The Household of God
Volume 1
The early history of mankind
- Chapter 142 -
ABOUT THE FREEDOM OF MAN. (5th November 1841)
After this brief admonition by Emmanuel, Seth rose and, deeply stirred by love throughout, said this:
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O Emmanuel Abba, forgive us our terrible indifference. Look, I and all of us have become numbed in our feelings by Your extraordinary and mighty miraculous deeds. The speeches by Adam and Enoch, the latter's patronage, Your fiery speeches and love-glowing lessons, succeeding one another so quickly, have overburdened our by nature somewhat slow spirit and we were unable to follow all the inexpressible glories from Your holy mouth. Therefore, we succumbed to our great helplessness and secretly relied on Enoch that he would later on impart it to us so that we could then at leisure understand it quite easily.
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"However, quite a different, holy light out of You has now shown an of us that all the named reasons did not apply and it was our own indolent will that caused this bad indifference in us. Therefore, () Emmanuel, awaken our still dead will and strengthen our weak hearts with Your grace so that we may animatedly grasp the words from Your holy mouth and accordingly arrange our lives pleasing to You. Amen."
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Then Emmanuel said to Seth and all the others the following: "Seth, behold, I purify you all because of the truth of your words. But your truth is naked as you are before Me. Therefore, clothe your hearts with free love for Me that you may become alive! For I can give you everything, except the free love of your hearts for Me. This I cannot give to anyone. And if I did this, what would your love be worth?
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"I tell you, it would be nothing but an alien impulse compelling you against your will to love and, thus, worship Me.
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"I created you as free humans and children and endowed each one with his own share of love which produces the life within you. You have to seize Me with this your own free love, only then will you take hold of the life within you.
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"I have given everyone a fair share just as a living germ originating in love has been laid into every grain of seed. When the seed is planted in the earth the dew of love gathers around it. This dew destroys the flesh enclosing the living germ and this becomes free. Once the germ is free it begins avidly to absorb the surrounding dew of love and life, keeps growing and soon forcefully breaks through the soil and freely rises upwards striving after the light of the sun. In such freedom it grows stronger and, finally, from the almost invisible little germ there develops a mightily strong tree full of life throughout and thus full of a thousand fold fruit. And all the life within it is a life characteristic of this tree bringing forth its kind a thousand fold.
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"Now ask yourselves whether this is not the case with your own free love that is a true germ of eternal life in your flesh which latter is equivalent to the matter of the grain of seed.
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"My Word and My love for you is the love-dew and does with you as does the dew with the grain of seed in the soil. So absorb My Word into your being that it may destroy your worldliness and then truly free your love, which is the true everlasting life. Only in this free life will you become useful fruit trees and be able to perform life's duties towards life. But now your sole task consists in becoming alive and free in the true love for Me. Only thereby will you become truly alive in Me and through Me, your true, eternal, holy Father. Amen.
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"Now move to the right side of the altar, heed Enoch's sacrifice within you and let your hearts, still weak in love, be warmed at the hallowed flame of the offering. Amen:'
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Then they all followed Emmanuel's word and placed themselves on the right side of the altar facing midday. On the morning-side Emmanuel, the sacrificer Enoch, Lamech and the other awakened were standing. The evening and midnight sides were open to all the people.
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When everything was thus well-prepared and arranged for the offering Adam once more stepped up to Emmanuel and asked Him full of the purest, innermost love and the highest respect:
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O Emmanuel, You do not intend to leave us after this sacrifice, but will still graciously hallow and receive the sacrifice on the hallowed height on the Sabbath tomorrow? For behold, the children dwelling in the morning, midday and evening have not recognized You as yet. Oh, how happy they would be if they could also see You in our midst and hear a word of life from Your holy mouth!
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"However, O Emmanuel, not my or our will, but always Your most holy will be done now and in eternity. Amen."
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Then Emmanuel said to Adam: "You are concerned and your concern is not idle since you are a father of all the free blood on this earth. But one thing about your concern, which borders on the futility of the external life, is the visibleness of My Being in a person similar to you. Do you think that when invisible I am less present and a less helpful Father than when visible?
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"Behold, this is still futile and I tell you that it is better for everyone not to see Me as a Being, but only through the love in his own heart For My visible presence is a compulsion, My invisible presence your life's freedom. Through compulsion no one can attain to life eternal, but only through freedom, which is the pure love for Me.
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'The one to whom I came and with whom I remained would be swallowed up by Me, for the fire of My love is too infinite that a still mortal though for immortality created being could bear it. However, if someone, who has already sought Me in his heart, comes to Me freely, behold, that one has already become firm and strong and I shall no longer swallow him up, but receive him for the eternal contemplation of My infinity and for the everlasting free enjoyment of the emanation of My boundless love and grace.
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"However, I will grant your request and will also tomorrow become for a moment visible and perceivable to all your children. Do understand this! Amen."