10. When the time came

The Third Testament 
II. Retrospection of the First and Second Revelation
Chapter 10 - When the time came
Prophecies

1 Your Father prepared everything so that "The Word" of God might dwell among men and show them the way of their reparation by the sublime examples of his love.

2 First He inspired the prophets, who were to announce the form in which the Messiah would be born, the nature of his work, his sufferings and his death as a man, so that when Christ appeared on earth, he who knew the prophecies would know Him instantly

3 Centuries before my presence in Jesus, the prophet Isaiah said: "Therefore the Lord will give you this sign: Behold, a virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and he shall be called Imanuel.

(This means: God with us).

With this prophecy among others he announced my coming.

4 David sang many centuries before my arrival in psalms full of pain and prophetic meaning about the suffering of the Messiah during the crucifixion. In those psalms he speaks of one of my seven words on the cross, indicating the contempt with which the crowd would lead me to the crucifixion, the expressions of people's mockery when they hear me say that in me is the Father; the abandonment my body would feel in the face of human ingratitude, all the torture I would be subjected to, and even the way they would cast lots over my garment.

5 Each of my prophets announced my coming, prepared the ways and gave exact characteristics, so that when the day would come, no one would be mistaken. (40, 1-5)

The expectation of the Messiah in the Jewish people

6 The world was not ready in the present time to expect Me as the people of Israel expected Me in that "Second Time. My great prophets had foretold a Messiah, a Savior, the Son of God, who would come to deliver the oppressed and enlighten the world with the light of the "Word. The more that people suffered, the more they yearned for the coming of the promised one; the more they drank of the cup of humiliation and oppression, the more they yearned for the presence of the Messiah, and everywhere they looked for indications and signs that would speak to them of the nearness of the coming of their Savior.

7 From generation to generation and from parents to children the Divine Promise was passed on, which kept the Lord's chosen people awake and praying for a long time

8 At last I came to my people, but not all of them were able to recognize me, though all were expecting me: some did it in a spiritual way and others in a materialistic interpretation.

9 But I was content with the sincerity and love of those who felt my presence and saw the kingdom of heaven in the light of my word, and believed in my rallies. I was satisfied with those who faithfully followed me and saw in me their spiritual Redeemer, for it was they who testified to my truth after I had departed from this world.

10  Although my message was destined for all the peoples of the earth, my call went to the heart of the Chosen People so that it might subsequently become the mouthpiece of my word. Nevertheless, not only that people felt my presence, but also in other nations people were able to discover the signs of my coming and foretold the time of my presence on earth. (315, 17 - 19)

11 In every age and in every divine revelation Elijah appears among men.

12 Not yet had the Messiah come to earth, not for long, he would be born as man, and already the Spirit of the prophet was incarnated in John, who was later called the Baptist, to announce the nearness of the kingdom of heaven, which would be the presence of the "Word" among men. (31, 61-62)

Mary, the womb mother of Jesus

13 Already in the "First Days" the patriarchs and prophets began to speak of the coming of the Messiah. But the Messiah did not come only in Spirit - he came to be born of a woman, to become man, to receive a body from a woman.

14 The maternal Spirit of God likewise had to become man, to become woman, as a flower of purity, so that the fragrance of the "Word" of God, which was Jesus, might come forth from her corolla. (360,26)

15 In Nazareth there lived a flower of purity and tenderness, an engaged virgin named Mary, who was just the one announced by the prophet Isaiah, because from her womb the fruit of true life should come forth.

16 The spiritual messenger of the Lord came to her to announce the mission she had brought to earth, saying, "Hail, Most Gracious One, the Lord is with you, you are blessed among women.

17 The hour had come when the Divine Mystery was to be revealed, and all that had been said about the presence of the Messiah, the Savior, the Redeemer, was now to be fulfilled immediately. But how few hearts were there that felt my presence, how few spirit beings were prepared to recognize the kingdom of heaven in the light of my truth. (40,6-7)

The adoration of the baby Jesus

18 Mankind today commemorates that day when some wise men from the Orient came to the manger of Bethlehem to worship the Divine Child. Today some hearts ask Me: "Lord, is it true that those mighty and wise men bowed down before You and acknowledged Your Divinity?

19 Yes, my children, it was science, power and riches that knelt before my presence.

20 There were also there the shepherds, their wives and their children with their humble, healthy and simple gifts, with which they received and greeted the Savior of the world, and also Mary, as the embodiment of heavenly tenderness. They represented humility, innocence and simplicity. But those who possessed in their parchment scrolls the prophecies and promises that spoke of the Messiah were fast asleep without even suspecting who had come into the world. (146,9 - 11)

The bond of love between Jesus and Mary

21 Jesus spent His childhood and youth at Mary's side, and on her womb and by her side He enjoyed motherly love. The Divine Tenderness made woman sweetened the Savior's first years of life in the world, because when the hour came He had to drink such great bitterness.

22 How is it possible that anyone could think that Mary, in whose womb the body of Jesus was formed and at whose side the Master lived, could have been lacking in spiritual exaltation, purity and holiness?

23 Whoever loves Me must first love all that is Mine - all that I love. (39,52-54)

Jesus knowledge and wisdom

24 People claim in their books that Jesus was with the Essenes to gain his knowledge. But he who knew all things, and lived before the worlds came into being, had nothing to learn from men. The divine could learn nothing from the human. Wherever I stayed, it happened to teach. Can there be anyone on earth who is wiser than God? Christ came from the Father to bring the Divine Wisdom to mankind. Didn't your Master give you proof of this when, at the age of twelve, he amazed theologians, philosophers and teachers of the law of that time?

25 Some have ascribed to Jesus the weaknesses of all men, and take delight in throwing the dirt they carry in their hearts at that man who is divine and without blemish. These do not know Me.

26 If all the miracles of nature which you contemplate are nothing but the material embodiment of Divine Thought, do you not think that the body of Christ was the materialization of a sublime thought of your Father's love? Therefore Christ loved you only with the Spirit, not with the flesh. My truth can never be distorted because it contains an absolute light and unlimited power. (146,35 - 36)

27 In the "second time" I gave you an example of how you must wait for the right hour to fulfill the task that brought you to earth.

28 I waited until my body - that Jesus whom men had before their eyes - would have reached its best age to fulfill through him the Divine Mission to teach you love.

29 When that body - the heart and the mind - had reached its full development, my Spirit spoke through his lips, my wisdom flooded his mind, my love settled in his heart, and the harmony between that body and the Divine Light that illuminated it was so perfect that I often said to the multitudes of men, "He who knows the Son knows the Father".

30 Christ made use of the truth in God to teach men. He did not draw it from the world. Neither from the Greeks, Chaldeans, Essenes or Phoenicians, nor from anyone else did he draw the light. They did not yet know the way to the kingdom of heaven, and I taught that which was unknown on earth.

31 Jesus had dedicated his childhood and youth to active charity and prayer until the hour came to proclaim the Kingdom of Heaven, the law of love and justice, the teaching of light and life.

32 Seek the meaning of my word proclaimed at that time and tell me whether it could have come from any human teaching or any science known at that time

33 I tell you, if I had really taken the scholarship of those men, I would have sought my disciples among them and not among the uneducated and ignorant men from whom I formed My apostle body. (169,62 -68)

The lack of understanding of the human surroundings in Nazareth

34 I had to seek out the bosom of a people like Egypt, because the people to whom I had come were not able to give me a shelter. But this was not the only pain my heart had to suffer.

35 When I returned from Egypt, and then lived in Nazareth, I was continually mocked and hurt by expressions of unbelief and resentment.

36 I did miracles there, showing my charity and power - and was misunderstood. Not one of those who knew my life and my works at close quarters believed in me.

37 So when the hour of preaching had come, I had to say, on leaving Nazareth, "Verily I say to you, no prophet finds faith in his fatherland. He must leave it so that his word may be heard. (299, 70 - 72)