The Gospel in Brief

Chapter Four THE KINGDOM OF GOD

And therefore the will of the father is life and goodness for all people.

THY KINGDOM COME

Jesus is sorry for people because they do not know true goodness, so he teaches them, saying:

Those who have no belongings and no glory and are not troubled by this are blessed; but those who seek riches and glory are unlucky, because in terms of the father’s will they are poor and destitute, seeking only rewards from people in this temporal life. In order to fulfill the will of the father, one should not fear being poor and despised, one must rejoice in that state so as to demonstrate what real goodness is.

In order to fulfill the will of the father, who gives life and goodness to all people, one must keep five commandments.

The first commandment: Do not offend anyone and do not do anything to provoke evil in anyone, because evil gives birth to evil.

The second commandment: Do not be charmed by women and do not abandon the woman that you’ve united with, because abandoning women and replacing them gives rise to all the debauchery in the world.

The third commandment: Do not swear oaths over anything because it is impossible to promise anything since man is entirely in the hands of the father, and oaths are judged as evil acts.

The fourth commandment: Do not oppose evil, but tolerate insults and do even more than people require of you: do not judge, and you will not be judged. All that man can teach by taking vengeance is vengeance.

The fifth commandment: Do not make distinctions between your homeland and that of others, because all people are the children of one father.

These five commandments should be kept, not to earn the praise of other people, but for yourself, for your own blessedness. Neither prayer nor fasting are necessary. Praying is not necessary because the father knows all that people need. So there is nothing to ask him for; one just needs to try to be within the father’s will, not bearing any malice toward anyone. Fasting is not necessary because people fast only for the praise of other people; and the praise of other people cannot give blessedness. The father gives life; he gives his children what they need. One need only worry about being within the father’s will at any given moment, the rest will take care of itself.

One can only desire strength of spirit, which is what the father gives. The five commandments define the path into the kingdom of heaven. Only this singularly narrow path leads into eternal life. False teachers, wolves in sheep’s clothing, always try to lead people off of this path. One must beware of them. One can always tell a false teacher because they teach evil in the name of good. If they teach violence or punishment, they are false teachers. You can recognize them by the acts which they teach. It is not the one who calls on the name of God that fulfills the will of God, but the one who performs acts of goodness.

So, he who keeps these five commandments will have a life of certainty which no one will be able to take from him, and he who does not keep them will have a life that will be quickly taken from him, so that nothing remains.

Jesus’s teaching amazes and attracts all the people because he acknowledges the people’s freedom. His teaching is a fulfillment of Isaiah’s prophecy about God’s chosen one bringing light to people, conquering evil and restoring truth through meekness, humility and goodness—and not through violence.

And Jesus walked from city to village and taught all the people about the blessing of fulfilling the father’s will. Jesus felt sorry that they were all perishing, not knowing what true life was, rushing around and tormenting themselves without knowing why, like lambs left unattended by their shepherd.

Once, a crowd of people gathered for Jesus, to hear his teaching, and he went up onto a mountain and sat down. His students surrounded him. And Jesus began to teach the people about the father’s will.

He said: “Blessed are the poor and homeless because they live within the will of God. If they go hungry, they will be filled; if they grieve and weep, they will be comforted. If people despise them, avoid them and drive them out, let them take joy in that, because the people of God were always driven out this way. And they will receive their reward from heaven.

“But sorrow to the rich men because they have already received all that they desired and they will not receive anything beyond it. For now they are satisfied, but they will become hungry. Now they are happy, but they will experience sadness. If everyone flatters them, then sorrow to them, because only swindlers flatter people. Blessed are the poor and homeless, but they are only blessed when they are poor not just in appearance, but also in their souls, just as salt can only be good when it does not just look like salt, but also has the qualities of salt through and through. Just so, you, poor and homeless teachers of the world, you are blessed if you know that true happiness is to be found in being homeless and poor. If you are poor only in appearance, then, like unsavory salt, you are not good for much.

“You are light for the world, so do not hide your light, but show it to people. After all, having lit a light, no one puts it under a bench, they put it on the table so that it shines for everyone in the room. Likewise, you must not hide your light, but you must show it in your actions, so that people can see that you know the truth. And, seeing your good works, they will come to understand your heavenly father.

“And do not think that I am liberating you from the law. I do not teach liberation from the law, but fulfillment of the eternal law. As long as there are people under heaven, there will be an eternal law. The law will only cease to exist when people do everything in and of themselves according to the eternal law. And now I am going to give you the commandments of the eternal law. And if anyone exempts themselves from even one of these short commandments and teaches others that it is possible to exempt themselves from any, he will be the last into the kingdom of heaven; but the one who fulfills the commandments and teaches others to do so also will be great in the kingdom of heaven. Because if your virtue is no more than the virtue of the orthodox scribes, then there is no way that you can be in the kingdom of heaven.

“Here are the commandments:

“The first commandment. In the previous law it was said: do not kill. And if anyone kills another, then he must be killed. But I say to you that judgment awaits all who are angry with their brother. And the one who curses at his brother is even more guilty. So, if you want to pray to God, then recall first whether there is any man who may have something to hold against you, and if you recall that even one man considers that you have insulted him, leave your prayers and go first to make peace with your brother, and only then pray. You know that God does not need your sacrifices or your prayers, but he does need peace, agreement and love between you. And you know that it is impossible for you to either pray or think of God if there is even one person with whom you do not share loving feelings. This then is the first commandment: Do not be angry, do not curse, and if you have spoken evil words, then make peace and be sure that not one person has cause to be offended by you.

“The second commandment. In the previous law it was said: do not commit adultery. And if you want to abandon your wife, then give her divorce papers. But I say to you that if you lust after a woman’s beauty then you are already committing adultery. Every type of depravity destroys the soul, so therefore it is better for you to refrain from the comforts of the flesh than to destroy your life. And if you abandon your wife, then, in addition to the fact that you are a philanderer, you also force her into depravity along with whoever subsequently couples with her. Therefore, this is the second commandment: Do not think that the love of women is good. Do not desire women, but live with the one you have committed to and do not leave her.

“The third commandment. In the previous law it was said: do not take the name of the Lord your God in vain and do not call upon your God falsely. Do not dishonor the name of your God. Do not swear by me dishonestly and thereby desecrate your God. But I say to you that every oath is a desecration of God, so therefore, do not make any oaths. It is impossible for a man to promise anything since he is always entirely under God’s power. He cannot make anyone’s gray hair black, so how can he make oaths for the future, saying that he will do this or that and swearing by God. Every oath is a desecration of God because if the person is called upon to fulfill an oath that opposes God’s will, then it turns out that he has promised to act contrary to God’s will. Therefore, every oath is evil. But when you are asked something, say yes, if yes; no, if no, and anything else that you add to that will be evil. And so, this is the third commandment: Never make any oaths about anything to anyone. Say yes, when you mean yes; no, when you mean no, and know that every oath is evil.

“The fourth commandment. In the previous law it was said: whoever destroys the soul must repay soul for soul, eye for eye, tooth for tooth, hand for hand, ox for ox, slave for slave and much more. But I say to you: do not fight evil with evil and do not just avoid claiming ox for ox, slave for slave, soul for soul before the courts, but do not oppose evil in any sense. If someone wants to take your ox from you in court, give him another one in addition. If someone wants to sue you in court for your jacket, give him your shirt too. If someone knocks your teeth out from one cheek, turn the other toward him as well. If they force you to take on one job, take on two. If someone takes your belongings, release them freely. If they give you no money, do not ask for any.

“And so: Do not judge and you will not be judged, do not punish and you will not be judged and punished. Forgive others and you will be forgiven, because if you judge people then they will also judge you. You are forbidden from judging, because you, like all people, are blind and do not see truth. With dirt clogging your eyes, how are you going to view the speck of dirt in your brother’s eye? First you need to wash out your own eye; but who has clean eyes? Can a blind man lead a blind man? Both will fall into a pit. It is the same with those who judge and punish; they are like the blind leading the blind. Those who judge and condemn to violent punishment, wounds, mutilations and death do so because they want to teach people. But what can come of them teaching, other than that the pupil will master the topic and become exactly like the teacher. What will he do when he masters it? Exactly what the teacher does: violence and murder.

“And do not think that you will find justice in the court. Giving your love of justice to a human court is the same as throwing your priceless pearl to the pigs: they will trample it and then tear you to pieces. And so, this is the fourth commandment: No matter how they insult you, do not oppose evil, do not judge and you will not be judged; do not make complaints and do not punish.

“The fifth commandment. In the previous law it was said: do good to your own people and do harm to the foreigner. But I say to you: love not only your own countrymen, but also the people of other nations. Let others hate you, let them attack you and insult you; but you must praise them and do good to them. If you are only good to your own countrymen, then you are like everyone else who is good to their own countrymen; and it is because of this that wars occur. But you should treat all nations equally, and if you do, you will be the sons of the father. All people are his children, consequently all people should be your brothers. And so, this is the fifth commandment: Keep the same law in regard to other nations that I have asked you to keep amongst yourselves. For the father of all people there is no such thing as different nations, there are no different kingdoms either: all are brothers, all are sons of the one father. Don’t create differences between people based on nations and kingdoms.

“Now then: (1) Do not be angry, but be at peace with all people; (2) Do not amuse yourself with depravity; (3) Do not take oaths for anyone for any reason; (4) Do not resist evil, do not judge and you will not be judged; (5) Do not make distinctions between different nations and love the foreigner as you would your own people.

“All of these commandments are as one: All that you wish people would do for you, do for them. Do not keep these commandments for the praise of people. If you do it for people, then your reward will also be from people. But if it is not for people, then your reward will be from the heavenly father.

“Therefore, if you do good to people, do not trumpet about it in front of people. That is what the deceivers do, so that people praise them. They get what they desire. But if you do good to people, then do it so that no one sees you, so that your left hand does not know what your right hand is doing. And your father will see this and give you what you need.

“And if you want to pray, then do not pray like the deceivers do. The deceivers love to pray in churches, in the sight of other people. They do this for people and because of people, and they get what they desire. But if you want to pray, go to where no one can see you and pray to your spirit father; and the father will see what is in your soul, and will give you what you desire in spirit. Whoever prays should not babble like a performer. Your father knows what you need before you even open your mouth.

“Pray only like this: Our father, without beginning or end, like heaven! Let only your being be holy. Let all power be yours only, so that your will comes to pass without beginning and without end on earth. Give me the food of life in the present. Repair and wipe away my earlier mistakes just as I will repair and wipe away the mistakes of my brothers, so that I do not fall into temptation but will be spared from evil. Because the power and strength is yours and the judgment is yours.

“If you pray, then first of all do not hold a grudge against anyone. And if you do not forgive people their errors, then your father will not forgive you your errors. If you fast, have patience and don’t show it off to people; that is what the deceivers do, so that people see them and praise them. And people do praise them, so they receive what they desire. But do not do that; if you are suffering from some need, then go about with a joyful face, so that people do not see, but your father will see this and give you what you need.

“Do not store up supplies on earth. On earth, the worm will chew it, and rust will eat it, and thieves will steal it; but you should store up your heavenly riches. Heavenly riches cannot be chewed by worms or eaten by rust, and they cannot be stolen by thieves. Wherever your treasure is, your heart will also be found there. The eye is light for the body, but the heart is light for the soul. If your eye is dark, then your whole body will be in darkness. And if the light of your heart is dark, then your whole soul will be in darkness. It is impossible to serve two masters simultaneously. You can satisfy one, but you will insult the other. It is impossible to serve God and the flesh. You are either working for earthly life or for God.

“Therefore, do not worry about what you will eat and drink and what you will wear. After all, life is more complex than just food and clothing, and God is the one that gave it to you. Take a look at God’s creations, at the birds: they do not sow, they do not reap, they do not gather, and God nourishes them. Before God, man is no worse than a bird. If God gave life to man, then he is capable of keeping man nourished. And after all, you know yourselves that no matter how you exert yourself, you cannot do a thing for yourselves. You cannot lengthen your lives by even one hour.

“And why should you worry about clothing? The flowers of the field do not work and do not spin thread. And they are attired in such a way that even Solomon in all his splendor was never attired. And if God attired this grass that grows today but is cut down tomorrow, then what, will he not dress you too? Do not worry and do not overexert yourself, do not say that we must think about what we’ll eat and what we’ll wear. All people have these needs and God knows about your needs.

“And so, do not worry about the future. Live for the present day. Worry about being within the father’s will. Desire that one important thing and all the rest will come of its own. Just try to be within the father’s will.

“And so, do not worry about the future. When the future arrives, there will be enough to worry about then. There is always enough evil in the present.

“Ask, and it will be given to you. Seek and you will find. Knock and it will open up to you.

“Is there such a father that will give his son a stone instead of bread or a snake instead of fish? So then, how could it be that we, evil people, know how to give our children what they need, but your father in heaven would not give you what you truly need when you ask him? Ask, and the heavenly father will give the life of the spirit to those that ask for it. The path to life is narrow, but you should enter by way of this narrow path. There is but one entry into life: it is narrow and tight. And the surrounding field is large and broad, but it leads to ruin. Only the narrow path leads to life; and only a few find it.

“But do not be timid, little flock! The father has reserved the kingdom for us. Only beware of false prophets and teachers; they come to you in sheep skins, but underneath they are predatory wolves. By their fruits, by that which is born from them, you will be able to recognize them. You will never gather grapes from a burdock or apples from an aspen. But a good tree will grow good fruit. And a bad tree will grow bad fruit. And so, by the fruit of their teaching you can recognize them.

“A good man produces only good things from his good heart. But an evil man produces evil things from his evil heart, because the mouth speaks from the heart’s abundance. And therefore, if the teachers teach you to do to other people what would be harmful to do to yourself—if, for example, they teach violence, punishment, or war—know that they are false teachers. Because it is not the one who says ‘Lord, Lord!’ that enters the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of the heavenly father. They will say, ‘Lord! Lord! We taught according to your teaching and we forced out evil by means of your teaching.’

“But I turn away from them and say to them, ‘No, I never claimed you and do not claim you now. Get away from me: you are doing iniquity.’

“And so, whoever may be hearing these commandments of mine—do not be angry, do not philander, do not make oaths, do not resist evil, do not differentiate your people from others—whoever hears them and keeps them is an intelligent person and builds his home on a rock. And his home will withstand all storms. And whoever hears these commandments and does not keep them is like the stupid person who builds his home on sand. As soon as the storm comes, the home will fall and everyone will perish.”

And all the people were amazed at this because Jesus’s teaching was completely different than the teaching of the orthodox legalists. The orthodox legalists taught a law that had to be obeyed; but Jesus taught that all people are free.

And the prophecy of Isaiah was fulfilled in Jesus: That the people who were living in darkness, in the shadow of death, saw the light of life and that he who brought the light of truth would do no harm or violence to people, but that he would be meek and humble. That he, in order to bring light into the world, would not quarrel, would not shout, that no one would ever hear him raise his voice. That he would not break the reed and not blow out the night light. And that all of the people’s hope would hinge on his teaching.