Lectionary Readings for Monday, January 30th, 2023
Book of Judgement Chapter 19
GOD GIVETH A NEW RELIGION.
1. GOD said: Hear the words of your God, O ye preachers, priests and rab’bahs; seek not to gainsay my words.
2. In times past, I had such representatives, and I said unto them: Go ye, preach my doctrines unto the inhabitants of the earth; make them understand the way of the Almighty.
3. And ye shall take neither money, nor scrip for your labor, but be an example of faith in the promises of God.
4. So, your predecessors went forth fulfilling my commandments.
5. But, behold what ye are doing in this day! Ye patronise the man of wealth; ye boast of the riches of your congregations!
6. Ye receive salaries, and ye dwell in fine houses; my doctrines ye sell as merchandise! Ye have fine temples and fashionable audiences, and ye curry favor with those who are in affluence.
7. Ye go not to the drunkard’s den, nor to the unfortunate woman; these ye take not in your arms, saying: My brother, my sister, come with me, I will show you the kingdom of God!
8. Behold, I have come to you in spirit and in truth, but ye put me off, saying: Is not the first duty to one’s own household? Is not self-preservation the first law?
9. Now, I answer you: These questions spring from the beast, and not from the spirit.
10. Neither availeth it you one jot or tittle, to rise at break of day and recite prayers all day, nor to say: God help the poor! or: Blessed art thou, my God!
11. When ye can not purchase one another by flattery, how hope ye for the favor of the Almighty, by praise and prayers and flattery?
12. Behold, the selfishness of man hath made the world like a house on fire! My little ones are in pain and suffocation.
13. Go, then, quickly, to them, and provide a remedy. This is the new religion I give unto you: Demanding sacrifice of you, and your congregations, of all ye have, that is not in use and actual need.
14. And ye shall judge the limit thereof, remembering that whosoever is bound on earth, is bound in heaven.
15. I have drawn aside the veil of death, your sons and daughters, your fathers and mothers, the dead and the living, stand face to face.
16. And the angels are testimony unto you, that your doctrines, as ye practice them, are a blasphemy against the Almighty.
17. Ye persuade yourselves and your congregations, that, after death, the soul shall go far away, and to an exalted heaven. But, behold, they that are dead are with you. They testify unto you by the thousands, and by tens of thousands, that ye led them astray.
18. The evidence of the work of heaven is at your door. Ye stand accused before Jehovih, that ye practice not what ye preach; that ye fare sumptuously, and connive at sin; that ye preach what ye can not prove; by the angels of your own blood and kin, are ye accused.
19. Ye have no personal knowledge of heaven, and, in stubborness of heart, ye dispute with my seers and prophets, who can prove before you, they have power to see unseen things, and to hear that which ye can not hear.
20. Ye study spiritual things with your corporeal senses; neither have ye capacity to see and hear the spirits of the dead. How much less, then, shall ye presume to interpret Jehovih and his kingdoms?
21. Now, behold, I come in this era, not only to declare to you, that the time of preaching is at an end, save wherein it is practiced in deed as it is spoken in word, but also to prophesy to you, that many of you will give up your calling, and preach no more.
22. And your temples and churches and meeting-houses shall be turned into consultation chambers, to find remedies against poverty, crime and debauchery.
23. And the congregations shall be enrolled, and, at the meetings, they shall be inquired after, to see if they are in need. And they shall have volunteers, who shall go about seeking out the helpless and distressed.
24. So, that, instead of the congregations sitting to hear your sermons, they shall come as co-workers for Jehovih’s children.
25. This is the new religion, which I give unto you; and, moreover, let it be a prophecy to you of the words of your God. For there is no such congreation this day in all the world; and yet, ere this generation pass away, this shall be proven before you.