Lectionary Readings for Monday, August 26th, 2019

God’s Book of Eskra Chapters 44 and 45

Chapter 44

DOCTRINES OF JOSHU AND HIS DEATH.

1. God said: These were my doctrines, as I taught through Joshu:

2. Thou shalt keep the ten commandments of Moses.

3. Thou shalt not engage in war, nor abet war.

4. Thou shalt eat no flesh of any animal, or fish, or bird, or fowl, or creeping thing which
Jehovih created alive.

5. Thou shalt dwell in families, after the manner of the ancient Israelites, who held all
things in common.

6. Thou shalt have no king nor queen, nor bow down in worship to any, save thy Creator.

7. Thou shalt not call on the name of angels to worship them, nor to counsel with them on
the affairs of earth.

8. Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself, and do unto thy fellow man as thou wouldst
have him do unto thee.

9. Thou shalt return good for evil, and pity to them that sin.

10. It hath been said: An eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth; but I say, return good for evil.

11. And if a man smite thee on one cheek, turn the other unto him also.

12. The man shall have but one wife, and the woman but one husband.

13. As the children honor the father, so will the family be blest with peace and plenty.

14. Remember, that all things are of Jehovih, and ye are His servants, to help one another.

15. And as much as ye do these services to one another, so serve ye Jehovih.

16. Behold only the virtues and wisdom in thy neighbor; his faults thou shalt not discover.

17. His matters are with his Creator.

18. Call not on the name of any God or Lord in worship; but worship Jehovih only.

19. And when thou prayest, let it be after this manner:

20. Jehovih, who rulest in heaven and earth, hallowed be Thy name, and reverent
amongst men. Sufficient unto me is my daily bread; and, as much as I forgive those that
trespass against me, forgive Thou me, and make me steadfast, to shun temptation, for all
honor and glory are Thine, worlds without end. Amen!

21. To visit the sick and distressed, the helpless and blind, and to relieve them; to provide
for the widow and orphan, and keep thyself unspotted before men; these are the way of
redemption.

22. Thou shalt take no part in the governments of men, but observe the will of Jehovih,
being obedient unto all governments for His sake.

23. All men are the children of One Father, who is Jehovih; and whosoever chooseth
Him, and keepeth His commandments, is His chosen.

24. To preserve the seed of His chosen, thou shalt not wed but with the chosen.

25. Contend not with any man for opinion’s sake, nor for any earthly thing.

26. And let thy speech be for other’s joy; nor open not thy mouth, if thy words will give
pain.

27. Therefore, be considerate of thy speech; teaching others by gentleness and love, to be
respectful toward all men.

28. Preserve the sacred days of the rab’bahs; and the rites and ceremonies of
emethachavah.

29. For three years, Joshu traveled amongst the Israelites, preaching, and restoring the
ancient doctrines.

30. And there were gathered in groups, of tens and twenties and fifties, more than two
thousand Israelites, of the ancient Order of Moses, who became steadfast followers of the
teachings of Joshu.

31. But, because of persecution, by the apostate Jews, they kept themselves aloof from the
world, having signs and pass-words, whereby they knew one another.

32. First, the God, Baal, and after him, Thoth, inspired the kings and rulers, against these
Faithists.

33. And they proved them by commanding them to eat flesh, even swine’s flesh, the
which, if they refused, was testimony sufficient before the laws, to convict them of being
enemies against the Gods.

34. So, they were scourged, and put to death, whenever found.

35. Now, it came to pass, that Joshu went into Jerusalem to preach, and in not many days
thereafter, he was accused of preaching Jehovih.

36. And he was arrested, and whilst being carried to prison, he said:

37. Ye are hypocrites and blasphemers! Ye practice none of the commandments, but all
the evils of satan.

38. Behold, the temple shall be rent in twain, and ye shall become vagabonds on the
earth.

39. At that, the multitude cast stones upon him, and killed him!

40. And Jehovih sent a chariot of fire, and bore his soul to Paradise.

Chapter 45

1. The Lord said: Now, behold, Looeamong stood no longer upon the practice of
righteousness, but upon might.

2. Neither considered he more the resurrection of mortals or angels.

3. The craft and wisdom of Baal baffled Looeamong, in both his heavenly battles and his
battles for mortals.

4. Behold, the whole of the countries of Egupt, Parsi’e, Heleste and Uropa were in war;
and the heavens of these countries were also in war, with hundreds of hells within them.

5. Looeamong fought no longer for the Trinity nor the Holy Ghost, but to save his
heavenly kingdom, lest he be captured, and cast into hell.

6. And even more desperately was Baal situated against him.

7. In the meantime, the other two Triunes began to war against each other in their
heavenly kingdoms, contending for boundaries and subjects.

8. Thoth sent the following message to Looeamong, to wit: Greeting to thee, thou Most
High Triune, in the name of the Holy Ghost.

9. Wherein I am embarrassed, I pray thee, give me leniency. My suit is not without due
deliberation and through prayers to the Holy Ghost. Long have I fought thy battles, and I
have gained great power and authority in many kingdoms, in heaven and earth.

10. But, behold, I labor against Gods who have the advantage of me. The Chine’ya rebel
Gods and the Vind’yu rebel Gods, that fled from the Triune kingdoms in the east, have
taken upon themselves names popular with mortals. Witness these names: Nestor, alias
Puith; Neptune, alias Poseidon; Oileus, alias Pendre; Priam, alias Hogath; Phoebus, alias
Onewakax, alias Apollo; Pales, alias Shugansitha; Pelides, alias Peleus; Saturn, alias
Kronos; Thaleia, alias Musae; Thestor, alias Suko, alias Bayrith, alias Calchas; Thetis,
alias Arama, alias Mi, alias Mara, alias Achill’ya, alias Argos; Venus, alias Seinalt, alias
Vishnu, alias Mira, alias Thor, alias Theo; Vulcan, alias Anawahah, alias Ir, alias Agni,
alias Hefaste’yan; Calianessa, alias Vritta; Hecla, alias Jah, alias Tyronia, alias Nileus;
Nemertis, alias Itra, alias Prometh’ya, alias Ari, alias Mithra; Opsendes, alias Miletus,
alias Brahma, alias Ishaka, alias Davetat, alias Sakaya, alias Morototha; Pherna, alias
Holasa, alias Iao, alias Crite, alias Thammus; Spieo, alias Pelides, alias Hecla, alias
Vulcan; Thor, alias Padua, alias Hermes, alias Belus, alias Hiroth, alias Yossammis;
Thoa, alias Thor, alias Neptune, alias Orion, alias Aph, alias Thulis; Quiurnus, alias
Vishnu, alias Ahambre, alias I’isna, alias Atys, alias Etus.

11. Thoth continued: And yet these are not all. For these Gods have no fear of the Holy
Ghost, and they choose any name that will be flattering to mortals. And the magicians and
priests, and such others as have power to hear the voices of spirits, are led to believe that
they hear the very Gods whose names are given.

12. This, then, is my misfortune, thou most Holy God of the Triune: I am commanded to
give but one name, even the Holy Ghost, or the Father, to mortals. Or, whether my angel
hosts speak to the oracles or to persons capable of hearing spirits, and say to them: Fight
ye for the Holy Ghost, or fight ye for the Creative element, mortals heed us not. Or, they
irreverently mock us, saying: What care we for a God that is but a ghost, a shadow, a
creative element? Give us Gods that talk, and of themselves. We want no angels from the
Holy Ghost. Bring your Gods, and let the oracles tell us what they say.

13. Looeamong then sent messengers and a suitable escort to Jerusalem, on the earth,
where Thoth was stationed at the time, with an angel host of warriors, commanding his
presence before his Holy Council in Hapsendi, Looeamong’s heavenly city and kingdom.

14. Now, after Thoth went thither, and they held a Council of many days, a disturbance
arose in the Council in consequence of the heat of the debates.

15. For the Gods of the Council, for the most part, said: What better are we than the
Jehovians? What greater power have we than the Jehovians? Who can answer the
philosophy of Thoth? It is a truth, mortals have never been satisfied with AN ANGEL FROM
THE GODS. . They want the God himself.

16. Was not this forever the weakness of the Jehovians? Such angels could give no name
that mortals knew, save they falsely assumed a name. Hence their weakness, compared to
such angels as unscrupulously assumed to be Gods.

17. We all knew these things before our Holy Confederacy was formed. Yea, one of the
chief reasons for forming a confederacy in heaven was that we might more effectually
overcome the power of evil spirits over mortals.

18. In that day, we said: The three persons, the Son, the Father and the Holy Ghost, would
enable us to appear in person and with authority unto mortals.

19. Behold, it hath now come to pass mortals desire a more definite God, one known unto
them. We can not truthfully take the name of any God Thoth hath named, nor of any other
God worshipped by mortals.

20. Looeamong then drove hence from the palace his Holy Council, that he might have an
opportunity to reason with himself, as to what he should do.