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Characteristics of true and false Prophets, Teachers and Priests Great and extraordinary things will be falsified Jacob Lorber, Great Gospel of John, Vol. 6, Chapter 235:1-6: 235,1. Said Lazarus: “But Lord, one cannot believe and assume that this Your teaching will ever become falsified! Since as we have received it from You, we will pass it on to our descendants, and nothing will be added and nothing will be taken away; we also can write and record word for word, what we have heard and seen from You, and all our descendants will hear all this from point to point and act accordingly. I then do not understand how the rise of false prophets is possible!” 235,2. Said I: “Just like you speak now, also the main followers of Moses have spoken, when also I on Sinai gave them the laws. The legislation, as you will know, lasted for seven full years and a little time and afterwards continued more in secret for another thirty-three years, but not for everyone apparent, – and already during the first seven years the golden calf was poured and worshipped! See, this is how the people are! 235,3. That My teaching will be kept pure with you and also with a few descendants of you for quite a long period of time, I admit; but in general it will look quite differently! 235,4. Wherever something great and extraordinary happens, it is exploited by lazy people and their sense for profit-hungriness and greediness and transformed into their earthly source of income, – which is so true as the truth itself. To prevent such machinations, I had to allow only angels of death to come into this world, who would kill in advance all those people, what however, according to the free will of man, would not be appropriate, just as it is not appropriate to destroy all the weed on a wheat field with one blow, which would also not be good for the wheat field itself, because finally the weed will become a fertilizer for the wheat field. 235,5. Just as the weed is allowed on the wheat field, also this will be allowed, however not without a subsequent punishment following sooner or later. See, it cannot be prevented fully! 235,6. I therefore only say this, that all those, who now have the pure teaching from Me and later from you (disciples), should always be on guard, to not fall into temptation; since the evil spirit moves around in the world like a roaring and hungry lion and tries to devour all noble and pure spirits. Therefore be aware of false prophets! That is all I can say and do for you against it. First false Prophets in Christianity Jacob Lorber, Great Gospel of John, Vol. 6, Chapter 235:7-15: 235,7. Asked Peter: “Lord, when somehow appearing still in our time, how will we recognize them?” 235,8. Said I: “At their fruit! On thorn hedges no figs are ripening and on thistles no grapes! I, with My teaching, am the only door to the sheepfold; who breaks into the stable from anywhere else, is a thief and a robber. I am the only right door, the way, the light, the truth and the life. Who wants to come to Me, must through Me and in Me walk My way, in My light, which is the everlasting, convertible truth in God. 235,9. Every right worker is worth his remuneration; however the hireling, who allows himself to be hired for someone else, whose work it is, is seldom worth the hireling’s wage. For he pretends to work for the sake of the hire wage only; but the employer is served badly by this. And thus and even worse shall be all false teachers and prophets. For their motive – like now with the Pharisees – will be Mammon; for his sake they will teach, prophesies stupid and wrong things, deceive the people physically and even more spiritually, will devour the goods of the widows and orphans and in return will assure them of heaven and will finally pursue those remained loyal to the truth as the greatest heretics with sword and fire and say with great pomp: ‘We are the true followers of Christ, the sun of God!’ I say this to you in advance, so that you and your true followers know this, how to behave, if it happens – and partly already happened!” 235,10. Said Peter: “Lord, how possibly could this already happen?” 235,11. Said I: “Very easily; for how many times already have I taught before a large crowd, and there were not only people among them, who accepted the matter for the salvation of their soul, but for the salvation of their money bag. Some of the things they experienced themselves, some they were told by others, and most of it they made up themselves, thus heaping up lies over lies, thereupon undertook trips to all areas, presented themselves as My envoys and yielded quite a lot of money that way. – What are you saying about it?” 235,12. Said Peter and John: “Lord, don’t You have lightening and thunderbolts for such sinners anymore?” 235,13. Said I: “O, o, are you children of thunder or the children of God? Lightening destroys where it hits; but the children of God have another weapon and it is called: patience, gentleness and love. 235,14. These people at the same time are still of the opinion that they doing God a pleasing favour. You will meet with such people quite often, and many will convert. If we now destroy them with lightening from the clouds, could you still convert them? Therefore do not immediately take shelter behind lightening strikes. 235,15. The truth is the best lightening strike against such false teachers and prophets! You rather be able to dry up all the seas of the world, than dam the stream of truth. With Me you will be able to achieve anything, however, without Me nobody can do anything; since I am the truth, the light and life! – Do you comprehend this well?” Jacob Lorber, Great Gospel of John, Vol. 6, Chapter 76:19: 76,19. Truly, those who will not look for Me there where I am, are not going to find Me and also will not find Me. In time many will look for Me and are not going to find Me! There will be times in which many false prophets and Messiahs will rise and say to you: ‘See, here is the Anointed!’ or ‘There he is!’ However, all those do not believe, for where they say I could be found, I will be found in the least and actually will never be found. Who will look for Me in anything which just in the slightest manner smells worldly, will not find Me, but only he, who searches for Me in true love, humility and self-abnegation, will surly always and everywhere find Me. The awakening of true prophets takes place in silence Jacob Lorber, Great Gospel of John, Vol. 5, Chapter 83:12+13: 83,12. The Lord will wake the true prophets of truth always in complete silence and they will never make a noise or any perceptible sound like quite still water in the world; but those who make a sounds and a noise, the spirit of the truth and the word will not be in them. 83,13. The genuine prophets waked by God will also be in a position in all silence to perform miracles; but the world will not notice anything of that, instead sometimes the true friends of God for their own tranquil comfort only. Modesty, humility, and unselfishness Jakob Lorber, The Earth, Chapter 70:23+24: 70,23. Everyone should reject the follies of worldly people; you should believe the word of a truly born-again being, since such a person will not speak of anything other than what he receives. The others, however, will speak only of what they themselves believe they know. 70,24. When such a person tells you that he speaks in the Name of the Lord, do not believe him; he speaks only in the interest of his own honor, and for his own advantage. But whoso may say, without self-interest and ambition, “That is what the Lord said!” – believe him, especially when he pays no attention to the reputation of a particular person, because only a born-again human being knows the reputation of the Lord. Distinguishing characteristics Jacob Lorber, Great Gospel of John, Vol. 3, Chapter 204:10-16: 204,10. But how can one nevertheless tell a false prophet from a genuine one? Quite easily: in their fruit! 204,11. For one cannot gather grapes and figs from thorns and thistles! 204,12. The genuine prophet will never and impossibly be selfish, and any arrogance will be foreign to him. He will probably gratefully accept whatever good and noble hearts give him; but he will never demand fees of anyone because he knows that this is an abomination to God, and because God can keep His servants very well! 204,13. But the false prophet will allow himself to be paid for every step and deed and for every so-called divine act for the simulated and lied good of humanity. The false prophet will thunder on about the judgment of God and even judge in the name of God with fire and sword; but the genuine prophet will judge no-one, but only advise the sinner to repent and will make no difference between large and small and between respected and non-respected people. For only God means anything to him and God’s word – everything else is a vain madness for him. 204,14. There will never be a contradiction in the true prophet’s speech; but bring speech of the false prophet into the light and it will be crawling with contradictions. No-one can ever offend the true prophet, he will bear everything like a lamb, whatever the world may do to him; he will only rise up in fiery anger against lies and arrogance and beat them down. 204,15. The false prophet is constantly a deadly enemy of every truth and every better progress in thought and in deed; no-one but he should know anything or have any experience so that everyone is always and in all things forced to seek expensive advice from him for money. 204,16. The false prophet thinks only about himself; God and His order are annoying and laughable things in which he has not even the smallest spark of faith, therefore he can make a god out of wood and stone with the lightest conscience in the world, however he likes. That then such a god can easily work wonders for the thoroughly blind people through the hands of the false prophet will be very easily understood!” The Objective of the Zeal – Jesus Christ Jacob Lorber, Gifts of Heaven, Volume 2, Chapter 112, Verses 1-12: 112,1. (Jesus:) If you work yourself attentively through that, which was said here and the answer, that was given by the greatest of all prophets of Israel (Elijah), then it cannot slip by you, whereby a true prophet is clearly distinguished from a false prophet, who at all times is a servant of Baal and a blind pharisee in the most true sense of the word. 112,2. But that you and everyone else should know exactly, how things are standing between a true and a false prophet, I just want to bring the following to your attention from the Statements of the Prophet Elijah. Therefore listen… 112,3. For Whom alone did the true Prophet Elijah fight? Did he fight for worldly rights, worldly power and worldly income, consisting of Gold and Silver? – He says… ‘I was very ardent for the Lord of Hosts.’ (1 King 19:10) 112,4. You see, if someone is fighting without reward for the only true God and does it, as the Prophet Elijah has done it, tell Me, is that a false prophet? – So the Zeal is the most secure and infallible sign for discerning true prophets from false ones. 112,5. If one is fighting for worldly esteem of his church and its leader, which is buried in gold, silver and all precious stones, and another one fights for Me alone – which of these two prophets is obviously the only true one? – I mean, to answer that, no one must consult mathematics. 112,6. But since Elijah was an entirely true prophet, how did he recognize Me, when I passed by at the entrance of the cave at mount Horeb, since he was laying hidden within the cave? – Did he recognize me in the great and strong wind? (1 King 19:11) – Look, in the same way I am also not in those, who are causing a lot of wind and sensation. For that is the way of the true and most blind pharisees. 112,7. Or did Elijah recognize Me in the following fire? (1 King 19:12) – Look, in the same way I am also not in those fiery zealots, whose mouths only sparkle one judgment after another und one condemnation after another, because they want to recognize God only in the judging fire, but never only in the Love. 112,8. But the true Prophet Elijah has recognized Me only in the quiet and peaceful breeze or whisper (1 King 19:12), meaning… in other words nothing else than Elijah has truly recognized Me only in the Love alone! 112,9. When you (Jacob Lorber) recognize Me also only in the gentle breeze of Love alone, in the same way as Elijah did, how are you then a false prophet? – Therefore, let the worldly prophets speak and come against us! In the end it will be obvious, who will be bringing home the bride! 112,10. But Elijah was called to be a Judge over Israel in the Love, therefore he had to go to Damascus and to anoint Hazael and Jehu as kings and Elisha as a prophet, so that they may preserve those, who have not bowed down before Baal, and with the sword of faithfulness separate the chaff of Baal from My pure wheat. What has happened there as a strong example, look, this indeed also happens now in the Spirit. Therefore, the Love will in the end have the victory over everything and it shall destroy and put to shame all the ‘winds’, ‘earthquakes’ and all ‘fire’! 112,11. Now, judge for yourself and spot the true prophet from the great crowd of false ones, which are servants of the world. 112,12. Elijah is a true Prophet. But also each one, who does find Me, as Elijah has found Me – namely in the Love… Lust for power as indicator of false Prophets Jacob Lorber, Great Gospel of John, Vol. 9, Chapter 185:7-9: 185,7. And he who wants to distinguish with little effort a false prophet from a true prophet and teacher who was called by Me, should look at his works. 185,8. What man can hide least of all from the eyes of his fellowmen are his selfishness and pursuit of profit. To satisfy that, he all too soon and visibly will leave nothing untried to reach the goal for which his heart has an indestructible love. 185,9. Therefore, let the false prophets never receive might or outer reputation. For once they have reached that, it soon will look extremely dark again among the people, and you will have a hard battle to fight against them.” Selflessness and service to God Jacob Lorber, The Childhood of Jesus, Chapter 228:11-15: 228,11. Yes, that is how we can always accurately distinguish the true from the false servants of God: 228,12. The true servants are unselfish to a high degree, and the false ones are exactly the opposite; 228,13. for the true servants serve God in their hearts and also receive the supreme and eternal reward, – 228,14. the false ones, however, serve a God in the world who is modelled after their wicked nature – for the sake of the world; 228,15. therefore, they also seek the reward of the world and see to it that they are excessively paid at every turn. Self-promotion, pseudo-humility and pseudo-spirituality Jacob Lorber, Paul’s Letter to Laodicea, Chapter 2:9-14: 2,9. I ask you, and even implore you: Do not allow anyone to decide for you what your goal should be, especially by one who on his own initiative, wanders around in all humility and total spirituality of the angels of the heavens, but he himself has never seen nor heard anything about it; because of this, he is conceited about his own importance, but only in his carnal sense, 2,10. And he does not abide by the head from whence comes the energy for the whole body through the members and joints, which maintain each other, contain and grow to divine greatness, 2,11. But only according to his taste, which is within itself full of dirt and filth, full of self-interest, full of deceit and lies, full of lust for power, full of miserliness and envy. 2,12. This is how it is with the one who poses as if he was called upon by the Lord and from me, and then afterwards elected by you. 2,13. I point out now to all of you: This one has the spirit of the devil in him, and walks among you like a wolf in sheep’s clothing and like a hungry, roaring lion endeavoring in a diligent manner to devour you. 2,14. That is why you should drive him away as fast as possible… Self-imposed purity and dietary laws Jacob Lorber, Paul’s Letter to Laodicea, Chapter 2:19-30: 2,19. And do not listen to those, who say with a hypocritical, pious mien: “Do not touch that, and do not try that, and do not hold onto that, and do this, but do not do that.” All this consumes itself under their hands, and is nothing more than empty man-made laws; 2,20. But listen to what I have to say out of the Spirit of Christ, which is within me, so that you may become free again, and become truthful co-heirs of Jesus Christ in God’s Kingdom which is alive within you. 2,21. Oh brothers, think of what benefit will it be to those who have the appearance of wisdom, and through themselves self-chosen, hypocritical and feigned spirituality and humility, 2,22. And those who say: “When you look at a woman, you already have sinned; and if you eat unclean food forbidden by Moses, then you are unclean for a whole day, and when you touch a heathen and you speak more than three words to him, then you must tell the priest of the temple, so that he cleanses you before God.” 2,23. In reality, they are full of filth, miserliness, and whoredom, and carry on business in secret with all the heathens, and do everything within their abilities that does not spoil their secret friendship with them?. 2,24. I, however, say: “The body requires what is his, just like the Spirit; he has his want and his need. This is why you should give to him in the proper measure, whatever God has intended for him, and he should enjoy what is available; because the physical body requires its care, just as the Spirit requires his freedom. Therefore, be free, and be not slaves to the fools of this world.” 2,25. How praise-worthy can someone be of himself, even though he fasted with his stomach, but he filled his heart with evil thoughts, wishes, and desires?. 2,26. Would it not have been much wiser to fast in the heart, than in the stomach? How can you be such great fools that someone can make you believe that it would be even pleasing unto the Lord if you would eat fish marinated in oil, than to eat another meat from a warm-blooded animal, and in fat instead of the oil?. 2,27. But I say to you: Eat at all time within reason, whatever you relish, and eat whatever is good for your body’s health, and drink wine with water, as I do, whenever it is available, and do not let your conscience trouble you; then you act properly even in this instance. 2,28. The Lord derives no joy from fasting of the stomach; He does, however, favor fasting of the heart. In the heart, however, fast day and night, then you will fast in the Spirit and in Truth. 2,29. But how can you fast in accordance with the hypocritical teachings of the one who pretends to be only with one foot on the earth, but everything else is already in heaven. In accordance with that, all heathens fast as well; they eat on their days of feast all kinds of delicacies, and are more lustful for those delicacies than on the common days, when they eat their daily food. 2,30. Since you are now resurrected in Christ, why do you heed what happens below on the world, and why do you seek to satisfy the world’s statutes which are the work of human beings? Mark of false prophets in ecclesiastical disguise Jacob Lorber, Great Gospel of John, Vol. 6, Chapter 22:6: 22,6. (Jesus:) The signs, by which you will very easily recognize them, are empty boasts, great and crude pretentiousness of divine powers which they never had and will never have in this world, then great shine, great splendor, a mystical pomp as among the gentiles and the greatest possible thirst for power, like a never-saturated greed for the greatest treasures and blessings of this world. Hopefully they will not be too difficult to recognize from these very nicely palpable characteristics.” Selfish vocation motives, seminary and ceremonial consecration Jacob Lorber, Great Gospel of John, Vol. 6, Chapter 150:24+25: 150,24. (Jesus:) You will take care of such indeed; however, nonetheless countless will take your office, partially through outer compulsion and partly through the prospect to find a good and carefree life in your office. However, all these will be counted by Me to the regiment of the anti-Christ, and their works will cause a disgusting smell and look like a stinking cadaver before God. 150,25. Verily, I say to you: all your successors who are not prepared by Me, but trained only by people in certain world-schools to follow your office, will not be looked at by Me; since only the anti-Christ will qualify his disciples in this way. … (Jacob Lorber, Great Gospel of John, Vol. 6, Chapter 179:3): 179,3. Therefore pay great attention to it that you only take from those who accept the gospel, what you require to live! For if the idlers see that the preaching and signs provide you with a lot money, they will do everything possible to oust you. Therefore you will earliest recognize the false prophets in their works. For the real prophets will always walk in My poverty and only accept from their congregations, what they need as basic life requirements; however the false will do like the Pharisees are doing now – and in many cases a lot worse – and for everything they do in My name for the congregations, they are going to insist to be paid highly and expensively, and all people will regard them as servants of God and by punishment they had to believe that God listens only to their prayers and looks at their sacrifices with great pleasure. Like now for all Jews this one temple is standing there, the anti-Christ will build countless many temples with great splendour and therein they will perform magic and sacrifices, and make bad, selfish speeches before the people. They will pray in foreign languages to make the people believe that such their speech is the most purest and therefore also to God most pleasing. … (Jacob Lorber, Great Gospel of John, Vol. 8, Chapter 14:2,4-10): 14,2. Yes I know and can see how a great number of false teachers will arise after Me, saying to the people: ‘Look, here is Christ’ or ‘There He is’. But I am saying now to all of you, and tell it to your fellowmen and children, that one should not believe such false teachers, for they will easily be recognized by their works. 14,4. So when you will meet teachers who will spread the coming of the Kingdom of God among the people in this manner according to My will, you and everyone can consider them as real and complete true teachers. However, when teachers – although in My name – want to make money out of My teaching, and their purpose is money and other treasures, then consider them as false and as never being called by Me to be spreaders of My teaching. Because My true disciples and spreaders of My pure teaching will always be poor in earthly matters, just like Me, but therefore they will be more than rich from a spiritual point of view. For they will not need to acquire My teaching and My word through time consuming learning of a predecessor, but I will put My teaching and My will in their heart and in their mouth. 14,5. However, the false disciples will by the long studying of their also false doctrines have to acquire all kinds of texts, words and proverbs and will only then when they have learned everything tiredly from their puffed up and talkative teachers and leaders be ordained as disciples through all kinds of empty and blind ceremonies, as this is now also happening in the temple with the Pharisees, scribes and elders and also with you, gentiles, where the rank of priests is forming a real social class that continues from father to son and in which someone from the people is only accepted when one or the other priest has no children, and even then, only as a child that can only later on be educated as priest. 14,6. So, how a true teacher and spreader of My pure teaching can be distinguished from a false one, this I have now clearly explained to you all, and thus everyone will easily be able to guard himself against the false teachers and prophets. However, him who will follow and believe them, honor them and also help them in everything, he can only blame himself when later he will be devoured by them. 14,7. Yes, it even will happen that false prophets will exalt themselves on golden thrones and persecute as soon as possible the true ones that are chosen and called by Me. However, when this will happen, then also their judgment and their end will come over them, and My teaching will despite that continue to exist among the people on Earth. But it will only shine, radiate and comfort in quietness as a free possession among the people, but never as a ruler who is commanding entire nations on a ruler throne with crown, staff and scepter. 14,8. Where this will be the case in My name, it will be difficult to find Me, and instead of My love there will be greed, avarice, envy and persecution of all kind among the people, and one deceit will extend the hand to the other. When you will see such fruits among the people, you surely will perceive what kind of mentality those prophets have who are ruling on thrones and from whom their false teachings are originating. 14,9. If however, you always will be able to receive what is right and true – providing you have a desire for it – will you turn your heart to that which is false? And so, now you know that despite all false prophets and teachers who will arise later, My pure teaching will continue in quietness and without pompous display until the end of times among the people. 14,10. The fact that this teaching of Mine will only spread slowly among the people of the Earth, of that I already have clearly shown you the reasons more than once, because I surely know the best when a people is ripe to accept My teaching. Imperiousness and arrogance of false prophets Jacob Lorber, Great Gospel of John, Vol. 9, Chapter 166:9+10: 166,9. Although in later times there will be false, imperious prophets who will do the same thing in My name as now the Pharisees and their followers, and they will honor Me in the eyes of the people with all kinds of ceremonies and with gold, silver and noble stones, but through the mouth of those who are awakened by My Spirit I will say to them: ‘Look, this miserable people honors Me, the Lord of Life, with the dirt and with the death and the judgment of matter, but their heart is far away from Me.’ That is why I also will be far away from such people. 166,10. Therefore, you also should in future times not build any temples and altars for Me, for I will never live in the temples that are made by human hands, and I will not let Myself be honored on altars. He who loves Me and who will keep My simple commandments, is My living temple. And his heart, full of love and patience, is the true and living offering altar to My honor, which is the only thing that is pleasing to Me. All the rest is judgment, death and ruin. Persecution of the true followers of Jesus Jacob Lorber, Great Gospel of John, Vol. 9, Chapter 40:1: 40,1. During that time, true faith and pure love will extinguish completely. Instead of that, a faith of delusion will be forced upon the people with the most severe criminal laws, just like a malicious fever forces death upon the human body. And if one or the other congregation that is strengthened by My Spirit will come up against the false teachers and prophets who have an abundance of gold, silver, precious stones and other great earthly goods, and who haughtily, imperiously and selfishly as they are, will present themselves to the people as your only true successors and as My substitutes in order to be most honored, and if that congregation will show them that they are exactly the opposite of how they present themselves to the people with the most insolent and God-forsaken impertinence by forcing them to only search the salvation of their souls and the truth with them, then there will be battles and wars and persecutions, as did not take place yet since the beginning of men on this Earth. … (Jacob Lorber, Great Gospel of John, Vol. 6, Chapter 235:9): 235,9. For their (all false teachers and prophets) motive – like now with the Pharisees – will be Mammon; for his sake they will teach, prophesies stupid and wrong things, deceive the people physically and even more spiritually, will devour the goods of the widows and orphans and in return will assure them of heaven and will finally pursue those remained loyal to the truth as the greatest heretics with sword and fire and say with great pomp: ‘We are the true followers of Christ, the sun of God!’ I say this to you in advance, so that you and your true followers know this, how to behave, if it happens – and partly already happened!” … (Jacob Lorber, Great Gospel of John, Vol. 7, Chapter 184:6): 184,6. The first secondary sun which rose more to the north almost at the same time as the real sun – which in this likeness represents Myself – represents the counter-prophet or the counter-anointed who will arise and say: ‘Look, I am the true anointed of God. Listen to me if you want to be blessed’. But I am telling you that no one of you must let himself be seduced. Because he will be a messenger of Hell and by his deceitful arts he will perform all kinds of wondrous signs, and will show a very pious face and pray and make sacrifices, but his heart will be full of bitter hatred against all truth which he will persecute by fire and sword, and all who will not keep his teaching he will curse. This one will also invent the three gods and will let them be worshipped. I also will be counted to that as the Savior of the world but divided into three persons. They will still confess one God with their mouth, yet worship three persons, of whom each one will also be a complete god and will have to be worshipped separately. Pomp churches, ceremonies, magical elements in worship, praying in foreign languages … (Jacob Lorber, Great Gospel of John, Vol. 8, Chapter 39:14): 39,14. (Jesus:) “… you must not confuse the paganism of that time of which I was speaking with the paganism now in this time. The temples of idolatry of the present time will indeed have been destroyed a long time ago, but instead of them, numerous other ones will be build by the antichrist, and this even in My name. And their priests will let themselves be exceedingly honored as My replacements on Earth, and they will make effort to gather all worldly treasures. They will fatten themselves, but the people will be in great need spiritually and physically. … (Jacob Lorber, Great Gospel of John, Vol. 6, Chapter 179:3+4): 179,3. …Like now for all Jews this one temple is standing there, the anti-Christ will build countless many temples with great splendour and therein they will perform magic and sacrifices, and make bad, selfish speeches before the people. They will pray in foreign languages (Latin) to make the people believe that such their speech is the most purest and therefore also to God most pleasing. 179,4. This is sufficient for everybody to recognize a false prophet and to distinguish him from a true one. They will of course make a lot of noise and shout to all the world: ‘All of you come to us since Christ is here and He is there where we are!’ However, do not believe it, irrespective when shouting even so much harder and perform even greater miracles; since they are never ever My disciples, but deceived disciples of Beelzebub, from whom they also will harvest their reward in the mud pool with howling and crunching of teeth! Recommendations of Jesus against clerical abuses Jacob Lorber, Great Gospel of John, Vol. 10, Chapter 28:9: 28,9. So let the clergy exploit the people. Let the still blind people make pilgrimages and pay expensive masses. Let them do their confessions, go to church, organize exaggerated expensive processions for their deceased ones, let those clergies chase inheritances and sell expensive exemptions and remissions of sin. Let those Babylonians do even worse things, then also the most blind one will soon come to his senses and say: ‘No, such religion can only be deceit, because those who are most convinced of the pure teaching of Christ and who should act accordingly, show by their deeds that they themselves attach no importance to that whole teaching, they do not believe in a God, and thus they are simply false prophets. They only care about their belly. They often take away the whole possession of the people by all kinds of deceit. And if this is not sufficient, they take it away by some kind of lawful coercion which is allowed to them by the state. And they do not even give one thirsty soul a sip of water of all the things they simply robbed away. Therefore, away with all those false prophets. Away with those devouring wolves in sheep’s clothing, and away with everything with which they tormented, deceived and robbed the poor, blind people. Away with the temples, altars, secret images, relics, clocks and all useless cleric utensils that do not have any spiritual value for life. From now on we will examine the whole teaching of Christ ourselves, and let it be explained to us by true teachers who are enlightened by God, and then we will live and act accordingly. And the true teacher will not be hungry or thirsty at our table, and he will also not have to walk around on bare feet.’ … (Jacob Lorber, Great Gospel of John, Vol. 8, Chapter 186:1): 186,1. (Jesus:) … I will awake already a few 100 years earlier ever clearer enlightened seers, prophets and helpers who will in My name, just as clear and truthful, teach the peoples everywhere about everything and will thus free them from all kinds of lies and deceit. They will clear the way for the downfall of false prophets and priests, even in My name. |