December 1, 1947prev home next
In regard to the epistle for the First Sunday in Advent, Jesus says:
“No one among the Christians would dare to say that Paul was not an Apostle, filled with the Spirit of the Spirit of God, grace, and holiness. But, then, how do those who speculate with all means about the words of the Work in order to say, ‘The spokesman made a mistake’ explain the contradiction in Paul’s words: ‘...For it is now the time to wake up from sleep, since our salvation is closer than when we believed. The night is far advanced and the day is drawing near’?341
“These words - and it is not the only time Paul speaks of. the second coming of Christ, the last times, and the final judgment - seem to indicate a much closer onset (in relation to Paul’s lifetime) of the eternal day. But what a protracted dawn this day has if it has lasted for twenty centuries and there is still time remaining before the day! Was the prophetic spirit absent in Paul, then? And if, in spite of this, he is called the select Jar, the Apostle of the Gentiles, and his word is only slightly inferior to the Gospel in terms of its power for instruction, how can stones be thrown at you, little John, if in the myopic vision of readers some of my - I say my - words transcribed by you seem to contradict ancient beliefs and past, present, or future events, as they are known or foreseen?
“I truly tell you that Paul did not err by misinterpreting my words (Luke 21:32, Mark 13:30) and seeing the day of the Lord as near, just as you, little John, do not err.
“For, like all those whom the Spirit of the Spirit of God who is God besets and upraises to the heavens of vision, he sees through God’s eye - that is, in an eternal present. The present event and the one which will occur after centuries are the same for him who contemplates while enraptured in God. Those events exist. Those events are true. Whether their occurrence is today or within dozens of years or centuries, those events shall exist and are immediate for those contemplating them in the luminous whirlpool of eternity, in which the years and centuries are the dust of instants.
“Nor do you err, for you are only the hand writing the Thought and Word through the will of Love. And Love does not err. Ever. And Love has actions which the myopic may believe are contradictory, but which always follow the straight line, simple and just, of God’s actions.
“Be at peace and also send these words which I have repeated to you for your joy and as an act of goodness for others.”
341 Romans 13:11-12