NEUOFFENBARUNG← Gifts of Heaven · Volume 3 · Contents
Reading the Word of God
2nd July 1847
How some people read the Word of God – and how the Word of God should be read or listened to by people with benefits for soul, spirit and life.
[1] There are all kinds of readers of the Word of God, of the living, yes, the One through whom everything that is, was made.
[2] Some read it like the old story of Prince Piripinker, the story of Genoveva, the story of the thumb-long Hansel and the story of the four Haimon children! The Bible is an old work, pieced together from all times, which could no longer compete with the new literature. It contains a large number of mystical miracle fairy tales, which are streaked with an old, sometimes sapless morality, sometimes with historical sketches and most often with threatening and punitive sermons and prophetic promises of misfortune, but which are not much better than the weather forecasts in the farmers' calendars, each of which would certainly be correct for a certain part of the world; for wouldn't it rain here, it could rain in China or on Tahiti or Otaheiti, in Kamchatka or in South America. It would be the same with the prophecies in the Bible. If they did not arrive in Europe, there would still be Asia, Africa, America, Australia, and an innumerable multitude of large and small islands in the great ocean, where on one or the other such a prophecy must surely and undoubtedly come true!
[3] But with such readers the word also have an effect, oh a wonderful effect! For it makes them to yawn and soon after begin to sleep, bodily and spiritually for eternity, that is, they pass over so quite gently into eternal death! For whoever does not act according to the Word, dies spiritually and bodily forever too.
[4] But I have let clearly be revealed the Word of the old as well as of the new covenant for such ones already many times through various seers and servants, i.e. through My Holy Spirit in them. But there the revelation has the same effect, and one says to it: the old Bible is like a Proteus and like a chameleon, which can be used in all shapes and colors, and an awakened mind can make out of it what it wants, like a skillful creator out of raw material. With this criticism probably no golden mountains in the realm of life will arise for the spirit of man!
[5] Again there are other readers, who sure have a certain respect for the Bible and sometimes read it quite attentively; but since they do not understand many things in it and sometimes even encounter literal contradictions, they usually say at home and sometimes indeed in the presence of their friends: If God had wanted to reveal His will to people through the Bible, so it must still have been particularly His concern, to be understood first by everyone and second at all times, and, in order to achieve the last purpose, to see to it that such a gem for all people, which is to be most holy, also would like to be preserved unaltered for all times.
[6] This criticism is indeed a hair better than the one above, but it does not hold a stitch; for what such a critic strives for, is taken care of a thousand fold anyway. But if he is blind and does not notice such things, he can only ascribe it to himself if he remains a donkey and wastes his spirit's strength for a donkey's food!
[7] Whoever has political world-affairs before his eyes today, tomorrow all sorts of other things, on the third day money transactions, on the fourth day pitchforks, on the fifth day all kinds of fruit trees and vine improvements, on the sixth day beautiful girls, theater and the like, on the seventh day out of sheer worldliness not knowing where his head is at, on the eighth, at best discussing about all kinds of worldliness with his world friends in an inn, in order to distract himself a little and to cheer himself up, on the ninth day nothing but just thinks and simulates what the eleventh, twelfth, thirteenth and fourteenth day will bring and give him regarding work, and at most on the
fifteenth day swallowed a few verses from the Bible in the same way as a traveler swallows a few spoonfuls of soup when the postilion already gives the signal for departure; question, can he well demand that, as you are wont to say, perhaps even the Holy Spirit's roasted birds should fly into his mouth? There it is, as they say: From thorns and thistles one never harvests figs and grapes.
[8] As little as lilies and roses grow on nettles and thorn apples, just as little can the inner spiritual understanding of My Word ever get up and reach maturity in a mind crammed with all world affairs! And so such a world-wise man can then by no means be indignant about it when, in spirit, he remains an ass, temporally and even easily also eternally. Whereby, however, someone deals with, in it he also becomes wise with the time.
[9] Whoever deals with the world, becomes worldly wise in time; but for the kingdom of God he remains a fool full of blindness. Whoever handles horses becomes a clever stable master, whoever handles painting becomes a painter, whoever handles music becomes a music master, and the like. But who above all deals with My Word and does according to it, he becomes wise in My kingdom of eternal life, which is announced to everyone in the Word and what he has to do to achieve it.
[10] But if someone reads only, so to speak, at all holy times a few passages from the Bible or other revelations, like a written piece of paper with a piece of cheese wrapped in it, or as some want to decipher on the privy half-torn intelligence articles out of boredom like a so-called rebus (picture puzzle), there – verily true, the Holy Spirit is well as pretty distant as the two outermost poles of the endless creation.
[11] With Me there is nothing with a Deus ex machina (a here-magicked God), but only out of diligence of the spirit, excluding in rebus divinis – where this exclusive diligence is lacking because of all kinds of machinis mundi (machine-like world affairs), there is also nothing or very little with the Deus in nobis (God in us) and therefore just as much with the true understanding of the old or newly revealed Word of God!
[12] But such people are also truly most repugnant to Me because they are lukewarm for the most important thing and look at the promised eternal life with the same confidence as a lottery player looks at his lottery ticket. If something is and something comes, then it is good; but if nothing is and nothing comes, then it is also good. Yes, indeed, with them it will indeed be good so forever as well, if it becomes nothing with the eternal life and also nothing will come, what could help them thereto.
[13] But he who reads My Word, reads it attentively and keeps it well in his heart and is to do according to his force according to the Word and is not merely a vain reader or listener, but a true and life-warm doer, then he will also reap the right fruits as promised in the Word of the old and new revelation. But let no-one think that I will throw to someone who treats My cause thus like an old-women's trial or at most like a stupid pinch of snuff or like a cobbler-account, My kingdom, My grace and My great mercy backwards! Oh no, I will certainly forever not do that.
[14] But each one in his folly shall believe what he wants; but I will do what I want, and will not let Myself be deterred by the stupidity of people forever; because I do not need you humans, but you need Me! But I will visit man's stupidity with a plague and will see how long they will defy Me. But as endlessly good as I am to him who earnestly seeks Me, just as unrelenting am I also to him who in his heart regards Me in relation to the world not much better than a pinch of snuff. Amen; verily, verily, Amen, Amen, Amen.