery, it is a bit less than the previous; but for the balustrades of the gallery and the ornamentation of the pillar-circles, these are at least at first sight, very much the same as the preceding ones.

3. Firstly is this gallery made up of nothing but stars, with which whole fixed decorations are formed, and then made into a useful whole. The stars are of very bright brilliancy, and they radiate in a thousandfold colors, and the circular staircase within the pillar-circle seems to be composed only of stars, and no other solid material can be seen between these stars. This is, however, also the extent to which our language is sufficient to portray what we see here. But as far as the central ornamentation of the circle is concerned, it is an object which is too high above the horizon of our language, therefore we can not describe this object.

4. Yes, yes, my dear friends and brethren, that is what I have already remarked on at the beginning, and I have perceived that the description of this subject may be a little difficult for you. That's why I passed it over at first. And so give attention! We should like to present this ornamental object as exact as possible, so observe it with full take it with all attentiveness.

5. We are now as close as possible; and then look down at the floor of the pillar-circle. What do we see? A single circle of stars, seven klafter in circumference, in the order of the colors of a rainbow, and the width of the circle is three spans. Within this circle, a violet altar rises to a height of six spans and has a circumference of about three men's klafter, after the outstretched hand measure. The upper, rounded edge is bordered with a small railing of flaming gold; on top of the border is a half-span high railing, composed of pure round, glossy white pillars. Above the railing pillars is again a broad hoop made of transparent crimson gold, over which, just at the places under which the pillars are placed, there are small, perfectly round dark blue balls, and each of these spheres has a small circle of stars around its middle.

6. But from the middle of the railed surface of this altar rises a perfect light-green pillar, and above this pillar is a great circle composed of stars. Within this circle, a large number of geometrical figures are composed of bright red and white stars, which, together with their circle surrounding them, creates a very mysteriously impressive sight.

7. Another circle hangs from the ceiling on a massive golden cord; it hangs not upright, but horizontally and is of equal size with the upright one, standing on the green center pillar, but looks very much the same in every other respect. See, that is the form of the ornament of this pillar-circle, which you had difficulty to describe.

8. You say: Dear friend and brother in the Lord! Everything is very sublime, beautiful and good; but this ornamentation, like the former, will surely also have a profound meaning, as you have already described; but what significance does this one have? That is another question. If we were to discuss it, we would have done enough, if we had coped with the description, and would have left the correspondence to eternally better times. But since you have helped us out of so many embarrassments, we are here also firmly convinced that even in this case it would not be too difficult for you to give us a little light about it.

9. Yes, my dear friends and brothers, we are here on the first step of about half the height of this building, and we are already dealing with objects of pure wisdom. So far we have been basically, that is, in love, but now we go out of love into wisdom, which is a just way before God. But since objects of wisdom about the most significant are more difficult to grasp than objects of love, we must be a bit more collected here, in order not to be thrown out of the saddle, as you say.

10. You indeed say that you do not really see the reason for this, since the highest wisdom is also present in love; if we can grasp it by being united with love, will it not also be easy for us to work through all things. Yes, my dear friends and brothers, you judge otherwise quite correctly; but this time I must tell you that you have already hit only air. But that you may not only hear this from me alone, but also understand it yourselves as clear as the sun, I will give you a few examples which will suffice to confirm my statement. and so listen!

11. If you walk on your earth-body, and encounter numerous objects, all of which are well lit by the sun, you will not find one whom you can not touch and carry with your hands unless its weight exceeds your strength; no one can therefore say that he is not capable of picking things up, and when you take hold of it, you also picks up its light together with it. But now try to take hold of the free light and carry it around in bundles. I think this will be a little difficult.

12. If the light is already bound to a solid body which corresponds to love, then you can take hold of the light together with the body, and then carry it back and forth at your pleasure; but as already noted, the free light does not allow such an act. That would be a good example. Let us consider another, from which it will be evident that man can enjoy the light, and be able to make use of it in a corporeal manner; but only on the way of the Divine order. But how this is done, we shall now show with the following example.

13. Out of what and from where does the full ripeness of the fruit of the tree and the wheat come? You say: Undeniably from the light and from the warmth associated with the light. You have answered well. We know therefore that a fruit is a product of light and warmth.

14. The light, however, allows itself to be taken captive by the heat, and the more heat, the more light will be imprisoned. And from these two, a full-fledged fruit comes forth, which you can then enjoy, and in this way, with the fruit which is enjoyed, with the lightest effort from the world, the captured light necessarily arises in you, and this captive light is also that etheric substance , which gives your organism the life-giving food.

15. Could not somebody say that if this is manifestly and surely correct, then one would only be able to oppose the luminous sun, and diligently absorb the light into oneself, sparing oneself to have to eat. But I say: It is only a trial. The sun-meal is also already known; that a person should only stick to a pure sun-meal for ten days, and already on the second day his organism will tell him how much of the food he has absorbed.

16. From this example, however, you can see more clearly than from the previous, that the light alone cannot be enjoyed in its free state, and that no one can be satiated by it. But only when it is caught in the Divine order by the Divine power, it becomes enjoyable and nourishing. For this reason, man is to capture all his world-light in his heart, wherever it is bound by the warmth of life, and from this light he will receive a right food for his spirit. Here we must likewise firstly take into captivity the pure forms of wisdom by our love of the Lord, and then we shall be able to look at the development of the same in ourselves, and so prepare ourselves an efficient meal. The Lord will also open this altar to us, as He opened it for us in the avenue.

CHAPTER 41

Relationship, order and harmony between love and wisdom

1. Now look and pay attention; I have spoken thus in myself, and you have done the same through me, and it will also be easy to grasp the more free wisdom with the power of the Lord within us, and to make it understandable to us. But in order to properly understand and appreciate the matter, you should firstly consider the number of floors and galleries.

2. We are on the sixth floor or on the seventh gallery, so in fact, over half of the building. Thus, just as the lower half, and by far the bigger part of the building, corresponds to the breast of man, and thus to all that is of love; likewise does the upper half correspond to the head of man, and thus understanding and wisdom.

3. Here we are therefore at the first stage of wisdom, or at the stage where pure wisdom and love are combined. If you pay some attention to this, you will begin to distinguish the ornamentation of this pillar-circle, as well as the decoration of all the circles of this floor.

4. Look at the altar here! Its virtual shape, color and decoration depicts love reaching out into wisdom. The small pillar, in which the mysterious circle is embedded, represents the neck of man, but the sense of the greatest possible humility. But what comes out of humility? Look at the fixed circle. This circle represents the head of man; it corresponds with the light of wisdom which proceeds from the warmth of love.

5. The starlets of which it is composed, together with the figures, likewise composed of starlets, which fill this free space, signify the manifold wisdom and insights, which, of course, are all together and combined, part of wisdom. But the lower circle of stars on the floor around the altar says that love, the true humility, and also their wisdom, are of Divine origin, and come from the work of the men according to the Divine will.

6. The sevenfold circle is the visual representation of the divine will. Its individual stars, however, signify the works which man performs according to the Divine order, according to the knowledge of the Divine will. But it is clear from this that no one can love God, unless He fulfills His will. But whoever fulfills God's will by taking his own will captive through self-denial, has a first share in love of God. And so are the works according to the will of God the noble seeds, from which grows the exceeding over all blessed and life-giving love of God.

7. When one partakes in such love, he has gained with it the wisdom equal to the Divine wisdom, because love itself, being the origin of this wisdom, is Divine. That the multifariously shaped symbols in the circle depict the multiple contiguous and exalted concepts of the Godly order and wisdom, need hardly be mentioned at all.

8. In this respect, we would have also unraveled our ornaments. But we can still see, from the ceiling, a circle similar to that which has been inserted into the small column, and this horizontally suspended circle, touches the uppermost sphere of our circle precisely at its center, which is fixed onto the small pillar. What will this circle indicate?

9. This circle signifies the divine wisdom, which constantly flows from the heavens, and continually enlightens and directs the wisdom of every man who lives according to the Divine order.

10. The touching of these two circles signifies that the true Divine spirit of wisdom penetrates man into the depths of the same, represented by the center. He can, therefore, understand heavenly and Divine things, and, indeed, deal with the Lord Himself as a child with his father, or as one brother with another. - See, this is the complete explanation, presented as briefly and intelligibly as possible.

11. You of course say and ask here: "Dear friend and brother!" Wherefrom do the men of this central world-body get such wisdom, in which literally the whole spiritual life of every person living on our earth is shown with the highest degree of clarity? If, according to spiritual correspondence, human beings on earth were to build the same, it would be understandable that, as you know, the Lord and Creator of all the heavens and worlds lived, walked, and taught on this earth. But on this world-body, which certainly stands at an unspeakable distance from our earth, to have such wisdom, which wholly resembles the divine earthly, is indeed very strange. How is that possible?

12. My dear friends and brothers, this question would expose you to great laughter in a community of heavenly spirits. What do the fingers and extremities of your body feed on? You do not eat with the extremities; the feet have no mouth or gullet to receive the food specially intended for them, neither do the hands nor the fingers have the same, and so your body still has a countless number of large and small parts, all of which do not need to be separately fed.

13. Man has only one mouth and a stomach, in which he takes up, and pass on the food, properly prepared, to all other parts; likewise does he not have a heart in every member, but he has only one in his breast, and this spreads its veins and vessels through his whole body, and through them he sends his life into all the fibers of the whole body, and this everywhere according to the well-calculated, useful capacity for life.

14. But you have heard that the whole great creation of God is, in its spiritual nature, a human being, which man, in the endlessly great universality, certainly has only a stomach and a heart. You know the great Food-provider, and you also know the food with which the great Provider feeds this great man; it is the bread of life, or as you would say it in German: 'sie ist die Liebe Gottes! (it is the love of God!)

15. But if you find in all parts of your body the same food which you have put into your stomach, and everywhere that same blood which flows from the heart into all your body parts, it will not be a miracle either, that one would find in this part of the great cosmic man, beings with the same Divine love and wisdom that you have found on your earth; have found, and always will find.

16. Such a central sun is, in a sense, a major nerve in the great world-man, and the smaller suns and planets are equal to the smaller, secondary nerves, fibers, and threads; and the main nerve is certainly nourished by the same juice with which the smaller nerves, fibers, and fibers are fed and nourished. Where there is a Lord, a Creator, and one and the same God, there can be, in His immeasurable creation, only Divine love, Divine wisdom, and Divine order! Unless you would like to accept some other God and Creator, provided that your mind and understanding are capable of such folly; then one might well look at a different order of things, and at all events raise a question such as yours. But in the case of circumstances which are only one God, there remains a single food, singular wisdom, and one order. But as we now clearly see all these things, we shall go up again to the seventh floor, or the eighth gallery. If this circular staircase looks rather airy, it should not matter to you; for it will bear us; and so we will go.

CHAPTER 42

Seventh floor - Absolute wisdom appears transparent and impenetrable like diamond

1. See, our ascent has gone better than you thought. We are, as you see, already on the seventh floor or on the eighth gallery. How do you find this place?

2. You say, dear friend, here it looks very airy; the pillars of the circles are as if from the finest transparent glass, the ground on which we are standing is likewise of a blue-whitish matter, which is very smooth and glossy. The balustrades, which enclose this gallery from the pillar to pillar, are also made of a very transparent material, so that one can look through it with a very insignificant weakening of the light of the eye, and when we look upwards to the ceiling, we see the same light-blue matter, which also appears to be quite transparent; because you can see places quite easily on the next gallery above.

3. Yes, my dear friends and brothers, that is all right. You would like to know whether this very strongly transparent matter is of the same firmness as the somewhat less transparent matter of the lower floors? I tell you, you can be fully assured of it; for the more transparent in the hard state some matter is here, the more solid is it in its parts.

4. You say: It would indeed be according to proper building order to lay the foundation with the solid matter, which must bear the whole load of the building, and the less solid, even though less transparent, in the upper parts of such a building, where the building becomes increasingly lighter:

5. You judge rightly according to your custom, and the building order on your earth body would thus certainly be better-taken care of; but in another world operates a different building code. You nevertheless know that hard objects are brittle and less giving, while the softer ones still have great firmness, but are more flexible, less frail, and can thus withstand without injury greater pressure than the completely hard objects. Think of what might be harder: a ball of solid glass, or a ball of solid copper? In order to cut or scratch the copper, it is true that one do not need the hardest cutting tools; with an ordinary bread knife you can cut or scrape off quite significant pieces from it without effort. In order to damage the glass ball, you need very hard objects such as the finest quartz, the hardest, finest steel or diamond. Now take both balls, put a weight of a thousand hundredweight on each, and give both a perfectly hard support. The glass ball will be crushed to white dust, but the copper one will escape with little flattening under the pressure.

6. From this example, you can see why the harder materials have been used for the top of this building. At the bottom they would most likely have had the fortune of the glass ball under the weight of a thousand hundredweight; but here they are fully capable and strong enough to carry the load resting above them, and we have nothing to fear because our weight.

7. But the fact that everything here becomes harder, more brittle, and more transparent, has an important meaning, but we cannot say too much about how hard materials can never be broken even into big chunks by the hardest tools. The diamond on your earth is surely the hardest and at the same time the most transparent body; but those who grind it, or cut it according to your art-speech, will tell you exactly what it takes to remove only atomic parts from it.

8. See, so it is with the ever-purer wisdom; a chunk of it is harder to consume and disassemble than a whole world of love. One might say that such wisdom is like a box full of fleas, which, when the box is opened, bounce away in great haste, and asks for a great deal of dexterity to catch but a few of thousands. Hence, as has been said, the hard and transparent character of the material of this seventh floor or of this eighth gallery cannot be said to be too much.

9. But so much is certain and clear that the objects in the light of wisdom, that is, of absolute wisdom become ever more transparent, but always more and more impenetrable; and the higher they rise, the more transparent and harder they are, so that, in the end, one is standing and walking on the solid matter, but one no longer sees due to their transparency. So it is also the case with absolute wisdom. One has a reason to be on one's ground; but that is all to be said of it. If you would examine it more closely with your eyes, the longer you observe such a body, the more you will lose it in the light of your eyes, and what you have seen at first sight, will no longer be there.

10. Is it not precisely the case with the absolute wisdom? Yes, you may know this from many experiences. If, however, the matter is still not sufficiently clear to you how the absolute wisdom behaves correspondingly to the material of this great house of habitation, I will give you a little chunk of wisdom, and you may gnaw at it as you like, and you will amount to nothing. And so listen:

11. Seven circles are intertwined; the circles penetrate, the penetrated ones gets consumed, and the consumed ones elevate themselves in those who are not consumed, and the seven circles have no measure and no center. They are seven without end; a number which penetrates the circle of the seven, and the seven, the one!

12. Look, this is such a crumb of absolute wisdom! In a few words I have told you so immensely much that you would not be able to deal with it with ordinary concepts for all eternity. But if you read the wisdom sentence, it will seem to you at first as if you had to come to some, if not total, then partial solution. But try to scrape and work on it, and set the microscope of your mind to this matter; the more you will give up on it, the more airy the matter becomes and the less apparent is in it, and it automatically disappears more and more from the light of your mind.

13. I think you will have enough to come to the conclusion that there is not much to be done for a still bound spirit with absolute wisdom. Therefore, we are only as handsome as the diet which the good Holy Father prepared and blessed for us; but at the time when your mind becomes more unbound, you will also be capable to bite of greater chunks of the absolute food more than at present. But little is sufficient for the wise, we shall be fully satisfied with the smaller bits which will be presented to us on these wisdom-galleries. But we still have here the ornamental pillar of the pillar-circle; consider it, and we will then see how much we can deduct from it.

CHAPTER 43

Absolute wisdom is not useful for a bound spirit

1. I notice that you have been done a proper visual investigation of the ornamental room, and have looked at it quite intensely from atom to atom; therefore it will not be difficult for you to speak about, and to describe it as fully as you have looked at it. So you can begin with the description of this ornamentation. But it appears to me that you will not be able to finish the examination. What is it about the ornaments that fixes your eyes on it? Is it probably the ornament itself or are its parts?

2. I clearly notice why you cannot finish the observation. The ornamentation of this pillar-circle is unstable, and you do not know what to make of the constantly changing form. Yes, yes, this ornament is a true kaleidoscope, in which every form of turning is different, and the previous ones do not re-appear again. I tell you therefore also:

3. It will help you little; if you wish to look at this ornament for a whole eternity, you will never come to a final form, but instead, the disappeared forms always get replaced with even more peculiar forms. Hence you can only describe the form of the ornament itself, which is static, and let the inner changing forms be. So what is it then?

4. You say here, dear friend and brother, the whole ornament in and of itself is of a very simple kind, as far as we can see with our eyes. A glass globe is placed in a simple gold ring of more than two klafter in diameter, as in the case of a heavenly or earth globe within a moving brass meridian. The ball is continually rotating within this large ring, which it almost completely fills. The ring is not at all fixed on the floor, but is attached to a massive gold cord, which is embedded with stars, reaching from the ceiling to the height of a man. With every slight twist, new forms appear in this large, transparent glass-globe, which are rather dull, yet colorful, and the forms are not so often so attractive that one cannot stop looking at them. But as soon as one want to take hold of a form to look at it, it is no more; and another, having no resemblance to the preceding one takes its place; and this goes on and on.

5. But when one would think to again see a form which have just formed at a certain point, again at the next rotation, you are greatly mistaken; for there will be no trace left of a form which was once observed. This is, dear friends and brothers, all that we have discovered in this strange ornament to be highly remarkable.

6. We can easily see from here that the other pillar-circles also have the same ornament, we can see quite well from this point. The question here therefore is: who is driving this sphere continually round its axis, and what does this whole ornament mean?

7. My dear friends and brothers! See, there is already hangs a fatal, absolute chunk of wisdom on this ornament, from which you, with your insight, will not be able to bite much off of it. As to the rotation of this sphere, it is easy to explain and understand.

8. If you only know that the large, perfect round rod is internally hollow, and a very cleverly calculated mechanism, which can be regarded as a true "perpetuum mobile," is placed at the point where the spindle of the ball is inserted into the hoop, by which precisely this transparent sphere, which appears to be made of the finest glass, is brought into a continually equal rotation, then you can be completely satisfied with this answer.

9. You would like to know more about the driving force of such a perpetuum-mobile mechanism. If you would know this, which is not going to be too difficult to explain, you will still not understand the ornament any bit better than without an explanation.

10. But I see that you are very eager about the perpetuum-mobile mechanism; so I must inform you somewhat; do imagine yourselves some indestructible material, which is only present on such world-bodies as on this central sun. Such a material cannot be found on the your earth, because all the earthly materials originate from an inexplicably lower degree of light and heat than those of such a central solar world.

11. If we keep this in mind, then the representation of this mechanism is of the simplest kind imaginable. What does it look like? See, about the lower third of this completely sealed ring is filled with an indestructible liquid, about the kind and composition, which you could possibly compare with an exceedingly purified mercury in a perfectly transparent and exceedingly easily fluid state. From the top of the ring, however, a so-called "polyorganon" descends into the liquid, but only on the one side.

12. This polyorganon, according to its powerful attraction to the liquid, sucks it up. This polyorganon, however, reaches down to one-third of the whole ring on the opposite side of the ring, and lets the fluid which was sucked up on the other, side drip down this side. Before the end of the polyorganon, a funnel-like droplet collector is installed, the lower tube of which is directed to a well-calculated spoon-like blade. This scoop is fastened directly to the spindle on which the sphere itself is suspended. When a small spoon has been filled by one or more falling drops, the little spoon is, of course, heavier, then descends, and in this way swings around the whole large sphere. If the little spoon has poured out its liquid down low, another is filled and sinks again. And since the polyorganon absorbs the fluid at the same rate as it can be dripped down on the spoons, the perpetual motion is, under the conditions given above, extremely easily possible, if you consider that this matter, from which the spindle and, Ornament, is not capable of wear, and thus no friction. The smoothness of the spindle and of the cylinder in which the spindle is running is so great, that it does not pose the slightest resistance to the rotation. It is as if such a spindle were moving in the purest aether. And since the large glass-like sphere also hangs in the spindle in a highly mathematical precise spherical manner, its rest is already sufficiently disturbed by the weight of a small drop. Such a product, however, does not belong to the category of miracles for these most wise men.

13. You say that this perpetuum-mobile mechanism is now quite complete; but the constant change of form in the glass sphere, we shall hardly understand. Yes, my dear friends and brothers, there will certainly be a little problem; but it is impossible to gain any insight into it. On your earth body such a representation would probably be a pure impossibility, because on the earth body, the most varied so-called imponderable substances cannot be permanently retained; but this is easily possible on a central solar world.

14. And so you have learned from experience that this ball is internally hollow, but is filled with all kinds of such imponderable basic materials. At the slightest rotation, these substances intermingle continually, without being completely mixed with each other due to their differences. By this mixing, however, new formations of the shapes takes place continually, which must necessarily change in the course of a continual, perpetual revolution of the glass sphere. You can see on your earth-body something similar on great scale, where also the imponderable substances within the great air-ball, which naturally surrounds the entire body of the earth, continually bring new forms into appearance. But these imponderable substances stand on the earth-body on a much less active potency than on such a central sun; hence its structure is usually unstructured, as can be seen in the cloud-formations, and many other aerial appearances. In this sphere, however, these substances are, to some extent, enclosed in their most concentrated power; hence the developed forms are also indescribable, and, if only on a smaller scale, grant the most impressive visual effect.

15. I think that we have deciphered this appearance as far as it was possible for you to understand; but what does all this mean? This is a very different and extraordinary question. It is, as we have seen in the beginning, a wisdom which cannot be completely fathomed, and we shall have to be content to throw a very fleeting general glance at it. The whole thing can therefore be summed up by the fact that this ornament presents the absolute wisdom itself, and from this point of view is something constantly moving and morphing. Its meaning and inner connection can only be deciphered by the owner, but never by anyone else.

16. So it is also on your earth. Who can understand the countless forms of the clouds? The supreme wisdom continually sinks back into the dust, and must say: Lord! We are like nothing at all, all men and spirits are like nothing before You! Likewise, we would also like to do here, and instead of an empty discussion, we would rather go straight to the ninth gallery or to the eighth floor. The staircase looks as if it is very airy; but it will certainly bear us, and so we begin our ascent.

CHAPTER 44

Eighth Floor - About entering the being of the spirit

1. We are above; look carefully and pay particular attention to the ornaments of the pillar-circles. From these, as you have learned so far, we learn from floor to floor the wisdom of the people living here, and at the same time the general world-order of a whole solar region, especially of the central sun where we are at present.

2. As far as the rest of this gallery is concerned, there is not too much to be discovered for our eyes, for the all the building material, except for the inner continuous wall, is already perfectly transparent, so that one can recognize only the bright surfaces, which is a material, but otherwise it is, as already said, perfectly transparent like the air. The inner continuous wall, however, is blindingly white; the doors into the inner apartments are light blue. Now, however, we are already finished with the colors of the building; so we go straight to a pillar-circle, in order to have a look at something peculiar, which will raise us up to a very real spiritual gallery.

3. We are in a circle. You may say, dear friend and brother, here one must feel the pillars of this circle more than look. They are, indeed, very bright when one comes right before their surface-mirrors; but if one looks away only fleetingly, indeed, one could very well run into the pillar without having seen before what a stone of offense awaits you.

4. You said earlier that we should take a keen look at the ornamentation of this pillar-circle, because there is something great behind it. But we are already looking left and right, up and down, and can only with difficulty discern the pillars, and along them an exceedingly pure, delicate and completely transparent spiral staircase, furnished with a uniform balustrade on either side; but we can not discover, even with the keenest attentiveness, the slightest trace of an ornament inside this pillar-circle. If, however, we would want to draw from it something which is profitable for our inward quest for knowledge and wisdom, then we must have something clear before us; because from this nothing will impossibly come anything more than nothing.

5. Yes, my dear friends and brethren, see, the sight of man is established by the fact that if one comes from one of the two extremes, it is useless for a time. If a man has stood for a long time in stark light, and then comes into a dark room, he will not be able to distinguish the objects in it with the best vision. This is also the case in reverse; if someone has been staying for a long time in a dark room, and suddenly comes to the bright light, he will not see anymore in the first moments in the light, than the birds of the night at daytime. Only after a few seconds will the pictures become increasingly clearer to his eye.

6. Likewise with you here; because the difference in light from gallery to gallery, from floor to floor is very different and is caused by the application of the ever brighter and lighter building material. We therefore have to linger here at this light level to practice our eyesight. And so things will come to light, which we may not now see at first.

7. You ask: How are we supposed to do it? I tell you, only look at the white wall; your eye will soon be sufficiently adjusted to the light glow, and you will begin to see the outlines of our ornament. Here, of course, you say: Dear friend and brother, as we are, the matter will not be right; for if the spiritual eye is homogeneous with the corporeal, it can only be blinded by a looking for long at this brightness, but not enlivened and strengthened. Therefore, we would think that if the eye is held in some darkness first, it will then become stronger for the reception of the light.

8. Yes, my dear friends and brothers, apparently it should be so; but such assumption is not suitable for this place. But if you wish to see the reason for it, I will draw your attention to it.

9. How do you find the morning or evening sun at the first glance you are looking for? You say: Dear friend and brother, unbearably strong; and we cannot discern the round form of the body, but the shape is like a formless fireball. Good, my dear friends and brothers; but what would happen if you overcome yourselves and begin to constantly look at this fireball? You say: the glow gets lost gradually, and our eyes see only a snow-white disk, which seems to vibrate on its edge, and if we look a long time, we can see the largest spots on its surface as very small black dots.

10. Very well again, my dear friends and brethren; but why can you do this? Has your eye been strengthened by the constant bright light of the sun? Oh no! Your eye has actually been weakened, which you can easily see, if you turn your eye away from the sun to another object. How will you look at such an object? Behold, as in a dream, or in a dark night.

11. But if we know this from experience, we shall readily understand why the somewhat longer-lasting aspect of the white continuous wall of this building should be good; for which the longer sight of the sun was good. - You would have seen the pure sun-disc even with its patches through the longer sight; and we shall gradually begin, in this light mass, to see the ornament of this pillar-circle.

12. You again ask here, and say, "Dear friend and brother, do the inhabitants of this building of all buildings also have to look for so long, to see their ornaments with which they adorned this pillar-circle, as we did? O no, my dear friends and brethren; their eyes see all this with the same ease as you do the various objects on your earth. But your eye must be practiced a little to observe things here.

13. You may say, dear friend and brother, this eye preparation for us seems to be a bit vain, for we are indeed of the earth, and can with the best will in the world not relate what you are sharing with us by the grace of the Lord. We indeed write our subject, but we see only that which surrounds us; our eyes cannot behold all these glories, but hitherto only our ears.

14. Dear friends and brothers! From the very strongly natural side, this is quite clear and correct, but from the rather more spiritual, basically wrong. If you put your outer, gross senses into the limelight, it will certainly be a difficult thing to do with the intuition of these glorious things; but I speak here of the habituation of the spiritual sense; and the eye of the spirit is your imagination, your feeling, and the fantasy connected with it.

15. You must open this eye and turn it into the white light of the spirit, and in this turning, tarry a while; then you will begin to see what we discuss here, with your spiritual eyes as well, the same as you would see with your fleshly eye.

16. Thus every man who wishes to enter into the life of his spirit must daily enter into the complete peace of his spirit, and he should then not wander about with all kinds of thoughts, but should take hold of a thought and steadily observe this specific object.

17. The best thought here is, of course, the Lord. And if any man continue to do this with eagerness and all possible self-denial, sight and hearing of his spirit will always gain more and more inward sharpness, and after a not too long time these two sensory tools of the spirit may become so greatly increased, that with the greatest ease he will see the spiritual forms of the most wonderful kind, where he previously thought was nothing but a formless emptiness. And so he will also be able to hear words easily, where once seemed to be an eternal stillness. I think you will understand what I have been saying to you, and hopefully you will also see that your objection regarding your sight, was of significantly less worth than my advice on how you should strengthen your vision to the further sight of these glories.

18. Therefore, observe now my advice, and look at the white shining wall, or in yourselves, the side of your minds, which are free of vain worldly thoughts; and you will soon and easily see the very simple but meaningful ornamentation of this pillar-circle.

19. Just look; on a transparent white cord hangs a very simple, pure and translucent ball, which is about a klafter in diameter, and from the floor of the pillar-circle rises a perfectly round, very narrow and equally translucent cone-form pyramid with the point up to the sphere. Do you see it? You say: We already perceive this as in a very quiet image in us. Good, I tell you; but think only a little about it, and see if you will not find the meaning of this ornament. - At the next opportunity, I will then properly illuminate your discovery.

CHAPTER 45

Godly spiritual wisdom is foolishness to the world

1. You have done this and have thought about it a little; and I say to you, here is the relation: you could have thought about what you wanted, and you had to meet a perfectly correct and true picture of the inner meaning of this ornament. Here, of course, you say with a somewhat astonished temper:

2. If this is so, then one have it very easy in the realm of spirits. One can ponder all sorts of incoherent phrases one by one in a completely thoughtless and senseless way, and still compose the answer to a most important question of life, and in the end have by means of void ravings, unintentionally created the greatest wisdom.

3. But we are, to the contrary, of the opinion that in the spirit, in order to speak truly spiritually, one must speak with incomparably more conviction than on the earth, and that for the sure reason that the pure spirit also has much more cogent and concise means to its disposal , than in the crumbled external world, where he is still trapped and oppressed by his heavy flesh.

4. Yes, my dear friends and brothers, you are indeed partly right, if you measure the spiritual with earthly measure; but if you are spiritually intelligent, you will easily perceive that your present conclusion is based on very inadequate ground. You have certainly read in the letters of my dear brother Paul, where he often expresses the wisdom of the wise in Christ before the world to be barbaric folly. This is also true; but how then?

5. Look, if you count, you think the order in your system of payment is perfect and has no gaps. I tell you, however, that there is an unfillable gap between all numbers, and this gap can only be filled with the highest spirit. What would your judgment be then, if a spirit filled with the highest grace stands before you and counts between one and two in countless billions of billions, and says in the end: still the gap between your two systematic ordered numbers is far from being filled. And if he will lead you there into deeper and deeper unfilled gaps between the billions he has counted, which are all between your one and two, you will say:

6. This being has insights in the highest degree, and babbles about infinite magnitudes, while we see nothing but two adjacent units.

7. Another spirit may come to you and tell you stories about your earth, about the gray past as well as about the recent past and present, which have never really happened on Earth. Yes, he can do another trick, he can put real deeds from the present back into gray antiquity, and vice versa the deeds of the gray old age into the present time; he can also confuse the places where one or the other act was committed. So he can also exchange the earth with the sun, and the like, even more such stuff that is terribly contradictory to your judgment. He can place a thousand where you have one, and so vice versa. What are you going to say with your earthly wise ordered assessment? Surely you will bring out nothing but: Behold, the spirit twaddles.

8. You say in your worldly wisdom: If I am and think, I am the one who I am and think. But the Spirit will say to you, I am and am not; I think and think not; I am who I am not; and I think I do not think. What will you say? There is nothing else but: the spirit is twaddling again! For a definite being cannot be in a non-existence at the same time.

9. But, from this, you can easily see that the spiritual wisdom is never measured according to the earthly standard. But in order that you may get some slight concept, I will only illumine the being and the non-being, the thinking and the non-thinking according to spiritual wisdom. And so listen!

10. When the Spirit says, "I am, and I am thinking," he indicates that the Lord is in him all in all things; and he says of his own accord: "I am not and think not," he says, "that without the Lord there is no essence for himself. But how is the Lord, in deep wisdom, saying of Himself, who is eternally all in all? See, then, show that the Lord Himself is eternally perfect and thinks in Himself. But when He says, "I am not, and I do not think, it is as much as: All beings are creatures of Me, and are My living thoughts held by My will; and there is no thing in the whole infinity that I had not thought and creatively created with My will. In order that My creatures may achieve complete freedom, I give My thoughts as perfectly as if I have not conceived them and not created them, so that they can now freely think, act, and rule as though they were not of Me in the least, and as if I were not at all.

11. See then, the wisdom of the spiritual concepts, which, with their earthly order, must, in their spiritual simplicity, be regarded as ravings. But as with this example of wisdom, which is somewhat illumined for you, it is the same with all the mathematical and historical examples cited earlier; and you may ask a spirit: How much is two times four? and the Spirit would answer you: two times four is Judea or China, or Asia or Europe, or Jerusalem or Bethlehem, or King Solomon, and likewise countless more, and he would have always given you the unmistakably true answer.

12. But you will say: That two times four is eight; we see, but that two times four equals countries, cities and peoples, seems to be a strong delusion. With earthly ordered understanding, sure; but with spiritual, where each number has an inexhaustible corresponding spiritual principle, the answer will be perfectly correct. But I see that this statement stimulates your inquisitiveness too much, and you would like to have a quiet thought about it, but I will still let you have a few examples.

13. Look, two times four is eight; how is it Jerusalem? In the number 8, the number 7 is infallibly contained. The number 7, however, is the authority of the seven spirits of God, which have correspondence in the seven colors, and therefore also with the life of every man. But now we have the number 1 in the number 7; what does it say? It says that these seven spirits are not seven, but are, in fact, entirely one Spirit; and this is, as it were, expressed in the number 8, in which number, at the same time, the Spirits of God are separated, and then represented in unison with each other; and this combined 'one' with the formerly divided seven, gives the perfect number.

14. Now, however, Jerusalem also presents the Lord under the active standpoint of love and wisdom; which you may well see from the occasion of the origin of this city and its appropriate arrangement. Thus the Lord, or His love and wisdom, or the very city of Jerusalem, is perfectly identical; and the number, which represents the Lord as a perfected Being, must then also signify all that which is also the Lord in His united perfection. But Jerusalem does this; so it can also be designated with equal right, under the number 8.

15. But as is the case with Jerusalem, the reason is basically the same with all others; since the Lord is certainly everywhere in everything; and hence can the number 8 in this specific sphere, depict equally perfectly, either the one or the other.

16. Here, of course, you say: If it is so with 8, it must also be so with all the other numbers. This is correct and sure; but as long as you are still battling with earthly numbers and scales, and you are of the opinion that God and the purer spirits must count the same as you, you will not be able to comprehend them in their full depth.

17. When a prophet says, "Before God, a thousand years are like a single day, and the number of all men is equal to zero before the Lord; what do you say of this mathematical equation? For you have to say: God has set the years and the days, and composed the year of three hundred and sixty days plus; yet, He had to make distinction between days and years, or else it would surely not be possible to make days and years follow upon each other in such well-ordered and well-distinguished succession.

18. But as the Lord has done such a clear calculation, and certainly knows best how many days a year is, how can He forget his own order, so that He would ignore it and compare a thousand years with one day of a year?

19. You see, such a judgment is much more natural to you, because you have become more accustomed to it, heard it already oftentimes, and have already made more or less appropriate comparisons about it. But if you have never heard of it, it would sound as miraculous to you as if I would tell you: seven hundred and four years are twenty-seven days, and a few hours and an hour and one minute apart.

20. From this, however, I will only show you that the figures, years, days, hours, and minutes in the spirit, do not signify what they are, but the wisdom of the spirit is different from that of the earthly understanding. And so then, hopefully, you will begin to understand a little, that I have spoken perfectly correctly to you, when I said to you, "You may have made a correspondence about the meaning of this ornamentation, and you would have perfected the true meaning of the ornament of this pillar-circle.

21. In order, however, to convince you of this more vividly, a coincidental representation of the importance of this ornament is set up as by chance, and I will show you with the grace of the Lord on the next occasion that I am absolutely right in its assertion.

CHAPTER 46

Convergence of eternity and time

1. I have examined you, and have seen your comparative picture, and I must confess to you that on your earth in a short time you might be the owner of millions, so that the main contestant from the lotteries would be as sure to you as your fundamental comparisons inner meaning of our present ornament. You hit the nail on the head. But that would not have meant too much here; because where one can not hit the nail anywhere else but on the head, then it ceases to be an art, even a success, to hit a nail on the head. For you might as well have said: the lower pointed pyramid means a "mouse," and the hanging sphere a "cat," and you would have described it as "time" and "eternity." But that all this is correct is immediately shown by our subsequent observation.

2. That a sphere, which nowhere has a beginning, and nowhere an end, most aptly depicts eternity, as also the infinity which is closely related to eternity, is already an ancient symbolic truth.

3. A circle also means eternity, but only in the sense that it is to be viewed as an infinite sequence of times; but the eternity in itself, which is neither past, nor future, but the continual present of all the events which have happened before since time immemorial, and which is still present in time, as in an infinite time-span, is symbolically presented by a ball.

4. A pointed pyramid of circular shape (pointed cone), however, denotes the order of time; why then? Because, for firstly the rounding of the pointed pyramid indicates the forthcoming from eternity by actually describing a stretched sphere, the circles of which always become more and more constricted towards the point of stretching. If you cut such a ball, stretched to two sides, at the center, that is through the belt, then you will get two pyramids (cones), which means that by this manipulation, the actual eternity has been extended to a time sequence. And since you distribute the outstretched ball through the belt, all the facts lie in between; for there is its beginning and its end.

5. So you can not think of limited time, but a divided one. But if you divide the stretched sphere to a time-divided eternity, there is, as we have said, some fact from its beginning to its end, without which we can not think of a division of time. For think only once, how long do you already have time? From your birth to the present life period. See, this is your division; this includes the beginning and the end of your earthly life, and on either side is an endlessly extended line, the end of which is nowhere to be found as only for you in your life-divisions, that is, before your birth an eternally long time has passed, and after your crossing over, also an infinite sequence of times will continue.

6. Now look at our ornament! A ball, perfectly transparent, hanging from a completely transparent smooth cord. This sphere touches with its lowest sphere the tip of our circular pyramid. What does this then say?

7. The complete eternity or infinity, represented by the sphere, expands into the pyramid in an eternal sequence of times, and flows out of the sphere as if from an eternal primordial sphere, as it were, through the pointed pyramid, into the working and productive periods of time.

8. In these sentences, by which as much as possible was explained, you will surely see quite clearly that your picture for the preliminary explanation of this ornament was surely quite successful, for you may turn and twist it as much as you wish, and you will always reach the same final result.

9. But how about the cat and the mouse? - See, you can only reverse the matter and the picture is right again. The cat is an animal that is continually filled with murderous zeal for mice and other mouse-like animals; the pyramid thus represents a mouse, as already described in the beginning, and the ball the cat.

10. But as the cat, a beast of prey, always wants to devour a mice, eternity is continually devouring all the time sequences which have escaped from it, and all the works therein.

11. In eternity you can meet everything: the past, the present and the future, as if on a point. But if it is to be found as such, then it must be found as if devoured.

12. Look at our cat; if you could spiritually look at it, you would see nothing but an aggregate of countless mice and mouse-like animals. That this is true, the rather significant similarity between these two species of animals speaks for itself. In the case of the cat, everything is rounded off, which represents the greater completion of the contents, similar to the sphere. With the much smaller mouse, everything is more pointed; which shows by far the lower level of completeness.

13. You of course now say: If an explanatory picture is to be perfectly correct, then it must also signify the departure, and not merely the ascent or decline, or the yield, as well as the re-consummation. It is true, the cat is devouring the mice, as eternity devours the times and their works; but the sequence of times and their works are also from eternity. But whether the mice emerge from the cat? The many wise men of the morning land seem to be silent on that; and we are of the opinion that we shall, even with a wisdom stone as big as a central sun, scarcely be able to offer a solution!

14. Yes, my dear friends and brothers, with your earthly wisdom, it would probably be a bit difficult. But the old wise men had nevertheless a whole treasure of proverbs, by which it was quite possible for a wise man to show that the mice would emerge from the cat by a certain natural circular transformation. You already say that every rag has its offcuts; the ancients said: 'Similis simili gaudet', each to his own, and many more of such similar proverbs.

15. You know, however, that when an animal dies, its nerve spirit rises into a higher order; the remaining body as an aggregate of lower natural powers then decays again and returns exactly through the natural cycle, to the level which was its ordained predecessor.

16. The cat takes the life of the animal world that consumes into itself and carries it into a higher level. But the body of the cat makes a backward movement, and the forces still existing in it, reform themselves through the cycle again into mice and therefore - to each his own - the cat also likes its being, which has returned by the ordained cycle in the mouse and in all those animals which are related to this level.

17. So now you see that this picture is also correct, and on this occasion we have given a very comprehensive account of our ornament, and will not be able to get much more out of the very transparent matter or to the tenth gallery.

CHAPTER 47

Ninth floor - About entering into the essence of the spirit

1. We have ascended the very delicate circular staircase and now we are safe and sound on the ninth floor or the tenth gallery. So then, now look carefully, and then tell me, in the usual way, everything you have seen that is new and memorable.

2. I see you are making big eyes and hesitates. What is it that seems so strange to you here?

3. You say: Dear friend and brother, except for the light whitish-gray, continuous wall of the main building, we discover nothing else, except, as we see downwards, parts of the former galleries; but we see nothing on the one we stand on; that is, neither a floor, nor a pillar-circle, nor a railing, and least of all any pillar-circle ornament. But if there is anything to discover on this terribly airy tenth gallery, we seriously ask you for an eyesalve, for with our current visual ability we shall have terribly little to see and unable to make a judgment about all miraculous and wonderful things that might be on this tenth gallery.

4. Dear friend and brother! If there are also human beings living in the interior of this ninth floor, and these are also as thoroughly transparent as this present gallery, we think it will not be dangerous for us to look at them; so little as it is on the earth for men to be of any sensual enchanting danger, even though they are surrounded by the most beautiful and heavenly beings, but they do not get to see one atom of them.

5. If we look really attentively at the continuous wall, we do not even find any entrance doors; and it seems very clear that there were either pure spirits, or no one living in them. Indeed, one could seriously make some fun with this very airy arrangement, for where there is nothing to be seen, there is no object for the subject. We would like to know how one could come to some comprehensive concept without an object, we would like to know, however, how one can create some concept out of his own imagination without an object, then shuffles them around like playing cards, throws them into his lucky jar, make a blind draw from it, making it the main subject.

6. Indeed, it really seems that at this gallery we shall have to take refuge in a blind hypotheses, and must say what can possibly be found here; but not what is really available.

7. Yes, my dear friends and brothers, you are apparently right in many respects here; but your statements and conjectures, as well as many funny phrases, are in reality even more airy and transparent than the objects of this tenth gallery.

8. Have you never heard on the earth, and have you never seen what the blind use instead of the light of the eye? You say: They grasp and feel, whether and what is there. Well; if you are as good as blind for these objects, then feel, and you will surely convince yourself whether there is anything or nothing.

9. I tell you, we are close to a pillar-circle, which here consists, of course, only of twelve individual pillars. Feel around a bit, and your touch sense will tell you soon how the matter is. See, there is a pillar behind you; and you shall definitely feel it.

10. Well, you have done this; have you discovered a pillar or not? You say, 'Dear friend and brother, we have discovered an exceedingly firm pillar with our hands; but what is this terrible matter, which is so transparent, with such an extraordinary strength and transparency, that no trace can be found of it even with the sharpest eye? On earth is such a phenomenon inconceivable.

11. Yes, my dear friends and brethren, I tell you nothing other than: Everything depends on the form (essence) of the thing. However, examples will be found that allow this phenomenon to be explained quite well even on your earth. Experience will teach you, if it have not already taught you that very similar objects, that is, objects of completely the same color, are not distinguishable from one another under certain conditions, even with the keenest eye.

12. Take as a first example, a perfectly white wall, and then paint a landscape on the white wall with only white paint, and when it is finished, try to see if you will discover anything of the landscape? See, there we already have an example.

13. Take a cut diamond and place it on the coals, of a kindled small oven. The diamond will soon, or immediately become just as glowing as the coals, though in such heat it will not at all evaporate. Then call someone who does not know the place where the diamond has been laid, and he can stare into the glow for a whole day, and you can be assured that he would not, same as you, be able to locate the diamond. Why not? Because, as a highly transparent body, the diamond is not distinguishable from its environment as a highly transparent body under the same conditions of light and incandescence, its edges rendering it impossible to stigmatize its shape under such very similar circumstances.

14. Look, this is another example on the earth. Go to a glass factory; take glass beads or other glass objects and throw them into the incandescent glass mass in the melting pot, then look at them keenly and describe the different glass bead shapes, what they look like, and you will discover as much as nothing at all. Look, there's another example on earth.

15. Now a very obvious example! Pour some pure water into a pure glass and try to find out whether you can see the filled glass, the inner wall, where the water is, of course? - Even more examples: Put a perfectly pure glass into likewise perfectly pure water, and you will not see much of the glass. In addition, you should cut a window-pane from a perfectly pure glass, which is polished as smooth as a mirror on both sides, and try to discover from the room this piece of glass of the window-pane. You can be assured that every stranger who will come to your room will say to you, "But why do you not put glass in it?" Why will he say this? Because he cannot distinguish the matter of pure glass from the pure air.

16. Then, on a foggy day, go to a lake, and try to discover something of the water when the mist is on its surface. You will be able to discern other objects at the same distance; but only the surface of the water is indistinguishable, because it naturally assumes the same color of the mist over it. Likewise, you will not be able to discover anything on a glacier even with a faint mist from the ice forms, even under your feet. The cause is likewise in this light.

17. Say for instance that you find yourself in a planetary sphere having two suns, but the one sun often at a significant distance seemingly moves in front of the other one, like with a solar eclipse, your moon apparently conceals the sun. In the Moon, you can see exactly how far its apparent disk is drawn over the apparent disk of the Sun. Would you be able to distinguish between two apparent sun-discs the same way? There would be nothing but a fusion of the two suns into one; but the demarcation of the one seeming disc in front of the other will completely escape your eyes because of their similar light.

18. I think that we have enough examples from which you will find the invisibility of the objects of this gallery easy to understand. The reason lies in the fact that the objects are of the same color and transparency, with the etheric light which completely surrounds them.

19. But this is not only materially correct, but also spiritual. Think of a society of perfectly equal wise men; how will they behave together? I tell you, no other than the blind, the deaf, and the dumb, for no one will have anything to say to the other, because he already knows in advance what his neighbor certainly knows, and what he wants to tell him. Such situation is evident in your ordinary life.

20. What do two acquaintances, when they now and then meet? See, as soon as one asks the other: Well, what is new? If one can tell a new story to the other, the other will listen to him with great attention; but if both know nothing, the discourse will be of very short duration. Why then? Because, in this case, the mutual light of knowledge is of the same color. It will also be the case if both have known one and the same thing for quite some time. As the one will begin to tell the same, the other will at once say to him: Oh, that is already something old; if you know nothing better, our conversation is over with.

21. It is likewise the case when one blind man would guide the other, or a dumb one should teach the other. How far such people will come is known and need not be discussed further.

22. It is for this very same reason that men upon earth cannot see the spirits surrounding them, because they look with their eyes, which are homogeneous with their mind, and also homogeneous with the formal substance of the spirits.

23. But when a man goes into his love, which is a different light than the light of pure wisdom, he will soon begin to see the spiritual forms, and these will disappear as soon as he takes them into his reasoning. See, this is such a small beginning of what we are going to get to know; you can therefore now begin to investigate your surrounds by touch, and we shall have enough material to discuss next time.

CHAPTER 48

The twelve supports of life

1. You have already investigated several pillars; now, therefore, get yourself here in the middle of this place where I am, and investigate something a bit higher up here, and tell me what you understand.

2. You say: Dear friend and brother, if our feeling is not deceiving us, we feel spheres about the size of a man's head. These are placed on two cross-bars, forming an equilateral, horizontally suspended cross from the ground, hanging at a height at which we can reach it quite easily with our hands. But that is all we can discover here.

3. In the enclosure of the pillars, we have also discovered an ascending staircase, which is enclosed by a low railing. But how it is possible to step upon the stairs of such an invisible staircase, the forthcoming experience will teach us. This encompasses everything we have experienced so far, and you, dear friend and brother, may give us an explanation of this, if an explanation is possible at all.

4. If we were really concerned with it, we would be much more inclined to go down from this transparent gallery a few floors, than to go up a few more steps to a probably more transparent gallery; but, as we have said, it's all up to you. We are done with the figuring out of this highly invisible memorabilia. That we shall lend you an inclined ear, we do not need to assure you in advance.

5. Good, my dear friends and brothers; you have correctly described the curious objects on this tenth gallery, excluding a few weak jokes, which are not quite so good. It is true that wit is also a product of wisdom; but as such it stands at its lowest level. Everything so-called satirical is always aimed at certain human weaknesses and is therefore a bad defense master; for a hero who is drawn to the field against children and wants to show his strength before these weaklings, and hides in the mountains at the sight of a real hero, deserves no such name.

6. The lion is not a mosquito catcher; but he who catches mosquitoes and busy himself with the weighing of sheep-wool, certainly does not have the nature of the lion. Thus have the satirical and other related jokes very little to do with the depth of spiritual wisdom; one could call it a very good and most typical and true parasite on the foundation of the deep inner knowledge of life.

7. So, this is also good, that ye may know it; for the things which we have before us are too highly exalted, that we would, in a certain sense, decorate them with the vain greenery of the parasites. But how great and significant these objects are, you will at once learn from my following discussion; and so, listen:

8. The pillars of this circle represent the vital forces of man. You have discovered twelve pillars. If you pass through the field of life-giving forces, you will find it easy to rest on twelve analogical supports.

9. But what are these supports, what names do they have? Let us go through it very briefly; the first support is: Believe in the only God.

10. The second support: the name of God, which is holy, holy above all, thou shalt never desecrate it; neither by words, nor by thoughts, desires, or deeds.

11. The third support is never to cease to practice the peace in the Lord, but remember God your Lord and Creator in your heart. For only in this rest, the Lord your God will look at you and bless your life.

12. The fourth support is to always pay obedience, love, and respect to those who have begotten you in them through the power of God, and you will thereby gain the favor of God; and this will be a powerful cause of all the prosperity of your life!

13. The fifth support is to observe life in all your brethren, and you will acknowledge the value of each other's life; if you kill one of your brethren, you cause a deadly wound in your own life.

14. The sixth support is as follows: Respect the creative power in you, as you do the receiving power in the woman; for behold, The Lord your God has put this omnipotent spark out of His highest and deepest love into you. You should therefore never abuse this holy power of God in you, and do not dispel it in vain; then you will always let grow your own life and the life of your begotten children.

15. The seventh support is: Behold, all that is, is the property of the Lord your God and Creator; what He has done, He has done for all. But if your brother took a fruit from the tree, he took it from the hand of God; therefore you shall not arbitrarily appropriate yourself the right to take away from him, the brother, the received fruit in whatever way. It is better to take nothing and have nothing than to take and to possess something which another brother had already received from the hand of the Lord: for only the Lord is the sole giver of His things. Whoever therefore presumes the rights of God for himself, is a sinner and the Godly mercy have petrified in his heart, rendering him incapable to receive life.

16. The eighth support is: God is the eternal Truth. He spoke His Truth in His eternal Word, and the Word Himself is the Truth of God. From this word thou art a man; therefore thou shalt remain faithful to this eternally holy origin, and even all thy words shall always be faithful and true to the one from which thou hast proceeded; if not, you kill the original word in you and thus your own life.

17. The ninth support is: God the Lord has given you manifold senses and powers. You shall keep these in check like a young tree in the garden of thy life, that it may grow mightily in force and strength into a powerful tree. But if you let your senses, instincts, and desires be thrown into all directions, your tree of life will never awaken to the unified power, but will either wither or become vain scrubs and bushes, in which all sorts of vermin will abide, but wherein the birds of heaven will never take their dwelling.

18. The tenth support is called: do not look at women with eager eyes, the wife of your neighbor and of your brother, and regard the desire of your heart, as if it is not there; you will thereby free your own spirit. And if thou shalt be in the power of thy spirit, it shall be a easy thing for you to truly marry the power of the Spirit in thy wife, which shall be a true marriage before God. But if you bind yourself with your wife only according to your desire, which is still immature, you will only bind your spirit with the spirit of your wife, which will then become an helpless slavery between two spirits, and one spirit will not be able to give to the other the sacred freedom of life, but continue to lose their original freedom of life in ever more powerful enmity.

19. What is the name of the eleventh support? It is thus: God is in Himself the eternal and purest Love. You have emerged from this infinite love; therefore you are a work of love. Therefore, you should also, with all your love, take hold of God your Creator who has formed you completely from His Love, with all your love, and love Him above all things. If you do this, you will inherit the everlasting, imperishable life and live eternally in it. If you do not, you are separated from life, and the lot of your separation is eternal death!

20. The twelfth and last support says: See, man, just like you have all your brothers come forth from one and the same infinite love of God. Therefore, you cannot love God above all, if you do not love your brother, who, as well as you, are nothing but the Almighty love of the Lord.

21. My dear brothers and friends! I think our pillar-circle has been adequately lit. - An invisible cross hangs in the middle of it, and is composed of as many globes as the number of pillars which we have counted here; but only through the feeling, and not with the light of the eyes.

22. Do you see the mystery of faith here? - even while you cannot perceive, you believe as if it is eternally fixed before your eyes.

23. First, feel the inner life-support within you and then go into your inner being, there you will see all life forces united in this holy sign. Each vital force is a pillar and a globe at sign, the pillar representing the force, the ball the completion of life in every branch.

24. The cross, placed on your earth, is, in brief, a picture of faith. In its details, it represents the love of God with the vertical beam, which is greater and longer than the horizontal beam, which is the love of the neighbor. This horizontally hanging cross, however, signifies the wisdom, the light of the spirit in its perfection, and its separate parts the pure heavenly love which is equal in God to God, like unto the neighbor. This is already deep wisdom and lies in the great secrets of the cross as in the twelve, which the Lord had chosen. - You can now understand all this; but how? - With love!

CHAPTER 49

The main key to spiritual mysteries

1. Do you want to think more deeply? Do you want to illuminate the secret of this mystery? Do you want to grab it with your hands? I tell you, all this is fruitless. As little as you can distinguish and observe the outlines of a white painting on a white wall with the eyes of your flesh, you will stare at it for years and years, and you will not be able to penetrate into such secrets with the usual methods of investigation and judgment. because everything is the same color.

2. The viewing of the objects of this gallery, where you can see nothing, and the understanding of their inner, deepest wisdom are, as said, one and the same color. But I say: You can comprehend everything with love, in the love of the Lord you can understand everything. Love gives new form and color to things of wisdom, and that what is endlessly distant in the light of wisdom, love draws into a narrow circle of contemplation. But it must be true, perfect love; for a half or quarter part of love will achieve little. This is, of course, understandable; indeed, nothing could be more intelligible than that. We have many examples, and many are visible before you, and you learn one and the same thing from it all.

3. Let us assume that somebody would like to build a house on some estate; but the construction of the house involves a variety of materials. It takes a lot of effort and work to bring the material together; it takes a lot of patience, so many sacrifices, a lot of attention, and so much more, until the house is finished.

4. With the mere pleasure and joyous thoughts, the house will hardly ever be able to stand. But if a powerful love for the house is aroused in the mind of the one who wants to build a house, all conditions are taken hold of with great zeal. And if these conditions are brought closer and onto the building-site, the love becomes even stronger; at last everything is gathered together at the same spot, and the hands of many men are put into active motion through their own activity. And the house as a work of love will soon be perfected, and then you will say, when you look at the pretty house: Who would have thought that half a year ago, when the material was scattered far and wide, a pretty home would be built here so quickly? Well, however, the human spirit has organized it, and the house is there, a quintessence of the most diverse materials, all of which are connected and united unto one purpose.

5. Now you ask yourself: Who really was the builder here? Who brought the materials and the builders together? For example, the builder's money or his firm will or insight? I tell you, neither one nor the other; but love alone is the powerful foundation stone for building this house. The love of the builder drew the material together and called the builders; without this the builder would have given neither money to the building, nor would he have brought the material and the builders together.

6. And since the house is finished in this way, everyone can look at the expedient form, while without the firm love of the builder, all the materials would have laid scattered, as if in formless chaos, dispersed far and wide in its originality. I mean, this example is so profoundly intuitive, and certainly does not need further discussion. Let us go over to another example. Think of a man who, according to his formative imagination, has a great ability to become a visual artist. This man takes much pleasure in seeing finished products of art, being inspired at the sight of sublime nature, to become such an artist; but he still lacks the seriousness to sit down and make a practical study of this art.

7. What is the cause of the fact that this man with such splendid talent has not yet taken up the pen and the brush, in order to eagerly study the groundwork and principal elements of such art?

8. I tell you, this man is lacking nothing but the true love for this art. When he is imbued with love, we shall soon begin to see gloriously designed forms from our budding creator on the surfaces intended for this art, and soon, really glorious masterpieces.

9. Who is the actual informator? Who connects the inner imagination with the external forms? Who produces the forms through the colors with the brush on the white-primed canvas? Do you think that it depends on the good instructions or on the preliminary sketches?

10. Oh, I say to you, all this is null and void, but only his own great love for this art has formed a new great master, drawing together the formless from the endlessly scattered wisdom light sphere and presenting it in new splendid forms, making it visible for all to see.

11. See, this is another clear example of our cause, that needs no further discussion. But let us give another example here, one that is right in front of your nose.

12. Let us go over to the very meaningful musical art. You will surely find among humans quite a lot of friends of this art, who are all very delighted when they hear a magnificent production of a true artist. But are they artists themselves? I think you will be able to judge well enough that, among the delighted listeners, there will be very few who are worthy of this name.

13. Yes, but why are all these delighted listeners not artists themselves, but merely lovers of art? Why does only the gifted man stand on a platform before them, cheering his audience with his tones borrowed from heaven, proclaiming to their souls a different, higher, more perfect life?

14. Can one not say, "What is possible for one, should also not be impossible for other people." Every human being, according to his nature and his talents, could, with the complete awakening of his spirit - being a descendant of Divine perfection - certainly be capable of the same. Would it be acceptable if one would remark, and say, "Yes, it depend on the masters?" Would they have had great masters, they themselves would have become great masters; but "ex trunco non fit Mercurius," as you say, so even a clumsy master can scarcely form a master of his art. It is true that whoever cannot do anything, will not be able to teach another too much.

15. But if we consider how many pupils of a true art-master often have the same instructive direction, and consider how very few of the art students of the school of such an art-master become any kind of notable artists, we have to come to a conclusion, saying:

16. Since so few artists emerge from the best possible art schools, the real reason what makes the pupil become a true artist, must be something different than the master, who is himself a perfect artist in all respects. Do the students have too little talent, too little diligence, or are they prevented from doing so by some other circumstances?

17. Ah, I already see what someone wants to say. This master has only the misfortune to have no genius among many of his students. And I say quite frankly: this master has, with a few exceptions, almost only geniuses among his pupils, and yet no genius has become something. But he had no one among his pupils who had been filled with the inner, most powerful love of art. For this reason, one is only a true artist, whose heart is continually lighted up by the powerful love for art.

18. Breathe love, that is true, living love, into the heart of your student, and you can be assured that through this fire all the organs necessary for this art will be so wonderfully trained in a short time that every listener will be astonished and say: yes, this is a truly great artist in his perfection!

19. Here is love again the real true master, it creates in the musical artist an inner greatness of feeling, which none other can comprehend, and it makes this greatness of feeling to subject all related organs in such a short time that all so-called technical difficulties can be overcome with wonderful certainty.

20. As love is here the pure all in all, it is only and in principle the great art of life! With love you can penetrate depths before which even so many spirits shudder; but without the love or with just a bit too little love, a perfect artist will never enter the daylight of the spirit. That is why at first I said, "If you want to look more deeply into these things of high wisdom, then you must take love by the had in all earnest, but it must not be a half- or a quarter-measure of love, but love in its fullness.

21. Therefore, take hold of our most loving Lord and Father in Jesus Christ so firmly in your heart, and you will soon be convinced all the love of God is capable of.

22. Verily, I say not too much: If you have love in full measure, you also have the mighty living faith; and with such love and such faith-light in you, you could tear down stars from the firmament! - Awaken, therefore, and we will still see wonders at this tenth gallery!

CHAPTER 50

About love and the love of Jesus

1. You say, dear friend and brother, you may well be right, and so it is, as you have said. But, behold, it is a hard thing with the sudden awakening of love, which we now and then know from experience. We also have in this respect somewhat of a problem with so-called 'being in love'. If we really consider the matter, one soon learns that one by no means have love in its power, and we cannot say that we can be in love with a being, whenever we wish, but according to the circumstances and conditions; and a lover is not an active, but a purely passive being, and must, in the literal sense, often drag love along like a hundredweight; and there is sometimes no means whatsoever to rid itself of it as of another burden.

2. And so we think here also, if we were real masters of love, it would certainly not be wanting that we would take hold of the Lord with the blazing zeal of our hearts. But we can do what we want, we can pressure our heart and force our feelings as the grapes are pressed in a winepress, and everything comes out, rather than a flaming love described by you.

3. Hence we are of the opinion that either the love of the Lord must be of a completely different character than that when a man in the prime of his life not seldom find a beautiful maiden; but if the love of the Lord would be like the love for a virgin, it must be poured directly into the heart by the Lord Himself, according to His great mercy; otherwise it is almost impossible for man to be able to grasp the Lord with the strongest love out of his own power, when- and however he wanted.

4. And if it then depends on us to suddenly awaken the greatest love for the Lord, the view of the wonders on this gallery will surely also present a great problem. For we can want it as much as possible, and yet, despite all our most intimate will, we cannot inflame our heart in the moment of wanting, as if we light a candle at night. So here, dear friend and brother, a good council is very much needed.

5. Yes, my dear friends and brethren, you are right on the one hand, and love is always the master of mankind, as we have seen yesterday in the examples, because it is real life itself. But life cannot be mastered by what is not life; therefore, there must be something else which love would obey, and willingly follows the higher road of which it obeys.

6. But what is this means? This means consists in the clear idea of what one really wants, to take hold of with the fullness of love.

7. Try to see if you can fall in love with any maiden, just by name, even if it would sound so majestic! Yes, you will not be able to go too far regarding love with such an acquaintance; for what one either knows little or nothing of, can not be loved, just as little as one can grasp with one's hands, that which is not there or is only barely there.

8. If, however, you would be given a full description of the mentioned maiden with regard to her person and character, and if you would also receive a personal handwritten note from this girl in which she assures one or the other of you her devoted love because she was very positively impressed by the description of you given to her, your love for this girl will soon awaken, and you will begin to experience the most intense urge in you to go as soon as possible, where the girl waits on you in all love. And your love will become more and more intense as you receive even more positive information about the girl on the way there, or in the course of time.

9. Look, this is certainly true from experience. But I ask you now, how can you so mightily take this maiden into your heart, since you have never seen her, and she also deliberately does not give you a portrait, in order to give you a foretaste, which could weaken the true love? The answer is easy and rooted in experience: Because you have already formed a well-founded idea by which the above-mentioned girl has always been increasingly revealed to you in the most advantageous way.

10. Her qualities and her beauty, have captured you, and you cannot help but, besides the advantages she offers you, to respect her and be fond of her; you have to also love her.

11. In this natural example, however, it is quite obvious how one can take hold of love for the Lord.

12. The recognition of the Lord is the mighty motive which unites the sparks in the heart, and then, through the same, the whole heart is kindled into a blazing flame.

13. Who would be able to love God, if he did not know Him? But those who recognize Him more and more will always love Him more and more.

14. But you should not flatly compare the love of the Lord with the love of a girl, but you should rather compare it to the purer love between children and parents.

15. This love, however, is not a kind of passionate fire, but it is a gentle breeze which do not disturb men in their own sphere of freedom, just as little as the childish love of the children in their activity. - They certainly love their parents exceedingly; of course, the good children are understood here. Yes, they often do not know how much they love their parents.

16. In order to see the measure of such love, you only have to be present at the grievous death of either the father or the mother of such children, and the tears and wringing of the hands will soon tell you the very weighty measure of the love of children towards their parents. And yet, during the lifetime of the parents, you would not have detected such intensity of love, even if you observed keenly. See, so it is with the love of the Lord. As I have said, it is a gentle breeze, a feeling of high esteem, a sublime delicate tone trail, and does not disturb anyone in its sphere of freedom.

17. The hearts of those who love God is not laden with passion, but fills it with great joy and sufficient living food, and continually saturates the spirit, heart, and body of man. Therefore you need to call your 'Father' only in your heart, and you have done enough! And the Father will always saturate and strengthen your heart with His love, as far as it is necessary.

18. You do not even need a picture, but only the realization in your heart from God, and you have enough love, as far as it is necessary here, to illuminate the miracles that are before our eyes. So do this, and then look!

CHAPTER 51

Reason for all things and phenomena

1. You have followed my advice as much as you can, and now, as far as I can tell, you are astonished at the sight of the wondrous things which now stand out clearly in a very different light.

2. You indeed say and ask: "Dear friend and brother, how is this possible for the Lord's sake? Behold, as we were thinking of the Lord like that in our minds, the white light, in which all things are bathed, gradually turned into a reddish one, and this reddish light we can now clearly observe all the objects.

3. We now see the pillar-circle, the gallery, the doors in the inner building, the hanging equilateral cross made of spheres. The balls are now visibly exactly twelve, as we have previously counted them only tentatively.

4. And behold, what a splendor in these spheres! Each one seems to be a small world, in whose inner spaces, near numberless miracles can be seen as if alive, and in every sphere is something entirely different. And as far as we can see with our eyes, these inner forms of creations seem to correspond exactly to the twelve articles which you, dear friend and brother, have shown us in twelve demonstrated sections.

5. Oh, what a glory it is to see such miraculous things! Truly, one can never be satisfied; there are continuously new charms to see in these miniature world scenes in these twelve globes, which forms the cross.

6. And just look at the pillars for once. They indeed are polished externally so smoothly that we cannot imagine the surface of the ether more smoothly; but the interior of the column looks like living forms, and corresponds in a more extended and detailed manner to all the marvelous phenomena in the spheres. It is extremely beautiful to see how the colors alternates with the most diverse moving forms within such a pillar.

7. A gentle iridescence stimulates the eye anew, for in the slightest turn other colors appear, and the most remarkable is that these colors, which are the same on the earth, assume a quite different character. - We also have a red, a green, a blue, a violet, a yellow and the most diverse transitions of these colors; but whoever wants to think and like, should do so, and establish a basis for every color, and on this basis determine the reason for it. Yes, you would say that red is the basic red, the green is the basic green, the blue is the basic blue, the violet the basic violet, and the yellow the basic yellow, from which all other color nuances are derived.

8. What red is the real red? Is the blood red the actual or the rose red or the purple or the scarlet or the carmine red? Everything is red, and yet all reds does not look the same. Is the dark red the more the basic red or the light red? Every color has such differences; what is the reason for each one? See, dear friend and brother, no one can determine this on the earth, but here we see the basic colors in their foundation, and this appear to us as if one speaks of a ripe pineapple, if which it is said that it contains every imaginable taste in itself.

9. And so we see here from within, true colors, which not infrequently radiate through as if from the background. These colors have such notable iridescence, that one can see in the red, all the nuances simultaneously, and this iridescence is almost directed at the desire of the spectator. The red, which man most easily imagines, is the most prominent at present, without destroying the actual basic red color. Indeed, a poor sinner on the earth can never dream of similar colors.

10. So on the earth we have probably more or less divided and broken colors; but we have absolutely nothing of a basic color, which took all its nuances within itself. There are also shadows in us in the nature of color, but in these shadows a completely different color appears in every turn. In this iridescence only the nuances of red, in the green all shades of green, and so on through all gradations of color.

11. Besides, we are discovering new strange colors in a wonderful way, which have never before appeared on our meager earth. Yes, indeed, on the earth, everything is only a partial work, all a mere dull, a highly broken glimmer of the glory, which we see here in such a state of abundance.

12. O dear friend and brother! Tell us how to take this thing? Why could we not before see a great deal in the white light, yet now in this reddish light, so endlessly much?

13. Yes, my dear friends and brothers! See, it is all love and light. I told you at the outset: In the absolute light of wisdom there is nothing or little to see for a limited spirit. But in the light of love, the light of wisdom is forced into forms, and cannot escape from the form once set, so long as the light of love, or better, the fire of love holds it as with a thousand mighty arms. In the absolute light of wisdom, man resembles a vine, separated from the vine, he withers, loses himself with time, and never brings forth any fruit. But in the light of love, he abides in the vine and yields a thousandfold fruit. That this is quite literally correct, may you bring to the clearest experience with the slightest effort from the world - your so-called cold world. These people despise love, even declare it to be foolish, and continue to enthuse themselves in extrasensory speculations, build principles about principles, hypotheses about hypotheses, and lose themselves among the countless principles and hypotheses in countless vain conclusions, which are as vain as their principles and hypotheses themselves. And when you would finally ask them some or the other about their principles, hypotheses, and conclusions, they will give you an answer which they in the first place do not understand themselves; and their most wise conclusion which the most wise states in the end, is that they know nothing, has nothing and are nothing.

14. But to see this more clearly, I can still lead you to a few such worldly wise from the old and more recent times. You would surely have heard and read of Socrates, Aristotle, and Plato. These three wise men, though they must be counted among the better, have, with all their wisdom, by no means produced the one-millionth part of what a simple child, barely able to read, can bring forth, when he for the first time faithfully says: "dear, good heavenly Father"!

15. They hunted for phenomena and experiences; but what did they benefit from them, since they could not grasp the foundation which are solely in the love of the Lord?

16. Who would really want to count the countless phenomena, who would in infinity penetrate to their foundations? For who shall believe to have found one, he shall find himself in the deceptive center of infinity, from where it naturally again move away into all directions of infinity.

17. But he who has love, has the foundation of all things and of all phenomena in himself, because he has the Lord within himself, and therefore can always come to the foundation with the least effort in the world; but the wisdom- or infinity-hunter, in infinity, will scarcely find any target to which he could direct his volatile and vain wisdom-bullets.

18. I think, from these few examples, the matter is probably quite clear to you, especially when you take a few glances at the worldly wise of your time, all of whom are directing their missiles at the Lord, and want to catch him and measure with the cubit and the measuring rod. But what have they won with all their wisdom in the end? Nothing but the loss of the Lord!

19. What they sought after in the infinite, in the inaccessible, they did not find, and in the end were compelled to create a god out of their own nothingness, which is, however, only a god, if they as overlords could incorporate such a concept into their imagination. I think that one can see at first glance, this to be the most blatant stupidity, does not take a child of more than five to seven years of age to understand. The simplest man, to whom even the word 'wisdom of the world' or 'philosophy' is just as foreign as the two earth poles, will at the first encounter with such a concept of divinity, give the simplest but most appropriate reply:

20. Hey, Friend, how can that be? If God were only God when you think of Him, then I would like to know who created you, and that you can think of a God, who has given you this ability? For what you are saying about God is even more dull than someone who is quite serious in asserting that a house is built by himself, without a master builder, and a man only becomes a builder when self-built house accepted him as such.

21. See, in his simple statement, has not the simple man spoken wiser about the incomprehensible than the whole high-level philosophical committee together? Yes, one can say: He has hit the nail on the head, and has slain a whole flask of white shining blowflies in one stroke, for a blow-fly is undoubtedly the most striking image and symbol for an absolute philosopher; it also shines as if it were covered with gold. If we see this fly in the open, we should suppose that this animal must contain the most exquisite light-ether, through which it attains such an external splendor. But only put a heap of excrement, whether human or animal somewhere, and we shall at once come to the clear which spirit-child it is, and what food nourishes this animal. Would it find a heap of dung, it sucks until it has sucked up everything that tastes good. Then he lays his eggs into the remains, and soon a lot of worms would hatch from this not too aesthetic dwelling, producing even more flies of the same kind.

22. Do not your philosophers do exactly the same? When you look at them outwardly, they have a reputation as if they were bursting with the most profound gold of true wisdom, and their occupation they call a purely spiritual one. But if you ask them in a serious way for something purely spiritual, you will at once be met with the greatest materialism, according to which it will presently be made clear to you, that nothing spiritual can be manifested without matter, that the spiritual must be deducted from matter and can absolutely not exist anywhere as an absolute, but must always have a material organism to be able to function. If the latter disappears, all spiritual effect and utterance are also eliminated. The human capacity for thought is then nothing more than the effect of the material organism in which the forces must develop as if in a chemical retort, in order then to work so long as the retort is not smashed. If, however, the retort has come to the end of its existence through an unfortunate impact, it also implies the end of the chemically developed and active forces.

23. See, just so philosophizes our blowfly also and says by its action: I live only from the unrate and live as long as I find some dung. If you take away the dung, my life is over with, for I am sucking my vitality only out of the unrate, and therefore, in all my parts, am nothing but shining excrement. Take this away, and the brilliant blowfly will be finished! Good for me that I still have reproductive power; otherwise, if the dung would be removed, not only would I completely perish, but my whole race would be exterminated with one blow.

24. So do absolute philosophers adhere to matter, because they believe to have found a center or an actual standpoint in it.

25. But why do they stick to matter? Because, like a blowfly, they are continually moving about in the unstable airy sole wisdom light. But because they find nothing there, they must be able to sit down on some material chunk, and try to pump out the spiritual food with their scientific suckers. But when the latter is soon exhausted, they have no choice but to reproduce themselves either in their students, or at least in their published writings, so that the last remnants of the excrements are consumed, and in the end nothing of them are more valid than their names, and that, with all their spiritual labors, they have found nothing spiritual.

26. See, all this was taught and shown to us in the reddish light; therefore, in this light, we shall at once go to the tenth floor or the eleventh gallery. Here is the staircase; so just bravely get started on it.

CHAPTER 52

Tenth floor - the essence of question and answer

1. We are on the spot. So, be very keenly attentive; look and tell me what you see here; take note, if you want to see the objects here, you must remain in the red light. In the white light, you would observe just as little as on the previous gallery.

2. I notice a particular question in you. It does not, however, fit in quite well here; but since it is already there, we will also take care for a satisfactory answer. So the question you ask in yourselves is:

3. Dear friend and brother! It is all sublime, beautiful, true and good, as we see here, and especially what we hear from your mouth. But there is one thing here which we cannot really get to the bottom of, and this matter is now manifesting itself through this question, which has nevertheless been made known to you by us.

4. See, we actually ask and speak, and are also cited as personally speaking and questioning; and yet we are not talking and asking, but you are always the one who speaks for himself as well as for us. So you often see a question in us of which we have no idea yet. In the same way, you make known to us our own discussions and judgments, of which we have not yet dreamed of. You ask us, and we answer you from your own mouth; for if the answer would depend on us, we would stand there as if mute, and we could not answer a syllable to many of your questions.

5. Tell us, then, my dear friend and brother, how should we bring all this together? How do we speak through you, and how did we now present to you this present question, of which we have not yet felt a slightest stirring in us a few moments ago?

6. My dear friends and brothers! I will soon help you out of your dreams. If you show the root of a plant to a very experienced and skillful botanist, he will at once describe to you the shape of the plant or record it from point to point. And if the plant is then cultivated before your eyes, then you will soon recognize it as a well-known one.

7. If you give some skeleton, that is, a mere bone skeleton to a skillful anatomist, he will be able to state quite well the shape of this particular person from the shaping of the bones; for he knows this from the position and the connection of the bones. If he is a skillful wax-sculptor, he will be capable of covering the bones with the wax to such extent, that the living person you knew, will stand as if resurrected before you.

8. A skillful chemist, to whom you show a composite fluid of which you do not know the composition, will, with the least effort in the world, divide the fluid into its former parts, and you will soon recognize the parts, whether they are sulfur, lime, etc.

9. If you find a seedcorn, and do not know which plant it is, you may go to a very skillful gardener, and show him seedcorn, and he will tell you immediately what plant it is, and will also show you a similar plant which carries such seeds.

10. Could not you also ask and say, "How is that?" How can one perceive such very minute characteristics, and then conclude from that with certainty the preceding or the following?

11. See, my dear friends and brothers, it comes in a certain way from the root. The fact that I know your questions as well as your answers is because, as a pure spirit, I am a spiritual botanist, a spiritual anatomist, a spiritual chemist, and a spiritual gardener, and then I reveal to you your question in your roots, which is presently still unknown to you. As an anatomist, I look through your inner build and look with great ease at the interaction between your feelings, judgments and conclusions drawn from them. As a chemist, I understand those judgments in you, which are still chaotic and tangled together, as soon as they become classical, and can then present them to you in the just order. As a gardener, I know all the seeds in you, which consists in the various words and concepts. You do not yet know what will grow out of them when they will germinate the inner living ground of the spirit. But I am a gardener, and I can show you in advance all your spiritual plant species, which must come forth from this or that seed, which you by far do not yet recognize.

12. Therefore I can ask and answer on your behalf, as you would basically ask and answer. On earth you in fact do almost exactly the same.

13. If you ask something to someone, you do so because you know the germ, but not yet the adult plant of the answer; and if the questioned answer you, then this is not his answer, but your own one from the other's mouth. It was already matured within the questioned person, but not yet with you. After the questioned gave the answer, however, you soon understood it and it feels as if it had grown in your soil.

14. It is likewise also the case when someone would ask you something or put a question into your mouth, as you would say. Then you will also easily answer and ask, but not as if the answer or question were yours, but as if it were the ones who gave it to you. For it will be certain that you will not ask anything you know, nor will you give an answer to anyone who asks you nothing.

15. The question is a need which precedes the sprouting answer. But if the question is a sprout, would it not be the greatest nonsense to allege that the flower and fruit which follows the sprout when it is developed and ripened by external heat, belongs therefore to a tree other than that from where the sprout grow?

16. But I think that anybody who asks, asks from their needs, in order to obtain a satisfactory answer. But if the answer is a necessity for him, it certainly belongs to his sphere of life and not to that of another, to whom he can no longer be a necessity, because he already has it.

17. From this you will easily be able to understand the spiritual dynamics between us, that I ask on your behalf, as if you are asking, and therefore also answer on your behalf, as if you answered yourself.

18. You would also ask and answer as I ask and answer on your behalf, when your questions and answers are already ripe. But since they are not yet ripe, and we now have no time to wait for their maturation in you, I must nevertheless ask and answer in advance from your roots, from your manifold chaos, and your seedlings, as if you were doing this yourself.

19. I think that we should be clear with this little thorny point, so you should no longer feel offence in the future towards similar phenomena, but continue to take keen notice of everything; for here, as I have already remarked, I am your guest, so I may well take what is yours and show it to you. If this would sound a little peculiar with you on earth, then do not take it seriously, for this is the usual mode of conversation in the spirit. There is no language in questions and answers, but in perfect mutual knowledge, and so one speaks continually from the other, as well as one from all and all from one. When I answer and ask of you in this way, I do not do anything spiritually unusual, or as you say, 'unnatural.' Take a look at this eleventh gallery, or on this tenth floor, and there will be something to ask and to answer.

CHAPTER 53

Eleventh floor - love for God (Jesus) and out of that for the neighbor leads to the perfection of life

1. Now, since you had a good look around, you can start to say what you saw. You say: Dear friend and brother! We have seen a lot of the most wonderful things here; but who can describe them so fully with our restricted conceptual and word-richness that someone could become wise from it, and from the description clearly explain what these things are? This is why we think it would be quite good here, if you would like to be the interpreter.

2. Yes, my dear friends and brethren, your questionable statement of the limitedness of your conceptual and word-richness is true, but you should nevertheless say as much as you can about all that you have seen, with your understanding and vocabulary; because you must always keep in mind that you are here really quite on your own ground, and my discussion about it should come to you spiritually. If I tell you with pre-eminence what you have seen, I am overriding your own reason, and there is no immediate connection between my discussion and your inner receptivity anymore.

3. The case is almost like two friends would bid each other welcome by the hand; one of whom receives the other in his house. As a rule of friendship, the landlord must at first stretch out his hand to the visiting friend, and only then the visitor responds.

4. Here, however, you would like to think and say: With such rules we never take it so precisely; therefore they cannot be regarded as a perfect standard proof for us; we consequently would like to first have an introduction of what we have seen here.

5. But I say to you, my dear friends and brethren, if this friendly example of the house seems invalid to you, I can serve you with a more convincing impression.

6. See the relation of your earth to the sun; the earth is certainly your home, and the sun is to be seen only as a guest who is always visiting her. But what must the earth first do when it is to be illuminated by the rays of the sun?

7. You say that the earth must firstly turn its surface around towards the sun, and then the rays of the sun will soon fall upon the facing part.

8. Good, my dear friends and brothers; look at the earth at nighttime, is it not just as full of the most varied things as in the day? But you can see only little of what is and how it is; but there is something there, that is certain, sure and true. But if the earth should stand still, and wait for the sun to rise above its unlit part, verily, it would in the first place have to wait a terribly long time, and its things will never be seen in its fullness and its true nature. But as the earth continually rotates, and pushes one surface after the other under the sun, things will soon be seen on the same in their perfection, which can barely be seen at nighttime.

9. Behold, you, too, as a proprietor of your own house, must first turn yourself over to me, who am now with you entirely in the name of the Lord; and the part which you are going to turn to me will also be illuminated at once, so that you can see it more clearly and more correctly.

10. And so do begin to anyway describe what you find to be familiar. Count the pillars of a pillar circle; how many do you find here on the tenth floor?

11. You say: Dear friend and brother! If we are not mistaken in this round hall, they are now two less than in the previous gallery, that is, only ten. On the other hand, in the center of the pillar circles, instead of some other ornamentation, we find two very mighty, strong opposing pillars, which, like the other ten, help support the ceiling of the pillar circle and the entire gallery, and no ascending staircase passes the round of the ten pillars, but ascends in the center between these two pillars. Incidentally, everything here appears perfectly smooth, and we may look as we please, but nowhere is there anything to be discovered of an ornament; the ceiling of this eleventh gallery is no longer vaulted, but rather flat. Everything is of the same exceedingly snow-white color and transparent; only the inner continuous wall seems to pass over into the reddish-blue, and the gates are as if they were of transparent silver.

12. Now, dear friend and brother, we are already finished, as far as things are possible for us here. But the fleeting forms, which in the solid mass of the pillars, as well as the other parts of this gallery, are alternately represented, cannot be described. For in the first place, they are too fleeting and too fast, and secondly, their forms are not very intense, and our eyes cannot see much more than just continuous intertwined chaos, and so we would be done with all that we have seen. But what it means, we leave it, dear friend, to you.

13. All right, my dear friends and brothers. I am perfectly satisfied with your announcement, and it would be very foolish of me to ask you more than you can give. But be careful now, we will at once create some light for what you have seen.

14. The ten pillars of this circle are possible to grasp with the hands; for they signify, as a matter of fact, the ten-commandment-law which actually proceeds from the Divine wisdom. For love gives no laws, but only the Divine wisdom, which is the foundation of the Divine order; for the laws are a marked way which one is to walk, in order to reach the goal of life, and they are at the same time the foundations upon which life rests according to the Divine order.

15. But how would one help someone in the darkest night, even if he would want to walk in it? Just as little would some point of support suffice, if he were to search for it in the most dark night.

16. Therefore, the laws which were given in the night of love, must serve as an illumination on the way and as a point of support, so that the wanderer may not get lost on the way, and always may find the proper support for life.

17. It is therefore easy to see how these ten white, radiant pillars clearly signify the ten laws of the order of life from God. In the lower gallery, we have seen the two pillars of love still included in the outer row. But in the middle of it was the peculiar cross, which also represents suffering love.

18. Here, however, we see the two pillars of love at the place of the cross in the center of our pillar circle. They are put together, and the staircase leading upwards is taken away from the outer ten pillars, and wound only around the two central pillars.

19. I think it will not be difficult to guess the importance of such a position. You only need to take the gospel of the Lord in your hand, and you will find that He would transfer the whole Mosaic Law, as well as all the prophets, into the sole branch of love, namely, 'Love God above everything and your neighbor as yourself!' These two laws have been designated by the Lord Himself as equal, for the two pillars in this center are in the first place the same, and secondly they are connected, and are the sole bearers of the way upwards. - I think you understand this.

20. But as to the chaotic changing of forms in the pillars which is so marvelous to you - this signifies the changeability of the human mind, which is within the laws. But from where does such a continual chaotic change of form arise in these pillars? What is the reason for such a phenomenon?

21. The reason for this is the intense light from outside, through which this air is forced into a continuous swing. But since the material of these columns is highly polished like a mirror, and highly transparent and radiant, these air-waves, or air-vibrations, are quite lively, and we thus seem to see certain forms wandering up and down the columns. Now we place here a man being under the laws. He finds himself in the bright light of the law, which from the inside, is always active in it, and then this man finds himself in the external the light of the world, which is however also always surging, and influences him from without.

22. But what is the result in man? A continuous change of ideas; soon the forms of the world takes over, and then again, the forms of his inner light sway him. If the external light acts strongly upon man, the forms of the inner light are obscured, and no longer have any clarity; On the contrary, the more the inner light begins to react, the forms of the external light are always rendered void and weaker.

23. If someone takes the forms of the inner light and fixes it with his mind, the previously ever-changing flexibility of the light-forms become a constant form, which continually and humbly resists the influence of the external light; and man has thus been brought to a clear understanding of the inner eternal life of the spirit.

24. This corresponding picture shows you the two central pillars, in which you do not find any such formations. But if you look more closely at them, you will see in each one a perfect, most nobly formed human form, which is clearly and equally illuminated in all its parts.

25. See, this shows that man can only attain to the perfection of life through his love for the Lord, and from this, for his neighbor. I think it will be pretty much clear for you now. As for the other parts of the gallery, they are nothing but the perfect order of true wisdom, which is the basic truth in the spirit and a light without any other ornamentation and decoration, and is what you call the naked truth. But now that we know these things, we will ascend at once with the staircase around the two pillars, to the great open plain above.

CHAPTER 54

Twelfth floor - Higher development of the spirit

1. You ask and say here: "We are coming to the actual roof of this building, where you spoke of a large, free place. That would be all right, dear friend and brother. In this open space – would we be on the eleventh floor or on the twelfth gallery? But since the roof cannot be regarded as either a gallery or a storey, we cannot explain that we have actually seen twelve floors from the distance from the well-known mountains. Were these twelve floors merely an optical illusion, or did it have a different explanation? We have mentioned this disagreement in the course of the ascent of this wonderful edifice, but at that time you told us to wait for a more appropriate opportunity, and said that concerning the explanation, we shall be told in the right place and at the right spot. And so we would like to know from you a little in advance, whether there will be such a right place and spot in this free place?

2. My dear friends and brothers! I tell you: ascend cheerfully, and up there in glorious freedom, you will anyway see what you will experience.

3. The matter which is so dear to you is not so important as you imagine it, but is of such a nature that it will anyway explain itself at first sight in the upper freedom. We will, however, in this freedom, encounter quite different things, which will be of much greater importance and higher spiritual interest to you than the still missing twelfth floor. And so, go up now cheerfully and swiftly, so that we can reach our freedom as soon as possible.

4. See, if you speed up your steps, you reach your destination quicker than when you are sluggish. This is true and correct and does not need mathematical proof; but the spirit is also capable of progress, and far more so than the formal body. But how can the spirit accelerate and slows its steps? See, that cannot be understood so quickly; therefore it will be necessary to say a few words about it, even before entering the upper free place, and so listen to me!

5. You know that the progress of the Spirit does not consist in an increase of wisdom, but only in an increasing filling with love for the Lord, out of whichever greater love-fulfillment anyway gives rise to all the other perfections and abilities of the spirit. But if this is clear and evident, the question arises: how then shall it be possible for man to attain the love unto the Lord? For it is well known how so many men can be very deeply concerned with the Lord. But if one enquire after their spiritual perfection, they say:

6. As for our spiritual perfection, the dear God will know what has to be done with it. We keep His commandments as much as we can; we observe all the other rules, we keep the daily Sabbath rest, and pray much to God the Lord, and also ask Him at any time for the soonest possible completion of our spirit. But still we have but little noticeable progress, and if we do not pay much attention to ourselves, it seems to us as if our spirits have not only made no progress, but rather a step backwards; making us sometimes very quietly doubt, and secretly thinking: Either we are not called for such a spiritual advance, or the whole assertion of the perfection of the spirit is, at least in earthly life, nothing more than a pious fable, or at least a hypothesis.

7. Now, my dear brethren and friends, this is the usual answer to the question of the hesitant progress of the spirit, which is probably the most common among men on earth.

8. Should there be no true acceleration in such progress? Should there be no more Corneliuses, over which the Spirit of God comes even before they get baptized by Peter? This is a very different question, and its answer is certainly of the greatest practical importance. But how will we answer such a question of such great importance in the most satisfactory way for all to clearly understand? This is not going to be so difficult for us; for, if there are enough examples for something, one only has to go to the gospels, and the answer will be self-evident. We shall therefore no longer be concerned with introductions, but will immediately resort to the next best example.

9. Let us suppose that there are a thousand musical students in some great city. Among these thousands, at least a few hundred are gifted with truly excellent musical talents; how many of them will emerge as true artists and virtuosos from all these pupils? Perhaps one, but perhaps none; and a city will be congratulated at the end, if over a time of ten years, one or at most two of the ten artists will emerge, who have made the titles 'artist' and 'virtuoso' their own. But is not this a barbarous disgrace for mankind, that every man can say: "I have an immortal spirit in me, an image of God." But how is it with such images of supreme perfection, as few can hardly work themselves up above the mediocrity? The greatest number, however, remains under freezing-point anyway, although they also contain the image of God. Why this is so, we will immediately see in the study rooms of our music students.

10. Look, there is a lane, having a hundred houses, where at least a thousand students of music live. Let's go into No. 1, Behold, the student is still soundly asleep, and still far from his instrument; will he become an artist? I do not think you learn art in your sleep. Let's go into house no. 2; see, the student has just decided to profit from the beautiful day and make a little country outing, of which he is a great friend. Will he become an artist? I think art is not learned in the streets, in the fields, or in the woods. - Let's go into house no. 3; see, there sits a student at his instrument and yawns at his task. Will he become an artist? I think a yawning zeal is too inadequate for art.

11. But let's go on to the next house. Look, we do not meet any student, and the music, which seems to be quite well preserved, gives us sufficient proof of the zeal of our student. Will an artist grow out of this? I think the whole instrument could become gold instead of the student becoming an artist. Let's go to the next house; perhaps we will find a developing artist. Listen, someone is indeed busy practicing; but look at him, his eyes are full of tears, for his father who are paying much for his studies, have just admonished him to study with a hiding. Will he become an artist? Then you say: Ex trunco non fit Mercurius; which is just as much to say as: Out of the beaten love of art, not very much artistry will come to light. Shall we go into more houses to visit similar art-disciples? I do not consider it necessary.

12. But see, at the very end of the lane, in a quite unsightly tavern, lives a poor family; we want to go there and see how the arts are practiced there, because even a child of this poor father learns music. Behold, the boy has at that time already studied his eight hours; but in the evening the father of the boy wants to take him with him for a little walk. But look at the boy as he presses his instrument to his heart and caresses it as if it were his life's greatest friend! Only with a great deal of effort and a great eloquence on the part of the father, does our artistic youth, with tears in his eyes, separate from his darling, and say, "My dearest treasure! In a short time, yes, in a very short time, I will be back with you again! I ask now: Will this student become an artist? Go, listen to his tones, which he has learned to draw from his instrument in a short time, and you will say: Oh, this is miraculous! One wants to believe them to descend from outer spaces. Yes, yes, my dear friends and brothers, this disciple will certainly become a great artist; for the latter has already the right teacher in his breast, and this master teaches him to sacrifice everything for art, and makes him feel and find no greater pleasure than to learn his art.

13. All the previous were probably also disciples of art, but they had no love for it, and therefore they would never carry it out without this master. But why did they not have love? Because they were more inclined to vain worldly pleasure than to self-denial and a full earnest of the love of art. For this reason, however, they will reap only the fruits of their worldly vanity, but never those of splendid art.

14. Now, this example gives us a sufficient account of the foundation of the acceleration of spiritual progress.

15. Will one arrive at the inner perfection on walks, in theaters, or with sociable circles of friends, or with secular shops of other kinds of art? Oh no; from all this worldly vanity, no Cornelius ever grow, as the Lord Himself has distinctly stated through the parable, when someone invited several friends to a banquet in a parable, and the friends excused themselves with all sorts of reasons, so they would not accept the invitation. One has something to do with a pair of oxen; another is about to marry; a third bought a field, and so no one can come. - Look, these are worldly vanity, which certainly does not accelerate the progress of the spirit. They are indeed very respectable friends of the Lord, otherwise He would not have invited them; but they lacked the time to come.

16. And the Lord said to the rich youth: Give up all things, and follow Me, and you shall prepare a treasure in heaven, or in other words, you shall pass over into the perfection of your spirit.

17. He who does not follow this call, as you know from my brethren, the apostles, who have followed the Lord at the very first call, must also be content with the Lord's response to the called ones who tried to bargain with the Lord. From this however, we can draw the following very brief rule:

18. The more of worldly folly, the less spiritual progress; the less worldly folly, the quicker the progress of the spirit. But with no worldly folly, a Cornelius can grow in every human being. You need nothing more; therefore, open the little gate and ascend into the bright, free space!

CHAPTER 55

Description of the highest level

1. We are on the spot; what do you say of this scene? Has the eye of a man living on the earth, I mean, the eye of his soul, ever fathomed something similar in his deepest imagination? Look, the extraordinarily large round place on which we find ourselves is bright-green, and this radiance is not a surging, but a calm ray. With what could this surface be compared? For example, with an extremely well-polished emerald? What a meager comparison would that be. Should we compare the surface with the very finest silky velvet, which shimmers as if the threads of it are made of green gold? I say this comparison is dull and does not do justice here. Yes, with earthly comparisons we will not be able to get anywhere. We shall therefore have to aim a little higher; we will stretch our hands far out into the endless space and meet on the same individual planetary sun which illuminate the surrounding world bodies with such a green light. Yes, it must be a sun, and this must have been placed here as a flat disk; then the comparison would be correct.

2. So that would be the ground on which we now stand; it is like a mighty radiant etheric surface of a sun, and yet it is solid as a diamond. What do you say about this endless splendor? You are silent and cannot bring forth a single word. Yes, my dear friends and brothers, this is also perfectly understandable; for where it becomes difficult for us light-emanating spirits of heaven to speak, it will surely be so much harder for you, since you have never seen anything of such immeasurable exalted fulness of light in your beings.

3. Let us leave this; we have looked at the surface, now we turn our gaze to the inexpressibly splendid surroundings of this great vacant place. Behold, a single white railing encompasses this whole great free place. At every ten klafter, a hundred klafter high obelisk rises from the railing. Their color is also a dazzling white; on top of every obelisk are fairly big radiating balls of alternating colors: first red, then green, then blue, then violet, then yellow, and many color nuances in between. It seems as if every such obelisk, of which there are hundreds on this vast, free plateau, carries a really great sun, mightily illuminating this open space.

4. One could say here of course, why so many luminous bodies on such a central sun? It would be more pleasant for the eye to diminish the light rather than to amplify it. I tell you, that is precisely what is taken care of with the installation of such powerful luminous bodies. This, you say, is not easy to understand. But I tell you that this can be understood very naturally and easily. Why then and how? For this, my dear friends, there are already a lot of quite palpable examples on the earth, taken naturally and spiritually.

5. See, if in the summertime, all the would emerge vegetation having a white color as is the snow of winter, I can assure you that you can impossibly get out into the open at any time during the day in the very strong power of light, lest you be completely melted and dissolved; for the rays of the sun fall too intensely upon the surface of that part of the earth which you inhabit at summertime. In winter, however, the white color is of good effect; for without this, the light would have little effect; and over time, the cold would increase so much that it would be impossible for one to hold out in the open air. But the white color of the snow reflects the light and subsequently heats the air.

6. In summertime, however, the vegetation must cover the surface of the earth in a variety of colors; by this wise design, the intensive rays of the sun are most effectively consumed, and only the gentle part of it reflects back from the multi-colored surface of the earth. You could also attempt a similar phenomenon artificially on a small scale, and for this, I will give you the following.

7. At night, place a strong argand lamp on the center of a table. When you look at this single one, its light will offend your eye; but not if you take several lamps, place them around the white flame, and put stained glass cylinders over their white flames. This will give you a light of all sorts of colors; that is, each of these surrounding lamps will radiate a differently colored light. But what will be the effect? The effect will be that you will be able to look at the light of the middle white lamp with great ease, and it will seem to you as if it has made your room at least ten times darker than when only lit with one white lamp. The truth of this is evident every day in the whole of nature, as well as the experience you have drawn from what I have explained to you.

8. This needs to be spiritually correct too; why then? Because it must be present in the spirit first and then in natural analysis. If, however, it is spiritually correct, the proof is also indisputably given for its natural correctness. Will such evidence of spiritual correctness be difficult to deliver? Oh no! You already have a very good proverb for this, which in this case explains our subject in the best way; and this proverb is: Ex omnibus allquid et toto nihil. - A person who wants to be versed in all subjects of human knowledge, surely has many colorful light rays in the chamber of his soul. If, however, all these rays are combined, they will scarcely have so much strength as to illuminate a room at night as would a glow-worm, and in the spirit, such an effect will be expressed most clearly; for such highly educated men are neither in detail, nor generally proficient, in order to give one or the other opinion regarding a situation, which satisfies all requirements.

9. I think this is so clear that we need not say one word about it anymore, and so we can turn back to our beautiful open space, and we can see the purpose of the light-alterations. With this we would have adequately looked at the ground of this place and its surrounds.

10. Now, however, look to the middle of this great open space; there stands a mighty great pillar-circle, which is covered with a dark red radiant crown. Thirty pillars bear this crown; they are all spaced two klafter apart. In the center of this circle, you will discover a crimson altar on which our well-known cross-timber is placed. We shall go to it at once, and then we shall very well know what is to be done on this magnificent open space. At the same time, however, I also draw your attention to the fact that this mighty pillar-circle, whose pillars are of a pale blue color, forms the twelfth floor of this building, which you have missed, but seen from a distance. Since we now will work with this decorum, we shall go to the circle at once, and wait for what is still to be seen. - And so we go.

CHAPTER 56

Why is one so alone in the midst of all this splendor?

1. We are in the pillar-circle and the altar; as you can see, we are here, as you would say, mother-soul-alone. You are indeed saying that this is also strange enough in this world, wherever we come, we may well discover the greatest splendor, and the most wondrous wisdom is gloriously expressed; but the people seem to have an everlasting holiday here and sit amidst this great splendor, in their chambers. It would indeed be pleasant and exceedingly amusing to see even a couple walking together; but we see nothing but the dead splendor, which seems to be almost completely lacking life. So here, too, we are encompassed on this open place by the wonders of human boldness and wisdom; but the builders are, God knows where, hidden.

2. Indeed, this main building, in its totality, is something so magnificent and sublime, that we cannot even think of it as a work of humans; for such a thing is only possible for God to build, but for creatures it seem scarcely possible. And if they have earnestly been built by the creatures of this world, they must firstly have gigantic powers; they secondly must have perseverance and courage, of which no human spirit can yet make a concept of. Thirdly, they have to possess such aesthetic wisdom, that no man can fathom anything beyond it. And yet there is in this open space nothing to be seen of all these wonderful people. Why not?

3. Are these people so shy, so timid, or have they, as already remarked, exactly at this time, when we arrived here, a feast day, or because there are no days here, a measured resting time?

4. Dear friends and brothers, you have found the right reason in your last words, by virtue of which, at the very moment when we are in this place, these people hold a certain repose or rest. If this is at an end, then you can believe that on earth, not the most densely populated city would seem so alive as in this place.

5. For it would not be easy for you to find on earth a more densely populated place than the one on which we are present. You can well believe that there are more than ten million people in this building; for you have been able to form some concept of the size of this building already from afar.

6. Just look at this place on which we are still, and you must acknowledge that it is big enough to accommodate one of the largest cities of your Europe; yet it is barely a quarter of the floor surface of this large building. We can therefore only oversee such magnitude with our spiritual eyes, making it bearable for us.

7. With your physical eyes you would only be able to look at very small parts at a time; for the scale is too great for the pupil of a carnal eye, and would narrow itself in all directions, and begin to lose something in the blue. From this, however, you can surely come to the conclusion that in the free times, in all these spaces, and in the whole vast area, things are very lively.

8. It is especially necessary here, too, that you do not see any of these exceedingly beautiful people until you became somewhat acquainted with the very sublime things which are full of the deepest significance. For if we would encounter these most wonderfully beautiful people before you have looked at everything else important and properly profitable, you would get so distracted by these human beings that everything else so magnificently splendid and meaningful would be to you as if you would get sold a hollow nut! For this reason, I had to bring you to this place at a time when the inhabitants of this place usually have their repose.

9. But you will very soon be convinced that they are very much alive here. We will, by our well-known manipulation, ignite this wood on the altar, and very soon, the space of this vast plain will begin to fill from all sides.

10. You would like to know whether these people have any idea about our presence here, or whether they are able to see us? I tell you, neither the one nor the other. But we shall show ourselves to them here, and also enter into dialogue with them, and so that you may know everything as it is here; for when we leave this place, we shall ascend from this world as soon as we paid a little visit to the radiant surface of your sun.

11. Therefore, let us also show ourselves here to the inhabitants, and discuss many things with them, to experience for ourselves what kind of spirit they are the children of.

12. But I warn you beforehand that you do not approach or touch anyone, for that would take you away from this world before you, and you could not bear the power of such impression. You need to take note of this; even I, who have long been freed from all natural things, have to heed this and cannot touch any man who is still living in his body.

13. You of course ask why I should not. With me, the opposite is the case. These men have a too terribly great concept of the children of the Lord; and their respect and love for these children of the Lord is so indescribably severe and strong, that they would at once be consumed through my touch, and finally be completely dissolved.

14. It should therefore not be a surprise to you if you will see me speaking seriously with these people; for I must do this out of love for them. You should do the same.

15. By a seemingly affectionate treatment, you would by far do more harm than good; for all things are according to the order of the Lord.

16. The body of man also has different parts which, though they indeed are - and have to be - part of a common life; but if any man should cut any limb off himself, and desire to attach it to his heart, for the sake of his love, he will not only kill the limb, but also the heart.

17. The same order therefore remains among the manifold things and creatures in the immense creations of the Lord. They are all reciprocal to one another and serve each other unto the same life; but they must not transpose themselves and confuse things through a disorderly and untimely love, if they do not want to spoil each other.

18. By a just, regular, wise restriction, we can approach all creatures, and place ourselves with them in a just, exchangeable rapport, in the manner in which all members of a body stand in constant rapport; what is more than that, is corrupt. Therefore, compose yourselves; I will lay my hand upon the altar, the flames shall ignite the wood, and you will see people hurry hereto from all directions.

19. I now put my finger on the altar; see, the wood is ignited by the flames, and now look around as the gates begin to open!

CHAPTER 57

Every world has its order and laws of existence

1. Keep looking! From the hundreds upon hundreds of pavilions great crowds are already rushing and hurrying here. Look at the glorious people; how indescribably beautiful are their forms; what softness and harmonic delicacy in all parts! The men are distinguished from the woman only by a moderate beard, and by the flat breast; in all other respects, he is also of great softness and delicacy, and presents in his fullness a perfectly masculine figure. His whole garment, as you see, consist of a single shirt, reaching a little under his knees. The man's shirt is of a light blue color, and has the splendor of the feathers of a peacock. The woman has a rose-red skirt hanging only around her waist, covering from her belly down to the calves, so also her thighs and buttocks. The upper body is partly free, only covered with abundant locks of light golden hair.

2. Now look at such a female figure nearby; look at the indescribable delicacy of her skin; can you remember if you have ever seen such a delicate surface of an object on earth? Do you see on this body any wrinkle or fold of the skin, caused by a bone or cartilage of the internal body?

3. See, as white and gentle as the most perfectly rounded and polished sphere is the body of such a woman, and no unevenness disturbs the aesthetics for the eye; there is no difference between young and old; on the contrary, the older both women and men become, the more perfect their forms develop; indeed, at an advanced age, sometimes more than a thousand years, these people become so extraordinarily beautiful that their true etheric beauty cannot be represented by any might or power of the word.

4. Yes, the beauty of such a grown-up human pair is not seldom so great, that if they were to be on your earth, they would, in all seriousness, melt away the hardest stones like wax.

5. Yes, your whole earth would not be able to carry such splendid beauty of a human form or be able to exist beside it. If the earth would be able to master such beautiful form, no earthly inhabitant would still not be able to bear the inexpressible and inconceivably intense light of these people; for you can assume with certainty that such a human being is able to emit a greater mass of light than a planetary solar system for the enlightenment and warming of its whole planetary realm.

6. Now you of course ask: If this is the case, then what matter does the body of these people consist of, which can exist in such an endless and unmeasurable, all-powerful wealth of light? For on the earth we know that even a diamond cannot exist in the concentration of sunrays caused by concave mirrors which focus the rays on a point, evaporating it in a moment. Still is such a beam-spot not even an aeonic fraction of the total light intensity of the sun. Here, however, a single, not much bigger human than we are, contains such an intense mass of light within himself and around him, that with such a light, a whole planetary sun with all its planets, all through the vast region, could be saturated with completely sufficient intensity of light all through the vast region.

7. Thus, in such comparative consideration, dear friend and brother, the question arises very much from which material such people are created, in order to bear such an inexpressibly powerful degree of light?

8. My dear friends and brothers! If, in this sun, you judge according to purely earthly concepts and circumstances, you will scarcely ever arrive at a correct result; but if you make it a principle, and say: Every world and every sun has its own laws under which it functions, then you will have taken hold of the truth and the basic cause of such an existence in the light much more closely.

9. In addition, you have similar conditions already on your earth. Go from one country to another, from one continent to the other, from one island to the other, and you will find such great differences in your living conditions that you will not be able to wonder about it. If you also look at how there are still living beings in countless numbers in all the elements, you will get even more clear about the fact that life can be expressed and sustained under the most various external circumstances. But if such things are already materially noticed on the earth, how much more is it the rule for different world-bodies.

10. There are animals among you in countless numbers, who cannot live without water for one minute; but then there are animals and beings who are only able to keep their lives under the earth in the thickest mud, and even in the stones. Such mud animals in the depths of subterranean incursions are probably still quite unknown to you; but stone-animals like the stonefly, stone-spider, stone-bee, stone-toad, and so on have already been found here and there by the naturalists of the earth; but only naturalists know that such animals produce themselves in the different rock types themselves, gathering the life forces which permeate the stone, and as intelligences build themselves up naturally into their forms, according to the order placed into them by the Lord.

11. Yes, if you were to look at the matter with a sharp light, you would find that all the stones, indeed, the whole being of your earth, is nothing but powerfully encased clumps of pure animal bodies or life-larvae, and that these life-larvae while still strongly bound in the basic life-force, will here and there begin to become slightly freer again and together with the lighter matter surrounding it, create a new co-living form, and then it stays like this for a long time to gain more powerful strengthening for this first new form of basic life.

12. See, such a being can then exist in such a matter; but if you bring it from there into the free atmospheric air, it will last only a few minutes. The opposite will also happen to those beings whose vital element is only the free atmospheric air. But if you, who are only able to live in the atmospheric air, would like to go into the very light ether, then you will be just like a fish when you lift him from the water into the open air.

13. Likewise, there is also an abundance of invisible living beings in the region of the ether; these can only live in the ether and not in the air, and even less in denser matter. But the beings who are able to live in the ether are also able to live more and more in the light. They of course have bodies which are not visible to you; but that does not mean they don't exist, and then indeed in such infinitely endless numbers, that you will never be able to make a proper concept of it.

14. So you must not think of these men as being grossly physical-material, but rather extremely ethereal-delicate and finely material, whose composition cannot be affected by light at its greatest intensity.

15. Such conditions are also found in the pure spiritual realm where there are spirits which are exceedingly ponderous and dark, and can therefore lead their lives even in the densest innermost parts of the earth; and again, there are spirits, which are somewhat lighter, and therefore occupy the upper parts of the earth, as well as the waters, and their life, and their being; and again there are spirits, who live in the half-lower air region, and carry on their nature; and again there are spirits, of course of a more perfect character, inhabiting the upper, more pure air regions for instance, from the region of the glaciers; and again there are spirits in the first region of the ether, and then spirits inhabiting the highest and clearest ether regions and wide open spaces between the world-bodies; and finally there are the most perfect spirits inhabiting the uppermost spheres of the sun, which are an eternal light. And the spirits from below to the top cannot see each other; or said more clearly: the spirits of a lower level cannot see a higher level; but this is possible in the opposite direction, and is also practicable in this order.

16. But this is also necessary, for if the lower imperfect spirits would be able to see the upper, more perfect ones, they would thereby be impaired in their liberty; but the more perfect ones must see the more imperfect, so that they can always maintain the proper relationships.

17. From this consideration, I think, it should be clear to you how these people are able to survive in such light intensity.

18. Though you have previously pointed out the rays' activity of the sun by a hollow mirror, but I say to you, it is true that the very intense point of light, which emanates from the concave mirror, has such a great dissolving power in itself; but where does this ray come from? From nowhere else than from the image of the sun taken from the concave mirror, and finally from the concave mirror. You might ask: How might its ray destroy the diamond, while the much more easily destroyable matter of the concave mirror itself does not suffer the least damage?

19. A still greater question would be this: judging from the dissolvable light intensity of a focal point from the concave mirror, the sun must have such an extraordinarily dissolving force on its etheric surface, that a world which is still larger than that of your earth, is like a water droplet on a white-hot iron which would be dissolved in a moment, if we would come as close as a few thousand miles to such a sunlit surface.

20. The sun itself, however, is also a dense material, though probably of immense size; how is it that this lump of the infinite dissolving power is not immediately destroyed? See, why the sun can keep existing, and also other beings upon it, you can find in the initial introduction to the sun, which is communicated to you by the Lord Himself; and so I say to you only so much here that the light is always working outward in such destructive vehemence from a luminous body, but never back towards the luminous body .

21. But you know that we are here on a central sun, on which the light is present in immeasurable intensity. For this reason, everything here is polished to the highest possible degree, so that all the light which is applied to the objects is reflected almost to the last drop, and therefore cannot interfere with the bodies.

22. And now, for the same reason, the skin of these men is so inexpressibly delicate, and their form is as perfect as possible. As a result, the impact of the light on them is quickly thrown back and can have no destructive effect on them, just as the light emanating from the hollow mirror cannot have a destructive effect on the hollow mirror because it is thrown back by its highly polished surface. It is true that the surface of a world-body must be directed according to the degree of the intensity of the light.

23. From this can be seen that in every world, the form-enveloped life is quite essentially under the necessary laws.

24. I think that we do not need to say any more about this point, for you can already conclude firstly that a central sun is, despite all its light intensity, suitable for carrying freely living beings, and secondly, you can almost grasp with your hands that the human beings living in such a world must necessarily be of such delicacy and beauty, without which they could not exist on such a world. But as we now know this, we can already enter into a closer encounter with these exceedingly beautiful people.

CHAPTER 58

Encounter with the inhabitants of this central sun

1. How shall we do this? First of all, such an effect depends on the Lord and then on our firm will; with this we have to fix ourselves in a certain way, and when we have done so, our essence will soon appear visibly before these people.

2. So we do this, too, and you will be convinced in your inner vision that these people will see us as fully present.

3. We have done this. And now, see how these people begin to make very big eyes, to see three totally strange guests among them! Some of them feel quite eerie, so they retreat, the others do not know what to do with us.

4. Therefore, a deputation has already been given to the elders of this palace, that he may come, give judgment on us, and determine who we are.

5. There are discussing what they should think about us; but as we easily notice, no one has the courage to approach us and question us about our nature. It might well be asked why these otherwise wise men do not have the courage to approach us and ask us. The cause is not so difficult to find as it might seem at first glance, so listen.

6. On some occasions spirits do appear to these people. But in this place, a spirit has ever shown itself to them according to their knowledge, and since they are accustomed to seeing the spirits only in certain places, it is all the more striking to them, here where spirits are frowned upon, to see beings they recognize to be nothing other than spirits. This reason does indeed sound a little hollow, but it is not real and can be equated to similar phenomena on the earth.

7. Let us suppose there are on earth some people who have the ability to see spirits, while the majority do not. When such people are for instance in old castles, in cemeteries, or in other notorious regions at night, or see some other spirit being, it will be regarded as usual. But should it happen that they would see such beings in a very unusual place like on a public highway, on a general amusement park, or in a public folk festival, such an appearance will make a surely extremely distressing impression upon those who noticed it.

8. And look, our appearance is making a similar impression on these people in this place; and this is all the more so because with these people, it is the rule and order to see no spiritual being here, since this is a place of liberation where all spirits are prohibited to come.

9. But we shall soon experience the outcome of this matter, for the oldest is already approaching us with a lot of spirit-banning and ghost-busting props.

10. Look at the long staff, wrapped with all sorts of shining stripes, another is carrying in his hand a seven-corner table, with a different mysterious sign engraved on every corner. This shows us that this is a spirit exorcism. Another, besides the elders, carries a great golden hoop, which is, of course, hollow inside; but in this cavity, an artificial rope is fastened, and is, so to say, of a similar magical effect to the faith of these men, as is with you the amulets or scapularis. A third, behind the wisest and elders, carries a whole bundle of shimmering red bars like a once Roman lord. A fourth one carries a large bundle of rolled-up cords. What do these props all mean?

11. Experience will presently show it to us. Do not expect that anyone will talk to us and ask us who we are. All this will be done by these instruments; and so only pay attention!

12. Look, the elders have laid down the circle on the ground, and let themselves be lifted into it by two other wise men; for he cannot go there himself, or else he would not be sufficiently isolated from the spirit, and could not administer the proper strength of will. He now stands in the circle, lifts his staff, and looks as if he were to administer a mighty blow to us. By this he is demonstrating to us the power of his will and the determined firmness of his dominion over us spirits. If we were the most ordinary spirits of this world, we should, as you would say, hit the road. But since we are not spirits of this world, we stay standing. But what will happen now?

13. Look, now the mysterious table is set in the circle, and the elder breathes over the corner marks, then streaks the table with the staff, and directs it to our faces. If we were spirits of this world, and of a stubborn nature, we would have to take leave as soon as possible if we would not want our heads to catch fire.

14. Since, however, this manipulation did not affect us, the cord is now handed over. One end is fastened to the staff, which the elder holds in his hand and at the same time supports him on the mysterious table, but the bundle is then also handed over. And see, all those present take this bundle from hand to hand, unrolling it, and each one keeps the cord in his hand. What does that mean? This means the reinforcement of the will; one could call this cord a magnetic one. Through this general demonstration of collective will, we shall surely give way as soon as the staff is lowered over us; - but we are not leaving.

15. Therefore, our handsome spirit exorcism manipulators of both sexes make desperate, frightened faces, and they have no choice but to take the exorcistically powerful staffs. Look; the bars are quickly distributed, and the oldest in the circle takes three, while each one receives only one. The elder now thrusts his shoulders three times; so does the others. This should have chased us away, if we were spirits. But since we are not giving way and fare quite well despite all this fatal manipulation, we are now no longer held for spirits, but for beings of their kind; but not of those born in such a palace, but of the most common peasants who have unquestionably been audacious enough to enter this extraordinary sanctuary of the most prosperous and wise men of this great district, which, indeed, has more space than one hundred thousand of your earths. But what will happen to us in this situation?

16. See, the circle is lifted, the table carried away, and the exorcism physically applied to us.

17. But now see, the elder has just directed a blow with his three rods on my armpit, and his rods have, so to speak, easily passed through my body. But that was also enough to put this entire multitude of human beings in a desperate fright.

18. What will these frightened people do now? Some more distant ones, closer to the gates, and who were fortunate in not being able to participate in the cord exorcism because of their remote standing, have already retreated; that is, they have taken the quick Consilium abeundi. Those holding part of the cord, together with the elders, would also like to do the same. But the elder does not want to show cowardice before his children; so he has already decided not to address us, but to address and encourage his own. - Look, he bids them to pay attention, and presently directs these words to them:

19. Hear, my children and children's children. I have put into practice, against these three mysterious beings, everything which has always been a powerful influence on such guests, wherever they have shown up. If they were of a good nature, as we are, they immediately revealed themselves to us, and faithfully related to us for what reason they appeared. If, however, they were cunning, as are usually the spirits of those from the territories whom it was never permitted to draw near to this sacred delusion, according to their impertinent way of life, they themselves, in their greatest sly obstinacy, would soon leave at the final staff-manipulation and at our fullest confederation.

20. If they were natural beings, they would certainly have been gone before my triple staff-stroke; but, as you all have seen, my stroke went completely through the being in the middle, and it did not stir. So this is a sign that these beings must be of a higher kind.

21. Therefore have I with resolve decided to approach this being and to inquire with much humility of him myself, after the reason for such an entirely unusual phenomenon. But keep holding on to the cord, so that we may, with one heart and one will, be able to effectively approach this mysterious being.

22. Look, after this address, our elder, who, according to his appearance, may be called the youngest, moves over to us with the greatest moral reverence, which consists in placing his two hands over his forehead to indicate that his wisdom before us is null and void, and then, with a free breast, opposing us, to announce that he is ready to sacrifice all his love and his life.

23. Now he stands before us; what nobility, what a most exalted beauty in its form! Can something more delicate and softer be suspected? I mean, this will probably be impossible for you. But now this indescribably beautiful human being are addressing us, and so we will listen to him!

CHAPTER 59

Conditions for becoming a child of God

1. Listen to him, for he begins to direct words at us and the words are:

2. (The Elder): Listen to me, you very mysterious beings! I have, according to our wise nature, used our protective means which have always exerted a certain security; but they did not help. You are spirits; for I recognized this because of the staff-stroke, and you must be very powerful spirits, since all my means of protection could not hinder you. Pray tell me who and from where you are, that I may prepare myself, with all my great house, for a worthy reception of your being.

3. We have knowledge in our deepest wisdom that God the Lord, the Almighty Creator of all things, our great world and other worlds, and all high spirits, have once descended to some world, and have made the children of this world His own. And these children, as children of the infinite God, possesses infinite power and strength, and connected with it, both the effective power and the required wisdom.

4. Tell me, are you from there? If you are from there, then woe to all the poor inhabitants of this world! For we know from our deepest wisdom that the spirits of such children of God, are able to destroy not only such a world as our own, but whole armies of such worlds with a quiet hint.

5. If, then, you are spirits of this kind, and if we are gross sinners before you, demand sacrifices unto atonement; but only do not destroy our world!

6. Now I say, Hear me, thou wise elder of this place. We are what you have called us. But we are not in the slightest degree here to destroy your world and you, and not even a hair shall be bent on you, nor will you offer us the least sacrifice; for this is due only to God our Lord, our most loving Father, who lives, reigns, and rules forever and ever.

7. But we would like to ask of you that you should receive us for a very short period with the same love with which we have come to you, namely with the love of God in your hearts.

8. But the purpose of our journey is, according to the will of the Lord, to give an instructive glance into your world, and on this occasion also announce to you the great and infinite love and mercy of God to all His spiritually living creatures!

9. So do not be afraid of us; but be cheerful and full of serene courage; for God, our Lord and Father, has created all His creatures for joy and salvation only, but never for fright, sorrows, torments and pain.

10. Now the elder says: A very great honor and an equally high praise to the holy Creator of all things, that He has so graciously visited us in His endlessly generous children. We are now convinced that you have not come here to our destruction, but only to our great prosperity; hence we bid you welcome like no other creature in this world in the greatest fulness of love from our hearts!

11. Here the elder turns to his children, and saith unto them, Behold, all the children of my house. The great God has kindly visited us to show us the voidness of our wisdom and the weakness of our love. See, those who are insurmountable, very simple and plain, without splendor and glamor, are true children of the ever-omnipotent, great God. What is all our splendor, and all our glory, against the incomprehensible sublimity of such magnificent serenity, which is nevertheless filled with all the fullness of the Divine power? Fall down and praise and worship the Great God, who has shown unto us infinite grace and mercy.

12. Behold, the wood has burned on the altar only a few times, and none of us had the courage to lay our hands on it, to enter into the world which God the Lord created for His children, to obtain the childhood of God, either in a new body or in a protective spiritual position. Now, however, we have the opportunity to learn the foundational conditions necessary for this. So far, we knew well from the signs of the flame all that the great God is asking of those who want to pass into His childhood. The signs were certainly correct; but not our knowledge and our faith. They will tell us what we have to do to get such an infinite grace, and so pay attention, for the high spirit in the middle has understood me, and he will make known to us all that is the pure will of God, and what we are to become well-pleasing unto God.

13. Now I say: Hear, O honorable elder of this house! Your ceremony, your flamboyant interpretation is entirely superfluous in order to achieve your purpose; this ceremony is scarcely an outward image of what you should do within you. But I will show you, and therefore to you all, in the fullness of the truth, what is the right way; and so listen to me:

14. Do you know what is the love of God? If thou would be a child of the Lord, thou shall not be the first and the most important, but be like the lowest servant to all you lead. You must not teach them the wisdom within you, but the humility and love within you, then you and yours will establish that true wisdom in which all the effective power lies. The whole rule is therefore this:

15. Be humble with all your heart! Love God out of all your life's powers, and by this fulfill His will, that you may love your brethren and sisters, and consider them more than yourself. If you do this, you are a child of God, and need not to lay your hand upon the altar; for therein is the difference between the children and other rational, wise creatures of God, that the children lay their heart, but the creatures only their hand upon the altar. But God never looks at the works and signs of the hand, but only at the works and signs of the heart.

16. What good is it to you if your children, with the learned wisdom and power, would perform even greater works than this building which carries us? Behold, the Lord is able to do this with the slightest thought, and His children are able to do it through His powers in them; indeed, they cannot only create such works in a moment, but whole creations with a single thought into existence. And if you look in contrast at the work of your children's hands, which they must laboriously perform, tell me, what are they in comparison? - Nothing but vain effort for what is unattainable in this way.

17. Therefore, pay attention to what I have told you, and there will be a different light of life for you all; for beings, as you are, have been created by the infinite love of God not for slavery but for eternal freedom! But you can never achieve this freedom through your wisdom, but only through humility and love for God. - You ask me how to do it, to love God above all else?

18. I tell you, just as much as you do when your heart burns for some great work to be performed. Then nothing else exist for you, and you live only for your work. Turn the matter around, and consider your whole world to be worthless, and set the Lord above all in your heart, and so love God above all; and in this love the Spirit of God will dwell in your heart, and from this moment you will be a true child of God! - Now you know everything.

19. If you wish to do so, you will also obtain what you want to achieve. For, behold, the Lord God, the good Father of all His children, hath no joy in splendor and glory; therefore we, His children, are simple and plain; and He Himself as Father is the simplest and plainest among His children!

20. Therefore, you will never bribe Him with all this great splendor, for He can produce such things with a thought as He has created this great world and numerous other equally great, and even greater worlds.

21. But with a pure, loving heart, you will bribe him, and He will give you in a moment more than you can achieve with all your wisdom over unthinkable times upon times.

22. Now you also know how God the Lord is to be taken hold of, and how to love Him; therefore you may act according to it, and you will not necessarily have to translate yourself into another world.

23. But now, consider, gather these words together, and then make known to me how you have conceived them, and I will then show you more comprehensively how you have to apply them to attain the true love of God.

24. Look, our eldest lays his hands on his breast and begins to think. But we will wait, and then we will know with what results he will come up with.

CHAPTER 60

About the Incarnation of God in Jesus

1. Now the Elder speaks, and we will listen to him, for he has considered the matter wisely, and you will be astonished at what deep wisdom our man will come up with. His words however, are:

2. High Emissary of Him who is all-powerful and has created all light and all the mass of the world! Your advice is so very good, generous, and most wise, that not the slightest objection can be raised against it.

3. It is true that the love or the impulse in the heart for his Creator, is capable of everything; for when I have taken hold of the Creator with my heart as the foundation of my life, I have certainly been fully connected with Him and thus made one with Him, and have thereby, with the foundation of my life also fully subjected my will to the almighty will of the Creator, it is inconceivable that I can will anything other than what is the will of the Almighty God.

4. Up till now, sublime messenger, everything was in the most perfect order, and not the slightest objection could be made; but now comes something else. If this is combined with the abiding principle, then, of course, everything is won; but if this cannot be done, then the attainment of the childhood of God remains a problematic issue, and we can at most carry the pious desire within us, but still never attain to the childhood of God. The point, however, which runs counter to the upper principle, is as follows:

5. It is known to me that all bodies of the world, together with their inhabitants, are in perfect, unchangeable correspondence with a perfect man, and that is, that one world corresponds to one limb, another, another; and so countless worlds correspond to the countless details from which a perfect man is created by the power of divine wisdom.

6. But now we also know that the limbs and all the parts of a man are serving one and the same life-purpose; but experience evidently teaches that a foot can never become a hand, a hand never a head, a mouth no ear, a tongue no eye, a nose no chest and so on. Man has thus a living heart within himself, being active in his breast. The whole body lives from this heart, and it cannot be asserted that in itself any part of the body is less important than the other according to the Divine order; but, nevertheless, all life has its foundation only in the heart, and all the members of the whole body can never replace the heart if it would be destroyed.

7. But if this is irrefutably true, then, how could it be possible that those who are perfect in their nature can achieve the childhood of God, whom in their own nature does not correspond to the heart of the great God because they are not in a world which God have associated with His heart? What use it is for a limb, if it would have the greatest urge to be transformed into a heart? Will this ever happen?

8. Therefore I am of the opinion that, according to our science, the inhabitants of this world correspond only to the eye of the Lord, and that we can never correspond with His heart; we can never achieve the full childhood of God, unless we would be completely destroyed. Only then would a new form of creation be evident in our order of being. This does visibly happen when the most courageous lay the hands on the flaming altar, whereupon they immediately cease to exist, leaving nothing but a dumb fluid, which is present in any stone, plant and every other living being, which is unconsciously in correspondence with the heart of the Creator.

9. See now, most exalted envoy, this is the second principle, which necessarily completely obliterates the inhabitants of this world the moment you speak the word, at least according to my present knowledge.

10. If you would perhaps show me another light by which this my founded knowledge would be outshined, would you be so gracious to share it with me, and I will therefore accept it and make it my own as if no other light had illuminated the inner chambers of my life.

11. Now I say again, Listen, my honorable elder of this house! You have spoken wisely in your way; but your wisdom is not supple and not fluent, because it always proceeds from the rugged external form. You are continually drifting in nothing but correspondences, and you will therefore remain like a member of your body, and you cannot leave your place.

12. See, this is but the peculiarity of the externally directed form; but the pure free spirit has no judgment, and can therefore in its entirety, always be in perfect harmony with the love of God. For there is no other life in the whole of infinity than the life which proceeds from the power of the love in God.

13. Even if, according to your essential external form, you do not correspond with the heart of God, your existence as you are, does fully correspond with the heart of God; and if this were not the case, you would have no life forever, and your spirit would not be a spirit if it were not a force with the infinite power of the everlasting love in the heart of God.

14. According to your formal nature, which is embodied in harsh correspondences, you can of course never attain to the childhood of God, but in your spirit, you can just as well as I, if you would by the love of God can release yourself from your coarse being.

15. But this is only possible if you can, in your inner desires, completely free yourself from all your worldly beauty and glory, and then, with the full force of your life, take hold of nothing but the very essence of the love of God.

16. This being, however, is the Divine Human, or, the unfathomable God who, in His essence, as a perfect man, have been incarnated in a world called the Earth, took the flesh upon Himself, and became a perfect man, just like all the people created by Him.

17. And this perfect man of all men even wanted to suffer the most painful death of His flesh out of infinite love for all His creatures, thereby opening to them the endlessly holy gate through which they can reach Him as His children and see and speak as though they were also gods, as He is God from eternity.

18. The name of this man of all men, who is God of eternity, and hath created all things, is now called Jesus, which says that He is a Savior of all His creatures. His Word, which He spoke, was directed to all creation, and He also called all His creatures to the salvation of His love, and you are as little excluded from it as I, who was a contemporary of Him on earth.

19. He himself said, "But I have many sheep that are not in this fold; and I will bring them also here, that there be one shepherd and one flock.

20. Behold, among such sheep or creatures that are not of that earth, you, like all the inhabitants of this whole world, also belong; take hold of this God-man Jesus in your heart and place no value on your world, then you are already "children of God", if you live and strive according to it.

21. I am not saying that you were to tear down your great, most magnificent house, and put in its place unsightly dwellings; but tear it down in your heart, and possess it as if you do not possess it. Give all things to the Lord, and walk in all humility and love to Him, as to your children, brothers and sisters, and the Spirit of the Lord Himself will come upon you, and guide you into all the wisdom of the heavens. See, that is what is necessary; but everything else is null and void before the Lord.

22. Think of how great the love of this God-man must be, since He, the eternal, only Lord and Creator of infinity, wants to be completely poor, so that all His children might become all the richer!

23. But now that you have experienced the depths of the pure Divine wisdom and love in me, seek to escape all wealth; give with the greatest love, everything back to the infinite love of the Lord, and seek to possess His Own Self, and nothing else; the supreme wealth, then you will possess the highest riches in infinite abundance.

24. Do not search for the strength and power of the Lord, but rather seek to become the weakest and lowliest in His kingdom and to have nothing but His love and nothing but to be with Him, then you will be eternal life like a tender, much-loved child on the holiest arms of the everlasting Father!

25. See, this is the true principle; live accordingly, and you will not need to touch the altar with your finger, but you will still be able to completely attain to the childhood of God in this world of yours.

26. But do not bother yourself because of my now much less beautiful form than yours; for there is nothing in the form. Your endlessly beautiful form is only an external need for this world, which is designed by the Lord, to illuminate with its powerful light almost numerous other smaller worlds, which are not enveloped in the light like this one. So for this world, such delicacy of the external form of your being is a need, since it would be impossible for you to exist with another in this world; but it is quite different with the beauty of the spirit. This is never directed to the external form, but only to the sole love of the Lord; for this is the true and supreme beauty of life!

27. Now consider, my honorable elder, these words of mine, and then tell me how far you have understood them, and to what extent not, and I will then, as soon as I can, settle every doubt that may arise from your soil, for you to easily see the true foundation of the eternal truth of God - and so do that!

28. Look, our eldest and all his children fall upon their faces, and begin to stir in their hearts. But we want to wait and see what's going to happen.

CHAPTER 61

Humility and childhood of God

1. The elder now rises again, and as you can easily perceive in your spirit, he is again ready to speak to me. So it is! I have allowed him this; so he shall speak, and says:

2. Most exalted among the messengers of the great God! Since you were a contemporary according to your testimony on the earth upon which it pleased the great God to become human like His creatures, in order to open the gates of eternal life unto all creatures, I tell you that I have considered your words from the deepest possible bottom of their foundation, found them right, and pressured my wisdom to find any contradiction. But I also could not reach a point where I could find anything remotely suspicious in the great truth of your testimony.

3. I now clearly understand that according to your doctrine, one can attain to the childhood of God in every world, if one only acts according to it, and frees its inner life in the name of the God-man. I also see that laying hands on the flaming altar is, as it were, only an external picture of what the human creature basically and actually should do.

4. In all this there would be nowhere even the slightest doubt; but a very different thing is in the background here, and in this respect I am still in a great darkness, in spite of this bright world, and this dark point to me is thus:

5. You have said that humility is the basic condition for obtaining the childhood of God; since it is the exclusive origin of the love of the only God. Now, however, no one can ever deny that to be "a child of God" says infinitely more than if a man in this world would be the highest and most perfect spiritual being. Here I cannot discern or explain at all the "conditions or actions in order to become more", for there is no talk of maintaining humility here.

6. Say for instance I want to be as a child of God the very least and stand at the very lowest level, and I do not want any power or might, but only the blessed ability to love God the Almighty more and more with all powers of the spiritual life, it would certainly be the least possible demand in the condition of the childhood of God.

7. But if I consider that, in my present state, I do not constitute an atom against the sure greatness of such a very least child of God, I would certainly become more and more important by becoming the least of the children of God. With us, such humility through which a man want to become more, is a shameful sleaziness. How then is such spiritual humility to be taken before God, when one is compelled, in necessity, to become more in the worst case than what men were from the very beginning of the Divine Order, or where, in the best case, one must at the very least, become most definitely, more. If "becoming more" is not anticipated, then your path, which has been set before me, should be accepted in fullness on every point. But since this fatal "more" cannot be abolished in one way or the other, I cannot regard this humility as the virtue which is necessary for the attainment of the childhood, since it is this virtue that ultimately can only be regarded as hypocrisy, servility, and pretense.

8. To this point, however, there is another question, and this consists in the fact that if a freed, self-conscious, and liberal creature have the right, under any pretext, to be dissatisfied with the position given him by the very highest kindness and wisdom of God from the beginning of the primordial beginning? What is this dissatisfaction? It is firstly the discontentment with what was given, and therefore also ingratitude for what was given.

9. Now I ask myself: If I would become, through love and humility, a child of God, and therefore unspeakably more than what I am now, how is it then with my contentment and gratitude for what I am here through the infinite grace of God?

10. Are humility and love, in view of this fact, sufficient to stand in as an equivalent for such unthankfulness, especially if even God himself cannot take away the ineffable "More" in the condition of the childhood of God?

11. I think you most exalted ambassadors will probably understand what I have meant, even if somewhat incoherently, yet out of clearly formed ideas. Yes, if you say that as a child of God I am lesser, weaker, more imperfect than I am here, humility is a right way of attaining the childhood of God; but with the consciousness of becoming more in every respect, humility is manifest, at least for this my present conceptual state, in the most unsuitable way.

12. For, behold, with us, as you shall surely know from the wisdom of the Lord, it is such an immutable custom, that no man should ever anything for the other for any remuneration, but the mutual need and mutual brotherly love must be for all time of times the sole motivation to act. But if I love my brother, that he may then serve me, or at least love me; if, through my brotherly love, I desire nothing more than a mere love, or even the shortest thanks for a given action - that with us, is a crude vice.

13. If I humble myself before someone, and give him great honor, only that he may show me a friendly face, I am already a hypocrite in the first lesser degree. Short and good; we know no other motive than the mutual need. Deeds are according to need, regardless of whether there is thankfulness or ingratitude; no hand is moved, and no foot is moved forward where there is no need. All people are therefore continually equal in rank, and no one can surpass the other in any other way than by a deeper wisdom, by which he is enabled to recognize all possible needs in his brethren, and afterwards also to arrange his acts in order to benefit the brethren without the least remuneration. If, according to such actions, the beneficiary would meet the benefactor, and show him gratitude and love, he can well accept them for the sake of his brother's joy; but never for the sake of receiving any reward for his action. If you consider this custom, you will find that even if you would stand even higher than you do now, that it just would not do to attain the childhood of God through humility and love.

14. Do not let me gain anything, and I will destroy all these great glories here in the next moment, and dwell in a hole that I will drill into the ground, like a worm created in our world in order to loosen the earth to a certain depth. But to be "more", I want to take exactly the opposite path, and do not want to seemingly descend in order to come up; I want to ascend without this. And before God, every step that I do should be a perfectly true one, with never even a hint of hypocrisy.

15. Whoever comes to me and wants to be more, I will test whether he has the abilities for "more"; if he possesses them, I will give him a higher place, since he has come to me with a sincere heart. But he that cometh to me, immediately falls down onto his face, saying, Hear me, O elder! I will be happy, if you would only put me outside in the most remote tree row as the lowest terrain cleaner. Then I say unto him: remove yourself. You have a sneaky and creepy mind; you want to be appointed here in the lowest office, only to gradually creep into the top floor. Here, however, no sneaky mind can find a place here, so humble yourself completely, and leave my place at once, without any prospect of getting a place here. For why did you not act sincerely and truthfully? If you had done this, I would have examined you; but as long as you remain a deceiver, you will not have access to my dwelling.

16. I think, the most perfect way cannot obviate these maxims of action, for truth is the foundation of all divine order, against no free acting being should transgress as long as one wants to be worthy of your God.

17. But I do not want to pre-empt you with these clear opinions; since you have the right, from the principle of the inner truth that every free-thinking and free-willing creature of God, has the right, to, according to his inner order, reveal his opinion and to try, with the best of intentions, to try and convince him of another order. Therefore you will surely not take exception to my statement, and will give me a satisfactory answer, as I expect.

18. It is possible that I have not yet comprehended the nature of the childhood of God. Without this, however, I think it would be difficult to find an approvable middle way here, for there is everywhere only one truth, and this is the self-conscious ground of every created man. Two truths, however, cannot always exist side by side, since the one would annihilate the other; therefore can neither you and I be right. But if this is the case, only my incomprehension is still in the way, preventing me to recognize your truth as my own. Therefore, it will be necessary for me that you would express yourself more clearly; firstly, what is the foundation of humility, then the true love and the childhood of God to be attained thereby. Do explain this to me, and I will, according to perfectly recognized truth, observe every dot of your word faithfully with my whole house of my own accord, so I ask you on behalf of myself and my whole house.

CHAPTER 62

True humility, love, and the childhood of God

1. Now I speak, and say, Hear, my honorable elder of this place, and chief of this whole great district. What you call humility is also humility with us, but what you have described is in no way humility, but is pure deception, where the humble man deceives himself, because he is in a state of life where he will not be taken up into a higher stage.

2. But since you think that the attainment of the childhood of God and with it the 'becoming more', can impossibly be prevented with the very best will, I also tell you that you have greatly erred in this respect. But to prove the truth of my words, I want to take you to the brightest light of the most infallible Word of the Lord God, the Creator of the heavens and earths.

3. But the word is as follows, "Let the little ones come to Me, and do not withheld them; for the kingdom of heaven is theirs! "The Lord said," If you will not be like children, you will not enter into the kingdom of God. " And even further, He said, "Whosoever shall be the first and greatest of you, be the least and the servant of all;

4. See, this is the essence of the childhood of God. If you think that in the Lord's ministry you will be more, you will have a greater power, and will be richer in all splendor and power, I will tell you: Stay what you are. Because there is no question of getting any more in every respect. Here you are bodily, as well as spiritually, a perfect master. As long as you live in your body, all matter of the surface of this world must obediently submit to the power of your wisdom, but if you are in the spirit, then this world of yours must be subordinate to you from its center, since you, the inhabitants of this world, are in the spirit of wisdom and will, as you can see from your moral and state institutions at first sight.

5. But since countless other worlds depend on this world which you inhabit, consider what a ruling power in the spirit have in fact been entrusted to you, to govern this world on which depends the order and preservation of countless other world-bodies and their inhabitants.

6. But if we consider a child of God; what does this have for a power, what a ruling district? Behold, I can tell thee with the greatest certainty, that a child of God, as long as it lives in the body, cannot even claim a dust-particle, nor even his body, nor his life, but have to disregard everything and should always be willing to say in the fullness of truth: Nothing belongs to me, I am nothing, even the life that I have is only of the Lord. This is their worldly ration; is there any spiritual radiance? Oh, not at all! The spiritual must exist in the center of poverty.

7. In this world, one can at least take a piece of bread for himself, and one can go as he pleases; but this freedom only exists in the spirit. One is, however, an eternal "guest of the father," and the children can only enjoy the bread they receive directly from the Father's hand. They can only go wherever the Father wants them. They cannot live in shining buildings, but in very simple huts.

8. The children must never be idle, and, as often as the Father will, they shall diligently work His fields, and bring the harvest faithfully and diligently into His barns. And if they have done all their labor so industriously and faithfully, yet they must go to the Father, and instead of receiving a sign of reward, they have to humbly confess that they were only wholly useless and lazy servants.

9. As you have remarked, you may, in your mind, travel with great power and strength through the endless space of your spiritual world regions to your great pleasure at your own will, but the children of God will not even put their feet over the threshold without Him willing it. You can argue as you like; we children only say what is put into our mouths.

10. See, that is the difference between the sublime and mighty spirits who direct all creation of God, and us, the children of God.

11. You can do everything you want; but we can do nothing out of ourselves, but only when the Lord wills it, and then not even a little more than what the Lord wills.

12. We are, therefore, placed in relation to the Lord, as are the members of a body. These limbs, indeed, constitute a being with the internal life of the body; but not a member of the whole body can do for itself what it wants, but each of its actions and all energy of action does not depend on its own power, but only on the fundamental power that prevails in the body. Thus the limbs themselves cannot feed themselves, even though they are most diligent, but must first surrender all their acquisition into the main chamber of the inner life; then the living force distributes the proper food to the limbs that have worked there.

13. But the situation is quite different with the relation of external free men who are not bound to a body as members, but stand as free beings for themselves. Behold, I may well say, Have goodness, and do this work, and the friendly people will do the work. But after the work is finished, they are free from my will and can do for themselves what they want.

14. But I ask you, is this also so with the limbs of my own body? Oh, not at all! These continually depend, in all their parts, on my inner will-power, and can never resist it; for they must be one with the will of the inner living force, otherwise the whole human being would surely perish.

15. See, if you only think a little of what I have just said, it will be quite clear to you how things are with your sharply qualified reasoning of the "surpassing" of the children of God.

16. If, therefore, you wish to achieve the childhood of God, you must be completely removed from the idea of winning something. You must then not look at yourself as a child of God in an endlessly perfect position, but you must take the situation exactly reversed. And if you have done this, then it will be evident to you whether the true humility and love for God is a perfectly just, or a deceptive way of attaining the childhood of God.

17. For you can well imagine this from God, who is the infinite, supreme Truth Himself, that He will not through a given means, reach a very different goal than the form of the means itself represents.

18. Would anyone who would always shrink and diminish in the humility of his heart, be able to reckon that the Lord will magnify him in the opposite direction? Yes, He will enlarge it, but not in your supposed "becoming more", but only in greater humility and greater love. And this is a true magnificence in the spirit, because man, as a child of God, is the one which one strives to attain the lowliness in the most perfect way.

19. Hence the love of a child of God for God is not flattery through which any omnipotent favor of God could be gained, but true love must be an inner impulse to acknowledge God above all as the sole perfect Lord, but also to regard himself to Him, as a complete nothingness. One must seek the supreme happiness in loving God the Father above all things, for He is God and Father. And for such love, one cannot commemorate any remuneration forever, except for the grace of loving God the Father.

20. See, my honorable elder, so are things. Just think about it a little bit, and then tell me how you will find the path I have set before you for the attainment of the childhood of God. But you must keep in mind that there never was any reality in your "becoming more" as a child of God. Understand this well and then give me your opinion!

CHAPTER 63

The essence of the childhood of God

1. Listen! our elder says: High messenger of the great God! Now I am quite clear, and the matter of the childhood of God now has a completely different face. But as the matter is certainly so, and not otherwise; here you must forgive me, that I, seen from my side, is not only in a certain way against the Godly order, that in order to strive for the so-called true childhood of God, according to your present statement, indeed, little, if not nothing is allowed at all. It would even be an obvious folly not to permit one to possess anything of the good and the abundant. I say, no more about God and Father, and no more about me as a child of God, if one were to be wholly without profit.

2. On the one hand, it cannot be denied that the thought of having God as a Father and that through the most intimate mutual love, overshadows all other thoughts, for no created being can fathom a greater relationship. But, when one would look at it from the other side and take into consideration that, despite this great thought and great name, one can and must be nothing at all, indeed, that one must always be willing to stand ready for the least service unto all creatures, then is such a thought and such a great name for our people of this world, really nothing at all.

3. If we can have here all that our hearts desire, temporarily and especially eternally in the spirit, but if as "children" we are not even allowed to cross the threshold as we will it, listen, then we certainly stay what we are; for in order to become nothing, would require ceasing to exist! But once a being is there, this existence presupposes a continually higher development of its forces; but not (if one considers that one here continually increases in knowledge and strength) -that man can expect afterwards, when one would expect the highest perfection, nothing but a complete destruction of all powers and knowledge which we have acquired here.

4. I think you will have understood me thoroughly, for I have thus spoken here, as a reasonably wise-thinking being should necessarily have, as you have discussed the circumstances of the childhood of God in the manner described above.

5. I am of a different opinion about the childhood of God, though, and I am stating quite firmly that the childhood of God is much more obscure than you have told me. It may be that, as a child, one can voluntarily give up everything out of the highest love of the Father. This is quite peculiar in the character of love: -that, on the other hand, one can expect something unspeakable for such a small sacrifice, that I can eternally not deny!

6. We have, according to our spiritual doctrine, the great ability to travel as spirits to all the depths of the creations of God, and to delight ourselves unspeakably in His eternal, innumerable miracles; but as I imagine it so profoundly, the children of God can look with a glance at what we need eternity for. As spirits we have power to regulate the things of our world and, as well as that of other dependent worlds; but the children of God, as united with God in the close and intimate way, are certainly co-creators. And while we always can only arrange things, "the children of God their Father", have power not only over the entire endless material creation, but also over every spiritual creature.

7. See, this is my opinion, for whose truth I offer everything as a pledge, whatever I may call my own in this world. Though you have certainly said that a child, without the will of his Father, is not allowed to cross the threshold, he must not eat himself, and must dwell in simple huts. I can do all that with pleasure. But if as a child of God, with one glance, all the endless glories of God can be overseen, then I would well want to know why you should put your feet across the threshold? Moreover, if one is in the eternal center with the perfect creative capacity with God Himself, from where all the innumerable creatures are fed, I would also like to know the reason why it would be necessary to feed oneself, since one stands at the center of all life. And so, I think, it is with the simplicity of the dwelling-place of the children of God. Whether it be a hut or a palace, it is everywhere the same, since all the glories of God are obviously united in them.

8. When man finds himself in the glory of all infinity and eternity, which no creature can ever reduce, one can nevertheless be a very lowly servant and a servant of all servants; for what does he lose? Must not the whole of creation, if need be, be punctually obedient even to the slightest hint?

9. It is true, we spirits also have strength and power to control our own world, but are they lords of the same? Oh no! We indeed do what we want, but we cannot will what we will. Our will is subject to your will, but your will is free in Him who is your Father!

10. High Messenger of the Lord! I believe that I have judged the matter correctly; nevertheless, I beg you, would you explain to me a little more, so that I might know to what extent my judgment is related to the highest truth.

11. Now I say, saying, Listen, my honorable elder of this place. I knew that you would find the right light in you, if I had shown you the right way. Your judgment is correct; this time you have precisely recognized the nature of the childhood of God. As you have called the thing, so it is; but with humility and with love, you are compelled to obtain the "more," which you have so condemned, and not the "less" you have so far praised.

12. But what can be done? For see, you are neither satisfied with one or the other. In the course of many years, humility and love are a bad means, and therefore no virtue. The lesser attainment of such virtue appears to you as folly. How, then, should the matter be ordered that you would be content? I want to solve this riddle.

13. Behold, you are still of the notion that one must only get more if one asks more, and less if one asks little. But I say to you, this is a creaturely measure; but the Creator is a completely reversed case. He who requires much receives little; who requires little, receives much; for whoever wants nothing, everything will be given!

14. This thing you would probably find a little unnatural; but, see, there are similar correlations with you, and in this respect, you do not act any different than the Lord. For example, he who asks for a great reward, how will he be received in your heart? You say: He will be received badly. But if he has done a great service to you, and requires little for that, how will be received in your heart? You say: He will be well received. But if any man has done unto thee anything that thou wilt ever desire, and in the end do not ask of thee, for he did all things out of love unto thee, tell me, how shall he be received in your heart? You say: I will put him on my right-hand side, and he shall share my full possession; for my heart will be fully indebted to him!

15. See, my honorable elder, that is exactly the relationship of God to His creatures; and if you do the last, you are a child of God, and shall also be set up by Him at His right hand. Love does this, for God does not look to work, but to love alone. If the work proceeds from love, then it has value before God; but if it proceeds from wisdom only, then it has no value, or only to the extent to which love was thereby involved. Now you know everything, and I have nothing more to say to you. If you wish to walk the path you have clearly described, you now know quite well what goal you can achieve; if you remain as you are, you will also reach a good goal, but not that of the very actual childhood of God!

16. Now see, our eldest became be very humble, and consider my words well. He will soon begin aa address to his children; we will listen to this, then bless this people, and then go forth from there.

CHAPTER 64

Inhabitants of the sun on the way of the childhood of God

1. The elder is opening his mouth, and we will straightway listen to him. His words are thus, "Listen to me, you all my children, those of you who are here, and give them also to those who are not here, which I will speak to you. You know that on similar occasions, when the wood on the altar was burning by a higher power, we have read, from the flame of the burning wood, the exceedingly difficult conditions, by whose fulfillment alone the attainment of the high childhood of God is possible. We have never been lucky enough to hear from the mouth of a child of God, how, in the shortest possible time, the childhood of God can be attained, and what is really hidden behind the childhood of God.

2. This distinguished guest with his two companions, has shown us from the original source and from the primordial foundation, that which all our wisdom could never have achieved. We now know that God, the omnipotent Creator of all things, is a perfect Man, and always dwells among those who are His children.

3. Then we have very basically and most accurately experienced what a child of God is and why he must be recognized as such. Then, as the third point, we have been very clearly informed that, us all, which have been created as free beings, conscious of themselves and recognizing God as their Creator, can become the children of God in the simplest and most effective way possible.

4. We need no further proof that this is correct; for we have in the first place the guarantor of the fulness of such truth still among us, and secondly we have my own wisdom, from which I, as you all know, have stated to the high messenger all conceivable objections to see whether his testimony may stand firm against the most severe examination of wisdom.

5. But all of you have also heard with what brazen firmness the high guest always came to meet me, and led me out of the madness of my knowledge onto a straight path. If we now have such tangible proofs of the great validity of this messenger's statement, what more do we want?

6. The only question here is whether we wish to seriously change the ways we have described, or whether we wish to enter the path of humility, love, and self-denial in spirit and in truth, or not? Which question say as much as:

7. Do we wish to, after the laying off of this fleeting body, remain an eternal guardian of this world of ours, which is already a great world, or do we wish to already become the children of God in spirit, and go there where the eternal and Almighty God and Lord dwells among his children, and loves them with all the infinite loving power of His heart?

8. See, my dear children, this is an extraordinary question of great importance, which can only be answered by the deed, but never by the most profound words. But let me draw your attention to the fact that our state is, after the body's departure, in spirit, a most glorious one, which, by its splendor and glory, surpasses much more than anything else imaginable. We are already so beautifully formed in our bodies, that our form is even, as I have remarked, a great admiration for the children of God; and yet this corporeal beauty is hardly a fleeting shadow against them, which is a property of our immortal spirit. Thus our external physical habitations are already so splendid that inhabitants of other worlds would certainly lose their lives at the first sight. And yet their edification costs us a little trouble; for, with the power of our united will, we are perfect masters of matter, which must submit, form, and raise up according to our will.

9. But what is even the most awful and great material building magnificence against those of our spirits, who inhabit that distant light-envelope, which surrounds our world, which is spatially, boundlessly infinite.

10. See, we already know all this from many experiences; for there are several of us who have been allowed to very vividly see the spiritual things of our world. As a result, our lot is an unpredictably glorious one, for we, as spirits, are truly great lords, to whom not only their whole boundless world are at the command of the slightest contemplation, but numerous other worlds all more or less depend on this great world. All of this, my children, united under a single point of view, can tell us nothing more than:

11. What more do you want, you most happy children of a world, which is a light bearer for myriads and myriads of other worlds? So it is also true: who has as much as we have, who is as happy as we are, with whom it would be a certain degree of foolishness, if he would want to attain even more and become even happier.

12. Look, this surely wise conclusion I have portrayed to this lofty guest, and he has given me an equally favorable answer. But listen to me now, my children! The attainment of the childhood of God is by no means a matter of becoming more or lucky, but of perfecting and living in the love of God. But you all know from our own experience that here our greatest happiness, as well as our greatest bliss, is not only due to our mutual love. The more we love each other, the more intimately we are united in love both physically and spiritually, and the happier we are!

13. Do we not have the happiest of times when, within the walls of our homes, we are united in mutual love, and do not even cast a glance at the whole wonderfully beautiful outer world? All of you can only reply to this question from your living experience as: This is the full and living truth!

14. Well, then; see also the great difference between our greatest, but at the same time always outward happiness, and the most inward blessedness of the children of God. But if our mutual love among us creatures is so happy, how endlessly happy does love have to be, where creatures as children of God can behold their Creator as Father visibly in the highest love, and are also lovingly embraced by Him? Where in this whole great world is there a being who can only grasp an atom of the greatness of such bliss where the creature as a child is able to approach his Creator, his God, and embrace Him with all love, and in return is again embraced with the greatest Love!

15. See, my dear children, this is the infinite difference between us and the children of God! Think how endlessly this small spark of love must be against the endless fulness of love which dwells in God. And yet this endlessly tiny little one makes our greatest bliss! How great, therefore, must be the salvation of those beings who can play with all the infinite wealth of the love of their divine Father!

16. So what do we want to do? Do we want to remain what we are, or do we want to rush into the arms of the Almighty, Holy, Eternal Father with new life force as children?

17. I now read on your faces that you all want to leave everything to get to the Father! Yes, this is my most perfect sense; we will love Him, as if we had a thousand hearts, and we will be humble, therefore, as if we had no existence, only to go after this external life, where this Holy Father dwells.

18. And you, exalted messenger, take this assurance in the fullness of truth, that we are all of one mind, and want to walk the way which you have shown us. Bless us on this new way, that we may be happy in the place where you certainly already have had a long and most glorious stay in the dwelling of God, your ever-holy Father!

19. Look, after this, the priest falls upon his face, and his children follow his example. We now bless them, and since we have blessed them, let me rise a little from them. Now see, we have lifted ourselves, and our beautiful world hovers already as a tiny starlet in an endless depth. But look down; it is your sun. We are not far from her, but we will not hurry to quickly approach her holy surface. But this time not the material, but the spiritual, which corresponds precisely to the material in the same place. And so let us let ourselves down gently!

CHAPTER 65

Different appearance of the 'spiritual sun' outside the sphere of Jesus

1. See, we are already on the spiritual surface of your sun. How do you like it here? I notice you are making highly astonished faces, and say, "Here, too, it is inconceivably splendid and graceful. It is true that no trace can be found of that almost fearsome splendor of the former sun-world; but nevertheless are the lovely gardens and exceedingly splendid flowery meadows, with small, cute cottages built all over, also very pleasing to look at. But what increases the wonderful sight here is that here in the gardens and in the open, and especially around the little houses, we see a multitude of children, and also greater human spirits, who busy themselves very amiably with these children. But only one thing here seems very strange.

2. See, dear friend, the Lord Himself has set us upon the spiritual sun after the contemplation of the natural sun. But there we have not seen the slightest of all that we now see; we have only seen an endlessly extended surface, which was indeed decorated with a kind of grass, and here and there also with small trees. Then we saw on that immensely wide surface, spirits wandering to and fro and up and down, like one would see the ephemerides on the earth at the sunrise or close to sunset. But that was all. If we wanted to see more, we needed the sphere of a spirit.

3. But three important points of view are now emerging for us. The first is thus: Was the "spiritual sun?" which we so simply saw in the presence of the Lord, identical with this, which we now see? The second point is: If this sun is identical with the first one, the questioned is whether its surface is quite a different place than the one we saw first? But the third question is also: if this is the sun, and on our surface we cannot see what we have seen in the presence of the Lord at the first sight of the spiritual sun, whether we owe it to your sphere?

4. Though you have told us at first, that we were not in yours, but you were only in our sphere. It is true that an exchange of spheres may have taken place for us unconsciously; therefore we ask you what this situation is?

5. My dear friends and brothers! I must report to you here in advance, that no answer will be given here to all three of the questions; and simply for the reason that you have not asked the question in a way by which the answer would be part of the revelation of this present appearance.

6. When you have entered the surface of the spiritual sun in the presence of the Lord, you have not entered the surface of the sun in a special way but in the infinite sphere of the Lord, for in the sphere of the Lord, a finite special sight for anyone alone is never conceivable. In His sphere, every specific phenomenon immediately contains in itself unlimited, infinite, and the simple ground which you have entered then was a ground of the infinite spiritual sun of the Lord in which all infinite spheres are realized.

7. The spirits that you saw walking to and fro, are not individual spirits, but every single such spirit you have seen on that surface is a whole union of numerous spirits, in which in and for itself still numerous smaller associations exist, which also consist of blessed spirits of a special kind, as we are now together. You can easily see this as perfectly convincing, from the fact that in the sphere of such a great spirit you have come to the more specific view of the spiritual and heavenly things.

8. You make a very puzzled face here, of course, and say: But listen, dear friend, how is that? This statement is a little nonsensical to us, for the Lord has given us the names of the individual spirits who approached us, among which there were also some who were close to us on earth, but these cannot in themselves be such a general heavenly community of angels. Moreover, after retreating from their spheres, we have seen them as before, and they have spoken to us as you have led us; how can this be understood?

9. I tell you, my dear brothers and friends, it will be quite difficult for you to see the circumstances of the heavens so clearly. But what I can do for your spiritual correction, I will do, and will bring you again all sorts of examples, by which you at least can get closer to the great truth. - What did the Lord say when He once gave testimony to John the Baptist? His words were: "None of those who had been born out of women had been greater than him; but the smallest in the kingdom of God is greater than he! "What does that mean? Nothing else: Of all the special men, none is greater in itself than John; but those who, according to the teaching of the Lord, will be accepted into the new kingdom of heaven as pure children of God, the least of them will be greater than the greatest special man in and for itself.

10. Why then? Because they grow not only in and by themselves in their love for the Lord, but as their love for the Lord encompasses infinities, they become leaders of the heavenly associations, and in the face of the Lord, the love-sphere of such a blessed spirit extends as a second great man. And this sphere is, in and of itself, actually such a heavenly community, in which all the good spirits are accommodated who has the same love unto the Lord as the leader, which is then also the creator of this community.

11. Similar examples are also available on the earth. The state associations are already an outward picture of this, and every citizen of the state carries, so to speak, the name of the supreme head of state, who is either an emperor, king, duke, prince, etc. Smaller societies are cities, markets, villages and municipalities; every inhabitant carries, so to speak, the name of his society, and it is said that this is a Parisian, this is a Londoner, and this is a Viennese, and so are also our religious affinities, which are certainly unsuitably called "sects". But if we accept the sect, we shall find that everyone has its chief founder. What is such a main reason for the sect founded by him? He is the head of such a sect, or of such a society, which, taken spiritually, is formed into a general form which is wholly similar to that of the founder.

12. If one for example has fully accepted the Lutheran faith, he spiritually already lives in the general spiritual form of Luther, or he is a resident of the Lutheran society. Such an association is already a great one, which in itself already has a multitude of smaller societies, which all together have their leader, which may be called 'congregations'; and such a congregation has its everlasting chief and leader, who is, as it were, a general spiritual body, or a smaller society to be inhabited by all those who are of his faith and love.

13. So it is with the first spreaders of the doctrine of the Lord, as well as with Swedenborg, whom you also know. But your secular relatives are, of course, only the inhabitants of such a society. But since, by the works of their love, so many men have approached their hearts, they have thus formed a society, and are thus, in their own way, a little prince of their associations, for what reason they are also in the commonwealth in the sphere of the Lord visible as a single spiritual society.

14. I think you should, through this small explanation, now have a pretty clear idea about this. But that this really is so, you can also see clearly from what the Lord said to the apostles, when they asked him what they would one day receive for the sake of them having left all. "You will sit on twelve chairs, and judge the twelve tribes of Israel." - Which will say just as much as: From the word which you shall preach in My name and from My Spirit to all peoples, will be established in your number, you, according to your kind, will be chief and leader. - I mean, this is easy to grab with the hands. But so that this matter may become clearer to you, we shall soon take refuge in another example.

CHAPTER 66

A communal spirit and also a special spirit. Why do heavenly communities have the human form?

1. How can one be in a certain way a communal spirit, while simultaneously also a special spirit, we want to, as said, test a few examples. An example is evidently the most unambiguous in a word of the Lord Himself, therefore He says:

2. "I am the vine, and you are the branches." What does that say? What use it is for our concept? The Lord is the all-righteous "communist," since each individual human being and angelic spirit is perfect in His just measure, and then all the numerous spirits together, again perfectly resemble in unity, the One Spirit of God. But as the Lord again compares it to one spirit, and it is the case with all spirits united, it is likewise the case between the human spirits.

3. This united spirit of men, which is closest to the Lord through His love, humility, and wisdom, is an ever-increasing community, because His love, humility, and wisdom have drawn many other spirits into His sphere, and still continue forever in some when such congregational spirits have long ceased to exist on earth. However, this is represented in the spiritual world as an association, which is thus educated, so to say, in the broadest extent, as a particular community, which stand as a personality in itself.

4. One could of course ask here: How then does such a society actually become the spirit of such a communal spirit man? He might well look like a habitable world. Why, then, does the form of a man in the high realm of the spirits be the formal substratum of a society inhabitable by heavenly beings?

5. To answer this question in a comprehensible manner, I must draw your attention to the fact that the natural habitable worlds for you are really nothing other than certain, at least for your eyes, chaotic conglomerates from souls to souls, who, in the primordial times of times, served as the proper vessels of the spirits out of God, which had to necessarily fall together with the one great communal spirit. From these souls or spiritual vessels, the worlds as they are, were created by the Lord's merciful and endless will-power, and are now therefore these souls which are to be reunited with their spirits according to a wise sequence of steps.

6. But look at all the barely countable stages of the process and ask yourself about your previous knowledge: What is the goal of such a gradual progress? The answer will give you the next best view of every human being.

7. What is therefore a human being? In his completed godlike form he is, in a certain sense, a common life of countless preceding special lives, which began to develop in the rock moss, the first manifestations of life, then penetrated through all the plant worlds, transcended from the plant world into the animal world, and from the communal animal world to the completed, fully formed image of man.

8. In man, therefore, all earlier torn souls and minds begin to gain their original form; it is only natural, then, that in the realm of perfected spirits there can foundationally be no other form than the original form of the God-like man.

9. Thus a society in the form of a man is indeed the right form, and is to be called, in the true and perfect sense, a glorious habitable world for spirits, because this form corresponds in itself to every single part of man, and thus no inhabitant of such a world has to sow and reap. In such a perfect world, he finds his destined place, where he is given to him all that he as inhabitant has ever needed, as no nerve in the human body needs to sow and harvest for himself to be nourished in his place in the body where he resides; he is provided in everything on the spot, and he needs nothing but to live and to enjoy.

10. I think that this rather extensive example should make it clear to you. Only one circumstance still remains, namely, regarding the concept of the communal spiritual in a person from the sphere of the Lord, and for this situation, we shall use yet another example. The question therefore is: how can it be possible that a special spirit can be raised in his unity to the point that he as such sees a whole spiritual multiplicity as single personality before him?

11. This is a rather difficult point; but as I said, a well-nourished example will restore your balance. But in order to make this example as effective as possible, let us first find a handle in the natural world; and so, listen!

12. Is it possible for you to see the whole earth? You say: Not at all, for her surface is too broad to possibly look at. I say: good, but why is it possible to have a full view of the much bigger sun? You say: Because it is so far from our eyes that we can see all the rays that emanates from her whole surface, fall upon our eye at such an angle, which according to its design, make it easy for us to perceive. Well, we have already enlightened our cause as perfectly as possible.

13. See, as there are phenomena in the natural world, where one can say that this thing is near, yet it is remote in space, so there are also appearances in the spiritual world through which an object retreats to a great distance. And if this in itself is so great and consists of countless multitudes of spirits, it will nevertheless be easily seen in a spiritual distance, as a single concrete being.

14. But the spiritual distance is obviously not the same as the natural, in which those objects which the eye see to be far away in space, are really far away. In the spirit, those things which appear to be spatially distant are not far from the eye of the beholder, but maybe just as close as what is seen to be up close, for the spirit no longer perceives any distance. But to the contrary can things which seem to be very close, also be very distant, and then they are seen as to be in palpable proximity; but, as we have said, they are very far away.

15. You say: This sounds a little puzzling. But I say: Nothing less than that; only a little hint still needs to be added, and you will have this riddle completely solved before you. The question is:

16. When is one the most remote from every other being? Surely only when one is in the immediate vicinity of the Lord; for between Him and every other being, there is a perpetual immeasurable chasm, and yet again, in the spherical proximity of the Lord, one is closest to all things in their community, because the Lord is in them all in all.

17. But you were on your first spiritual sun directly in the sphere of the Lord. How, then, did all the heavenly spirits have to behave towards you? Clearly understandably impossibly any different than very distant. Nevertheless, you have also seen them as if in your close proximity.

18. This is because the Lord is in the first place all in all, and the eye of every spirit in the sphere of the Lord is similar to that of the immature children, who not infrequently reach for the moon and the stars as if they were really in their close proximity, while you know that they are very far away.

19. I think that the matter about the spiritual sun should now be clear to you, which you first saw in the sphere of the Lord. And so let us look more closely in the groves, the lanes, and the gardens of the sun, which corresponds to your sun, and become more familiar with her very youthful inhabitants. The next garden, which we see before us, is to receive us for this purpose.

CHAPTER 67

Practical guidance on self-development of children in children's homes

1. Here is the gate already before us; so enter boldly! See, we are in the garden. See how cute and in the most beautiful order everything is set up! Small tree avenues intersect the large garden, and at each intersection we discover a small tree circle, which is decorated in the middle with a small temple. The paths are covered with the most beautiful lawn and thus provides way a very gentle path to walk on. Between the avenues we discover open spaces, on which a lot of the most beautiful flowers grow, perhaps like with a good early spring on the meadows of your earth.

2. You say here: how is it that these flowers are not arranged according to horticultural art, but are simply growing all mixed on the meadow? This is because this is already a perfect world, and thus is all growth in perfect correspondence with the mental conceptual abilities which the inhabitants of such a place possess.

3. Here, however, the (souls of the) youngest children live, who died on the earth soon after their birth. These little children cannot possibly have any definite concepts or perceptions of the Lord and His Word; therefore is everything here young, small and a colorful mix.

4. Look ahead. There in the middle of this large garden you will discover a building that has almost the shape of a large greenhouse. What is it? We want to go there, and we'll see what it is.

5. See, we are already there; let us enter through the open door before us, and we shall at once see what will be done in it. We are in it; see, an almost indefinitely long row of small little beds is arranged as if on a terrace about three feet above the floor. Keep looking! Behind the front row can be seen another row, as though separated by an alley, a second; then a third, fourth, fifth, etc. to tenth. And look, in each of these little beds, we see a child resting, and in every such alley, several hundred attendants and nurses are continually pacing up and down, carefully tending to the need of one or the other child.

6. How many such beds would be present in this room? We can easily calculate this; in a row there are ten thousand of such beds, and we have counted ten rows in this division, which would be a hundred thousand. But how many such departments are there in this building? There are ten of them; and so in the whole building a million of such beds will be available. The number of children entering into this department increases from day to day according to your calculation; and the little ones who are now maturing in this department in these wonderful life-beds, will soon be taken to the next department.

7. When the children have, in this way, matured in all of the ten sections of this building, they are transferred to another building, where they are no longer allowed to rest in such beds, but special low rows of railings are erected for them where they learn to stand and walk. This building, too, has ten sections, in which walking is continually being trained. If the children have perfectly mastered their walking, there is again another building with ten sections; in this building, where the children are taught to speak with ingenious methods, making it well worth the effort to go to this school and have a closer look.

8. In this building, we do not have much to learn anyway; for it is self-evident that these little children, who were very untimely brought here from the world, are merely matured by the love of the Lord, and that the guardians therein are angelic spirits, who were fond of children on the earth. Knowing this, we are going to the third building.

9. Behold, there more in the direction of the midday, is an already quite large, elongated form; so let us go there and get inside at once! We are already in one department, and indeed in the first; do you not notice how it is teeming with little students, and among them, friendly and patient teachers? And see how these little children are provided with the most varied and colorful sets of all kinds of toys. What do these serve for? It is firstly, for silent concept formation in the soul; which is here actually the essence. Here we hear nothing yet; but let's go to the second department.

10. Look, the children are no longer walking about so helter-skelter, but sit on low, long, soft, rows of banks. In front of every ten children we see a teacher holding the one object in his hand, naming it, and letting the children imitate him voluntarily, as well as possible. The objects are always chosen so that they attract the attention of the children.

11. Moreover, you will also note here that the long rows of banks are divided by ascending transverse walls between the groups of ten children. This is, therefore, the reason for the fact that, when an object is pointed out, the adjacent group of ten children's attention is not distracted by the exposition of an object.

12. In this section, the children learn to name the simple objects. In the next section, they are already directed to the naming of composite concepts, where one concept is the basis and the other a determination. In the fourth section, they are learning to join the concepts by themselves, as well as the words which describes actions and activities, as well as words by which conditions, qualities, and characteristics are expressed.

13. In the fifth section, there is already formal conversation. This is done by the teachers, by means of displaying all sorts of objects on tables for visual instruction, as well as small theater performances, after which the children are instructed about what they have seen and what has happened.

14. In the sixth section, this branch of teaching is being continued in a somewhat larger and more meaningful way. The display tables are bigger, and theater themes are directed in order to relate to the Lord; only the children are not yet told of it except for the external image, and they must then retell the story in that same lesson period, as they have seen it.

15. In the seventh department, where the children can already speak quite formally, and their comprehension has attained a markedly higher degree, and already became significant, general historical representations referring to the Lord become the norm not only in the form of picture tablets, but are also in drama, and usually in such an appealing manner for the children that they are formally conceded and interrogated, and precisely because of this, are all the deeper impressed by all they have seen and heard.

16. In the eighth department, the teachers begin to let the children perform small pieces themselves, and then recount what was represented by such a lively picture.

17. In this way the children are guided in the most appropriate way to self-activity and to self-contemplation.

18. In the ninth department, the children must begin to invent new representations, naturally under the guidance of their wise teachers, and then present them, at first merely mute, but later, also with speech.

19. In the tenth department, we will see a lot of actors and playwrights, and their language will be so well-formed that you will have to say: Indeed, many a man cannot speak like that on the earth even when he has already gone through a university. It must be said, of course:

20. One learn in the spirit quicker than in the material body, which is not infrequently afflicted with great weaknesses and awkwardness. This is admittedly true. But if a similar method of teaching were also observed on the earth, the children living and growing there would also reach the goal of their spiritual development immeasurably quicker than when the child is first bombarded with all sorts of rubbish, which have to first be laboriously removed later, before the child would be receptive for anything pure.

21. To give you a picture for clearer understanding, I will only draw your attention to what you have already often experienced. If you have a musically talented child, what would be the right thing to do for early, true and proper instruction? If, instead of a formal teacher, such a child is given the most impotent bungler, who, by his very nature, understands everything else better than that what he teaches, and also gives the student a bad instrument which produces little or no sound, is regularly disrupted and all this under the pretext: This is good enough for a beginning! Will such a talented musical student ever get to anything? We shall see.

22. After three wasted years, we finally give our student a slightly better master. The latter, however, needs at least three years to train all the taught nonsense out of his student. Now six years have passed, and our student cannot do anything yet. One wants to make the first mistake good too, in order to make something of the child, give him an excellent master. This master, however, has no patience, and the student no longer experiences great joy. Another three years go by, and our talented student had hardly brought himself to a very mediocre amateur, while in the first three years, he would have been able to do something significant with a fair, basic course.

23. See, so it goes with all the teachings on the earth, therefore are the progress of the education so slow. Here, however, everything is arranged in the most appropriate manner, and therefore all education proceeds with giant steps. The continuation will show us more brilliant results.

CHAPTER 68

Visual instruction in graduated departments in the children's kingdom

1. You have seen now how the immature children learn to speak; But what follows after speaking? See, there is another building before us. In this we shall enter, and it will immediately show what is happening with these children. We are already in the building, which is beautifully built, and we no longer see the former departments, but the whole building presents a very large hall, which has space enough to convince you with inner vision of a million such disciples, and a teacher for every group of ten.

2. But what happens here? Behold, there is such a group in front of us, you see in the middle a round table, around which ten little students are comfortably seated together with a teacher. What do the students have before them on the table? We see books with somewhat stiff pages, and on the pages are small, but very masterful pictures.

3. What do the students do with these pictures? They look at them, and then relate to their teacher about the picture they looked at. This is the beginning of reading; only elaborated pictures are being read here.

4. Look a lot of tables in the foreground, which run in a straight line across the width of the hall; there, as you can see, are all the beginners of reading. You are saying here, of course, and asks, "This is all right, correct, and beautiful, if it is merely about reading of pure picture-writing; but even if the reading by means of mute signs or so-called letters is common here, we still do not quite see how these silent, single signs will emerge from these cute pictures.

5. Let it be well, my dear brothers and friends! What you have here before you, will be clear at the next row of tables; and you will be able to convince yourself that you can learn to read in an entirely natural way, without the preceding spelling and syllable forming.

6. See, there is the second row; what do you see here? You say: nothing but fundamentally the same books, but the pictures are no longer fully elaborated, but only given with the outlined contours. See, there is more thought to this, in order to find out from the connection of the lines the formerly well-elaborated picture again. At the same time, however, you will see from this that the inner spirit is thereby directed to activity, because of the omission of some of the external vision of the image, or the inner mind is guided to perform the filling in of the lacking parts itself. We now have seen what the students do in this second row.

7. Let us go to the third; we are here. What do you see here? You say: again, books as before; but here we see only basic lines around which the other contour lines are expressed only by dots. Look, here it is harder to figure out the actual picture; but it is evident that one has already been led back to the actual basic meaning, to some extent to the foundation of the image. At the same time, the meaning of the images is read more thoroughly, and the lines begin to gain more significance in themselves.

8. It is also explained at the same time what is a straight, a curved, and a circular line.

9. Let's go to the fourth row; what do you see? Again books, where only the basic lines are still present; but they are more encompassed with the contour points. Since, however, the existing images represent a lot of historical situations which are usually related to the Lord, and thus one or more human figures occur in each picture, these basic lines clearly show all the parts and outlines of humans; how the parts of the human being are ordered, and what significance the simple lines have in relation to the different parts and outlines of man.

10. But what is the outcome of this? We will see this in the next row.

11. See, we are already here. Here we see the same lines closer together, and here and there the end-parts of the lines run to certain points. What does that say? It is still the first picture; but the lines are already transforming into a mute form, and the students have to recognize these mute characters as if they had the complete picture in front of them.

12. Let us go back to the next row. Here in the books you see only one, two, or three principal lines, and on a much smaller scale. These individual principal lines are here and there connected with small globules to indicate that they belong together. The secondary lines are only suggested here and there with a few short dashes and dots.

13. See, is not that a formal font? Yes, it sure is; and it is the very real right (or original) script which corresponds with the whole essence of man. You say: That's right; but how does it look with the individual sounds or the so-called A. B. C.? I tell you, that is all in it; for the so-called self-clauses are indicated by the dots and small squares, but the consonants are represented by the principal lines and their connections. You therefore never read the individual letters here and do not get to know them in advance because of the reading, but this way has it exactly reversed. You will first learn the general signs, as you have seen, and from these general signs you will then learn to recognize the individual basic signs, and then to compile them together, and to recapture the general signs from the compound ones.

14. See, this is the way to teach the students reading in the shortest and most appropriate way.

15. It is barely worth mentioning that learning to speak, is a very important part of the learning to read, since it can be very easily understood. For the difference between these methods consists merely in the fact that the teaching of speech is plastic and dramatic, but with learning to read, it is drawn flat and presented on a small scale.

16. But here we see several rows; what is happening there? Reading instruction still continues here; and this consists in the principle that the students should find by means of correspondences, from the form of this inner spiritual writing, in the end also all the secular, external writings; and they leave this building with nothing else but the ability to read. It is scarcely worth mentioning that students are learning to write of their own accord; for according to this method, as you will say, two flies are slain with one stroke.

17. You of course ask here: "Yes, if these little children, who are perhaps five to seven years old, according to earthly measures learn all these things, what else remain to teach them? For, as we have seen, they have, in the speech lessons, by means of the countless varied picture-books, already learned almost everything which man can conceive in his spirit, and they have been taught much more through the reading lessons, for in their pictures there were so many and varied situations, that one could fill a whole infinity with their realization. It is certainly not easy to see what a higher school can offer here.

18. Let it be for now; the sequel will show you what they have to learn. You must not think that in the realm of the spirits as a spirit itself, as you say, you get to eat all the wisdom of the heavens with the spoon, and you only have to swallow. For that would indeed be an extraordinary monotonous life, if one would be in a position, in which man would no longer be capable of perfection. But if the Lord Himself, which you would not quite understand, continue in the development of His infinite power, which you can easily see from the progress and propagation of all things, how could there ever be a standstill for His children? But how such advances occur, the sequel will show.

CHAPTER 69

Heavenly schoolhouse for geography and world history in the kingdom of children

1. Look, here is already another and by far larger house; what is taught here? We'll be right there. You know that these little children had never been able to know their place of birth, the earth, for the reason that they died too soon after their birth. But since the Lord's knowledge is necessary to know the place which He has chosen to be the chief place of His mercy, these little children also have to get to know this place more closely, to see when and where the Lord has become a man to redeem the entire human race and establish the earth as a teaching-house for His children. Therefore is the geography of the earth in fact taught here, and this certainly in a much more effective way than is the case with you.

2. The method by which the geography of the earth will be presented here, we shall at once convince ourselves of. In the middle of the great hall where we are now, on a large, beautiful shelf, rest an earth globe is almost in the way that you have on earth. You must not merely accept this, but be of steadfast conviction that nothing exists on the earth which have not first existed in the spirit for a long time. Such an earth globe on the earth is therefore by no means an invention, which have not existed for a long time, yes even for an eternity, in the pure domain of the spirit.

3. You can also see this very well, if you ask yourself: What was first: the earth, or a globe made by man, which represents the present form of the earth only in a very deficient and poor manner?

4. I believe, however, that since the earth has certainly existed for a long time in the spirit of the Lord, it would be a good reason for the existence of this image of the earth. Therefore can this globe, spiritually seen, be quite in order here, and in the fullness of truth it is also considerably better ordered than it can ever be in you on earth.

5. Go closer and look at it. Its surface have not been painted, as is the case with you on earth, but it is a sculptured plastic radiation-type, like your so-called images of light, which likewise project even the most inconspicuous object on the smallest scale. The great difference, however, between the external terrestrial radiation type and this inner spiritual, is incalculable; for, in the most precise observation, not one atom must be omitted, and the whole nature of the earth must be exactly represented.

6. But that this is accomplished here, you can see at first sight in close proximity here; for the brooklets, rivers, streams, and seas are quite natural; the brooks, rivers and streams flow, and the sea receives them.

7. Look on! The mountains of the earth, which are completely faithfully represented on small scale, are evidently from the same substances. The glaciers have their snow and ice, the limestone mountains their lime, the lower alps their pastures, and deeper down, their forests. and just look closely, every city and every village is precisely displayed.

8. For example, your city. Look at it, and you will find that nothing is omitted. But also see how clouds and fog even move in the same directions and in the same forms as they are at the same time always on the real earth. See, this is certainly the most perfect globe. It is of course quite large; its diameter, according to your scale, maybe about twenty klafter.

9. But how can he be seen from all sides? Very easy; for see, if firstly hangs from or rests on the large frames by means of a powerful (horizontal) spindle parallel to a circular gallery which reaches precisely the height of the poles. Our students are on this gallery, among them their teachers, and they thoroughly examine an entire meridian. Have they investigated this well, the globe is advanced by one meridian, and so on, until the whole earth has been studied.

10. But is this the only globe, and have the students finished their geographic studies in this studio? Oh no! Look, there is yet another great hall before us in which is a similar globe, representing the earth a thousand years earlier, and again another imposing great hall, representing the earth again a thousand years earlier, and so it goes on, back to Adam.

11. The students learn in this way also the history of the world together with their geography; only, they always go the opposite way. They begin with the present, and thus go from the phenomena to the cause; which is just as much to say as going from outside to inside.

12. You ask here, and say, "On the earth, indeed, changes happen from year to year; how can these be learned by the great globes, which are only depicting every thousand years? Then I say nothing else but look around a little, and look at what is contained in such a great hall. Look, in a certain distance there are ten more, somewhat smaller globes in each room. These represent the earth at every hundred years, and indeed, just as vividly as can be seen in the big one. Behind these ten globes, you will again discover a great multitude more in a good order, showing the earth from year to year, and behind it the last and widest row, you find very small globes of hardly three feet in diameter, presenting the changes on the earth from day to day.

13. In the first hall, you may notice that a new globe is added in this last row, according to your calculation, every day; that is in the hall, which represents your present millennium. But in order for the students to not have to deal so much with the small globes, the teachers on the great globe are already prefiguring all the changes which have taken place here and there on the earth. As a result, the students already experience everything and can then convince themselves by their own affirmation on the small globes.

14. At the end of the last hall, where the earth is depicted at the time of Adam, there is also an opening through which our disciples can see the real earth as if through a tube, in order to gain the complete conviction of all that they have been taught about the earth in these halls.

15. How long does such a course take according to your reckoning of time? Maximum of six to seven days; for you have to take into account the far greater and more unchallenged, purely spiritual comprehensive ability of such an awakened child, who can absorb in one minute more than he would in one year on the earth. On the contrary, it is true that in the realm of spirits, which are imperfect, there are situations in which a spirit progresses less in a hundred years, than a man would in a minute on the earth.

16. So are there also, on your respective earth, and especially on the Moon, educational institutions for spirits, in which they make very poor progress. But those do not belong here, since these spirits here find themselves in perfection and purity.

17. But what do the children learn after these courses? See, in front of us, further towards noon, there is already an enormously large building. What will be taught in this? I tell you: nothing else than what is naturally the foundation of the external earth system; that is, the natural geology and the origin of the earth. If all this is understood first and foremost, it is then transcended into the historical and from this, to the spiritual earth. But as all these things will be presented, you will convince yourself of this just as you have convinced yourself of all things so far.

CHAPTER 70

Instruction on the nature and origin of the earth in the kingdom of children

1. The new building stands in front of us and we enter. What do you see in this great hall? Obviously, you see nothing else but a raised globe, which does not differ from the previous one. But how should geology be studied on this globe? Let's go a little closer, and take a closer look.

2. Look, in the first place is this globe divided into two parts in the middle, from pole to pole. You only have to press on it and the whole inner shape of the earth becomes visible from pole to pole. The structure and the build represents the real earth exactly; even the mineral, as you can see it here, is perfectly the same. When you look at the now divided sphere, you will see how the earth still contains in itself a smaller earth, but which nevertheless is connected with the external earth by solid organic bonds.

3. In this smaller earth you see more towards the North Pole, a somewhat elongated sphere, split in two; it is full of veins and canals in its interior. Just below the equator you can see a large, hollow space, which here seems to be webbed all through with a fire-like mass. From this fire-mass you see the fire rising to the outside of the earth through numerous organs, and from this inner fire-cavity, you also see, especially at the South Pole, several large spiraling tubes, through which a great number of burning vapors are seen. These burning vapors are produced by the water which continuously flow from the surface of the earth into this furnace, while their powerful outflow towards the South Pole, bring about the daily rotation of the earth.

4. It is not time for you now to dissect the whole earthly being, but merely to show the way in which our more advanced spiritual students learn to know the inner nature of the earth. I think it is scarcely necessary to mention anymore, since every one of you can at first glance see that the geology or construction of the entire earth system cannot be taught in a wiser and more sensible way, and be better recognized by the students, than in this way.

5. At the same time, here, in addition to material geology, we also point to the fact that all the substances and the organs formed from them are fundamentally nothing but intellectually corresponding forms in which a captured spiritual life is prepared for its liberation. It is also shown how the captured life, rising from the center of the earth, ascends through countless steps, and, on the surface of the earth, manifests itself again in numerous new forms. - See, all this, the students learn in this room.

6. You ask, of course whether with so many spiritual pupils, such a globe will be too small? Just look around a little in this hall, and you will be able to look at a great number of similar apparatuses, some of the same size and some of smaller dimensions. And all these globes are arranged in such a way that they can be divided into all possible parts. Now that we have also seen this, we can again move to another hall.

7. We are in the second adjoining hall. Look, this one has the form of an exceedingly broad and high rotunda, which is divided all around in about a thousand considerably large and rather deep pillar niches, or in a certain way, chapels. Here, in the middle of this rotunda, is nothing but a floating, white-light gray cloud above a large table.

8. What does this mean? Look in all directions at the round windows of the chapels, from whence light is directed straight to this table.

9. The collision of the rays produces the apparent cloud. But what should the students learn from it? Nothing but the orderly formation of a world. But how a world arises from such conflict of rays, according to the will of the Lord, can be seen in these thousand encompassing chapels.

10. In the first chapel, we see on a somewhat smaller scale the same phenomenon we have seen in the middle of the hall. In the next chapel, the formerly disorderly cloud formation has already formed an elongated round shape, which, however, is still rather wavering.

11. In every successive chapel, the form becomes more and more permanent, and more certain, also more solid. So we go through a hundred chapels. After the hundredth, we can see a crystal-clear water drop hovering through the slightly transparent mistball. And when we have walked through a few hundred chapels, we will see the water ball in each one, until he finally gets to the size of the former fogball.

12. From this time on we see small transparent crystals in the middle of the water-ball, not unlike those smooth, frozen snowflakes, which often fly like small diamond-shaped plates in considerable cold.

13. In the following chapels, we always see more crystals of this kind, about which the center turns into a sort of bluish network, and in this way connects the previously disconnected crystals.

14. In the progression of these chapels, we keep seeing a gray and opaque clump in the center of the water-ball, around which, as in the cold winter, new clear crystals are being formed again, and glimmer like diamonds inside the water-ball.

15. As we proceed, we again see these newly formed crystals being bound by a new bluish tissue, and from the ever-darkening lump we also see a lot of round air-bubbles rising up on all sides, already causing a kind of atmospheric air to develop around the water-ball. You can see that this process, as we continue, becomes increasingly greater and more predominant.

16. When we have again passed a few hundred chapels in this slow development, we find here a strongly foaming lump in the center of a fairly large water-ball. Great bubbles oozes from it, and are here a carrier of a kind of hazy substance, which spread all over the surface of the water as a light fog, when the ascending bubbles burst. And see, these actions become increasingly violent from chapel to chapel. At the hundredth chapel, we can already perceive here and there inside the already highly crystallized water globe, some glowing spots, from where continually ascends vapors as if in boiling water, in countless bubbles of various sizes.

17. Further on, we are already discovering significant crystal tips above the surface of the water and the waterball is here and there free from the vapors floating above it.

18. Still further ahead, we already see significant fiery rays from the interior, tearing the surface of the water, churning it violently. Newly formed little crystals are washed into the inner crevices of the earth through this churning, thus rendering the surface of the inner opaque ball increasingly rounder and even, as the surface of the water becomes more evenly round in itself as well.

19. Continuing further from chapel to chapel, we encounter flashes, produced on a small scale in the vapors, which cover so much of the actual ball, that we can only see them with difficulty.

20. Toward the end of this world formation education, we see quite mighty fiery eruptions which elevates the innermost firmest foundation over the surface of the water, thereby forming mountains and other solid dry land. During this progression, we discover here and there the bare, solid rock already covered with moss, and in the deeper regions a softer soil, which has formed by the mossy growth of the rock and by the disintegration thereof through the fire.

21. In the continuous progression, we already discover animated infusoria, and the formation of the vegetative soil proceeds more rapidly. In the next chapel, we discover a kind of worm in the water. The animal formation in the water becomes increasingly more potent and rich; and thus, by such progress from chapel to chapel, the earth finally reaches the state where man's creation begins. But this is not to be seen here, but in a next room.

22. But what measures of time would these chapels represent? I tell you: Although these periods are not of exactly the same length, you can still measure millions of years from chapel to chapel, and you will not be too wrong. For, when you consider the greatness of the earth, you will also be able to comprehend what multiplication of time would be required to obtain a dew-drop from utterly void light-eater, and the latter, after all, the size of the earth, and to finally see it solidified. I hardly need to say more.

23. It is self-evident that this way of intuitive instruction way by which the students learn about the formation of a world, is the most practical. We can now proceed to the next room, where the creation of man is presented, and thus also the beginning of the historical and spiritual earth.

CHAPTER 71

About the school of life in the kingdom of the children

1. It is, of course, not the place where we should present the whole history of man's creation, neither all history from point to point up to the present, but we only look here at the way in which all our little spiritual students are taught.

2. You may well accept it in advance as sufficient, that here, in the realm of the perfect spirits, everything is done in a proportionately wiser and smarter manner than on the earth, in order to accomplish any good purpose. This is done for the very simple reason, one here does not begin with counting from one into the infinitum, but one begins here with the infinite, and counts back from there to one, or likewise does one not go here from the inside to the outside, but from outside to inside; which, indeed, would be the best way also on Earth, if men were not so foolish and stupid.

3. But since the people of the earth strive only for the most trivial and vainest things, they believe and trust the Lord only for so long (well, at the best measure of men), as long as they do not bodily lack anything. But if a small temptation comes, they soon fall back into their old doubts, and throw themselves into the arms of a useless and very badly helping world, instead of the Lord. Such are even the best people already constituted; proving thus that their inclination have not turned inward, but only outward.

4. But where the faith, trust, and love of the Lord are so exceedingly and impotently meagre, there can be no expectation of a similar spiritual formation, by which man would make greater progress in one minute, than in the ordinary, most miserable secular does in twenty years, and sometimes even in a hundred, if human life would last so long.

5. It is true that the Lord have instructed all men to accept no education other than this, but they leave the sacred school of life to stand idle, do not at all know what they are to do with it, and prefer to busy themselves all their lives with the insignificant knowledge of dead nature and its conditions. And when they ask themselves at the end of their lives, what important and great things have we achieved by our laborious study? Their own feelings will give them the answer: We have made it so far that in the most important moments of our lives, we do not even really know whether we are men or women; and do not know whether we have yet to expect another life or not.

6. Are heaven, hell, and spirit world fairy tales then invented by work-shy monastic rulerships; or is there something about it? If there is nothing behind it, what then, and what will happen to us? But if is there something to it, where do we fit in, from above, or below?

7. See, these are the sure fruits of secular external learning. It will, of course, be said that if the fruits of the scholarship are thus, what will be the fruits of those in the countryside and in the cities, which grow up with an education not much higher than the cattle in the pasture and the beasts in the woods? Here I tell you nothing but what the Lord Himself has said:

8. He that is not reborn in his spirit, shall not enter into the kingdom of heaven, nor have eternal life.

9. For whosoever wish to obtain the rebirth of the Spirit, however, the observation of that sacred school of life is necessary in all its parts, which the great holy Master of all life has preached to the people of the earth from His own holy mouth, and has sealed them with His own blood.

10. Whoever does not want to actively attend this school, as it is explained, have only himself to blame if he thereby forfeits the life of his spirit.

11. But it is definitely certain that everyone who owns something, no matter how simple, must very well know that he is in the first place the owner of this item, and secondly, what item it is, as well as its value.

12. If any man would want to dispute his possessions, he will surely have put himself up for a rough trial; why then? Because he certainly knows that he is an owner, and knows what he possesses.

13. But if someone is the owner of the eternal life in the Spirit, can he ask whether his soul and spirit will pass away with the life of the body or not? He who ask after the how, when and what, whereto and from where? - he is certainly not an owner of eternal life, but is nothing but a fine wage-laborer in the world, and is afraid of losing the life of his body; why then? Because he knows no other.

14. But those who are there, and were formerly true disciples of the Lord's school of eternal life, despises the death of the body, and simply await with great joy and delight for the complete deliverance from the heavy external life-chains of this world. They testified to the truth of the school of life of the Lord - as martyrs with their blood.

15. Seek in the present time the martyrs! There are, indeed, now and then truly brave defenders of the sacred school of life from Christ the Lord, but these defenders resemble the chickens in the trees, which make fun of the fox that dances underneath them, because their instinct tells them that their enemy cannot get to their skin. But if the chickens are on the ground, and the fox comes among them, it is done with the laughter over the enemy, and the death angst compels our brave, feathered heroes to the most rapid flight.

16. Such is now also the case with faith. As long as a man feels himself safe from the claws of the any corner of the earth, before the claws of the dominating and greedy great ones of the world, so long he will speak like a Moses on Sinai. But if these great and mighty friends of the world, and enemies of the truth have tracked our Moses, and are ready to receive him in a worldly, most unpleasant manner, our truth-teller will look to see if there is any door open for escape. Should this be barred, then, on strict worldly examination, the strongly threatened prophet will take the so-called courageous measure which your astronomer Copernicus took, when he saw the stake before him, or, as some of the truly pious men of Spain have done at the perilous times of the Inquisition, since they would rather burn some of the doctrines taught by the Lord Himself than to bring about a great inconvenience over themselves.

17. These are still in and for themselves praiseworthy people however, because in themselves they are nevertheless convinced of the truth, they only outwardly do not have the courage to confess the same.

18. But the Lord has certainly said, "Whoever confesses me before the world, even I will confess before my Father." Or to put it another way, whoever has truly taken Me into his spirit, will also confess Me in the fullness of the power of truth in him before all the world; Therefore I will also recognize him in the fullness of My love as Father.

19. But if it is expressed as such, then nothing else will appear from it than firstly, as it is in the Lord's words: "Many are called, but few chosen," or, as it is made clear: many will receive eternal life in the beyond, but only a very few will be lucky enough to be taken in as children, into the true Father's house. For the attainment of this grace requires violence; and who would not take it by force, they will not get it.

20. But on the other hand, it is also said, "My yoke is gentle, and my burden is easy." This passage may be consolation for those who have the truth convincingly in themselves, but still have so much of the world, that it deprives them of the courage to openly acknowledge the truth before the world. They really have a gentle yoke and a light burden on the truth of eternal life which is present in them. But the few who have banished everything of the world, attain the spirit of power and strength, fear the world no more, and openly acknowledge the ever-living truth in them, and pull with the violence of their faith and their love for the Lord the Father's house to them.

21. But you may also see from this that if any father of a family had his estate in the country, he would have several well-serving servants, together with his children. But when thieves and robbers break into the house, the servants will hide themselves out of fear and angst; but the adult sons will, with all their might, seize the impious robbers and thieves, and protect the life of the father and the mother with their might and their strength.

22. Are the servants bad because they have crawled? No, they are not; but they are weak, little animated, and therefore discouraged beings. But the children have the life of the Father in their foundation; therefore nothing is so holy to them than that. But should they, the servants, be rewarded for cringing? I mean, you do not need to be a lawyer to see that in this case you would not pay any wages for fearful cries.

23. But this also stands in the words of life: "He that soweth much shall also reap much, and he that soweth little shall reap little.

24. I believe that from the description so far, it will not be so difficult to recognize that men have in their present world schools not made much of eternal life; and the exceedingly meager sowing will also result in an exceedingly meager harvest.

25. Therefore, according to the will of the Lord, I also show you the living children's schools in the sun, so that you should learn from it how the school of life should be handled on earth. We are now standing in the hall, where we shall soon learn about the history of man's creation, and his further history on the earth, and their spiritual condition of it.

CHAPTER 72

Classroom of the creational history of men in the kingdom of children

1. See, in the middle of this very large hall center is a huge globe around which a gallery is attached. And since this hall is also a large rotunda, and the circular wall is provided with many great chapels, we see in these chapels also a great number of smaller globes, which serve their pre-determined purpose.

2. Let us go to the gallery and see the large installed globe; there we shall look at the history of man's creation. - We're on the gallery; so pay attention to how a teacher present here, will explain these things to his students.

3. Look, he bends over the big ball and touches it. And see, at the place where he had touched it, soon a strong light shines, the light becomes concentrated, renders itself into a form, and the form is like a man. Keep looking: the teacher touches the ball again, and a fine dust rises from the touched spot, envelopes the former light, and the light does not give off any more light, and is already covered in the same form with an earthly shell.

4. And now the teacher bends over and breathes the still unmoving form and it comes to life, moves itself and looks at the things him. And look again: the form becomes tired of the viewing, falls down and goes into a sleep state.

5. But now the teacher bows down again and stirs the sleeping form by the side, and you see again a light rising from the side of this form, the light occupies a second human form and stands immovably before the still sleeping first form. But the teacher again touches the first form, and a little wet cloud-like mass, like a hanging drop, dislodge from the first form, dissolves into a small mist, and envelopes the second form of light as such. The light disappears, and the second form is similar to the first, but not yet animated; therefore, the teacher touches her again - and see, she lives and moves happily back and forth.

6. But now the teacher also touches the first figure again; see, he rises, and when he sees the second one, which is similar to him, he has a great joy in it, and is already speaking with some expressive language to her. The teacher here represents the Lord, and is now demonstratively and very realistically doing what the Lord has done, with the power given to him by the Lord. He also speaks the same words as the Lord has spoken, and the students also note the great power of such words.

7. But now look how the teacher reveals himself to this first created human couple and how he teaches this human couple.

8. Look, the teacher is touching his chest. Immediately a bright ray emerges from the touched spot towards the newly created human pair, and stands before the same as a third light-man. And what the teacher now speaks to the students according to the words of the Lord, which is familiar to you, he also speaks as the third man presented by the beam from the teacher's breast, to the first created human couple.

9. It is no longer necessary to let you see the representation of the further progression, for everything you know from the old and the new words literally takes place, but the moments of procreation are concealed. For there still will be another certain spiritual time, when our students will be more mature in their beings, when they will be educated in a highly edifying way about this.

10. I remind you, however, that the teachers, in the same way, present to their students all the further guidance of the human race in the most appropriate manner, and finally end up populating the whole earth's surface, and let these peoples act independently upon the surface of the earth. These build huts and cities, restrain animals for their use, wage war and pursue each other exactly as it was on earth. And see, all this happens up to the present time.

11. The special moments in the great history of the world, as the creation of man, then the flood of Noah, then the covenant with Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, then the great leadership of the Israelite people under Moses and his successor, then the story under David and Solomon, then the birth of the Lord, and from then on, the most important moments of the propagation of the doctrine, form the principal sections of this teaching.

12. If one such a main section is completed, the students are led to the small globes standing in the chapels, and they have to repeat to their teachers in a self-creative way what the teachers have shown them on the great globe. In this way, the whole of the teaching itself becomes alive, and the pupils then know the events of the earth from point to point just as vividly as if they had been witnesses on the real earth themselves.

13. When the students have learned this important subject, then they are led again to the great globe, and the teachers then show them the spiritual earth and how it is formed from the human race.

14. They show them the spheres, and how they are always forming themselves increasingly purer and brighter over the actual material earth, and how these spheres become a landscape as soon as the spirit of a deceased person ascends into some sphere, and takes possession from it, of what is congenial to him.

15. At the same time, the teachers show the students the subterranean ever-darkening spheres, and how the souls of evil deceased men sink into such dark spheres. Wherever they take some agreeable possession, there are also several who are compelled to press themselves, and thereby, in anger, to kindle themselves, and when they have kindled themselves, the students look on as such sinister souls transform in the most diverse ways into the most horrible forms, and sink into the ever deeper and darker spheres.

16. On this occasion, the students are also told what sin is and how a free being can commit sin on the earth.

17. If the students have understood all this, they are led out of this hall and directed to another larger garden, where all the higher educational establishments are situated. It is self-evident that the students in this first garden naturally do not learn uninterruptedly without having well-arranged play hours between the sessions; for the spirit also needs organized resting periods for its strengthening, as the Lord have appointed a seventh day of rest day after the known six works of creation.

18. And in the time of Christ, the Lord Himself showed that He have rested after some work like any other man. The spirits here must likewise have periods of rest, in which they strengthen themselves for more teaching; and so, especially at the time of the transfer from one school to the other, a considerable period of rest ensues. During these are the students allowed to, if they so wish, to pay a visit together with their teachers, their relatives on the real earth-body, which, however, usually only happens when their related inhabitants of the earth are in deep sleep, and in the waking state, only very rarely know anything about it; especially if they are more earthly than spiritually minded.

19. Some such students, since they know much about the Lord, have a desire to see the Lord. Such desire, however, is seldom fulfilled, and that is because, as spirits, they are still too weak to resist the everlasting, omnipotent spirit of God, and to endure such closeness. Their most favorite recreational activity, however, is to be allowed to visit Mary, as their general spiritual supervisor and mother. Mary often visits all these great institutions; but not always visible to the little spirits, but certainly to the teachers.

20. You ask whether all deceased children must go through these schools from birth until their twelfth year? Certainly, but not in one and the same garden; because there is a separate starting garden for every age. But as for the second garden, they all come together. How and what the innumerable many children's spirits learn there, and on what conditions they pass over, will next time be shown to you.

CHAPTER 73

The first commandment in the first classroom - explanation

1. We do not need a long and wide voyage from here, for the next garden is before our very eyes. Look, at a moderate distance we are already greeted with endlessly stretched rows of trees, behind which we see an exceedingly large and equally splendid palace. This is already the garden in which we have to be, in which you will even meet those children whom the Lord has taken from you on the earth.

2. But if you would recognize them at once, is certainly another question; for in the spirit, the children no longer resemble the physical traits of their earthly parents, but they only resemble the Lord to the extent of their receptive capacity for the loving-goodness and faithfulness from the Lord. Nevertheless, on certain occasions, they can also accept the earthly similarities which are bound in their souls, and thus make themselves known in form to those who have come here from the earth, and are not yet too much acquainted with the spiritual conditions.

3. We shall not, however, spend any more time speaking about this, but rather to go straight into the garden, to convince ourselves of all that with our own spiritual eyes, which we would otherwise have to attain with the mouth here.

4. We are already in the tree-rows or avenues, in which you have discovered the most beautiful flowery lanes, and also here and there children, walking gaily on it. Let us go in deeper, and we shall find ourselves, as soon as we are there, at the palace we have first seen.

5. See, it is already standing in front of us, with a nearly indefinitely stretched length. Thousands times thousand windows are set in rows. Everyone measures seven klafter high. Above the height of the windows, we find a smaller row of windows, which are placed exactly above each of the lower large windows.

6. You say and ask, "But for the sake of the Lord, is this whole building, this immensely long palace, but a single hall? I say unto you, it is not, but is divided into twelve divisions. At the height where you see the second row of small windows, a splendid and wide gallery runs along the whole hall, from which gallery one can, without disturbing the students on the floor at all, overlook the twelve sections one by one, and convince oneself of what is in them. Now let us go in, that everything may be clear to you.

7. Look, here we are at the entrance. But we do not need to go up to the gallery because we are to remain largely invisible to these little children. Only the teachers will be aware of us; but these are already told why we are here.

8. Well, here we are already in the first room. What do you see in the middle of this great hall written on a white tablet placed on a column standing upright? you say: At the very top, the number 1, which is known to us, and which will surely be the number of the hall, and below: the path to the freedom of the spirit! That is, I tell you, not the number of the hall, but the first law of God by Moses.

9. You ask, "What are the many children, whom are already looking quite mature, to do with the earthly law of Moses, which is considered to be for mortal, disbelieving people, but certainly not for children, who as pure spirits have long been convinced of the existence of the one God; since, as we have seen, this is shown to them at the very beginning of the first elementary lecture, as a vivid illustration, at every possible opportunity?

10. My dear friends and brothers, the matter is quite different from what you think. But you also find something similar on the earth, where you can ask the children wherever you want, and you will find everywhere with them a truly living faith in a God. For none is more believing than a child, and yet there is surely no such mean parental couple to be found who would deny their children, at least in the beginning of their lives, to acknowledge a God, since every religion prescribes it, and the parents have to, at least from the moral point of view, allow their children to learn about and recognize it.

11. Would not it also be believed that such children, taught by God, do not need any further instruction about God by this time? You must confess, and say: yes, every human does require such teaching till the end of his life; for it is only too easy for the first impressions of childhood to become blurred, and then are these people who have outgrown their children's shoes, as if they had never heard of God. I tell you: such a blurring is, of course, not easily possible here; but you must understand that these children, because of their early arrival, had no opportunity on earth to react on the freedom of their spirit, which is the actual motive for life. Therefore, this most important action for the life of the spirit, must be put into the fullest action here. So far, these children's spirits have been, to a certain extent, spiritual living machines. Here, however, they are concerned with becoming alive out of themselves, and therefore they must also learn all the commandments, and then test them in their own right, and learn how they themselves are living spiritual beings under a given law.

12. And so here is the first commandment given, which is, "Thou shalt believe in one God, and never think that there is either no God, nor that there are two, three, or several gods."

13. Here, of course, we ask ourselves again: how can one command a believing of a God who believes in God anyway, and has no doubt about it? This is indeed a good remark; but the children are here subjected to all sorts of doctrines and customs by their teachers, in which they are afflicted by all sorts of doubts about the existence of God; this mode of instruction is called the desolation of one's own spirit.

14. But in order to do this with these children, the teachers not infrequently make the most remarkable things happen as if coincidental before the students' eyes, let them have a look at it, and then ask them whether God was needed for this, since they have not seen Him acting. If the children say that God can do this only through His will, without necessarily have to be present, then the teachers let their students themselves think of different things, and whatever is thought by the children, would appear immediately before them. Then the teachers would again ask the children: who has done this?

15. Thereby several are brought into the twilight. Some say that they themselves have done this, others think that the teachers have done it according to the recognition of the thoughts in the students. But some say that they have thought of such things, but the one omnipotent God must have admitted it, so that the thought appeared as a finished work before them.

16. If the students still remain faithful to the one God, then the teachers would ask them how then do they know that there is a God? The students then usually reply to them: The first wise teachers have taught us this. Now, however, these teachers probe further, saying, what then would you say, if we, as equally wise teachers would say and teach that there is no God, and that all that you see is made and built by us? And what will you say when we say of ourselves that we are the actual true gods?

17. Behold, here the children really hesitate, and then ask the teachers what they should do in this case?

18. But these teachers say to them, "Seek in you what you must do; if there is a God, then you must find him in you, and if there be none, you will never find any.

19. When the children ask how they should make such a search in themselves, the teachers say, "Try to love the God which you believe that he exists, in your hearts, as if He really exists. Let this love grow, and if there is a God, He will answer you in your love, but if there is none, you will not receive an answer in your hearts.

20. See, here the pupils begin to go into their inner being and begin to love the God whom they only previously believed in, in a childlike fashion. But then it happens that God, the Lord does not report as soon as expected, and our children are in no small doubt. But how they are brought to conquer this doubt, from these, the persecution will show.

CHAPTER 74

How should one seek God?

1. There are already some who have just turned to their teachers, and have made the remark that they are now compelled to believe that there is no God besides the teachers who perform miracles before them, while this God, whom they have took hold of with their love in their hearts, have not shown up among them in any perceptible way.

2. But what do teachers do in reaction to their students' statements? Listen to how a teacher, who received such a report, responds: he (the teacher) speaks to his students:

3. My beloved children! It may well be that God has not yet spoken to you; but it can also be that he have spoken, but that you are too inattentive and have not noticed it.

4. Therefore tell me, Where were you, when you took hold of God in your hearts? Were you outside under the trees of the garden, or in the galleries of the hall, or were you on the great floor of the hall, or in some chamber, or were you in your boarding-rooms, which were built outside this great school? And tell me what you have seen, noticed, and felt here and there.

5. The children say, "We were outside among the trees, and we saw the glories of God's creations, which we should believe in, and rejoiced that He had done such splendid things. We imagined Him to be a very dear father, who likes to come to His children, and have thereby also felt a great longing in our hearts to see Him, and then to meet Him with all our childish love, to embrace Him and to love Him with all our might.

6. But no Father came to us from any side. We also asked each other carefully, whether one or the other have not yet noticed the Father. But every one of us can honestly say that we have not in the least seen anything at all of Him.

7. We then left the square, hurried to the booths of the lecture hall building, and did so there. But the success was the same as under the trees. We went from there to our dormitories, in the opinion that here the Father would be most likely to visit us, for we prayed a great deal, and begged Him fervently to show Himself to us. But it was all in vain! Since we have obeyed your advice in vain, we now feel compelled to agree with your doctrine that there is not a God. And so we have decided among ourselves that if there is already a God, there is not a whole, but a divided one in all the living and free beings as you and we are. God is, therefore, only a totality of the corporeal power, which first and foremost recognizes Himself and others in the beings, as you are, and also acts powerfully as such.

8. See the little philosophers here, and at the same time recognize the reason or the false seed which is the fruit of all these slippery rational speculations.

9. What does our teacher say about these philosophies of his disciples? Hear, therefore, his words: My dear children! Now I have shown you the reason in yourselves quite clearly why no God has shown up for you, neither under the trees, nor in the solitude, nor in the dormitories (that is, neither in the inquiry in nature through experiences nor dissections thereof, nor by the way of higher speculations of reason and intellect, nor in your not much better than daily life) because you have already gone out with doubts.

10. You have not definitely expected God, but only expected a probability. But God must be in Himself the highest degree of definite determination. When you have sought with doubt in your thoughts, faith and will for the highest Godly certainty, how could He reveal Himself amidst such indefinite probability? Therefore, remember what I will tell you now:

11. If you want to seek God, and you also want to see Him, then you must step out with the greatest certainty and seek Him as such. You must, without the slightest doubt believe that He is, even if you do not get to see Him for how long. Then you must embrace Him with your love with the same certainty as your belief in Him. Then it will be shown whether you have attained the greatest possible determination in your thinking, faith, will, and love.

12. If you have obtained the same, God will surely show up for you, if He does exist. But if you have not attained this determination, you will return to me without having achieved your object, as you did this time.

13. Look, the children consider the teaching of the teacher, and one, seemingly the weakest of them, goes to the teacher and says: Listen to me, you dear, wise teacher! Do you not think that if I went all alone into my dormitory, and if I would like to embrace God the Lord as the most loving Father with my love, in the right way, since I have never been able to doubt whether there is a God, but I remained, despite all the contradictory proofs, forever and steadfastly sure of God. Do not you think he would show up with me if I wanted to love Him alone? For that many thoughts and beliefs, after all, seem to me a little arduous.

14. The teacher said to the child, "Go, my dear little child, and do what is good to you; who knows for the present whether you are right? I can now give you neither a yes nor a no, but say to you, "Go and find out what love can do!"

15. Now see the child running out of the hall into his dormitory-room, and the other students question the teacher whether he preferred the enterprise of the one child, which now went to his dormitory-room, to what they are now doing according to his advice, to go out with all certainty and to search for God.

16. But the teacher said, "You have heard what I said to your fellow student, that is neither a yes or no; I also say to you. Go out or don't; do what is best for you, and experience will show which path is the better and the shorter one, or whether the one is false or the other right, or whether both are false or both correct.

17. Now see, some of the children understand the determination concept, but others only the love. Those who enter into determination go out into the garden in full depth of thought, willingness and firm faith; but a part goes into the dormitory-rooms to seek God.

18. But as you can see, the child, first led by love for God, is led into the hall by a simple man and goes straight to the teacher. What is he going to say?

19. Listen, he (the child) speaks: Dear, wise teacher, come here! When I began to love the dear great Heavenly Father in my dormitory-room, this simple man came to me and asked me if I was really so fond of the Heavenly Father. I told him, O dear man, thou canst read it on my face. But then the man asked me how I imagined the great Heavenly Father in my mind. And I said to him, I imagine Him as a man; but only He must be very great and strong, and surely also have a great radiance, because this world and the sun shining upon it, are already so exceedingly glorious and splendid.

20. Here the simple man lifted me, pressed me to his heart, gave me a kiss, and then said to me, "Take me over to the tutor's school; there we want to discuss everything, and to properly see what the Heavenly Father looks like, if He exists, when He is, and how He creates, directs, and governs everything out of Himself. Now, behold, my wise teacher, here I am now with this simple man. Who do you think this man would be, because he treats me with so much fondness?

21. And the teacher speaks in the most obvious love and respect: O most happy child, you have already found the Right One; behold, this is God, our most loving Father! And the Lord now bows down, and takes the child upon His arm, and asks him, Am I the one whom thy teacher have announced unto thee? And the child speaks with great excitement: Oh, yes, it is You, I recognize Your infinite goodness, for who else is as good as You, that he would take me into His arms, and would cuddle and caress like You?! But I also love you so incomprehensibly much that I can never be separated from You ever again; do therefore not to leave me here, my dear Father. For I have never felt such kindness and love as now on Your arms! And the Lord says, Fear not, O my child! Whoever has once found Me like you will never lose Me forever. But now you must be very quiet about Me; for the other children who have sought Me, have not yet found Me. We will put them up for a small trial so that they may find Me; so be quiet until I give you a hint!

CHAPTER 75

Longing for God as an important testimony to His existence

1. Now see, the other searching children have just come in. It is clear from the expression on their faces that they have found in neither one nor the other way, the One they are looking for. They approach their teacher a second time quite timidly, and the teacher asks them: Well, my dear children, how did it go with your looking among the trees or on the floor or on the galleries, or with the search of that part of you who have chosen to seek the Lord in the dormitory rooms? As you can see, all of you shrug your shoulders; have you not yet found and seen the good dear Father, the God of all heaven and of all the worlds? - How is your faith ordered? Do you still have doubts about the existence of God?

2. The children say, "Oh dear, exalted teacher, as far as doubts are concerned, we now have them more than ever; for behold, neither our firm will, nor our most living faith, nor all our most established thoughts on God the Lord, nor our firm love could achieve anything. If there were any God and Lord, He must have revealed Himself to us in one way or another; for behold, in the end we all have united and firmly believed that there must be a holy, good, loving God and Father. We have embraced Him with all our love and called out His name announced by you, saying, "Oh dearest, Holy Father Jesus, come, come to us, hear our childlike supplication, and show us that you are One and also love us as we love you!? And behold, dear exalted teacher, thus we have called for a long time; but no trace was heard of any heavenly Father. It was all in vain; therefore we are perfectly certain that there is no other higher teacher or God besides you exalted teachers.

3. We indeed do not want to claim this by saying: our doubts are based on a firm ground. But we can safely assume that after such ineffective efforts to investigate the existence of God, more doubt than a firm belief in it can arise.

4. But we also see the one who has separated himself from us, seeking the Lord with love alone; did he not find anything either?

5. The teacher speaks: My dear little children, I cannot tell you about that for the time being. The children, however, continue to ask the teacher: Dear, exalted teacher! Who is that strange, plain man there, with whom one of us is busying himself and looks at him with so much love? Maybe his father has arrived here from the Earth?

6. The teacher speaks: My dear little children, that's something I cannot tell you. For the moment, however, you may take note of the fact that this plain man is exceedingly wise, and you must therefore pay keen attention if He would speak to you about this or that.

7. The children say: Oh, dear teacher, can such a simple person also be wise? For behold, we have learned till now that the teachers, like you, become more sublime and shiny the wiser they become. That man, however, does not look so sublime and brilliant, but is much simpler and plainer than you. It seems a bit strange then that he should be extremely wise.

8. The teacher says: Yes, my dear little children, with the deepest inner wisdom, the external glow does not matter at all, but it says: the more shine from the outside, the less light from the inside, the more light from the inside, the less shine to the outside. But just go and ask Him something, and you'll see straightway how wise He is.

9. Now the children go to the Lord and ask him, still suspecting nothing: You dear, plain Man! Would You not allow us to ask You something?

10. The Lord speaks: O with all my heart, My beloved little children! Just ask, and I'll find My way with the answer. The children ask the Lord: Since You have allowed us to ask You, we are just asking You what we care most about. Behold, we have been searching and proofing for some time, for and against, whether there is a God who is an exceedingly good Father in Heaven of all human beings who ever lived anywhere. But we cannot find any trace of this Father anywhere, and our teacher himself does not want or cannot tell us anything well-founded in this matter. But he has told us that You are exceedingly wise; Therefore, we would like to know from You if there is such a God and Father or not? If you know anything about it, tell us. We will listen to You carefully, and not a word will escape Your mouth that we would not pay the greatest attention to.

11. The Lord says: Yes, little children, you have indeed given me a very difficult question that I can hardly answer you; because if I would tell you that there is such a God and Father, you will say: that is not enough for us, as long as we do not see Him. And when you say then, let us see the Father, what will I say to you then? I could point you there or there with My finger, and you would see nothing; for wherever I would show you would never find your God and Father. But if I would tell you: Children, the Father is here among you! Will you believe it?

12. Would you not ask, where is He? Is he one of the teachers of this great hall? And when I say to you then: O no, my beloved children! What will you do then? You will look at Me a great deal and say: Behold, the man keeps us on a line. If it is not one of the many teachers, who is it? You would not be it? Because as simple, plain and lackluster as You are, the very noble Heavenly Father cannot look!

13. And if you have given me such an answer, what option should I offer you as reply? Therefore you should just ask Me for something else; because answering this question does not seem to be the right thing to do.

14. The children speak: O dear, wise Man! See, that's not possible. We are not interested in another question to be answered; but only to know whether there does exist a Heavenly Father or not. For if there is a Father in heaven, then we would all be exceedingly happy, but if there is none, we are all here as if without reason, and we do not know for what, through what and why? Therefore, if you can, just answer the first question; that is what we urgently ask you for.

15. That you are a very wise man, we have already taken from your evasive answer. Therefore, lead us at least a few steps closer to the one Father, because there must be one. We notice this from the fact that we have an ever-greater longing after this very heavenly Father, the more He wishes to hide behind our childish doubts.

16. If He would not exist at all, where would this longing within us come from, which is as alive as we are? The certainty of the existence of a heavenly Father must indeed grow together with the yearning!

17. The Lord says: Well, little children, you are just taking the words out of My mouth! Indeed, in longing there is a great proof; But what is the consequence of longing? Is it not true, little children, that the result will be that one want to be sure of what you long for. You say that's a good answer. But I ask you now: what is the reason for the longing? - You tell Me, it's the love for the one you long for.

18. But if one wants to see something fundamentally and in the fullness of truth, is it sufficient to remain only with yearning and its consequence? You tell Me: Oh no, dear man of great wisdom! You have to go back to the bottom of it. If the great truth does not manifest itself then everything is wrong; But if it announces itself there, then one has come to the vivacious conviction that it is never anywhere else to be known and seen.

19. But look now, you little children! That one brother of you went that way; he has found the Father! Ask Him where He is, and he will point his finger at the Father!

20. Now the others fall over each other and demand that of him. And this one says, O my dear brothers! Look at Him whom you thought to be plain and simple, it is He Himself whom you have sought for so long in vain, that is the good, dear heavenly Father - holy, holy is His Name! Believe me, for I have already seen His glory. But do not believe it because I tell you, but approach Him alone with your hearts, and you will certainly find Him as true and glorious as I have found Him!

21. Look how these children now all call out, as they recognize the Father: O Father, Father, Father!!! It is You, yes, it is You! For we already had a strong suspicion in Your proximity! But since we have found you, would You never again hide from us, so that we will not have to look for You so hard again!

22. And the Lord says, Amen! Little children, your faces should from now on never again be turned away from Me! If I do not always stay with you, as now, I will be there in that sun that shines on you! - The rest will be revealed to you by your teacher.

CHAPTER 76

Instructions on the second and third commandments in the second and third halls

1. But we do not need to follow what these children will still receive here from their teachers about the Lord; for they got through the period or state in which they have completely lost the Lord, and thus also the first classroom of which, as you have seen earlier, there are twelve in this division. - It would be too long to take part in the continuing education of these children in all the following classrooms. But in order that you may know what is taught in these halls, and in what way, I tell you, that you may have gathered this from the first tablet in the middle of the first classroom, as to what this great doctrine is - none other than the ten commandments of Moses, and finally the two commandments of love.

2. In each succeeding hall, a new commandment is practically taught and practiced, and that throughout, in the same manner as you had had sufficient opportunity to observe with the first commandment here in the first hall.

3. Thus, immediately in the next hall, the commandment: "Thou shalt not take the name of God vain," is discussed. In fact, you yourselves also do not understand what this commandment fundamentally means, and that is why I also want to correct your understanding of these commandments through some examples and explanations.

4. Thus, in this second room, this commandment is not interpreted as if no one should not, on secular occasions, pronounce the Name of the Lord without due respect and reverence, which prohibition would certainly be of no use here. For if someone thinks that he has to pronounce the name of the Lord only in the most extreme case of need, and always with the highest reverence and respect, this would have meant nothing more and nothing less than: one should certainly never pronounce the name of God, by which two conditions are presupposed under which the name of God is to be pronounced. These conditions are, however, in the first place based on such screws, that none can say for certain and with conviction, which occasion would be such an extreme emergency which would justify the utterance of the most holy Name. Secondly, even if such a case would occur, such as in extreme life-danger, which can happen under various conditions, it is still to wonder whether any man in such most dubious conditions would possess the presence of mind and the capacity to dignify the name of the Lord as would be proper?

5. So, if you look at the explanation of this second commandment, as it usually occurs on earth, you must necessarily arrive at this final conclusion that the name of the Lord should never actually be pronounced, and for the simple reason that the two hardly discernible, given conditions can ever agree with each other. I would like to know those people on the earth who, in their highest distress, would be able to place themselves in that quietly exalted reverent and devout state, in which he may utter the name of the Lord with dignity.

6. If this would be so, then no man should pray, for in prayer he also names the name of the Lord. But man should pray daily and give glory to God and should not restrict prayer to the most extreme emergency.

7. It is clear from all this that this commandment is wrongly understood. But in order to put an end to all brooding over it with one blow, I will tell you in a nutshell how this commandment is to be fundamentally understood. And so does: Thou shalt not call the name of God vain, mean as much as:

8. Thou shalt not merely utter the Name of God with your mouth, not merely utter the articulated sound of a few syllables, but since God is the reason of your life, you must always utter it from the very bottom of your life, that is, you shalt not pronounce it mechanically, but always alive in all your actions; because whatever you do, you do with the power God has given you. If you use this power for evil action, then you evidently desecrate the divine in you; and this is your power, the Living Name of God!

9. See, so much does this commandment say, that for the first time you should know the name of God, what He is, and what He is; and then he should not pronounce it vainly with outward words just like another name, but always actively, because the name of God is the energy of man. Therefore, man should also do everything he does in this name. If he does that, he does not speak the name of God in vain with outward words, but actively and vividly.

10. And see, in this way is this second commandment practically taught to the students in this second hall, and practiced by each one until he has reached a just skill in it. If he achieved that, he then goes to the third hall for the third commandment, which is, as you know:

11. Thou shalt hallow the Sabbath. "- But what does that mean, especially here, when no more night alternates with day, and only perpetual, eternal day exists? When is the Sabbath? Since the commandment is of Divine origin, it must be an eternal and not a merely temporal rule, and must have a fully valid meaning in the realm of the spirits as on earth.

12. With you it is said that one should, on a sabbath, being a compulsory day of rest, do no servile work, by which is meant all gainful occupation. But it is permissible to perform a show, to play, even to dance like the gentiles. It is necessary to fast one day before the Sabbath in order to be able to eat better and more on the Sabbath. So even the hosts are allowed to sell their food and cheat their guests on a holiday more than any other. That is, according to law, to hallow the Sabbath; the more blessed work in the field and in the acre may not be done, but everything else is fit for the Sabbath.

13. But the Lord has shown in the world that even on the Sabbath one can work fitly and do good. But if the Lord Himself worked on the Sabbath, then I believe that every person should have enough proof that the 'hallowing of the Sabbath' should be understood as something quite different from not working, or taking something in the hands which is useful and beneficial.

14. But what is meant by the sanctification of the Sabbath? What is the Sabbath? I want to tell you very briefly:

15. The Sabbath is neither Saturday, nor Sunday, nor Easter or Pentecost, nor any other day of the week or year, but it is nothing but the day of the spirit in man, the Divine light in the human spirit, the rising sun of life in the human soul. That is the Living Day of the Lord in man, which he is continually to recognize and sanctify through all his actions, which he is to do out of love for God and out of love for his neighbor.

16. But since man cannot and will never find this holy day of rest of the Lord in the chaos of the world, therefore, let him withdraw from the world and seek that Day of the Life of the sacred rest of God.

17. Therefore the people of the Israelites were commanded to appoint at least one day of the week, when they should withdraw from worldly affairs, and seek in themselves that day of life. But the law was observed only externally and materially, and in the end, it was brought to such an extent that even the Lord of the Sabbath was not recognized, the Holy Father, when driven by infinite love, came to earth on his children!

18. I think that you would fully understand from these words what was meant by the sanctification of the Sabbath and how it should be kept.

19. You should as well be able to understand the question of whether your Sunday keeping is a true sabbatical sanctification, whether one can, through an hour of worship, followed by worldly entertainment, reach the innermost, eternal Living Day of rest of the Lord?

20. If I were with you on earth, I would like to set a very high price on the proof, whether by attending church, then by hard eating, and finally by going for a walk, driving or riding, sometimes even by dancing, playing and drinking, not infrequently through lies and deceit, through ordinary personal visitations, and more enterprises of the like, one would find the true Sabbath in spirit and sanctify it. Who knows if there are not philosophers who could provide such proof? Of course he would be exposed to be like a false coin with us.

21. It is barely necessary to mention that here, only the living Sabbath-sanctification is taught to and practiced by the children. You can form for yourself a thorough concept of how these commandments of the Lord are actually to be understood.

22. Just like these two commandments and the previous one, we also want to walk through the others, for you to get a proper concept, in which sense all the commandments here are being taught to the children. And so we will proceed and take a close look at the next one, the fourth commandment in the fourth hall.

CHAPTER 77

The fourth commandment in the fourth room (in the spiritual sense)

1. The fourth commandment, as you have it on earth, is: "Honor your father and your mother, so that you may live long and you may prosper on earth." - This commandment is as good of Divine origin as the first three. But what does it require and what does it promise? Nothing but the obedience of the children to their parents and for this obedience, a temporal benefit.

2. Can everyone not ask and say: How can such a divine commandment sanction itself through mere temporal promises and has apparently nothing in the background which offers eternal spiritual advantages? What is up with such a temporal benefit? What does the well-being mean, what the long life, if nothing higher follows after it?

3. It's true: a good and long life is better than short and bad. But when, at the end of the life-period, the inhospitable death appears, and what advantage does the good and long life have above the bad and short? I mean, you do not need to be a fundamental mathematician to say that the difference is overall a pure zero; for the first as well as the second overcome a bare nothing, and then it matters very little whether the road to this reception was good or bad.

4. By this measure, the Fourth Commandment would be based on a very slippery ground, and the parents would indeed be sick of it, if their children were born into the world with such philosophy, and the children themselves would find little reason in such consideration, to obey their parents. Furthermore, the following critical consideration can be made of this commandment: As the commandment sounds, it has only a temporal basis, that is, merely representing the duty of the children toward their parents.

5. The question then arises: What is the purpose of this commandment here in the spiritual realm, where the children are separated from their parents forever? For if they are separated from their parents, surely they will be relieved of their earthly duty. Nevertheless, here in this fourth hall we notice this commandment written on the blackboard. Should it be related to the Lord for these children? This could be heard, however, if only the prophecy did not stand under it: "To live long and to live on earth?" If it were there: "To live forever and to live well in heaven", such a transversion of the law would be easy to understand; but a temporal promise in the eternal realm of the spirits sounds a bit strange.

6. What do you think, what will be done here, to give this law a fully established Divine prestige? Of course you shrug your shoulders and say quietly in yourselves: Dear friend and brother! If it would depend on our discretion here, then there will be a significant snag with the purely Divine sphere of this law; for, according to the above consideration, one would think it is easy to find not too much spirituality here.

7. But I tell you that exactly this commandment, like almost no other, is purely spiritual. You are now making big eyes; but the thing is no different. But in order to see this at once, I will do nothing but say this law with slightly different words, as it is also said here in this lecture, and you will immediately see the fullness of the truth. But how is it said here? - Listen!

8. Children! Obey the order of God, which proceeds from His love and wisdom (i.e. father and mother), so that you may live long on earth in well-being. What is long life, and what is eternal life compared to it? The "long life". denotes life in wisdom; and "long" is understood not as duration, but as expansion and ever greater power of life; for the word or the concept "life" already implies eternal duration. But the word "long" does not mean any duration, but only a spreading of the life-force, with which the living being always gets deeper into the depths of Divine life, and thereby makes his own life more and more perfect, firm, and effective.

9. This we now understand; but "well-being on earth" what does that mean? Nothing other than the taking-unto-self of the Divine life, for by the "earth" here is meant the proper being, and the "well-being" in this being is nothing other than the free being in itself, according to the completely taken-unto-self Divine order.

10. This short explanation is enough to see that this very law is completely of a purely spiritual nature. If you want to check it out more at your leisure, you will find it to be so on your own earth. But here too, it is practically taught to the children, and with the greatest benefit. But now that we know this, we immediately proceed to the fifth room.

CHAPTER 78

The fifth commandment in the fifth hall - spiritually explained

1. You once again see a tablet installed in this fifth hall, and on it is written in an easy readable script: "Thou shalt not kill." If you consider this commandment only somewhat moderately and then consider the history of the Israelite people, your eyes would have to more than triple cross, if you would not see it at the first moment that there is a strange problem with this commandment "thou shalt not kill!" How, where, when, and what?

2. What does "kill" mean anyway? Does killing kill the body or deprive the spirit of its heavenly life force? If killing is restricted to the human body, the killing of the spirit cannot possibly be meant by it; for it is said that every man should certainly kill his flesh in order to enliven the spirit, just as the Lord Himself speaks: "Whoever loves his life, that is the life of the flesh, he will lose it; but whoever loses it for My sake, will receive it. "

3. Likewise, this is also evident in the nature of things. If the outer bark or pod of a fruit would not die, the fruit will not come to any living germination. But it is clear from all this that the killing of the flesh cannot at the same time be the killing of the spirit. But if this law is understood merely as the killing of the spirit, then who is sure of his physical life?

4. It is in contrast, well known to all that the prevalent contemporary multifarious exaltation of the flesh, is nothing but the "killing of the spirit." If you would compare it to the history of the Israelite people to whom, as you would say, these laws were freshly baked, you will find the strange contrast that the lawgiver Moses himself, was the first to have many Israelites killed; and his successors had to do the same with transgressors of the law.

5. "Thou shalt not kill "- this law was as good as all the others in the ark of the covenant. But what did the whole Israelite army do when it entered the Promised Land, with the former inhabitants of that land? What did even David do, the man after the heart of God? What about the greatest prophet Elijah? - See, they all killed, and very often, and often quite cruelly.

6. Whoever is of a sober and unbiased spirit, does not have to pronounce the judgment in himself and say: What is this commandment, against which, as otherwise against none, even the first prophets appointed by God were obliged to act?

7. Such a commandment is as good as none. Even in our times, the killing of brothers in war is even a matter of honor! Yes, the Lord Himself kills legions of human beings day after day; and yet it says: "Thou shalt not kill!" and David had even had a military commander killed, for he had spared a place which had to be destroyed, despite the swearing of an oath.

8. Good, I say, so it is with the commandment on earth. But here we see it in the heavenly realm, where one being cannot kill the other anymore, and certainly no one will even remotely conceive the slightest thought of killing anyone. So why is it written here on the board? For example, from a purely historical point of view, so that the students should learn here, what commandments have been given on earth? Or should these very good-natured children's spirits, for some time be brought into a lust for murder by this commandment, to then fight against it in themselves? You could indeed accept that; but what conclusion or end result will you get from this? I say to you nothing else than: If the murder-lust must finally be removed from the children, if they have proven themselves as sufficiently resistant against murder lust according to the law, one must assume also that they would not have gained or lost anything thereby, as if they had never been filled with the lust for murder.

9. But I see that in this thorough account of the matter you do not know what you are supposed to do with this commandment. Do not worry; just a few words will suffice to put everything that is doubtful in the clearest light before you, and the law will be just as worthy as on earth, even in heaven, as a sun shines in the sky!

10. But for you to grasp the following explanation easily and thoroughly, I only point out to you that in God the eternal preservation of the created spirits is the unchangeable basic condition of all Divine order. Now if you know that, look for the opposite, that is, for the destruction; and you have the full spiritual and physical implication of the commandment before you.

11. Instead of saying: Thou shalt not kill, one should say: thou shalt not destroy, neither thyself, nor all that which is thy brother's; for preservation is the eternal basic law in God Himself, according to which He is eternal and infinite in His power. But since on the earth also the human body is necessary for the everlasting education of the spirit until God's appointed time, without an explicit command of God, no one has the right to willfully destroy neither his own body nor that of his brother.

12. So, when we speak of the required preservation, it goes without saying that everyone is just as little entitled to destroy the spirit of his brother as his own by whatever means and make one unfit for the attainment of eternal life. God, of course, kills human bodies every day; but at the right time, when the spirit has matured in some or the other way. Even the angels of heaven, as perpetual servants of God, kill the bodies of men on earth; but not unless they are commanded by the Lord, and then only in the way the Lord wants it.

13. In this way do the children here learn in spiritually practical ways in which the preservation of created things consists, and how, united with the will of the Lord, it must always be handled with the utmost care. And if you have understood this only to some extent, it will certainly be plausible to see for yourself, firstly the great dignity of this law, and secondly why it also occurs here in the realm of the heavenly children's spirits. But since we know such things, we can immediately go to the sixth room.

CHAPTER 79

The sixth commandment in the sixth room - What is unchastity?

1. Here again we see a tablet in the middle of the sixth room. On the board is written in clearly legible writing: "Thou shalt not practice unchastity, nor commit adultery." This is unmistakably the sixth commandment that the Lord has given to the Israelite people through Moses (Exodus 20:14, Deuteronomy 5:18, Matthew 5:27). This commandment is certainly one of the most difficult to grasp in its fundamental condition and then to exactly observe it in the very basis of life.

2. What is forbidden by this commandment? - And who cares about this commandment, the spirit, the soul or the body? Who is not supposed to drive unchastity out of these three life potentials? That would be a question. But what is actually the unchastity and what the adultery? Is unchastity the mutual act of mating? If that is the case, then by this commandment every act of procreation is included; for in this simple commandment we find absolutely no conditional exception; it is said, "Thou shalt not practice unchastity.

3. So if the act of intercourse is, in a certain way, regarded as the culmination of unchastity, I would like to know even the one who, under the present form of things on earth, could beget a generation without this forbidden act. Whether in marriage or out of marriage, the act is the same. Whether he is really committed with the intent of child-making or not, it is the same. Moreover, the commandment itself has no condition in which a regular marriage would be exempt from unchastity.

4. On the other hand, however, every human being must understand that the Lord is very much in favor of the reproduction of the human race, and to a wise education of the same. But by what means should the human race reproduce, if the act of procreation is forbidden on punishment of eternal death? I think that every human being can easily understand that there is a catch here.

5. But for that, everyone must necessarily bear witness that, among all the commandments that should be kept, nature will generally throw a mighty stick before the feet of man over which he must stumble, as with exactly this one. Anyone who enjoyed an even moderately decent education, has no problem, or at most only a very slight one, in the keeping of the other commandments; but with this commandment, nature always draws a strong line, even through the account of the apostle Paul!

6. We see an apparent prohibition of carnal pleasure, which is inseparably connected with the act of procreation. If, then, the prohibition lies only in carnal pleasure and not at the same time also in the act of procreation, then it is to be wondered whether carnal pleasure can be separated from the orderly act of procreation? Who among you can prove this and claim that two legally ordered spouses do not feel the temporal desire in the act of procreation? Or where is that couple that would not have been at least halfway driven by the imminent carnal desire for the act of procreation?

7. But we can see from this that we cannot possibly understand this commandment with regard to unchastity with regard to the bodily act of procreation. There must be either a pure act of procreation which has nothing to do with the lust of the flesh, or if such an act cannot be proved, the carnal act of procreation need not stand under this law and be regarded as a voluntary, unpunishable act of people. For it has been said before that the law is relentlessly expressed and without room for exception.

8. The necessary existence of people speaks out loud against the prohibition of this act, as well as the always relentlessly desiring nature. For, regardless of someone's class, he will not be acquitted of it when he has reached maturity. He would then have to kill his nature through mutilation, for nothing would curb his concupiscence by any means, even if he would be prevented from doing so by external circumstances.

9. So is there nothing to be done with the flesh. Maybe this law affects only the soul? I mean, since the soul is quite the living principle of the body and the free action of it depends purely on the soul, which is dead without the flesh, then it would hardly be difficult to find a super-scholar anywhere who could seriously claim that the soul has nothing to do with the free actions of the body.

10. After all, the body is only a tool of the soul, artfully furnished for its use; So what can we do with a commandment only applicable to the body, which in and of itself is a dead machine? If someone made a clumsy hit with a hoe, was it the fault of the hoe or his hand? I think nobody would to say that it is the hoe's fault.

11. Neither can one attribute the act of procreation to the body as a sinful act, but only to the acting principle, which here is the living soul. Thus, our previous critical illumination of this commandment must apply only to the soul which thinks, wants and acts in the flesh; and so the soul is necessarily free from this commandment, according to the applied criterion. So, since it's not possible with the soul either; will it be applicable to the spirit? We shall see what is to be gained with the spirit.

12. What is the spirit? The spirit is the real life-principle of the soul, and without the spirit, the soul is nothing but a substantial etheric organ, which possesses all ability to absorb life, but without the spirit is nothing but a substantial-spiritual-etheric polyp, only continuously spreading its arms after life and suck up everything that corresponds to its nature.

13. The soul without the spirit is therefore a mere dumb polar force, which carries the dull sense of satiety in itself, but possesses no judgment, from which it would become clear, with what it saturates itself and what this saturation serves for. It is comparable to an arch-cretin who feels no desire other than to satisfy himself. With what and why? He himself has no idea. When he feels a great hunger, he eats what comes to his aid, whether it be filth, or bread, or the impure food for pigs, all is equal to him.

14. See, the same it is with the soul without the spirit. And these driven cretins have also only a soul life, that is, in whose soul either too weak a spirit or often no spirit is present. But to know that this is so, you need nothing more than to look into the world of the dark spirits; What are these? They are living souls after death, who lived their lives in the most reckless and often malicious manner, and have so weakened and depressed their spirits, that in such a condition they are scarcely capable of procuring the life-saving stimulus, often pushing back all life-benefits into the eternal background!

15. How does such beings act in the hereafter compared to blessed living spirits?  No different than bums, therefore as spiritual insane ones, being still in all possible ways malformed, showing no evidence of a human stature. These beings are often with regard to their actions in the spiritual realm, just as accountable as a cretin on your earth.  This shows that not the soul in itself, but only the soul in possession of the spirit, can be held accountable, for only in the spirit dwells the free will; in essence, it is all in the spirit.

16. But if this is now evident, then the question arises: How and in what way can the absolute spirit commit unchastity? Can the spirit have carnal desires? I think there could hardly be a greater contradiction than if someone wanted to seriously think of a 'carnal spirit', which would necessarily have to be material in order to even have gross material desires in it.

17. But just like an arrested one does not find any comfort in his arrest, the absolute spirit has even less passion to unite forever with his free nature with coarse matter, and to find his pleasure in it. Therefore would the notion of an unchastely acting spirit surely be the greatest nonsense a person can ever pronounce. Now one wonders: What, then, is unchastity, and who should not do it by seeing that neither the body, nor the soul, nor the spirit can impart unchastity to themselves, as we now came to know them?

CHAPTER 80

About two kinds of love

1. While some may say, Moses later elaborated on this by lawfully allowing the act of procreation only between the blessed spouses, but forbade it otherwise, and has ordained the other kind of procreation, especially if a married man wishes to commit this act that such an act should be regarded as adultery and that adulterers are guilty of death on both sides. This is correct, but subsequent ordinances nevertheless do not give a different form to the law which was simply given in the beginning. Whoever wants to commit himself to this must assert his trial in the first law; for neither unchastity nor adultery are forbidden in a certain way.

2. So far, we have clearly explained what you could possibly understand by unchastity. But since all this points to the act of procreation, it is impossible to regard as forbidden the kind of unchastity we have hitherto supposed to be known by this law.

3. Now, however, a well-informed one announces himself in the matter, saying: Under unchastity, which is forbidden there, only the empty gratification of the sensual impulse is understood. Good, I say; but if a man with another man's wife, who cannot be fertilized by her husband, seriously longs for a child, I ask: can this be counted as sinful adultery? I also ask: If a young man, driven by his nature, has fathered a child with a girl, can that be counted as a sin of unchastity?

4. I also ask: If a man knows from experience that his wife is not fertile, he nevertheless sleeps with her because she has a rich flesh that stimulates him, and he therefore evidently only vainly satisfies his sensuous instinct; can this act be credited to the sin of unchastity?

5. I ask further: There are, especially in this time, as there have been at all times, an immense number of people of both sexes who are well able to produce and have a nature which is powerfully urgent; but they are unable, by virtue of political and meager circumstances, to marry. Now, if such doubly afflicted people commit the act of procreation, do they again sin against this sixth commandment?

6. It will be said: They are to sacrifice their instinct to God and not mate, so they will not sin. But I say: what judge can declare such a failing as a real sin? What, then, does the rich have the merit of being able to take a decent wife, but the poor are denied this bliss? Should the privileged have a greater right to procreation than the poor? Does money thus sanctify procreation because the rich can afford the proper possession of a woman, which is impossible for a thousand less privileged ones?

7. One can still ask: Who is really to blame for the multifarious impoverishment of the people? Certainly none other than the fortunate kingdom, who attracts many treasures through his self-serving speculation, by which not infrequently a thousand people could adequately qualify for ordinary marital status. And yet should the rich husband alone be free from the sin of unchastity, when he bears children with his own wife, and the poor man alone should be the scapegoat because he cannot take a wife? Would not that be just as condemnable as if one would on earth decide to go on a pilgrimage to a place, and be given a commandment that no one should visit this place on foot in order to receive any grace there, but everyone who visits this place and would want to receive grace, must go there in a most elegant equipage?

8. He who should find such a command righteous must certainly be in earnest of such a world, of which the Creator of heaven and the earth Himself knows nothing, that is, of a world which does not exist anywhere; or he would have to be a member of Satan!

9. But we now see from these considerations that it does not quite do with the explanation of our sixth commandment. What will we do to gain the full meaning of this commandment? I tell you in advance: It's not as easy as anyone would like to imagine. Yes, I say:

10. In order to gain the right meaning of this commandment, one must burrow deeply and grasp the matter at the root; otherwise one will always find oneself in the dubious position in which it is easy to regard as sin what is not a sin in the farthest sense, and what is really a sin, scarcely worth the trouble, considers it to be a sin.

11. But where is this root? We will find it right away. You know that love is the foundation and the basic condition of all things. Without love, nothing would never have been created, and without love, no existence would be conceivable, just as little as a world would ever have been formed without the mutual attraction of the will of the Creator. For example, if you do not understand this, think of one world without the mutual power of attraction, and you'll see how all the atoms of a world suddenly separate and vanish into nothingness.

12. Love is therefore the cause of everything and at the same time it is the key to all secrets.

13. But how can love be brought into an explanatory connection with our sixth commandment? I say to you, nothing easier than that, because in no act in the world is love as intimately interwoven as in the one we count as uncouth.

14. But we know that man is capable of a twofold love, namely the Divine, which opposes all self-love, and the self-love, which is contrary to all Divine love.

15. The question now is: if someone commits the act of procreation, what love was there the motive: the self-love, under whose authority also any craving for pleasure stands, or the Divine love, which only wants to communicate what it has, completely forgetting of itself? See, we are already pretty much on the track of the actual main principle.

16. Let us now take two men: one commits the act out of selfish lust for pleasure, the other in gratitude for the ability to procreate, to impart his seed to a woman in order to awaken a fruit in her. Which of the two sinned? I think it's not going to be difficult to judge here and make a decision.

17. In order for us to understand the matter completely, we also need to familiarize ourselves with the concept of 'unchastity'. What is chastity and what is unchastity? Chastity is that state of mind of man in which he is free of all selfishness, or in which he is pure of all the defects of self-love. Non-chastity is that state of mind in which man takes only himself into account, acts for himself, and completely forgets his fellow-man, especially concerning a woman.

18. Selfishness, however, is nowhere more disgraceful than it is in the case of a deed in which it is a matter of a man's perversion. Why then? The cause is as clear as the day. As the ground, so the seed, so also is the fruit. If Divine love is the chastity of the seed, a Divine fruit will also appear; But if self-love, self-indulgence and pleasure-craving, that is, the unchaste state of mind the seed, what fruit will come forth from this?

19. See, in that lies what is forbidden by the sixth commandment. If this commandment had been observed, the earth would still be a heaven, for there would be no selfish and domineering person on it! But this commandment was already transgressed in the beginning of man, and the fruit of this transgression was self-serving and selfish Cain.

20. But from this it follows that not only the so-called falsely named 'fornication', which should better be called 'pleasure-seeking', belongs in the series of our sins to be treated, but any enjoyment of pleasure, whatever its design may be, but especially if a man makes the already weak woman selfishly useful for enjoyment, then it is to be regarded as a sin of unchastity. - A short pursuit will make things clearer.

CHAPTER 81

What is fornication?

1. One could say here, in the Sixth Commandment, that only "Thou shalt not do unchastity," and that fornication cannot be regarded as forbidden, since in the sixth commandment there is nowhere: "Thou shalt not commit fornication." But I say: What is whoring, of whatever kind, spiritual or carnal? It is a certain accommodation of vice in the following way: One philosophizes about the sinful possibility, places all phenomena in the realm of 'natural needs'. If one expresses to his own being the demand to satisfy them, then, according to his reason and his inventiveness, man does only something praiseworthy and fruitful, so that, for all the needs of his nature which are being demanded, he can bring about means by which the same goal can be accomplished. The animal must satisfy its needs in the crudest instinctive way, because it has no mind, reason, or inventiveness. In this way, however, man rises above the common, natural animal, that he alone can satisfy the requirements of his species in a refined manner. Therefore, the mind of the cultural man says:

2. Who can account it a sin to a man if, with the help of his intellect, builds an imposing house for his habitation, and thus exchanges a former burrow or a hollow tree with it? Who can account it a sin to a man, if he refines the tree fruits, and produces from the sour apples and pears, something sweet and tasty? Who can account it a sin to a man if he builds a chariot, tames the horse, and then journeys much more comfortable than with his own weak, troubled feet? Who else can still account it a sin to a man, if he cooks and spices the natural fruits to his nourishment and makes them tastier? Or create things in the world for another purpose than to be useful to man?

3. How much beautiful and useful things have man discovered for his comfort and amusement! Would this be reckoned to be a mistake if he would pay honor to his Creator with his intellect, without which the body of the world would appear as uncultivated as a barren desert on which everything grows together in a chaotic disorder, such as cabbage, beets and stinging nettles?

4. If, however, mankind's diverse cultivation of the earth cannot possibly be counted as a misstep, even though it contains no other purpose in itself than a more pleasurable and more comfortable enjoyment of things in the world; On the other hand, a refined pleasure in procreation cannot be attributed to man as an error, for otherwise even the most educated man would be, regarding this act, the least differentiated from an animal. Thus, even this instinct of man must be satisfied in a more refined and cultivated manner, for the same reason why one builds comfortable dwelling-houses, makes soft clothes, prepares tasty meals, and so on. That is, more amenities.

5. Just assume for instance that a man of the educated class, has to choose between two female persons for his satisfaction; one is a filthy, mean peasant maid, but the other, as the daughter of a respectable house, is a well-bred, very well-dressed girl, flawless in her whole body, and all together lush and charming. Question: Who will the educated man choose? The answer will not cause a headache here; certainly the second one, because the first one will disgust him. So here, too, refinement certainly a most convenient purpose, because man attests to it, proving that he is a higher being, who has everything in his power to purify and dispose of everything unpleasant and dirty and make things clean and pleasant.

6. But since the man and the woman in this regard often have a great need to satisfy themselves, and yet cannot always make the demand to produce a child, would it again be their duty to exercise the intellectual powers, setting up the means to satisfy this impulse, be it only by blind intercourse with a woman or by self-gratification or, in an emergency, through the so-called boy's desecration? For this is what makes a man different from an animal in that he can satisfy this most natural instinct in other ways than just that which he has been instructed by rude nature. And so, after all, well-conditioned brothel houses and such institutions are to be endorsed, and can by no means dishonor the intellect of man!

7. See, what objection can be raised against this from a natural perspective? For it is true that the animal cannot achieve such cultivations and all sorts of nuances to the satisfaction of its sexual instinct, and so, in a sense, the mastery of the human understanding is undeniably to be discovered. This is all right, the animal has its time in all of this, yet otherwise, it remains dull unto the satisfaction of this urge.

8. But what is all this sophistication? It is a quick question, but the answer is big and weighty. Surely this sophistication has nothing to do with basic motives, but with appallingly exasperating lust for pleasure. But pleasure-seeking, we know, is an unmistakable child of self-love, which is quite identical with the lust for power.

9. It is true that living in a stately home is easier than living in a lowly mud hut. But let's take a look at the inhabitants! How proud and lofty we see the inhabitants of a palace company, and how humble the simple hut-dweller bows before such a splendid palace lord!

10. Let's take a look at the inhabitants of a big city and those of a small farming village. The inhabitants of the big city do not know how to help each other out of sheer lust for pleasure, they all want to live comfortably, they all have to talk, they all shine and maybe they can reign a bit. If a poor country-dweller comes to the big city, he has to address at least every boot polisher: 'Your Grace', if he does not want to expose himself to any rudeness.

11. But if we go to the village, we will still find fathers, not infrequently peaceful neighbors, who do not call themselves 'Your Grace' and 'Lord of'. What is preferable: when one farmer says to the other: 'Brother'! or if in the city, a slightly more middle-class appeals to a slightly more privileged: ‘your grace', and 'Lord of' and the like?

12. I think it will be barely necessary to go on pursuing such nonsensical offshoots of the sophistication of the human mind, but we can at once make the main proposition: All such pleasure-seeking refinements are, according to preceding considerations, nothing but idolatry; for they sacrifice the human spirit, to the outer dead nature.

13. But if they are idolatrous, they are also the hardest whores, and their tendency cannot be accepted into the sphere of chastity.

14. Why was Babel called a whore? Because every imaginable finery was at home there. This also includes, the whoring urge in the true sense: unchastity serves all their life force. Thus, a rich husband who, for the sole enjoyment of a sumptuous and randy wife, is nothing but a barbarous fornicator, and the wife, a hard whore. And so here too, unchastity is shown in its foundations, as it is a most base desire for self-service and self-pleasure.

15. It was necessary to shed more light on this commandment for you, because man does not pass over any command as easily as he does this one. - Therefore I think that you now also understand this lecture; and so we will immediately go to the seventh room.

CHAPTER 82

The seventh commandment in the seventh classroom of the children's kingdom

1. We are in the seventh hall. See, in the middle of it on a tablet on a white pillar is written in a clearly legible font: "Thou shalt not steal!" Here, at the first sight of this law-table, the question inevitably comes to everyone's mind:

2. What can be stolen here, since no one owns any property, but everyone is just a usufruct of what the Lord gives? This question is natural and has its good meaning, but it can also be posed with the same right on the world- body; for even on the earth body, all that is there is the Lord's, and yet men can steal from each other in every possible way.

3. Could not one also ask and say: has the Lord not created the world equally for all men, and does not every man have the same right to all that the created world offers for the various pleasures? But if the Lord has certainly created the world not only for individuals, but for all, and therefore everyone has the right to enjoy the products of the world according to his needs, what good was this commandment by which man is obviously given the right to own, creating the possibility for theft? For where there is no mine and no thine, but merely a universal everything for all, then I would like to see the one who, with all his will, could steal something from his neighbor.

4. Would it not have been wiser then, to abolish every right of ownership for all time, instead of giving the commandment by which a separate property right is dangerously granted? This commandment would therefore be completely dispensable, all property courts of the world would never have arisen, and people could easily live among themselves as true brothers.

5. It must be remembered that the Lord gave this commandment through Moses just at a time when not one person had any of his own wealth among all the numerous children of Israel; for the gold and silver taken from Egypt, was the common property of the people under the supervision of their leader.

6. But as far as clothing is concerned, it was extremely simple and so poor that a single garment in your present time would certainly not exceed the value of some poor cents. Not one of the Israelites had a supply of clothing, but what he wore was all he possessed.

7. Then came this commandment. Surely the Israelite people had to ask each other with wide eyes: What should we steal from each other? Perhaps our children, yet everyone is in this present distressing situation content to have as few children as possible? Should we steal each other's pots? But what should we gain? Anyone who does not have a pot has the right to cook in the pot of his neighbor if he has something to cook. But if he has a pot, he will not have to seize another, so that he will have more to carry back and forth. It is truly unclear what we could steal from each other here. Each other's honor? We are all servants and laborers of one and the same Lord, who knows well the value of each person. If we also wanted to belittle each other, what would we achieve in the face of Him who always sees us through and through? So we do not know what we should do with this commandment. Should this commandment be valid for future times, should the Lord once want to grant each of us a separate property? If that is, then He should rather leave us as we are, and the commandment will abolish itself.

8. See, so did the Israelite people occasionally reasoned in all seriousness, and in their position in the desert, they could not be blamed; because everyone was equal in riches and equal in reputation.

9. But could not the present people, believing in the New Testament, raise their heads before the Lord and say: O Lord! Why then did You once give such a commandment, by which a special right of ownership was granted to men on earth, and because of this right of ownership an innumerable multitude of thieves, robbers, and murderers were formed? Therefore, abolish this commandment, that the army of thieves, murderers and robbers, and all sorts of deceivers, and a second army of world judges, who have ceased to be active in all manner charity, would stop their doing!

10. I say here: The call can be heard and appears under this critical lighting as completely valid. How and why? Firstly, one can certainly expect nothing but the very best from God as the most loving Father. How could one possibly think that God, as the very best Father of men, wanted to give them a constitution which must make them unhappy, temporally and eternally?

11. But if one must ascribe to God the supreme goodness, the highest wisdom, and thus omniscience, according to which He must know what fruit such a commandment will unfailingly bear, then one cannot help but wonder: Lord! Why did you give us such a commandment, why did we oftentimes become unspeakably unhappy because of it? Was it really Your will, or did You not give this commandment, but the people only added it later on because of their self-interest, for example, by isolating themselves from the general number of their brethren and then legitimizing themselves in such a state to collect peculiar treasures, to help them rise more easily as rulers over all their poor brothers? See, all that can be heard, and nobody can deny it. On top of that, one has to sprinkle some grains of real frankincense on a human mind, at least during this time, if he found it worthwhile to critically illuminate the laws of Moses in this way. But who won anything in this review? Not the people and certainly not the Lord, because this criticism does not express the Divine love and wisdom.

12. But how then shall this law be taken and understood, that it may appear as perfectly sanctified before God and to all men, that it would utter the highest Divine love and wisdom, and bear in itself the wisdom of the Lord for temporal and eternal bliss? Well, as it has been explained up till now, especially presently, it has indeed only caused mischief. Therefore, by the Lord's mercy, we want to reveal the true meaning of this commandment, that men should find in it their salvation, not mischief. But in order to accomplish this, we will first consider what must be understood by stealing.

CHAPTER 83

What does 'steal' mean?

1. The fact that under the concept of "stealing" it was impossible at first to understand the unauthorized removal of the material possessions of another is clear from the fact that, especially at the time of legislation, no one from the Israelite people owned any property. Even when the people had moved into the Promised Land, their state constitution was ordered as such that no one could have full ownership in this land. But apart from that, property was communal as much as possible, and every poor Israelite, if he lived in the Divine order, could find everywhere the most hospitable reception and lodging.

2. But if in this commandment meant by "stealing", the arbitrary and deliberate removal of the goods of another, then, as has been shown sufficiently clear in the course of this illustration, the blame would inevitably fall upon the legislator, thereby quietly procuring the industry and would also defend usury. For that must be obvious for everyone at first glance, if he is only capable of somewhat brighter thinking, that the right to property is then introduced as perfectly sanctioned and confirmed, as soon as one gives a law by which the property of each would be completely secured.

3. On the other hand, how could one expect such a law from that legislator who spoke to His disciples with His own mouth: "Do not worry about what you will eat and drink and what you will clothe your body with, because that is what the heathen are after. But above all, seek the kingdom of God; everything else will be given unto you.

4. The same legislator continues: "The birds have their nests, and the foxes their holes, but the Son of Man does not have a stone that He puts under his head!" On the other hand, we see His disciples even on a sabbath rubbing corn ears, and thereby obviously steal. But when the landlords complained about it, who got a reprimand and a very sensitive rebuke from the Great Lawmaker? You only have to look in the Book and everything will be clear to you.

5. We again see the same Legislator once in a position to pay a toll. Did He reach into His own pocket? Oh, no, He knew that in the nearby lake a fish had swallowed a lost stater. Peter had to go and take the coin out of the throat of the fish held by the power of the Lord and pay the toll with it.

6. But I ask: Does the finder have the right of ownership in any good find in whatever way? Did not the Great Lawgiver have to know - or did He not want to know - that what He had only the right to freely own only one-third of what He have found in fish, and that only after He made His find publicly or officially known? He did not do such. Accordingly, He apparently committed a double theft or, as much as it did, an embezzlement.

7. Further, one might ask after the principles of law - assuming that few Jews fully knew who Christ actually was - who had granted Himself the right to have the known donkey taken from their owner, and then use it Himself at His own discretion.

8. One can say here: He is the Master of all nature and everything anyway belongs to Him. That is correct, but how then does He speak in worldly terms, saying that the Son of man has no stone, and on the other hand He says that He did not come to abrogate the law, but to fulfill it to the dot.

9. If we wanted to follow His story, we would still find many things where the Great Legislator, according to the present principles of property law and the comprehensive juridical explanation of the seventh commandment, has obviously transgressed these legal principles. What would happen to anyone who destroyed an owner's tree or destroyed a large herd of pigs and more? I think we have enough of the examples that make it abundantly clear that the Great Lawmaker has intended with this seventh commandment, a very different meaning than was later given to it by a greedy and selfish humanity.

10. One can now say: This is now very clear and obvious, but the meaning He has connected it with, is still behind a dense veil! But I say: only patience! As we have until now properly illuminated the misconception of this commandment, the true meaning of this commandment will certainly be easy to find; for someone who can see in the night, will not be afraid that he will have too little light during the day.

11. What does it mean then after all, in the actual truest sense: "Thou shalt not steal?" - In the true sense it means as much as:

12. You should never abandon the Divine order, not put yourself out of it, and seize the rights of God.

13. But what are these rights and what do they consist of? God alone is holy and all power is His alone! Whom God sanctifies Himself and gives him power, he rightly owns it; but he who sanctifies himself and seizes the Divine power in order to rule in the luster of selfishness and avarice, is in the true sense a thief, a robber and a murderer!

14. Therefore, whoever is arbitrary and self-loving in whatever external appearances and deceptive means, be it earthly or spiritual, and rises above his brothers, it is he who transgresses this commandment. This is the sense in which this is taught to these children here, and it is shown in a practical way, that no spirit should ever arbitrarily use the power and might inherent in it, but only and at all times, in the Divine order.

15. But one will say now: If so, then the well-known stealing and robbing is allowed. But I say: Only patience, the next episode shall bring everything into the clear. But for now, let us settle this by knowing what is meant by stealing, and that the Lord has never established a right of ownership by this commandment.

CHAPTER 84

Comments on social issues

1. It can now be asked, since the Lord never introduced a right of ownership, and therefore never gave any commandment by which one should specifically respect the accumulated fortune of so many stingy usurers, and that in contrast to a host of the very poorest people, - whether one then may steal; namely, what such "usurers" contrary to the Divine law, have accumulated? Because one takes away, according to earthly laws, the stolen items from a thief as soon as he is found. Should one then not have the right to take away from the basest thieves and robbers who transgressed against the Divine law, the accumulated riches and distribute them amongst the needy?

2. According to the intellectual conclusion, none could not object to this demand; but the true man has higher powers in himself than his intellect. But what will these say to this intellectual endorsement?

3. Let us ask our charity and our love of God. What does it say in our inmost, eternally living spirit out of God? It says nothing but what the Lord Himself has spoken, namely: "My kingdom is not of this world - and who loves his outer life, he will lose the inner; but he who flees his outer life and pays little attention to it, will keep his inner self." This is what the inner spirit speaks.

4. Nowhere do we see an invitation to help ourselves from the goods of the rich. The Lord Himself says: "Pay to the Emperor what belongs to the Emperor." Likewise, does He not command the rich young man to sell his goods, but only gives him friendly counsel and the promise of eternal life.

5. Therefore, since we nowhere come across a commandment from the Lord, by which He had expressly commanded to somehow seize the wealth of the usurers, it is certainly as clear as day, that a true Christian has no right to disown the goods of the rich. Even the one who is in the greatest distress has no justifiable right to seize the goods of even the basest thief, but in the case of a great state of emergency, a whole people has the right to do so.

6. Why then? Because then the Lord Himself appears among the people as a ruler and thus causes a just judgment for the insatiable usurers. Not even then should anyone, except in the highest emergency, allow himself to assassinate the usurers and the hard-hearted rich, but should only take from them as much of their most superfluous treasures as the people need to support themselves, to get themselves on their feet again to be able to peacefully acquire sustenance again.

7. But the rich usurer should still be left so much that he does not suffer in the world; because that is his only reward for his work. The Lord does not want to punish anyone, but only reward everyone according to the nature of his activity.

8. But since the rich and the usurer cannot expect anything after this earthly life, it is quite fair that he finds his reward there for his talent, where he worked.

9. The Lord also will not judge a person completely in this world, so that there can still be a possibility for everyone to voluntarily turn from the world and return to the Lord. If everything were taken away from such a rich usurer, he would already be completely judged; for despair will take possession of him and an endless anger, in which he can never possibly enter the path of salvation. But if a sufficient fortune has been left for him, he is for the time being exposed to no earthly misery and does not appear completely unrewarded for his austerity; but secondly, in this condition, he is not yet completely judged, and he still can obey the counsel that the Lord has given to the rich youth, to thereby attain eternal life.

10. But where such extreme action would be taken by a deeply impoverished people, it should never be done in a gruesome way; for as soon as this happens, the Lord no longer works with the people, and the people will not see their deeds blessed! For if they prevail today, they will be beaten again tomorrow, and one bloodbath will flow into the other! Man should never forget that all men are his brothers. He should always do what he does with a love-filled heart; He should never want to do anything bad to anyone, but only to do something good at all times, especially regarding the spiritual share of eternal life.

11. If this is his purpose, then the Lord will bless his action, but on the contrary, curse it! For if the Lord, even though all authority in heaven and on earth is His, and He has no one to query what He does or does not do, does Himself not want to be an eternally deadly Judge, the less should any man on earth do something according to his ardent will.

12. But woe to the people which rises without the utmost necessity against the rich and powerful! These will be bitterly punished for this act; because poverty is of the Lord. He who loves the Lord loves poverty too; the wealth and the well-being, however, are of the world and of Satan! He who seeks that which is of the world, and loves it, has taken Satan into himself from head to toe!

13. Therefore, as long as any people can only be partly saturated once a day and still be able to sustain life, so long should it not rise. But when the rich and usurers have taken almost everything, so that thousands of poor people are evidently threatened with starvation, then it is time to rise and share the superfluous goods of the rich among themselves; for then the Lord wants the rich to be chastised to a great extent for their shameful self-love and greed.

14. At the end of the treatise on this commandment, perhaps someone might ask whether the interest on borrowed capital is not, to a certain extent, contrary to the seventh commandment. Here I say: If in a state the interest rate is determined by law, then it is also permissible, according to this interest rate, to gather the interests of the rich; but if someone has lent necessary capital to a needy person, he should not charge any interest.

15. If this poor man has helped himself with this capital to the extent that he is now bourgeois in his trade, he should be inclined to repay the borrowed capital to his friend. If he wants to pay the legal interest out of gratitude, the lender should not accept it, but he should remind the payer to give it to his poorer brothers according to his ability.

16. But no one should lend capital to the poor, but what one gives them, should give them completely. That is the will of the Lord in this regard. He who does this, will love the Lord. Since we have thus touched everything concerning this commandment, we may at once go to the Eighth Hall, in which case we shall learn a commandment which in many respects will be like this seventh.

CHAPTER 85

The Eighth commandment in the eighth hall - The material shell as a means to lie

1. We are in the eighth hall, and there we see on the round tablet, well known to us from all the earlier halls, clearly written: "Thou shalt not bear false testimony", saying as much as: Thou shalt not lie.

2. This command sounds strange in the realm of pure spirits, for a spirit in its pure state is incapable of any lie. A spirit cannot speak anything but what he thinks, since the thought is already his word. A spirit in the pure state can therefore bring no untruth on his lips, because it is a simple being and can have no reserve in itself.

3. The lie is therefore only possible for an unclean spirit when it covers itself with matter. But if a spirit, even of unclean quality, is free from its coarser envelopment, it cannot speak any untruth.

4. For this reason, even the evil spirits envelop themselves with all sorts of coarse figures of guile in order to be able to lie in this wrapping.

5. Thus the well-known "Satan" in Paradise had to envelop himself in the material form of a snake before the first pair of men, so that they could thereby become ambushed and then afterwards think differently and speak differently.

6. For this sole reason, men on earth are able to lie as often as they will, because they have a hideaway in their bodies, and from there they can move the machine of the body in the opposite direction of what they think.

7. Such, however, as noted, is not possible to the pure spirits. Although they can express themselves in correspondences when they communicate with earthly people, they not infrequently say something quite different from what the inner meaning of their speech represents. But that does not mean lying, but placing the spiritual truth in earthly images that correspond exactly to this truth.

8. But we see that this commandment is of no use for the spirits, because they completely lack the ability to lie.

9. But to whom in the afterlife does this commandment then apply? I know that you will soon be able find the answer and say: It applies to the spirits enveloped in matter, and requires of them to use their covering no differently than how their thinking is conceived in them, and act in correspondence to their purely spiritual state.

10. But we know that this commandment, as well as all earlier ones, proceeds from God, as the Primordial Source of all spiritual things. As such, however, it cannot possibly have only material, and no spiritual validity.

11. But in order to get to the basis of it, we have to discuss what is meant by "lying" or "giving false witness." What is the lie or a false testimony in itself? You will say: any untruth. But I ask: what is an untruth? And then somebody will soon be able to deal with the answer and say: Every sentence that a human being pronounces in order to deceive someone is an untruth, a lie, "a false testimony." It's all good on the outside, but not inside. We want to set up a small sample for it.

12. Question: Can the will think? Every human being must deny such a thing by clearly having to say that the will behaves like the cattle in relation to the wagon. They indeed pull it vigorously; but where will it take the wagon without the thinking driver?

13. Next question: Can the thought will? Let's go back to the wagon. In the best sense of the word, can the wagoner drive the heavy wagon without the power of the beasts of burden? Anyone here will say: Thousands of the cleverest waggoneers can set up all sorts of philosophical principles next to the heavily loaded wagon, and yet they will not, with all these splendid ideas, put the wagon in motion until they agree in their thoughts that an appropriate power should be put in front of the wagon.

14. From this example we have seen that the will does not think, and that the thought cannot will. But if thought and will are united, the will can only do what the thought leads it to do.

15. But now I ask: If it is how it is, what is it in man who can lie? The will certainly not, because this is a something that always depends on the light of thought. Can the thought be a lie? Certainly not, it is simple and cannot share. Will the body be able to lie in man? How the body can lie, being a machine that is dead in itself, and only stimulated to activity by the thought and will of the spirit through the soul, would be very strange to know.

16. I have just discovered a psychologist, and indeed from the class of spiritual dualists, who says: The soul of man is also a self-conscious thinking being and thinks partly natural and partly spiritual images. Thus, two kinds of thought may indeed be formed in it, namely natural and spiritual. It may therefore cover the spiritual in itself, but since the will of the spirit is also at its disposal, it can, instead of pronouncing the truth or the spiritual thought, express the natural, completely opposite thought than that of the spiritual truth. And if he does that, he lies or gives false testimony. What do you think, is this conclusion correct?

17. This appear to be correct, taken from the external man's perspective; but he is nevertheless fundamentally wrong; for what kind of activity would result if, for the purpose of forward movement, one would harness the same number of horses of equal strength in front and to the back of it, and have drivers to steer both teams?

18. As the car would never be moved from the spot, the same it would seem to be with one's life, if it would stand on two opposite life-principles. That would be just as much as plus 1 and minus 1, which adds up to zero.

19. So there just have to one single living principle; but how can this lie and give false testimony?

20. Either this principle, as proven, cannot lie and give false testimony at all, or the concepts of "lying" and "giving false testimony" has to be understood to be something fundamentally different, than what has hitherto been understood.

21. Somebody would of course say: If the matter is to be taken this way, any falsehood known to us, every false oath, as well as every fraudulent word, is not to be regarded as sinful, but should be freely used. Well, I say: the objection would not be so bad, but according to your proverb: "Whoever laughs last laughs best," we shall reserve a similar pleasure for the conclusion.

CHAPTER 86

What is false testimony?

1. But if we are able to disentangle this Gordian knot in a certain sense with one blow, let us immediately go into the discussion of the main concept of this eighth commandment.

2. We know that the Lord gave every spirit a free will, and also a free thought was given to illuminate free will. This thought in spirit is in fact the vision and the light of the spirit, through which he can see things in the natural sphere.

3. Besides this light, which every spirit has received particularly from God, he also has a second ability to receive an innermost, most holy light from God; but not through his eye, but through the ear, which is actually an eye. Certainly no eye for the reception of external appearances, which are produced by the almighty will of the Lord, but it is an eye for the reception of the purely spiritual light from God, namely the Word of God.

4. You can see that from your still natural condition, if you pay only a little attention to how different this is, what you see with your eyes and hear with your ears. Through your eyes you can only see natural images, but with your ears you can absorb rays from the innermost Divine depth.

5. You can hear the language of the spirit in the harmony of sounds, or rather, you can already externally hear the secret forms of the innermost spiritual creation through your fleshly ears. How deeply backwards does the eye stand in comparison to the ear!

6. See, it's the same with the spirit. By virtue of such a device he is capable of accommodating two things, namely the external pictorial and the intrinsically essential reality.

7. In this double vision lies the secret of the free will.

8. Every human being, be it purely spiritual or still enveloped in matter, naturally hangs between the external and the internal through this ability. He can therefore always see a countless number of external forms, but he can simultaneously absorb just as much of the inner, purely Divine truth.

9. With the light from the outside, he grasps nothing of all that is seen, but merely the external form, and thus can be the creator of his thoughts in himself through the reception of these forms.

10. With these thoughts, he can also set his freely disposable will in motion, as and when he wants.

11. If he does not use the other eye of the inner Divine light, but is merely content with and deals only with forms, then he is a man who evidently deceives himself; for the forms are empty appearances for him as long as he cannot grasp them in their depths.

12. But if a man who simultaneously also possesses the inner light he received from the Lord and beholds it, perceives the interior of the forms, but disguises it and testifies only to the outer forms differently than he does about its great importance which he perceives with the inner spiritual eye, which is the ear; see, this is when he gives a false testimony to the externally perceived forms.

13. Here we have already foundationally discussed what it basically means to give a false testimony. In the main point is however once again, that it is important that man should not speak of Divine truth in any other way than he perceives it in himself.

14. But with regard to the most inner things, the situation is as follows: love is equal to the inwardly perceived light of truth directly from God, and wisdom is equal to the radiating light from God through all infinite eternal spaces.

15. When someone would possess the love, but would not practice it, but would, with his outer light and his divided will, continuously reach out more and more to the infinitely radiating rays, he becomes increasingly weaker, but because of his spirit fraying at all sides, he becomes increasingly bloated and increasingly less receptive for the inner, loving light of truth out of God.

16. If this is the case, then such a person becomes ever more dissimilar to God, and thereby gives with every atom of his being, a fundamentally false testimony of the Divine essence, whose perfect symmetry he ought to have been.

17. Therefore, he who hears the Divine word but does not follow it, but follows only that which captivates his outward eyes, and thus excites his sensual will, he gives with every step that he makes, with every word he speaks every movement of the hand he makes, a false testimony. Even if he wants to speak the purest Divine truth, the pure word of the Gospel, he lies and gives a false testimony to the Lord because he does not act according to the Word and the Truth.

18. Such a person who prays and performs his devotion to God, but does not live according to the word of the Lord, is a liar, as long as he is warm and alive. His prayer is there but an external formula whose intrinsic value is lost altogether, because the inner Divine light is not used to illuminate and enliven the interior of this external form.

19. It's just the same as if someone would look completely enraptured at a star. What good does all this delight and contemplation benefit him if he cannot regard the star in close proximity as a wonderful world? He resembles a starving person in front of a locked cupboard. He may still look at this bread-cupboard so yearningly and so adoringly, but will he be saturated with it? Certainly not. For as long as he cannot bite into the inside of the bread and absorb it into his stomach, all contemplation, worship, and delight from the bread-cupboard, will do him no good.

20. But how can one open the bread-cupboard of true God-likeness and satisfy oneself? Certainly no other way than by using the innermost means in oneself and directing oneself to the truth received from God. Also, to use the external forms only for their intended practical purposes as far as one has found it to be identical with the innermost light and therefore as a Divine truth. As soon as that is not the case, everything that man does and endeavor, is a false testimony to the inner Divine truth and thus a gross lie to every fellow human.

21. Therefore the Lord says, "He who prays, should pray in the Spirit and in truth," and, "If ye pray, go into your closet," and also: "Do not think what you will speak, for in the same hour it will be put into your mouth."

22. Here, evidently, outer thoughts are indicated, which are therefore in themselves no truth, because they are thoughts; for the truth is inward, it motivates for action according to the Word of God, and is always manifested rather than being a subsequent flood of thoughts.

23. Therefore should everyone also be guided by this inner truth and act accordingly. He will always more and more actively connect his thoughts with this inner light and thus come to inner unity and thus to the Divine likeness in which it then becomes forever impossible for him to be a liar.

24. But that everyone who speaks differently than he thinks, and acts differently than he speaks and thinks, is a liar, is self-evident; for such a one is already buried in the very outermost, grossest matter, and has removed the whole Divine form from his spirit. As such will this commandment also be explained to the students in its innermost content. Knowing this, we may at once move on to the ninth room.

CHAPTER 87

Ninth hall - ninth commandment

1. We are already in the ninth hall and look again at our round table, on which is written:

2. You should not long for what is your neighbor's, neither for his house, nor his ox, nor his donkey, nor his land, nor for everything that grows on it.

3. If we look at this commandment, we must evidently lose ourselves in the same judgments and undergo the same criticism that we have already met in the seventh commandment. For here again there is talk of property, and according to it, one should not have any desire for what one or the other was legally externally appropriated to own.

4. Who could not at once come back to the question and say: How could this commandment be given to the Israelite people in the wilderness, where there is no one who possesses a house, an ox, a donkey, nor any land or seed? One would have to imagine this property among the Israelite people. And at the most it could mean: If your neighbor imagines that he has something, then you should not imagine that you should have something similar, or even the imagination of your neighbor, to have it as if it were seriously your property or as if you want to actually own it.

5. I think that not many critical judgments will be needed here to see the utmost airiness of such a command at first sight. A commandment must always be there only for some assurance of a fixed reality, the loss of which must be something every one of them must have. But what would an air-castle architect lose to another air-castle architect, who would take the unlawful audacity of his fellow air-castle builder seriously. I think the weighing of such enormous damage would require a very fine, even ethereally spiritual scale to measure. If, according to the opinion of a certain sect on earth, the Archangel Michael is seriously endowed with such instruments, I am firmly convinced that he certainly does not lack such a very delicate weight-measuring instrument.

6. I have here only said this in order to accentuate the utter voidness of a purely imagined possession. If it is then so, then why such a commandment, which can certainly not uphold any security of the property of another, where no one has anything in the likeness of property, after which one should not desire, according to this commandment?

7. But one will argue here and say: The Lord has foreseen that, over time, men will create a right of ownership among themselves, and in this regard has already made in advance a command by which a future human property is secured and no one has a mutual right to be allowed to disown the property of his neighbor in whatever way. That would be a nice conclusion! I think Divine love and wisdom could not easily be inflicted more dishonor than with such judgment.

8. The Lord, who surely will advise every human against acquiring anything on earth; the Lord, before whom every earthly wealth is an abomination, should have made a commandment for the purpose and favor of greed, self-love, of usury and avarice, a commandment for the sure awakening of mutual envy?

9. I think it will not be necessary here to spend any more words; for the absurdity of such an exegesis is too obvious to anyone's eyes to require a long and broad discussion.

10. However, in order to make the case palpable for the blindest, I ask every law-abiding lawyer: What is the basis for the right of ownership? Who gave the first person the property right of a thing? Take for instance a dozen immigrants in an uninhabited land. They find it and settle there. According to which ownership and ownership certificate can they take possession of such a land and settle there as legitimate owners?

11. I already know what they will say here: whoever comes first has the basic right. Well, I say, who then has more or less the right to the found land than the twelve immigrants? It will be said: Strictly speaking, the first instigator of the emigration, or the one who had at first seen this land from the deck of a ship, has the most right. Well, what advantage does the initiator have above the others? If they had not moved with him, he would certainly have stayed home. What has the first seer more than the rest? That he might have sharper eyes than the others? Should this advantage, which only benefits him, be a disadvantage to the others? That would be a rather unfair. So surely all twelve must have equal ownership of this found land.

12. But what do they have to do to realize their equal ownership of this land? You will have to divide it into twelve equal parts. But who does not see the coming quarrels at this division of the first land pieces? For surely will A say to B: Why must I take possession of this part of the country, which in my judgment is obviously worse than yours? And the B will reciprocate for the same reason: I do not see why I should swap my land part for yours. And so we can let our twelve colonists divide the land for ten years, and we will not see that the division will be all right.

13. But would these twelve agree among themselves and make the land a common property; can there then be a commandment to secure property among the twelve? Can one take away something from the other, if the whole country belongs to all, and thus also its products, all of which everyone can take as he pleases, without billing the other for it?

14. In the first case one sees here that originally, a creation of property rights is not easily conceivable. To see that this really is the case, you only have to look to the first settlers of certain areas of your own country, like the so-called Herren-Kloster clergy, who were in a sense the first settlers of this region. If they would be content with division and considered it good, they would certainly not have formed a common good.

15. In short, we can do what we want, but we cannot find any original ownership anywhere. And if somebody comes with his fundamental right, I ask whether one should kill the descendant at the moment of his appearance in the world, or let him slowly starve to death? Or should he be driven out of this country? Or leave him to the mercy of the landowners, but at the same time immediately protect them against him by means of the latest laws?

16. I think it would be fair to ask on what grounds such a descendant can, from the moment of his arrival, be made a scapegoat with regard to the right of land ownership, while the first arrivals could not sin against each other in this? Which lawyer can prove such behavior to me as legally valid? I mean, one would only be able to prove this if you have a satan as a lawyer; for every man, who thinks only reasonably well and fairly, would find such a legal proof impossible.

17. But I can already see that it will be said that in the first colonization of a country there can be no reciprocal property right between the colonists, especially if they have mutually compensated for the common property. But between colonizations, out of which came the first formations of states, the ownership right certainly occurs as soon as they have established each other's right of existence.

18. Well, I say, if that is the case, then each colony must have original property rights. But how can they, since they only received a right of usufruct from the Lord, but no right of ownership?

19. The right of use has its certificate in the stomach and on the skin. But where does the right of possession express itself, especially when one considers that every human being, whether native or foreign, carries in his stomach and on his skin the same Divine legal right of use as the native does? If one says: The right of ownership has its origin in the rights of use, then this sentence certainly removes any special fortune, because everyone has the same right of use. But if one reverses the matter and says: Ownership gives you first the right of use, because one cannot say anything other than the old legal word: "Potiori jus", which in other words means as much as: Kill so many usufruct owners by the power of your fist, that you alone can be complete master of a piece of land.

20. Should some foreign usufruct owners still have the appetite to dispute your fought for possession according to their Divine right of use, then beat them all to death or use them, at least in a better scenario, as taxable subjects, so that they may, on your conquered possession, work for you in the sweat of their faces, that you may grant them their right of use according to your discretion. Step up whoever will, and grant me another right of possession; indeed I will surrender all my bliss to him, and I want to be made the most needy citizen on earth for it! Who, from the Divine side, can justify this war? What is he? Nothing but a most brutal coup d'état, taking the right of use from the people and forcibly introducing a right of possession, that is, to destroy the Divine right and to introduce a hellish one in its place.

21. Who then could expect a law from God which would abolish the original Divine Law of Utilization, which was clearly documented in everyone's being, and replace it with divine power and authority, with a law of hellish right of property? - I think the absurdity of this assertion is even bright and clear for a completely blind man and can be grasped with gloved hands.

22. But from this it is clear that this law must certainly have a different meaning from that of men, where it only secures possession. As Divine law, it must also be valid in all heavens from the depths of the Divine order. But where does anyone in heaven own houses, oxen, donkeys and fields? Heaven is full of usufructuary rights, and the Lord alone is the owner. We therefore want to move on to the right meaning of this law.

CHAPTER 88

Reflections on the ninth commandment

1. However, before we give the full explanation, it will be necessary to make a few remarks in order to shut up the mouths of many juridical wolverines and outraged international law publishers. For they would be able to derive the right to ownership from the collection rights, by which they would apparently be able win the case against us. Therefore, we want to entrench ourselves on this point.

2. However, it is not to be denied that everyone must have the right of collection before any rights of use. Because, before someone picks up and prepares something with his hands and his strength, he cannot assert his right of use. That's right, before anyone wants to put an apple in his mouth, he has to pick it from the tree or the ground.

3. For the "collection right" he also has several Divine documents. Certificate No.1 is the eyes. With these he has to look where something is. Certificate No.2 is the feet. With these he has to move to where something is. Certificate No.3 is the hands. With these he has to reach out and take something. So according to this deed, the man has before the Lord the lawful right to collect as an undeniable property.

4. But could it not be said here: is not the collected material then completely the property of the one who, according to his Divine right of collecting, has collected it for his use? Now does another have the right to judge his hands or desire by what his neighbor has gathered? Because one right obviously depends on the other. If I have the natural right of use written by the Creator in the stomach and on the skin, then I must also have the right to collect, because without the right of collection, I cannot satisfy the right of use.

5. But what good is the collection right if it does not secure the bite I bring to my mouth? Because, since everyone has the right to take the apple, which I have picked up with my hand according to my collection right, out of my hand, because he is too comfortable to pick one up, I must obviously forgo my right of use and must starve, whether I like it or not.

6. It is thus necessary that the collection right would at least demand the property right regarding what one has collected, otherwise no right of use could honestly be reasonably thinkable.

7. The right to collection is connected with the right of preparation and production is combined with the collective right. If I would not be allowed to assert the full right of ownership over what I have prepared and produced, then all activity is in vain, and I am compelled, firstly, to consume all the edible things in secret, and, secondly, to always go about naked. Because if I make myself a garment and another, which is too lazy for this work would take it away from me according to his right of use, then the question is: what would be the case with my right to use?

8. If I build a house in a colder area and have no ownership rights according to the right to collect and produce, then the next best company can drive me out of the house and exercise my own right of use in my place.

9. From this, however, it can be seen that, with the natural right of acquisition, a certain prerogative of property rights should be granted to the actively producing person, without which such a property right, taken and considered as is, the existence of a human society is not even remotely conceivable.

10. If, however, the right to collect and prepare are admitted as completely valid, then a piece of land, on which I have cultivated a seed, like a tree which I have planted and refined, must also have been prerogatively considered to be my property.

11. But ask further: who grants me such a right at the planting of a colony? The matter is easy to explain. The colonists choose from their midst one void of greed and wise leader. They grant him the rights to divide and distribute and thus also the responsibility to protect, under mutual oath swearing, as insurance for the maintenance of and compliance to his decree. Because of this assurance, one or the other rebel would be called to order by these order-abiding brothers on behalf of the leader. The how and the means does not matter, for these can and must be first determined according to the degree of the rebellion and then executed.

12. Who does not immediately see the submission and the first monarchical foundation of a state? Also, who does not also see that, as soon as the right to collect, and the right of acquisition and preparation is systematically connected with a prerogative right of property, nobody can be limited to the right of collection, acquisition and preparation on his property granted to him. On the contrary, the chief executive must only endeavor to encourage his subjects to collect and produce as much as possible on their possessions. And the more one acquires by diligence on his property, the more pleasant a situation he creates for himself, and the less limited becomes his rights of use.

13. However, once this right of ownership has been ascertained to secure the right of collection, acquisition and use, this right inevitably leads to the right of hatred; for without this right, no one is the rightful owner of the property he has received from the leader.

14. But this hate-law first requires a precise survey of the property. Once the borders have been determined, only then can any owner make use of the hate rights or the rights of defense of his property.

15. But this hate right is not feasible without authorized guardians. So we have to set up military men, who have the unlimited right to secure everyone's borders. You must therefore have the right of execution, that is, a criminal or punishment right. But who should guide these military men? Certainly none other than the head of the entire colony.

16. Here, therefore, we have necessarily the emergence of the military state, but at the same time also the determination of an unlimited power of the leader, who can now already command the military men and sanction his commandments.

17. Have we brought it so far, who can still stand there and say: The present state constitutions are not based on this Divine right? Yes, it is all right for a critic, only he cannot yet understand the overarching right of ownership of the monarch. But I say: If one has proved the former in such a way, which was far more difficult, then the right of ownership of a monarch beside it can be proved with a sleeping hood on. We shall see.

18. If, on the part of the leader's executive wisdom, the right of property is properly in place and the leader has an army at his disposal, capable of guarding the colonists' possessions, does the leader not have a twofold right to say to the colonists: I am in your midst, have provided for you through my wisdom, and you have made me the leader because you have recognized me as the least greedy man among you.

19. Therefore, I have fairly distributed the land among you, and now protect your property with my wisdom and with the wisely-led military men. But in the distribution I have completely forgotten myself due to my lack of greed. But you will surely see, if you would have need of my continual wise direction, that I cannot live off air. After that, what am I supposed to have for my maintenance in order to live? I have no time for collecting, because I have to use my time to constantly reflect on how your property needs to be continually secured.

20. So you will see that a faithful worker is worth his reward. That's why I'm declaring that you agree to support me out of your secured supply. I can claim this from you even more rightfully, since the preservation of your mutual right of ownership depends only on my consideration. In addition to my protection, however, the support of the army, which secures your property, is also necessary, for they too, do not have time to work, by keeping your borders in good order.

21. Your own salvation and well-being must therefore make it clear to you that I and the army are unlike you, unable to work, and that each of you therefore should agree to pay me a certain amount of tax for his own benefit.

22. This announced demand seems completely legal and reasonable to all colonists, and they are content with the regulation. In this way, the chief executive has already asserted his first natural, if not supreme, yet co-owned right of all the settlers.

23. But there is such a small gap between co-ownership and the overruling right of ownership that even the smallest child can get a hold of this concept. The boss just needs to say: My dear colonists! It is not unknown to you that another colony has settled over against us. In order to protect us from it, you must give me the unqualified right in everything, so that I can act as your leader in case of emergency, as the main owner of your property, and in such a case can secure the external borders according to my wise insight. I must have the right, in your name, for your own benefit, to negotiate with a foreign nation if it would be more powerful than us.

24. You should also, being colonists who is in need of my guidance, understand what is easy to understand, that I as your leader, must have a permanently built place in your midst in which I can protect and preserve myself, above all for your preservation. But it is not enough for my well-justified security that you build me a dwelling-house, but in order to build my dwelling house, other dwellings have to be erected in order to accommodate the army, who are only dependent on my leadership. In other words, you must build for me in your midst a permanent home (residence) in which I am fully secure, both from strangers and from your own possible attacks.

25. Here we see with great clarity how the monarch necessarily declares himself the landlord of a country. But that was not enough. We want to hear other reasons as well, from the mouth of the founder himself, for he continues to speak:

26. My dear colonists, the indisputable reason for the establishment of a permanent place of residence for me in your midst, I have shown to your insight. So you have the first reason. But listen to me: The land is vast; it is impossible for me to be everywhere myself. Therefore I want to audit you and I will distribute out of you the wisest ones as my officials and deputies all over the country. These proxies then you will then owe the same obedience as unto me, for their own benefit.

27. If, however, one or the other subjects under my wise management has been accused of alleged injustice by these my chosen officers, then shall everyone have the right to bring his complaint to me, where he can then be assured that the case will be attended to with perfect justice. On the other hand, for your own benefit, in order to prevent all disputes, you must give me the most faithful and conscientious assurance that you willingly follow my final judgment without the slightest further refusal. In the opposite case, for the good of all, I must also be assured of the indisputable right by all, to deter a rebellious person to defy my final judgment by means of a chastising force in order to obey my will. If all this is done in order, then you will become a truly happy people!

28. Here we see a second step, derived from all former things: Firstly, the sole rule, and secondly, the sole possession of the whole country. And so, in this way, we would have irrefutably displayed the first reason, which was completely grounded in the nature of the matter. This reason can be called the natural, derived from human society. But somebody will say that all this is in and of itself just as true to nature, as surely and certainly the man needs the eyes to see and the ears to hear. We look at these colonists, who are still very crude, and find them to be most zealous and fully obedient to their leader.

29. Yet, exactly from this obedience, the colonists begin to feel increased fear for their leader. And in this fear, one and the other soon ask each other: why is it that among all of us this man is so clever, and we are all to be regarded as true fools compared to him? This question, so small and inconspicuous as it appears at the beginning, is of extraordinary importance, and in its answer is expressed the inviolable official signature to the autocracy and of the sole property right of a monarch. That sounds weird, some might say in advance. Have just a little patience, and we'll see it in another light right away!

CHAPTER 89

The inner sense of the ninth commandment

1. See, until now we have seen everything develop from the natural ground; but up till now there has been no higher divine sanction on any ground, by which man alone on earth, especially in his simple state of nature, is led to the inviolable consideration of all that has been imposed upon him by his leader as a duty.

2. The wiser such a primitive monarch initially guides his people, and the more the people are persuaded that the leader is really wise because of his successes, the more they will begin to ask each other: wherefrom is his wisdom and wherefrom our stupidity? The people still know very little or nothing about God, but the leader still has more or less good ideas about Him.

3. What should he now do, if the people who are naturally organized as well as possible, approach him now with such questions from all sides? He summons the more capable, proclaiming to them a supreme being who has created everything and directs everything. Then tell them, in answer to their varied questions, that he receives the wisdom to guide directly from this supreme being. He shows them, with the greatest ease, the undeniable existence of a supreme, all-creating, sustaining, and governing deity, and that this deity only bestows the deep wisdom to whom he has designated to be the beatific leadership of the people.

4. This then means something like: "By the grace of God," or as with the Romans: Favente Jov. " Once this step has been taken, the sole ruler and the sole owner is ready to go, and now sits perfectly safe in his center of power, supported by a powerful natural, and even more powerful spiritual necessity.

5. Anyone who has thoroughly gone through all this must finally say: Surely not one atom of this can be criticized, because everything is so closely connected with the first natural-legal records of every human being that one would not dare to split the thinnest thread in order to destroy a happy human society down to its innermost foundations. You can take away anything you want, the defect will soon be visible in the first natural principles of every human being.

6. But if, then, the matter is as such, it follows as clear as sunshine from that, that the Lord of Heaven and the earth, through this ninth commandment, has set up nothing but the complete safeguarding of the particular property for the maintenance of the first principles of natural law. And so there can be no other meaning behind the commandment than what His words signify.

7. For if one wants or is in a position to subject this commandment to any other meaning, then one abrogates the main reason of the first natural-law bourgeois association sanctioned by a supreme being. Ownership, when lifted, necessarily removes the original documents of each person, and no one can collect and make anything more. If he cannot do that, his stomach and his skin go under, and man will be worse off than any animal. With the removal of the literal meaning of this commandment, one takes away in advance every leading chief, and humanity stands in its first wild and chaotic state of nature, sunken beneath the animal kingdom.

8. That's right, my dear friends and brothers. So far we have seen that through the representation of the inner spiritual sense, the external, natural sense in its just external effect has nowhere been violated. We have also seen that through the ignorance of the inner sense, a given commandment is observed with either very great difficulty, not seldom only for a third part, or not at all.

9. But if a commandment is recognized according to the inner senses, then the natural observance results automatically, especially when someone puts a good seed into the soil. Then the fruit-bearing plant will develop out of it, without the human being having to apply any manipulation to it at all.

10. And so it is with this commandment. If it is recognized and observed inwardly, then everything external, which touches on the sense of the letter, is itself of the good Divine order. But if this is not the case, one sticks only to the external senses, then one thereby negates all legitimate documents of man. The rulers become tyrants and the subjects miserly and usurers. The skin of the gentle is stretched over the military drum or the good-natured donkeys of subjects become the malicious tools of the powerful and usurers.

11. The consequences of this are full-scale uprisings, revolutions, state upheavals and destruction, mutual bitterness among peoples, and then protracted bloody wars, famine, pestilence, and death.

12. What, then, is the meaning by whose observation all peoples must find their indestructible temporal and eternal happiness? In short, it is as follows:

13. Respect one another out of true, mutual brotherly love, and do not envy one another, if one would be given more grace by Me, the Creator, because of his greater love. The one who received grace, however, should let the benefits coming from it benefit all his brothers as much as possible, and so you will thereby establish among you an eternal life-bond, which no power will ever be able to destroy!

14. Who does not immediately recognize that in this explanation of the commandment, not a tick of the literal sense is disregarded. And how easy is this commandment, of course, to think about when one observes it spiritually. Because he who respects his brother in his heart, will also pay respect what he collected and produced. The spiritual observation of this commandment avoids all usury and all exaggerated selfishness, but only find its sanctioned representative or advocate only in those adhering only to the literal sense. A little review will put this all in the clearest light.

CHAPTER 90

Blessings of wise limitation

1. In everything, as well as in the commandment, it is by no means stated as sinful or faulty in spirit or nature, for someone to acquire the things collected and made with his hands for his needs; and to such a degree that his neighbor do not have the right to deny him such ownership in whatever way. On the contrary, everyone in it finds only a perfect guarantee of their legally acquired property.

2. But in everything that is said, as in the commandment itself, a wise limitation in the right to gather is offered to everyone. But that the commandment seeks to achieve this in the natural sense, and is meant to be like this even from the Divine order, is most easily visible from the primordial property birthright of every human being. But how? We shall immediately see.

3. How much does the first legal expert in man, the stomach, need according to fair measure? This can certainly be determined by every moderate eater. Suppose a moderate eater needs three pounds of food for the day, which is easily calculated over three hundred and sixty-five days. This is therefore a natural need of a human being. He is allowed to collect this quantity every year. If he has wife and children, he can gather for each person the same quantity, and he has acted completely in accordance with his natural rights. A strong eater, who has to do particularly heavy work, is allowed to collect twice as much.

4. When this is generally observed, the earth will never have to speak of need. For the way the Lord have organized the fertile land area, twelve thousand million people can make an abundant and proper living with proper cultivation and distribution of the land. There are presently hardly any over one thousand million people on earth, and among them there are seven hundred million people living a life of great need.

5. What is the reason for that? Because the very conditions of this Divine law, which is founded in the nature of every human being, are not brought into living practice.

6. Let's go further. How tall a man is, and how much skin he needs to cover, can also be easily measured. But every human being is allowed to obtain a fourfold covering of the skin according to the season. This is the natural standard for the accumulation of the clothing materials and their preparation. But I want to add once again so much to the upper clothing, and four times more to the underwear, and that for the sake of a clean change.

7. If this measure is applied, there will be no naked human on the whole surface of the earth. But if tremendous garment factories are built on earth, which buy the raw materials with enforced shameful prices, then make an innumerable quantity of more luxurious than useful clothes, and sell them mostly at ridiculous prices to paltry humanity, as well as to many affluent ones, then in the course of ten years, especially the women, people are provided with more than a hundred-fold change of garb - thus, natural proportion is utterly disturbed and of a thousand million people at least six hundred million have to walk around naked. Let's go on. How big does a house really need to be to comfortably accommodate a couple of people with family and necessary servants? Go to the countryside and see for yourself, and you will surely come to the realization that a just and comfortable accommodation does not require castles and palaces with a hundred rooms.

8. Anything exceeding such proportions, is against the order of God and therefore against His command.

9. How big must a property be? Take a mediocre producing country. On this, with moderate work, and on a surface area of one thousand square klafter, even with a mediocre yearly harvest, a perfectly sufficient provision for a whole year can be produced. With good soil, half of that is enough, with bad soil, the amount per person can be doubled. The size of land accredited for possession according to natural law, depends on the number of people living in a family house. But we want to be generous to the utmost extent and give twice as much for each person and determine it as being fully approved of God as a natural law. Even if the lands were distributed in this way, more than seven thousand million families on the surface of the earth could also find their fully secured land property.

10. But the present state of affairs on the earth regarding basic distribution is that the land belongs to a few landowners. All the rest of the people are either co-owning, under lease or leased out, and the vast majority of the people on earth do not have a stone to support their heads.

11. Therefore, anyone who possesses more than this given measure, possesses it against the Divine and natural law, and, such a possessor perpetually sins against this commandment. He can redeem this sin only by possessing the greatest possible degree of generosity, and in a manner of speaking only as a guardian, to work his too-large possession for a fair number of homeless people. But how this is foundational to this commandment, we will see in the second point of this reflection.

CHAPTER 91

Sin against the Divine order of the ninth commandment

1. Secondly, this commandment itself expresses the wise limitation of the right to collect and produce quite obviously and palpably. If we place the relative primordial property from the first point of observation adjacent to it, the ninth commandment points precisely to this by expressly forbidding to have a desire for what is the other's.

2. So what is the other? The other is that the Lord have created just as much ground on the earth for the sole maintenance of man as there is given to him by his measure of natural law, derived from his needs. Anyone who collects and manufactures more than this measure, in fact, even in the first degree, sins against this commandment, for in this commandment even the yearning desire is already shown to be criminal.

3. In the second degree, the lazy sins against this commandment, who is too lazy to exercise his original right of collecting, but only with the desire to gain possession of what another constitutionally collected and manufactured.

4. We see from this that one can thus make oneself guilty against this commandment in a twofold manner, namely firstly, by an exaggerated want of collecting and processing, and secondly, by omitting it altogether. For both cases, however, the command is the same as the wise restriction. In the first case, it restricts exaggerated collecting and processing greed; in the second case laziness, with the intention of finding the just middle road; because it expresses nothing else than the respect united with love for the natural needs of the neighbor.

5. But one can oppose here and say that there are presently many rich and wealthy people who, with all their wealth and riches, do not possess a square foot of country property. They have come into a wealth of money through lucky trading speculation or inheritance and now live on their legal interest. What to do about these? Is their property according to the Divine right of natural law or not? For by their possession of money they do not restrict human property by refusing to buy anything anywhere, but they lend their money to good places against the legal interest; or they make other permissible exchange transactions and thereby increase their capital share by many thousands of guilders annually, where they do not need the hundredth part of their annual income for their good food, according to the right of natural need. But they are not uncommonly very just, sometimes even charitable people. Do these too, fail against our ninth commandment?

6. I say here: It does not matter, whatever it is, for a person to possess beyond his need, or to have too much money or too much land. It is all the same. For if I have so much money that I can buy myself a few square miles of land as estate property, that is just as much as if I had really made so much land for this money. On the contrary, it is even worse and much more contrary to Divine order. For whoever possessed so much land property, would necessarily have to be able to provide a living for a few thousand people, since he personally would not be able to handle such a large land property.

7. But consider a man who does not have property, but so much money that he could almost buy a kingdom with it. He can manage this money profitably only in the strictest case, or he needs at the most some accounting assistants, who will receive from him, in comparison with his income, a very moderate salary, often hardly enough to satisfy their needs, especially if they have a family.

8. But no such money-owner can excuse himself with the way he has made the money, whether by speculation, by winning a lottery, or by inheritance. In any case, he stands before God like a receiver next to a thieve. How, you may ask?

9. What does becoming rich through lucky speculation means? That is, and means, nothing other than acquiring for himself the legitimate merit of many usuriously, thereby depriving many of the legitimate merit and appropriating it for himself. In this case, a man who has become rich through lucky speculation, is a barbarous thief. In lottery winnings, he is the same, because he acquires what is to be used by many, for himself. In the case of an inheritance, however, he is a stooge who also takes possession of the unlawful property of his ancestors, who could only claim it by the two aforementioned ways.

CHAPTER 92

Usury, the most damnable before God

1. But one will say: This provision sounds strange; For what can the heir have for inheriting the property of either his parents or other wealthy relatives? Should he, in such a transfer, calculate the natural portion, take from the heir only as much as that portion, and then give the other part to whom? Or should he accept all this fortune, but accept only the part of nature which he deserves as his property, or manage the great surplus himself to support lazy idlers, or perhaps surrender such surplus to charity organizations, or the directors of charitable institutions?

2. This question is only worth a monosyllabic answer. Are the Divine law and the law of the state, or the Divine wisdom and care, and the secular state politics and so-called diplomacy, one and the same? What does the Lord say? He says: "Everything that is great in the world is an abomination before God!

3. But what is greater in the world than an usurped state power, which, viewed from the Divine side, never submits to the Divine counsel, but only to its secular state wisdom, which consists in politics and diplomacy; and uses their powers for their own exploitative and consumptive welfare?

4. But if it is abominable and disgraceful if any man deceives only one, two or three of his brothers, how much more abominable before God it must be when men know how to crown and anoint a man with all their might, and then under such coronation anointing, deceive entire peoples in all imaginable ways to their own revelry advantages, either by the so-called state wisdom, or, should it not do, then with cruel open force!

5. I think that from this little sentence, one can almost grasp the extent to which the rights of most of the present states handle their affairs counter to the Divine. I also think that when the Lord said to the rich youth: "Sell all your goods and distribute them among the poor, then follow Me, and you will prepare for yourself a treasure in heaven", hopefully this statement will suffice to learn what kind of distribution the earthly rich man, if he wants to reap the kingdom of God, should do with his wealth. If he does not do that, then he must ascribe it to himself when the same verdict which the Lord has pronounced over the young man who has become sad: that a camel would be able to get through the eye of a needle easier than would a rich man into the kingdom of heaven! Of course, the circumstance must be taken into account that the Lord here has pronounced such a highly regrettable judgment over a young man, who was also certainly an heir.

6. One might well ask: Why did "a rich young man" have to appear here, and why should not some old speculator have appeared before whom the Lord had made known His eternal displeasure with all earthly wealth? The answer is very close: the young man was not yet a diehard wealth manager, but he was still at the point where such a youth usually does not properly appreciate the earthly wealth yet. For just this reason he could at least approach the Lord for a short time in order to hear from him the right direction and the right use of his wealth. It is only when he realizes the Divine will, that he then falls away from the Lord and returns home to his riches.

7. So the youth had this privilege, as a youth who was not yet liable, to approach the Lord. But the already inveterate, old-aged rich landlord, speculator and usurer, stand as camels behind the eye of a needle, through which they would have to squeeze in order to reach the youth like the young man. So it is no longer granted to such a rich and given, like unto the young man, to meet the Lord. For these however, the Lord has unfortunately cited another very important example in the story of the "rich glutton." I do not need to tell you more.

8. But whoever of you can think only a little, will with the greatest ease find out that no human vice is as contemptible to the Lord of heaven and all worlds as wealth acquired through usury and its usual consequences. For no other vices do we see the Lord of life and death very clearly opening up the abyss of hell as with this one.

9. Be it manslaughter, adultery, harlotry and the like, in all this, no one on earth has seen the Lord condemning him to hell. But this sin of usury, He has punished with word and deed in the most urgent manner, both with the priesthood and with every other privileged classes!

10. Who can prove to the Lord, in the face of all other human offenses, that He has raised His almighty hand over such a sinner? But the money-changers, pigeon-merchants, and such kind of speculators, had to submit to being beaten and chastised with a tortuous rope from the temple by the omnipotent hand of the Lord Himself!

11. But do you know what that means? This true evangelical endeavor will say no more and no less than that the Lord in heaven and of all worlds is the greatest sworn enemy of this vice. In every other, His Divine love speaks of patience, forbearance, but over this vice, He pronounces His anger and wrath!

12. For here he hinders entrance to Him through the well-known eye of the needle, evidently opens up the abyss of hell, and shows in it a truly damned one, speaks up frightfully against the rule-hungry and greedy Pharisees, clearly showing them how fornicators, adulterers, thieves and other sinners are more likely to enter the kingdom of God than they.

13. Finally, He even takes a chastening weapon in the temple and ruthlessly drives out all the speculators of any kind and calls them murderers of the Divine kingdom, turning the temple, which represents the Divine kingdom, into a dungeon of murder.

14. We could cite several such examples from all those who could be inferred that the Lord is the supreme enemy of this vice. But for whoever is able to think reasonably, this will be enough. On this very occasion we may take a brief look at our ninth commandment, and we shall see from this view that the Lord has not limited the desire in any other human relation, nor in any other self-forbidden opportunity and activity, as in the case of this most detestable opportunistic usury.

15. Everywhere He expressly forbids only the activity, but here already the desire, because the danger which arises therefrom for the spirit is too great. It totally withdraws the spirit from God and turns him completely to hell. You can also see this from the fact that every other sinner feels repentance for a sinful deed, while the rich speculator celebrates and triumphs over a happy successful speculation!

16. This is the true triumph of hell, and the prince of hell, therefore, seeks by preference to foster in mankind in every possible way, love for the wealth of the world, because he knows that they are filled with this love, are most repugnant unto the Lord and that they receive the least mercy! - I do not need to tell you more about that.

17. For everyone who will heed these words deeply, because they are the eternal irrefutable Divine truth! And you can know it to be true and believe it, because not one syllable in it is too much, rather you can assume that there is far too little said. But everyone should remember this: the Lord will employ every possible means at every possible occasion, before he will let anyone perish, but against this vice, He will do nothing except open the abyss of hell, as He have said it in the gospel. All this is certain and true, and through this, we have come to know the true meaning of this commandment. And I say once more: Let everybody take what is said here to heart! - And now nothing more. Here is the tenth room, and so we enter it!

CHAPTER 93

The tenth commandment in the tenth hall in the kingdom of the children

1. We are in it and see on the tablet written in clear font: "Thou shalt not covet thy neighbor's wife!"

2. It hardly needs to be mentioned that this commandment here in the pure realm of the spirit, and especially in the realm of children, surely sounds a bit strange to every thinker. For the moment, these children do not know in the least what a married woman is, for instance, and secondly is marriage between the sexes absolutely not the norm or the way at all, especially in the realm of the children. In the kingdom of spirits does this commandment appear to have, according to this consideration, no application.

3. But it will be said: Why would the Lord not have given one out of ten commandments which corresponds only to earthly conditions? For on earth, the connection between man and woman is customary and is therefore an old-established relationship based on the Divine order, which without a commandment, cannot remain in the Divine order. So one can assume here that among the ten commandments, the Lord has given one merely for the maintenance of the order of an external, earthly relationship, so that by maintaining this order, a spiritual, inner, superior order is not disturbed.

4. Well, if that is so, then I say: this commandment is then nothing but a highly superfluous repetition of the sixth commandment, which in any case is quite the same. For even here, in its complete course, everything is represented as forbidden, which has only some relation to fornication, whoring, and adultery, both in the physical, and especially in the spiritual sense.

5. If we weigh this a little against each other, it follows that this commandment is not good for heaven, and that it is a superfluous addition to the sixth commandment.

6. But I already see someone saying: Ha! Dear friend, you are mistaken. This commandment, forbidding the very thing that is forbidden in and of itself, which is prohibited in the sixth commandment, is nevertheless quite peculiar to itself and higher and deeper than the sixth commandment. In the sixth commandment, evidently, only the real gross act is forbidden, but in this tenth, the desire, and the desire as the all-time root-cause for action. For one often see that especially young husbands usually have beautiful young wives. How easy it is for another man to forget his wife, who may not be beautiful, and to gape at the beautiful wife of his neighbor, awakening an ever-greater urge and an ever greater desire for his neighbor's wife, and commit adultery with her.

7. Well, I say, looking at this commandment from this point of view, there are no more than a half-legion of ridiculous and foolish things, by which the Divine nature of such a sublime commandment gets dragged through the filthiest dust and the most stinking sludge of the worldly wits and minds of the people. For the sake of example and explanation, we will, of course, cite some ridiculousness, so that it will be clear to everyone how shallow and external this commandment was understood, explained, and acted upon, for over eight centuries.

8. A man should therefore have no desire for the wife of his neighbor. Here it can be asked: What kind of longing or desire? Because there are a lot of honest and well-tolerated longings and desires that a neighbor can address to the wife of his neighbor. But in the commandment it is absolutely necessary to have "no desire". As a result, only the two neighbors may be in conversation with each other, but each other's women should always be looked upon with contempt. This is no more and no less than an almost Turkish conception of this Mosaic commandment.

9. Further, if one considers the matter literally and materially, surely one must literally take everything literally, and not take a few words literally and a few words spiritually; which would be just the same as if someone would wear a pair of trousers with on one leg black and the other a very subtle transparent white leg. Or, as if to claim that a tree had to grow such that half of its trunk would appear with bark and the other with no bark. According to this consideration, the tenth commandment prohibits only the desire for the wife of the "neighbor". Who can that be in the literal sense? Nobody else but either the nearest neighbors or close blood relatives. Literally, therefore, one should have no desire only for the wives of these two neighbors; the wives of distant inhabitants of a district, and especially the wives of foreigners, who are certainly no neighbors, could be demanded without further ado. For such a person will understand without mathematics and geometry that in comparison to the nearest neighbor, one living a few hours away, or even a foreigner, cannot be reckoned for a neighbor or a close relative. See, that too is Turkish, because they hold this commandment only towards Turks, towards foreign nations, they have no law. - Let's proceed.

10. I ask: is the wife of my neighbor exempt from this attitude of the Divine law? For the law only states that a man should have no desire for the wife of his neighbor. But there is no syllable of the commandment that a randy woman should have no desire for her nearest neighbor. In this way, the women is evidently given a privilege to seduce the men they see without hesitation. And who will forbid them to do such a thing, since there is no commandment from the Lord in this case? That, too, is from Turkish philosophy; for the Turks know from the literal sense of the Bible that the women are free from such laws. Therefore, they lock them up so they cannot go outside and make other men lust after them. If a Turk permits a walkabout to one of his wives, she must make her appearance so unflattering, that she would even inspire respect in a bear. She is only allowed to show her charm in front of her husband. Who can raise an objection against it, as if such could not be recognized from the literal sense of this commandment? Obviously, this ridiculousness has its undeniable cause in the commandment itself. But let's go on.

11. Cannot the nearest neighbors have grown-up daughters or other pretty maids? According to the tenth commandment, is it lawful or not to have desire for the neighbor's daughters or other girls, even as a husband? Apparently, such is permitted, for in the sixth commandment, there is no talk of desire, but only of the act. But the tenth commandment only forbids the desire for the wife, so the desire for the daughters and any other pretty girls of the neighbor is permitted without argument. - Look; Here again we have a Turkish interpretation of the law. But in order to make the matter clear as daylight we want to cite a few such ridiculous things.

CHAPTER 94

Who is the 'you' in the tenth commandment?

1. The law says: "Thou shalt not desire thy neighbor's wife." - Is not it possible to ask: Who is actually "you"? Is he a married man, a widower, an unmarried young man, a youth, or is it also a woman to whom one can also say: Thou shalt not do this or that? It will be said here that this is primarily intended for the male sex, regardless of whether single or married, and that women may incidentally also be included and should not have the right to entice and desire other men, all of that is self-evident.

2. But I say however: If men are even able to determine their statutes, and in their very statutes they make fine and clever dispositions for every possible case, then one cannot blame the Lord as if He had given inconclusive laws out of ignorance, or, like a cunning lawyer, He would have put his laws on paper as such that people would inevitably have to sin one way or the other.

3. I think that to come to such a conclusion at the closer consideration of this seemingly indefinite law, would be a bit gross. It is therefore much more feasible to conclude that this law, like all others, is a most definite one. It has been so distorted and misinterpreted over time, and especially in the period of the hierarchy that has arisen, that by now, no man knows the actual, true meaning of this law. And all that happened because of sheer greed. In the true sense of the word, this law would never have given a penny to the priesthood, but in its covert sense, it gave rise to all sorts of taxed mediations, dispensing, and divorces; and of course in the earlier days, far more than now. For then it was the case that two or more neighbors could not protect themselves against the transgression of this law. How come?

4. Of course, they had to conscientiously confess several times a year, out of great fear of hell. Then they were diligently examined on this point, and even in the case of if some neighbor would give a beautiful young woman at the side of a neighbor even a thought, a glance, or even a conversation, it was explained to be an adulterous sin against this commandment, which was usually accompanied with a sacrificial penalty. If the approach was a little closer, condemnation was complete, and the one who had sunk down to Hell on the pair of balances of St. Michael had to throw very important sacrifices into the other empty scale, so that it would tip over again and pull the poor condemned sinner fortunately out of hell again. The priests who held the power of God are not among those who demand much, but they rather want everything in earnest!

5. In this way, many very wealthy knights and counts once had to bite the bullet and, on top of that, as a remission from hell, bequeath their goods to the church. Their unfortunate wives were taken into a convent as atonement for the punishment of her unfaithful husband. Also the possible children, both male and female, were then usually divided into such monasteries where one must possess no earthly riches.

6. I think that this should be enough to see all the really nasty things that came out of the distortion of this law. The indeterminate "you" of the law was the primary source of dispensing, which usually incorporated the most. If someone had made a great sacrifice, you could modify the "you", so that the sinner at least would not go to hell. On the contrary, however, this "you" could also be so damnably determined, by the presumed power of 'binding and loosing', that only very significant sacrifices could help the sinner in salvation from hell.

7. We have now seen to what aberrations the indefinite "you" gave opportunity. But let us not content ourselves with this, but consider some such ridiculous interpretations, so that it becomes all the clearer to everyone how necessary the acquaintance with the pure meaning of the law is, without which one can never become free, but must remain slavishly under the curse of the law! - And so we proceed!

CHAPTER 95

Examples of wrong views of the tenth commandment

1. As the law says, we know that it prohibits a desire or longing. But now it comes to mind: some man is impoverished while his neighbor is a rich man. The wife of the neighbor, as the neighbor of our poor man, has, as he knows, a compassionate and benevolent heart. Our poor man evidently gets a longing for the benevolent wife of his neighbor, and desires to silence his hunger. Question, did he sin or not? He obviously had a desire and longing for the wife of his neighbor. But since it says: Thou shalt have no desire for the wife of thy neighbor, who can justifiably declare this reasonable desire of the poor as sinful? For under "no desire, no longing," surely every desire and every longing must be forbidden, since in the word "none" there allows no exception whatsoever. So, therefore, a desire of whatever kind must be forbidden.

2. Does not this make it seem as if the Lord thereby wished to divert the female sex from charity, according to which, then, every good deed that a housewife gives to a poor man, is to be regarded as a sin which completely runs counter to the Divine command?

3. But is it possible to think of such an absurd command coming from the supreme love of the Lord? It could be said here, of course, that the commandment is limited only to carnal, sensual desire. But I say: It is good, so if it should be thus, then just allow me to make some remarks. If these remarks kill the "should be thus", then every one of us must be content to take another course in determining this commandment. And so you hear the remarks.

4. The commandment should therefore only prohibit a sensual carnal desire. Good, I say, but ask: Is there a certain woman in the command, or are all the women included in the commandment, or are there certain natural exceptions?

5. Suppose several neighbors have old, no longer attractive women. We can be assured that these neighbors no longer have a carnal desire for both their wives. Accordingly, only the young women should be understood, and only if they are beautiful and charming. Surely even men who are old and full of days, will not be much tortured by carnal sensual desires towards whatever women of their neighbors.

6. From this, however, we see that this law is valid only under certain conditions. So the law has gaps and thus has no general validity. For where nature already makes exceptions and a law does not even have the full natural validity, how should it extend to the spiritual? If you cannot understand this, just break off a tree and see if it will then grow and bear fruit.

7. But a Divine law must surely be so constituted that its blissful validity is "lawful" for all eternity. If, however, in the course of the short earthly existence, it is naturally pushed beyond the applicable limits, and thus already ceases to be active in the natural state of man, what shall it then be for eternity? Is not every law of God founded in His infinite love? But what is it afterwards, when such a law is made invalid? Is this something different from what one might claim that Divine love, under certain circumstances, also ceases to be valid for man?

8. But this is also the basis of the sad faith of your pagan-Christian side, according to which the love of God lasts only as long as man lives in this world. Once he has died in his body and merely exists there in soul and spirit, the immutable, terribly strict, punitive angry righteousness of God takes immediate effect, in which there is no talk of everlasting love and mercy.

9. If man, through his way of life, deserves heaven, he will not go to heaven because of the Divine love, but only according to the Divine justice, of course, through his own good and pleasing mercy. But if man has not lived thus, eternal damnation is present immediately, from which salvation is never to be expected. In other words, man say that there is some stupid Father who has set up a law in His household against His children, which means:

10. I give complete freedom to all my children from birth until their seventh year. During this time you should enjoy all my love without distinction. After the seventh year, however, I withdraw my love from all the children and from then on I either want to judge you or make you happy. Those who, as minor children, have kept my heavy laws, from the seventh year onwards shall enjoy their highest pleasure. But those who, in the course of the seven years, have not completely improved one atom according to my great law, from now on are to be forever cursed and rejected from my, the father's, house. - Say, what would you say to such a cruel donkey of a father? Would not that be more than the most shameful tyranny of all tyrants?

11. But if you were to find such a man indescribably foolish, bad, and evil, how horribly nonsensical must those men be who can ascribe even far worse things to God, who is the Supreme Love and Wisdom Himself!

12. What did the Lord do on the cross as the sole Divine Wisdom, since, by manner of speech, He was as if separated from the eternal Love? He, as Wisdom, and as such the foundation of all righteousness, turned Himself to the Father or the eternal Love, not calling for just vengeance, but He implores Love to forgive all these abusers, including the high priests and Pharisees their deeds, for they did not know what they were doing!

13. So this is what Divine justice does for itself. Should the infinite Divine Love then begin to condemn where the Divine justice implores the still infinitely more merciful Love for mercy?

14. If one does not accept that the Lord was really serious in His request, and says that He has only done so as an example, does one not then make of the Lord a hypocrite, by only seeming make Him ask for forgiveness on the cross, but secretly man see in Him the irrepressible revenge, according to which He has long condemned all these evildoers to the most intense hellish fire?

15. O world! O people! O most terrible nonsense that could ever be conceived in all infinity and eternity! Is it possible to think of something more shameful than to make the Lord on the cross a liar, a false preacher, a traitor, and thus a universal con artist, for the false, though temporally lucrative, justification of hell? From whose mouth as alone from that of the arch-satan can such doctrine and words come?

16. I think it is enough here, too, to bring you to the realization of what abominations may come from a very wrong interpretation and exegesis of a Divine law. That it is all the same with you in the world, you can already grasp with your own hands. But why it is so, for what reason, you did not know and could not know; for this law's knot was too confused, and no one could ever fully loosen this knot.

17. Therefore, the Lord had mercy on you, and let you in the sun, since it is certainly light enough, announces to you the true solution of this knot, so that you may have insight into the general cause of all evil and darkness.

18. It will of course be said: Yes, how can so much evil depends on the misunderstanding of the Ten Commandments of Moses?

19. I think: Because these ten commandments are given by God and carry in themselves the whole infinite order of God Himself.

20. Therefore, whoever would step out of the Divine order in one point or another, no longer remains in the Divine because it is equal to a straight path. If somebody deviates from this path, can he say: I have deviated only a quarter, fifth, seventh or tenth of the way? Certainly not. For as he leaves the path in the least, he has already departed from the whole way. If he does not wish to return, it will certainly be possible to assert that the single point on the way, where the wanderer deviated from it, had removed the wanderer from the whole way.

21. And so it is with every single part of the Divine law. It will not be easy to find someone who would have terribly sinned against every law, as this almost impossible. But it is enough if someone would sin at a point and then insist. He thus departs from the whole law, and if he does not want it and the Lord does not want to help him, he would never return to the way of the law or the Divine order. And so you may also be assured that most of the evils of the world unfortunately probably originate from selfish and malicious misunderstanding, or rather from the malicious distortion of the meaning of these last two Divine commandments.

22. But we have now also sufficiently revealed the ridiculousness and false interpretations of this commandment; Therefore, let us proceed to the right meaning of this law, in which light you will all see these foolish things incomparably brighter enlightened.

CHAPTER 96

Reason for concealment of the actual meaning of the tenth commandment

1. Here are some who have read the preceding saying: We are seriously curious about what this commandment has for a proper permanent purpose, since every sense we have previously attached to this commandment has irrevocably been drawn into the absurdly ridiculous as it was presented. We seriously would like to know who is the "you", and also, the wife? For out of this commandment, nothing can be established with certainty. "You" may well be anyone, but whether a woman can be understood by that is still uncertain. At best, the neighbor could be more closely defined, especially if one takes that word in a broader sense, whereby then anyone who needs our help is our neighbor. But the wife is causing the greatest dilemma; because one does not know if a married woman or a single person of the female gender is to be understood. Of course, it is written as singular and not the multiple; but that does not make the matter any more specific. For if one accepts polygamy in any part of the world, then obviously the simple number would have a new catch. For all this, we are all the more curious about the true meaning of this commandment, in that the literal sense is everywhere wholly inconsistent.

2. And I say: So it is certain and clear that with the assumption of the pure external sense of the letter, only the greatest nonsense can be represented, but never any established truth.

3. It will of course be said here: Yes, why did not the Lord immediately give the law so that it would not be obscure for everyone, but appear quite open in the sense it actually exists and how it can be observed in that very sense?

4. This objection, at first sounds rather wise; but considered in the light, it is so stupid that one cannot easily imagine something more stupid. But for all to easily see the extraordinary absurdity of this objection, as if one would stand only a few miles away from the sun, and then suddenly see it up close - or like one who cannot see the forest for the trees, so I will make some natural, very brief observations for this occasion.

5. Let us suppose that a so-called naturalist and botanist would like to ask for the convenience of his investigation: Why did not the creative power of the highest Creator create the trees and plants in such a way that the inner core is outside and the bark inside? It would be easy to observe the rising of the juice into the branches and twigs and their reactions and other effects with a microscope? For it cannot have been the intention of the Creator to put the thinking man on earth in such a position that he should never penetrate into the mystery of the miraculous effects of nature. - What do you say to this desire? Is not it extremely stupid?

6. Suppose, however, that the Lord could be bribed by such a request and thus turn the trees and the plants inside out - will not other naturalists come in immediately and say: What good is the consideration of the external core, if we cannot discover the wonderful formation of the inner bark? What follows from this? The Lord would have to submit Himself again now and fix the bark and the core on the outside of the tree in an incomprehensible way. Suppose, however, that the Lord had really done so and the interior of the tree consists now only of wood. Will not another naturalist at once announce a new need and say: Because the bark on the one side and the core on the other, all the wonderful formation of the wood is now concealed. Could not a tree be designed so that everything, core, wood and bark were exposed or at least be as transparent as the air?

7. Whether one can make a tree with all of its countless many necessary organs as transparent as air or at least as pure as water is what opticians and mathematicians should decide. By the way, whether any fruit will grow on perfectly airy trees, may be experienced in the regions of the North Pole or South Pole. For there are sometimes such phenomena that, as in the winter, crystalline ice-trees burst open on the glass windows in the way you do in the winter, but there, in the air. Whether figs and dates appear on these trees, has not yet been determined.

8. With regard to the trees, where everything, core, wood, and bark, should be exposed, you can be perfectly assured that it would be just as easy to make a square ball as such a tree. I think that by this consideration, the stupidity of the above objection should be as clear as the sun before the eyes. But to make the matter, as usual, really excessive, let's add a few more considerations.

9. Let us suppose that when a doctor who has to study a great deal, and has already swallowed a whole heavy cart full of erudition like a polyp, is called to a dreadfully ill patient, he is often at the sickbed, like a pair of newly-tethered oxen on a steep mountain. The doctor is asked by the bystanders: How do you find the patient, what is wrong with him? Will he be able to help?

10. At these questions, the doctor makes a scholarly, but still very questionable embarrassed face and says: My dears! Nothing can yet be determined; I must first proof the illness with a medicine. If there are any reactions, I'll know what to think about it. But if no reactions occur here, then you must realize for yourself that someone cannot look into our bodies to find out the location of the disease and its condition.

11. But somebody says somewhat laconically: Mister Doctor, our Lord God would have done better if He had created man like the carpenter does a cabinet that you can unlock and see what is inside. Or the Creator should have placed the more delicate parts, which can be so difficult to reach by means of the fingers, ears, eyes, and nose outside, so that this part can be easily helped with a plaster, an ointment, or with a bandage. But it would be best if He had either created man transparent as the water or He should not have made him with such life-endangering parts, but should have made him overall more like a stone.

12. The doctor wrinkles his nose a little, but still speaks: Yes, my dear friend, that would be good and better, but it is not the way you just expressed your wish. So we have to be content with it, if we are only able to depend on experience regarding the inner state of health and illness of a person by means of experience. For if man were also to open like a box, it would be much more perilous for every human being than it is, because only one little awkward grasp on the inside could instantly take a life. And if one were also able to inspect the entrails through such an opening, that would be of little use. The intestines and their fine organs would have to remain closed since all vital juices and every life activity would cease at the opening of the organ. But as far as the external positioning of the internal parts of the body is concerned, my dear, that would give the human form a most unattractive sight. And if the human being were completely transparent, each would be frightened of the other, for he would simultaneously see the skin-man, the muscular man, the vascular man, the nerve-man, and finally the bone-man. That such a sight would not be inviting, you can imagine for yourself.

13. I think that in this consideration, the foolishness of the above objection will be more obvious to you.

14. But there is someone else who speaks: It is, of course, absurd to think of natural, material things, that their internal things should at the same time make up their appearance. But the word in itself is neither a tree, nor an animal, nor a human, but it is in and of itself spiritual, in that it bears nothing material in itself. Why should it be like a tree or humans, or any incomprehensible inner meaning? Or how should this be possible considering the already extraordinary simplicity and flatness of the word?

15. Well, I say, let's take the word "father". What does it mean? Is the word already the father himself, or does the word signify a truly essential father, of whom this word is merely an external feature type? It will be said: Obviously here the word is not the father himself, but only an external designation of it. Well, but then I ask: What then must one understand under the word, so that one recognizes this word as an external, correctly identifying type? Answer: The word must be a man of an appropriate age, married, having produced living children with his wife, and then truly caring for them physically and spiritually.

16. Who can deny in the least that this rather stretched and exceedingly essential meaning must be contained in the simple word "father," without which this word would not be a word?

17. But even if in external relations every simple word must permit a more inward explanation and dissection, how much more must each external word have an internal spiritual sense, for everything which is signified by external words, has in itself an inward spiritual power and activity. A father certainly has a soul and spirit. Will the word properly describes the term "father" if it excludes the soul and the spirit? Certainly not, for the essential Father consists of body, soul and spirit, that is to say, something external, internal and deep internal. If, then, the essential Father is thus alive, then must not the word indicating the father, just as perfectly reflect as in a mirror in the Word, the Father in its essence?

18. I think that a necessary inner sense of the word cannot be represented more completely and clearly. From this, however, it can also be seen that the Lord, if He manifests His will in the world, cannot announce it to external people according to His Eternal Divine order, except only through external, pictorial representations, which then is obviously supported by an internal one and an innermost sense. Through this, then, the whole man is supplied with Divine love from his inward to his utmost.

19. But now that we have more than demonstrated the necessity and the certainty of such an institution, it will be an easy matter to find the inner, true meaning of our law almost by itself; and as it is portrayed by me, at least to recognize the incontrovertible, the only true and universal. - And so we go straight to such a presentation!

CHAPTER 97

The inner, self-evident meaning of the tenth commandment

1. The law therefore reads, as we already know it by heart: "Thou shalt not covet thy neighbor's wife," or: Thou shalt have no desire for thy neighbor's wife, which is one and the same thing. - Who is "the woman" and who is the "neighbor"?

2. The woman is the love of every man, and the neighbor is every man with whom I come into contact wherever, who is possibly in need of my help. If we know that, we basically know everything.

3. What does the commandment therefore say? Nothing other than: Every human being should not demand the love of his neighbor for his own good; for self-love is in and of itself nothing else than to attract the love of the other for one's own enjoyment, but not having one spark of love to give back to him.

4. This is then the law in its spiritual sense. But one says:

5. Here it is evidently reproduced in the sense of the letter, which one might have pronounced in the beginning just as well as now, whereby many aberrations would have been prevented. - But I say: That's correct, though. If one splits a tree in the middle, the core also comes out, and one can look at it just as easily as you could the bark before.

6. The Lord, however, has diligently veiled the inner sense in an outer, natural picture, so that this sacred, inward, living sense should not be attacked and destroyed by any malevolent man, whereby then all the heavens and worlds could be brought to the greatest harm. For this reason, the Lord also said: "Before the great and mighty wise men of the world, it shall remain hidden, and be revealed only to the small, the weak, and the underaged.

7. This principle is already prevalent in the things of nature. Suppose that the Lord created the trees so that their core and their main organs of life would be at the outside of the trunk? Say you yourselves, how many dangers would a tree be exposed to, every second?

8. You know, if you deliberately or wantonly pierce a tree's inner core, it's done with the tree. If any evil worm gnaws through the main trunk root, which is in close contact with the core of the tree, the tree dies. Who is not familiar with the malicious so-called "bark beetle"? What does he do to the trees? He gnaws first on the wood and eats here and there into the main organs of the tree and the tree dies. If, in this already well-guarded manner, the tree is still exposed to so many dangers of life, to what extent would he be exposed if his essential life-organs would be at the outside of the trunk?

9. See, it is just the same and unspeakably worse with the word of the Lord. If the inner meaning would be exposed at the outset, then there would have been already for a long time no religion among men. They would have gnawed and clawed at this inner, holy meaning of their lives as if on the outer bark of the tree of life. The inner holy city of God would have been a long time ago so thoroughly destroyed that no stone would have remained on the other, as they did with the old Jerusalem, and as they did it with the outer words, which only exist in the literal sense.

10. For the word of God in its outward, literal sense as you have it in the Holy Scriptures before you, is so very much different from the original text, as today's most wretched city of Jerusalem is different from the ancient cosmopolitan city of Jerusalem.

11. All this displacement and fragmentation, and also abbreviation only in the external sense of the letter, is not detrimental to the inner sense, because the Lord, through His wise providence, has created His order since eternity as such, that one and the same spiritual truth would stay preserved undamaged among a great variety of external images.

12. But the case would be quite different if the Lord had at once given the naked inner spiritual truth without a protective outer covering. They would have destroyed this holy, living truth and destroyed it at their discretion, and it would have been done with all life.

13. But because the inner sense is so obscured that the world can never possibly find it, life remains secure, even though its outer garment is torn into pieces. And so, of course, the inner sense of the word sounds when it is revealed, as if it were equal to the external sense of the word, and can also be expressed by articulated sounds or words. But that does not confuse the issue in the least. For this reason, the inner, living, spiritual sense nevertheless remains, and is recognizable in that it embraces the whole Divine order, while the picture containing it, expresses only a special relationship which, as we have seen, can never have one general meaning.

14. But just as the commandment just described in the picture, is but an external envelope, and how the inner sense now announced to you is a truly inner, spiritual, and living one, I would like to clearly explain to you with a small reflection.

15. The outer pictorial commandment is known; inwardly it says: Have no desire for the love of your brother or sister!

16. Why is this content and vital commandment here wrapped in the image of the not to be desired woman?

17. On this occasion, I only call your attention to a saying of the Lord Himself, in which He expresses Himself about the love of man for a woman, since He speaks: "So a son will leave his father and his mother and cleave to his wife".

18. What does the Lord mean by this? Nothing else than man's most powerful love in this world is that for his wife. For what does man in his order love more in the world than his dear, good, honest wife? In the woman, therefore, the whole love of the man is contained, just as, conversely, the woman in her order certainly loves nothing more powerfully than the man who corresponds to her heart.

19. Thus, in this commandment, under the image of the woman, the whole love of the man or of man is in general set, because the woman is in earnest nothing but an outer, tender covering of the love of the man.

20. Who can escape the explanation that under the picture, "Thou shalt not covet thy neighbor’s wife", as much is said as: you shall not demand to your own advantage the love of your neighbor, and all other loves, because the world as wife also includes the whole love of man in itself.

21. If you would consider it with more detail, you will even grasp it with your hands, that all the outer, known vagueness of the external pictorial law are nothing but pure inner general determinations. How, we shall soon see.

22. See, the "you" is indefinite. Why? Because in the internal sense, "everyone" is understood, regardless of male or female gender. Likewise, the woman is indefinite, for it is not said whether an old or a young, whether one or more, whether a girl or a widow. Why then indefinite? Because the love of man is only one, and is neither an old nor a young woman, nor a widow, nor a single girl, but she, as love, is singular in each man. For this, the neighbor should have no desire, because it is each person's own life. Anyone who has an arrogant, envious, or avaricious desire for this love, is as a murderer of his neighbor, seeking to seize upon his life or love to his advantage. So the neighbor is indefinite too. Why? Because in the spiritual sense, "everyone" is understood, without distinction of gender.

23. I think it should be quite clear to you that the inner sense that I have shown you is the only right one, for it encompasses everything.

24. There may be some who, boasting from their lunar quarter-light, may object and say, If this is the case, then it is not a sin for anyone to tempt or long after their neighbor's wife or daughter. I say: Oh, my dear friend! With this assumption, you have strongly lost your way into the blue. Under the fact that you should not desire the love of your neighbor, and indeed all his love, is not understood among "all that he carries as a life duty" in his heart? Behold, therefore, not only the wife and the daughters of your neighbor in the commandment are deprived of your desire, but everything that is embraced by your brother's love.

25. For this reason, the two last commandments were initially given as one commandment. They are only distinguished by the fact that in the ninth commandment, the love of the neighbor is more singularly to be respected, but in the tenth commandment the very same is given in the most inward sense, representing the observation of respect in general terms.

26. That therefore also the desire of the wife and the daughters of the neighbor is forbidden, surely every man can reach with his hands. It is the same than if you give someone a whole ox, you also give its extremities - the tail, horns, ears, feet and so on. Or if the Lord would give a world to someone, then he will give him everything that is on the same and not say: Only the inside of the world is yours, but the surface is Mine.

27. I think the matter cannot be made clearer to the understanding of man. We have now fully acquainted ourselves with the inner, true meaning of this commandment, as it is eternally valid in all the heavens and conditions the bliss of all angels, and we have met every possible objection. So we're done with that and want to go straight to the eleventh illuminated hall in front of us. There we shall find everything that has been said so far in the clearest light, summarized and confirmed in one point. - So we enter!

CHAPTER 98

The Eleventh Commandment in the Eleventh Hall - The Love unto God

1. We are already in this hall, and here in the middle of the hall, we also see a round tablet on a large, white, shiny pillar. It shines like the sun, and in its center is written in ruby-red writing:

2. You shall love God your Lord above all, with all your mind and with all your life forces bestowed you by God.

3. In addition to this meaning-laden, beautiful solar tablet, we see, more than the usual number than in the other halls, of already grown children who, as you may notice, soon look at the table, then talk with their teachers again, and then soon become absorbed in themselves, their hands crosswise over their chests, standing like statues. The whole scene already implies that this is something extraordinarily important.

4. Some may perhaps ask and say: Such would probably be expected. But if one looks at the matter in the correct light, then this commandment written on the solar tablet will say nothing other than what all the previous commandments have basically said together. Why, then, does this tablet here have to shine, while all the preceding ten tablets were simply white and, as usual, described with a dark substance? - This remark is not without content. Nevertheless, it loses its value here, just as all other doctrines and claims against a single word from the mouth of the Lord must necessarily lose their appearance.

5. It is the same situation as is authenticated every single day in the world in the great nature. Suppose how many thousands and thousands of thousands of smaller and sometimes stronger and slightly larger lights shine down from the high heavens to the dark earth every night. The moon itself is often active throughout the night. In addition to these beautiful lights, at night, people on Earth light almost as many artificial lights.

6. With this abundance of lights upon lights, one would think that at nighttime on earth, it would be impossible to bear the light. But experience has always shown that on the earth, after each sunset, it becomes darker as the sun sinks below the horizon, despite the ever-increasing number of lights in the sky.

7. Who can say these lights are not gorgeous? Yes, a mediocre admirer of the wonders of God must, at the sight of the starry sky at night, beat the breast and say: O Lord, I am not worthy to walk in this Your sanctuary, in this infinite temple of Your omnipotence! Yes indeed, one can rightfully exclaim every night: O Lord! Who looks at Your works, experience a vain desire for it!

8. Why then vain? Because every human being has reason enough for himself, out of sheer pleasure and bliss, to be piously vain because He who created such marvels, is his Father!! Thus, everyone has, as it were, a sacred right to rejoice when, one more night, he looks at the great wonders of his Almighty Father. And indeed, the flame of a lamp, and that of the hearth, is no less a miracle of the almighty Father than the glorious radiance of the countless stars of the heavens!

9. And look now, all of this marvelous admirable splendor is like the Old Testament word in all its parts.

10. We see a barely countable amount of larger and smaller lights in this old nocturnal sky. They radiate splendidly, and whoever looks at them is always filled with a secret, holy reverence. Why? Because his spirit suspects great things behind these lights. But they are still too far away from him. He can look and grab and feel, but the little lights with their great content do not want to move closer to his inquiring spirit.

11. But who are these heavenly lights in the old heaven of the spirit?

12. See, it is all the patriarchs, fathers, prophets, teachers, and leaders of the people who are known to you by the Spirit of God. - But on earth there are also a lot of artificial lights, who are they supposed to be in the Old Testament? These are the worthy people who faithfully lived according to the words that came from the God-saturated men, who throughout their lives enlightened and refreshed their neighbors.

13. So we have this wonderful night scene in front of us. It is true that the nocturnal local storms occasionally obscure the rays of the sky, with clouds drifting rapidly away. But the same storm that once brought a fiery cloud over the glorious star-spangled sky, exactly this storm drives this cloud away over the horizon, and after him the firmament becomes purer than it was before. Everything becomes fearful at such a short-lasting storm and wishes again for the quiet, glorious night, illuminated by so many thousands of lights. But a naturalist speaks: Such storms are nothing but ordinary harbingers of the day, so one should not be afraid.

14. So it is true. For where large forces are set in motion, one can rightly conclude and say: Here an even greater, even the greatest primordial force cannot be far away, for these lesser winds are nothing but side streams of a not-so-distant great hurricane. So our naturalist is right and we are still refreshed by the wonderful splendor of the miracle night.

15. Like lovers we swarm around under the many windows of the big, magnificent house, and look with imaginative and longing chests up to the light-filled openings of the house, dimly lit by a night lamp, behind which we sense the object of our love.

16. Many fantasies, a thousand content-heavy thoughts twitch like shooting stars over our love-heaven, but no such fleeting ephemeral light will suffice to satisfy the thirst of our love.

17. As such do people wander in the old night sky of the spirit. But what happens? At the rising of the sun the horizon begins to redden. It gets brighter and brighter over the horizon of the rising. Another glimpse of the once so beautiful sky, and what do you see? - Nothing but the disappearance of one star after the other.

18. The sun, the glorious one, rises with its primeval daylight, and no star in the sky is visible anymore, for the one sun has enlightened every heavenly atom with its singular light, which at night all those innumerable stars together could not manage to do.

19. For the tarrying lover, who had raved in vain all through the night, one window of the for him very meaningful house opens, and from this one window the longed-for object of his heart greets him, and tells him with a benevolent glance, more than all his innumerable fantasies and thoughts during the night!

20. Thus we see every day in the great nature, a scene that corresponds perfectly to our spirituality.

21. The moon, like Moses, we see with diminishing and pale light dipping behind the evening mountains, when the mighty sun rises in the morning over the horizon. Whatever had been shrouded in the night in the most mysterious darkness, is now brightly lit before everyone's eyes!

22. All this is the effect of the sun. And in the spiritual heaven, it is all the effect of the One Lord, the One Jesus, who is the only One God of heaven and of all worlds!

23. What He Himself is in Himself as the Divine sun of all suns, that is also every single word spoken out of His mouth against all countless words from the mouth of enthusiastic patriarchs, fathers and prophets. Countless exhortations, laws and regulations we see in the course of the Old Testament. These are stars and also artificial lights of the night. But then the Lord comes, speaks only one word - and this word outweighs the whole Old Testament.

24. And, for that very reason, this first word appears here in this eleventh hall as a self-luminous sun, whose light illuminates innumerable stars, but it never lasts forever to make use of the counter-reflection of the stars. For it is the primeval light from which all the countless stars have taken their partial light.

25. And so it will certainly be understandable here, too, why the former ten erected tablets are only white, that is with a dull shimmer, whereas here we see the primordial sunlight, which requires no pre-light and no after-light, but it is all light in itself.

26. Whoever takes this to heart to a certain extent will fully understand why the Lord has said, "In this commandment of love are Moses and all the prophets." It is certainly as much as said, as one would of course like to say: In the daylight, therefore, one no longer sees the stars and no longer needs their light, because all their light gets completely overpowered by the single light of the sun. But how through this here the full truth presents itself palpably, you will see in the sequel.

CHAPTER 99

Love of God as the primordial material of all creatures

1. The love of God is the primitive substance of all creatures, for without them nothing could ever have been created. This love corresponds to the all-enlivening and generating warmth, and only through this warmth do you see the earth become green under your feet.

2. Through heat, the rigid tree becomes leafy, flowering, and the warmth in its essence is what ripens the fruit on the tree. There is no creature or thing on the earth's surface at all which could take its origin in the total lack of heat.

3. It will be said and argued that ice surely lacks all warmth, and especially the polar ice. With that, the heat will not be able to do much, because at near forty degrees below zero, one would like to know the heat measuring instrument that could measure some heat there. But I say nothing else than that the scholars of this earth have not yet invented an instrument with which they are able to discern the actual heat from the actual cold matter and precisely determine it. With us, who are in the inner pure knowledge, a completely different measure is introduced and in use.

4. The scientists of the earth begin with the measurement of cold, where water freezes. If at freezing point the actual cold begins, then I would like to know the reason, according to which laws or in which way cold then can increase? Why is a temperature of about four to five degrees below the so-called ice-point still tolerably bearable? But when the thermometer has dropped to eighteen degrees below, everyone will feel the cold very painfully. One cannot say with full rights here: Eighteen degrees of cold are therefore more sensitive than four degrees, because at four degrees, apparently more heat than at eighteen degrees prevails. Can one now accept eighteen degrees as complete coldness? Oh no, because you've already experienced thirty degrees of coldness. This was even more painful than the eighteen-degree one. Why? Because it contained far less heat than eighteen degrees. But forty degrees will be even more painful than thirty. But is it therefore justified to declare the forty degrees as completely void of heat?

5. But I want to tell you that this is nothing but transitions from heat to cold, and vice versa. Therefore one can accept this much more correct scale:

6. Every thing, every body that can still be heated, cannot be called completely cold, for the amount of heat it is capable to absorb, corresponds with its size and density. A lump of ice from the highest north can be melted by the fire and the water brought to boiling point. If this ice had no inherent heat, it could never be heated.

7. Cold is therefore the property of a being in which there is no longer any warming capacity. Thus, one can justifiably attribute the formation of ice on the North Pole solely to the reaction of heat, where it is threatened by the cold, seizing, contracting and solidifying its bodies so that they can resist the actual cold.

8. Warmth is therefore equal to love, but the real cold is like the real hellish lovelessness. Wherever it wants to appear ruling, the all-enlivening and sustaining love arms itself against her, and the real cold, which kills everything, cannot win any victory from the love thus armed.

9. After that, what does "love God above everything" mean? Of course, it cannot possibly mean something other than:

10. Combine your God-given warmth of life with the original creative and preserving warmth of your Creator, and you will never lose your life.

11. But if you want to voluntarily separate your love or your warmth of life from the Divine primordial warmth of life, and want to exist as an independently ruling being, your warmth will have no more sustenance.

12. You will thereby move into an ever-greater degree of cold. And the deeper you go down into the ever more powerful, colder degrees, the harder it will be to warm you up again. But if you have gone into the perfect cold, then you have fallen completely prey to Satan, where you are so cold that no more warming is possible!

13. What then would happen to you, no angel of the heaven would know one syllable to tell you.

14. In God, of course, are infinite depths. But who will be able to fathom these and keep his life?

15. I think that from this short discussion, one can already quite clearly begin to form an idea of why this commandment, this one word of the Lord, is the epitome, indeed a sun of all suns and a word of all words. In the following instance, we want to talk more about it.

CHAPTER 100

What does it mean to love God above all else?

1. I see one who comes and speaks: It would be all right, but how should one realize this one Divine word to God Himself? How could one truly love God, and above all else? Should one be so in love with God as a young bridegroom with his beautiful and rich bride? Or should one be in love with God, like a mathematician with a mathematical calculation or an astronomer with his stars? Or should one be in love like a speculator with his commodity, or a capitalist with his money, or a sovereign with his dominions, or even like a ruling monarch with his throne? These are the only possible standards of serious human love, for the children's love of their parents cannot be properly established as a serious measure of love, as the example teaches that children can leave their parents to either build a good marriage or to gain much money or to take a high honorary position. With all this, the love of the children returns to their parents and must necessarily take a more powerful place. Therefore, only the most powerful standards of human love are given here, and then it is asked, by which one should one actually measure the love of God?

2. But if somebody comes and says: Like this or that, I say: friend! That cannot be.

3. It is true that the most powerful measures of love I have quoted are probably the only ones according to which man's greatest power of love can be measured; but when it is said that one should love God above all, that wants to say as much as: more than anything in the world.

4. So, how does one begin to raise love unto a power of which no human spirit can form any measurable or comparable concept? One will say, for example, that one should love God even more than his own life. Here I say in objection: With the love of one's own life, the highest love for God holds out even less of a comparison than with the love of the children for their parents. Because it is already well known that the children do not risk their lives out of love for their parents; on the contrary, they expect of the parents to fight for them for life and death.

5. The self-love of children is usually far more powerful than their love towards their parents. But we see, on the other hand, that the children of men often put their lives on the line for the sake of other benefits. One is sailing across the ocean on stormy nights, another is facing the line of fire of the enemy's army, and a third often goes to the unstable abysses of the earth to fetch metallic treasures. And so we see that these external worldly-earnest standards of human love are certainly stronger and have a more general applicability than children's love for their parents and the love of their own lives.

6. But of what use are all these standards, if far above them, the love for God should stand on such a level, against which all other love measures should sink back into pure nothingness? See, my dear friends and brothers, our objector has attacked us sharply, and we will have to stand up with much vigor in order to win against the opponent's overweight.

7. But I just see a very serious-looking opponent again. This one is sure of his victory and says: Oh, we will deal with this objector soon, because the Lord has even given us the explicit standard of how to love God. Therefore, I need say nothing other than what the Lord Himself has said, namely, "He who keeps my commandments, it is he who loves Me." - This is the actual measure of how to love God.

8. If the objector has enough sharp and strong teeth, he should still try to set up some other unbeatable measure. Good, I say, the objector is still around and makes an effort to bite the bit with this objection. So we want to listen to him and see what he's going to say. He speaks:

9. Good, my dear, friendly opponent! In the presentation of your objection, you have shown to me according to your measure of the highest love of God, nothing but that you have a fairly good memory, by quoting so many texts from the Holy Scriptures. But see, whoever wants to receive life from all the texts, not only has to know them, but should also be able to vividly perceive their meaning.

10. What would you say, if I spoke to you from the mouth of the Lord Himself, not just one, but several objections to it, according to which the Lord Himself presents the love from the fulfillment of the law as insufficient? Although you make a face now, as if you want to say: Such texts should probably be sparsely scattered in Scripture. But I say to you: Dear friend, not at all. Just listen to me, I want to bring you half a dozen, if you want it.

11. Are you aware of the Lord's talk with the rich youth? Does not he ask: "Master, what shall I do to win eternal life?" What does the Lord answer? You speak triumphantly: The Lord says, "Keep the commandments and love God, and you will live!" Good, I say, but what does the youth say? He says, "Master, I have kept that since my childhood."

12. That’s all right. But why, I ask, did the boy give this answer to the Lord? He wanted to tell him this: Although you have kept all this from your childhood, you still feel nothing of the wonderful eternal life in Me.

13. Why does the Lord then not explain to the youth the attitude of the commandments for the attainment of eternal life as sufficient, but at once makes a very tremendous addition, saying, "So sell all your goods, distribute them among the poor, and follow Me!

14. Question, if the Lord thus makes such an addition, are the observation of the laws then the highest love for God? See, there's a catch, but let's move on!

15. What does the Lord say to His apostles and disciples when He introduces and preaches to them the duties to be fulfilled? He speaks nothing but the simple, very meaningful words: "But if you have done all things, confess that you are lazy and useless servants.

16. I ask you now: does the Lord here explain the obedience to the commandments as sufficient, while He evidently declares that every man who completely fulfills the law should consider himself completely useless? See, there is already a second, even greater problem. But let us continue!

17. Do you know the parable of the Pharisee and tax collector in the temple? The Pharisee joyfully gives himself the faithful testimony before the sanctuary, that he, unlike many others, has fully fulfilled the law of Moses in all its aspects. The poor publican in a remote corner of the temple, by his immensely humble position, faithfully shows to every observer that he did not manage to fulfill the conditions of the Mosaic Law, for he dare not even to look up to the sanctuary of God due to his many sins, but confesses even its worthlessness before God and pleads for mercy and grace.

18. Surely I would like to know about you, my dear literal friend, why, if the law is sufficient, the Lord here lets the Pharisee, who strictly observe the whole law, stay unjustified and lets the poor, sinful publican go from the temple justified?

19. See, if you look at this in the right light, it seems as if the Lord Himself has created a third great problem with the strict observance of the law. You now shrug and do not know what you should make of it. Do not worry about it, it does become even better! So just continue.

20. What would you say, if I would quote to you from the Scriptures, and indeed from the mouth of the Lord Himself, a text according to which He indirectly invalidates the whole law and sets for it a completely different aid, through which He alone guarantees the acquisition of eternal life?

21. You speak now: Good friend, I also want to hear this text. Shall have him soon, my dear friend! What does the Lord say when He found a child by the wayside, picked him up, pressed him to His heart and cuddled him? He says: "If you do not become like this child, you will not enter into the kingdom of heaven!"

22. Question: Did this child, who had barely spoken a few words, ever study the laws of Moses and then strictly arranged his life accordingly? There is no person in the world so stupid who could say that. Question: How could the Lord here, as the supreme motive for the gaining of eternal life, designate a child who had never dealt with the law of Moses ever before? Friend, I'll say nothing more than this: try to raise an objection against this. You are silent. So I see that with your lineup you have already retreated quite low into the background with this fourth problem.

CHAPTER 101

What is the love unto God?

1. You have seen in these four points that the Lord, on the one hand, does not present the sole obedience to the law for the attainment of actual eternal life as sufficient and, in the fourth point, even indirectly abolishes it.

2. But what would you say, if I would like to give you a few instances where the Lord even spoke rebukingly of the observance of the law? You say here: That will probably not be possible! For that, I can offer you not just one, but, as you wish, several examples. Hear!

3. Anyone who has studied the Mosaic Law only to some degree must know how much Moses commanded hospitality to the Jewish people. Those who turned against hospitality were declared worthy of punishment before God and before men. The law of hospitality was all the more intensified for the Jewish people, who were very prone to greed, in order to protect this people from self-love and greed, and to lead them to charity.

4. The law, therefore, was to receive and serve a foreign guest with all attentiveness, especially if he belonged to the Jewish nation; and this law was from God; for God, not Moses, was the Lawgiver.

5. But when the very same Lord, who had once given the laws through Moses, comes to Bethania in the house of Lazarus, Martha is law-abiding and offers all her strength to serve this most worthy guest with due respect. Mary, her sister, forgets about the law out of sheer joy in the exalted guest, sits down idly at His feet and listens with the utmost attention to the stories and parables of the Lord. Martha, somewhat aroused by her sister's inaction and oblivion of the law on this occasion, turns herself eagerly to the Lord and says, "Lord! I have so much to do, would you bid my sister to help me a little! "Or, more clearly, Master, You, the Founder of the Mosaic Law, do remind my sister to be obedient.

6. What is the Lord talking about here? "Martha, Martha!" He says, "you're worried about worldliness! Mary has chosen the better part, which will never be taken from her.

7. Tell me now, my dear friend, whether this is not an obvious censure of the Lord against the zealous and exact observance of the law, but, on the contrary, an extraordinary commendation of the person who, to a certain extent, does not care about the whole law, but rather says through her actions (Maria):

8. Lord, if I only have You, the whole world is not worth a stater to me! Does the Lord not here again show that the observance of the law alone does not give anyone the better, even the best part, which would never be taken from him? See, that is a fifth problem. But go on!

9. What does the Lord Himself say to Moses, in the third commandment, "Thou shalt sanctify the Sabbath"? Question, what does the Lord Himself do in the face of His literal fulfillers of the law? See, He goes forth and desecrates the Sabbath Himself, apparently according to the literal sense of the law, and even allows His disciples to reap ears of corn on a sabbath day, and to fill themselves with the grains. How do you like this observance of the law of Moses, where the Lord Himself, as it were, does not only desecrate the whole Sabbath only for Himself, but to the greatest annoyance of the literal law-enforcers? You will say that the Lord could do that, because He is also a Lord of the Sabbath.

10. Good, but I ask: Did the angry Pharisees know that the carpenter's son was Lord of the Sabbath? - You think they should have recognized His miracles. But then I say: marvels were not enough for these people to discern the perfect divinity in Christ, for all the prophets worked miracles at all times, the true as well as sometimes the false ones. One cannot therefore assume that the miracles of Christ should have convinced the Pharisees of His Divinity and glory.

11. But all the prophets, except for Him, sanctified the Sabbath. He alone overthrew it. Would that not have been a nuisance to the literal law-abiders? Certainly, and yet the Lord did not stop with His activity.

12. But what does it mean? Nothing other than that the Lord sets the observance of the law only at the very bottom. Why? A little parable out of your own sphere, as of the sphere of every man who has ever lived in the world, is to bring you the answer:

13. A father has two children. He has announced his will as law to these children. He showed them a field and vineyard and said, "You have become strong, and so I demand of you that you diligently work for me in the vineyard and the field. From your work I will know which of you loves me the most." Well, that is the law, according to which, of course, to the son who loves the Father most, would be given more glory by the Father.

14. But what are the two sons doing? The one takes the spade and persistently tills the earth all day long and orders the field and the vineyard. The other one is working at his leisure, as one would say. Why? He says: When I am in the field or in the vineyard, I must always miss my dear father, besides, I am not as glory-hungry as my brother. If only I have my dear father, if I can only be around him, who is everything in my heart, I do not ask for much or for one or the other allotment of glory.

15. The father also says from time to time to his second son: but see how your brother works diligently and seeks to earn my love. But the son says, O dear father! When I am in the field, I am far from you, and my heart does not give me rest, but always speaks aloud to me: Love does not live in the hand, but in the heart, therefore it does not want to do it with the hand, but want to be earned by the heart. Give, father, my brother, who works so diligently the field and the vineyard. But I am sufficiently provided for by you, if you will only allow me to love you to my heart's content at all times, as I want and must love you, because you are my father, my all.

16. What will the Father then say, and that from the innermost depth of his heart? Certainly nothing other than:

17. Yes, my dearest son, you have revealed your heart to me; the law is just a test. But my son, love, is not in the law, for everyone who keeps the law alone keeps it out of self-love in order to earn his love and glory with his energy. But the one who keeps the law is still far from My love, because his love attached to Me, but to the reward.

18. But because you have turned back, you did not disdain the law, because your father gave it, but you have risen above the law, and your love has led you back to your father. So then your brother should come over the field and the vineyard and enter into my glory; but you, my dearest son, shall have what you have sought, the Father Himself and all His love!

19. I think, my dear friend, it will be obvious from this parable, what is more, that dry law only, or the overriding and the embracing of love only.

20. If all is not completely clear to you yet, I ask you: if you had the opportunity to choose a bride out of two virgins of whom you would be convinced that you both love each other, but you are not yet completely sure which one loves you the most. Would not you very much wish to find out who does love you the most, to choose the one who loves you most? You say: That's very clear, but how do find out? That we'll have at once.

21. See, you come to the first one. She is busy and active. Out of love for you, she does not mind all the hard work she does for you, because she makes shirts, socks, nightgowns, and more such clothing for you. She has so much to do, that not seldom, out of sheer business, is she hardly aware of you when you come to her. See, that's the first one. - The second one works very casually. She also does things for you, but her heart is too busy with you to give her attention to the work. If you visit her, and she sees you coming from far away, there is no talk of working, because then she knows nothing higher, nothing more commendable than you alone! You alone are her all in all, for you she would give all the world! Tell me which of the two will you choose?

22. You say: Dear friend! The second one is dearer to me, because what do I care about a few shirts and stockings? It can obviously be seen here that the first one seeks to earn me only by forcing me to acknowledge her merit. The other, however, seeks to love me. She is beyond merit and knows nothing higher than me and my love. I would take the second one for my wife.

23. Well, I tell you, my dear friend, do not you see clearly the nature of Martha and Mary here? Do you see what the Lord is saying to the law-abiding Martha and what to the idle Mary?

24. But from this you can also see what the Lord demands of every human being beyond the law, and at the same time tangibly reveals what man's love for God consists of. For just the very reason the Lord even cursed, excited in His heart the literal observer of the law (the Pharisees and the scribes), praises the sinful publican, and makes the kingdom of heaven more accessible to the thieves, whores, and adulterers than the dry slaves of the letter

25. Therefore I ask the objector now with the fullest right once again, according to which measure one should love God above everything? If I have the measure, then I have everything, but if I do not have the measure, then I love as one who does not know what love is. So again, the question:

26. How should one love God above all else? - And I, John, say: To love God above all means:

27. To love God beyond all law! - How to, shall be made clear next.

CHAPTER 102

How to love God above all else

1. But in order to know and understand thoroughly how to love God beyond the law, one must know that the law in and of itself is nothing but the dry way to the true love of God.

2. He who begins to love God in his heart, has already traveled the way; but whoever loves God only by the attitude of the law, is still with his love a traveler on the way, where no fruit grows and not infrequently robbers and thieves of the wanderer wait.

3. But whoever loves God purely, loves Him above all else! For to love God above all means to love God beyond all law. Whoever is out of the way, must go on step by step, in order to reach in the most painstaking manner the goal set for him. But he who loves God fully, skips the whole way, that is, the whole law, and he loves God above all else.

4. But whoever loves God purely, loves Him above all else! For to love God above all means to love God beyond all law. Whoever is out of the way, must go on step by step, in order to reach in the most painstaking manner the goal set for him. But he who loves God fully, skips the whole way, that is, the whole law, and he loves God above all else.

5. But I say: Is not everything explained by the given law, how man has to behave in his desire for worldly things? All things are therefore represented in the law, and besides, for the love of man, there is given the just limitation according to which every man has to behave towards worldly things.

6. But if somebody loves God beyond the law, he certainly loves him beyond all worldly things, because, as I have just said, the use of worldly things and the attitude to them according to the Divine order are represented by the law. A short supplement in a comparative position will make the whole thing as clear as daylight.

7. The Lord speaks to the rich youth: "Sell everything, divide it among the poor, and follow Me!" - What does that mean? In other words, if you, young man, have observed the law, then rise above it, return all laws and all things to the world, and you stay with Me, then you have the life!

8. Who will not know here what God means to love beyond the law?

9. The Lord continues to speak to the disciples: "If you do not become like little children, you will not enter the kingdom of God." What does that mean? Nothing other than:

10. If you are not like this little child, not respecting everything in the world, neither the law nor the things of the world, coming to Me and taking Me like this child with all love, you will not enter into the kingdom of God! Why not? Because the Lord Himself speaks again: "I am the way, the truth, and the life!" So whoever comes to Me, who is completely one with the Father, must enter through Me into the fold or the kingdom of God.

11. As long as one does not embrace the Lord Himself, he cannot come to Him, even if he had, like a rock, observed a thousand laws without fail. For whoever is still on the way is not yet with the Lord, but who is with the Lord, what does he have to do with the way any more?

12. But here among you there are fools, and many hundreds of thousands, who hold the way much higher than the Lord. And when they are already with the Lord. They turn back and move away from Him, to be on the wretched way! Such people enjoy subjection, slavery, and the hard yoke more than the Lord, who makes every man free. His yoke is exceedingly light and His burden is gentle. Light is the yoke, so that in the course of your life, your love for the Lord will not press your neck, and even gently the burden, which is the sole law of love! - Next, we will look at an example.

13. The just Pharisee praises himself by the wayside; but the tax collector finds the whole way very difficult. Because; he is never able to oversee his goal. He therefore bows down deeply before the Lord in his heart, realizes his weakness and inability to walk the path conscientiously. But he embraces God the Lord with his heart and thereby makes a great leap over the whole arduous way and thereby reaches his goal!

14. Who will not reach out with his hands, which means "to love the Lord above all things"? - So let's move on. The Martha is on the way, the Maria at the goal! Here you hardly need to say more about it, for it is obvious and clear here what "loving the Lord above all things" means.

15. But if we want to make the matter clearer, let us look at the scene where the Lord asks Peter three times whether he loves Him? - Why does He ask him three times? For the Lord knew anyway that Peter loved Him, and He also knew that Peter would answer all three of the same questions to Him with the same heart and the same mouth. The Lord knew that. It is not for this reason that He asked this question to Peter, but that Peter should confess that he is free and loves the Lord beyond all law. And so the first question means: "Peter, do you love Me" - Peter, did you find Me on the way? - Peter affirms this, and the Lord speaks: "Feed my sheep"! that means: Teach also the brothers to find Me! - The second question: Peter, do you love Me? means: Peter, are you with Me, are you at the door? - Peter affirms this, and the Lord says, "So feed My sheep!" Or: So bring the brethren to be with Me at the door to life! And for the third time the Lord asks Peter: "Do you love Me?" That means as much as: Peter, are you beyond all law? Are you in Me like I am in you? Peter apprehensively affirms this, and the Lord speaks again: "So feed My sheep and follow Me!" That means as much as: So you also bring the brothers, that they are in Me and live in My order and love the same as you.

16. Because following the Lord means living in the love of the Lord. I think to say again, "to love God above all things", would be superfluous. And since we now know this and have recognized the Light of lights, we will immediately go to the twelfth and last hall.

CHAPTER 103

The Twelfth commandment in the twelfth hall - Love unto the neighbor

1. Here we are in the midst of this great and splendid hall, again with a sun tablet, and written in the midst of it with red-lettered writing: "This is equal to the first, that you love your neighbor as yourself; therein is the law and the prophets." Now, someone can immediately rise and say: How should this be understood: love one's neighbor as oneself? The oneself or self-love is a vice, so the basis love of the neighbor can also be nothing more than a vice; in this way, the charity so evidently has self-love or love-for-your-own as foundation. If I want to live as a virtuous man, I must not love myself. But if I am not allowed to love myself, then I am not allowed to love my neighbor because the love relationship with my neighbor should correspond to the self-love as perfectly identical. According to this, one would not love one's neighbor as one loves oneself because one should not love oneself either.

2. See, that would be such an usual objection, which certainly would not be too difficult to meet. Since the self-love of man is as much as one's own life itself, natural self-love is self-evident in this degree, for having no self-love means having as much as no life!

3. It is therefore a matter of recognizing the difference between just and unjust self-love.

4. Self-love is "just" if it has no greater desire for the things of the world than what the right measure of the Divine order has assigned to it, which measure was adequately shown in the seventh, ninth, and tenth commandments. If self-love demands beyond this measure, then it transcends the definite limits of the Divine order and can already be regarded as sin at the first crossover. According to this standard, therefore, charity must be divided; for if someone loves a brother or a sister beyond this measure, he commits idolatry with his brother or sister and does not make him better, but worse.

5. The fruits of such excessive charity are for the most part all the present and all-time rulers of the peoples. How come? Some people have loved one out of their midst because of his more brilliant talents over the just measure, made him the ruler over themselves and afterwards had to let them be punished by him or by his descendants for this vice.

6. It will be said here: But there do have to be kings and princes to guide the nations after all, and they are instituted by God Himself. I will not directly oppose that, but I want to shed light on how it is and what it should be like, I will describe with this opportunity.

7. What does the Lord say to the Israelite people when they required a king? Nothing other than: "To all the sins that this people has committed before Me, it has added even the greatest, that, dissatisfied with My guidance, it demands a king." - From this sentence, I think, can be sufficiently proved that the kings are given by God out of the people not as a blessing, but as a judgment.

8. Question: Are kings necessary at the side of God to guide humanity? This question can be answered with the same answer as another question, which is: Did the Lord have need of any helper in the creation of the world and in the creation of man?

9. Question: Which kings and princes, at any time and how present, help the Lord to preserve the worlds in their order and guide them on their paths? What duke does He need for the winds, which prince for the emanation of the light, and which king for the surveillance of the infinite space of the world and of the sun? But if the Lord can gird Orion without humanly princely and royal support, to feed the Big Dog, and to keep the great world and solar people in the most unerring order, should He need kings and princes among the people of this earth to help Him in His business?

10. If we go back to the prehistory of every people, we shall find that every people was originally of a purely theocratic constitution, that is, they had no other master over them than God alone. It was not until the time when peoples became dissatisfied with the most free and liberal government of God, because they were too well off among them, that they began to love each other excessively. And usually a man became special for the sake of the general love of reward. He was required to be a leader. But the leader did not remain only a leader, for the leader had to make laws, the laws had to be sanctioned, and so the leader became a lord, a lord, a patriarch, then a prince, a king, and an emperor.

11. Thus, emperors, kings, and princes have never been chosen by God, but only confirmed to the judgment of those who, by their free will, have chosen such emperors, kings, and princes from among them, and have given them all power over them.

12. I think that this illumination will suffice to realize that any excess of both self-love and charity before God is an abomination.

13. To love one's neighbor as oneself, means to love one's neighbor in the given Divine order, that is to say, in that just measure, which is assigned by God to each person from the beginning. If you do not yet understand this thoroughly, I will add a few examples by which you can clearly see the consequences of this, as well as other excesses.

14. Suppose a millionaire lives in some village. Will this make the village happy or will it bring disaster? We want to see. The millionaire sees that the public money banks are staggering; what does he do? He sells his bonds and buys realities, goods. The sovereign to which he used to be only a subject is, as usual, in great need of money. Our millionaire is approached to lend capital to the ruler. He does it for good percentages and on the safe mortgage of domination itself. His neighbors, the other villagers, also need money. He lends it to them without decency on land register entry. This situation lasts for several years. The ruler becomes ever poorer and the village neighbors no wealthier. What happens? Our millionaire first seizes the rule, and the ruler, not in the possession of even a penny anymore, must be at mercy and disgrace, gets at the most out of sheer magnanimity a travel allowance, and our millionaire becomes ruler and at the same time lord over his neighbor indebted to him. These, because they are unable to pay him either capital or interests, are soon appraised and seized.

15. Here we have the natural consequence of the happiness which a millionaire or an owner of the excess of self-love has prepared for the villager. There is nothing more to say about it. - Let's go over to the second case.

16. There lives somewhere a very poor family. They barely have enough to manage her daily miserable life. A very rich and rarely charitable man gets to know this poor, but otherwise good and respectable family. He, in the possession of several millions, takes pity on this family and thinks to himself: I want to make this family truly happy all in one blow. I want to give them an estate and a fortune of half a million. At the same time, I want to have the pleasure of seeing how the faces of this poor family will cheer up. He does as he have decided. For a whole week, the family did nothing but shed tears of joy, even to the dear Lord God is spoken out many a "Thank You, God".

17. But only about a year later, when we consider this happy family again, we will discover all the luxuries as it is always at home in the homes of the rich. At the same time, this family became more and more hard-hearted and will now seek to avenge secretly on all those whom who did not want to see them in their distress. The "Thank God" will disappear, but for it equipage, liveried servants and the like is introduced.

18. Question: Has this great excess of charity benefited or harmed this poor family? I mean, here you do not need a lot of words, you just have to reach for all the luxuries with your hands, and you'll find out what benefits this family has received for eternal life through an excess of charity. But from this it becomes evident that charity and self-love must always remain within the bounds of the just Divine measure of law.

19. If the man loves his wife excessively, then he will spoil her. She becomes vain, will appreciate herself and becomes a so-called coquette. The man will scarcely have enough hands to reach out everywhere to satisfy the demands of his wife.

20. Even a bridegroom, if he loves his bride too much, will make her audacious and in the end, unfaithful.

21. So the just measure of love is needed everywhere. Nevertheless, charity is something quite different from what we have come to know. But in what is internal and spiritual charity, we want to learn clearly in the course of this communication.

CHAPTER 104

What is true love unto the neighbor?

1. In order to know the foundation of the real true "love unto your neighbor" consists of, one must first know and thoroughly understand who really is a neighbor. Therein lies the main knot buried. One will say: how should one understand that? For the Lord Himself, as the sole representative of charity, has nowhere more detailed provisions. When the scribes asked Him who the neighbor was, He merely showed them in a parable who was a neighbor to the well-known, unfortunate Samaritan, namely a Samaritan himself, who took him to the inn and poured oil and wine into his wounds.

2. From this, however, it emerges that unfortunate people only have in certain circumstances "neighbors" to be their benefactors, and are therefore, conversely, the "neighbors" to their benefactors. So, if there are neighbors only in these circumstances, what neighbors would ordinary people have, who neither have to endure even a misfortune, nor at any time be able to help a victim? Is not there a more general text that describes the neighbor closer? For in this case only the highest distress and on the other side a great wealth, paired with a good heart, are contrasted as being neighbors to each other.

3. We therefore want to see if such broader texts do not exist. There would be one, and that is, "Bless those who curse you, and do good to your enemies!"

4. That would be a text from which it can be clearly seen that the Lord has greatly extended charity by not even excluding the enemies and those who curse you.

5. Another text reads, "Make friends with unjust Mammon." - What does the Lord mean by that? Nothing else than that man should not miss any opportunity to do good to his neighbor. He only allows in the external sense, a public seizing of the goods of a rich man, if it would help many, or at least several needy, but only in the highest emergency.

6. Further, we find a text where the Lord says: "Whatsoever ye do good to one of these poor in My name, ye have done to Me." This sentence is confirmed by the Lord in the presentation of the "most recent" or spiritual judgement, when He says to the elect: "I came naked, hungry, thirsty, sick, imprisoned, and without a roof or a shed, and you received Me, cared for Me, clothed Me, saturated Me and quenched My thirst"; and for the rejected ones, that they did not do so. The good ones apologized as if they never did it, and the wicked, as if they would have done so I He would have come to them. The Lord then clearly says:

7. "Whatever you did or did not do to the poor in My name, you did to Me."

8. From this text, the true charity is already quite clearly highlighted, and it will be shown who are therefore the real neighbor.

9. But we want to look at a text. So this one reads: "If you prepare a banquet there will be no invitations for those who can repay you with a reciprocal party. You will not have a reward in heaven for that, for you have received such in the world. But if you invite the needy, lame, brash, in every way poor people, who cannot repay you, you will have your reward in heaven. So also lend your money to those who cannot repay you, so you will store up reward for the heavens. But if you lend your money to those who can repay you and with interest, then you have your reward here. If you give alms, then do so silently, and your right hand should not know what the left does. And your Father in Heaven, who sees in secret, will bless and reward you in heaven!"

10. I mean, from these texts one can almost grab with the hands, who the Lord regard to be the actual neighbor. That's why we want to see what meaning it contains.

11. Everywhere we see that the Lord only putting poor people over against the wealthy. Why? Nothing other than that the poor are designated and placed before the wealthy as the true neighbor of the Lord, and not rich over against rich and poor over against poor. The rich over against the rich can only consider themselves as neighbors if they unite for equally good, God-pleasing purposes. However, the poor are also one another's neighbors, if they also join together as much as possible in patience and in love for the Lord as well as brotherly among themselves.

12. The first degree of charity thus always remains between the wealthy and the poor, and between the strong and the weak, and is in the same proportion as that between parents and children.

13. But why should the poor to the wealthy, the weak to the strong, and the children to the parents be considered the closest of neighbors? For no other than the following simple reason than that the Lord, as the closest to every man, according to His own expression, preferably represents Himself in the poor and weak as in the children of this world. For He Himself speaks: "Whatsoever ye do to the poor, ye have done to Me!" - If you do not always have Me personally in your midst, then you will always have the poor (as the Lord wanted to say) as My perfect representatives among you.

14. So the Lord also says of a child: "He who receives such a child in My Name will receive Me."

15. From all this, however, it is clear that men have more or less to consider each other according to their degree of "neighbor," the more or less they are filled with the Spirit of the Lord. But the Lord does not give his Spirit to the rich of the world, but only to the poor, the weak and the secular. The poor man is thereby more and more filled with the Spirit of the Lord, because he is poor, for poverty is a major part of the Spirit of the Lord.

16. Those who are poor, resemble the Lord in their poverty, while the rich cannot. They do not know the Lord. But He knows the poor. Therefore the poor should be the neighbor to the rich, to which they, the rich, must come if they want to approach the Lord; for the rich cannot possibly regard themselves as the neighbor of the Lord. The Lord Himself has shown the infinite gap between Him and them in the story of the rich glutton. Only the poor Lazarus He places in the bosom of Abraham, so as to be close to Him, the Lord.

17. Thus, even at the event of the rich youth, the Lord showed who should be his neighbor before he could come again to the Lord and follow him. And everywhere the Lord represents the poor as well as the children as one's neighbor, or even as His formal representatives. These are to be loved by the wealthy as well as they do themselves, but those of their kind, they should not. For that is why the Lord said that this commandment of charity is equal to the first, with which He would say nothing other than: What you do to the poor, you do to Me!

18. But that the rich should not consider each other as neighbor, is evident from what the Lord says, that the rich should not invite the rich as their guests and lend their money to the rich, as well as from the fact that He did not command the rich youth to distribute his goods among the rich, but among the poor.

19. But if some rich man wants to say: My closest neighbors are my children, I say: By no means! For the Lord took only one poor child, who begged on the way, and said, "He who receives such a child in My name, he will receive Me." The Lord never had anything to do with children of the rich.

20. For that reason, when the king cares anxiously for his children, he commits a very strong sin against charity. The rich man cares best for his children by caring for a well-pleasing education, and not saving his fortune for his children, but giving the greater part of it to the poor. If he does that, the Lord will take his children and will lead them on the best way. If he does not do that, the Lord turns His face away from them, withdraws His hands, and leaves already their most tender youths to the hands of the world, that is, the hands of the devil, and they become worldly children, worldly men, saying as much as, being devils themselves.

21. If you knew how down to the lowest, third degree of hell all family capital and especially the inalienable inheritance are cursed by the Lord in the most terrible way, you would be frozen in terror and fear and your hearts would become petrified like a diamond!

22. Hence all the rich, wherever they may be, should heed this as much as possible, avert their hearts as much as possible from their riches, and thus, with the riches, do as much good as possible, if they want to escape eternal inferno. For on the other side there is a twofold melancholy, a vast, gloomy place, from which only inconceivably narrow paths lead, on which the wanderers fare not much better than the camel facing the eye of the needle. But there is also an eternal hellish condition from which, as far as I know, there are no paths yet. So let the rich, as well as anyone who possesses so much that he can still do something for the poor, take heed. But from this it is now shown what the true charity consists of. Such it is also taught and practiced here in the sun. But how this happens we will examine in more detail later.

CHAPTER 105

Practical instruction about charity of the students in the hereafter

1. You know that nowhere is anything to be done with merely theoretical knowledge and belief. What good is it for someone to plague his head with a thousand theories? What good is it for somebody if he considers everything to be true, what is written in the book of life? All these would benefit someone just as if one had literally appropriated all musical theories and had also come to the conclusion that, if he were to make use of theories in practice, he would seriously produce the most eminent compositions, or at least become a virtuoso on one or the other instrument. Question: Will he be able to compose any piece of some value by any of these fundamental theoretic skills without the least practical skill? Or will he be able to either sing only the least part of a composition par excellence or perform it on a musical instrument? Certainly not, because without practical exercises, no theory is of any use.

2. It is the same as if there were some foolish father who, while caring for his child and training his mind, yet always keep his feet bound together. Question: Will the child be able to walk, even though he saw others do it and would have learned all feet and foot movements theoretically from a Spanish dance master? The first step he would dare will turn out to be so uncertain, that this only theoretically educated child will immediately lie on the ground.

3. It is thus more than clear that knowledge only, without practice, is useless! For it is a burning chandelier in an empty hall, the light which burns on its own and benefits no one. Accordingly, the actual exercise of what one has recognized and knows is infallibly the main focus. Since action in the realm of the purest spirits is always a matter of action, and the activity of charity is the chief principle of all spiritual activity, this commandment of charity here is taught more practically than theoretically.

4. But how? These, as you see, grown-up students are taken with on all sorts of missions by the more accomplished spirits, and especially the newcomers from the earth must learn to distinguish the true neighbor, the less neighbor, and then the far-off. They must recognize how they have to behave towards their neighbors, their neighbors and the distant ones.

5. As you know, the sense of pity of the youth is greater than that of the fixed manhood. Therefore it also happens that these disciples receive everything they encounter with great sympathy and compassion.

6. They immediately want to push everybody into heaven, because they do not yet know from experience that heaven grants only blessedness to the closest neighbors, but that the lesser neighbors and far-off ones are a greater, even the greatest trouble. On these occasions, they first fully realize how true charity consists in giving each being his freedom and grant him his own love.

7. For if you want to do something to someone other than what his love requires, you have not shown him any love service. If one asks his neighbor for a robe, and the neighbor gives him a loaf of bread instead, will the petitioner be satisfied with that? Certainly not, because he only asked for the robe, but not for the bread.

8. If someone goes into a house and asks for a bride and they give him a basket of salt instead of the bride, will he be satisfied with that? And if somebody wants to make his way to a place to the north where he has a business, but a friend has his wagon harnessed, take the businessman who wants to go north, and drive south with him, he will be helped?

9. Therefore, before they can bring their charity into practical use, the spirits must first learn to exactly discern the love of the spirits being brought on their way. When they have discerned this love, so also must be acted according to this love.

10. He who wants to go to hell must have his escort there, for so is his love, without which there is no life for him. And whoever wants to go to heaven must be given the guidance that, purified in the righteous ways, he can then reach heaven fully qualified and there he can exist as a truly sanctified citizen.

11. But it is not enough to bring all spirits into one and the same heaven, but heaven must correspond to the love of the spirit to the atom, for every other heaven will not be tolerated by a heavenly citizen, and he will suffer in it, like a fish in the air.

12. For every man's love is the life element peculiar to him. If he does not find this, his life will soon be over. Therefore, charity in the realm of pure spirits must be thoroughly and properly purified and formed before these spirits are truly able to receive the newcomers, as well as to bring those who have long been in the spiritual realm, into the truly blissful and living order of God.

13. The education and purification of this charity is therefore to explore and to recognize the mode of love in the spirits, and then to recognize and understand the ways and how these spirits are to be led into the Divine order.

14. No spirit may ever be violated. His free will, together with his knowledge, determines the way, and the love of the spirit determines the style and manner in which he is to be guided.

15. When the spirits first arrive at the place of their congenial love and behave malevolently there, then it is time to interfere - but again only according to the nature of their wickedness.

16. And see, in everything concerning charity, our students are taught in the most practical way. Once they have acquired a skill, they receive the ordination of perfection. They are then, for a fixed period of time, given to the people living on the earth as guardian spirits, mostly for the purpose of practicing the true patience of the Lord on this foundation. You would scarcely believe how difficult it is for such a heavenly spirit to be so condescending with the stubborn people of this earth, that they never realize that they are accompanied by such a guardianship in every way and are guided according to their love.

17. Indeed, it is no trivial matter, if one is equipped with all might and power and may not call fire from heaven as a beginner, but must constantly watch, being conscious of his power and might, how the person entrusted to him, is engaged in all sorts of filth of the world, forgetting the Lord more and more.

18. A most mischievous, utterly naughty little girl is like the highest heaven compared to the task of a guardian spirit at the beginning of his mission. How many tears must they shed, for the extent of their influence may exist only in the softest whisper into the conscience, or at most on extraordinary occasions, the prevention of certain calamities inflicted by hell upon the earthly mortals. In everything else, they may not interfere.

19. But just imagine for a bit the often bitter lot of a so-called tutor or teacher, if he gets quite rough and playful children to educate. Is not job of a woodcutter better? Sure, because the wood can be felled and split according to the will of the woodcutter, but the rude child mocks the will of his master. But this condition is barely a shadow against that of a guardian spirit whose person is either a miser, a thief, a robber, a murderer, a gambler, a whore, and an adulterer. The guardian spirit must always passively observe such atrocities and must not counteract with all his might in the least anticipatory manner. And if anticipation is permitted on some occasions, it must nevertheless be so cleverly applied that the protégé is not in the slightest hindered in the sphere of freedom of his will, but at most only in the actual execution of it.

20. See, this is the second practical business in which our holy students must practice in charity, and especially in the patience of the Lord. But what happens to them after this exercise in patience, will be shown next.

CHAPTER 106

Essence and consequences of vice

1. John: “After our disciples are well trained in patience and return from their duty in this outer world, usually after the decease of one of their entrusted persons they protected, they must stay near them as long as the natural spiritual condition of a person’s deceased soul lasts here. At the moment of the unmasking or emptying by which each spirit is simply left on his own, they return to the spiritual sun. Only from there they go to a new destiny. But where? This is very easy to guess when one considers that our disciples had sufficient opportunity up till now to practically observe and recognize the breaking of the law, first as disciples spiritually, scientifically and then as spirit protectors.

2. The fact that after this understanding there is still a third, and after the third a fourth understanding, should be clear to everyone who knows that the goal, that is reached with each evil, brings along certain consequences, and it is only with this goal that the basis or main cause of the evil is recognized. For if one is still not aware of the consequences of sin and completely realizes the cause of sin, then he is still not so free and firm to sufficiently abhor sin. But once he realized that the consequence is the result of an unchangeable law and if he recognized the cause that is behind it, only after that, by his free insight and his fee will, he will entirely become a firm adversary of all the evil.

3. But where must our disciple go to realize this? They must travel through the Hells escorted by mighty and very experienced spirits, and this from the first up to the last or lowest one. In the first and second one we can see the consequences of evil and it is especially in the second one that the cause of evil becomes more and more obvious within the still very visible consequences. Only in the third, lowest Hell they come to know the basis or main cause of all evil.

4. Many can say: ‘The consequences and the cause are two points of a circle that come together in one and the same spot, for no one will perform an action without wanting to realize the intended goal.

5. For if someone wants for instance to steal somebody’s money, then the love for the money and his selfishness urged him to this action. This was certainly the reason of his actions. Once he stole the money, then this is certainly the result of his action. But this was and is only the initial reason for the action itself that was carried out.’

6. I say however: if you consider the matter from this point of view, then one will only commit treason regarding his own understanding and by that he shows that he never understood the inner wisdom. That is why we will immediately give a counterexample from which it will become clear that the consequence and the actual cause of the action can be very different.

7. Before we give the example, we should make known a few principles that come from the divine order and in which the consequence of every action has been determined from eternity, and in this the cause becomes visible in accordance with the action.

8. The principles are as follows: every action has a correspondent consequence which is determined and sanctioned by God Himself. This consequence is the unchangeable judgment that is connected to every action. So it is determined by the Lord that every action will finally judge itself.

9. However, as only the Lord can be considered as the cause for every good action, so it goes for every bad action. Every bad action has thus also always one and the same cause. These are the doctrines.

10. Now we will explain these with examples. Let us take a fornicator1. As long as he lived he committed unrestrained and ruthless lewdness. Externally no one could see the consequences on him of the evil, for this cannot always be seen on the body. Nevertheless, by his sinful actions this man degraded his spirit entirely as a coarse fleshly material love and by that he materially and spiritually wasted his life’s forces. What is there still left of him? Nothing but the life of a polyp for his soul. He will come into the beyond with nothing else than his sensual, fleshly lust for pleasure. His striving is the same as that of a polyp, meaning continuously lusting in his own way. There is no question of a spiritual guided reaction, because during his life in the flesh the spirit was united with the sensual soul and this up to the last drop.

11. Question: Will such soul in the beyond be still accessible or capable for a higher form of life? He who really wants to know should take out a polyp from the sea and see if he can make it jump in the air. Such task will certainly not succeed, for as soon as he picks up the polyp out of its mud-element and brings it in a dry place in the pure air, the polyp will soon die off, shrivel up, decay and finally dry up and become a loamy clump.

12. See, this is exactly how it is with such lascivious, lustful soul. He is a mud polyp who has only one life awakening desire, namely lusting for pleasure. His whole intelligence is directed towards acquiring this pleasure. What is the consequence of this? Nothing but the miserable and very pitiful condition of the soul himself, namely to ever fall back into a most ordinary and lowest animal condition. And it is now exactly this condition which is called the first Hell. So this is the very natural consequence that has been obtained according to the just order, so that by this forbidden way of acting the soul will finally return to the lower, animal condition from which he was led by the Lord in earlier times along so many stages upward to a free human being.

13. This resulting condition is however kept very miserable by the Lord in view of the lust for pleasure, so that the spirit that is still present in the soul would be able to detach itself more and more from the lewdness. This is the only procedure by which such soul with his spirit can possibly still be saved, for if the soul would be more and more fed, his desire would become ever stronger and then eternally there can be no more question for the spirit to be saved.

14. In the worst case, what is the second consequence of this necessary way of treatment?

15. Listen, since the spirit of such soul was completely one with him, also his entire love has turned to the lust of his soul. Now if he becomes free through the fasting of the soul, he will be offended and hurt because he had to languish by the deprivation of food to restrain his very own soul.

16. Since hr is offended and hurt, the spirit becomes furious and demands compensation. But where can it find this? In the second Hell.

17. Now what is this second Hell? Only the consequence of the first one. And by this consequence the real cause of the first action becomes already visible.

18. Because the anger is nothing else but a fruit of the excessive self-love and this has its roots in the lust for power which is the motivation of all evil, and its home is the third or lowest Hell. How finally a third Hell will develop from the second one and how our students will see and experience all this in practice, we will see next.

CHAPTER 107

In the second hell

1. Do you know why people on Earth are obedient? The answer is very easy to give. Perhaps out of great respect for the person who rules? O no, because the one who is honored is usually not secretly shout at, and even less cursed and damned. Nevertheless, this is what citizens do to their kings. But the one who is not obeyed out of respect, is even less obeyed out of love. Therefore, we can find no other reason for obedience than fear.

2. Fear is based on what? It is firstly based on personal powerlessness, secondly on the superior power of the ruler and thirdly on the fact that in certain circumstances the king will not be too cautious with the lives of his citizens. A ruler who is often equipped with a million of instruments to kill and who does not have to give an account to anyone for killing one or many people is certainly not very trustworthy, for the wrath of a dictator can mean the death of many thousands.

3. When we realistically look at the matter then it appears that the main reason for obedience if the fear of death.

4. Imagine a country in which there are only fully reborn, spiritually awakened people. Then it would be quite different regarding the fear of the death penalty. The ruler will then have to take quite different measures if he would like to remain the leader of his people.

5. But then, the fear of death is based on what? I tell you: solely and only on the uncertainty whether there is or not another life after the loss of this life (disbelief). Who of you is afraid before going to sleep, even though the sleep is only a periodical death of the body? Why is there no fear to go to sleep? Because it is known from experience that there will be a waking up in the same life, even if it seems to be a new life. Take away this experience and everyone would, before going to sleep, be afraid in the same measure as he is afraid of physical death. There are actually people on Earth who believe that their life lasts for only one day and perishes every day, and that the next day another person will live in their skin.

6. This belief comes from a people in a certain part of Asia that believe in the migration of the soul, believing that every day their soul passes from one animal into another and that they mostly live for only one day in a human being. When on the next day another soul remembers the past, then they think that this is because of the body’s system. Every following soul must by necessity be placed into the consciousness, awakened by the body’s system. So this is their philosophy and the result is that they are terrified to fall asleep, because to them this is only the means with which the old soul is pushed out of the body to make place for another.  For this reason, these people try to drive away the sleep as much as possible and with all kinds of means. All this resembles the fear of the common earthly people for the physical death.

7. If the spirit of men were awakened, then he would not be concerned or afraid for the falling away of his body, as little as a common person is concerned or afraid to go to sleep, for experience tells the spirit that there is an eternal life which is indestructible, and experience tells the soul that the sleeping body will awake the next morning, for which reason he is then also not afraid to go to sleep.

8. So the fear of death as a possible destruction of existence is thus within the soul as long as the spirit is not awakened in him, because it then would awaken a totally different awareness.

9. With this foreknowledge let us go back to our first Hell. There the soul is only a pleasure-seeking and food swallowing polyp, and this out of dumb selfishness and self-love, because when he cannot accomplish his lust for pleasure he constantly visualizes a possible destruction.

10. In the second Hell, as we know, the serious fasting of the lusting soul shrivels more and more and the spirit that merged with him became freer by this means of isolation. In the best case, which is rare, a spirit changes, strengthens himself and elevates his soul more and more. In the most frequent, worst case the spirit is awakened, but since he is awakened, he feels very hurt and offended because of the neglect of his soul. He then becomes angry, and in his anger, he more and more lets the idea take root in him that the deity needs to give him an immeasurable compensation for this injustice.

11. The more the spirit is fixed on that idea the higher his demands are and he also becomes more and more dissatisfied about every proposition that is made to him for eternal satisfaction.

12. As his demands are ever higher, caused by his ever-greater dissatisfaction, the more and more awakened spirit thinks about revenge out of self-satisfaction. Because of this feeling he becomes more and more a despiser of God (devil). He also realizes more and more that he cannot be destroyed and strengthens himself with the idea that the spirit can infinitely grow stronger by intensifying his ideas and by making higher demands. From this feeling comes then the satanic idea that the deity would be afraid for the ever-growing power of such spirits and would therefore hide Himself and would secretly spy on the actions of His mighty enemies by certain fearful and weak spiritual spies. When the situation becomes alarming the deity retreats further and tries to protect Himself in all kinds of ways against the superior attack of such powerful spirits.

13. By this idea, the all-dominant feeling of superiority of the spirit becomes ever stronger and the feeling of revenge regarding a supposed cunningness of the deity grows. Then he thinks that the deity must of course become less powerful. Yes, the spirit abhors now the deity, despises and bitterly hates Him and considers himself a superior being.

14. Once this has happened, the third Hell is already a fact. How it will further develop along this line, our disciples must secretly observe with us on the way of divine, protecting providence, and will then have to learn in the lowest Hell to perceive everything by experience up to the actual basis of evil. But how finally the actual cause of evil will reveal itself in this lowest and most malicious of all Hells, will be shown in what follows.

CHAPTER 108

Nothing is destructible in the whole of creation

1. Many will ask now: ‘How can one think and believe that it is possible for some very inferior life’s power to rebel from the sphere of its awareness against an infinite, absolute perfect life’s power? Because the low life’s power must certainly know and be aware that a minimum of life’s power can never stand against the infinite and that a victory can eternally not be possible.’ Good, I say, this objection does not sound bad but is mostly based on ignorance. In an exceptional case, this objection can approximatively be mentioned, but since in the pure spiritual kingdom there are no hypotheses and thus also no approximates, but only truths, it can thus also not be worth of an answer.

2. A spiritual answer is a full truth, but if it (the truth) is not contained in the question, it cannot be answered. The one who asks the question will receive an answer but never a proper direct answer to his question, but only as an indirect truth. This is also the case here. When the answer is there, the mentioned objection will be solved by itself.

3. So whether a lower or as here a very inferior life’s power can rebel or not and if it can be destroyed by the infinite life’s power, will soon be shown from a few small examples.

4. How heavy a mountain is should not be further explained to someone who has carried a few smaller stones. A small mountain consists of what? Of only atomically small parts that stick together through the mutual power of attraction. If we dig from down the mountain upwards, up to the place on which the highest, thus heaviest top rests, then by that we discover well preserved and very strong stony walls. If we only take a small part from these strong stony walls, put it on a steel plate or on a stone and hit it a little with the hammer, this part will become dust.

5. Question: why could this part not stand against the pressure of the hammer while for a period of thousands of years it could stand the immeasurably great pressure of the heavy weight of a whole mountain? One will say: ‘Under the mountain it was a real part of the whole mass and therefore, with the help of the other parts, it could stand the total pressure. But alone, without help, it already had to collapse under the minor pressure.’ Good, but did this minor pressure completely destroy this part? Certainly not, but it divided it in much smaller parts.

6. Could one then not use such pressure to destroy these parts completely? Also this is impossible, neither under pressure neither by no matter what means of power, for in the one way it can only be divided into smaller parts, but in the other way it can be changed into a simple and then even less destroyable element.

7. So also, the whole weight of the Earth is resting on its small, insignificant center. How can it resist this force of attraction that acts upon it from all sides? For the simple reason that according to the eternal divine order in the whole infinite creation there is nothing that can be destroyed and the very smallest can continuously maintain itself against the very biggest, if not in this, then certainly again in another form.

8. If we now attribute a complete awareness to these small parts by which they can realize that they can eternally not be destroyed, the question is: which power can restrain them and which can overcome them? Or can a whole mountain lose something if its smallest basic parts are indestructible? Certainly not, for if one atom could be destroyed, then it would also be the same for the others and in the same way it would also have happened to the mountain.

9. This would also be the case for the Earth, and even God Himself would finally not fare better if in His whole infinity there would be something that could be destroyed.

10. So, according to the unchangeable, eternal divine order, the very smallest can exist next to the very biggest. As a result, when the smallest life’s power in his spiritual sphere is aware that he cannot be killed or destroyed, he also has no more fear for the supreme life’s power. And then this awareness gives to the lowest life’s power a feeling of lust for power by which he says: ‘I am so necessary and indispensable to the highest life’s power who sees Himself as deity, that He cannot exist without me. If we, as different, yes numberless many low life’s powers unite to one unity, then we can work from the center and make the supposed highest power the lowest. Then He can also worship us just like He is asking now from us. If we possibly can turn the inside of a world to the outside, then this must also be possible with us, life’s powers. If we, little powers, unite and cause great disturbance towards the outside, then the deity, as the little life’s power, will be at our feet.’

11. Look, this is pure hellish philosophy and also the actual cause of all evil, and its name is lust for power.

12. With this understanding, we also have come to know the whole nature of the lowest Hell, and this nature corresponds to the outer appearances of a celestial body. On the surface, the first degree of Hell in the polyp-like seeking for pleasure can clearly be recognized, for everything that you can see there is based on gluttony. In the more inner crust of the Earth the fasting and meagerness reveals itself. There is nowhere any vegetation. Everything lies there as in a rigid death that plans for revenge. At most you will see here and there some places of fire and hot water springs as corresponding images of the already visible anger of the spirits of this Hell.

13. If we go to the inside of the Earth, we can only discover a continuous, terrible chaotic confusion. The one fire ignites the other and suffocates it again. Every drop of water that ends up in here changes immediately into a glowing hot vapor.

14. The greater action here the greater will its reaction be on the surface and this will always weaken all these internal reactions with great ease. And in this manner, everything is wisely guided so that also all these Hells, despite their great abhorrence, must serve Him for the eternal preservation of things. And this forced servitude, which is well known to the hellish spirits, is their greatest torment, for they clearly can see that despite their unwillingness, all their activities must generally be in accordance with the divine order.

15. But this is also the eternal love and wisdom of the Lord, for it is only in this manner that it is possible to restrict the imperious actions of these evil beings. For if they see that the Lord can always turn their most evil plans to good, they become angry and do nothing anymore till they make a new plan to act against the Lord. The Lord knows how to use these also of course, just like the previous ones. This is rhetorically speaking the activity and the nature of the lowest Hell.

16. How this will reveal itself in an image, we will see more closely, and this in all of the three Hells.

CHAPTER 109

Images from the first and the second Hell

1. When you received information about the sun you saw what the image of the first Hell looks like, as well as the different ways by which one comes into the first Hell. I only have to add that the zeal of the hellish spirits that you saw in the first Hell is firstly set on pleasure and gluttony. This condition seems to be the same as the one on Earth in which men do also everything possible to – as you use to say – bring bread on the table.

2. Some set up different businesses, others look for a job as public officer, some look for a good marriage. They do not do all this for the sake of what is good, but exclusively for their own sake and the daily bread. In this condition, they do not care much for one or the other glory but they are mostly interested in a certain livelihood.

3. In the heavenly manner, one is solely concerned about love and to know God. The Lord will take care of all the rest. But in the hellish manner, one is particularly concerned about the opposite. They want to have a certain well-being, and at best they think: as long as I am first of all assured of all the external necessities, then I will see if the spirit is satisfied with this well-being. When he then possesses such external wellbeing, which usually goes together with some modest possession, he will soon become haughty, which is related to his possessions and which he continuously strengthens with a certain splendor. For this reason, also the young employees and new managers, each one of course in their own way, boast more and more. Soon they do not know anymore how to sit, stand, walk, look, listen or speak to immediately show and let recognize from their face how rich they are and what kind of important job they occupy.

4. Once such people are in this way provided with everything, they do not have to take care for anything anymore, for they have their fixed income and their daily bread. Now they can begin to take care of what is spiritual. But the opposite happens. Now, together with this wellbeing, the boasting and the lust for power come forward. That is why they strife more and more to move to the top and become even richer than the managers. In this situation, they become filled with jealousy and inner hate towards those who stand somehow in their way.

5. Their neighborly love goes so far that many subordinate employee longs fervently for the death of the employee that is above him, so that is such situation he can take the place of the one who stands above him. The manufacturer’s most fervent desire is the bankruptcy of those who are in the same business, so that in this way he can draw the whole business to himself. Yes, his neighborly love goes so far that, if possible, he would like to drown all his competitors in a drop of water. He also undertakes everything, no matter where and how it can be done, to bring his next competitors to ruin.

6. If you look at this worldly behavior a little closer, you can see the first Hell with all its gluttony already completely before you, and you can also see very clearly represented how this changes into hate, anger, envy and lust for power in the second Hell. You only have to take away the outer moral and civilian laws of the state and you have the first and second Hell literally and figuratively before your eyes.

7. That which on the Earth stills testifies of a certain civilized society under the protection of moral and civilian laws will degenerate here when those laws will fall away, and turn immediately into war, lust for robbery and murder. Here you have the perfect image of the first Hell.

8. If you want the image of the second Hell, do the same. You will discover hidden cunningness everywhere and you nowhere will see people or spirits together who are not each other’s mutual deadly enemies. Even if they outwardly treat each other with kindness, great politeness and also hypocritical mutual love, this love is only pure hate, for this is only politics to bring the opponent in a peaceful mood and to nicely unarm him in order to then, without resistance, overtake him and bring him to ruin.

9. Look at your Earth at the so-called crawlers and bootlickers. These are usually the worst enemies of those for whom they crawl. They lift them up for the same reason as the vulture picks up the turtle in order to, once he has reached the right height with him, drop him down in a shameful manner and win in this way even more by their fall.

10. Look, this again is literally and figuratively the pure hellish love of the second degree. That is why in this Hell all kinds of deceitful arts are worked out in order to catch each other and bring them to ruin in the foolish supposition that they can win more and more with the fall of others, no matter in what way.

11. In this manner, our disciples are thoroughly learning about the Hells, first theoretically and then practically. And so, in a very short time we took a closer look to the images of the first two Hells. He who will somehow think about this description, will have everything clearly before him. For what concerns the image of the third Hell, we will describe this separately, for this must be very well understood because it is the cause of every evil.

CHAPTER 110

Every person carries Heaven and Hell in himself according to his personality

1. You will certainly think, and many others even more if they were present on this information: ‘It is praiseworthy and from a moral point of view also useful to hear such information by which the fundamental evil is as if visually represented. But there are now on Earth so many descriptions of Hell. They all seem to have the same origin, but how different they are from each other. For the one person, Hell is a pool of fire and sulfur, for the other a gnawing glowworm, again for another a raging fire, an eternal darkness, an eternal death. According to some the damned are tortured, cooked and fried, to others they are simply barons. Some see Hell as a terrible cold, again others as the fire of boiling anger. Some see in it miserable, malformed and starving human forms, again others a collection of the most strange, hideous forms that could have originated from a human form. And so, the notion of Hell became a real Proteus which cannot be compared to any form.

2. For the pure human reason this is a very acceptable and for this time very understandable image of Hell, but who can tell whether in the course of time this image will not be pushed aside by again a different one? For nothing was represented in so many multiple forms than actually this place of horror under the name of ‘Hell’.

3. Good, I say to you, my dear friends. Your worrisome objection has its good reasons, for it is completely based upon the reality of the common notions about Hell. Therefore, I want and must show you Hell in a general light in which every up to now common imagination of Hell, no matter where on Earth, becomes completely justified.

4. If we only look at Hell from the outer and superficially, it is understandable that it appears as a true Proteus with an ever-changing image. But it is quite different when one wants to thoroughly understand it.

5. In order to make this more understandable to you, we will, with the means of little examples, bring this difficult question into the light so that it will become very clear for everyone.

6. Let us take a country where thousands of people are living. All these people, with the exception of those who are insane, idiots and infants, have all kinds of multi-colored ideas about the secret politics of the country. He who wants to know them more closely can speak with different people about this. The one sees only war, the other only secret treason, again another secret national deception, again others sheer wisdom. Some cry aloud about injustice, others lack words to praise the constitution and the secret politics of the country.

7. But only these are sheer opinions of the more developed part of the people about the secret political government. But whoever wants to hear foolishness should go to the dark chambers of the farmers in the countryside. Then he can be assured that he will hear anything that can come up in an undeveloped, rough human fantasy. For instance, that the emperor is planning to poison his city or that he wants to contaminate a certain part of the country with the pest, or that he made a covenant with another king to kill in one night the people of another region with the sword to take possession of the goods of the citizens that he would kill, not to mention other stupidities, like for instance that the king personally sold his soul or the souls of his citizens to the devil in return for a great earthly advantage. It should not be proven any further that all this is true, for everyone is free to daily convince himself of this.

8. That this is so cannot not be doubted, but the question is: who among these thousands of people who expressed their political ideas has the right understanding of this and has thereby expressed the true meaning of the basic principles of the secret government of the country. How can one have a basic idea of something which he does not understand himself?

9. Look, the reason lies partly in the outer image, as well as in the personality of the one who looks upon the image. The less the observer himself is innerly awakened, the more senseless will be the ideas that he forms about the images. And look, this is precisely also the case with the ideas about Hell.

10. It was only granted to very few seers to receive a deeper notion in the nature of this place, but it was permitted to a lot to see one or the other image of this place. And so the idea of so many images always exceeded reality. For this reason, the so many different forms about Hell have multiplied and nobody knew and knows precisely up to now what to think about that place.

11. Next question: who in the country could set up the best basic principles for the secret government? Certainly no other except the wise monarch himself.

12. When the matter is irrefutably so, then this question will also apply to the dark relations in the beyond. So the answer can only be: that only the Lord over all Heavens as well as over all Hells can set up the right and generally valid basic principles over this place.

13. But as someone who is initiated in the secret basic principles of the government will very easily perceive the cause of all the ideas that are spread around in the nation, so also will the one who knows from the Lord the true nature of that place that is called Hell, understand the cause of all the other foolish ideas about this.

14. Every person carries Heaven and Hell in himself according to his personality.

15. If he becomes aware of his own personality by a certain situation, then he only becomes aware of his own developed Hell or his highly imperfect Heaven. Numberless different ideas can develop along that way.

16. However, can this be already considered as the cause? Certainly not more than if someone would come and claim that the sea is only a half shoe deep because he measured it along the coast with a walking stick. The same is here also the case for all the seers who claim: I saw Hell in this or that situation. And also not more than if someone would take the shallow shore, although it also belongs to the sea, for the actual bottom of the sea, and neither can this visualized image be considered as the actual Hell.

17. But how the actual Hell can be found and thoroughly seen, we will see next.

CHAPTER 111

Body, spirit, principle of life

1. If one wants to actually see the real true Hell, one should start to look at the impressions that catch the eye, and from that viewpoint make the corresponding conclusions for the spiritual by means of a spiritual turn. But if this is what one wants, one should accept beforehand the fixed unchangeable fact and understand that the life’s conditions and its effect are always the same under one and the same eternal, unchangeable Lord. In other words:

2. Man lives on in spirit exactly the same as during his physical life here on Earth which is only a life that lives along with it and in between.

3. Now one will say: ‘This sounds strange, for it seems that this is not completely correct, because the spiritual life must certainly be different and must be seen in a quite different perspective than the natural life.’

4. But I say: the one who speaks like this has certainly no idea how he lives physically. Question:

5. What is it that lives during the physical life, the body or the spirit? What is most important in life, is it the body or the spirit? I believe that if someone is capable of thinking more clearly, will not look for the most important in life in the body but only in the spirit, for if the most important in life would be in the body then the body would be immortal. But the body is mortal, thus it cannot carry the basis of life in itself, but only the spirit can do that, for this is immortal. So the life of the body is therefore dependent on the life of the spirit. The whole body behaves passively and completely negative in regard to the spirit. Therefore, the life of the body is only an awakened life that lives with it, just like some tool in the hand of a craftsman lives passively with it as long as the man directs it with his living hand, but if he drops the tool or if he puts it aside, it has no more life with it and its effective activity stops.

6. Which foolish and dumb person will claim that he has to adapt to his tool, while one can clearly see that the craftsman provides himself with the necessary and proper tool. So when the craftsman has determined which tool he needs for his work, then it will also be clear that the actions of the body that lives with it depends on the living spirit, but not the way around.

7. And so, the spirit lives always out of his own life’s principles and in his own life’s conditions to which the body cannot change anything, as little as the dead tool to the work of the craftsman.

8. But when someone watches how a craftsman uses his tool and understands the design that the craftsman wants to make, can he then still seriously assert that finally by using the tool something very different will appear and a quite different work will develop than the foreman had visualized according to the original plan? Would that not be a senseless statement? Certainly, because what is accomplished is surely the result of the work of the living foreman but not of the tool.

9. So, also the life’s conditions of the spirit are constant, whether he makes use of his body or not as a tool. And thus, if someone wants to actually see Hell here, he can observe it here in the physical life under the same conditions as one time in the pure spiritual, because Hell is on Earth always the same as can be seen in the purely spiritual condition. Nothing more or less can be seen here than there, and in this image we can view it very clearly and very effectively.

10. But in order to make the true image of Hell even more clear and visual for everyone on this Earth, we will first explain the very little difference between the natural and the purely spiritual life’s conditions of men, and this, as much as possible, in a very obvious manner.

11. Take for instance a carpenter who has to make a box. For this he needs the tools that you know. He works diligently and will finish his box within a few days. The urgency was mainly the reason for his zeal. Then why was he so zealous, responding to his inner urgency? Because he wanted to finish the box as soon as possible for his use. Further question: where does this urgency come from? This urgency comes from the creative power of the spirit. How? The spirit carries the quality in him to immediately realize it as an object that he created in his mind.

12. He can do that in a pure spiritual condition because whatever he thinks is also there. But connected to his hindering body he cannot do that with outer matter. For this reason, he must urge his body as an instrument for this activity in question in order to gradually realize his idea. This is how it was determined by the Lord, so that in this life, in all kinds of opportunities, the spirit can practice a most necessary quality of life. This quality as mother of humility is called divine patience. Each one who possesses a more mature way of thinking will understand that patience is very necessary for eternal life, because this life does not end. It is already the basis for all good and great achievements for the natural life while this life is only a transitory life.

13. If our carpenter could create his box immediately as he imagined in his thoughts, that would have been more preferable to him. But where would be the very important exercise in patience and where the mutual outer natural reliability if in this material world, where the spirit is still connected to his body, he could make unlimitedly use of his original, creative ability?

14. Although, every spirit receives this ability back after the laying off of the body, but only the good spirit will work in reality, the evil one in fantasy and illusion, because as his nature is, so will also be the result.

15. See, in this given example, the difference between the natural and the purely spiritual life is clearly explained, and from this you can see that in physical life the spirit can only realize his ideas slowly and never completely because the coarse matter with which he is covered hinders him in this while in the purely spiritual condition he wants to realize his idea immediately. The will is always the same, as well as the idea, only its execution is limited in the physical life. This limitation is the only difference between both lives. There is no further difference. The fact that this difference is due to the matter must hardly be mentioned. Since this is now completely clear and evident to us, we will at once show very actual images which are the foundation of Hell.

CHAPTER 112

Earthly images of the lowest Hell

1. Firstly, let us take a rich speculator as example. Look closer at this eternally insatiable one. What was the goal of his love and will? Only to acquire – although somehow lawful and permissible – the possessions of a whole country and finally of a whole kingdom, in no matter what way. And once he is successful in this, take also several kingdoms or the whole surface of the Earth. Although he will not completely succeed in such plan and he probably will not realize his idea completely, but he nevertheless does not let it go and he secretly thinks: ‘If I only had an army of at least a couple of million invincible soldiers, then I would gather all the gold, silver, and all the noble stones and pearls of the whole world and pile them up.’

2. Also, many have the following wish: ‘If only the pest could break out in the country that would kill everyone except me, then I would be the natural, universal heir of the whole country. And if then people would come from another country who would dispute my inheritance, the pest would immediately grab and strangle them at the border.’

3. Look, this is an image of the lowest Hell which you can daily notice among the people of all classes, starting with the simple stallholder to the greatest speculator. What prevents them from realizing such so-called praiseworthy ideas? Only the fatal matter. If we take that away and if we consider then the absolute spirit with the same qualities, then we have the lowest Hell in top condition before us.

4. Secondly: There is an officer with a lower rank before us. What is the most important thought which abides in his heart? Perhaps the thought to prove helpful services to the country? O no, that is the last one. ‘To promote’, that is the most important thought. If it were possible, climbing every hour one step higher. Be at least a general in one year and as such be promoted as soon as possible. Suppose he reaches the highest degree, then his plan will be, or at least his most important thought: ‘And now let us go out with great armies to conquer all nations. Once they are conquered and I have the power, then all emperors, kings and monarchs must tremble for my sword.’

5. The one who will not have recognized the lust for power in our officer must surely be struck with a sevenfold blindness. And also here, for what reason can our officer not make it happen? The same as above, the material, natural, limiting conditions. Matter restricts our hero and he must accept his subordinate degree as an officer, whether he likes it or not. That is why he scolds once and awhile and tries to let his subordinates feel his lust for power as much as possible. The least of offenses of a subordinate is punished with tyrannical mercilessness. Take away the material obstacles from this officer and you will have the second, perfect image of the fundamental Hell in an unsurpassed form before you.

6. You also will find this image very often, especially in those categories of people who are entitled to carry a sword and also with those who have the privilege to lead a caricature of a so-called noble weapon for their insignificant name. There you will see the lust for power everywhere in a form that really stands out. And this is now precisely the nature of the lowest of all Hells which is insatiable and which wants to extend its imperiousness and lust into infinity. More examples will follow.

CHAPTER 113

Another image of the lowest Hell

1. Let us take a look now at a real illicit lover, just like a female illicit lover. What is such flesh-lusty person continuously thinking about? If it were possible, and nature would permit it, he would like to continuously have sex with the most beautiful and lavish girls in all possible ways. When such person sees a somehow attractive female being, anyone can read from his eyes that he would like to use her on the spot for his pleasure without taking into account for what reason the sexual act was established and created by God. If civil laws would not hinder him a female being would not even be safe in public places against his lust.

2. But this does not change anything because he still sinned out of his lust. Let us assume that such sensual person would have a fortune that would be sufficient to provide him with almost every pleasure he wants. What does he do? He travels to all countries in order to provide himself with several, special pleasures, because despite his great fortune his own place could not offer him anymore enough pleasure for which he stills feels a so-called passion, since he tasted of everything that was in his reach.

3. When our sensualist enjoyed everything, and his nature begins to refuse him its vile service, he uses artificial means to breathe some new life into his dull nature. The same means are first of all taken from the pharmacy. When these do also not work anymore, he provides himself with shameful sex of healthy boys and young men [is prescribed] to such a flesh hero, who has lived to the last drop. By this his nature is again a little activated because the highly-skilled doctors know that the evaporation of the male youth has the greatest effect on a decrepit and fully lived out fornicator. In this way, our meat hero becomes a boy's desecrator.

4. His nature is completely reversed, he gets a formal disgust before the flesh of the women and then seeks only to satisfy himself with the strengthening flesh of the male youth. And if he has also prepared himself a disgust about the buleric consumption of meat and he has become totally incapable, he will be angry about such an institution of nature, which completely renounces him.

5. His faith in God was already sacrificed a long time ago, because the sin of the flesh will first kill all the spiritual. By this sin, man becomes a blunt material egoist, loves no one except himself and is of the opinion that everything that he wants in his lust must serve him only. He is excessively in love with himself and therefore he hates everything that does not honor his lust. For this reason he becomes, as said, a purely selfish, hard materialist and already for a long time no trace can be found in him that can be recognized as divine or spiritual.

6. Therefore he is also a pure atheist, and the nature – the outer, visible, coarse nature – is his god. He gives offerings to this god of nature, this as long as he can experience with the given power of his own nature that this god can give him these delightful and enjoyable pleasures, thanks to the arrangement of nature. But woe to that god once he will refuse his service to our hero. Anger, revenge, wrath and furiousness are then his extra gifts or coat of arms. You can believe it, the secret anger of such real arch sensualist, when he cannot commit his illicit love anymore goes beyond all human understanding. A pyromaniac, a murderer and a street robber can have more human feeling in them compared to a greedy sensualist whose body refuses its service.

7. Are there only few of these men of pleasure on Earth? O no, I can assure you that for every money miser there are a lot of such persons who are addicted to flesh. The father who has a daughter with a charming appearance can be sure that she will often be looked at with lusty eyes, especially in the city.

8. One will say now: this does not matter, thoughts and lusts that cannot be executed are tax-free. But I add here: indeed, for the blind of spirit who is not capable to look even one hair further than matter. However, what would a father say when his spiritual eye would be opened and would see all those with lustful eyes before him who dishonor his daughter in all possible ways?

9. Her body can be protected, but who will protect her spirit and its radiating sphere of life with which these lusty people come in contact with and influence with their shameful lusts? Do you think that this will not have a negative influence on that daughter? Then you are seriously mistaken.

10. If you will often take your daughter to places where she is looked at by lustful eyes, then in a short time she will be sensually changed and secretly mock and ridicule the moral warnings of her parents. Her senses will be more and more directed to places of which she suspects that sensual men will be there. Many will say now: ‘No, this is too extreme, this to too exaggerated. What kind of harmful result can an innocent lust or secret lustful thought have on a strange person without any touching?’ I only say on this: for men with such views and such spiritual attitude this announcement is as less intended as the sun for the center of the Earth. Then I will ask those who have experienced in the so-called clairvoyant mediums and seen for themselves the disturbing effect on such persons at the arrival of lusty people, where this effect comes from and what its cause is? Even when such uninvited guest does not touch the medium, he nevertheless feels a convulsive and often painful effect when such guest comes in.

11. Look, the reason of this is that the spiritual sphere of the medium is immediately brought down. This has no bad moral results for the medium because his sphere is more closed up and because every medium will immediately do everything to get rid of such guest.

12. Question: does this also happen under the natural circumstances where the sphere of every person is more extensive and wherein he does not perceive the harmful influence? Truly, the reaction under the natural circumstances is much worse than under the mediumistic. And therefore, for such unchaste thoughts and lusts a separate commandment has been given in which it is stated that everyone should abstain from them and reject them.

13. So he who observes the behavior of such lusty person will see again a perfect image of Hell. He only has to take away his matter and look at him purely spiritually, then he will see astonishing things. First a lecherous person in every respect and besides that a furious person who wants to avenge himself in a shameful manner and with all furiousness on his Creator, as well as on the whole creation because of the supposed imperfection of his nature. I do not have to say more, for he who has eyes can see for himself. In the next female example, we will see the image of this Hell even more clearly.

CHAPTER 114

Lust for power and vanity – the seeds of Hell

1. There is generally only little psychological knowledge needed to discover that with the female gender the lust for power is a dominant characteristic, but lust for power and vanity are twins and originate thus from one and the same root. Where can you find a woman who does not possess a certain kind of vanity which shows from the manner of dressing or from the manner she arranges her room or from still many other things.

2. Examine the background of this vanity and you will find only the living grain of seed of vanity and the resulting lust for power.

3. Now one will say: ‘No, this is a very strict approach. One should rather praise a certain degree of vanity with the female gender instead of mercilessly criticizing or greatly rejecting it. Because a certain degree of vanity is certainly only a child of the female sense of shame and together with this the sense of cleanliness which is obviously only a praiseworthy virtue, but never a vice of the female gender.’ Good, I say, it unfortunately went so far in the world to think that the sense of shame is a virtue, crowning humanity with this honor, and this is the best harvest for Hell, for in this manner people have to fall, while they hardly could fall in another manner.

4. One is asking: ‘Then why?’ But I ask: the honor of man is based upon what, on his humility or on his vanity? The humble one strives for the lowest level, where no more honor or homage exists, as the Lord has shown with His great example by which He put His honor in the deepest humility and in that which is actually the greatest shame on Earth.

5. A similar honor was already given to His first followers. I ask however: what matters the sense of shame when one is persecuted, scorned and finally slain naked on the cross? How much sense of honor will someone still have in his body and how much sense of shame when he is hanged? I think that in such situation those two esteemed human characteristics will be moved to the background.

6. However, if one wants to come forward with an honor, then in some point he should at least refer to Christ as the center of all virtues. Then I ask: did He ever praise the sense of shame or honor as a human virtue? On the contrary. He actually forbade His disciples and apostles to strife for another honor when He said to them that they should not let themselves be greeted and honored like the Pharisees who like to see when they are greeted on the street and called rabbi.

7. I consequently really cannot understand why the sense of shame and the lust for power that is connected to it can be considered as a virtue, which comes very strongly forward with the female gender.

8. Now one will say: ‘Take away the sense of shame from the female gender and soon we will have only whores before us.’ Oho, I say, do you think that? Then I add very firmly: in this respect, there is no better stimulation for the female gender than the sense of shame. Only a little occasion is needed and every female being is as a result of this feeling ripe for lewdness, for nothing is easier ignored than precisely this feeling which has no other foundation than vanity. The little feeling of honor which stands opposite the feeling of shame is such weak support for that virtue that it will immediately be blown away at the slightest breeze.

9. However, from this it is clear that in this kind of female virtue a very fatal contradiction lies behind it. To immediately put this into a clear light, I will give you examples from your daily life.

10. Imagine you accidentally end up one morning into a dressing room wherein a few young girls are still present in morning dress. They scream loudly and the young girls will flee to all corners and behind curtains, of course only of sheer sense of shame. And on this occasion what did you actually see of all their female charm? At most a head with tangled hair, an unwashed, sleepy face, an arm that was hardly naked up to the elbow, and at most a half-naked breast. But now the girls dress themselves. The arm will often remain naked up to below the armpit, and also the neck and bosom remain uncovered, as far as a certain decency will permit, or it will at most be covered by transparent lace in order to increase the attractiveness of the naked parts. With this came an end to the sense of shame of that morning.

11. Question: is the sense of shame only about the young girl or about her morning dress? Let us go further. It is precisely this same very virtuous lady, who almost had a stroke of sheer shame during that morning visit and who at that time did not allow to be touched by a man, who is taken almost half naked to an evening ball and she lets herself unashamedly be grabbed by her dance partner and often let herself be caressed on every part. Question: where is now that sense of shame of the morning? Probably also left at home in the unattractive morning dress. Let us go further.

12. On some occasion at the ball, that same virtuous girl has a nice company or had eye contact during a nice, innocent walk with a man she finds attractive. The sense of shame is at each opportunity as much as possible set aside for him. Soon our virtuous one will follow the looks of her chosen one and pay attention to where his looks are directed. Then our virtuous lady will soon take care to really let those parts of her body come out as much as possible.

13. However, when the chosen one will meet our virtuous lady in a company where she wants to show herself from her most honorable side, he will have to be satisfied when at a good opportunity she will give him a few hidden looks, but in the company she will try even harder to show her qualities to him. Woe to him if he would forget and come too close to her. But if they would come together, especially in a place where the sunlight is not shining and where the sound waves from the worldly noise are hardly coming through or not at all, then the sense of shame has been overcome completely. And our so virtuous lady of the morning let herself be admired from head to toe. And on such opportunity the free touching is not considered as an offense at all to her virgin sense of shame.

14. In this manner the highly praised feeling of virtuousness is lost completely, and my question is: where is now the effect of this highly praised sense? It is gone and it has shown its true face when the mask was taken away. And so every sound minded person can see that it is nothing else but a snake in the breast of the woman, or the first grain of seed of the lowest Hell from which, once it has developed itself, all possible female vices can come up as from a cornucopia. And how this happens, we will further make clearly visible to every eye, just like before.

CHAPTER 115

Fruits ripe for Hell

1. Let us return to our virtuous lady and follow her once more in the company where she, based on her female charms, acts like a queen. Her beloved joins the company also. But what does his favorite lady do now? Does she welcome him? O no, she welcomes a lot of other visitors and let herself be admired now from head to toe. Why actually?

2. Since I know very well the world I say: she does not do this to be unfaithful to her chosen beloved, but only to show him how extremely valuable she is. In a certain way she indirectly says to him: ‘Be well aware what kind of invaluable treasure you have in me.’

3. But her lover, who does not understand this, takes the matter quite differently.  He soon becomes dismayed and turns his eyes away from where his beloved let her be admired. If moreover he takes a sneaky look to that fatal spot, then his looks are already filled with burning jealousy.

4. Our young lady sees that, but does not improve her behavior in the least. But she moreover intensifies the game to take revenge on her lover who just started to underestimate her great value just at the moment when she wanted to display it to him mostly. At this opportunity, the lover tries to withdraw himself as much as possible from the company with the intent in his heart: ‘Just wait you mean lady, when we talk to each other again in private, I will tell you what I think in a manner that you will remember, because now I only want to take seriously revenge for your unfaithfulness.’

5. They meet each other and the fruit of this encounter are angry lectures. The result of this is mostly a separation of the loved ones, only seldom a reconciliation which will however not last, just like the first love did not last. Separation or reconciliation, it always comes down to the same, because if they come together again, it is usually for the purpose to show each other their individual value even more. If they will not continue their relationship, they both will use every means to make each other’s life bitter.

6. Out of sheer revenge the young lady will soon exceed all boundaries of the sense of shame and becomes showy. If the old beloved one does not crawl back, then out of that same sense of revenge she becomes a whore after which the lover will ban out every former feeling from his heart. And once our former virtuous lady has tasted the sweet prickle of lewdness, then it is as if no god can bring her back to virtuousness. If she becomes unhappy by that, then with a heart full of grudge she will mostly put all blame on that first lover who shamelessly underestimated her motives and her former virtue.

7. And when we look back, what does all this mean? Only the already completely developed fruit of the first so highly praised female sense of shame. The name of the fruit is called: lowest perfect Hell, or also: perfect ripe Hell, when the outward cover falls away. For what would such unhappy girl do to the one who is, although unjustly, the cause of all her unhappiness?

8. If it were possible, at that moment that she gives free play to her anger, she would like to see him be torn by a thousand fiery snakes, and this would hardly be a quenching dewdrop on her enraged heart.

9. He who cannot believe that, should visit such unhappy young lady and speak with her about that certain person who made her unhappy. He will at best see from the mouth of the woman the likes of a volcano spitting fire. In the worst case, she will say: ‘Please do not talk to me about that anymore.’ If you heard that, you can imagine what will happen. Now we have shown the fruits that ripe for Hell. In what will follow, we will show this into more detail.

CHAPTER 116

In the spiritual condition all secrets come to light

1. It happens that such offended young lady will, from sheer revenge regarding her former lover, marry another person for who she does not feel any love. With this deed, she wants to punish her former lover in a hurting manner, for he underestimated her. Yes, if possible, she even would kill him for this insult. But what happens?

2. The first lover does not feel offended at all but cheerfully seeks another lover, and often a better person than the first one. What is the result of this to his first love who is married by now? She becomes moody and silent. Her husband asks her for the cause, but in vain. What suppresses her is too big, too difficult and too suspicious in front of her new husband so that she does not dare to tell him. Although she does not undertake further steps to bother her old love or to trap him, she buries the cause of her wrath all the deeper in her heart. Several years pass by, and since, as usual, time is the best plaster to heal so many wounds, also this one heals. Such people can often still become good friends.

3. One will say: ‘Well, in that case, Hell will have received its last part, for when an old enmity is changed into friendship, then Heaven will certainly replace Hell in a proper way.’ This is how it seems from the outside, but this is like a soldier whose body was wounded in many places. His wounds were healed through medicine and time. When the weather is nice our soldier walks around happily and hardly realizes that his body is full of scars. But now the bad weather comes. His scars are breaking out and when the weather gets worse his scars become more painful. He desperately turns around in his bed. He curses the war, all generals, the emperor, yes even God, his parents and the day on which he was born.

4. Look, here we can see now a good image of such morally patched up friendships that are the result of the earthly time which makes man to forget. But once the weather turns bad, that means: let the spirits of such friends come together in the beyond at the moment on which they sinned against each other on Earth. Then at the moment on which they can see, through the clear vision of their spirit, the harm that was caused which is the result of their mutual sins, and besides that, also the advantages which they could have had if they had not sinned, we will see that they will treat each other with the greatest contempt and terrible curses. This is then also not a proper Heaven as it seems to be but pure Hell at its lowest potential.

5. That is why it is also stated in the Scripture that everyone should carefully examine himself, and if there is something no matter how hidden and secret in man, once it will be loudly proclaimed from the rooftops. That means: no matter how deep man will hide something, it will come out and will be visibly revealed in an absolute spiritual form. Therefore, everyone is explicitly advised to carefully examine every friendly and hostile relationship in which he ever was and to view what reaction it will have on the mind if he will be brought back into that same situation. For every living person here on Earth should be prepared to be lively placed back in the beyond in an absolute spiritual condition into all fatal situations which are here for him the greatest offenses. The Lord Himself gave us an example in this.

6. He once was condemned by His enemies and crucified between criminals. After that, His actual soul did not immediately ascend to Heaven but descended to Hell where His worst enemies waited for Him, although there were also many old friends like the old fathers and a lot of prophets and teachers.

7. If someone in this world will not have paid back every last cent, he will not be capable to enter the Kingdom of Heaven. That is why it is so important here to zealously go through every old book of debts. Especially those which carry the word ‘love’. Debts of love are the hardest. A robbery of millions will be more easily erased from the spiritual memory than a debt of love. Why? Because such robbery of millions is only an outer great debt which does not affect the spirit, but the debt of love is mostly related to the whole spirit because all love is the actual nature of the spirit. Therefore, nothing is as dangerous in this world as the so-called ‘falling in love’, for this condition seizes the whole spirit. If there are then obstacles by which the premature sexual love between both sexes is not accomplished, the offended spirits retreat and let the inflicted wounds be superficially cured through all kinds of worldly pleasure, but they are not healed in the least.

8. When later the bad weather comes up again, these wounds will open again. This second condition will be much worse than the first, as the Scripture shows where it is written about the 7 spirits that were driven out. Also in this case the house is cleaned up with outer means after which the evil enemy wanders around through dry deserts and steppes, but since he cannot find any accommodation there, he takes another 7 spirits who are worse than him and moves again into his old, cleaned house.

9. The old, cleaned house is the spirit in this world that is cleaned by outer means. The evil spirit is the bad condition in which man has ever lived on this Earth. This is cleaned completely by outer means. Now he wanders around through dry deserts and steppes. That means: the spirit of man heals his wounds and they become scars, so that his wounds dry up and do not bleed anymore. But the evil spirit returns with 7 others. That means: in absolute spiritual condition, all wounds become visible again and open again with much greater intensity, and this is the condition which is worse than the first one.

10. And everywhere where you can see the one person acting against another in the fiercest, vicious anger, there is also already the lowest Hell completely present.

11. Therefore, I, John, as very experienced, eternal servant and helper of the Lord, advice everyone, but especially the parents to warn them most of all against the so-called falling in love. How much the spirit suffers from it, you can already notice in a natural way from every young student who prematurely fell in love, because the life of such young man is certainly degenerated and he is not capable anymore to develop himself spiritually. No matter what kind of passion he otherwise may have, they all can be controlled with good guidance, and so one can still make a decent person out of him. But a certain lively fantasy image, once it has fixed itself in the spirit, is more difficult to remove from a young mind – male or female – than moving a mountain.

12. And the basis of such premature falling in love is precisely the greatest spiritual lewdness, for lewdness and harlotry are those things that target the deceit of the spirit.

13. Since love is mainly a matter of the spirit, the deception of love or a clear offense against it is the true spiritual lewdness of the worst and lowest degree, or the actual lowest Hell.

14. Everyone should well and very consciously take at heart what has been said up to now. After this will follow more and similar observations.

CHAPTER 117

Heaven and Hell – Polarities in man

1. Now one will say: ‘It is indeed very probable that the matter will finally take such course and that each wound inflicted to the spirit, will become visible in its absolute condition and will react. But after the thorough explanation about the fundamental Hell we still cannot see how such memories of offended loves in this world will then manifest themselves as fundamental Hell in the absolute spiritual condition, for it will be hard to find someone on this Earth who did not personally experience such offenses or caused them. But suppose such lively memories will manifest themselves in the absolute spiritual condition as fundamentally hellish, then we really would like to know how many people will come in Heaven after they lived a century on Earth.

2. Why can such cursed judgment come over man when he actually has to sin in a highly passive condition against a Divine order which he can impossibly maintain because he completely lacks the power which one can only acquire after very long experiences.’

3. Good, I say, whoever makes such reproach to me, I kindly ask to consider the following a little closer. There he will find proof that I really did not describe who will come into Hell and how many there will be. I only indicated to everyone what appears as purely Hell in man, for not one person on the whole Earth is that perfect that he does not carry the whole Hell in him, as he also carries the whole Heaven in himself.

4. As I sufficiently explained before what Heaven is in man, how it comes into effect in him and how it increases, so I also have to show you how Hell comes into effect in man and how it increases.

5. It would be sad and very merciless if man, since he carries the perfect image of Hell in himself, would also immediately become an inhabitant of that Hell. If that were the case then also all angels would be hellish spirits, for also they carry the perfect image of Hell as image in themselves. Would that not be the case, then it would not be possible for any angel to penetrate that place to calm down the revolting spirits. I myself could not show and reveal Hell to you if it were not completely in me. Besides, it would also be very dangerous for the inhabitants of Heaven if they had not the corresponding image of Hell in them, because then they would not be able to see what Hell is planning against them.

6. So no spirit in the whole Hell can plan something against us which we cannot immediately see in ourselves.

7. Also, Hell and Heaven are in man as two opposite poles without which no existing object can be imagined.

8. Therefore, it is useful that everyone be informed that there was absolutely no question as to who comes into Hell, because that would mean that humanity on Earth is already judged, but only as to what Hell really is.

9. But everyone can understand that such unfaithfulness in love is actually purely hellish from the fact that such unfaithfulness comes basically from self-love and lust for power.

10. Because what is jealousy? Only the awakening of self-love, selfishness and lust for power. A jealous person is not jealous because the chosen one has too little love, but only because the person’s desires become limited, thinking that the chosen one, from whom actually the highest respect was expected, underestimates the person’s value.

11. Question: is this not actually the complete opposite pole of the attitude wherein one – male or female – should totally forget oneself out of neighborly love to be completely ready for the well-being of one’s neighbor?

12. But how can man suppress this fundamental Hell in himself and not make it active but purely passive?

13. This is very easy: the one who offended as well as the one who was offended should, in the name of the Lord, forgive each other wholeheartedly, and the one who offended as well as the one who was offended should bless each other, in the name of the Lord – it is obvious that this should be done in all seriousness. Then the whole Hell in man is already under control.

14. Truly, I say to you: a remorseful glance to our good Father is sufficient to escape Hell for all eternity. Look at the criminal at the cross. He was a robber and a murderer, but then he looked up to the Lord and spoke with a deep and grievous remorse in his heart: ‘O Lord, when You will come into Your Kingdom and will judge great criminals, think about me and punish me not too heavily for the great crimes that I committed.’

15. And see, the great, almighty Judge spoke to him: ‘Truly, even today you will be with Me in paradise.’

16. From this true happening every somehow believing Christian can conclude how little there is actually needed to have the completely lowest, mighty Hell under control forever.

17. The example of the Samaritan woman at the well of Jacob can be compared to the former one, for the Lord spoke to the woman who had a relation with seven men: ‘Woman, give Me to drink.’ And further: ‘If you would know Who it is who says to you: women, give Me to drink, you should say to Him: ‘give me to drink from the living water, so that I will thirst no more forever.’ These are the true words that were exchanged at that place.

18. Who cannot see the small thing that the Lord asks in return from this sinner for receiving the Kingdom of Heaven: only a drink of water. So will also every Christian, who is somehow familiar with the Scriptures, know what happened to the adulteress and the life of Mary Magdalene. The Lord writes the guilt of the first one twice in the sand and Magdalene was allowed to anoint His feet and was the first person to whom the Lord came after His resurrection. Also the story of the lost son and the search for the hundredth lost sheep, how little He asks from a sinner to receive mercy and compassion.

19. That is why we did not mention who will come into Hell, but only what Hell actually is.

CHAPTER 118

Heavenly and hellish principles

1. I already have another one, as you say, in the cross-hairs, who says: It is all right; the viewing of hell can be of use to some of us, but no sooner than until one knows when the hell that appears in man or in a whole human society becomes so positive that it becomes the main polarity, and those in which it is manifesting, really belong to hell. In short, one first needs to know who goes to hell, and how, and when one comes into it, before any particular knowledge of hell can have any worth. He who does not know where he can fall into the hands of the enemy, how and when, is already lost; for where he will think himself most secure, just then he will be attacked by his enemy, and he will certainly be lost without rescue. Therefore, the question is: When does a sinner, irrespective of personality, come to hell and when not?

2. This question can rightfully be asked, because in the Holy Scriptures is so many examples where similar sinners have come to hell and the others have been saved. But I, John, say: this question sounds like it has some wise reason; but it is not the case here. If I would describe the appearance of hell, I indirectly do that to whom hell really belongs. Hopefully, in this depiction, under the concept of hell, one will not think of a positively perverse place in which one can come, but only a state in which a free being can displace himself by his kind of love, through his action. Every human being who is only able to reasonably mature, will easily grasp with his hands, that a man will belong to hell as long as he acts according to his principles. Their principles, however, are: domination, self-love and selfishness. These three are exactly contrary to the heavenly principles, which are: humility, love for God and love for neighbor.

3. How easy is it to distinguish one from another, even easier than distinguishing the night from the day. Anyone who wants to know clearly whether he belongs to hell or heaven, ask his inner mind carefully. Say this one by one to the foundational inclination and love: This is mine and that is mine too; that is what I want and what I want to do; this fish is mine and the other I want to catch too; give me everything, because I want, yes, I want everything. Wherever the mind lets itself be heard as such, there is hell still the positive pole.

4. But when the mind says, "Nothing is mine, neither this nor that, everything is the other's and I am not worth the least, and if I have or will have something, it should not be mine, but my brother's - if that is the inner answer of the mind, heaven is the positive pole.

5. Therefore, if one has chosen a maiden, and another chooses her too, and the first is soon full of the most intense jealousy, and the second is also admitted, the pole of hell is already prevalent in him. But if the first one says: My love, you alone are your heart's mistress. I truly love you, therefore I do not want a sacrifice from you, but I am prepared to bring you every sacrifice for your own good; that's why you are completely free from me. Do what you want and how you feel good; You will never lose my sincere love and friendship. Because if I force your hand into my hand, I would only love me in you and would like to make you a slave. But I do not love myself in you, but you alone in me. Therefore, from my point of view, you have the complete freedom to choose whomever you deem most suitable for your happiness.

6. See, from this language, the citizen of heaven already shines, for that is the   speech of heaven. And whoever can speak such from the bottom of his heart, has no positive drop of hell left in it.

7. Those who can deny themselves at this most delicate point, can deny themselves even more in other less delicate issues. But whoever becomes jealous, and at once breaks love with his beloved, curses her in his heart with contempt, resentment, and anger, and also meets his rival, already acts from hell, which then clearly forms the positive pole in his heart.

8. The rule for the heavenly man is this: whoever sees in whatever the love of his neighbor is engaged in, is to withdraw immediately and he is to set no limits to his neighbor against the realization of his love; for it is better to go empty-handed at every opportunity in the world than to gain anything by some, if insignificant, struggle.

9. For the more one sacrifices here, the more he will find beyond. He who sacrifices a woolen robe here, will find a golden one there; he who sacrifices two will find ten there, and whoever sacrifices a chosen virgin here will meet a hundred immortals there. Anyone who gives away even a meager piece of land here will be given a whole world there. Anyone who has helped one here will stretch out their arms beyond that and help them into eternal life! - And so nobody will lose something that he sacrifices here. He who sows abundantly will also reap abundantly, but he who sows sparingly will also reap sparingly.

10. I suppose that might be enough to make it quite palpable to anyone when hell or when heaven becomes a positive pole. And so nobody will need to come up with the ridiculous question: who is going to hell or to heaven, and how and when does one get into it? Because nobody comes neither to hell nor to heaven, but everyone carries both in oneself.

11. If hell is positive, the whole man already makes hell, as he lives and exists; but if heaven is positive, then the whole man is heaven itself, as he lives and exists. And so no one needs to ask: what does it look like in heaven and hell, but everyone looks at their own polarity, and he'll see exactly what it looks like either in hell or in heaven.

12. For there is nowhere a place called heaven or hell, but all that is in every human self; and no one will ever go to another heaven or another hell, which he carries in himself.

13. You have sufficiently convinced yourself how we were in that central sun and have seen miracles there. Where was this sun? In you! Where are we now? According to the appearance, on the spiritual sun; but in reality, in yourselves.

14. How this is possible is shown to you by every dream; and of that you have already received the most substantial treatises, and it is just this (with the exception of the dream, where existence is undecided) with the greatest, clearest decisiveness in the absolute spiritual state. To understand this more thoroughly, let's look at a few examples.

CHAPTER 119

The spirit as the creator of his own world

1. A good landscape painter and at the same time a great friend of beautiful country outings, comes home from a country party. He likes the area he saw on this trip so much that he wants to stay in it forever. His business, however, does not allow such. What is left for him, therefore, to at least sometimes see the most beautiful part of his country? He paints this area with great skill on two empty, large walls of his living-room so admirably, that each visitor recognizes with astonishment, instantly, the glorious, well-known region.

2. Question: From where did our painter take the example for this area? Did he have any copperplate engraving? Or did he himself made a sketch of the place earlier? No, neither one nor the other, but he has captured the living contours of the area in his imagination and faithfully reproduced them here on the wall.

3. That's right, and every human being sees the possibility of it; but certainly not every person can see how our painter has brought the beautiful region to the wall in his imagination. So here's the question: how and in what way did this painter put the area on the wall of his imagination? See, this is an important life process and says a lot; Therefore, we want to illuminate it a little bit closer. On some occasion, we have come to know and see our central sun as clearly as possible, which is all present in the spirit of man. If it were not present in the human spirit, how could he ever conceive of that idea and make any idea what no mortal eye has ever beheld?

4. But now man can achieve in himself incomprehensibly high and super-sensory spiritual intuitions, and thus he must have in himself everything that a fantasy can ever produce.

5. But a person's imagination can be pure and impure. It is pure when, albeit in a rarer case, the immortal spirit of man already stands so absolutely in his body that his pure images are not tarnished and polluted by the images of the outside world. Thus imagination, too, can be pure through the conception of mere external images, if it holds the images seen through the power of the soul and then faithfully reproduces them on occasion. Imagination is impure if the spirit is still too passive in its body, both regarding its inner images and to those of the external world, where everything then mixes up, the spiritual and natural, and no one can become wise if the fantasy presents the spiritual or the natural. To this class of impure imaginative images belong all those medieval mystical obscenities (indecencies), according to which the heaven has received its strange form, the hell and the so-called purgatory became a roasting oven, and more such follies.

6. From this, however, it appears that in the spirit, which constitutes the whole life of the soul as well as the body, everything must be present from the smallest to the greatest, which embraces all infinity, heaven and hell, and between these two extremes, the whole natural world. And this endlessly living faculty of the spirit is what you call the "fantasy" in the general sense.

7. If someone wants to bring something out of this rich room, he only need to arouse his love. The stronger the love becomes, the more violent is its flame and the more violent its warmth and its light.

8. Through this quality of love, the image captured by it becomes alive itself, becomes more and more distinct through the light of love, until at last, like the region of our painter, it has attained full maturity. And this image, perfected by the quality of love in man himself, is the real inner world of the spirit.

9. Now we know where the painter took the picture from. That is something already, but we do know a little more, and that is that this is the way by which the spirit is the creator of its own world.

10. But we also know that everything in the world can be good or bad accordingly, and that is what love makes of it. If love is in accordance with the order of God, everything becomes good through it; if this is against the order of God, everything will become bad through it. In this way, every human being develops either heaven or hell in himself.

11. Every act and action must have a foundation and in and of itself a certain form or better ceremony under which it happens.

12. But how does one imagine an area on earth where you can find monuments of many atrocities? Surely, when you would see this, a secret shudder will strike you. See, that is already the form of the hellish; for in spirit in the hereafter, such a world is also formed, which is full of monuments of atrocities. In this world, the spirit sees infinite depths, and in them, its incorrigible evil behavior. But it is very different when you come to an area where noble people have always lived, who did many good and noble things. It will seem very familiar to you, and it will give you a feeling of transfiguration, as if you were in the bosom of Abraham. This is an anticipation of heaven. In the absolutely spiritual state, feeling and its form are expressed in the most vivid form. This form is the spiritual place of Heaven and, as you can easily see, is also a work of the spirit.

13. But it is clear from this that every man, through the nature of his love, becomes the creator of his own inner world, and that he can never enter any heaven or hell, but only the work of his love. This is why it also says, 'And your works follow you.' And in just this way, as we have now undergone the apparition of hell, our well-known students of the Sun pass it by. What will happen to them after that, we will consider next.

CHAPTER 120

Further development of the students in the beyond. The Middle Kingdom (Hades)

1. Do they come, as you say, from hell back to heaven? That would be very earthly spoken, because these students never actually go to hell, but only into the state, in their own sphere, to look at it. It creates nothing more than a just revulsion of the antipolar or infernal state, and our students are back again in their true positive heavenly sphere. But since heaven cannot be attained only by insights and recognition, nor by a nun-kind of inactive love of prayer and reverence, but only by the works of love, which gives a fruitful good for the neighbor, our disciples must, in order to reach the true heaven, now also let themselves go into a seriously active state.

2. But what does this consist of? We could answer that in a few words. Look at the natural-spiritual sphere of your earth or the so-called "middle realm", which also bears the name "Hades", and is about what you Romans believe, admittedly very wrong, under the purgatory. This kingdom can best be compared to a large entrance hall, where all enter without distinction of rank and office, and to a certain extent prepare themselves for further entry into the actual guest quarters.

3. So even this Hades is that first natural-spiritual state of man into which he comes immediately after death.

4. For no one will either go to heaven or to hell at once, unless in the first case anyone on earth would either have to be completely born again out of the pure love of the Lord, or in the second case he would have to be a most malevolent offender against the Holy Spirit. In the first case, therefore, heaven would be attained without entry into the middle realm, in the second case, but the lowest hell is to be expected. Heaven in the first case, because such a man already carries him in the highest perfection, and in the second case, hell, because such a man has become emptied of all heavenly things. But that is just a side note that does not matter; Therefore we do not want to stay any longer, but immediately turn our eyes to where and what our students are dealing with.

5. This large Middle Kingdom is the main workshop for all heavenly spirits. Everyone has much to do there. For think of this place, which receives every hour of your day about five to seven thousand newcomers. These must be immediately tested and brought to the place that is perfectly suited to them, or they must be immediately led into such a state, which coincides with their basic love in them. Therefore, they must be explored and tested in all their inclinations. Wherever they tend to most, that is the way which must also be spiritually opened to them.

6. Of course, that does not happen in the world; for that would be the strongest so-called St.Simonism, which in no time would want to turn the whole earth into a robber's and murderer's nest. But in the realm of the spirits it is precisely this St. Simonism that is observed, and everyone can consequently pursue his inclination unhindered.

7. It will of course be said here: If it happens like that, who will then go to heaven? There it is different; It is said that every doctor must know his patient from the bottom of his heart before he can prescribe a medicine for him to foundationally heal him. Because on the other hand, nobody is served anything with a palliative cure. So must, in the beyond, every newcomer make a general confession of his life from A to Z. Only after this has happened, a change of state, which means the perfect revelation, happens. In this state, every spirit stands completely naked and then enters a third state, which is called the desolation, and probably the killing off of all the sensorial that man has brought with from the world.

8. Only then does the spiritual man come to heaven, or, in the worst case, into the first hell.

9. My predecessor showed you sufficiently in the evening region what this resort of cleansing looks like, when you found yourself in the pitch-dark area among the "moss-eaters". You have seen visually clear how these spirits then gradually get into the first heaven, or even into the first hell.

10. We can now therefore immediately solve the question of what on all these occasions, our students actually get to do. Their business is exploring and opening the ways to places of cleansing. In this they have for the time being nothing more to do; because more advanced angelic spirits need to take care of the further work.

11. But how does such exploration and the opening of the way happen? We have previously touched on the so-called St. Simonism and now want to present the case in a nutshell as clear as possible. And so listen:

12. Every human being who has lived here according to his duties of profession and who has been provided with all so-called spiritual goods upon his departure from this world, immediately asks for heaven. He, too, is evidently at once elevated to a state which, for him, is the heavenly resort.

13. But such heaven is always represented in its truth, which is truly different from what the newcomer has brought over in his well-founded (fixed) idea. But that he does not like such a heaven any more than some of the present bishops, prelates, and other spiritual dignitaries would like, when they would suddenly have to take the plow with their own hands for the benefit of their brothers, is very easy to understand.

14. Therefore, even such a heavenly guest, who does not feel well in such a "true" heaven, demands the same again. And as he returns to his usual state, he immediately seeks in himself what have pleased him most on earth. He finds, for example, that beautiful women and girls were his greatest joy on earth. He soon notices the spirits who investigate and guide him, and they propose that this would not do for heaven, for his desire is impure. But there he protests and says: Just put me to the test, let me go to the most beautiful women and girls, and I will have a good conversation with them. After such an utterance, the guest will be promptly invited. He is led exactly to those states in which he is gradually quite bodily in all the scenes that has given him so much pleasure in the world. Here, however, the (guiding) spirits disappears and let him act alone, but always under their observation, which he is not aware of.

15. That the guest here repeats all his scenes hardly needs mentioning. But what happens to him and what is the business of our spirits - we shall see in the sequel.

CHAPTER 121

Every life has certain ways determined by Jesus

1. If the guest has undergone such a scene of one of his principal passions, then he usually becomes filled with disgust for such a fleeting pleasure, by convincing himself that there is nothing real about it. You must know that such spirits also have sexual intercourse in the hereafter; but instead of pleasure, they feel a very significant pleasure-pain, and this peculiarity makes them all the more feel disgust for their passion.

2. But if such a passion is defeated in this way, then the spirit seeks something else in itself, which otherwise pleases him in the world, for example a game. If that is the case, he longs for a gaming company. This is granted to him. He comes among well-known friends, and their first meeting requires nothing more than the quick arrangement of a game. And immediately he is put into the state in which he finds everything that is needed for playing as in his own home in the world: cards, money, and the like. The game begins, but usually ends with the loss of all his money and home. It goes without saying that he thereby gets hatred for the game; but unfortunately also for the players who took everything from him. But once again, our guide is immediately at hand, showing him the nothingness of his passion and how he distances himself more and more from God instead of approaching Him.

3. In this way, does everything that he has done since his childhood turns up again for our new guest. Even music, when it constitutes a more sensual passion and is more than a profit-driven activity, operates there in the same way as an evil passion and is worked out in the same way. Even painting and poetry; in short, everything that has led mankind in the world, at any rate of excellence, to a look of pride, must be carried out in a similar way.

4. But in the end the spirit must do all this voluntarily, for no one is ever compelled to do something in whatever way, but he must so to speak force himself and judge himself!

5. And this is the business of these angelic guiding spirits, who gradually introduce each newcomer into himself completely and let him find all that he has only ever absorbed in his whole life on earth: first the grosser things, and then the better things.

6. Many, especially the Roman faith (Catholic), will not find this very reasonable, because for the time being he does not want to know anything about the confessed sins, and secondly, he believes in a special judgment, which the Lord personally performs with every deceased right after death.

7. He will not easily accept that the Lord never judges anyone, least of all in the spirit world. It would be even more likely to be accepted on the material world if one wants to accept the manifold chastisements of god-forgotten people as a judgment, but in the spirit world all this comes to an end. The mind is completely free and can do whatever he wants. But his own deeds are his only judge, for as his love is, so are his deeds, and so his life.

8. The only thing which is eternally fixed by the Lord, is that every life has its definite ways beyond which it can never go. But these ways are so intimately intertwined with the nature of life that they constitute life with life itself. If one were to cut off such a path for someone, he cuts off his freedom and thus also his life. Such a cutting off, would really be a judgment that would bring death to every spirit.

9. At the same time, however, the Lord Himself would no longer be completely free, if He would take away the full liberty of only one spirit; just as a Judge is no longer free and has judged himself as soon as he condemns only one person to prison. For if he is otherwise free in his activity, then he is already limited in this one; for, as much as the languishes in prison, the judgment of the judge languishes, and may not be freed from the prison before the prisoner himself is freed. In the material world, such imprisonment does not seem very plausible, but it becomes more plausible and active in the spiritual world.

10. It is true that the Lord has set a perfect goal for every head and original life, according to His infinite love and mercy; and this goal is again not a judgment but only a collecting point, where every spirit should fully recover its scattered life and its activities. Such a place could be either hell or heaven and it is therefore the main business of our well-known angelic spirits in the middle kingdom to guide the spirits in their full freedom to one or the other goal.

11. We have already seen how this guidance happens, and what happens afterwards with the guided spirit, we also know. - All that remains for us to know, is what our guiding spirits will have to do after this work.

CHAPTER 122

Continued education of the students through the planets and the seven spheres of the sun, to their heavenly destination

1. This, too, will not cost us much effort, for we must only remember that there is still a very large number of other earth bodies besides this earth on which, like on this earth, free beings dwell. This will make it easy to find out what occupation is coming up next for our spirits. Every earth body belongs to some whole planetary system; and each one whole planetary system stands among themselves spiritually and naturally in a reciprocal connection and interaction.

2. However, the planetary system belonging to your sun, is the first into which our spirits enter. First up is the moon. Of course, more than a punitive teaching than a freeing one is taught to these spirits. So these spirits are here comparable what you are the elementary teachers who hold in addition to the textbook, a rod of correction in their hands.

3. You know very well why this is necessary here. You also know what the moon looks like, what it means to its inhabitants, and how they are taught. And so we have nothing more to say about it.

4. From there, these teachers and their students do not immediately go to heaven, but into the spiritual sphere of the planet Mercury, where there are already higher teachers. From Mercury they then go to Venus; from this for the sake of greater humility, to Mars. For those who have not yet adopted the just degree of humiliation in Mars, then a detour is made into what you call the four small planets. But in those who have already adopted a great degree of humility in Mars, an elevation to Jupiter is immediately accomplished. From Jupiter they first enter into the exceedingly beautiful Saturn, from there into Uranus and finally into the already known last planet under the name Miron (Neptune), but it goes without saying, everywhere only into the spiritual sphere of these planets.

5. Somebody here could ask: is that the usual way, which all spirits have to be guided to finally reach heaven?

6. Oh, no, I say, only those people enter here who were very natural and vainly sensual under the direction of the spirits known to us. These must be guided on the somewhat lengthy scientific way into the love and wisdom of the Lord; and that is because the natural sensuality of man is a consequence of the taking up of that effect which is called planetary in humans.

7. No human being is passively obliged to absorb this planetary effect; but if he is enabled by the stimulation of the flesh and other pleasurable sensualities, then he also absorbs such influences half-suffering and half-active. But since these influences are mostly sensorial, they are bad; and man can, in his spiritual corresponding possession, not enter the kingdom of heaven until he is freed from all these obsessions.

8. For example, an exaggerated desire to travel and to trade and influence of Mercury, as he was already known as such with the ancient wise men. Venus depicts the beautiful spiritual 'being in love', as it was already known to the ancient wise; Mars, the battle and desire to rule, as also the old wise men knew; Jupiter an exaggerated pedantic ambition, according to profound erudition; Saturn, an easy excitability of the passions; from Uranus a great love of pomp and from Miron an exaggerated desire to all sorts of arts such as music, poetry, painting, mechanics, industry of all kinds and the like.

9. It is not as if the human of the earth would have received such from the planets; but man originally has all this in a just degree in himself and can also awaken and use it in his own right. But when man throws himself too much on one or the other branch, he exceeds the measure of the influence of such a planet, because he particularly emphasizes the self-supporting planet and surrenders himself to its influence. It is precisely through the awakening of his special passion, that he allows unhindered communication to the mutual interacting polarities, which is not difficult to grasp for the one who has noticed something of my first explanation of the cause of vision, that no one can see what he is not in himself. For this very reason, such spirits must then go through the planetary journey and, to a certain extent, again deposit the strangeness there on the scientific path of experience, from where they have taken it.

10. When they have finished, they come into the sun, in which they again have to experience all the same planetary qualities to their principal foundations. Only after completion of such school, they become the lesser guards of the little children.

11. But the leaders become chief teachers here. And if they have undergone the school to perfection, only then will they be received as citizens of the holy city of Jerusalem, where they must first be by far the least, and must be guided by the chief citizens in all the great heavenly affairs which in number, a world full of books would not hold! For as the creations of the Lord are infinite, so infinitely branched are the affairs of the angels of the highest heaven.

12. Now you know the whole progress and the finite determination of the child spirit angels and therefore also know the spiritual arrangement of the sun. - And so my teaching is over for you too. Therefore return to where the Lord Himself awaits you!

CHAPTER 123

Review of the ten viewed spirit spheres

1. The Lord: Now you are here again: Do you not want to announce to Me in your mind what all you have seen, experienced and thus learned in My John? You are now fully respectful of Me and say in yourselves: What shall we tell You, O Lord, to You, to whom our thoughts were already known, before we thought them, even more so than a sun, which attracts the rays from the vast infinity, to let it shine out again with multiple increased strength?

2. Yes, my dear children, you are right, the Father knows everything, but nevertheless he likes to talk to His children as if He did not know everything. But I see in you a secret question and this is so:

3. O Father, You, eternal Love and Truth! Incredibly great and wonderful over all human concepts is what we have seen, experienced and learned from the first to the last in the spheres of Your angelic spirits. But now do we want to hear from You a sacred word that tells us whether all that really is the full truth?

4. See, My dear children, this is your secret question, and I answer you therefore: Right at the beginning, when we have looked at the outer dial of our clock, or rather the outer sphere of the spiritual sun, I have told you, as the heavens and the whole spiritual world does not represent itself locally to the point of appearance, but they are, like all spiritual worlds, in the spirit themselves. Or: the sphere of life of a spirit is its world, which it inhabits.

5. I showed you to convince you, a parable where you saw a so-called diorama. By these parables have I then, in a specific order, led the ten spirits still present here, and showed you how you will also meet a spiritual diorama there and, in the sphere of each spirit, you have found a different picture of the spiritual world for contemplation.

6. Such was then also the case; as you have now been ten times convinced, as you have seen the spiritual sphere of each of these ten angelic spirits, every time in a very different form. This is more than clear as daylight before you; and I have added to you that you can repeatedly go through this spiritual diorama in the same spirits, and you will see the spiritual world again in a completely different form.

7. So you can also enter the spheres of other spirits, and in each such sphere you would again see a very different form of the spiritual world, both in their individual circumstances and in their total existence. However, looking at it, I cannot give you a general answer to your question, except that I say to you, it is here in all things! Like the seed, so the fruit, as the works, so the reward, and as the love as the foundation of works, so is the form of the world, which they create in themselves spiritually.

8. Although you have looked at different forms, you still have one and the same truth everywhere. For the form does not lie, but everything is only in truth.

9. And so I did not want to show you what the heaven, the spiritual world or hell look like, but only how it all evolves into the nature of the love in every human spirit.

10. For that reason, you have looked at thousands of forms to an overwhelming degree, and in every form, the inner truth has been made known to you. And thus I can tell you that in the sphere of truth, you have seen the whole extent of spiritual life.

11. But as far as it concerns the forms, they go so far into the infinite, that in the eternities of eternities you will not be able to see the least part of them! - And so you can be content with a perfectly calm mind in the fullness of the truth; especially if I tell you that, as long as this earth has been inhabited by human beings, the spiritual conditions of life have never before been revealed as comprehensively and completely as this time.

12. Whatever one seeks, in whatever circumstances he is, in this revelation he can exactly find to an atom, how things are with himself.

13. Whoever reads this with deep attention and great devotion will find the great, convincing truth not only in this solar revelation, but alive in himself.

14. But in order that everyone may find everything in themselves to be completely true, I will add in the short sequel some parables and pictures, which shall illuminate the secret corners of this revelation. - For today therefore, My blessing, and therefore good!

CHAPTER 124

Every human being carries a different grain-seed for the development of the spiritual world

1. If you read the gospel, you will easily find under which general pictures I Myself represented the kingdom of heaven. Among the parables is the one of the mustard seed. This parable is also the one that is most suitable here. Small is this grain; Who sees the tree-like plant in it? But this mustard seed carries a whole infinity of its kind in itself. Countless identical mustard granules can emerge from one. But sow countless such mustard seeds into the soil, and you will probably get all the same plants from it. But as far as the certain symmetry of the form is concerned, one trunk will not resemble the other, just as little as you are capable of finding two perfectly symmetrical leaves on the same tree.

2. Whoever grasps this example from this point of view will certainly draw the conclusion from it and say: There is nothing in the symmetrical form, which could be called a permanent or constant one; for whether a leaf comes out on this or that point of the trunk, or of a branch and twig, whether it is a little bit larger or smaller, or if the trunk itself grows higher or lower in the ground, more or less branches and twigs shoot, and these always in a different order. It does not matter if only the substance of the plant and its usefulness remain one and the same.

3. See, this is basically nothing other than what I say to you: there is nothing inherent in the form or the appearance of the spirit world, if only all these infinitely different forms and phenomena have one and the same truth and one and the same purpose as foundation.

4. And so each man carries in himself a different grain for the development of the spiritual world, which rises in him and finally becomes a tree, which is the form of the inner world.

5. If you sow different seeds into the earth and into one and the same earth, do you suppose that similar plants would grow, or that even one and the same kind of seed would produce completely identical plants? Oh no, everywhere the same and at least with similar seeds, only a slightly different outer form.

6. But despite all this, does the basic material remains the same; and you can chemically analyze all matter as much as you want and can, and yet at the final result, you will not come to anything but two primordial materials, the well-known very volatile carbon and the binding oxygen.

7. See, that is again equal to the fundamental truth and the primary purpose of all probability of form in the realm of spirits.

8. Everywhere there is only one God, one Father, one Love, one Wisdom, and out of it comes the infinite as the eternal!

9. Behold the clouds that are drifting in the air over your earth every day. Have you ever discovered a consistent form in them? Will you see it the same in the evenings as it is in the morning or the next day or in the next year?

10. Endlessly different are the changing forms of the clouds; You never see the very same ones you have already seen. But is this confusing to you in your existence? Certainly not, for whatever the cloud may float in the air, whatever it may be, there remains only one cloud, as one truth, and its purpose is to give the rain, and that too in one and the same way if all the conditions are right to produce the rain.

11. And so here again is nothing in the form, but only on the rationale and the purpose.

12. In general, as far as the apparent being is concerned, its ever-changing form is there only for the awakening of the spirit, which finds in it its feeling of bliss. For under an eternally perfect monotony everything would sink into eternal sleep.

13. But man must seek his salvation and bliss not in form, but in reality, in truth. As far as form is concerned, I have provided from eternity for its everlasting, ever renewing change of form; and it also applies to the basic text from the gospel:

14. "Above all, seek the kingdom of God and his righteousness; Everything else will be added unto you."

15. So do not ask this or that: What does heaven look like and how the spirit world? Because all that is vain! But seek to make every word of Me alive in you through the works of love; and then you already have heaven alive in you and everything that is in the spirit world.

16. Because no one will ever 'go to' heaven, who will look like he has, in one way or another, taken it into his memory and imagination. Each one carries within himself his own heaven and his own world of spirits, the form of which will always be governed by the kind of love that is in him and by the works that have come out of it.

17. Somebody wants to make the figure of an apple tree perfectly recognizable to a stranger by speaking to him: Behold, there is an apple tree before us; Remember exactly the height and thickness of the trunk, the exact location of its branches and twigs, as well as the leaves and the bark, and you will recognize every apple tree that perfectly corresponds to this shape. The so trained teaches the shape of the tree exactly and thus goes into a large tree garden, which consists of nothing but apple trees. He adapts his recorded form everywhere; but since he does not find them completely the same, there is no apple tree in this tree garden for him.

18. So nobody should justify themselves in any way; because he will always leave empty. But if he takes the matter in the spirit of truth, he will find the truth under every form, and the way and the life!

19. This thing is of great importance; therefore should all this given here be well thought through by everyone, and it should be tested, so that he may find the true foundations of his wisdom. So it is and will be forever true and good. For closer illumination, some more examples will follow!

CHAPTER 125

The kingdom of heaven is like the present time

1. As for "the kingdom of heaven," it corresponds to your present time, which is again equal to the sower in the gospel, who scattered good seed, part of it on the way, part in the bushes, part on the rocky ground and only a part fell on good soil.

2. Look at your time, is it not like the sower and the kingdom of heaven?

3. The word is being sowed everywhere; everywhere awakened people still live, who explain the word from the internal perspective. But the needs of mankind in the present time have become equal to the way in which the seed falls, or: they have become purely secular. That's why the word makes such an impression on them as like throwing peas at a wall, as none will get caught and even less take root in the hard, steep and smooth soil.

4. Therefore, I may send down all the angels of heaven and proclaim through them the Word of life everywhere in the most wonderful way - today, tomorrow, and the day after, people will be shocked, they will hear and accept, but afterwards they will begin to look at the miracle indifferently, and will continue to run their world business as before.

5. These are the industrial people and their never-to-be-satisfied needs. They are like bushes and thorns. Even if the word germinates at the beginning, it is soon stifled, and afterwards, these people become more indifferent to the same word than before. Only then will they say: If only we received it in a really wonderful way, then we would believe and do accordingly. But I grant even this wish. I sow it almost everywhere in a wonderful way, like here. But what does it do? It moves at most here and there some to political objections; that is about it. But that someone wants to turn to it - this good soil - where are they?

6. I say: where hundreds of millions of people live, it would be far too much said if a thousand would truly want to come to life. What use then that among ten or hundred thousands, who may well listen believingly, but when it comes to action, they procrastinate from one day to the other; because they say: why should one make an effort to achieve eternal life? If there is an eternal life, as they believe it, then it will probably not be difficult to achieve it; Therefore, let us live happily and in the end, die happily! What else do we need?

7. There we have the stony and sandy soil together. It probably receives the seed, and half of it germinates; but the soil has no moisture, and so, in the end, even what has germinated, perishes!

8. Faith alone therefore never remains unless it is animated by the deed; just as pure theory without actual practice and application of the same, nobody becomes a practical person.

9. So now you can find a legion other talkers upholding opinions about moral and religious issues. But all these talkers do not want to become practical and do not touch a pebble with a finger. Everyone believes that he has done something extraordinarily meritorious, if he has only preached well and, through his moral and religious chatter, at best managed some stupid devotees and enthusiasts.

10. But no one seriously wants to try the paths through which he could directly get to connect with Me Myself and then get from My mouth a living teaching that could firstly transform his earth into good soil.

11. There are a great many theologians and theosophists, but there is barely one, who was really taught by God according to the Gospel of John, which states that all should be taught by God!

12. Truly, if I do not want to shake someone out of my great mercy here and there, just as a diligent master of the house vexes his lazy and sluggish servant, then from the times of the apostles, almost no one knows what "the living word" is and what it means to be "taught by God"

13. The present theologians put Me rather mysteriously above all the stars and let Me sit there in a completely inaccessible light. Why do they do that? They do that for different reasons. The first would for example be: Far away is out of our way. The second would be that no one is thus able to approach God in such a way that he could be taught by Him. Another reason, based on the previous one, is that God has given reason and understanding to man; that is the living Word of God in man. He who turns to it, lives according to the will of God, and whoever develops his understanding and reason, is already taught by God; for no one can be taught directly by God, but only indirectly, because God dwells above all stars in inaccessible light.

14. If, then, I now and then awaken someone in opposition to these mysterious theosophical theses, who then receives a direct, living word from Me, then he is declared by the greater part of present-day humanity to be a fool and a swindler, sometimes even a deceiver and a charlatan, who understands how to profit from the capabilities of his mind. Say if this is not so?

15. It is not unknown to you that different men received the living Word, and even those of this time, from the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, as well as some from earlier centuries. But what is its lot? The silent oblivion. It is enough for the learned world to know their names. But what these men have taught out of Me, they do not care for. And though there are some who read a book here and there, they soon come up with sentences that do not agree with their reason. Therefore, they soon reject the whole and let our man, who has been taught by Me, rest.

16. If all goes well, then met will at most grant Me alone some justice; but My messengers are nothing but fools and deceivers.

17. Is not your time like this? I mean, anyone can grab that by hand.

18. But since the kingdom of heaven is not a locality anywhere, but only a complete state of life, the kingdom of heaven is also perfectly equal to your time, namely, this time, namely barren, poor, small, rare.

19. And wherever it still is, it is not pure. But will that be a kingdom of heaven, if it is not completely pure? I tell you, the Kingdom of Heaven is very relative in this respect, and that is because every fool likes his cap best.

20. Everyone finds his kingdom of heaven in his stupidity. Whether it is the truth out of Me, that is another question. It has truly become rare, barren and sparse. Why? Because people have run out of good soil! Therefore I may also now sow the very best and purest seed, as I will, but it nevertheless falls on nothing but ways, between thorns and on stony soils, here and there in a crack on the way. Thus, from among one million grains which fell into a stone chasm, about a thousand germinates and a hundred would reach maturity. And that is then the whole harvest and the kingdom of heaven! Surely that is barren, rare and sparse!

21. From this you can again see that all that has been said so far has its good reason, that the superficial appearance of the spiritual has as little to it than the phenomena of the time. They are deaf and hollow, but to the wise they are a Scripture, from the basics of which he easily finds the inner truth; for every apparition is preceded by an effective reason. If the appearance is noble and good, the foundation will be the same; but if the appearance is ignoble, that is, worldly, material, and evil, then its reason will be of the same measure.

22. Whoever wants to see everything spiritual in its true form, does not bind himself to the appearance, but uses it only for the study of the spiritual foundation. If he finds it, then he has the whole essence of all spirit worlds. But how this is to be explored out of the visible, is to be shown below.

CHAPTER 126

A tree as an example of the nature of the spirit kingdom

1. In the course of the whole communication about the realm of the spiritual sun-kingdom, every single smallest relation has been shown in this respect; how the spirit-world is connected with the natural; and therefore one could easily say: in order to be able to get by means of these phenomena to the foundation, it would be almost unnecessary to say anything more, as this subject has been adequately illuminated in the course of the whole communication in all its branches.

2. But I say: Man never has too much of the good; but rather of the bad. For much good often does not improve the bad; but a little bad can often spoil much good!

3. And so we also want to illuminate our present subject as clearly as possible through many illustrative examples.

4. Look at a tree. Its essence, as it is there, represents to you as a corresponding appearance, the whole essence of the spirit world in its relation to the natural world.

5. The inmost of this tree, the core, is the heavenly; the trunk, the branches, and the twigs are the real spiritual kingdom, which has its life from the inner nuclei. Over above the wood of the trunk you will see the bark, which is the outer appearance of the tree. The bark in and of itself is dead; but below the outer dead bark is another bark, which you call "the living." This is equal to the state of connection, where the spiritual merges with the material.

6. Consider the effect of this bark. Out of it, the outer dead bark first emerges, and again out of this living bark emerge all the transient foliage, as well as the outer form of the blossom, and finally even the outer shell of the fruit.

7. None of these products are lasting; they fall off after they have rendered their services

8. See, that's how it is with the world and everything you belong to. All this is like the outer bark, the leaves and flowers, but also the fruits of a tree. These fall off. But the tree, in its inner life, consists and bears the infinite, external appearance of the visible and transient. But how can one infer from the apparent to the inner true foundation? I say: the easiest thing in the world. If you would only let yourself imagine what is manifested in you, and at the same time present it in an effective manner, you have the foundation of the spiritual already before you.

9. The main reason, however, is to be found by looking at the whole number of years of the vegetative action of a tree. It consists in nothing other than in the constant expansion and ever-increasing strengthening of life.

10. Quite simply, this is placed in a single small seed in the ground. Which vital force is originally in this seed, like with an acorn nut, every human being can test if he takes such a nut in his hands and can play with it like a feather-down.

11. But when this insignificant acorn nut is laid into the earth, the vegetative life begins to strengthen in it. A young oak tree with at most two leaves is visible first. In this first stage, the vegetative life of the developing oak tree is still weak. It hardly exceeds the weight of the previous smooth oak nut tenfold. But let's just look at it thirty years later. Then it has already acquired such a powerful vegetative life force, that you can tie several horses to its trunk, and they will not be able to wrest it from the ground with their enormous power. But consider it at the age of one hundred years. What a huge, majestic tree, and what a stormy, proud power in him! How many thousandfold has this hundred-year-old oak reproduced its original little vegetative life in the same acorns, and how powerfully has it, through its waste and thus with its excess of its vegetative vitality, fertilized the soil, and animated it for the constant increase of its own vitality!

12. In short, such a tree has become a world full of life. And all this came from a single insignificant acorn nut.

13. See, so originally only a small spark of life force goes out from Me, equipped with the ability to infinitely strengthen and empower itself as a life force. And this is precisely what makes this appearance of the tree serviceable to everyone's clearest insight.

14. We said before: From the living bark, does the apparent foliage, the outer flower and even the shell of the fruit, emerge. In the fruit itself, the germ of the seed receives only a very small spark from the general life of the tree core. The kernel, together with the fruit, ripens and represents the human being in his worldly likelihood. Very simple and plain is the external appearance, and small is his strength. But he is equal to an acorn nut. When he is placed in the good soil of My will, his inner germ will awaken, and the latter will itself become a mighty tree, whose power surpasses the power of countless former acorns.

15. And, behold, every man already has in himself the germ of his spiritual state, which is the true spirit-world. He is in this world a little life, which should strengthen itself to a sun of life. From its atom-sized life germs should develop a huge, powerful tree of life. And so it is.

16. Just as the acorn-nut bears innumerable forests of gigantic trees, all of which can develop from the single seed, so too, man in his seemingly small life in this world carries with him, infinite strength and potential.

17. It says in the Gospel, where it is told about the one who buried his talent, is said: "I know that you are a strict man and you want to reap, where you have not sown. Where you placed one, you want to win a thousand; so I buried the talent so that I may give it to you, as you have given me.

18. But then the master of talents says: "Oh, you miserable servant! Since you know that I am an unrighteous man and I want to reap, where I did not sow, why did not you give the talent for a moneychanger, which would have given me good usury percentages?

19. See, from this passage it seems quite clear that I am spreading out the life in the smallest possible parts out of Me into the endless realms of My kingdom being, in order to get back an excessively increased potentiated weight of life from each of these smallest life-parts.

20. This is the true innermost cause of all spiritual life: But am I really a hard, self-serving, unjust looter? Oh no! For there is nowhere else to live except in Me, and this for the simple reason that there has never been an existence "outside" of Me! I am the eternal Source of all life!

21. What would happen to life in the times upon times, if this original Source would want to dry up all life? See, all life would vanish into the infinite, and nothing would remain in the end but an eternally empty, dark, dead infinity!

22. But if I, as the Primordial Source of all life Myself, would return into Myself every single moment, becoming infinitely more powerful and strong, then all partial life, which is expressed in every created human, yes even in infinity, is nourished and strengthened.

23. The stronger the father, the stronger the children. The ant is likely to produce ephemerides, but not eagles and lions. Everywhere the weak produces the weak and the strong, the strong. But as the weak never produce strong things, so strong does never produce anything weak. An eagle is never the creator of a fearful dove and a hare cannot boast, as if the lion were its creator.

24. But if you are the children of an almighty Father and have the germ of life of the Father in you, strengthen this germ in the good soil of My will, and make strong the Father in you, then you will also be strong in the Father. For the Father does not demand your strength for Himself, but for Himself He demands it, so that you, too, should become perfect, as He Himself is perfect in Himself, or in heaven.

25. See, this is a picture of how you can infer from outer appearance to the inner ground of life. Next, another picture for the same purpose!

CHAPTER 127

A son of man as a picture of the kingdom of heaven and the universe

1. In the preceding disclosure, we have put a strong image before everyone's eyes, according to which anyone can easily relate the external phenomena to the inner foundation. But since this field is very large, and the phenomena on it innumerable, man never has too much of a right image to seek the right advice in every situation of his apparent existence. And so we will move on to another, though simple, but more meaningful, and more general picture to illuminate our cause.

2. What could be simpler than a harmless, poor human child? This has two moving feet, then a body full of guts; it has two movable arms and above it a movable head on a neck. There are two ears on the head that are always the same, and one hears the same thing as the other. So it also has two eyes that have their fixed point of view in mind and cannot be brought closer to each other, though they are capable of movement. With these two eyes, every single thing can be looked at for itself. In the middle of the eyes sits the nose with two nostrils. It breathes in the air of life and lets the impurity of the head flow away. So it also has a mouth, the lower part of which is independently mobile. In the same case, it has immobile teeth, but a more mobile tongue. The rest of the body consists of skin, flesh, blood, nerves, fibers, veins and bones, in which marrow is found. - See, that's the picture of our child.

3. Who knows what is behind this very simple appearance? Who sees a whole heaven in it? Who the whole infinite universe?

4. Who seeks in this simple picture the conflict of all creation, both in the spiritual and the natural spheres?

5. Would somebody not want to say, in the child this is hardly obvious; but if we let it become a man, perhaps there will much be found in his thoughts and actions, from which one can consequently see that man is at least an integral part of creation.

6. But I say: This is not necessary; the child alone is enough. His two simple feet testify to my Paternal loving care expressed in the ten simple commandments known to you. The feet are provided with then toes, for this purpose and also for the sake of support and retention.

7. In the natural sphere, however, they present the planetary system, which is also the lowest support of a solar system. Yes, the planetary system, like its feet, through their movement, pushes the great main body of the sun into its great main movement.

8. From this very brief account, you can see that even in the feet of the child the whole caring nature of a spiritual kind, like the whole planetary nature of a natural kind, is present.

9. The body rests on its feet as the main workshop of life. Who does not immediately see in this spiritual sphere the essence of the invigorating love from Me? And who does not soon see in the body, the sun, which is the invigorating body of the whole planetary system?

10. In the body, the heart is the fundamental seat of life and the clearest picture of love. This love is constantly active and nourishes all parts of the body.

11. Right next to this love, is the stomach. This is the hospitable kitchen, in which the heat of the love cooks the food by its fire and then, truly wonderfully prepared, leads it into all parts.

12. The lungs are like a second stomach, a second kitchen, through which essential food is added to the food prepared in the first kitchen, so that the food of the first kitchen comes alive and is suitable for the support of life.

13. How glorious is the image of these two kitchens, in the midst of which the active heart rules, how the spiritual intervenes in the natural, in order to spiritualize it, and thus to bring it to a higher purpose. And all of this happens through the ever-active mediation of the heart, this most faithful image of love!

14. Who can misunderstand My own love-power here, as I also always take the lost, cook it in the great kitchen of natural creation, and then revive it by the breath of My grace and mercy, from the second great kitchen, which is heaven, and is equal to the lungs in man.

15. Every breath can tell every human how I constantly influences life from the heavens, so that life consists therein that through this influx, I always strive to transform death into life.

16. Anyone who is able to think only somewhat clearly for himself, will certainly not find this wonderful analogy without light. - Let's go further.

17. On both sides of the body are two hands. These represent spiritually the working love, which can move freely in wide spaces everywhere and constantly works and creates.

18. The hands therefore represent My hands of free-acting, unbound power, which, however, does not wave beyond the definite eternal basic order, for every hand also carries the fingers as outermost extensions, whose number equals the extensions of the feet. Only the legs of the feet are bound to the same directed order, while the extensions on the hands signify free activity in this order.

19. So, for example, a human being not born again in the spirit, is equal to the bound order of the feet and a born-again man, equal to the free order of the hands.

20. Whoever is able to think, will here again find the corresponding truth; especially when he is still looking at the natural sun, just as in the outward flow of its rays she visibly reveals her open, freely active hands.

21. Now we still have the head, a fixed part above the body, which in itself in a rounded form, represents a complete man in his spiritual sphere. The ears are the feet on which he goes. The eyes are his arms, with which he can reach far. The nose is the lungs; the mouth is the stomach. In him is like the heart, the tongue, which helps to process both the material and the spiritual food; the material by pushing under the crushing teeth and then by swallowing down. That is their material employment. But the tongue also gives the voice an intelligible, articulated sound, and it is it, that transforms the inner thoughts into intelligible words.

22. The inner marrow of the head represents the whole entrails of man or his refined and spiritualized life.

23. And so man in his totality, in his very simple, contemplative form, leads man through all his three stages: in his feet the bound naturalness, in his body the spiritual sphere which still has to work and fight with various things and in the head, its heavenly sphere, where man stands in and of himself in a fixed, unchangeable condition, but is thus far wider in his sphere of influence, just as the constituents of the head of the natural man extends infinitely beyond the components of the human body.

24. Well, that's a very simple but clear picture. This image of the external appearance contains the whole of heaven, the whole of the spiritual world subordinated to heaven, and thus also the whole of the natural world, which is subordinate to heaven and the spirit world, in all its details.

25. I think that if you look at this picture, especially in the simplicity of a harmless child, you will be able to find each other with ease in this appearance, and be able to just as easily find its foundation. And so we have enough pictures; and there is nothing left for us to do but to add a few "Explanation of Scriptures"* to this whole work, as it is to be usefully read and handled accordingly.

* The book “Explanation of Scriptures” has been published as a separate work (translator)

END OF SPIRITUAL SUN vol 2

Table of Contents

CHAPTER 1 Jesus on the wonderful paths of His love 3

CHAPTER 2 The great being of a child of God on the earth. 5

CHAPTER 3 Continuous growth of salvation through activity 8

CHAPTER 4 The three heavens - their structure 10

CHAPTER 5 The essence of love. Love unto the neighbor out of love for God and love for God out of love for the neighbor. 13

CHAPTER 6 Personal details of the apostles depicted by distinguishing insignia. 16

CHAPTER 7 Communion with lamb, bread and wine 18

CHAPTER 8 The significant meaning of the supper, especially for the earth. We leave Markus’ sphere 21

CHAPTER 9 Diversity of the sphere of every blessed spirit for the sake of mutual indispensability. 24

CHAPTER 10 Difference between the light of faith and the light of love. The spirit of man. 27

CHAPTER 11 The whole universe and heaven are in you 29

CHAPTER 12 Correct building- development of what is in you 32

CHAPTER 13 Jesus, the name of all names and effects of this name. Mystery of the Incarnation of God in Jesus. 35

CHAPTER 14 Love as the great means to knowledge 37

CHAPTER 15 Beings of the Three Wise Men from the Morningland (East). The great importance of our earth. 40

CHAPTER 16 Two kinds of people - creatures and children. Prerequisites to achieve childhood of God 44

CHAPTER 17 Love for God as the center of conditions 47

CHAPTER 18 The will-power of the Spirit works miracles together with Jesus' power 50

CHAPTER 19 A new place - splendid building on a hill 53

CHAPTER 20 Description of the unimagined splendor. Parable of winter splendor and spring heat 56

CHAPTER 21 Love kindles the wood on the altar 59

CHAPTER 22 Conditions for the attainment of the childhood of God 62

CHAPTER 23 Speech of the sun-elder to his people 64

CHAPTER 24 Prayers of the mind and the heart 66

CHAPTER 25 Difference between children of the sun and children of God 68

CHAPTER 26 Example of the rich youth 71

CHAPTER 27 Why there are almost no animals on the central sun. Explanation of the example of the rich youth. 74

CHAPTER 28 Love as the foundation of faith and hope, and at the same time, its fruit 77

CHAPTER 29 Continuation of the journey - straightforward, with unchanging will, to the goal 80

CHAPTER 30 Continuation of the sun journey - lack of knowledge and love of the world as hindrances to prayer 83

CHAPTER 31 Continuation of the sun journey - passing over from material to spiritual life in corresponding images 86

CHAPTER 32 Continuation of the sun journey - palace complex corresponds to the conditions of the human being 89

CHAPTER 33 Revelation of the overwhelmingly radiant beauty of the Sun-palace 92

CHAPTER 34 First floor - details of the Palace of the Sun and its correspondence 94

CHAPTER 35 Second floor - palace arrangement represents spiritual progress 96

CHAPTER 36 Third floor - Forms and colors correspond to the formation of the mind 99

CHAPTER 37 Fourth Floor - The ordinary man and the divine-spiritual man 101

CHAPTER 38 Fifth floor - advanced level of development of the human spirit 103

CHAPTER 39 Sixth Floor - Man shows his weaknesses In the state of fear 105

CHAPTER 40 Ascent from love into wisdom 108

CHAPTER 41 Relationship, order and harmony between love and wisdom 111

CHAPTER 42 Seventh floor - Absolute wisdom appears transparent and impenetrable like diamond 113

CHAPTER 43 Absolute wisdom is not useful for a bound spirit 115

CHAPTER 44 Eighth Floor - About entering the being of the spirit 118

CHAPTER 45 Godly spiritual wisdom is foolishness to the world 121

CHAPTER 46 Convergence of eternity and time 124

CHAPTER 47 Ninth floor - About entering into the essence of the spirit 126

CHAPTER 48 The twelve supports of life 129

CHAPTER 49 The main key to spiritual mysteries 132

CHAPTER 50 About love and the love of Jesus 135

CHAPTER 51 Reason for all things and phenomena 137

CHAPTER 52 Tenth floor - the essence of question and answer 141

CHAPTER 53 Eleventh floor - love for God (Jesus) and out of that for the neighbor leads to the perfection of life 143

CHAPTER 54 Twelfth floor - Higher development of the spirit 146

CHAPTER 55 Description of the highest level 149

CHAPTER 56 Why is one so alone in the midst of all this splendor? 151

CHAPTER 57 Every world has its order and laws of existence 153

CHAPTER 58 Encounter with the inhabitants of this central sun 156

CHAPTER 59 Conditions for becoming a child of God 159

CHAPTER 60 About the Incarnation of God in Jesus 162

CHAPTER 61 Humility and childhood of God 165

CHAPTER 62 True humility, love, and the childhood of God 168

CHAPTER 63 The essence of the childhood of God 170

CHAPTER 64 Inhabitants of the sun on the way of the childhood of God 172

CHAPTER 65 Different appearance of the 'spiritual sun' outside the sphere of Jesus 175

CHAPTER 66 A communal spirit and also a special spirit. Why do heavenly communities have the human form? 177

CHAPTER 67 Practical guidance on self-development of children in children's homes 180

CHAPTER 68 Visual instruction in graduated departments in the children's kingdom 183

CHAPTER 69 Heavenly schoolhouse for geography and world history in the kingdom of children 185

CHAPTER 70 Instruction on the nature and origin of the earth in the kingdom of children 187

CHAPTER 71 About the school of life in the kingdom of the children 190

CHAPTER 72 Classroom of the creational history of men in the kingdom of children 193

CHAPTER 73 The first commandment in the first classroom - explanation 196

CHAPTER 74 How should one seek God? 199

CHAPTER 75 Longing for God as an important testimony to His existence 202

CHAPTER 76 Instructions on the second and third commandments in the second and third halls 205

CHAPTER 77 The fourth commandment in the fourth room (in the spiritual sense) 208

CHAPTER 78 The fifth commandment in the fifth hall - spiritually explained 210

CHAPTER 79 The sixth commandment in the sixth room - What is unchastity? 212

CHAPTER 80 About two kinds of love 215

CHAPTER 81 What is fornication? 218

CHAPTER 82 The seventh commandment in the seventh classroom of the children's kingdom 220

CHAPTER 83 What does 'steal' mean? 222

CHAPTER 84 Comments on social issues 224

CHAPTER 85 The Eighth commandment in the eighth hall - The material shell as a means to lie 226

CHAPTER 86 What is false testimony? 228

CHAPTER 87 Ninth hall - ninth commandment 231

CHAPTER 88 Reflections on the ninth commandment 234

CHAPTER 89 The inner sense of the ninth commandment 238

CHAPTER 90 Blessings of wise limitation 240

CHAPTER 91 Sin against the Divine order of the ninth commandment 242

CHAPTER 92 Usury, the most damnable before God 244

CHAPTER 93 The tenth commandment in the tenth hall in the kingdom of the children 246

CHAPTER 94 Who is the 'you' in the tenth commandment? 248

CHAPTER 95 Examples of wrong views of the tenth commandment 250

CHAPTER 96 Reason for concealment of the actual meaning of the tenth commandment 253

CHAPTER 97 The inner, self-evident meaning of the tenth commandment 256

CHAPTER 98 The Eleventh Commandment in the Eleventh Hall - The Love unto God 259

CHAPTER 99 Love of God as the primordial material of all creatures 262

CHAPTER 100 What does it mean to love God above all else? 264

CHAPTER 101 What is the love unto God? 267

CHAPTER 102 How to love God above all else 270

CHAPTER 103 The Twelfth commandment in the twelfth hall - Love unto the neighbor 272

CHAPTER 104 What is true love unto the neighbor? 275

CHAPTER 105 Practical instruction about charity of the students in the hereafter 278

CHAPTER 106 Essence and consequences of vice 281

CHAPTER 107 In the second hell 283

CHAPTER 108 Nothing is destructible in the whole of creation 285

CHAPTER 109 Images from the first and the second Hell 287

CHAPTER 110 Every person carries Heaven and Hell in himself according to his personality 289

CHAPTER 111 Body, spirit, principle of life 291

CHAPTER 112 Earthly images of the lowest Hell 293

CHAPTER 113 Another image of the lowest Hell 294

CHAPTER 114 Lust for power and vanity – the seeds of Hell 296

CHAPTER 115 Fruits ripe for Hell 298

CHAPTER 116 In the spiritual condition all secrets come to light 299

CHAPTER 117 Heaven and Hell – Polarities in man 301

CHAPTER 118 Heavenly and hellish principles 303

CHAPTER 119 The spirit as the creator of his own world 305

CHAPTER 120 Further development of the students in the beyond. The Middle Kingdom (Hades) 307

CHAPTER 121 Every life has certain ways determined by Jesus 309

CHAPTER 122 Continued education of the students through the planets and the seven spheres of the sun, to their heavenly destination 311

CHAPTER 123 Review of the ten viewed spirit spheres 313

CHAPTER 124 Every human being carries a different grain-seed for the development of the spiritual world 315

CHAPTER 125 The kingdom of heaven is like the present time 317

CHAPTER 126 A tree as an example of the nature of the spirit kingdom 320

CHAPTER 127 A son of man as a picture of the kingdom of heaven and the universe 323

Table of Contents

CHAPTER 1 Jesus on the wonderful paths of His love 3

CHAPTER 2 The great being of a child of God on the earth. 5

CHAPTER 3 Continuous growth of salvation through activity 8

CHAPTER 4 The three heavens - their structure 10

CHAPTER 5 The essence of love. Love unto the neighbor out of love for God and love for God out of lo

CHAPTER 6 Personal details of the apostles depicted by distinguishing insignia. 16

CHAPTER 7 Communion with lamb, bread and wine 18

CHAPTER 8 The significant meaning of the supper, especially for the earth. We leave Markus’ sphere 2

CHAPTER 9 Diversity of the sphere of every blessed spirit for the sake of mutual indispensability. 2

CHAPTER 10 Difference between the light of faith and the light of love. The spirit of man. 27

CHAPTER 11 The whole universe and heaven are in you 29

CHAPTER 12 Correct building- development of what is in you 32

CHAPTER 13 Jesus, the name of all names and effects of this name. Mystery of the Incarnation of God

CHAPTER 14 Love as the great means to knowledge 37

CHAPTER 15 Beings of the Three Wise Men from the Morningland (East). The great importance of our ear

CHAPTER 16 Two kinds of people - creatures and children. Prerequisites to achieve childhood of God 4

CHAPTER 17 Love for God as the center of conditions 47

CHAPTER 18 The will-power of the Spirit works miracles together with Jesus' power 50

CHAPTER 19 A new place - splendid building on a hill 53

CHAPTER 20 Description of the unimagined splendor. Parable of winter splendor and spring heat 56

CHAPTER 21 Love kindles the wood on the altar 59

CHAPTER 22 Conditions for the attainment of the childhood of God 62

CHAPTER 23 Speech of the sun-elder to his people 64

CHAPTER 24 Prayers of the mind and the heart 66

CHAPTER 25 Difference between children of the sun and children of God 68

CHAPTER 26 Example of the rich youth 71

CHAPTER 27 Why there are almost no animals on the central sun. Explanation of the example of the ric

CHAPTER 28 Love as the foundation of faith and hope, and at the same time, its fruit 77

CHAPTER 29 Continuation of the journey - straightforward, with unchanging will, to the goal 80

CHAPTER 30 Continuation of the sun journey - lack of knowledge and love of the world as hindrances t

CHAPTER 31 Continuation of the sun journey - passing over from material to spiritual life in corresp

CHAPTER 32 Continuation of the sun journey - palace complex corresponds to the conditions of the hum

CHAPTER 33 Revelation of the overwhelmingly radiant beauty of the Sun-palace 92

CHAPTER 34 First floor - details of the Palace of the Sun and its correspondence 94

CHAPTER 35 Second floor - palace arrangement represents spiritual progress 96

CHAPTER 36 Third floor - Forms and colors correspond to the formation of the mind 99

CHAPTER 37 Fourth Floor - The ordinary man and the divine-spiritual man 101

CHAPTER 38 Fifth floor - advanced level of development of the human spirit 103

CHAPTER 39 Sixth Floor - Man shows his weaknesses In the state of fear 105

CHAPTER 40 Ascent from love into wisdom 108

CHAPTER 41 Relationship, order and harmony between love and wisdom 111

CHAPTER 42 Seventh floor - Absolute wisdom appears transparent and impenetrable like diamond 113

CHAPTER 43 Absolute wisdom is not useful for a bound spirit 115

CHAPTER 44 Eighth Floor - About entering the being of the spirit 118

CHAPTER 45 Godly spiritual wisdom is foolishness to the world 121

CHAPTER 46 Convergence of eternity and time 124

CHAPTER 47 Ninth floor - About entering into the essence of the spirit 126

CHAPTER 48 The twelve supports of life 129

CHAPTER 49 The main key to spiritual mysteries 132

CHAPTER 50 About love and the love of Jesus 135