Lectionary Readings for Monday, May 27th, 2019

Book of Wars Against Jehovih Chapters 46 and 47

Chapter XLVI

1. Two vice-Gods had Sudga, Brihat and Visvasrij. Next to these, Sudga’s heavenly chief
marshal Atma, who had four thousand marshals under him, and equally divided amongst
them to command, one thousand million heavenly warring angels. Atma had authority
over thirty thousand generals and captains, to whom were allotted two thousand million
angels.

2. Chief of the heavenly generals were: Shahara, Vasyam, Suchchi, Dev, Nasakij, Tvara,
Watka, Shan, Dorh, Hudhup, Nikish, Hajara, Hwassggarom, Viji, Yatamas, Brahma,
Goska, Fulowski, M’Duhitri, Yaya-mich-ma, Hijavar, Duth, Lob-yam, Hi-gup and Vowiska. And these falsely assumed the names of the ancient Gods and Lords of thousands of
years before.

3. Sudga had said to them: That my age may be magnified before the newborn in heaven,
ye shall also magnify your own names by taking the names of Gods and Lords who are
revered in heaven and earth, for all things are free unto you. But into none others do I
give privilege to choose the names of the ancients.

4. Sudga then made the following his Private Council: Plow-ya, Vazista, Kiro, Cpen-ista,
Visper, E-shong, Bog-wi, Lowtha, Brihat, Gai-ya, Sa-mern, Nais-wiche, Yube, Sol, Don,
Mung-jo, Urvash, Cpenta-mainyus, Vazista, and Vanaiti; and to each of them ten
thousand attendants.

5. Then Sudga made two great captains, Varsa and Baktu, and he said unto them: Two
thousand million angels have I allotted to go down to the earth, to the land of Vind’yu, to
subdue mortals and have dominion over them permanently, and I divide the two thousand
million betwixt ye twain. But all other angels shall remain in my heavenly kingdom and
work for me, and embellish it, and beautify my heavenly cities, especially my holy
capital.

6. Now, when ye twain are permanent on the earth, and secured in the temples and
oracles, ye shall survey all the lands of Vind’yu, and the cities, large and small, and all the
people therein. And, behold, all men shall be subdued unto my two names, Sudga and
Dyaus; and when a city standeth, wherein the people worship any other Gods or Lords,
that city shall ye destroy, and all the people therein. City against city shall it be, man
against man; for as I am the all highest God of heaven, so will I be the God of earth, and
its Lord. And ye twain, in finding two cities to be destroyed, shall divide, one going with
his angel warriors to one city, and the other to the other city; and ye shall inspire them
against each other unto death; and when they are laid low, ye shall bring into the place, to
inhabit it, my worshippers.

7. Thus descended to the earth the two destroying captain Gods, Varsa and Baktu,
with their two thousand million angel warriors. And they spread out about over the
land of Vind’yu, where were many kingdoms and thousands of cities; and they came
to mortals asleep or awake, and inspired them to havoc and destruction, for Sudga’s sake.

8. And there were laid in ruins, in twelve years, forty thousand cities, of which thirtyseven were great cities. And chief of these were Yadom, Watchada, Cvalaka, Hoce-te,
Hlumivi, Ctdar and Yigam, each of which contained more than one million souls, and
some of them two millions.

9. In all of these there were places of great learning, and schools, and temples of sacrifice
(worship). In Ctdar the roof of the temple was made of silver and copper and gold; and it
had one thousand columns of polished stone, and five hundred pillars to support the roof.
The walls were covered with tapestry, painted with written words and histories of heaven
and earth, and of the Gods and Lords and Saviors of the ancients. Within the temple were
seven altars of sacrifice, and four thousand basins of holy water for baptismal rites.
Within the walls of the temple were niches for five hundred priests, for the confession of
sins, and for receiving the money and cloth and fruits of the earth, contributed by the
penitent for the remission of their sins. Through the central passage within the temple
drove the king in his golden chariot, when he came for sacrifice; and the floor of this
passage was laid with silver and gold.

10. In the center of the temple floor was a basin filled with water, and the size of the basin
was equal to twenty lengths of a man. In the middle of the basin was a fountain throwing
up water. And on the east and west and north and south sides of the basin were four
pillars of polished stone, with stairs within them; and the tops of these pillars were
connected by beams of inlaid wood of many colors, polished finely, which were called
the Holy Arch of Suh-hagda. On the summit of the arch was a small house called the
Voice of the Oracle, for here sat the king’s interpreter of heaven and earth, the reader of
visions. And the spirits of the dead appeared in the spray of the fountain, sometimes as
stars of light and sometimes in their own forms and features, and were witnessed by the
multitude.

11. Within each of the five hundred pillars was a sacred chamber, for benefit of
the priests communing with angels. In the east pillar was an opening from top to
bottom, a slatway so the multitude could see through the pillar, which was hollow
its entire height. This was occupied by te king’s high priest or priestess, as the case
might be, and this person had attained to adeptship, so that the angels could carry
him up and down within the pillar, even to the top thereof, which was equal to fifty
lengths of a man. And the multitude thus beheld him ascending and descending.

12. In the west pillar was the library of the temple, which contained a history of its
important events for a period of eight hundred years; of the priest and high priests, and of
the kings of the city.

13. Next to the Temple, which was called Tryista, stood the House of Learning, where
congregated the wise men and women, skilled in philosophy and music and astronomy
and mineralogy. The House was made of polished stone and wood interlocked, and in the
front with one hundred and forty columns of polished stone and wood. Within the house
were the skins and bones of thousands of creatures, ancient and modern, which wre
classified and named; and with these were books of philosophy and history, all of which
were free to the public one day in seven. Next to the House of Learning was the Temple
of Death, dedicated to all kinds of battles, battles betwixt lions and men, tigers and men,
and betwixt lions and tigers, and elephants, and betwixt man and man. And so great was
the Temple of Death that its seats could accommodate three hundred thousand men,
women and children. The temple was circular, and without a roof over the arena. But the
greatest of all buildings in Ctdar was the king’s palace, commonly called TEMPLE OF THE
SUN. This was also made of polished stone, and on the four sides had eight hundred
columns of polished stone; and next to the columns were fifty pillars, on every side
connected by arches twelve lengths high, whereon rested a roof of wood and stone; and
yet on this was surmounted another row of four hundred columns of polished wood,
inlaid with silver and gold, and these were connected to the top by other arches ten
lengths high, and on these another roof, and on the top of this a dome covered with gold
and silver and copper. From the arena to the dome the height was twenty-eight lengths,
and the base of the dome across was sixteen lengths. To enter the temple from the west
was a chariot roadway, so that the king and his visitors could drive up into the arena of
the palace in their chariots. But as for the interior of the king’s palace, a whole book might
be written in the description thereof, and yet not tell half its richness and beauty and
magnificence.

14. Besides these great buildings there were four hundred and fifty Temples of Darkness,
dedicated to the spirits of the dead. These were without any opening save the door, and
when the communers were within, and the door shut, they were without light. In the midst
of these temples, spirits and mortals congregated, and the spirits taught mortals the art of
magic; of making seeds grow into trees and flowers; of producing serpents by force of the
will; of carrying things through the air; casting sweet perfumes, and casting foul smells;
of casting virus to one’s enemy, and inoculating him with poison unto death; of
finding things lost, of bringing money to the poor, and flowers and food to the sick;
of entering the dead sleep, and of becoming unconscious to poin by force of the will.

15. Nor could any man or woman attain to be a priest in the Temple of Tryista until he
mastered all the degrees in the Temples of Darkness.

16. The angels of Sudga decided to destroy this city; and, accordingly, they inspired a war
betwixt it and the city of Yadom, which was second unto it in magnificence, and
possessed of temples and palaces like unto it also. Yea, but to describe one of these great
cities was to describe the other, as to mortal glory. For seven hundred years had these
cities lain in peace with each other, half a day’s journey apart, on the great river, Euvisij,
in the Valley of Rajawichta.

17. And the captain God, Varsa, chose one city, and the captain God, Bactu, chose the
other city; and each of them took from their thousand million angel warriors a sufficient
number, and inspired the two great cities unto everlasting destruction. Even as mortals
turn savage beasts into an arena, to witness them tear and flay each other, even so sat
these captain Gods in their heavenly chariots, witnessing the two great cities in mortal
combat. And when one had too much advantage, the angel hosts would turn the tide, or
let them rest awhile; then urge them to it again, holding the game in such even balance as
would insure the greatest possible havoc to both.

18. Eight years these battles lasted; and hundreds of thousands of men, women and
children were slain; and when thus the great cities were reduced, the Gods let loose THE
BAND OF DEATH, whose angel office was to carry poison virus from the rotten dead and
inoculate the breath of the living; and then in desperate madness make mortals fire their
cities, to keep them from falling into other hands. And in eight years the great cities,
with their mighty temples, were turned to ruin and to dust; and of the people left,
only the ignorant few, starving, helpless wanderers, could tell the tale of what had been.

19. Sudga had said: All knowledge amongst mortals is inimical to the Gods in heaven;
therefore I will destroy all knowledge on the earth. And this was the same doctrine
maintained by Te-in, God of Jaffeth.

20. In such manner proceeded the captain Gods of Sudga over all the land of Vind’yu,
laying low all kingdoms, and cities, and places of sacrifice, and places of learning. And in
one hundred years the mighty people of Vind’yu were reduced to beggary, and to scattered
tribes of wanderers. The great canals were destroyed, and the upper and lower country
became places of famine and barrenness. And in the valleys and on the mountains, in
the abandoned fields and in the wildernesses, lay the bones and skulls of millions of
the human dead. And lions and tigers came and prowled about in the ruined walls of
the fallen temples and palaces. Nor were there left in all the land a single library, or
book, or the art of making books, or anything to show what the great history had been.

21. Thus perished the Vedic language, the language of song and poetry, and of great
oratory. Save in a small degree, such as was preserved by the remnant of Faithists who
had escaped through all these generations, still in secret worshipping the Great Spirit.

22. Hear ye next of Osiris and his dominions, and of Arabin’ya, and Parsi’e, and Heleste:

Chapter XLVII

1. Osiris, the false, on setting up a heavenly kingdom of his own, and dominion over
Arabin’ya, and Parsi’e, and Heleste, said: Let Te-in and Sudga pursue their course in
destroying; mine shall be in the opposite way.

2. Osiris, the false, said: Three kinds of bad people I have found in heaven and earth:
They that are forever finding fault with, and putting down, what others have built up; they
are most crafty in argument to find the flaws of others, the inconsistencies, errors and
shortness; but there is nothing in them to build up anything in heaven or earth. The next
bad man is he who findeth fault not only with all that hath ever been, but with all
propositions designed for a new state of affairs. He is as worthless as the shaft of a
spear without a head. The third bad man I have found is he who, seeing the faults
and errors of others, harpeth not upon them, but plungeth into work with something new
and bold, involving himself and others in disaster. And these three have the great
multitude, the world, to take care of! I alone am capable of destroying and building up.

3. The non-resistance of the Faithists hath ever made them dependent on the mercy of
their neighbors, in heaven and earth. They must be destroyed, and their doctrines also.

4. In destroying their doctrines, I must give something in the place. I have labored to put
away Jehovih and establish the Lord God; now to put away the latter and establish myself
as myself would take other hundreds of years. Better, then, is it, that since De’yus is cast
into hell, I take the names, Lord God, and De’yus, and Creator, and all such as are
acceptable in heaven and earth.

5. Neither will I rob them of their rites and ceremonies, but so add thereunto, that, by the
superior glory, they will accept mine.

6. Nor will I abridge mortals of their learning; but, on the contrary, be most exacting and
high in aspiration; for by this will I win the approval of the wise and learned.

7. Mortals love idols; therefore I will give them idols. Male and female will I give unto
them.

8. Osiris then called Baal, Ashtaroth and Egupt into his heavenly Council chamber, and
said unto them:

9. Two idols shall ye inspire mortals to build unto me: and one shall be the figure of a
male horse, with a man’s head and chest and arms, and he shall point upward, signifying,
heavenly rest; and the other shall be the figure of a mare, with the head and breast and
arms of a woman. And she shall hold a bow and arrow before her, and behind her a sword
and a rose, signifying, for righteousness’sake. And the male idol shall be called Osiris,
and the female, Isis.
Plate 90. THE FALSE OSIRIS. Plate 89. ISIS.

10. For wherein I assert myself creator of all the living, I must show unto men that I am
male and female.

11. Which of a truth is the fountain of all that is in heaven and earth, wherein PROJECTION
and RECEPTION are the sum of all philosophy.

12. In which ye shall teach that to go forth is Osiris, and to rest in meekness is Isis; for
which the ancients used the bull and the lamb.

13. For I was a globe, boundless as to size, and swift as to motion. And I put forth a wing
for flying, and a hand for labor, by which are all things conquered and subdued. And
beneath the wing I set the Lamb of Peace, as a sign of the flight of the defenseless; but
under the hand I set the head of a bull, as a sign of my dominion.

14. And I made heaven and earth with wings flying forth, bearing the serpent and the sun.
Square with the world, and circumscribed, have I made all things, good and powerful.

15. And in man’s hand I placed the key to unlock the mysteries of the firmament of
heaven, and the power, and wisdom, and riches, and glory of the earth. Into his hand I
place a club, to slay the lion, or to subdue him.

16. For I am like unto man, having created him in mine own image; and I hold the key of
heaven and earth, and dominions over all the inhabitants I created on the earth. I am Tau,
I am Sed.

17. I am the light and the life, and the death. Out of myself made I all that live or ever
have lived. The sun in the firmament I set up as a symbol of my power. The stars, and the
moon, and things that speak not, and know not, are the works of my hand. Without me
nothing is, nor was, nor ever shall be.

18. Whoso goeth forth warring for the right is for me, and I am with him. With warriors I
am a god of war; with the peaceful I am a lamb of peace. To do, is of me; to not do, is not
of me, but of death. An eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth, blood for blood, mercy for
mercy; but force unto all things, with will to conquer, for in these am I manifest unto
men.

19. For in the beginning I created the world of mine own force; and this is my testimony,
justifying force even with violence when the greater good cometh to the greater number.
Hereon hangeth my law; in which any man can understand that had the Faithists fought
for righteousness, they would have long since mastered the world and subdued it unto
their God.

20. What, then, is the stratagem of Gods, save by some means to reduce men and angels
unto oneness in all things? When Osiris had thus addressed the three Gods, he waited for
them to speak. Baal said: This is a foundation; we have never had a foundation for men
nor angels. Ashtaroth said: This is a head and front to lead the world. Egupt said: The
wisdom of the Faithists was in having a direct course.

21. Osiris said: Then will I revise the doctrines of earth and heaven. I will not say this is
for De’yus, nor the Lord, nor God, nor Osiris, nor Apollo, nor any other God. But I will
give that which all save Jehovihians can accept.

22. For I will allot unto God all things, not defining which God, or what God, but God
only; the rest will I manage in Agho’aden, my heavenly kingdom.

23. Go ye, therefore, to mortals, and revise the things of De’yus unto God; and if mortals
question of the oracles to know who God is, say ye: He is Osiris, to the Osirians; Apollo,
to the Apollonians; Isis, to the Isisians; he is the Creator, the master, the all, out of whom
were created all things; he who created man in his own image; who dwelleth on a throne
in heaven.

24. But if they question further, asking if he is the ever present, answer them: Nay. And if
they say: Is he Jehovih, the Great Spirit? answer them, Nay.

25. For I will not suffer one Faithist to dwell alive on the face of the earth.