fr-Chapter 51 - Rulers, Abuses of Power, and Wars

The Transient Delusion of Earthly Power and Greatness

1. It is I who place trials in your path to restrain your soul when it strays from the path of My Law and wishes to live solely according to its own will. Examine the reason for the trials; I permit them so that you may confirm that each one is like a chisel shaping your heart. This is one of the reasons why pain brings you closer to Me.

2. Yet man has always sought pleasures, craved power and splendor, to set himself up as lord on earth and be ruler over his own brothers.

3. Since I created you all with the same love—why, then, have there always been those who pretend to be something higher? Why have there been those who rule over people with the whip, subjecting them to humiliation? Why is there one who rejects the lowly and whose heart remains unmoved when he causes pain to his neighbor? Because these are souls who have not yet recognized Me as the Father who loves all His creatures, nor as the sole Lord of all living beings.

4. That is why there are people who seize power and disregard the sacred rights of man. They serve Me as instruments of My justice, and although they think they are great lords and "kings," they are only servants. Forgive them! (95, 7-8)

5. Look at the people and the rulers of the earth. How brief is their glory and their reign. Today they are lifted up by their peoples, and tomorrow they are cast down from their thrones.

6. Let no one seek his throne in this life, for in thinking he is advancing, he will hinder his progress, and your destiny is to advance without stopping until you reach the gates of My Kingdom. (124, 31)

7. Truly, I tell you, the days of today's powerful will come to an end to make way for those who, through love and mercy toward their neighbors, will be great and strong, powerful and wise. (128, 50)

8. Those people who currently harbor only an ambitious pursuit of power and earthly glories know that their most powerful adversary is spirituality; therefore, they fight against it. And since they sense the approaching battle—the battle of the Spirit against evil—they fear losing their possessions and therefore resist the Light that continually surprises them in the form of inspiration. (321, 12)

9. How destitute are those who were great and powerful on earth when they arrive at the gates of my heaven, for they have forgotten the spiritual treasures and the path to eternal life! While the truth of My Kingdom is revealed to the humble, it is hidden from the learned and the educated, for they would do with spiritual wisdom what they have done with earthly science: they would seek in this light thrones for their vanity and weapons for their strife. (238, 68)

The Usurped Exercise of Power over People and Nations

10. Look at the people who lead nations, create doctrines, and impose them on others. Each proclaims the superiority of his doctrine, yet I ask you: What has been the fruit of all this? Wars, with their trail of destitution, suffering, destruction, and death. This has been the harvest reaped by the proponents of such theories here on earth.

11. Note that I have not opposed humanity's free will, although I must tell you that, despite that freedom, the conscience ceaselessly speaks to the heart of those who stray from justice, charity, and reason. (106, 11)

12. If Christ were to return to Earth as a human being in this age, He would no longer say on Golgotha, "Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do," for now you receive the light of the Spirit in abundance, and souls have evolved greatly. Who does not know that I am the Giver of life, and that therefore no one may take the life of his fellow man? If man cannot give life, he is also not entitled to take what he cannot give back.

13. Do you think, O people, that you are fulfilling My law simply because you say you have religion and observe outward worship? In the law you were told, "Thou shalt not kill," yet you violate this commandment, for on the altar of your sin you shed the blood of your fellow men in streams. (119, 27-28)

14. I offer peace to the world, but the pride of the nations that have grown great, with their false power and false splendor, rejects every call of conscience and allows itself to be carried away only by its ambitious goals and its feelings of hatred.

15. Man still does not incline toward the side of goodness, justice, and reason; still, people rise up and condemn the cause of their neighbors; still, they believe they can bring about justice. Do you not think that instead of judges, they should rather call themselves murderers and executioners?

16. The men of power have forgotten that there is an Owner of all life; yet they take the lives of their neighbors as if they belonged to them. The masses cry out for bread, justice, a home, clothing. I will establish justice, not men nor their teachings. (151, 70-72)

17. Blessed people: Those men who, full of self-importance and a claim to power, rise up among the nations, among the peoples of the earth, are great souls, endowed with power, and bearers of great missions.

18. Yet they do not serve My Divinity. They have not placed their great talents and abilities in the service of love and mercy. They have created their own world, their own law, their own throne, their own vassals, their own domains, and everything they can set as their goal.

19. Yet when they sense that their throne trembles under the weight of afflictions, when they feel that the invasion of a mighty enemy is imminent, when they see their treasures and their name in danger, they set out with all their might, filled with megalomania, earthly vanity, hatred, and malice, and throw themselves against the enemy, regardless of whether their work, their idea, leaves behind only a trail of pain, destruction, and evil. They have only the destruction of the enemy in mind, the establishment of an even greater throne , in order to have the greatest possible dominion over the peoples, over the riches, over the daily bread, and even over the lives of human beings. (219, 25)

20. It is high time that no empires or powerful nations existed on earth to oppress the weak, and yet they exist as proof that primitive tendencies still prevail in human beings—to rob the weak through the abuse of power and to conquer them by force. (271, 58)

21. How far are people still from comprehending the spiritual peace that should reign in the world! They seek to enforce it through violence and threats and with the fruits of their science, of which they boast.

22. I by no means disregard the progress of humankind or oppose it, for it is also evidence of their spiritual development. Yet I tell you that your pride in the use of violence and earthly power is not pleasing to Me. For instead of lightening the cross of humanity, they thereby desecrate the holiest principles, encroach upon lives that do not belong to them, and sow pain, tears, sorrow, and blood instead of peace, health, and well-being. Why, then, do their works reveal precisely the opposite, even though the well from which they draw their knowledge is My own creation, which is inexhaustible in love, wisdom, health, and life?

23. I desire equality among My children, as I already preached in the "Second Era." But not merely in a material sense, as people understand it. I inspire you toward equality out of love, thereby making you understand that you are all brothers and sisters, children of God. (246, 61–63)

Reflections on World War II

24. These are times of trials, pain, and suffering—times in which humanity is suffering the consequences of so much mutual hatred and ill will.

25. Look at the battlefields, where one hears only the roar of weapons and the cries of fear from the wounded, the mountains of mutilated corpses that were once the strong bodies of young people. Can you imagine them as they embraced their mother, wife, or son for the last time? Who can measure the pain of these farewells who has not himself drunk from this cup?

26. Thousands upon thousands of terrified parents, wives, and children have watched their beloved relatives set out for the fields of war, hatred, and vengeance, driven by the greed and arrogance of a few people devoid of light and love for their neighbors.

27. These legions of young and strong men have not been able to return home, for they lie torn apart in the fields; yet behold, the earth, Mother Earth, more merciful than the men who rule the nations and believe themselves to be masters over the lives of their fellow human beings, has opened her bosom to receive them and lovingly cover them. (9, 63–66)

28. My Spirit watches over every being, and I Myself take note of even the last of your thoughts.

29. Truly, I tell you, there, amidst the armies fighting for earthly ideologies and claims to power, in moments of calm I have discovered peace-loving and well-meaning people who had been forcibly turned into soldiers. Sighs escape their hearts when my name passes their lips, and tears stream down their cheeks at the memory of their loved ones—parents, wives, children, or siblings. Then their souls soar up to Me, with no other temple than the sanctuary of their faith, no other altar than that of their love, nor any other light than that of their hope, in the longing for forgiveness for the destruction they have unwittingly caused with their weapons. They seek Me to implore Me with all the strength of their being that I may allow them to return to their homes, or that, if they must fall under the enemy's blow, I may at least cover those they leave behind on earth with My mantle of mercy.

30. I bless all who seek My forgiveness in this way, for they bear no blame for the killing; others are the murderers who, when the hour of their judgment comes, will have to answer to Me for all they have done with human lives.

31. Many of those who love peace ask themselves why I have allowed them to be led even to the battlefields and places of death. To this I say to you: If your human mind cannot comprehend the reason that lies at the very heart of all this, your spirit nevertheless knows that it fulfills an atonement. (22, 52-55)

32. To those who follow Me, I urge the peace of the world, that they may stand up for it and pray for it. The nations will soon send up their prayers to ask Me for the peace that I have offered them at all times.

33. Before this, I have allowed people to taste the fruit of their deeds, to see rivers of human blood flowing and images of pain, mountains of corpses, and cities reduced to rubble. I wanted people with hearts of stone to see the devastation of homes, the despair of the innocent, the mothers who, beside themselves with grief, kiss the mangled bodies of their children; I wanted them to experience firsthand all the despair, fear, and all the lamentations of humanity up close , so that in their arrogance they may feel humiliation and their conscience tells them that their greatness, their power, and their wisdom are lies, that the only truly Great thing originates from the Divine Spirit.

34. When these people open their eyes to the truth, they will be horrified—not by the horrific images their eyes behold, but by themselves; and since they cannot escape the gaze and the voice of their conscience, they will feel within themselves the darkness and the fire of remorse; for they will have to give an account for every life, for every pain, and even for the last drop of blood shed because of them. (52, 40)

35. Step by step, the peoples are walking toward the valley (of death), where they will gather to be judged.

36. Yet still those men who wage war and whose hands are stained with the blood of their fellow men dare to utter My name. Are these, then, the blossoms or fruits of the teaching I have imparted to you? Have you not learned from Jesus how He forgave, how He blessed those who wounded Him, and how, even as He was dying, He granted life to His executioners?

37. People have doubted My word and neglected the faith; therefore, they have placed all their trust in violence. So I have allowed them to see their own error by reaping the fruit of their deeds, for only thus will they open their eyes to comprehend the truth. (119, 31-33)

The Reprehensibility and Futility of Wars

38. It is time for love, forgiveness, and humility to spring forth from the hearts of men as true weapons to oppose hatred and pride. As long as hatred meets hatred and pride meets pride, the peoples will destroy one another, and there will be no peace in their hearts.

39. People have refused to understand that they can find their happiness and progress only in peace, and instead pursue their ideals of power and false grandeur, shedding the blood of their fellow human beings, destroying lives, and shattering people's faith. (39, 29–30)

40. The year 1945 carried away the last shadows of war. The scythe mowed down thousands of lives, and thousands of souls returned to their spiritual home. Science astonished the world and made the earth tremble with its weapons of destruction. The victors set themselves up as judges and executioners of the vanquished. Pain, misery, and hunger spread, leaving in their wake widows, orphans, and cold. Plagues wander from nation to nation, and even the forces of nature make their voice of justice and indignation heard over so many misdeeds. A field of ruins, destruction, death, and devastation is the trail that man, who calls himself civilized, has left upon the face of the planet. This is the harvest that this humanity offers to Me. Yet I ask you: Is this harvest worthy of entering My granaries? Does the fruit of your wickedness deserve to be accepted by your Father? Truly, I tell you, this tree is anything but the one you could have planted had you obeyed that divine commandment which tells you to love one another. (145, 29)

41. When will you attain peace of soul if you have not even attained peace of heart? — I tell you, as long as the last fratricidal weapon has not been destroyed, there will be no peace among men. Weapons of fratricide are all those with which people take each other's lives, destroy morality, deprive one another of freedom, health, and peace of mind, or annihilate faith. (119, 53)

42. I will prove to humanity that its problems cannot be solved by violence and that, as long as it makes use of destructive and murderous weapons, it will be unable to establish peace among people, no matter how terrible and powerful these weapons may seem. On the contrary, they will only arouse greater hatred and a stronger desire for revenge. Only conscience, reason, and feelings of charity can be the foundations upon which the age of peace rests. Yet for this light to shine within people, they must first empty the cup of suffering to the very last drop. (160, 65)

43. If the hearts of men had not been so hardened, the pain of war would have been enough to make them reflect on their errors, and they would have returned to the path of light. But even though they still bear the bitter memory of those massacres, they are preparing for a new war.

44. How can you assume that I, the Father, Divine Love, would be capable of punishing you through wars? Do you truly believe that One who loves you with perfect love and who desires that you love one another could instill in you crime, fratricide, killing, vengeance, and destruction? Do you not understand that all of this stems from the materialism that people have accumulated in their hearts? (174, 50-51)

45. I created humankind free from the very beginning, yet their freedom was always accompanied by the light of conscience. Yet they have not heeded the voice of their inner judge and have strayed from the path of the law until they have created those murderous, bloody, and monstrous wars in which the child has risen up against the father, because they have turned away from every sense of humanity, mercy, respect, and spirituality.

46. People should have long since avoided destruction and wars to spare themselves a painful duty of atonement. Know that if they do not succeed in purifying themselves through goodness before they come to Me, I must send them back to this valley of tears and blood. For whoever lives with a mindset opposed to perfection will not be able to come to Me. (188, 6-7)

47. Not all people are at the same level of understanding. While some discover miracles at every turn, others regard everything as imperfect. While some dream of peace as the pinnacle of the world's spiritualization and morality, others proclaim that it is wars that drive the development of humanity.

48. To this I say to you: Wars are not necessary for the development of the world. If people use them for their ambitious and selfish goals, it is because of the materialism in which those who favor them are steeped. Among them, some believe only in existence in this world, since they do not know the spiritual life or deny it; yet among people, they are regarded as scholars. Therefore, it is necessary for all to come to know this revelation. (227, 69-70)