Lectionary Readings for Thursday, May 30th, 2019

Book of Wars Against Jehovih Chapters 52 and 53

Chapter LII

1. Of the land of Egupt, the above sufficeth; and of Parsi’e and Heleste these things are
the chief, as regardeth the dominion of Osiris, Baal and Ashtaroth, to wit:

2. Because of the persecutions of Faithists, and shepherd kings, and Listians, these people
fled into Parsi’e and Heleste for hundreds of years, and they built cities and established
kingdoms.

3. And none of these accepted the Lord, or God, or De’yus, but for the most part
worshipped the Great Spirit. Nevertheless, they were not Faithists in purity; for they
engaged in war and lived not in communities, with rab’bahs as rulers, but dwelt together
after the manner of warriors.

4. To Baal and Ashtaroth was committed the duty of subjugating these people unto Osiris,
Savior of mortals. So Baal and Ashtaroth, finding them stubborn in the worship of the
Great Spirit, finally resolved to make them destroy one another, after the same manner as
Te-in, in Jaffeth, and Sudga, in Vind’yu; and they asked Osiris for armies of warring
angels for that purpose. Osiris gave them the following great angel generals and high
captains, to wit:

5. Jah, Apollon-ya, Petoris, Pluton-ya, Hi-ram, Ben, Yube, Ali-jah, Ares, Sa’wang,
T’crono, Afro-dite, Argo, Oyeb, Nadar, Abel, Said, Ar-te-mis, Yac-ta-roth, Wab, Josh and
Haur; and besides these there were the following deserters from Te-in and Sudga, to wit:
Clue, Jon, I-sa-ah, Yam-yam, Luth, Bar, Hote, Ki-dom, Athena, Hira, Oke-ya-nos,
Hermes, Posee-ya-don, Ura-na, Hace, T’sodus, Rac-Rom, Mi-kak, Tol, Taes, Wowouski,
Sur, Ala-jax and Hesmoin.

6. And Baal and Ashtaroth cast lots for each of the above generals and captains, turn
about they chose, until they were divided equally between them. And Osiris gave to
Baal and Ashtaroth, each, five hundred million warring angels. And thus armed,
they descended to the earth, to the objectionable regions, of Parsi’e and Heleste. In those
days these great divisions of the earth were divided into many nations and kingdoms.

7. And a kingdom was not measured according to the land, but according to the number
of cities that paid tribute to the central city; though some kingdoms had but one city.

8. These, then, are some of the largest cities that Baal and Ashtaroth determined to
destroy, to wit: Su-yan, with five tributary cities; Lakao, with two tributaries; Hangun;
with eight tributaries; Waas with three; Lawga, with six; Tol, with six; Sun, with five;
Tos, with four; Troy, with six; Abed, with two; Athena, with twelve; Hess, with four;
Ituna, with twelve; Fado, with ten; Tuna, with seven; and Wa’ke’at, with seven. And
besides these there were many large cities without any tributary cities, which were also
doomed to everlasting destruction.

9. The first great cities thus turned to war on each other were Haugun and Lowga;
Ashtaroth choosing Haugun and Baal choosing Lowga.

10. These two cities were both of more than four hundred years’standing, and contained
each a half million inhabitants, besides their tributary cities. Tojak was king of Haugun;
he was the son of Soma, who was the son of Atyis, the necromancer. And of Lowga,
Turwea was king; he was the son of Diah, son of Bawn, the philosopher.

11. When Baal and Ashtaroth, with their armies from heaven, came near to these cities,
they halted and built a temporary kingdom in the mountains of Zoe.

12. Baal said to Ashtaroth: Behold, thou has had the choice of cities, give thou me the
first assault?

13. Ashtaroth said: On thine own terms shall these battles be, and I will beat thee. To it,
then; set on Lowga.

14. Baal went to Turwea in his dreams and told him his son was waylaid by the people of
Haugun, and, moreover, that Tojak had determined to come upon him and possess the
city. When Turwea awoke, he was troubled about his dream, and he inquired of the oracle
concerning the matter. Ashtaroth had possession of the oracle, and she answered the king,
saying: Thou art of the seed of the Faithists, why fearest thou for a dream? Have a caution
of thy dreams; tell not thy son, for this day he goeth on the hunt, and thy words might
bring about even that which otherwise might not be. The king went his way, but
Ashtaroth sent inspiring spirits to the king, saying: To caution thy son, that would be
wisdom. And the king went and cautioned his son.

15. Ashtaroth then went to Tojak’s wife, and gave her a dream that the Prince of Lowga
went on a hunt, to all appearances, but came near Haugun for a very different matter,
which was no less than the slaying of herself and husband. The queen awoke suddenly,
and in fear, and told the king her dream. Tojak said:

16. Foolish woman; it was but the fault of thy diseased blood, which, coursing the heart,
gave thee a foolish dream. Tojak dismissed the matter. On the next day, the angels kept
inspiring the queen to send her servants to the place of her dreams, to which she acceded;
and her servants were armed with spears, and instructed to kill whoso came in their way,
as if by accident.

17. Thus it came to pass that Turwea’s son was slain. Turwea inquired of the oracle, and
was answered by Ashtaroth, saying: Why comest thou to me for comfort; is not thy son
dead by thine own fault? I said unto thee: Mention not the matter of thy dream to thy son,
for oft it happeneth that telling of a thing bringeth it to pass.

18. Turwea said: I am justly rebuked, O Apollo-ya! But tell me, thou that knowest all
things, since one part of my dream hath come true, may not the other part, and, of a
truth, Tojak come to possess my kingdom? Ashtaroth said: If I tell thee, thou wilt blab
it about, and do nothing in thine own defense. Turwea then made oath to obey the
oracle; whereupon she commanded him to march with all his army against Tojak, and
suddenly demand satisfaction in ten thousand lives, to balance the loss of the prince.

19. This ended Ashtaroth’s part with the city of Lowga; and now she went to Haugun,
whilst Baal took charge of Lowga, sending his legions of angels to the people of Lowga,
to inspire them with madness because their prince was slain.

20. Ashtaroth, on her part, now assumed control of the oracle in Haugun, and sent
her warring angels to the people of the city, advising them of the justice of slaying the
prince, because he was come, not on a hunt, but to slay the king and queen.
And Ashtaroth, further, told the king, Tojak: Try thou me as to my truthfulness:
Behold, in two days the warriors of Turwea will be at thy city’s gates; be thou ready
for them and drive them hence, or lo, thy city wall will be reduced to dust and ashes.

21. Of course the prophecy of Ashtaroth came true, and Tojak now believed he was in the
protection of the Gods. The queen said unto him: A matter of weight is on my mind, O
king: I commanded my servants to slay the prince, for the Gods showed it to me that only
by this could thy life and mine be preserved.

22. The king, Tojak, justified the queen, saying: Thou hast been the preserver of my life
and thine.

23. Baal, God of Lowga, thus marched the mortal armies against the city of
Haugun, whilst Ashtaroth marched the armies of the latter place to battle against them.

24. And thus, as mortals play a game with sticks and pegs, so played this God and
Goddess a game with these mortals of these two great cities; played give and take to see
the battles lost or won; and they used their legions of angels to inspire the mortals on, or
to make them at times turn and flee. And whilst the Gods rested, amusing themselves by
feasting and by talking over the sport of mortal death, the two great cities would also gain
a little rest, but only to renew the bloody work.

25. For four years the gods and angels kept these two mortal cities at war; and though
they lay a day’s journey apart, all the way was strewn with the bones of the slain. And in
four years they were reduced to dust and ashes; and as to the people of the last year, for
the most part, they were inoculated with the poisoned air of the dead, and they died also.
And yet it came to pass, Baal beat Ashtaroth in the battle of death, for he caused all his
people to be slain, whilst yet a few of Ashtaroth’s remained.

26. Thus did Baal and Ashtaroth pursue the other great cities of Parsi’e and Heleste. And
the time of the destruction of any two or three cities varied from two years to ten years.
For the destruction of Athena and Troy it required twelve years. And for the destruction
of Ituna and Fado it required eleven years. Betwixt Su-gun and Lakao it required two
years to bring them to war. Betwixt Athena and Troy it required three years to bring them
to war. Two hundred vampires, angels of lust, were set upon a prince of Troy, and in
desperation he was driven to kidnap an Athenian princess, who was led to exposure by
Baal’s angel hosts. In this great battle Ashtaroth won the game, having succeeded in
having the whole of the Trojans destroyed.

27. In the war betwixt Tos and Sun, which lasted nine years, it was an even game, for
both cities were entirely destroyed and all the people in them, and also their tributary
cities as well. But the city of Tol was destroyed within itself, for there was no city near
enough to war upon it. The angels brought virus from the dead of other regions, and
inoculated the breath of the people of Tol, and their flesh festered, and they died of
themselves without war.

28. The whole time of destruction was one hundred and sixty years; and after that Parsi’e
and Heleste were wasted and desert, and wild beasts coursed the country far and near.

29. Osiris had said: I will make the land of Egupt the greatest country in the world; I will
have the place of my dominion near at hand. Satan had said to Osiris: If thou destroy not
Parsi’e and Heleste, behold, Baal and Ashtaroth will rebel against thee, choosing these
lands for their own kingdoms.

30. But both satan and Osiris, who now falsely styled himself God of heaven and earth,
were powerless to prevent the march of Jehovih’s hand. For as He gave liberty unto all
His creatures, and as Osiris had fostered the idea of being sole ruler of earth and heaven,
even so the seed of his own sowing took root in Baal and Ashtaroth. And they formed a
compact with each other and seceded from Osiris after all. And in order to determine
what share of the earth should be theirs, a war in heaven ensued between the three Gods,
and Te-in and Sudga joined in also.

Chapter LIII

1. Jehovih had said: I created man blank, as to good and evil, and gave him liberty: And I
gave liberty also to the spirits of the dead. But these spirits set themselves up as Gods;
and to glorify themselves used mortals in their own way. For they found that mortals
could be turned to good or evil, to war or to peace, to virtue or to lust, according to the
inspiration of the angels watching over them.

2. But in this I provided a remedy also, and without abridging liberty, which was, that
the Gods, in contention for mortal souls, should fall out and ultimately destroy their
own heavenly kingdoms, wherefrom angels and mortals should escape from bondage.

3. And this was so. Te-in and Sudga and Osiris, even whilst their wars and machinations
were going on with mortals, were scheming for mastery in hada, each to overthrow the
others, and involve them in ruin. And it thus came to pass that a triangular war ensued in
these two heavens, in which upward of ten thousand millions of warring angels were
engaged hundreds of years. For, as mortals engage in corporeal warfare, so do angels
engage in es’sean warfare. For though they cannot kill one another, they can bind and
enslave and cast one another into hells, and surround them with never-ending fire, so they
cannot escape. And the warring Gods send their armies forth to make captives of their
enemies, who, when seized, are either made subjects of, or else cast into torments. And
these armies of warring angels, hundreds of millions strong, go into the kingdom of
another God, and out of suburban districts, carrying hence the subjects, with all their
acquisitions. And yet at times these raiding armies venture too far, and are themselves
captured and cast into torments. So that Gods in hada wall their kingdoms round with
standing armies, even as they have taught mortals to defend themselves. And their
enemies seek to invent means to break these armies through, and go in and plunder and
destroy.

4. In times of which madness no voice from Jehovih’s angels can gain an attentive ear
amongst them; even the same as when mortal kings are at war, for one to say to them:
Behold, Jehovih is All Peace! They will even curse Jehovih and peace, so do the fighting
angels threaten and curse if one of Jehovih’s holy ones interpose in peace and love.

5. As like a burning fever or canker worm that needeth run its course, before a healing
balm availeth good, so Jehovih permitteth the Gods to pursue their reign, till, helpless,
they fall, environed in the harvest they sowed. For a time cometh to every man and
woman born, on earth or in heaven, when sore disaster, if nothing else, will cast him
helpless in agony, to make him own the Mighty Power Who created him; and make him
supplicate in pity for some helping hand to lead him safely to the All Person’s pleading
Voice. Then he is ready to listen; to turn from Gods, and Lords, and Saviors, and Sons
who profess to save; and to stand upright before the Father, and learn to know Him, and
willingly learn peace, love, reason and truth.

6. Jehovih hath said: In every soul I made a door, and in this My Light shineth. Herein
My Voice speaketh; but they turn away, and go after them that speak to the external ear; a
serpent biteth them, and they are cast in poison and in death!

7. Man on the earth hath said: I will not heed Thy still small voice, O Jehovih, which
speaketh to the soul; I will obey the king, that leads on to war, and with loud noises and
violent oaths pursueth death-dealing as a virtuous trade. Not Thou, O Jehovih, shall be
my master, but their king, who hath great pageantry. Behold, I will stand in his great
armies, or be led on to death, even as the king willeth me; for he is my Savior and my
defense. His Gods shall be my Gods; his Lords my Lords; his Savior my Savior; by blood
and heroic butcheries will I prove my loyalty.

8. And even so hath thousands of millions of angels in hada said: Not the still small
voice of my soul will I obey; but yonder gaudy God, whose sacredness is so great none
can approach him but by crawling on their bellies! He shall be my Lord and Savior; his
battles shall be my battles; to feed the hells of hada with his enemies shall be my trade.

9. Jehovih hath said: Even to them that choose darkness and evil have I given liberty also;
for they shall learn by experience, in time to come, that all these guides and leaders, be
they kings, or Gods, or Lords, or Saviors, are but snares, from whom, soon or late, they
must turn in order to rise out of the hells they have built for others. For, because they put
Me afar off, or denied My Person, or called Me Void like the wind, I cut them not off; but
they cut themselves off from Me, and thus fell into torments.

10. For I am as near to the corporean as to the es’sean; let them, then, disown their kings
and Gods, and whoso hath a kingdom to glorify; and they shall espouse Me, for I am Ever
Present. For this, all people shall do, either on earth or in heaven. My kingdoms are not
by violence or by war, but by liberty to every soul; and whoso practiceth peace and love,
and liberty unto others, are My chosen. They are on the way of everlasting resurrection.