The Gospel of St. Mark

Aquarian Gospel

Chapter Nine

Chapter 129

(continued)

1: And he said to them, Verily I say unto you, That there be some of them that stand here, which shall not taste of death, till they have seen the kingdom of God come with power.

9) The kingdom of the Christ will come; yea, some of you who hear me now will not pass through the gates of death until you see the kingdom come in power.

12) And as he prayed a brilliant light appeared; his form became as radiant as a precious stone;
13) His face shone like the sun; his garments seemed as white as snow; the son of man became the son of God.
14) He was transfigured that the men of earth might see the possibilities of man.

15) When first the glory came the three disciples were asleep; a master touched their eyes and said,
Awake and see the glory of the Lord.
16) And they awoke, and saw the glory of the Lord; and more, they saw the glory of the heavenly world, for they beheld two men from thence stand forth beside the Lord.

17) And Peter asked the master who awakened them,
Who are these men who stand beside the Lord?
18) The master said, These men are Moses and Elijah, who are come that you may know that heaven and earth are one; that masters there and masters here are one.
19) The veil that separates the worlds is but an ether veil. For those who purify their hearts by faith the veil is rolled aside, and they can see and know that death is an illusive thing.

5: And Peter answered and said to Jesus, Master, it is good for us to be here: and let us make three tabernacles; one for thee, and one for Moses, and one for Elias.

20) And Peter said, Praise God! And then he called to Jesus and he said, My master and my Lord, this is the gate of heaven, and it is well that we remain.
21) May we go down and bring three tents; a tent for you, a tent for Moses, and for Elijah one?

But Jesus answered not.
22) And Moses and Elijah talked with Jesus on the mount. They talked about the coming trial of the Lord;
23) About his death, his rest within the tomb; about the wonders of the resurrection morn; the transmutation of his flesh, and his ascension on the clouds of light;
24) And all symbolic of the path that every man must tread; symbolic of the way the sons of men become the sons of God.

25) The three disciples were amazed, and suddenly the ethers were surcharged with song, and forms as light as air moved all about the mountain top.

26) And then from out the glory of the upper world they heard a voice that said,
27) This is the son of man, my chosen one to manifest the Christ to men. Let all the earth hear him.

28) When the disciples heard the voice they were afraid; they fell upon the ground and prayed.
29) And Jesus came; he touched them and he said,
Arise, fear not; lo, I am here.
30) Then they arose, and as they looked about they saw no one; the men had gone. The master only stood with them.

9: And as they came down from the mountain, he charged them that they should tell no man what things they had seen, till the Son of man were risen from the dead.

31) As Jesus and the three came from the mountain top they talked about the meaning of the scene, and Jesus told them all; and then he said,
32) Till I have risen from the dead tell not to any one what you have seen.

10: And they kept that saying with themselves, questioning one with another what the rising from the dead should mean.

11: And they asked him, saying, Why say the scribes that Elias must first come?

34) And Jesus told them once again about his death, and rising from the grave; about the kingdom of the soul that was to come in glory and in power.
35) But Peter said, The scribes have taught that before the king shall come Elijah must appear.

12: And he answered and told them, Elias comes first, and restores all things; and how it is written of the Son of man, that he must suffer many things, and be set at nought.

13: But I say to you, That Elias has indeed come, and they have done to him whatsoever they listed, as it is written of him.

36) And Jesus said, Elijah has already come; but scribes and Pharisees received him not;
37) And men reviled him, bound him, cast him in a prison cell, and shouted with a fiend's delight to see him die.

38) What men have done to him, that they will do to me.
39) Then the disciples understood that Jesus spoke of John whom Herod slew.

Chapter 130

14: And when he came to his disciples, he saw a great multitude about them, and the scribes questioning with them.

WHEN Jesus, Peter, James and John were come unto the city's gates a multitude of people thronged the way.

15: And straightway all the people, when they beheld him, were greatly amazed, and running to him saluted him.

2) The nine apostles who went not with Jesus to the mount, had tried to heal an epileptic child who was obsessed, and they had failed; the people waited for the coming of the Lord.

16: And he asked the scribes, What question did you ask them?

3) When Jesus came the father of the child knelt down before him and implored his help.
4) He said, My master, I beseech that you will look in pity on my son, my only child; he is an epileptic child and suffers grievously.

18: And wheresoever he takes him, he tears him: and he foams, and gnashes with his teeth, and pines away: and I spoke to your disciples that they should cast him out; and they could not.

5) Sometimes he falls into the fire and is burned; again he falls into the water and is like to drown; and many times a day he falls, he grinds his teeth, the foam pours from his mouth.
6) I took my child to your disciples, and they failed to give relief.

19: He answered him, and said, O faithless generation, how long shall I be with you? how long shall I suffer you? bring him to me.

20: And they brought him to him: and when he saw him, straightway the spirit tore him; and he fell on the ground, and wallowed foaming.

7) And as he spoke a servant brought the child before the Lord (the child spoke not, for he was dumb) and instantly he fell upon the ground, he foamed, he writhed in agony.

21: And he asked his father, How long ago is it  since this came to him? And he said, Of a child.

8) And Jesus said, How long has he been troubled thus?
9) The father said, From infancy; and we have sought in many lands for help, but found it not; but I believe that you can speak the Word and heal my son.

22: And often times it has cast him into the fire, and into the waters, to destroy him: but if you can do any thing, have compassion on us, and help us.

23: Jesus said to him, If you can believe, all things are possible to him that believes.

10) And Jesus said, Faith is the power of God. All things are possible for him who in his heart believes.

26: And the spirit cried, and rent him sore, and came out of him: and he was as one dead; insomuch that many said, He is dead.

12) And Jesus spoke the Word of power; the epileptic child lay in a swoon; he did not breathe, and all the people said,
The child is dead.

28: And when he was come into the house, his disciples asked him privately, Why could not we cast him out?

15) Then Jesus and the twelve went to the house, and after they had taken food and been refreshed, the nine disciples said,
16) Lord, why could we not heal this child? We spoke the Word; but even that was powerless.

29: And he said to them, This kind can come forth by nothing, but by prayer and fasting.

17) And Jesus said,
Your great success in all your former work has made you careless, and you forgot to recognize the power of God.
18) Without the spirit of the Word, the Word is like an idle tale; and you forgot to pray.
19) There is no faith without the prayer of faith. Faith is the wings of prayer; but wings alone fly not.
20) By prayer and faith you can bring down the mountain peaks, and cast them in the sea; the little hills will skip about like lambs at your command.
21) This failure may be well for you. The great lessons that are learned in life come through the failures that are made.

30: And they departed thence, and passed through Galilee; and he would not that any man should know it.

31: For he taught his disciples, and said unto them, The Son of man is delivered into the hands of men, and they shall kill him; and after that he is killed, he shall rise the third day.

22) As the disciples sat in thoughtful meditation Jesus said,
Let these words sink into your hearts:
23) The time has nearly come when you must bear your load alone; that is, without my presence in the flesh.
24) For I will fall into the hands of wicked men, and they will slay me on a mount beyond Bezetha wall.
25) And men will lay my body in a tomb where, by the sacred Word, it will be guarded and preserved three days; then I will rise again.

32: But they understood not that saying, and were afraid to ask him.

26) The twelve were sad; they did not understand, and yet they feared to ask him to reveal the meaning of his word.

27) Next day the Christine master and the twelve began their journey of return, and soon were in Capernaum.

Chapter 131

AS Jesus and the twelve were resting in the house, the tax collector came to Peter saying, Man, do Jesus and yourself pay this half-shekel tax?
2) And Peter said, We pay whatever is assessed.
3) And Jesus said, From whom do publicans collect this special tax? from strangers or from native sons?
4) And Peter said, The strangers only are supposed to pay this tax.
5) Then Jesus said, We all are native sons and we are free; but lest we cause contention we will pay the tax;
but neither had the shekel wherewithal to pay.
6) And Jesus said,
Go to the sea; cast in a hook and catch a fish and you will find within its inner parts a shekel, which take up and pay the tax for you and me.
7) And Peter did as Jesus said; he found the shekel and he paid the tax.

and being in the house he asked them, What was it that you disputed among yourselves by the way?

34: But they held their peace: for by the way they had disputed among themselves, who should be the greatest.

8) Now Jesus heard the twelve dispute among themselves. The spirit of the carnal self was moving in their hearts, and they were questioning among themselves who was the greatest in the sight of God and man.

35: And he sat down, and called the twelve, and said to them, If any man desire to be first, the same shall be last of all, and servant of all.

And then he called to him a little child; he took it in his arms and said.

37: Whosoever shall receive one of such children in my name, receives me: and whosoever shall receive me, receives not me, but him that sent me.

10) The greatest is the little child, and if you would be great at all you must become as is this child in innocence, in truth, in purity in life.
11) Great men scorn not the little things of earth; he who regards and honors such a child, regards and honors me, and he who scorns a child, scorns me.
12) If you would enter through the kingdom gate you must be humble as this little child.
13) Hear me, you men, This child, as every other child, has one to plead its cause before the throne of God.
14) You scorn it at your peril, men, for lo, I say, its counterpart beholds the face of God at every moment, every day.
15) And hear me once again, He who shall cause a little one to stumble and to fall is marked, accursed; and it were better far if he had drowned himself.
16) Behold, offences everywhere! Men find occasions for to sin and fall, and they grow strong by rising when they fall;
17) But woe to him who causes other men to stumble and to fall.
18) Be on your guard, you men of God, lest you constrain another man to fall; beware lest you fall into sinful ways yourselves.
19) Now, if your hands cause you to sin, you better cut them off; for it is better far to have no hands and not be guilty in the sight of God and men, than to be perfect in your form and lose your soul.
20) And if your feet should cause offence, you better cut them off; for it is better far to enter into life without your feet than fall beneath the curse.
21) And if your eyes, or ears, cause you to sin, you better lose them all than lose your soul.
22) Your thoughts and words and deeds will all be tried by fire.
23) Remember that you are the salt of earth; but if you lose the virtues of the salt, you are but refuse in the sight of God.
24) Retain the virtues of the salt of life and be at peace among yourselves.
25) The world is full of men who have not in themselves the salt of life, and they are lost. I come to seek and save the lost.
26) How think you? if a shepherd has a hundred sheep, and one of them has gone astray, will he not leave the ninety and the nine,
27) And go out in the desert ways and mountain tops to seek the one that went astray?
28) Yes, this you know; and if he finds the one that went astray, lo, he is glad, and he rejoices over it far more than over all the ninety and the nine that did not go astray.
29) And so there is rejoicing in the courts of heaven when one of human birth who has gone forth into the ways of sin is found and brought back to the fold;
30) Yea, there is joy, more joy than over all the righteous men who never went astray.

38: And John answered him, saying, Master, we saw one casting out devils in your name, and he follows not us: and we forbad him, because he follows not us.

31) And John said,
Master, who may seek and save the lost? and who may heal the sick, and cast the demons out of those obsessed?
32) When we were on the way we saw a man who was not one of us cast demons out and heal the sick.
33) He did it by the sacred Word and in the name of Christ, but we forbade him, for he did not walk with us.

39: But Jesus said, Forbid him not: for there is no man which shall do a miracle in my name, that can lightly speak evil of me.

34) And Jesus said, You sons of men, do you imagine that you own the powers of God?
35) And do you think that all the world must wait for you to do the works of God?
36) God is not man that he should have a special care for any man, and give him special gifts.
37) Forbid not any man to do the works of God.
38) There is no man who can pronounce the sacred Word, and in the name of Christ restore the sick, and cast the unclean spirits out, who is not child of God.

 

39) The man of whom you speak is one with us. Whoever gathers in the grain of heaven is one with us.

41: For whosoever shall give you a cup of water to drink in my name, because you belong to Christ, verily I say to you, he shall not lose his reward.

40) Whoever gives a cup of water in the name of Christ is one with us; so God shall judge.

42: And whosoever shall offend one of these little ones that believe in me, it is better for him that a millstone were hanged about his neck, and he were cast into the sea.

15) And hear me once again, He who shall cause a little one to stumble and to fall is marked, accursed; and it were better far if he had drowned himself.

43: And if your hand offends you, cut it off: it is better for you to enter into life maimed, than having two hands to go into hell, into the fire that never shall be quenched:

19) Now, if your hands cause you to sin, you better cut them off; for it is better far to have no hands and not be guilty in the sight of God and men, than to be perfect in your form and lose your soul.

20) And if your feet should cause offence, you better cut them off; for it is better far to enter into life without your feet than fall beneath the curse.

47: And if your eye offends you, pluck it out: it is better for you to enter into the kingdom of God with one eye, than having two eyes to be cast into hell fire:

21) And if your eyes, or ears, cause you to sin, you better lose them all than lose your soul.

49: For every one shall be salted with fire, and every sacrifice shall be salted with salt.

22) Your thoughts and words and deeds will all be tried by fire.
23) Remember that you are the salt of earth; but if you lose the virtues of the salt, you are but refuse in the sight of God.

50: Salt is good: but if the salt have lost his saltiness, wherewith will you season it? Have salt in yourselves, and have peace one with another.

24) Retain the virtues of the salt of life and be at peace among yourselves.
25) The world is full of men who have not in themselves the salt of life, and they are lost. I come to seek and save the lost.