Volume 11 · Chapter 47

THE ACTIVITIES OF THE LORD AND HIS DISCIPLES IN EPHRAIM NOW one will ask what we actually did during the day in that ruin where we were so isolated from the world, for it cannot be assumed that this happened without any benefit for My disciples.

[GGJ.11_47,02] This is true, because while this time of isolation was mainly to prepare My earthly human being for the difficult time and to be made suitable for the transformation to the eternal, unchangeable Christ, that same time was also for My disciples, namely the apostles, to prepare them for their future task to become a teacher for all people. The process that took place in Me remained hidden from all eyes, but how My disciples were educating themselves and each other will be very precisely revealed so that everyone, who truly wants to work on his inner perfection, will find a guide therein that leads to the rebirth of the spirit.

[GGJ.11_47,03] So listen to know of what our outer and inner activities consisted.

[GGJ.11_47,04] The outer can be quickly explained. Those simply consisted of the precise arrangement of all house activities which everyone gladly took upon himself out of love for his brother and which did also not take much time because of the small needs of our group. The main point is that everyone, without being asked, made himself useful when he noticed that some service could be done, because this attentiveness is already a sign of active neighborly love while someone with a slow spirit will not notice at all where some small deed of love can be done.

[GGJ.11_47,05] I did not much support the outer activities of the house during our stay, like for instance taking care of the food, so that on the one hand no room for laziness would be given, and on the other hand to teach My followers not to only rely on exceptional powers. I do not have to emphasize of course that despite of that we did not lack anything.

[GGJ.11_47,06] The main thing was the spiritual nourishment. And how was this managed? In the first place by keeping a complete inner rest, which did not lose its balance by some vexation or narrow minded irritability, and then by practicing will power which is capable to overcome every passion and tendency to the antipode. Only he who first overcame himself can also overcome others.

[GGJ.11_47,07] Also the inner sight was practiced and opened up more and more. Not that I Myself opened up the inner sight for My followers, but they themselves had to be capable to focus their spiritual view on subjects they wanted to know. However, this ability requires a very special purification of the soul, for since he is initially materially inclined, he can of course only view pure spiritual things out of himself when he already spiritualized himself considerably, or to say it more precisely, when the spirit that lives in him has become so powerful that it gave to the soul – that must form his body – so much spiritual understanding, and illuminated him with its light in such a way that he also can recognize and understand the spiritual images. As long as only the outer, purely physical, material things are made understandable to the soul by the artful mechanism of the body, he is still spiritual blind. As soon as he learns to look through the cover of the outer bodies he becomes spiritual seeing.

[GGJ.11_47,08] The microscopes of the present world can only give a very accurate image of the outer cover in the smallest details, without giving any explanation about the purely spiritual life of all things. Only a soul who became seeing is capable to recognize this, but the scientist’s instruments never, no matter how ingenious they are.

[GGJ.11_47,09] And once the soul is capable to recognize the most inner life, he perceives of course with the same easiness also the finest constructions of the cover that encloses the inner life.

[GGJ.11_47,10] It is obvious that My disciples, who had to perform as masters of life and teachers, had to be instructed in everything when I would not be with them anymore physically, and therefore they had to be entirely familiar with everything.

[GGJ.11_47,11] Now one will ask: were My followers not already familiar with these things, and was there first a solitary stay necessary in the desert to reach that inner dominion over oneself?

[GGJ.11_47,12] Again it has to be emphasized here that they formerly were always under some kind of compulsion which My personality exerted on them by its presence, and also because each one of them had to endure the awareness that they were always watched by the many people that followed us. Everyone knows very well that it is much easier to avoid evil when one knows that he is watched, because through that, a kind of shame in front of strangers comes up or the greediness to continue, this in contrary to when one feels completely free of every compulsion.

[GGJ.11_47,13] Now there were many opportunities for their testing here, for firstly I often withdrew Myself for days for My own preparation, and secondly My followers lived here entirely free from the admiring crowd who often thought that My disciples must be at least equal to their teacher or even finally had to exceed Him since it often happened that disciples defeated the master.

[GGJ.11_47,14] The inhabitants of Ephraim were not concerned at all about us but they quietly did their work and took us for some new Jewish sect that often came up during My time and they thought that we were followers of John who wanted to prepare themselves here for the coming Kingdom of God. Since they moreover knew and also saw that we repaired the old castle again, they considered us all the more as strange people with whom you better not get in contact in order to avoid being ignited by their weirdness.

[GGJ.11_47,15] That is why this place was the most suitable for inner self training, for those who followed Me up to here got rid of their desire for the outer world already a long time ago so that trials in this respect were not necessary anymore. And those who still had to learn about this we left behind.

[GGJ.11_47,16] However, a few things still happened here which have to be mentioned so that everyone can still learn how the training should take place and how events that are often insignificant can make a deep impression on the inner purification and strengthening of the will. These will be shown here now so that you will know what John actually meant with the words: ‘And He stayed there with His disciples.’