1 Tammuz 31 AD = Monday Julian 11 June = vision placed on Monday 16 June 1823

(received on Monday 8 December 1823)

On the following day He went to Damma, where He had outside the city a private inn over which a relative of Joseph’s family presided. Lazarus and two disciples belonging to (p. 440) Jerusalem were here waiting for Him. Indeed, Lazarus had already been eight days in those parts attending to the real estate in land and houses of the Magdalum property, for only the household goods and similar effects belonging to Magdalen had as yet been disposed of. Jesus embraced Lazarus, a favor He was accustomed to extend only to him and the elder Apostles and disciples; to the others, He merely extended His hands. Jesus spoke of the Cypriotes, those that had accompanied Him and those that were to follow later, and made some remarks as to how they should be supported. I heard on this occasion that James the Less and Thaddeus were to proceed to Gessur, in order to receive and accompany the seven pagan philosophers who were to arrive there. Jesus treated Lazarus with marked confidence. On this occasion they walked alone together for a long time. Lazarus was a tall man, grave and gentle and very self-possessed in manner. Moderate in all things, even his familiar intercourse with others was stamped with a something that wore an air of distinction. His hair was black and he bore some resemblance to Joseph, though his features were sterner and more marked. Joseph’s hair was yellow, and there was something uncommonly tender, gentle, and obliging in his whole deportment.

2 Tammuz 31 AD = Tuesday Julian 12 June = vision placed on Tuesday 17 June 1823

(received on Tuesday 9 December 1823)

From Damma Jesus with Lazarus, the disciples, the steward of the inn along with his son who was soon to be admitted to the number of the disciples, went almost two hours eastward to the village belonging to the Centurion Zorobabel of Capharnaum. It was situated on the southern side of a rocky hill which shut in the valley of Capharnaum on the south, and upon which lay the Centurion’s gardens and vineyards. Here Jesus instructed the servants and field laborers. He took for His text the Messiah and the near coming of His Kingdom, announced to them the signs enumerated by the Prophets and showed how they had all been fulfilled, warned and (p. 441) implored them to amend their lives, and assured them that the Messiah would not appear under the form expected by the Jews, consequently only the small number of the humble and contrite would recognize Him. He told them too that the Messiah would make known His doctrines by the lips of more than one, as He had formerly spoken through the mouth of many Prophets. Some melancholy and possessed mutes were brought to Jesus. He laid His finger moistened with spittle under their tongues, and commanded Satan to depart, whereupon I saw some of them fall unconscious and then rise up cured, while others fell into convulsions for a short time, after which they too were restored to perfect health. All praised God and gave thanks for their cure. After that, Jesus, taking a solitary route, went to His Mother’s in the valley east of Capharnaum, a distance of about three-quarters of an hour.

The holy women were already with the Blessed Virgin, they having come from Naim by the direct road. They did not leave the house to receive Jesus, neither did Mary hurry out to meet her Son. After He had washed and let down His robe, Jesus entered the large apartment, in which several little alcoves were cut off by curtains. Mary, her head veiled and humbly inclined, stretched out to Him her hand when He had first proffered His, and He graciously, though gravely, saluted her. The other women stood veiled, forming a semicircle in the rear. I have indeed seen Jesus when alone with Mary, in order to console and strengthen her, press her to His breast while conversing with her. But Mary herself, since His going forth to teach, treated Him as one would treat a saint, a Prophet; or as a mother might treat her son were he a Pope, a Bishop, or a King. Still, there was something much more noble, more holy in Mary’s demeanor, though marked at the same time with indescribable simplicity. She never embraced Him now, but only ex- (p. 442) tended her hand when He offered His.

Some time after, I saw Jesus and Mary eating together alone. A little, low table stood between them. Jesus reclined at one side, and Mary sat at the other. On it was a fish, some bread, honey, cakes, and two little jugs. The other holy women were in the little curtained alcoves in groups of two or three, or in a side hall serving the repast of the disciples, among whom they had several relatives. Jesus told His Mother about Cyprus and the souls He had there gained. She expressed her joy quietly, but asked few questions. Her words were chiefly those of maternal solicitude touching the dangers that awaited Him. Jesus replied gently that He would fulfill His mission until the hour came for His return to His Father.

3 Tammuz 31 AD = Wednesday Julian 13 June = vision placed on Wednesday 18 June 1823

(received on Wednesday 10 December 1823)

Not long after Jesus’ return to Capharnaum, there were gathered around Him almost thirty disciples. Some were come from Judea with the news of the arrival at Joppa of ships bringing two hundred Cypriote Jews, who were there to be received by Barnabas, Mnason, and his brother. John, who was still at Hebron with the relatives of Zachary, was charged with providing suitable quarters for these emigrants. The Essenians also occupied themselves with the same cares. For a time the Cypriotes were lodged in the grottos until proper destinations could be assigned them. Lazarus and the Syrophenician provided settlements near Ramoth-Gilead for the Jewish emigrants from the region of Ornithopolis. The disciples lately come to Capharnaum put up, some at Peter’s outside the city, some in Bethsaida, and some at the school in the (p. 443) city itself.

4 Tammuz 31 AD = Thursday Julian 14 June = vision placed on Thursday 19 June 1823

(received on Thursday 11 December 1823)

James the Less and Thaddeus came from Gessur with three of the pagan philosophers - fine, handsome young men who had received circumcision. Andrew and Simon came also with several other disciples, and the welcome they received was most touching. Jesus, according to His wont, presented the newly converted to His Mother. There was a tacit understanding, an interior agreement between Jesus and Mary, that she should take the disciples into her heart, into her prayers, into her benedictions and, to a certain degree, into her very being, as her own children and the brothers of Jesus, that she should be their spiritual Mother as she was His Mother by nature. Mary did this with singular earnestness, while Jesus on such occasions treated her with great solemnity. There was in this ceremony of adoption something so holy, something so interior, that I am unable to express. Mary was the vine, the ear, the spike of Jesus’ Flesh and Blood.

The disciples related where they had been and all that had happened to them. In some places stones had been thrown after them, but without striking them; from others they were obliged to flee, but everywhere they were wonderfully protected. They had, too, met good people, had cured, baptized, and taught. Jesus had commanded them to go to the lost sheep of Israel only. They had likewise sought out the Jews in the pagan cities, though without meddling with the heathens excepting with such as were servants to the Jews. In Gazora, northeast of Jabes Galaad, Andrew and the disciples that accompanied him had redeemed Jewish slaves from bondage, sacrificing to this purpose all that they possessed. They asked Jesus whether they had done rightly, to which He answered in the affirmative. Jesus did not hearken to all that some of them had to say. Many of them, while eagerly and with a certain warmth of manner relating their missionary labors, Jesus interrupted with words something like these: (p. 444) “I know that already.” To others who spoke simply and humbly, He listened for a length of time, and called upon the silent to relate what had happened to them. When they whom He had interrupted asked why He would not hear their account, Jesus answered by showing them the difference between their own and their brethren’s speech. Frequently also He interrupted their narratives with parables; for instance, that of the tares sown among the good seed and which, after it had grown up, was to be burnt at the time of harvest. He said that all that had been sown would not come up. He spoke of several that had fallen away from the disciples, and exhorted those present not to place too great security in their good works, for they would still have to undergo great temptations. He recounted the parable of the lord going afar to take possession of a foreign kingdom. He gave over to his servants remaining behind a certain number of talents for which later on he required an account. This parable referred to Jesus’ own journey to Cyprus and to the account He was now exacting from the disciples of their activity during His absence. As He spoke, He frequently turned first to one, then to another whose thoughts He divined, with the words: “Why art thou thinking useless thoughts?” or, “Do not think in that way!” or, “Thy thoughts are now taking a wrong direction. Think in this way, and not in that!” He read the thoughts of His hearers and reproved them accordingly.

5 Tammuz 31 AD = Friday Julian 15 June = vision placed on Friday 20 June 1823

(received on Friday 12 December 1823)

When the hour sounded the commencement of the Sabbath, Jesus went with the disciples to the synagogue, where He found the Pharisees already standing around the lecture hall. But Jesus walked straight up to it, and they at once made room for Him. The instruction was Rahab and the scouts sent by Josue to Jericho. The Pharisees were furious at what they called Jesus’ audacity, and they said to one another: “Let Him go on now with His talk. This evening, or when the Sabbath is (p. 445) over, we shall hold a council and soon find means to close His lips.” Jesus, knowing their malice, remarked that they were spies of a very peculiar kind, for they came not to find out the truth but to betray Him and His followers. His language against them was very severe, and He spoke likewise of the destruction of Jerusalem, and the judgment in store for those of the people that would not do penance and recognize the reign of the Messiah. He introduced into His discourse also the parable of the king whose son was slain in the vineyard by the unfaithful servants. The Pharisees dared not interrupt Him. All the holy women were present in the synagogue, where they had places set apart for them.

6 Tammuz 31 AD = Saturday Julian 16 June = vision placed on Saturday 21 June 1823

(received on Saturday 13 December 1823)

That afternoon Jesus, at the earnest request of the parents of some sick children, went with several of the disciples to about twenty houses of Capharnaum, both of the rich and of the poor, and cured a great many children, boys and girls from three to eight years old. The malady must have been a sort of epidemic, for they were all affected in pretty much the same way. The little sufferers’ color was quite yellow, their throat, cheeks, and hands swollen. Their condition was similar to that attendant on many other sicknesses, scarlet fever, for instance. Jesus did not cure them all in the same way. On some He laid His hand on the parts affected, others He anointed with spittle, and over others He breathed. Many of them rose up at once. Jesus blessed them and gave them over to their parents with some words of admonition. For others, He commanded prayer and a certain kind of nursing. This was for the greater good of both children and parents. The marketplace of Capharnaum was on an eminence, and to it four streets ran. Jesus visited this part of the city and entered the home of Ignatius, whom He cured. The boy was a very lovely child of about four years. His parents were wealthy. They were engaged in the sale of brass or bronze vessels, for I saw many such (p. 446) standing in long corridors. For a couple of days the parents of Ignatius had begged Jesus to visit them, for He had just cured the child of their neighbor, the carpet merchant. The market was surrounded by arcades, in which the goods of the various dealers were exposed for sale. In the center played a fountain, and at either end rose two large edifices. The Pharisees were full of wrath at these cures. Three of them went into the courtyard before Peter’s house, in the porticos of which lay sick who had been transported thither, and whom Jesus was now healing. They forced their way through the crowd till they stood before Him. Then they addressed Him, suggesting that He should leave off curing, excite no disturbance on the Sabbath, and expressed their desire to enter into an argument with Him. But Jesus turned away from them saying that He had nothing to do with them, that He could not cure them, since they were incurable.

At the closing Sabbath exercises that evening, Jesus again taught in the synagogue. He spoke of the murmuring of the Israelites on the news brought by the scouts sent to view the Promised Land, of the curse that fell upon them, in consequence of which they perished in the wilderness, and only their children were permitted to see the Land of Promise. He laid special stress upon malediction and benediction, of which He spoke in very energetic terms. Then He went on to speak of those that falsify the things pertaining to the Kingdom of God, of those that would never enter into it, of the non-recognition of the Messiah, and of the chastisement that menaced Jerusalem and the whole country. And now two of the Pharisees, mounting the teacher’s stand, began to comment upon some passages in the day’s Lesson, in which it was recorded that God had commanded Moses in the wilderness to cause a certain man to be stoned by all the people for having gathered sticks on the Sabbath day. This fact the Pharisees cited as an argument against (p. 447) the cures wrought on the Sabbath. Jesus responded by asking whether the health of the poor and necessitous was like wood destined for the fire; whether hypocrisy, lifeless and inflexible, had not in it much more of the nature of wood; and the looking out for scandal in the healing of the poor, the uncharitable faultfinding of those that had beams in their own eyes, was not a gathering of sticks - not, however, to prepare food for themselves, but to cast them as stumbling blocks in the path of truth, to use them as fuel for distilling the poison of discord and persecution. Is it not permitted to receive on the Sabbath that for which we pray on the Sabbath, and also to give it to others on that same day if we have it? Then Jesus explained the passages in the Law that referred to manual labor. He said that it was prohibited on the Sabbath only to leave man free for the performance of spiritual exercises. How could the Sabbath prevent the cure of the sick, since such cures sanctified the Sabbath? In this way Jesus refuted the Pharisees and so confounded them that they had nothing more to say. Some few of His hearers were moved by His words. They reflected in silence upon what they had heard, while others put their heads together, saying: “Yes! It is He! He is the Messiah! No mere man, no Prophet could teach in that way!” Significant looks were exchanged throughout the crowd generally, for the people rejoiced over the Pharisees’ humiliation; some, however, obdurate at heart, joined with the latter in taking scandal.

7 Tammuz 31 AD = Sunday Julian 17 June = vision placed on Sunday 22 June 1823

(received on Sunday 14 December 1823)

After about fifteen of the disciples had assembled in Capharnaum, Jesus took them with Him to the mountain near Bethsaida, where He had taught about the eating of His Flesh and the drinking of His Blood. On this occasion, His instruction turned upon their own mission and labors, and the fruit they were to bring forth. The holy women were present. In this instruction Jesus related the parable of the workmen in the vineyard. He praised and (p. 448) encouraged the disciples and blessed them in a body, His hands outstretched above their heads, and they were again filled with strength and courage.

On the evening of that day, Peter, James the Greater, and Matthew, together with some of the ancient disciples of John, went to salute Jesus at His Mother’s. Peter shed tears of joy. During the meal they took together Jesus again related the parable of the fisher, the five hundred and seventy fishes and their transportation into good water, the same upon which He had taught in Misael, also in Capharnaum before the holy women and the disciples. In the same manner, all the other parables were often repeated and explained in various ways by Him.

8 Tammuz 31 AD = Monday Julian 18 June = vision placed on Monday 23 June 1823

(received on Monday 15 December 1823)

The next day He went with the Apostles and disciples down to the ships. Peter’s large barque and that of Jesus were bound together at some distance from the shore. They allowed them to float on the water without oar or rudder, for Jesus wanted to converse with the disciples undisturbed by the crowd. It was a beautiful day. They had stretched the sails overhead for shade, and they did not return till evening. Peter was very eager to talk, and he related with a certain complacency how much good they had effected. Jesus turned to him, and bade him to be silent. Peter, who so loved his Lord, immediately held his peace, and saw with regret that he had again been too ardent. Judas was vehemently desirous of praise, though he had not the candor to let it appear. He was on his guard more, however, that he might not be put to shame than that he might not sin.

When I consider the life of Jesus and His travelling about with His Apostles and disciples, the certain conviction often forces itself upon me that, if He came now amongst us, He would encounter difficulties still greater than in His own day. How freely could He and His followers then go around teaching and healing! Apart from the Pharisees, thoroughly hardened and vain- (p. 449) glorious as they were, no one put obstacles in His way. Even the Pharisees themselves knew not on what ground they stood with Him. They did indeed know that the time of the Promise had come in which the Prophecies were to be fulfilled, and they saw in Him something irresistible, something holy and wonderful. How often have I seen them seated consulting the Prophets and the ancient commentaries upon them! But never would they yield assent to what they read, for they expected a Messiah very different from Jesus. They thought that He would be their friend, one of their own sect, and still they did not venture to decide upon Jesus. Even many of the disciples thought that He must certainly possess some secret power, a connection with some nation or king. They fancied that He would one day mount the throne of Jerusalem, the holy king of a holy people, that then they themselves would hold desirable positions in His Kingdom and would also become holy and wise. Jesus allowed them to indulge these thoughts for awhile. Others upon the affair in a more spiritual sense, though not going so far as to the humiliation of the Crucifixion. But very few acted through childlike, holy love and the inspiration of the Holy Spirit.

9 Tammuz 31 AD = Tuesday Julian 19 June = vision placed on Tuesday 24 June 1823

(received on Tuesday 16 December 1823)

When at last all the Apostles were returned from their missions, the latest arrivals being Thomas, John, and Bartholomew, Jesus went with them to Cana, whither came also the seventy disciples and the holy women from Capharnaum.

10 Tammuz 31 AD = Wednesday Julian 20 June = vision placed on Wednesday 25 June 1823

(received on Wednesday 17 December 1823)

On an eminence in the center of the city there was a teacher’s chair, from which Jesus taught, taking for His subject His own mission and its accomplishment. He said that He had not come into this world to enjoy the comforts and pleasures of life, and that it was foolish to demand of Him anything else than the fulfillment of His Father’s will. He said in terms more significant than ever that He Himself was the One so long expected, but that He would be received by only a few, and (p. 450) that when His work was done, He would return to His Father. He spoke warningly and entreatingly, begging His hearers most earnestly not to reject salvation and the moment of grace. He again pointed out the accomplishment of the Prophecies. His teaching was so wonderful, so impressive, that the people of Cana said one to another: “He is more than a Prophet! No one has ever before spoken this way in Israel!”

In the house of the father of the Bride of Cana, an entertainment was given, at which the poor of the place were fed and presents bestowed upon them. Jesus and the Apostles served. At the close of the feast, Jesus related the parable of the wise and the foolish virgins, explained it to His hearers, and spoke much of the near coming of the Bridegroom. It was a kind of memorial feast of the marriage at Cana, for now as then all the Apostles, disciples, and friends were again assembled together. The house was garlanded with flowers, and the water urns of the first miracle were again in use. Children, bearing wreaths and pyramids of flowers, entered the festive hall playing on musical instruments. Bartholomew, Nathanael Chased, and some of the disciples had made some beautiful mottos relative to the spiritual nuptials of soul with God.

11 Tammuz 31 AD = Thursday Julian 21 June = vision placed on Thursday 26 June 1823

(received on Thursday 18 December 1823)

From Cana Jesus went with all the Apostles and disciples to the mount of instruction near Gabara. They walked slowly in bands, and frequently paused around Jesus to hear His words. He was very affectionate to them and often addressed them with the words: “My beloved children!” He commanded them to relate their experience, to tell how things had gone with them. The Apostles spoke first. They had on the preceding days recounted some of their experience, though not all. Now each was to hear what the others had done and all that had happened to them. Jesus said to them so sweetly: “My dear little children, now will be seen who has loved (p. 451) Me and in He My Heavenly Father; who has published the word of salvation and wrought cures in order to do My will, not his own, or not for the sake of vain renown.” Thereupon they began to relate their experience: first, an Apostle, and after him, the disciple that had accompanied him. This took place principally on a hill which was about two hours from the mount of instruction and the same distance from Cana. People used to ascend it for sake of the view, which around these parts was somewhat limited.

Peter began eagerly to tell of the different kinds of possessed that had fallen in his way, his manner of treating them, and how Satan had retired before him when commanded in the Name of Jesus. In his enthusiasm, he had again forgotten the reproof received on board the ship. Once more, he was all fire and zeal. He said that in the land of the Gergeseans, he had encountered a couple of possessed whom several others were unable to free from the demon. Here he named the unsuccessful disciples, among whom were the two Gergeseans themselves once possessed. But he, Peter, had easily expelled the devils; they had instantly submitted to him. Jesus silenced him by a look. Then raising His eyes to Heaven, while all looked on in breathless expectation, He said: “I have seen Satan falling from Heaven like lightning.” And at the same moment, I saw a lurid light whirling and shooting through the air. Jesus reproved Peter for his too great warmth, as well as all the others that had, either in thought or word, yielded to a spirit of boasting. They should, He said, act and work in His Name and by Him, in humility and faith, never harboring the thought that one could do more than another. He said: “Behold, I have given you power to tread upon serpents and scorpions and upon all the might of the enemy, and nothing shall hurt you. But yet rejoice not in this, that spirits are subject to you, but rejoice in this, that your names are (p. 452) written in Heaven.” Several times He addressed them kindly and lovingly in the words: “Beloved little children,” and listened to the account given by many of them. Thomas and Nathanael received a reprimand for some negligence of which they had been guilty, but it was given with great love and sincerity.

While standing on the hill, Jesus appeared to be penetrated with joy, grave and celestial, and He held His hands raised to Heaven. I saw Him surrounded with splendor that fell upon Him like a transparent cloud of light. He was perfectly enraptured and, in a transport of joy, He exclaimed: “I confess to Thee, O Father, Lord of Heaven and earth, because Thou hast hidden these things from the wise and prudent, and hast revealed them to little ones. Yea, Father, for so it hath seemed good in Thy sight. All things are delivered to Me by My Father, and no one knoweth who the Son is but the Father, and who the Father is but the Son, and to whom the Son will reveal it!” And then turning to the disciples, He said: “Blessed are the eyes that see the things which you see! For I say to you that many Prophets and kings have desired to see the things that you see, and have not seen them; and to hear the things that you hear, and have not heard them.”

Having arrived at the mount beyond Gabara, Jesus delivered an instruction in detail upon all that the Apostles had related to Him. He imparted to them the knowledge of many things of which they as yet knew not, and showed them wherein they had erred or acted with too little resolution. He enlightened them upon the different kinds of possession and taught them how the demon should be expelled. He spoke of all that was in store for them, of His own mission and its near accomplishment, and told them that He would shortly allow them to return to their homes to rest awhile, after which they were again to labor, to teach, and spread abroad the Kingdom of God. He (p. 453) thanked them for their diligence and obedience, and then returned with them to Capharnaum whither they arrived as night closed in. There were many others on the mountain besides the Apostles and disciples.

12 Tammuz 31 AD = Friday Julian 22 June = vision placed on Friday 27 June 1823

(received on Friday 19 December 1823)

On the following Sabbath Jesus taught in the synagogue of Capharnaum upon Samuel’s resignation of the judicial office, His words were grave and forcible. The Pharisees felt themselves attacked on all sides, but as they could detect nothing false in Jesus’ doctrine of which to accuse Him, they reproached Him with the trifling imperfections they had discovered in the actions of His disciples. They said that His disciples did not observe the fast rigorously, that they even stripped the ears of corn on the Sabbath, and gathered fruit by the roadside and ate it, that they were rough and unclean in their clothing, that they entered the synagogues in garments covered with the dust of travel and without being decently let down, and that they were not particular about washing before meals. Thereupon Jesus delivered a discourse full of severe censure against the Pharisees, in which He depicted their conduct and actions, called them a race of vipers, who imposed upon others burdens that they would by no means take upon themselves. He alluded to their Sabbath promenades, their oppression of the poor, their dishonesty with regard to the tithes, their hypocrisy. They blamed, He went on to say, the mote in their neighbor’s eye, while unmindful of the beam in their own, and He ended by declaring that He would continue His journeys, His teaching, and His healing, until the time for His departure from this earth. While Jesus was delivering this severe lecture a young man from among the Pharisees, rising suddenly and approaching nearer to Him, lifted his hands to Heaven and cried out in a loud voice: “Surely, this is the Son of God, the Holy One of Israel! He is more than a Prophet!” and thus he continued to sound Jesus’ praises in an inspired strain. This incident created great excitement throughout the syn- (p. 454) agogue. Two old Pharisees grasped the young man by the arm and dragged him out, he proclaiming all the while the praise of Jesus, who meantime went on with His discourse. When outside the synagogue, the young man loudly and vehemently declared to those that he found there that he had separated from the Pharisees. When Jesus left the synagogue, he cast himself at His feet and earnestly implored to be admitted among His disciples. Jesus assented on condition that he would leave father and mother, give all that he had to the poor, take up his cross, and follow Him. Then some of the disciples, among whom was Mnason, took the young man off with them.

(p. 457) The Jews that had emigrated from Cyprus to Palestine lived at first in caves, but by degrees their settlement became a city, which received the name of Eleutheropolis. It was situated west of Hebron and not far from the well of Samson. More than once the Jews sought to destroy the little colony, but after every attack of the kind, the inhabitants again returned. The caves lay under the city, so that in times of persecution, the inhabitants could take refuge in them. In the first attack, which was made at the time of the stoning of St. Stephen, when the colony between Ophel and Bethania was destroyed, Mercuria lost her life. The people of this colony often went to the Cenacle and to the church at the Pool of Bethsaida, to carry thither their offerings and contributions, and at the destruction of Ophel they fled to Eleutheropolis. Joses Barsabas, son of Mary Cleophas and her second husband Sabas, became the first Bishop of that city, and there during a persecution he was crucified on a tree.

13 Tammuz 31 AD = Saturday Julian 23 June = vision placed on Saturday 28 June 1823

(received on Saturday 20 December 1823)

(p. 454) That evening Jesus closed the Sabbath exercises in the synagogue. He had repaired thither with the Apostles and disciples some time before the usual hour, that all might hear what He had to say to His followers and thereby understand that He had no need to teach in secret. In this instruction, He warned them against the Pharisees and false Prophets, commanded them to be vigilant, explained the parable of the good and watchful servants and contrasted it with that of the slothful. As Peter during the discourse asked whether His words were meant for all His hearers or only for the disciples, Jesus now addressed Himself to him. He spoke to him as if he were the master of the house, the overseer of the servants. He extolled the good householder, and at the same time condemned severely the negligent one that fulfilled not his duty.

Jesus continued to teach until the Pharisees came to close the Sabbath, and when He wanted to give place to them, they very courteously addressed Him with, “Rabbi, do Thou explain the Lesson,” and laid the roll of Scriptures before Him. Thereupon Jesus taught, in a manner most impressive, upon Samuel’s abdication of the judicial office. He quoted the words used by him on that occasion: “I am old and gray-headed”; and explained them in such a way that the Pharisees could plainly see that (p. 455) He was applying them to Himself. He said something to this effect: “Ye have had Me a long time among you, and ye are tired of Me! Ye are constantly renewing your accusations, but I am always the same.”

Samuel’s questions to the people, “Have I committed this or that injustice against you? Have I taken any man’s oxen or ass? Have I oppressed anyone?” Jesus cited as those of God and the Sent of God, and the explanation that He gave of them pointed most clearly to those Doctors and Pharisees who could not venture to put similar questions to the people. The clamoring of the Israelites after a king by whom, like the heathen nations, they wanted to be ruled, and their rejection of Judges, signified, Jesus said, their perverse expectation of a worldly kingdom, of a king and a Messiah surrounded by magnificence, with whom they could pass their lives in splendor and enjoyment; a Messiah who, instead of expiating their sins and disorders by His own labors, sufferings, penance, and satisfaction, would envelop them together with their filth and vices in his own rich mantle of royalty, and even reward them for their crimes.

That Samuel did not cease to pray for the nation and that by his prayer he caused thunder and lightning in the sky above them, Jesus explained as an effect of God’s compassion for the good; and He assured them that the Sent of God, whom instead of receiving they would reject, would likewise implore His Father’s mercy for them until the end. The rain and thunder granted to prayer, Jesus explained as the signs and wonders that were to attend upon the Sent of God to rouse and convert the good. They and their king, as Samuel had said, would find favor with God if they walked before Him who would not reject them. Then Jesus declared to them that the righteous would receive justice and the grace of knowledge, but against the wicked, Samuel would rise up in judgment. Jesus afterward referred to David and his (p. 456) anointing as king in opposition to Saul, to the separation of the good from the bad, and to the destruction of Saul and his family.

The Pharisees took care not to contradict Jesus in the synagogue, that they might not (as was always the case on such occasions) he put to shame before the people. They had, however, resolved beforehand to attack Him at the entertainment to which they had invited Him along with the Apostles and a part of the disciples. It was given in an open hall of the house belonging to the Ruler of the synagogue, and there were at least twenty Pharisees present. Before taking their places at table, one of them put a large wash basin before Jesus, asking whether He did not want to wash, and he went on talking of the holy old customs and commandments of the Israelites, and called upon Jesus and His followers to observe them. But Jesus repulsed Him. He told him that He saw through his trick, and wanted no water from Him. When at table, they began to dispute with Him upon the discourse He had delivered that day. But He convicted and confounded them in such a manner that many of them became perfectly furious, and several others were so frightened and touched that during the disputation, which they carried on walking up and down, twelve of them withdrew from their obstinate colleagues. Thus was the number of Jesus’ enemies decreased.

One of the young men of Nazareth who had so often, but vainly, petitioned to be received among the disciples, here presented himself again before Jesus with the question: “Master, what must I do to possess eternal life?” Thereupon followed the scene recorded in the Gospel, and Jesus recounted the story of the compassionate Samaritan. Meanwhile the Pharisees reproached Jesus for not receiving the young man among His disciples. It was, they said, because the youth was well educated, and Jesus knew that He could not silence him so easily as He could the others. They again accused the disciples of irregular (p. 457) conduct, of uncleanliness, of stripping the wheat ears on the Sabbath, of gathering fruit on the wayside, of eating out of time, of ill breeding, and of many other similar things. They reproached Peter in particular with being a wrangler and quarreller like his father. Jesus defended the disciples. They might indeed be joyful, He said, as long as the Bridegroom was with them. After these words He withdrew, passing through the beautiful cemetery near the synagogue that lay in the direction of Jairus’s house, and thence by the land route to Bethsaida. He prayed alone until after midnight, when He retired to His Mother’s. The Pharisees had hired the rabble to throw stones after the disciples, but God protected them. They knew not where Jesus had gone.

14 Tammuz 31 AD = Sunday Julian 24 June = vision placed on Sunday 29 June 1823

(received on Sunday 21 December 1823)

(p. 458) Early the next day Jesus left Mary’s house with the latest received and not yet well-instructed disciples, and crossing the road between Capharnaum and Bethsaida, went to that mount of instruction from which He had once dispatched the Apostles on their respective missions. It was about three hours from Capharnaum. On the way, He encountered Mnason and some other disciples along with the converted Pharisee from Thanach near Naim. The last-named had been very much touched by the cure of a Pharisee at Thanach, and still more deeply impressed by Jesus’ last discourse on the mountain beyond Gabara. On the Mount of the Apostolic Mission, there was a well-arranged and shaded place for holding instructions. At the foot of the mountain was a long hut in which ten poor paralytics belonging to the surrounding country lay, their limbs fearfully contorted. They were cared for by the shepherds of the district. Jesus cured and instructed them.

Here in the solitude of the mountain, the disciples entreated Jesus to teach them again how to pray. He did so, repeating to them the Our Father, dwelling at length on each separate petition, and explaining it with the same examples that He had used on a former occasion: that, for instance, of the man seeking bread and persistently knocking at his friend’s door until he got what he wanted; that of the child asking an egg of its father, who would surely not give it a scorpion; and, in fine, all the other illustrations He had already brought forward to show the effects of persevering prayer and the paternal relations that existed between God and man. He taught all His disciples in the same way, going over and over the same instruction with touching patience and unwearying pains, (p. 459) that they might be able in turn to repeat everywhere on their missions exactly the same things. He conducted these instructions to the disciples just as one would do among children, questioning them separately upon the explanations He had given, setting them right, and again explaining what they had not understood.

15 Tammuz 31 AD = Monday Julian 25 June = vision placed on Monday 30 June 1823

(received on Monday 22 December 1823)

Finally, He went over the whole prayer and gave the interpretation of the word Amen, as He had formerly done in Cyprus, saying that this word contains everything in itself, that it is the beginning and the end of prayer. Some other people and a couple of Pharisees from Bethsaida-Julias arrived while Jesus was speaking, and they too heard a part of His instruction. One of the latter invited Him to dine at his house in Bethsaida-Julias, which invitation Jesus accepted.

When He and the disciples started for Bethsaida, they directed their steps to the south of the Jordan bridge. On their way they came, this side of Bethsaida, to an inn where His Mother, the widow of Naim, Lea, and two other women were waiting to take leave of Him, because He was now going to teach on the other side of the Jordan. Mary was very much afflicted. She had a private interview with Jesus, in which she shed abundant tears and begged Him not to go to Jerusalem for the Feast of the Dedication of the Temple. She spoke so supplicatingly and in so loving a manner that I felt she must surely divine the holy destiny of her Son. Jesus supported her on His breast and consoled her gently and lovingly. He told her that He must fulfill the mission for which His Father had sent Him and for which also she had become His Mother, and that she must continue strong and courageous, in order to strengthen and edify the others. Then He saluted the other women, gave them His blessing, and they returned to Capharnaum, while He and the disciples went on to Bethsaida-Julias where He was received by the Pharisees. Besides those belonging to the (p. 460) city, there were present some others from Paneas, for it was a kind of feast day commemorative of the burning of a bad book written by the Sadducees. The Pharisees brought forward their old complaints against Jesus. When about to take His place at table, one of them pulled Him by the arm, saying that he was astonished that a man who could teach so well as He, should be so little mindful of holy observances as to eat without washing. Jesus responded that the Pharisees purified the outside of the cup and platter, but that within they were full of wickedness. To this the Pharisee replied by asking how He knew the state of his interior. Jesus answered that God, who formed the exterior, made also the interior, and that His eye could scan it clearly. The disciples drew Jesus to one side and begged Him not to speak with too much warmth, for they might possibly be put out, but He reproved them for their cowardice.

That evening Jesus taught in the synagogue, but did not work any cures, for the Pharisees had intimidated the people. They were very proud, and had here a kind of high school.

16 Tammuz 31 AD = Tuesday Julian 26 June = vision placed on Tuesday 1 July 1823

(received on Tuesday 23 December 1823)

From Bethsaida-Julias, Jesus took a northeasterly direction toward the mountain upon which the multiplication of the loaves had taken place. It was about an hour and a half from Bethsaida. There He found assembled all the Apostles and disciples with many people from Capharnaum, Caesarea-Philippi, and other places. He taught upon the Eighth Beatitude, “Blessed are ye when men hate and persecute you for the Son of Man’s sake,” also upon the passage “Woe to the rich, to them that are filled with the goods of this world, for in them they already have their reward; but as for you, rejoice that it is still in store for you.” He spoke likewise of the salt of the earth, of the city on the mountain, of the light on the candlestick, of the fulfilling of the Law, of the hiding of good works, of prayer made in the privacy of one’s (p. 461) chamber, and of fasting. Of the last-mentioned, Jesus said that it should be practiced joyously with anointing of the head, and not be turned into a sanctimonious parade of piety. He went on to the laying up of treasure in Heaven, freedom from worldly solicitude, the impossibility of a man’s serving two masters, the narrow gate, the broad road, the bad tree with its bad fruit, the wise man that built on a solid foundation, and the fool that built upon sand. This discourse lasted over three hours. During it the audience went down once to the foot of the mountain to get something to eat. Jesus continued His instruction to the Apostles and disciples, exhorting them upon all those points on which He had spoken when sending them out upon former missions. He animated them to believe, to have confidence, and to persevere.

17 Tammuz 31 AD = Wednesday Julian 27 June = vision placed on Wednesday 2 July 1823

(received on Wednesday 24 December 1823)

On the next day, the number of His hearers having increased to several thousands, Jesus taught again on the mountain. On account of the caravans that traversed these parts, there were people present from all sections of the country, also many sick and possessed. The Pharisees in attendance had not come to dispute, although they received some rather severe thrusts during the discourse. Jesus’ miracles were too manifest and the people too enthusiastic over Him, to allow them a word. The people had food with them, and they seated themselves on the ground to partake of it. Among the cured was a blind man from Jericho, who had also been lame. One of the disciples had cured Him of lameness, but had not restored his sight. He was a cousin of Manahem. The latter led him to Jesus, who restored his sight.

The new disciples, whom during these last days He had with admirable patience taught like children by question and answer, Jesus now sent out two and two with the words: “I send ye like sheep among wolves.” One of Joseph of Arimathea’s nephews arrived here from Jerusalem with the news that Lazarus was sick.

18 Tammuz 31 AD = Thursday Julian 28 June = vision placed on Thursday 3 July 1823

(received on Thursday 25 December 1823)

(p. 462) Jesus kept with Himself only the Apostles Peter, James, John, Matthew, and some of the disciples, with whom He went to Matthew’s custom office and thence by sea to Dalmanutha.

19 Tammuz 31 AD = Friday Julian 29 June = vision placed on Friday 4 July 1823

(received on Friday 26 December 1823)

I saw Him afterward in the city of Edral

20 Tammuz 31 AD = Saturday Julian 30 June = vision placed on Saturday 5 July 1823

(received on Saturday 27 December 1823)

where He taught on the Sabbath,

21 Tammuz 31 AD = Sunday Julian 1 July = vision placed on Sunday 6 July 1823

(received on Sunday 28 December 1823)

then in the Levitical city of Bosra,

22 Tammuz 31 AD = Monday Julian 2 July = vision placed on Monday 7 July 1823

(received on Monday 29 December 1823)

and finally in Nobah.

23 Tammuz 31 AD = Tuesday Julian 3 July = vision placed on Tuesday 8 July 1823

(received on Tuesday 30 December 1823)

In Nobah, outside the pagan quarter of the city, dwelt a colony of sincere Rechabites. On their return from the Babylonian Captivity they found their city in the possession of the pagans, but they retook it and again re-established themselves in it. They cherished an extraordinary hatred against the Pharisees and Sadducees, whom they shunned as much as possible. They were engaged in cattle raising, and led a very strict life. They drank no wine, excepting on certain feast days, and tenaciously held to the letter of the Scripture. Jesus admonished them on this point, and gave them an instruction on the spirit of the letter. They were very humble, and took in good part all that He said. Many were baptized, among them some pagans, and a great number of possessed were delivered from the Evil One. There was a whole hospital full of these poor creatures at Nobah. Peter, James, and John cured and taught also. Jesus met no opposition in this place, and He effected a wonderful amount of good. He put up at the inn near the synagogue. Nobah was a free city which, although belonging to the Decapolis, ruled itself.

24 Tammuz 31 AD = Wednesday Julian 4 July = vision placed on Wednesday 9 July 1823

(received on Wednesday 31 December 1823)

From Nobah, Jesus journeyed five hours southwestwardly to the exceedingly lovely pastoral village the called “Field of Jacob’s Peace.” It received this name from the fact that it was here, when returning to Palestine and pursued by Laban, he had encamped for the first time. The mountain range of Galaad takes its rise here. The shepherds of this place were the descendants of that Eleazar, Abraham’s servant, who had brought Rebecca for his master’s son Isaac. Among them also were some (p. 463) of the posterity of those people whom Melchisedech had freed from the tyranny of Semiramis and established in these regions. They had afterward intermarried with the descendants of Eleazar. There were three beautiful wells in this place. They lay at the foot of a lovely hill all around which, as if built in a verdant rampart, were cool shepherd dwellings. At a distance one might have taken them for a mountain terrace. The oldest and most honorable among the herd owners dwelt on the hill, upon which there was likewise a place for instruction. Far around were enclosed pasture grounds for camels, asses, and sheep, each species having its own, and near the fountains were reservoirs for watering them. The shepherds dwelt in the neighborhood of the fountains, under tents that rested on solid foundations. There were long rows of mulberry trees, but the most beautiful sight of all was a long walk with palings on either side upon which ran a vine, often to the distance of two hundred paces, laden with fruit something like gourds. This walk led from the hill to Selcha and formed, as it were, one continuous arbor. Some days before, the inhabitants had celebrated a feast commemorative of the deliverance of their forefathers from the slavery of Semiramis. They attended the synagogue at Selcha, and it was from there too that teachers came to instruct them. This little village was held in respect throughout the country around, and was looked upon as a monument to Jacob’s memory. Hospitality was here exercised freely. For a trifle, the Arab Caravans and all other strangers were lodged and cared for by the shepherds.

Toward midday, Jesus with three of the Apostles arrived at one of the fountains, where the eldest of the shepherds washed His feet and offered Him fruit, honey, and bread. Jesus’ coming had been expected, consequently many sick had been carried to the large house on the hill. Jesus cured them. Nearly four hundred (p. 464) shepherds, along with women and children, had assembled to greet Him. The women’s dresses were shorter than those worn in Palestine generally. Jesus gave them an instruction on the hill, speaking to them with the greatest simplicity and confidence. He reminded them of the caravan of the Three Kings which, two and thirty years before, had rested in this place. Then He spoke of the star that was to rise out of Jacob and of which Balaam had prophesied, of the newborn Child of whom the Magi had been in search, of John, his teaching and his testimony, and concluded by saying that the promised Messiah, the Consoler, the Saviour, was then in the midst of the Israelites, but that they would not recognize Him. Jesus related to them also the parables of the good shepherd, the seed sown in the earth, and the harvest, for in this region there was a harvest of fruit as well as of wheat, the ears of which were extraordinarily large.

25 Tammuz 31 AD = Thursday Julian 5 July = vision placed on Thursday 10 July 1823

(received on Thursday 1 January 1824)

He told them also of the shepherds near Bethlehem, of their finding the Child even before the Kings, and of the announcement made to them of it by the angels. The people fell in love with Jesus, and many of them wanted to leave all and follow Him, just for the pleasure of listening to Him always. But He advised them to remain at home and practice what He had taught them. From Selcha, which was almost an hour north of this place, messengers arrived with an invitation to Jesus to visit their city. He did so with the disciples. He was solemnly received at the city gate by the teachers and children in procession, and He taught in the synagogue, taking for the subject of His discourse the testimony rendered by John. Many of His hearers were baptized and cured. The children received His blessing.

26 Tammuz 31 AD = Friday Julian 6 July = vision placed on Friday 11 July 1823

(received on Friday 2 January 1824)

From Selcha Jesus went with His followers for about an hour and a half along the so-called Way of David which, following the windings of the valley, led down to the Jordan. This road was deep, a kind of hollow, in (p. 465) which water sometimes flowed. It ran through the solitudes of the mountains, and at several points along it were to be found places provided with troughs and stores of fodder for the camels, also rings for fastening them. When journeying through this country, Abraham saw a supernatural light on this road and had a vision, and when David, upon the advice of Jonathan, sought safety for his parents in the region of Maspha he lay concealed here with three hundred men, from which circumstance it received the name of “David’s Way.” David here received from God a prophetic vision in which he saw the caravan of the Three Kings and heard, as if from the heavens open above him, melodious chanting proclaiming the praises of the promised Consoler of Israel. Malachias also, being obliged to flee after a battle, followed a mysterious light that led him to this region where, too, he lay hid for a time; and the Three Holy Kings, giving rein to their camels upon leaving the confines of Selcha and entering this road, descended by it singing sweet hymns of thanksgiving. They then proceeded along the shore until they reached the point opposite Korea, where they crossed the Jordan and arrived at Jerusalem through the desert beyond Anathot. They entered the Holy City by the same gate through which Mary had passed when she went up from Bethlehem for her purification.

From “David’s Way,” Jesus turned to the little place called Thantia, where He went immediately to the synagogue and taught, His subjects being Balaam, the Star of Jacob, some passages from Micheas, and Bethlehem Ephrata.

27 Tammuz 31 AD = Saturday Julian 7 July = vision placed on Saturday 12 July 1823

(received on Saturday 3 January 1824)

He next went to visit many sick in their own homes. He healed them along with several others whom the disciples had not been able to cure. There was no organized care of the sick and the poor in Thantia. The disciples had indeed endeavored to establish something of the kind, but it was Jesus Himself who effected the de- (p. 466) sired change. A great many of the people received Baptism from the disciples.

Both the people and the rabbis of Thantia were pious. They were in the habit of making pilgrimages to the “Way of David,” and there, in fasting and prayer, crying to Heaven for the coming of the Messiah. They indulged the hope of there having visions and apparitions of the Messiah who, they thought, would even come to them along that way. While Jesus was preaching, they said more than once to one another: “He speaks as if He were the Messiah Himself! But no, that is not possible!” As they were under the impression that the Messiah was to come invisibly like an angel into Israel, they thought that Jesus might possibly be His herald and precursor. Jesus told them that they would perhaps recognize the Messiah when it would be too late. I saw that many from Thantia, both before and after the Crucifixion, joined the Community.

28 Tammuz 31 AD = Sunday Julian 8 July = vision placed on Sunday 13 July 1823

(received on Sunday 4 January 1824)

From Thantia Jesus journeyed four hours eastward to the ruined citadel of Datheman. Near it was the mountain that had been chosen by Jephte’s daughter upon which to mourn with her twelve young companions. Upon it were prophets and hermits, something like the Essenians. It was on this same mountain that Balaam was tarrying in solitude and meditation when summoned by the Moabite king to appear before him. He was of noble origin, his family very wealthy. From early youth, he had been filled with the spirit of prophecy, and he belonged to that nation that was ever on the lookout for the promised star, among whom were the ancestors of the Three Holy Kings. Though a reprobate, Balaam was no sorcerer. He served the true God only, like the enlightened of other nations, but in an imperfect manner, mingling many errors with the truth. He was very young when he retired into the solitude of the mountains, and upon this one in particular he dwelt a long time. I think he had around him some other prophets, or pupils. When he returned (p. 467) from the Moabite king, Balac, he wished to take up his abode upon this mountain, but was prevented by divine interposition. By his scandalous counsel to the Moabites, he fell from grace, and now he wandered in despair around the desert in which at last he miserably perished.

The people of this region believed firmly in the sacred character of “David’s Way.” They told Jesus that they would not dwell in the country beyond the Jordan where they could not dare make mention of all that had formerly been seen, all that had taken place on the “Way of David.”