We continue on our way, reach the border of the land of the Samaritans by sunrise, and enter Galilee. There we take a needed rest on an open height, on a beautiful, lush stretch of grass.
No one can praise the magnificent view from this height enough, and the scribe Matthew says, ‘Lord, if people were permeated by Your teaching in every respect, such a land would truly be beautiful enough to be a heaven for them! But when I consider that most people are worse than the most ravenous and bloodthirsty beasts, I would like to reproach God the Lord for having fashioned this earth so magnificently for such wicked rabble!’
I say, ‘Then the reproach falls on Me, for the Father and I are one! The wisdom of the eternal Son, which in the truest sense is the wisdom of the Father, drew up the great plan of creation; the Father’s love added the great “Come into being!” and thus this earth, the sun, moon and stars came into being!
The people who inhabit this earth were also created by Me, and they are now to be transformed, and will be.
But if things stand thus, how can you reproach Me? Besides, this earth is not quite as beautiful as it appears to you. All the regions you see from here present a lovely picture only at a certain distance. Go there, and you will find little or nothing beautiful and attractive about or within these regions, except here and there a tree, or even a garden laid out by human hands, and in it perhaps a rich man’s palace. Will you call such things beautiful and magnificent too?
Look up there at the sun; there are different regions there! A desert there is more magnificent than a paradise here. For if the sun’s light alone makes the regions of this earth appear beautiful, magnificent and inviting, while without sunlight the earth would be nothing but a valley of misery and terror, how much more magnificent must the regions of the great sun itself be, from whose overflowing brilliance and splendor this earth borrows its faint shimmer?’
Matthew says, ‘Lord, what did You say? The sun too is a great world, and even a desert there is inexpressibly more magnificent than a paradise here? Just look at the great earth and, beside it, the sun’s tiny shining disk! How many times would it fit on the surface we now overlook, which is surely only a very small part of the earth; and how many times, then, on the whole earth?’
I say, ‘You see, this is how it is: when I speak to you of earthly things, you do not understand them. How could you understand Me if I spoke to you of heavenly things? Look and grasp it!
Look there to the south at a cedar at the farthest edge of the mountain range. Compare its small apparent height with the height of a clump of grass here, which measures scarcely a span. You will see that if you hold this clump of grass before your face, it will appear to rise many times higher into the air than that distant cedar, although the cedar itself is several hundred times taller than this clump of grass. You see, distance does this! If you are good on your feet, you will reach that cedar in ten hours—for the measure of the eye!?
Now imagine the distance of the sun from this earth! You see, if a bird had set out from the earth toward the sun at its fastest flight at the time of Adam’s creation, it would still not be there now, but would have several more years to fly. If you can grasp this, you may well understand why this sun, more than a thousand times a thousand times larger than this earth, appears so small to you here.’
Matthew, quite beside himself at such a distance and such a size, says, ‘O Lord, if that is so, how can You guide and sustain such a world from this earth?’
I say, ‘Yes, you see, whatever may seem impossible to you is—said just between us for now—exceedingly easy for Me to do! Of course you cannot understand this now; but a time will come when you will understand it, as well as the conversation about the natural size of visible creation, which must not yet be recorded because the world is still too blind.
But so that you may see that I, through the Father’s power in Me, can also reach the sun in an instant, pay attention now! I will cover the sun for a couple of moments, so that no eye on the whole earth shall see it. From this it should become clear to you that I can reach the sun even from this earth!’
Matthew says, ‘O Lord, please do not do that! People will faint away with fear!’ I say, ‘Concern yourself with something else! People will think it is an ordinary solar eclipse, such as occurs quite naturally from time to time, and in a few moments they will have the sun again. Pay attention now!’ Somewhat anxiously Matthew says, ‘Lord, should not everyone present here be made aware of this?’ I say, ‘Let us leave them to sleep and rest! It is enough that you alone experience this, for a scribe must know more than those who for now are not appointed to write. And see, I now say: Sun, cover your face from the whole earth for seven moments!’ At that instant it becomes pitch-dark; only a few of the first stars are faintly visible.
Matthew trembles with fear and says, ‘Lord, You Almighty One! Who can stand beside You when Your divine arm reaches so endlessly far in an instant?’ Matthew had scarcely uttered these few words when the sun is already shining again in its full brilliance, and My Matthew breathes more freely again, but cannot utter a word for amazement. Only after quite a while does he recover some courage and say, ‘My Lord, I cannot grasp this! Your power must be infinite. But spare us such terrifying demonstrations of Your omnipotence in the future, O Lord, for at this the whole world would soon have to faint away and perish!’
I say, ‘Just concern yourself with something else! Has anyone perished yet? A little fear never harms people governed by their senses. But now wake those who are asleep, for we will move on at once. Yet do not tell anyone even the slightest hint of this vision and sign!’ Matthew then woke those who were asleep, and we continued our journey. From now on it went considerably downhill, and therefore more quickly than the earlier climb uphill.