The Aquarian Gospel of Jesus the Christ

4 And when they reached Capernaum the seventy were there; and they were filled with joy; they said,

5 The Spirit of the Lord of hosts was with us all the way, and we were filled.

6 The power of the sacred Word was manifest in us; we healed the sick; we caused the lame to walk, the deaf to hear, the blind to see.

7 The very devils trembled when we spoke the Word, and they were subject unto us.

8 And Jesus said, As you were going on your way, the heavens were bright with light, the earth was bright, they seemed to meet and be at one; and I beheld, and Satan fell as lightning from the heavens.

9 Behold, for you have power to tread on serpents and on scorpions, and these are symbols of the enemies of men. You are protected in the way of right, and naught can harm.

10 And as you went I heard a master say, Well done.

11 But you may not rejoice because you have the power to heal the sick and make the devils tremble by the Word; for such rejoicing is from carnal self.

12 You may rejoice because the nations of the earth have ears to hear the Word, and eyes to see the glory of the Lord, and hearts to feel the inner breathing of the Holy Breath.

13 And you may well be glad because your names are written in the Book of Life.

14 Then Jesus looked to heaven and said, I thank thee, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because thou hast revealed thyself to babes, and taught them how to light the path and lead the wise to thee.

15 What thou hast given to me, lo, I have given to them, and through the sacred Word I have bestowed on them the understanding heart,

16 That they might know and honor thee through Christ, who was, and is, and evermore shall be.

17 And then he said aside, unto the seventy and twelve, Most blessed are your eyes because you see the things you see;

18 And blessed are your ears because they hear the things they hear;

19 And blessed are your hearts because you understand.

20 In ages that are gone the wise of earth, the prophets, seers and kings, desired to hear and see and know what you have heard and seen and known; but they had not attained and could not hear, and see and know.

21 And Jesus said again, Lo, I have gone before you many moons, and I have given to you the bread of heaven and the cup of life;

22 Have been your buckler and your stay; but now that you have learned the way, and have the strength to stand alone, behold, I lay my body down and go to him who is the All.

23 In forty days then we will turn our faces toward Jerusalem where I will find the altar of the Lord and give my life in willing sacrifice for men.

24 Let us arise and go through all the coasts of Galilee, and give a salutation of good cheer to all the sons of God by faith.

25 And they arose and went; they entered every town and village on the coast, and everywhere they said, The benedictions of the Christ abide with you forevermore.

26 Now, in a certain town they went up to the synagogue upon the Sabbath day, and Jesus taught.

27 And as he spoke, two men brought on a cot a woman bent near double with disease; she had not risen from her bed for eighteen years without a helping hand.

28 And Jesus laid his hand upon the woman, and he said, Arise, be free from your infirmity.

29 And as he spoke the Word the woman found that she was straight and strong, and she arose and walked and said, Praise God.

30 The ruler of the synagogue was filled with wrath because the healer healed upon the Sabbath day.

31 He did not censure Jesus face to face, but turning to the multitudes he said,

32 You men of Galilee, why do you break the laws of God? There are six days in every week when you may work, and then you may bring the afflicted to be healed.

33 This is the day that God has blessed, the Sabbath day in which men may not work.

34 And Jesus said, You inconsistent scribes and Pharisees! Upon the Sabbath day you take your beasts of burden from their stalls, and lead them forth to eat and drink; is this not work?

35 This daughter of your father Abraham, who has been bound for eighteen years, has come in faith to be made free.

36 Now, tell me, men, is it a crime to break her bonds and set her free upon the Sabbath day?

37 The ruler said no more; the people all rejoiced and said, Behold the Christ!

38 And Jesus spoke a parable; he said, The kingdom of the Christ is like a little seed that one put in the ground;

39 It grew and after many years became a mighty tree, and many people rested in its shade, and birds built nests and reared their young among its leafy boughs.

CHAPTER 141

Jesus speaks words of encouragement. Rebukes an officious Pharisee. Attends a wedding feast. Heals a dropsical man. Rebukes guests who seek chief seats. Relates a parable of a wedding feast.

And Jesus went into another town upon the coast and spoke good words of cheer to those who followed him.

2 And one stood forth and said, Lord, are there few that enter into life?

3 And Jesus said, The way is rough that leads to life; the gate is narrow and is guarded well; but every one who seeks in faith shall find the way, and they who know the Word may enter in.

4 But many seek the way for selfish gain; they pound upon the gate of life; but it is fast.

5 The watchman from the turret says, I know you not; your speech is that of Ashdod, and your robes are those of sin; depart and go your way.

6 And they will go their way with weeping and with gnashing of the teeth.

7 And they will be enraged when they see their father Abraham with Isaac, Jacob and the prophets, resting in the kingdom of the Christ, and they themselves debarred.

8 And, lo, I say that men will come from lands afar, from east, from west, from north, from south and sit with me in consciousness of life.

9 Behold, I say, the last shall be the first, the first shall be the last.

10 All men are called unto the kingdom of the Christ; but few are chosen, for the pure in heart alone can see the king.

11 And as he spoke a Pharisee came up and said, You man of Galilee, if you would save your life remain not here; flee instantly, for Herod swears that he will take your life, and even now his officers are seeking you.

12 And Jesus said, Why is it that the Pharisees are so concerned about my life? And then he said unto the man who spoke,

13 Go forth and say to that sly fox, Behold, I heal the sick and cast the unclean spirits out today, tomorrow, and the days to come, and then I will attain.

14 Go say to him, I need not fear in Galilee, for I must meet the cruel wrath of men within Jerusalem.

15 And while they tarried in the place a man, a Pharisee, invited Jesus and a few of those who followed him, to dine with him upon the Sabbath day, to celebrate the marriage of his son.

16 Among the guests was one afflicted with a dropsical disease.

17 And Jesus said to those who had been sent to get from his own lips some words by which they might accuse him of a crime,

18 You lawyers and you Pharisees, what do you say about the lawlessness of healing on the Sabbath day? Here is a man, one of your own, and he is sore distressed.

19 Shall I, in God’s own strength, say out the healing Word and heal this man?

20 The lawyers and the Pharisees were dumb; they answered not.

21 Then Jesus spoke the healing Word and healed the man and he, rejoicing, went his way.

22 Then Jesus said again unto the lawyers and the Pharisees, Which one of you who has a horse or cow, if it would fall into a pit upon the Sabbath day would not call in his friends to help to draw it out?

23 And not a man could answer, Here am I.

24 As Jesus looked upon the guests who had been bidden to the feast and saw them crowding in to get the highest seats, he said to them,

25 You selfish men why do you strive to take the highest seats when you are but invited guests? You do not show our host the courtesies of life.

26 When men are bidden to a marriage feast they should sit in the lower seats until the host shall place them where he wills.

27 You may, unbidden, take the highest seat; but then a man more honorable may come and when the host shall bid you rise and take a lower seat that he may honor his more worthy guest, you cannot help but blush for very shame in your humility.

28 But if you take the lowest seat and then are honored by your host and asked to take a higher seat, you are esteemed an honored guest.

29 In this event we note a principle in life, That he who would exalt himself shall be abased, and he who humbles low himself shall be exalted in the sight of men.

30 Then Jesus spoke to all the guests; he said, When any one of you would make a feast it should not be for friends, or kindred, or the rich;

31 For they consider such a courtesy loaned out, and they feel called upon to make a greater feast for you, just in the payment of a debt.

32 But when you make a feast invite the poor, the lame, the blind; in this a blessing waits for you, for well you know that you will get naught in return; but in the consciousness of helping those who need, you will be recompensed.

33 And then he spoke a parable: he said, A wealthy man prepared a feast; he sent his servants forth to bid his chosen ones to come; but they desired not to go, and they formed such excuses as they thought would satisfy the would-be host.

34 One said, I have just bought a piece of land, and I must go and prove my title to the land; I pray to be excused.

35 Another said, I must go down and prove my ownership in sheep that I have bought; I pray to be excused.

36 Another said, I have been married but a little time and so I cannot go; I beg to be excused.

37 Now, when the servants came and told the man who had prepared the feast that those he had invited would not come,

38 The man was grieved in heart; and then he sent his servants forth into the streets and alleys of the town to bring up to the feast the poor, the lame, the blind.

39 The servants went abroad and found the poor, the lame, the blind, and brought them in; but there was room for more.

40 The host then sent his men of arms to bring by force the people to his feast; and then the house was full.

41 And God has made a feast for men. Long years ago he sent his servants forth unto the favored sons of men. They would not hear his call; they came not to the feast.

42 He then sent forth his servants to the strangers and the multitudes; they came, but there is room for more.

43 Behold, for he will send his angels forth with mighty trumpet blast, and men will be compelled to come up to the feast.

CHAPTER 142

The path of discipleship, its difficulties. The cross and its meaning. The danger of wealth. The young man who loved wealth more than he loved Christ. Parable of the rich man and Lazarus.

Now, Jesus and the twelve went to another town, and as they entered it they said, Peace be to all; good will to all.

2 A multitude of people followed and the master said to them, Behold, for you are followers for selfish gain.

3 If you would follow me in love, and be disciples of the Holy Breath, and gain at last the crown of life, you must leave all there is of carnal life behind.

4 Be not deceived; stay, men, and count the cost.

5 If one would build a tower, or a home, he first sits down and counts the cost to be assured that he has gold enough to finish it.

6 For well he knows that if he makes a failure of his enterprise he may lose all his wealth, and be the butt of ridicule.

7 And if a king desires to take the kingdom of another king, he calls his trusted men and they consider well their strength; he will not measure arms with one of matchless power.

8 Count well the cost before you start to follow me; it means the giving up of life, and all you have.

9 If you love father, mother, wife, or child, more than you love the Christ, you cannot follow me.

10 If you love wealth or honor more than you love the Christ, you cannot follow me.

11 The paths of carnal life do not run up the mountain side towards the top; they run around the mount of life, and if you go straight to the upper gate of consciousness you cross the paths of carnal life; tread in them not.

12 And this is how men bear the cross; no man can bear another’s cross.

13 Take up your cross and follow me through Christ into the path of true discipleship; this is the path that leads to life.

14 This way of life is called the pearl of greatest price, and he who finds it must put all he has beneath his feet.

15 Behold, a man found in a certain field the croppings of a wondrous mine of gold, and he went forth and sold his home and all he had and bought the field; then he rejoiced in wealth.

16 Now, there were present, scribes and Pharisees of wealth who loved their money, and their bonds and lands, and they laughed loud to scorn what Jesus said.

17 Then Jesus spoke to them and said, You are the men who justify yourselves in sight of men; God knows your wickedness of heart;

18 And you must know, O men, that whatsoever is revered and is exalted by the carnal mind, is an abomination in the sight of God.

19 And Jesus went his way, and as he went a young man ran and knelt down at his feet and said, Good master, tell me what to do that I may have eternal life.

20 And Jesus said, Why do you call me good? No one is truly good but God himself.

21 And God has said, If you would enter into life, keep the Commandments of the law.

22 The young man asked, To which commands did he refer?

23 And Jesus said, You shall not kill; you shall not steal; you shall not do adulterous things; you shall not falsely testify;

24 And you shall love your God with all your heart, and you shall love your neighbor as yourself.

25 The man replied, These things I have observed from youth; what lack I yet?

26 And Jesus said, One thing you lack; your heart is fixed on things of earth; you are not free.

27 Go forth and sell all that you have, and give your money to the poor, and come and follow me, and you shall have eternal life.

28 The man was grieved at what the master said; for he was rich; he hid his face and went in sorrow on his way.

29 And Jesus looked upon the sorrowing man and said, It is so hard for men with hoarded wealth to enter through the door into the kingdom of the soul.

30 And his disciples were amazed at what he said.

31 He answered them and said, I tell you, men, that they who trust in riches cannot trust in God and cannot come into the kingdom of the soul;

32 Yea, it is easier for a camel to go through a needle’s eye than for a man with hoarded wealth to find the way of life. And his disciples said, Who then can find the way? Who can be saved?

33 And Jesus said, The rich may give his gold away; the high may kiss the dust, and God will save.

34 Then Jesus spoke this parable to them:

35 A rich man lived in splendid state; he wore the finest garments men could make; his boards were loaded with the costliest viands of the land.

36 A beggar, blind and lame, whose name was Lazarus, was wont to sit beside the waste gate of this home that he might share with dogs the refuse from the rich man’s boards.

37 It came to pass that Lazarus died, and angels carried him away unto the bosom of our father Abraham.

38 The rich man also died, and he was buried in a costly tomb; but in the purifying fires he opened up his eyes dissatisfied.

39 He looked and saw the beggar resting peacefully in the bosom of his father Abraham, and in the bitterness of his soul he cried,

40 My father Abraham, look down in mercy on your son; I am tormented in these flames.

41 Send Lazarus, I beseech, that he may give me just a sup of water to cool my parched tongue.

42 But Abraham replied, My son, in mortal life, you had the best things of the earth and Lazarus had the worst, and you would not give him a cup of water there, but drove him from your door.

43 The law must be fulfilled, and Lazarus now is comforted, and you are paying what you owe.

44 Besides, there is a great gulf fixed between your zone and us, and if I would I could not send Lazarus to you, and you cannot come up to us till you have paid your debts.

45 Again the man in anguish said, O father Abraham, I pray, send Lazarus back to earth, and to my father’s house, that he may tell my brothers who are yet in life, for I have five of them, about the horrors of this place, lest they come down to me and not to you.

46 And Abraham replied, They have the words of Moses and the seers, let them hear them.

47 The man replied, They will not hearken to the written word; but if a man would go up from the grave they might believe.

48 But Abraham replied, If they hear not the words of Moses and the seers they would not be persuaded even though one from the dead stood in their midst.

49 And Peter said, Lord, we have left our all to follow you; and what is our reward?

50 And Jesus said, Most verily I say to you, that you who have left all to follow me shall come into a newness of a life hid deep with Christ in God.

51 And you shall sit with me upon the throne of power, and judge with me the tribes of Israel.

52 And he who conquers carnal self, and follows me through Christ shall have a hundred fold of that which is the wealth of life on earth, and in the world to come, eternal life.

CHAPTER 143

Righteousness in rewards. Jesus relates the parable of the husbandman and the laborers. Makes known the divine law of divorce. The mystery of marriage.

The Lord was standing by the sea; the multitudes were there and one stood forth and said,

2 Does God bestow rewards as men bestow rewards, for what is done?

3 And Jesus said, Men never know what other men have done, this life is such a seeming life.

4 One man may seem to do a mighty work, and be adjudged by men as worthy of a great reward.

5 Another man may seem to be a failure in the harvest fields of life, and be dishonored in the face of men.

6 Men do not know the hearts of men; God only knows the hearts of men, and when the day is done he may reward with life the man who fell beneath the burdens of the day, and turn away the man who was the idol of the hearts of men.

7 And then he spoke a parable; he said, The kingdom of the soul is like a man who had a vast estate,

8 And in the morning time he went down to the market place to search for men to gather in his grain.

9 He found three men, and he agreed to give to each a penny for his service for the day, and sent them to his field.

10 Again he went down to the market place the third hour of the day and found five men in waiting, and he said, Go down into my field and serve, and I will pay you what is right; and they went down and served.

11 He went again; it was the sixth hour of the day, and seven men were waiting at the stand; he sent them to the field to serve.

12 And at the eleventh hour he went again; twelve men stood there in seeming idleness; he said to them, Why stand you here in idleness all day?

13 They said, Because we have no work to do; no man has hired us.

14 And then he sent them to his field to serve.

15 Now, when the evening came the man said to his steward, Call the laborers from the field, and pay them for his services. And all were paid, and each received a penny for his hire.

16 Now, when the twelve, who served but from the eleventh hour, received each one a penny for his hire, the three were sore aggrieved; they said,

17 These twelve have served but one short hour, and now they have an equal share with us who have toiled through the scorching hours of day; should we not have at least two pennies for our hire?

18 The man replied, My friends, I do no wrong to you. Did we not have a fast agreement when you went to work? have I not paid in full?

19 What is it unto you if I should pay these men a smaller or a larger sum? Take that which is your own and go your way, for I will give unto the twelve what I will give unto the three, the five, the seven.

20 They did their best and you could do no more than do your best.

21 The hire of man is based upon the intent of the heart.

22 As Jesus taught, a Pharisee came up and said, Lord, is it lawful for a man to put away his wife?

23 And Jesus said, You ought to know; what says the law?

24 The Pharisee replied, The law provides that man may be divorced, may put away his wife.

25 And Jesus said, The hardness of the hearts of men induced the giver of the law to make provisions such as these; but from the first it was not so.

26 God made a woman for a man, and they were one; and afterwards he said, A man shall leave his father and his mother and shall cleave unto his wife; they are no more divided; they are one, one flesh.

27 What God has joined no man can part.

28 Now, when they went up to the house, a man made free to ask again about this matter of divorce.

29 And Jesus said again what to the Pharisee he said; and then he gave the higher law of marriage life:

30 Whoever puts away his wife, except she be a courtesan, and then shall take another wife commits adultery.

31 The woman who shall leave a man, unless he be a libertine and an adulterer, and then becomes the wife of any other man, commits adultery.

32 And Thomas asked, What is adultery?

33 And Jesus said, The man who harbors lustful thoughts, who covets any woman not his wife, is an adulterer.

34 The wife who harbors lustful thoughts, and covets any man who is not wed to her, is not her husband, is a courtesan.

35 Men cannot make a law to bind two hearts.

36 When two are bound in love they have no thought of lust. The woman cannot leave the man; the man has no desire to send his wife away.

37 When men and women harbor lustful thoughts, and covet any other flesh, they are not one, not joined by God.

38 And Philip said, Lord, are there few that God has joined in holy marriage bonds?

39 And Jesus said, God knows the pure in heart; the lustful men and women are but creatures of the lustful self; they cannot be at one; nor can they be at one with God.

40 Nathaniel said, Is it not well that all men should refrain from taking on themselves the marriage vow?

41 And Jesus said, Men are not pure because they are unmarried men. The man who lusts is an adulterer if he has wife or not.

42 And then he said to all, Some things men know by being told, while other things they know not till the gate of consciousness shall open up for them.

43 I speak a mystery that now you cannot understand; but you shall some day understand.

44 A eunuch is a man who does not lust; some men are eunuchs born, some men are eunuchs by the power of men, and some are eunuchs by the Holy Breath, who makes them free in God through Christ.

45 He who is able to receive the truth I speak, let him receive.

CHAPTER 144

The Christines at Tiberius. Jesus speaks on the inner life. Relates the parable of the prodigal son. The resentment of the elder brother.

When they had journeyed through the towns and cities of the land of Galilee, the Lord with his disciples came to Tiberius, and here they met a few who loved the name of Christ.

2 And Jesus told them many things about the inner life; but when the multitudes came up, he spoke a parable; he said,

3 A certain man with great possessions had two sons. The youngest son grew tired of life at home and said,

4 My father, pray divide your wealth and give the portion that is mine to me, and I will seek my fortune in another land.

5 The father did as he desired, and with his wealth the young man went into a foreign land.

6 He was a profligate and soon had squandered all his wealth in ways of sin.

7 When nothing else remained for him to do he found employment in the fields to care for swine.

8 And he was hungry and no one gave him aught to eat, and so he ate the carob pods that he was feeding to the swine.

9 And after many days he found himself and said unto himself, My father is a man of wealth; he has a score of servants who are bountifully fed while I, his son, am starving in the fields among the swine.

10 I do not hope to be received again as son, but I will rise and go straight to my father’s house, and I will make confession of my waywardness;