The Gospel of St. Matthew

Aquarian Gospel

Chapter 17

Chapter 129

continued from Matthew 16

1: And after six days Jesus took Peter, James, and John his brother, and brought them up to a high mountain apart,

10) For seven days the master and the twelve remained in Caesarea-Philippi.

11) Then Jesus, taking Peter, James and John, went forth to a mountain top to pray.

2: And was transfigured before them: and his face did shine as the sun, and his raiment was white as the light.

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? 

3: And, behold, there appeared unto them Moses and Elias talking with him.

18) The master said,
These men are Moses and Elijah, who are here so 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.

4: Then answered Peter, and said unto Jesus, Lord, it is good for us to be here: if you will, let us make here three tabernacles; one for you, 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.

5: While he yet spoke, behold, a bright cloud overshadowed them: and behold a voice out of the cloud, which said, This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased; hear him.

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.

6: And when the disciples heard it, they fell on their face, and were sore afraid.

28) When the disciples heard the voice they were afraid; they fell upon the ground and prayed.

7: And Jesus came and touched them, and said, Arise, and be not afraid.

29) And Jesus came; he touched them and he said,
Arise, fear not; lo, I am here.

8: And when they had lifted up their eyes, they saw no man, save Jesus only.

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, Jesus charged them, saying, Tell the vision to no man, until the Son of man has risen again 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 no one what you have seen.

33) But the disciples could not comprehend the meaning of the words, Till I have risen from the dead.
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.

10: And his disciples asked him, saying, Why then say the scribes that Elias must first come?

35) But Peter said,
The scribes have taught that before the king shall come Elijah must appear.

11: And Jesus answered and said unto them, Elias truly shall first come, and restore all things.

12: But I say unto you, That Elias is come already, and they knew him not, but have done unto him whatsoever they listed. Likewise shall also the Son of man suffer of them.

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.

13: Then the disciples understood that he spoke of John the Baptist.

39) Then the disciples understood that Jesus spoke of John whom Herod slew.

Chapter 130

14: And when they were come to the multitude, there came to him a certain man, kneeling down to him, and saying,

WHEN Jesus, Peter, James and John came to the city's gates a multitude of people thronged the way.
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.
3) When Jesus came the father of the child knelt down before him and implored his help.

15: Lord, have mercy on my son: for he is lunatic, and sore vexed: for often times he falls into the fire, and often into the water.

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.
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.

16: And I brought him to your disciples, and they could not cure him.

6) I took my child to your disciples, and they failed to give relief.

17: Then Jesus answered and said, O faithless and perverse generation, how long shall I be with you? how long shall I suffer you? bring him here to me.

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.

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.
10) And Jesus said,
Faith is the power of God. All things are possible for him who in his heart believes.
11) The father cried, in tears,
Lord, I believe; help thou mine unbelief.

18: And Jesus rebuked the devil; and he departed out of him: and the child was cured from that very hour.

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.
13) But Jesus took him by the hand and said: Arise;
and he arose and spoke.

14) The people were amazed, and many said,
This surely is a man of God, for no such power was ever given to man.
15) Then Jesus and the twelve went to the house, and after they had taken food and been refreshed, the nine disciples said,

19: Then came the disciples to Jesus apart, and said, Why could not we cast him out?

16) Lord, why could we not heal this child? We spoke the Word; but even that was powerless.

20: And Jesus said unto them, Because of your disbelief: for verily I say unto you, If you have faith as a grain of mustard seed, you shall say to this mountain, move yourself to this place; and it shall move; and nothing shall be impossible for you.

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.

21: How is it this kind will not go out but by prayer and fasting.

22: And while they abode in Galilee, Jesus said unto them, The Son of man shall be betrayed into the hands of men:

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.

23: And they shall kill him, and the third day he shall be raised again. And they were exceeding sorry.

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.
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

they that received tribute money came to Peter, and said, Does not your master pay tribute?

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?

25: He said, Yes. And when he came into the house, Jesus prevented him, saying, What were you thinking, Simon? of whom do the kings of the earth take custom or tribute? of their own children, or of strangers?

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?

26: Peter said to him, Of strangers. Jesus said to him, Then are the children free.

4) And Peter said, The strangers only are supposed to pay this tax.
5) Then Jesus said, We all are native sons and  so we are free;

27: Notwithstanding, lest we should offend them, go to the sea, and cast a hook, and take up the fish that first comes up; and when you have opened his mouth, you will find a piece of money: take it, and pay them for you and me.

but lest we cause contention we will pay the tax;
but neither had the shekel 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.