NEUOFFENBARUNGDeutscher Text · Book contents
26 January 1844, evening
[Ste.01_022,01] ‘And He said to them, “Truly, I tell you, there are some standing here who will not taste death until they see the kingdom of God come in power!”’
[Ste.01_022,02] This is again a somewhat longer passage and therefore needs a somewhat shorter explanation. One need only know who the ‘some’ are who will not taste death before they see the kingdom of God come in its glory. If one knows who they are, one already knows almost the whole meaning of the passage.
[Ste.01_022,03] Who, then, are the ‘some’? They are the believers and those who hope in accordance with their belief. Whoever believes firmly will find his hope realised in his faith. For it is also said, ‘Whoever has faith as great as a little mustard seed and does not doubt what he believes can move mountains by the power of his faith!’
[Ste.01_022,04] Thus the ‘some’ means the believers. This is further shown by the fact that the believer is continually moved by the wish to see with his own eyes what he believes. So the promise is worded to show how the inward wish of such believers is to be fulfilled. They are to taste no death before they behold what they believe.
[Ste.01_022,05] What did these ‘some’ believe? They firmly believed that I was the promised Messiah. They also believed that through Me the glory of the kingdom of God, a perfect theocracy, would be established on earth and would never come to an end. The Son of Man would assume the Father's glory on earth, and before His power all kingdoms and all the knees of those beneath the earth, on the earth and above the earth would have to bow.
[Ste.01_022,06] That was the firm faith of these ‘some’. So they were told that they would taste no death before they saw the glory of the kingdom of God come. This was of course to happen in correspondence with their faith, rather than in the manner in which they believed it would.
[Ste.01_022,07] Why, do you think, is the tasting of death still left open for these ‘some’ after seeing the coming of the glory of the kingdom of God? Why must they still taste death once they have seen the kingdom of God come? The reason is that faith by itself, however firm it is, produces no life unless it first has love for its ground, for love alone is immortal!
[Ste.01_022,08] There are many such ‘some’ in the world now who hold purely to faith alone as what saves. They do not consider that faith is only a radiance of the light of grace of My love, which prepares the way and works inwardly as light works naturally upon the earth. When it falls strongly in summer, it warms the soil and draws all sorts of fruits from it. But light cannot always be equally strong, and when winter draws near and the sun's rays grow weaker and weaker, all the products of the summer light soon die and are buried under snow and ice.
[Ste.01_022,09] Why does the earth not keep alive in winter the children that were so splendid in summer? Why must they taste death, though they previously felt the glory of the sun's light? Because the earth has far too little warmth of its own.
[Ste.01_022,10] So it is with the heroes of faith. They believe firmly and are full of zeal and activity as long as the ray of My grace shines through them and warms them. But when they are put to the test to see how much warmth of their own they have within, they wither. The fruits and leaves fall from the trees, leaving them naked and bare, and in place of the former fruits snow and ice soon rest upon their boughs and branches.
[Ste.01_022,11] In the highest summer light of My grace they do see the glory of My kingdom in the fruits they bring forth out of this light. But these fruits come from outside, that is, they are not produced by the power of their own warmth. So the tasting of death unfailingly remains in the background.
[Ste.01_022,12] It is otherwise with those who have a sun of their own within them in their great love for Me. To them I say: truly, truly, those who love Me and act according to My Word shall never feel or taste death in any way!
[Ste.01_022,13] Faith may also be attained by reading the right books, but love comes only from the heart. So ask your heart more than your books how it stands towards Me, and you will not belong to those ‘some’. Keep this always in mind! Amen.