The Gospel of John; A New Translation
Prologue I: The Song of John
1:1
In the moment of creation was Love
and Love existed within the Mind of God
and the Ground of All Being was Love.
1:2
Love existed in the moment of Creation
Unified with God.
1:3
All things were brought into existence
through the movement of Love and
nothing could exist apart from this Love.
1:4
This Love held all Life within it –
indeed this Love existed as Illumination
within all of Mankind.
1:5
But the Light of Love shone in a darkness
that knew nothing but confusion
and could not perceive it.
1:6
Then, a man named John heard through
the confusion and Love entrusted him
with a message.
1:7
And so he traveled from place to place,
As a witness, carrying a message to all
About the presence of the Light, so that
All mankind could, through themselves,
Hear the Voice of Love.
1:8
John himself was not that Light,
But nonetheless, he carried the message
of the power of the Light.
1:9
This was the message of the One Light,
which shone the truth and knowledge of Love
into the heart of every individual
who had come into the world:
1:10
Love was in the world, and the world
was created by Love, but the world had
no way to perceive this Love.
1:11
Love desired to become known to the world
but Love’s own creation could not hear
as the Light called out within them.
1:12
In order for as many as possible
to receive the message of Light in themselves
Love bestowed upon them the power of choice;
a choice to know that within themselves was God –
A recognition of their own divinity.
1:13
For they were born not of flesh and blood,
or human desire, but of the Mind of God.
1:14
And so Love brought into being a man
who came to dwell among us, so that
we would recognize the Light of Love within him
and understand that this Light is shared by
all children born from the Mind of God.
All are perfect in their spiritual nature,
able to remember who they truly are.
1:15
John carried the message of Love, born into the world,
saying,
“The one of whom I speak comes after me.
He will appear before me [as I teach],
but he has always been my Master.
1:16
“The light streaming from his presence
will seize hold of everyone; and we will remember
that His light is our own, and in this way
love is the cause of love.
1:17
“Just as the Law was given through Moses,
so shall love and unity with the Mind of God
come through Jesus who carries
within himself the Design of Love.
1:18
“No one has ever been able to see God;
but things created by the One Source
are never separate from the Mind of God –
and this realization will unfold in his presence.”
…so ends the Song of John.
Prologue II: The Promise Fulfilled
1:19-32*
And this was the teaching of John when the Judaens sent Priests and Levites from Jerusalem to ask, “Who are you?” And John confirmed for them that he was Love’s herald and refused to deny it. When they pressed him he confirmed again that he was only the herald, “Because I am not the one that brings Love into the world.”
And they asked, “Which one are you? Elias?” John replied, “No, I am not Elias.” “Are you a new prophet?” And he answered, “No.” This being the case they said to him, “Who are you then? Tell us so that we can give an answer to those that sent us. What is it that you teach about yourself?” And with the charisma of one that listens to the voice within himself, John said, “I am the one crying in the wilderness – Come to the path that leads straight to the Lord! Just as the prophet Elias said!”
This had come about in Bethabara, the region beyond the Jordan River where John was baptizing his followers. The next day John saw Jesus coming towards him and he said, “Look! Here comes the lamb of God who will lift up all those that have fallen away from Love in the world.” John had a vision, explaining: “I saw the Light reach down from Heaven like a dove and it remained alive within him.”
1:35-46
And so, the next day, John stood with two of his students and after watching Jesus as he taught among those gathered, John said “Go and study with the one guided by God.” So the two students spent time listening to him teach and decided to join Jesus on his path. Then Jesus turned and recognizing their desire to join him said, “What it is you seek?” They said to him, “Rabbi, (by which they mean “master”) where do you live?” He said to them, “Come and see.” And so they went to see where he was staying and remained with him that day, until the afternoon.
One of the two which had been students of John and followed Jesus was Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother. First he went and found his brother Simon and said to him, “We have found the Messiah (which means “bearer of Love”).” And Andrew brought Simon to Jesus. When Jesus saw him he said, “You are Simon, the son of Jona. You will be called Kephas (which means stubborn as stone).”
The next day Jesus went into Galilee and found Philip and asked if he would join him on his path. Philip came from Bethsaida, the home of Andrew and Peter. Philip brought Nathanael saying to him, “We have found him of whom Moses, in the Law, and the prophets wrote about; Jesus of Nazareth, son of Joseph.” Nathanael replied, “Can anything good come out of Nazareth?” Philip said to him, “Come and see.”
1:47-51
Jesus saw Nathanael coming towards him and said, about him, “Here is an Israelite; indeed, one in whom there is no deceit.” Nathanael said to him, “Where is it that you know me from?” and Jesus responded, “Before Philip brought you here, I saw you under a fig tree.” Nathanael replied, “Rabbi, you are a son of God, you are the King of Israel!” Jesus answered him, saying, “I had a vision of you under the fig tree but, trust me, you will see far greater things on this path.”
And he said to him, “Believe, believe! I promise you, revealed in this very moment, you will experience the order of the universe unfolding. At this point, awareness of the Mind of God, borne by Love, has at last broken through the darkness within mankind.”
…this completes the first chapter of the Gospel of John. Continued in Promises and Signs.
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* I have removed verses 24-27, 30-31 and 33-34 as redundant, later additions.