Lectionary Readings for Saturday, August 31st, 2019

Seventh-Day Sabbath

God’s Book of Eskra Chapter 51

Chapter 51

1. For five hundred years more, the wars lasted between the four false Gods, Looeamong,
Thoth, Ennochissa and Kabalactes. And then they came to terms, and ratified a division
of the earth and her heavens into four great parts, with fixed boundaries.

2. And it was stipulated by them, that the spirits of all mortals at time of death, should go
to the heaven which reigned on the portion of earth where they had lived. (Unless carried
away by God, Son of Jehovih, to Paradise.)

3. So comparative peace reigned in the heavens of the earth. And after this, there was
nothing in common between them. Their respective heavens and their earth possessions
were under each one in his own way.

4. And they now fell to work in earnest to adorn and glorify their heavenly kingdoms,
their cities, their palaces, and thrones. And each of them exalted their great war captains
who had fought so long for them, and they all had councils of millions and millions; and
marshals and heralds, and masters of ceremonies, and musicians, hundreds of millions.

5. And they all had thousands of millions of subjects; but as for themselves, they kept
aloof from their people. The private palaces of these Gods, and their private heavenly
seats of splendor were exclusive to themselves and their favorite Lords and high officers.

6. And all angels else, who desired to see these Gods, were obliged to pass through rigid
examinations, and solemnly bind themselves in oaths and castigations before they were
permitted to pass the outer columns of fire. After this, they were permitted to walk on
their knees to the second columns of fire.

7. Here they were obliged to repeat a thousand prayers and a thousand anthems ere they
could pass within. And now, when within the arena, they were obliged to crawl on their
bellies; and, for every length crawled, they had to repeat seven new prayers. And it was a
thousand lengths from the inner pillars of fire to the arches of the palace, especially of
Kabalactes’and Looeamong’s. Of these arches, there were three million three hundred and
thirty-three thousand three hundred and thirty-three in number. And there were four
marshals for each arch, and these four had two relief watches for each twenty-four hours.

8. To pass the arches, another examination had to be undergone; and, after this, the
person must again crawl on the belly till merging into the under arch, where stairs
began, of which there were seven steps. On each of these steps he must lay one day,
repeating prayers and praises to his God. On the upper step, however, he was not
required to pray, but might look in silence at the throne, on which, at times, his God
came and sat, his Holy Council sitting to the west, facing to the east, to the throne.

9. From the place of the person on the upper step to the throne, was five hundred lengths,
nearer than which none were permitted to come, save by the God’s special decree.

10. And, if the God was not on his throne, and his Holy Council sitting, then the person
must wait, not moving from his place, perhaps for a day, or more.

11. But, after he had observed his God, he was not permitted to remain longer than to say
seven prayers. After this he must return, and depart in the same way he came.

12. Now, as to the throne and its brilliancy and grandeur, no mortal words can convey a
knowledge thereof to mortal understanding; for it was so vast, and withal adorned with
elements not found on the earth. Thousands of millions of which gems had been captured
from the dispossessed false Gods of centuries before, and even from heavens from other
star worlds.

13. And equally astonishing and overwhelming were the seats and places and robes of the
Holy Council, which also baffleth mortal words to convey an idea of. Only to look on, to
be overcome with emotion, to remember what great effects can be accomplished by
concentrated labor, and to feel the insignificance of isolation, one’s wonder was
swallowed up in silent awe before the scene.

14. Such was the magnificence of each of the four heavenly places of the four hadan
Gods, and not differing but little from one another.

15. In order to obtain the privilege of thus going to look upon the throne and the God
thereof, one had to first serve a hundred years in the labors of that heaven, and to have his
record good during all the while.

16. If, in the mortal life, a man had served his God, by preaching and praying, or by
fighting battles for him, and had thus attained a good record, one hundred years’servitude
in heaven entitled him to visit his God on the throne, at the distance named above.

17. But if the mortal had been an enemy to the God during his earth-life, he could not
attain to approach the throne in less than three hundred years’servitude. Which servitude
consisted in laboring in building mansions, or in paving roads in heaven, or in bringing
produce up from the earth, or in bringing up other atmospherean elements for the
gratification and glory of the God and his tens of millions of high officers.

18. So great and grand and far-reaching were these four kingdoms, that angels dwelt
therein, hundreds of millions of them, never even hearing of any other heaven than the
one they were in.

19. Now, for the most part, the Brahmins of the earth, on entering the es world, went to
the Brahmin heavens (Eta-shong), ruled over by the false Brahma, alias Ennochissa.

20. And the Budhists of the earth, on entering the es world, went to the Budhist heavens,
ruled over by the false Budha, alias Kabalactes.

21. The Kriste’yans of earth, on entering the es world, went to the heavens of Looeamong,
the false Kriste.

22. The Mohammedans went to Gabriel’s heavens.

23. God, Jehovih’s Son, said: Behold the stubbornness of the angels of the heavens! To
whom they bound themselves on earth, they were bound in heaven. Neither would they
admit they were bound, though they were slaves. Their priests and monks and bishops,
arch-bishops and popes, marched in the processions of heaven, praying, singing, and even
carrying burdens, hundreds of years, for the privilege of ultimately approaching the throne
of Ennochissa, or Kabalactes, or Looeamong, or Thoth, honestly believing they were to
look upon the very Creator.

24. God said: Their minds were in bondage to so great an extent, that even after they had
attained to view their God (at such a distance and in such artificial splendor), they could
not receive truth.

25. And when an angel of Jehovih came to them, and said: Behold, this is only one heaven,
of which there are millions, they would not believe. And when he said to them: Behold,
this heaven, with all its magnificence, is only one of the lowest of heavens, they would
not believe. And when he said to them: Behold, this God, with all his glory, is only one
God, of which there are many, they would not believe. And when he said to them:
Behold, there are higher Gods than this, they would not believe. And when he said to
them: Behold, the All Highest God is not thus, but One not in shape of man, they would
not believe.

26. These subjects would say: I want not your Jehovih! Behold, I can see my God; he is
the Creative element personified. This is the all highest heaven; here is the place and
person of the Lord!

27. God said: Man sinned not in this; neither sinned the angels of the heavens.

28. The fault was with these false Gods.

29. Because they had taught men that the Creator was in the image of a man, and sitting
on a throne, behold, their subjects would not believe otherwise.

30. And it came to pass, on earth, when a man died, his neighbors said: Behold, he hath
gone to see the Lord, who sitteth on the right hand of God.