What’s going on with my friends, or with Pope Benedict, Bill Bates, or any of the other host of lackeys who used to haunt my visions?
Good question.
It had been months since I last ‘saw’ any of them, yet without my Sight, I was reduced to a commoner like you for my news – that meant I either had to watch #FakeNews on the few stations my OTA antenna picked up or I had to setup the Roku again and tune into Newsmax for the truth. Since I didn’t want to notify any of the 5G sensors in my area with the Roku’s pull on the internet, I chose to sift through the fake news channels to start.
Look, I realize that I haven’t done a very good job of keeping you apprised of world events. In my defense, the happenings of history do tend to move in repetitious cycles and after 2,000 years it all runs together.
But even I knew that times were different now – and I believe that the rest of the world was finally starting to believe that too.
Oh sure, throughout my life I’ve seen the charlatans like Homer who’ve proclaimed ‘the end of the world is at hand,’ and like you, I’ve pooh-poohed them – after all, most of them were crackpots.
I too have heard the many learned men throughout the centuries who have tried to reason out the end of days by associating whatever world catastrophe with my predictions in Revelation, or perhaps that kook Nostradamus, or the Mayan Cataclysm, or something else – again, fools all.
But, there was something different going on this time and it was just the never-ending Covid plandemic!
To begin with, I knew that the Two Witnesses had already been prophesying for over three years, and if what I wrote in Revelation was correct, then I knew that they didn’t have much time left (whether the world had been listening or not).
And while The Beast may have had Elijah and Enoch hidden from view for the last couple years, when it came time to serve his own purposes, he revealed them to all – causing the world to finally understand the word FEAR.
Since then, national broadcasts and social media videos of the prophets had become an obsession – with everybody and their brother giving their opinion of what it all meant.
Add to that that on two more occasions, the prophets appeared ‘live’ and released new warnings of impending doom – both of which came true. You can imagine the hysteria that surrounded them.
I tried to look at things from the world’s perspective — how would the common man view Elijah and Enoch?
With fear and hatred.
Yes, I was certain of that – for consider that regardless of whether the Two Witnesses were merely doing their divine duty (which they were!), the fact of the matter is that they were (unfortunately) correct about everything they predicted, even this…
Ouch!
As a result, all of the terrible misfortune that the world had experienced these last few years (and especially these last few months), why all of it was associated with Elijah and Enoch!
It was only natural that the world wished them dead.
Unfortunately for The Prophets, today the world got its wish…
More than a month passed, and while the world continued to deteriorate around me, I was immune to most of these events as I remained in solitude on my farm.
I hope that you won’t find me hypocritical if I tell you that during this time I became engrossed again with a passion for reading The Bible.
(I also re-discovered another great brew: Goose Island Bourbon Stout – this stuff is amazing and I can’t believe I’d forgotten about it after I’d made a batch last year. Beer and bourbon – what could be better? How about beer, bourbon, and the Bible?!?)
But I digress – let’s focus just on The Bible…for now.
Now I realize that I might have told you quite a few times in the past that I didn’t believe in the words of The Bible anymore and that the book was filled with lies – but please remember that this was the old me talking. No, not the original me, mind you, but the bitter OLD man me – more specifically, the near demon that needed to be exorcised from me!
Thankfully, Gabriel helped me to do just that on July 26th (what I am calling my new ‘birth’ day) and as a result, the true John the Apostle was back in all his (my) glory!
I was ready to write again too!
Before I go any further, I feel like I must tell you some important spiritual truths. After all, our Lord is soon to return and I want to ensure that YOU will be saved along with me! Therefore, listen well to my words – I promise, if you simply LISTEN, you will understand the very essence of Jesus’ teachings and you WILL be saved at the Last Resurrection.
I am the vine; you are the branches…
Source: King Vin
That’s from my gospel, Chapter 15. Please, do yourself a favor, and turn to that section and read with me.
Are you there yet? Are you familiar with these verses?
These then are the words of The Messiah, Jesus of Nazareth, on the night before his crucifixion and death. We sat with him in the Garden of Gethsemane as he spoke thusly…
I am the vine; you are the branches. If a man remains in me and I in him, he will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing. If anyone does not remain in me, he is like a branch that is thrown away and withers; such branches are picked up, thrown into the fire and burned. If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be given you. This is to my Father’s glory, that you bear much fruit, showing yourselves to be my disciples.
Gospel of John, 15: 5-8
As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you. Now remain in my love. If you obey my commands, you will remain in my love, just as I have obeyed my Father’s commands and remain in his love. I have told you this so that my joy may be in you and that your joy may be complete, [therefore] love each other as I have loved you.
Greater love has no one than this — that he lay down his life for his friends. You are my friends if you do what I command. I no longer call you servants, because a servant does not know his master’s business. Instead, I have called you friends, for everything that I learned from my Father I have made known to you. You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you to go and bear fruit—fruit that will last. Then the Father will give you whatever you ask in my name.
This is my command: Love one another.
Gospel of John, 15: 9-17
My friends, do you understand?
This IS the secret – the one you’ve been searching for your entire life!
Jimmy apparently knows the secret too 🙂
Don’t you see. It’s not really a secret. This knowledge is all here, right before your eyes.
You simply need to listen, learn, and apply it.
These words will change your life if you just take them to heart.
Oh how I am truly humbled by Christ’s words. Of all people, I should have known this and never have forgotten it. (After all, I did write it down, right?)
And yet, when I reread what I wrote back then, I am amazed now at the simplicity of it all.
Our purpose in life is to love and serve one another – for thereby do we give glory to God, our creator. And the best way we can accomplish our mission is to live ‘in’ Jesus Christ.
It really IS that simple.
So, tell me now, do YOU want to recognize Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior?
If so, are you willing to abide in him?
Will you accept that you are a mere branch that requires the Vine of Jesus to bring you life AND the careful pruning of God as the Divine Gardener to help you flourish?
Are you ready to allow Jesus into your life?
If so, all He asks of you is to bear much fruit for Him.
How do you do that, you ask?
Well, He already gave you the answer.
Love one another.
My friends, if you do that, you will fulfill your purpose in life – you will bring glory to your creator and you will then be rewarded with the Gift of Eternal Life!
Well done, Homer
Welcome, my brothers and sisters, to a Life of Everlasting Joy!!
Thus, when Lazarus and Mary again searched me out, I agreed to help. Together we worked to bring down Archbishop Arnulf of Rheims – yet once more our efforts proved wrong.
After that fiasco I rebelled and delved further to Gnosticism – actually becoming a leader in the Cathar faith.
Here I am performing one of the Cathar rites – to the horror of some Benedictine monks
From about 1050 to 1235 AD I travelled all over Europe under a variety of identities and even wrote a number of Cathar texts, including The Gospel of the Secret Supper— that heretical book that Mary mentioned previously. But, after Pope Gregory IX’s Inquisition, I just didn’t feel like fighting The Church anymore.
For two centuries after that I traveled through The Middle East and eventually made my way to India – where I lived in peace for over 150 years.
Nothing that important happened while I was in India and I neither contended against my fate nor accepted it, I simply just existed, and looking back, I can honestly say that this was probably the most peaceful time in my life.
Eventually, for reasons I still don’t know, I found myself back in Europe around the mid 1400’s. And by the end of that century I had created another new identity that would become fairly well known: Paracelsus – another master alchemist.
One of the many books on alchemy I wrote as Paracelsus
I’ll admit now that it was the sin of Pride that led me back to alchemy – always trying to do that which God would not: take my own life.
I lived as Paracelsus until the mid 1500’s and under that identity I wrote a number of books on alchemy and medicine, including my famous Alchemical Catechism.
The latter part of the Sixteenth Century saw me travel to North America – where I was content to work my way around the new American colonies as a travelling doctor, curing both settler and native alike.
Those were hard years from a physical standpoint, but rewarding in a strange sense that I still can’t put my finger on. Interestingly enough, in that lawless setting, I was murdered on the road more than once, but this was nothing new in my life, as I had long since grown accustomed to experiencing those little snatches of death – unfortunately (like always) I eventually woke up.
I know, I know, it all sounds so far-fetched, but trust me, it’s all true. Unfortunately the whole Weishaupt-Washington conspiracy is a rather LONG story and I don’t have time to tell it here. I’d suggest you read up on some Illuminati history and learn about that coup for yourself – it will blow your mind.
In any case, after I helped George (nee Adam) fake his own death in 1799, I moved back to Europe with him to help him (as Adam W.) take this Illuminati secret society underground so it could really do some work.
Unfortunately Adam betrayed me and had me exiled from his little club!
But no worries because when Mary and Lazarus came to me in the late 1820’s with a theory that Adam was the Antichrist, I was all too happy to help them get rid of him! (Payback is a bitch, huh, Adam?)
Let me stop for a moment – does any of this even interest you?
I suppose I should have asked that first.
Well, I’m just about done, so we might as well finish…
In the early 1940’s, my friends became so passionate that Hitler was The Beast, that I too got caught up with them. But, alas, as with all our previous attempts, our Commission was a sham.
And so I lost myself to the world once more.
Returning to my roots, I called myself John Salom and decided to throw it all to pot and retire to an obscure part of the northeastern United States – Williamsport, Pennsylvania.
It’s kind of in the middle of nowhere and that’s a good thing
And, even though I dabbled again as a Brother, for the most part, I used my obscurity to focus on The Great Work.
As it turned out, around 410 AD I successfully DID destroy myself – or at least my identity as Ambrosius. My superbug project for The Brotherhood worked — wiping out an entire colony of people!
(I’ll tell you more about that event later, for now just remember two words: Tower Bay.
Nevertheless, because I couldn’t control the virus itself, The Brotherhood considered all my work to be a failure and abandoned Ambrosius to die. (Gee, thanks, friends).
Wallowing in self-pity, I was ripe for Lazarus and Mary to again convince me in The Commission and in the early 450’s, we brought down Attila as The Beast. We quickly concluded we were wrong (again) since we did not bring about Jesus’ Second Coming – as a result, I again deserted my friends (again).
Eventually I made my way back to the island of Great Britain. Although this was the country in which I had experienced the failure of Tower Bay, this time around I vowed things would be different – and I was correct — for upon this occasion another legendary character was born.
Now I realize that you probably won’t believe what I tell you next, but it is the truth…
From about 490 to 540 AD, I used The Sight to help bring about the rise of a man named Arthur Pendragon while I was under the identity none other than Merlinus Ambrosius.
(I picked that moniker because I wanted a chance to clear the Ambrosius surname).
Come on, did Merlin really exist? Isn’t that just a fairy tale?
Look, I can’t help it if Disney made a movie about me and I’m not going to sit here and have an argument with you about whether or not I was really Merlin or if there ever was a famed magician by that name. All I can tell you is what I’ve experienced in my life, and the bottom line is that I am the man who was the source of all those legends – and many of them are pretty accurate — whether or not you choose to believe them is your business.
Now, if you don’t mind, let’s continue – since there is already quite a bit of writing about Merlin, I won’t recap it all here – expect to say that eventually I did allow myself to get duped by a woman and that still rubs me the wrong way!
If you know anything about Merlin, then you know that I foolishly allowed Nimue to learn some of my magical secrets — in fact, after she thought she had drained me of all of my knowledge, she trapped me in a cave in an obscure part of western Britain and left me for dead. So yes, all that part of the legend is true.
This was not my best moment
But let’s be clear here — I was not so dumb as to NOT realize what Nimue was doing. I knew full well what she intended, but the fact of the matter was that Nimue had become such a powerful Sorceress that I actually let myself believe that she might well be able to accomplish what I could not…
I really thought Nimue might be able to kill me once and for all!
That’s why I let her trap me – unfortunately I didn’t die.
Instead, Nimue merely succeeded in leaving me in a comatose state. For all intents and purposes, I appeared dead (and for a time I actually thought I was dead), but eventually Death didn’t take and thus I found myself merely stuck in a drafty and dank cave.
(In point of fact, I actually stayed in that God-forsaken hole for nearly 300 years. And it was not until around 850 AD that I finally, rather unceremoniously, emerged – only to lose myself again into the wide world).
And that’s when things got a bit more interesting…
Over a month had passed since my repentance and I was starting to feel better. I’d like to be able to tell you that I was fully recovered, but sadly, that was not yet the case. Oh, don’t get me wrong, I knew that all my (many) sins had been forgiven, and that, with the mercy of the Lord, I was able to put aside the heavy yoke of my great guilt.
But forgiveness and forgetfulness are two different things and although my soul had been washed clean, my mind was still dealing with unwanted memories.
Where’s the Men in Black when you need them?
I suppose it would do no harm to share some more of my life experiences with you now – perhaps it will help me to clear them out of my mind once and for all – call it a sort of summer cleaning.
And so, with a Guinness in hand (a great story-teller’s beer), let me see where to begin…
What’s that? Why am I still drinking if I’ve repented?
My friend, The Bible does not condemn drinking. Jesus drank wine, didn’t he?
The danger comes with over-indulgence – and since my Grand Forgiveness, I’m proud to say that I haven’t been drunk… yet.
(Congratulations, please).
The Wedding at Cana
Anyway, like I was saying, I suppose I’ve already told you enough about my life as John, the Beloved Apostle – both when I walked with Jesus of Nazareth as his disciple and on through the time when I was exiled to Patmos and wrote Revelation.
Now as I mentioned previously, after I left Patmos, I also left my original life and disappeared into the woodwork of the world. By that time I knew I was immortal, yet despite my aged appearance, I still felt vigorous inside.
For the next century or so, I wandered around the Mediterranean, using various identities; often, I passed myself off as a former disciple of John of Salome – thus giving myself an excuse for knowing so much about myself. During this time I wrote The Apocrypha of John.
My book didn’t age so well, huh?
I still remember the opening of that book…
The teaching of the Savior and the revelation of things hidden, even these things which he taught John, his disciple.
Now, I will admit that when I wrote that I was lying, but what can I say? I was getting desperate! It had already been over a century and a half since Jesus left me and I couldn’t understand why He was taking so long to return.
I convinced myself that I really did see these new revelations, but in truth, even as I wrote my Apocrypha, I knew that it was all just a dream of my own creation. I was desperate for Jesus’ return and I was willing to do anything to create His Second Coming on my own.
Obviously it didn’t work and that book has (thankfully) been lost to obscurity.
In any event, the years of the 200’s were a dark time for me. It was a century filled with sadness… fear… and eventually, intense anger.
For I gave in to my self-pity and wanted nothing more than to die.
Convinced that The Lord had deserted me — I decided to take matters into my own hands.
I created a new identity: Zosimos of Panopolis – passing myself off as a Greek-Egyptian Gnostic mystic (that’s quite a mouthful, huh?)
But most importantly, I took up a new hobby – Alchemy.
As Zosimos, my fervor for science and writing found an outlet in Alchemy, such that I quickly became known as a master. Furthermore, I published essays that attempted to tie my new passion (Alchemy) to my old one (Religion).
One of theories asserted that the fallen angels once known asThe Nephilimwere responsible for teaching the arts of metallurgy to the women they married, as recorded in the Book of Enochand, more significantly, the Apocrypha of John– for I couldn’t resist trying to add some ‘unbiased’ legitimacy to my work. I explained that the external processes of metallic transmutation (lead and copper into silver and gold) was actually a mirror of an inner processes of Purification and Redemption.
The reason I am bringing all this up is to help you understand WHY I was so enamored with Alchemy.
I believed it to be The Science of Nature’s Balance, one that constituted the eternal cycle of birth and death. I theorized that this cycle was represented by the symbol of the Uroboros — the dragon that bites its own tail – and I pondered that “self-devouring is the same as self-destruction.”
Therefore I concluded that, in order to break the cycle of death, one had to sacrifice himself as part of a transformation ritual (this was an early precursor to The Magnus Opum).
Looking back now, I can see that The Lord was trying to reach out to me even then – giving me the secret as to how to find Him again, and yet I misread the signs and saw only what I wanted to see.
As a result, while I became quite famous as Zosimos, none of my experiments worked to the point that I could destroy myself (which of course was my ultimate goal).
Just as importantly, it was during my life as Zosimos that I became associated with The Brotherhood of the EArth.
(Now I know that I’ve been promising to tell you more about this secret society for most of my story, but I’ll have to apologize again, for now is not the time to interrupt our discussions with a history lesson about The Brotherhood –you could fill up an encyclopedia with writings about that group and still not crack the surface).
In any case, it was my alchemical research which led THEM to discover me – for even back in the early 300’s, The Brotherhood was already a society thousands of years older than the Christian movement.
As I learned more about The Brotherhood, I quickly became enamored with its doctrine – one that promised to break the bonds of this physical world and return my soul to the spiritual realm it originally came from. As a result (although I am ashamed to admit it now), I willfully took my oath to the Prince of EArth and rose through the ranks of my new family.
About 350 AD, I faded out my identity as Zosimos and disappeared for awhile. Thirty years later I emerged as a Roman scientist named Ambrosius and again got The Brotherhood to notice me. For the next few decades I toiled as a kind of biological engineer for The Brotherhood – my task was to create what you would call a ‘SuperBug,’ a weapon they could use to control the world – but in reality I was still just trying to find a way to destroy myself.
The next thing I remember is that Gabriel was gone.
In fact, although I didn’t know it yet, three days had passed since I had completed my Magnus Opum and over two weeks since I’d first started it.
It might come as no surprise then for you to know that I was ravenously hungry, and yet it was a <hunger> that went beyond just my stomach.
For my soul was starving for God.
Indeed, as if a veil had been lifted from my eyes, I was no longer the same person that had been groveling in sorrow before the angel. Nor was I the withered old man whose heart was as bitter as gall. And though my outward appearance hadn’t changed, inside I was rejoicing that I had become a new – a renewed – John of Salome – one cured in body, mind, and spirit.
Oh, to be sure, the regret for my actions was still there, and Gabriel was correct in his assessment that it would take me time to repent and fully rebuild myself back to what I was during the time of The Christ; but the important thing right now was that my self-destructive anger was gone; for I now knew that my time on earth was about to come to a close – at last!
Most astounding of all, I also realized that even my rejoicing at that fact could not compare to the utter ecstasy that was mine in realizing that – finally — I would soon see my beloved Jesus of Nazareth once again!
I’d be lying if I didn’t admit that I still felt guilty over the tragedy that I knew was coming – one that could have been avoided but for my poor choices.
However, my renewed faith gave me the confidence to know that not only had God completely forgiven me, but more importantly, He was still behind me, loving me, holding me up. And, even as I wondered about my friends, I prayed for them and for our Commission…
Ironically, this was one time in which I wished I had been given a vision. And even though Gabriel had advised me that my <Sight> was now gone, and even though I knew that the visions were never under my control anyway, in desperation I still tried to tap into The Sight….
It didn’t work.
Even as I made the attempt, I could feel inside that any <power> I might have had in that department was now gone. It’s a funny thing really…
Sometimes when you have a special skill or gift, you don’t appreciate it — until it’s too late. You don’t value it –until it is no more.
Such was the case with me — for nearly two thousand years I had been blessed with The Sight. Looking back, I can see now how it was a crutch – one that often helped me to get through the trials of my times. And yet, it was something that I never attributed as a blessing from God and thus something that I never thanked Him for.
I wonder why that was?
Realizing that my <power> was gone, to say I was more than a little scared would be an understatement, “What in the hell am I supposed to do to keep tabs on the world without The Sight? How can I find out what’s happening to Lazarus and Mary? How can I help them?”
And yet, I already knew the answers – for like Gabriel told me – now was the time during which I would need to rebuild my faith.
Specifically, without The Sight to guide me, I would be forced to rely on God again, to rest in the Lord and to wait patiently upon him, to learn to trust Him again.
I knew that I would not be able to take any action to help my friends until I was once more filled with Love for God – and more importantly I knew this.
If I tried before I had His blessing, then I would fail.
And yet, more than a little part of me was unsure if I could rebuild my faith enough in time for The Fateful Day that was fast approaching, “Can I save my friends in time? Can I really confront and overcome The Beast on December 21st?”
As I basked in God’s love, it was like being born again — as if streams of living water welled up within me. Oh how I wish you could experience it for yourself.
To be washed clean by Him. To be loved by Him – it is All and Everything!
Gabriel let me have some time to relish the moment. Then, when he deemed I was ready, he added softly, “And yet, this doesn’t change the consequences of your sins. These must still be accounted for.”
“As you know, for every action there is a reaction — for every sin, a price. Sometimes even the Innocent must suffer.”
“My friends will suffer the Armageddon Rite because of my sins…”
“Indeed. And furthermore, your Vision is no more.”
This new revelation caught me off guard, “What? Why?”
“John, your Vision was merely a crutch – a blessing granted to you out of love by The Lord — given to help you through your time in the desert. Yet now you must rebuild your great faith – for you will need all of it and more when you confront The Beast on That Fateful Day.”
“But, how can I find my friends without my vision? Surely you don—“
“Hush, John. You will take no action against The Beast until December 21st of this year.” As he spoke, the color drained from my face — for the implications this signified for my friends were dire indeed. As if reading my mind, Gabriel continued, “Yes, your friends are in grave danger. And much disaster will befell this world prior to the Fateful Day. Yet, there is nothing you can do about that, John, – the consequences will unfold as they will. YOUR role is to Repent and Rebuild… Repent and Rebuild.”
“But, you expect me to just sit here and let everything fall apart – even when I might be able to act to stop it?”
“John, have you learned nothing?” Gabriel rose up in frustration, causing me to cower down.
“Destroy your arrogance! Down with your pride!” God’s great angel roared at me. “Now is not the time for you to act. Now is the time for you to accept God’s Plan and let events unfold on HIS time. Trust that The Lord is working all things for the Good. All you must do, John, is the part that has been assigned to you. Stay here, repent and rebuild yourself, and if you do as I tell you, then on December 21st… ALL WILL BE WELL IN THE END.”
Before I could reply, Gabriel continued, “Be thankful you still have a part to play — if it were up to me you would not. But alas, I am only His Servant and lucky for you Our Lord still believes in you. ”
Displaying his power, the mighty angel proclaimed, “Ready yourself for The Last Battle. The time is approaching. On December 21st, you will finally open the Scroll of the Illuminated Angels. With these wonders YOU will be given the power to destroy The Beast and make the way for The Christ to return and break the bonds of Evil.” And pointing down at me, Gabriel cried, “John of Salome — I charge YOU with defeating The Beast!”
Suddenly I was overwhelmed with power – with the POWER OF THE ONE TRUE GOD!!!
My JOY was Indescribable! Uncontainable! And all I could think at that moment was…
“Nooooo! It can’t be!” I wailed in frustration. “After all this, I am still here… in this… life?”
Obviously I was not dead.
Instead I found myself standing outside on the grounds of my farmland – on the very spot where my alchemical workshop had previously stood but which now was no more – the garage was gone, as if it had never existed.
Curiouser still was the fact that I was not alone — for before me stood a man clothed in garments whiter than snow. My initial reaction was to shield my eyes from the brightness of the light emanating forth from the man’s presence. Yet even as I did so, the being before me seemed to grow in stature – for this was no man, but instead Gabriel — the mighty Angel of the Lord!
Angel Gabriel
Spreading wide his shoulders, the great being revealed his Wings – it was a gesture of both Grace and Awesome Power and one that forced me to my knees – not because I was bowing to the power of Gabriel, but instead because of the fact that I knew — oh how I knew — that I was at last utterly and truly defeated.
“Folly!” The angel condemned. “You dare test God, John?”
“What choice had I?” My anger rose in vain. “I am prisoner in this life, a man who wastes away – like a garment eaten by moths. Jesus left me here alone. He’s never coming back!”
“You of all men know that is not true. Where is your Patience?”
Resisting what I knew to be true, I wheedled, “The Patience you require is impossible for any man. Two thousand years? Nobody told me I would have to wait so long.”
“John, with all your knowledge, have you ever stopped to reason that perhaps The Christ would have come back sooner, if YOU had not tried to take matters into your own hands?”
Even as he said it, I knew he spoke the truth. And I knew that it was something that I had known for a very long time. Yet still I couldn’t give in, “I-I…don’t understand.”
“Ah, but we both know that you understand completely: YOU have delayed the Coming of Jesus! Why did you forsake The Commission in favor of The Craft? Do you not realize that ALL of the people that you surmised to be The Beast were correct? You could have ended the reign of The Beast long ago – had YOU not tried to play God yourself.”
“Then why didn’t anyone stop me? Why didn’t YOU tell me this before?”
“You know as well as I that God has given mankind the giftcurse of Free Will. Like anyone else, John, you were allowed to CHOOSE.”
“And I chose The Great Work.” I anguished, finally naming my sin.
“And because of your choice, all previous potential rises of The Beast were stopped. The spirit of Satan’s son was commanded to return again and again back to Hell – gone but not defeated. Doomed to return to plague this world again – each time worse than before!”
It was true. I had failed. It was a crushing blow to accept.
Before I could wallow too much, Gabriel added softly, “And yet, the Grand Tapestry of Our Master is beautiful beyond compare…”
Even as the angel spoke I gained a new revelation; and through bitter laughter I said, “God knew all along that I would eventually complete the Magnus Opum. He allowed the Wheel of Time to spin events to coincide with my completion of The Great Work.” And carrying the thought further, I lifted my head in shock, “But that means that Lazarus and Mary were right – The Time of The Beast’s FINAL rising is now!”
“Correct. However, consider this — had you never taken up The Craft, had The Christ been able to return immediately — as was the initial plan – then His return would have been much more… pleasant. Yet, that is no longer the case – for now He will come upon the Horse of Judgment and the reaping will be harsh. Because of YOUR actions, John, all the horrors you wrote about in Revelationwill be fulfilled.”
“Noooooo!” I was utterly ashamed. And then, at last, after nearly two thousand years, finally, I realized that I had been wrong — about everything.
Raising my arms up to the heavens, I wailed, “Be merciful to me, Oh Lord, for my soul is in anguish. Oh how my eyes grow weak with sorrow – they fail me because of all my great sins.” I fell to the ground, “I have sinned! And now my guilt festers inside me. Oh, Lord, hear your servant John as I attest — why didn’t I trust your son Jesus? He really DID love me. And yet, I’ve let Him down. I’ve let everybody down. All because I didn’t have patience and let events unfold on YOUR time – not my own.” Then, to Gabriel, “Please, don’t let everyone suffer because of me. I’m sorry; so very, TRULY sorry!”
(I really was – surely you can see that, right?)
Kneeling in the mud, I repented, “Forgive my iniquity, Oh Lord, though it is great. Create in me a clean heart, so that I may worship thee again. Please forgive me — if only so that I may do your work again.”
Gabriel let me wallow in my remorse for a while longer, and then, after a time, he advised, “His anger lasts only a moment, but his favor lasts a lifetime. He knows that you have a broken and contrite heart, therefore, your apology has been accepted, John. You are forgiven your sins.”
Still on the ground, I was unable to speak.
Then Gabriel added something else that I have known about for a long while, but which I refused to believe (until now). “But, John, your sins were ALREADY forgiven – you just needed to understand that. God loved you before, and He loves you now. He sent His only son to show you that love.”
And then it was that I could finally feel His Love again – and it It was amazing!
The Celestial Powers infused me! It was both sublime and awesome…
I was <complete>.
I could taste Victory over Death, nay, over Life Itself!!!
However, in that very instant of my great triumph, from Everywhere and from Nowhere, a Voice not my own finished the end of Azoth’s Chant, “This is the end of The Work; you are all the miracles that have ever been. You hold Life… and Death… in the palm of your hand. As the Keeper of the Secret, you have the power even to see God’s Holy Seat.”
There was a pause, one that seemed to span the whole of eternity.
Finally the Voice asked, “Do you wish to use this power or shall you keep it closed within the cabinet of your heart? Speak, else it will remain beneath the Seal of Silence — for you shall not pass this way again.”
I remember taking almost no time to answer, screaming with all the power of my Soul, “I want to be free!””
I am about to finally do it — my terrible life is about to end!
“Let Fire and Azoc suffice.” <Power> was all around me as I spoke the words of the Greek master Aristeus while at last I neared the completion of the Magnus Opum. “The Golden Key rules all, it alone shall open what has been shut — the great Gift of the Divine.”
Alone in my workshop, I was not longer just John of Salome; instead I was Azoth – Penultimate Master of Alchemy!
I am Azoth
Standing before a small altar in front of the furnace near the rear of my garage, I felt the heat biting at my back. With the oven door open, flames were licking forth, tasting the air – tongues of yellow and red continuously snaked out and more than a few flares came into contact with my body — yet to no effect.
After working for nearly two weeks without rest, I had (again) completed the first three steps of The Great Work – during the Negrido I had purified myself by using fire to burn my iniquity away from the inside out; later I had attained further enlightenment via the Albedo, and after that I’d quickly worked through the Citrinitas stage (opening my soul to the solar dawn of creation). Therefore as it stood now, at this stage of the rite, my physical body was beyond harm from anything in the natural world – for, as Azoth, I had again reached the beginning of Rubedo — wherein I endeavored to achieve….
The unification of the limited with the unlimited – in the hopes of breaking the bonds of Death and achieving a <oneness> with God himself!
This was not the first time, I had reached this stage of The Great Work.
Yet always before my experiments had ended in failure.
This time, however I vowed things would turn out differently.
Thankfully, for the past two weeks God had not forced any visions upon me, allowing me the freedom to continue my work. I was now more convinced than ever that my only hope in breaking the bonds that held me captive in this forsaken life was via the completion of the Magnus Opum. And so, I had once more transformed myself into Azoth and I had been busy working through the Rites of The Great Work ever since.
“By Life, the Beginnings of things are known. Air is the Life of things, therefore the Beginning of things.” I continued my chant, my voice growing deeper, richer, more alive. “To catch Air is to use the Golden Key of Nature, a window to Heaven’s Aeythr!” And here I raised my arms on high, drawing Air and Aethyr into myself – even as the flames nearly engulfed me!
A sudden stillness settled upon the room as I lowered my arms. After the incantation, I turned my attention back to the altar below and specifically to three large tomes open before me. Two were sacred texts of Alchemy – one from Aristeus, written centuries before Christ’s birth, while the other contained the scientific works of Apollonius of Tyana, a contemporary of mine (during what would have been my original lifetime). Although far from the only references that I used to conduct my experiments, these two authors held the most esteem in my eyes.
As for the third book, it was written in my own hand and nearly twice the size of the other two books combined – for it contained the sum of MY knowledge on the subject of Alchemy – every thought, every experiment, every inkling or idea which I ever had for the past millennia or more during which I had worked The Rites, all of it was written within this book.
My book on Alchemy was a living thing
I made cursory checks of Aristaeus and Apollonius – scanning through their instructions on the Rite; yet in truth, I cast but a hasty glance at each, for I had read their texts so many times I knew them by heart and I knew there was nothing more they could teach me.
Therefore, it was to the larger volume – to my own work — that I now turned; flipping through its pages, I searched for that one piece of knowledge that had always eluded me, seeking the <key> by which I could finally complete The Great Work.
For I now knew that the secret lay within MY own words – of this I was absolutely certain – and yet, I just didn’t know WHERE within the journal’s thousands of pages that key piece of knowledge might be.
Riffling through my notes, I muttered as I read…
Spirit of the Air comes out of the rays of the Sun and the Moon without which none can live…
“No. Not it.” And I turned ahead a couple hundred pages…
Consider that you must have a permanent Water, that which congeals in the Fire and is joined with the perfect bodies… After this, give in to the Spirit made from the Air…
“I’ve done this before too!” I was frustrated.
But then, as a new thought emerged, I quickly flipped back halfway through my book, turning over so many pages that I had to use both hands to move such a weight of paper.
After finding the place I sought, I pondered, “Is there more to Air than I have ever imagined?”
Suddenly I moved to the very end of the text, to a blank page, and scrawled…
Air. It is breathed by all living things, yet it is not the life of all – why? Unless… unless… you would go back to the First Chaos from which God formed all things!
“Ah, it is ONLY from the First Chaos that one can draw the Truth.” I spoke aloud. Then back to my book, I continued writing…
Aristeus was wrong! Verily, I do agree with him that every species of beings has its own species of Air, its own Lifeforce. Yet, he makes no mention as to the Principle of each being and I now say this is the real key! For regardless of the species, is not the <Essence> of each altogether ‘Aerial?’
Again, I began to flit backwards through my manual, searching… seeking… at last going back to very first few pages – to a time when I wrote well over a thousand years past!
…Air is truly Divine, it is the subject of the search of all philosophers — for therein resides Life!
“And so it goes – there IS a difference between the Air which we breathe, and the Aerial substance which is within the Soul.” I was flabbergasted. “Oh, the time I have wasted – to discover that which I had known all along!”
That’s when I realized that for centuries I had been making The Great Work so much harder than it had to be.
Now, as I stood there, I finally understood that it was the very essence of Simplicity.
Working hard to contain my enthusiasm, I looked down upon my altar, wherein sat a silver bowl filled with mercury — within the interior of the dish, the color of the elixir mixed so well with the metal of the bowl that it was impossible to tell where the viscous mineral ended and the vessel began. Yet hanging over the lip of the dish were twelve golden keys of various shapes and sizes, all of them piercing into the mercurial soup. Reaching down, now picked up the Second Key, now brimming with confidence.
Holding the key aloft, I admired it. Silver droplets cascaded down – yet not a single one reached the floor, for flames from the furnace flashed out and consumed them as they fell – surrounding me in a wreath of Fire.
“The Golden Key shall open the Door.” I chanted, <power> once more filling my words. “Air catches Aire. Matter from the Earth is the same as that which is in Heaven. This is the infallible Truth!”
<Rroom-boom-bOOM-BOOM-BOOM!!>
Thunder rolled suddenly outside – yet rather than startle me, it only caused me to cackle in delight, for I was at last certain that I had discovered the <key> to completing the Rubedo.
In my very soul I could feel that <Oneness> was close.
Lightening continued to crack, yet I roared above the din, “I seek the Simple, an <essence> universal to all! I have been purified by The Fires of Corruption, I have been quenched by The Waters of Life, my body is of the detestable Earth, yet my Soul is from the Aire, and above all, I am The Quintessence!!!”
The Last Temptation of John 