The Aquarian Gospel of Jesus the Christ

4 In Ur, where Abraham was born, he tarried for a time; and when he told the people who he was, and why he came, they came from near and far to speak to him.

5 He said to them, We all are kin. Two thousand years and more ago, our Father Abraham lived here in Ur, and then he worshipped God the One, and taught the people in these sacred groves.

6 And he was greatly blessed; becoming father of the mighty hosts of Israel.

7 Although so many years have passed since Abraham and Sarah walked these ways, a remnant of their kindred still abide in Ur.

8 And in their hearts the God of Abraham is still adored, and faith and justice are the rocks on which they build.

9 Behold this land! It is no more the fruitful land that Abraham loved so well; the rains come not as in the former times; the vine is not productive now, and withered are the figs.

10 But this shall not forever be; the time will come when all your deserts will rejoice; when flowers will bloom; when all your vines will bend their heads with luscious fruit; your shepherds will again be glad.

11 And Jesus preached to them the gospel of good will, and peace on earth. He told them of the brotherhood of life, and of the inborn powers of man, and of the kingdom of the soul.

12 And as he spoke, Ashbina, greatest sage of all Assyria, stood before his face.

13 The people knew the sage, for he had often taught them in their sacred halls and groves, and they rejoiced to see his face.

14 Ashbina said, My children of Chaldea, hear! Behold, for you are greatly blest today, because a prophet of the living God has come to you.

15 Take heed to what this master says, for he gives forth the words that God has given him.

16 And Jesus and the sage went through the towns and cities of Chaldea and of the lands between the Tigris and the Euphrates;

17 And Jesus healed a multitude of people who were sick.

CHAPTER 43

Jesus and Ashbina visit Babylon and remark its desolation. The two masters remain in company seven days; then Jesus resumes his homeward journey. Arrives in Nazareth. His mother gives a feast in his honor. His brothers are displeased. Jesus tells his mother and aunt the story of his journeys.

The ruined Babylon was near, and Jesus and the sage went through her gates and walked among her fallen palaces.

2 They trod the streets where Israel once was held in base captivity.

3 They saw where Judah’s sons and daughters hung their harps upon the willows, and refused to sing.

4 They saw where Daniel and the Hebrew children stood as living witnesses of faith.

5 And Jesus lifted up his hands and said, Behold the grandeur of the works of man!

6 The king of Babylon destroyed the temple of the Lord in old Jerusalem; he burned the holy city, bound in chains my people and my kin, and brought them here as slaves.

7 But retribution comes; for whatsoever men shall do to other men the righteous Judge will do to them.

8 The sun of Babylon has gone down; the songs of pleasure will be heard no more within her walls.

9 And every kind of creeping thing and unclean bird will, in these ruins, find their homes.

10 And in the temple Belus, Jesus and Ashbina stood in silent thought.

11 Then Jesus spoke and said, Behold this monument of folly and of shame.

12 Man tried to shake the very throne of God, and he assayed to build a tower to reach to heaven, when, lo, his very speech was snatched away, because in lofty words he boasted of his power.

13 And on these heights the heathen Baal stood – the god wrought out by hands of man.

14 Upon yon altar, birds, and beasts, and men, yea children have been burned in awful sacrifice to Baal.

15 But now the gory priests are dead; the very rocks have shuddered and have fallen down; the place is desolate.

16 Now, in the plains of Shinar Jesus tarried yet for seven days, and, with Ashbina, meditated long upon the needs of men, and how the sages could best serve the coming age.

17 Then Jesus went his way, and after many days he crossed the Jordan to his native land. At once he sought his home in Nazareth.

18 His mother’s heart was filled with joy; she made a feast for him, inviting all her kindred and her friends.

19 But Jesus’ brothers were not pleased that such attention should be paid to one they deemed a sheer adventurer, and they went not in to the feast.

20 They laughed their brother’s claims to scorn; they called him indolent, ambitious, vain; a worthless fortune hunter; searcher of the world for fame, who, after many years returns to mother’s home with neither gold, nor any other wealth.

21 And Jesus called aside his mother and her sister, Miriam, and told them of his journey to the East.

22 He told them of the lessons he had learned, and of the works that he had done. To others he told not the story of his life.

SECTION X

JOD

Life and Works of Jesus in Greece

CHAPTER 44

Jesus visits Greece and is welcomed by the Athenians. Meets Apollo. Addresses the Grecian masters in the Amphitheater. The address.

The Greek philosophy was full of pungent truth, and Jesus longed to study with the masters in the schools of Greece.

2 And so he left his home in Nazareth and crossed the Carmel hills, and at the port took ship, and soon was in the Grecian capital.

3 Now, the Athenians had heard of him as teacher and philosopher, and they were glad to have him come to them that they might hear his words of truth.

4 Among the masters of the Greeks was one, Apollo, who was called, Defender of the Oracle, and recognized in many lands as Grecian sage.

5 Apollo opened up for Jesus all the doors of Grecian lore, and in the Areopagus he heard the wisest masters speak.

6 But Jesus brought to them a wisdom greater far than theirs; and so he taught.

7 Once in the Amphitheater he stood, and when Apollo bade him speak he said,