And the tempter came to him and said: If you are the son of God, tell these stones to become bread… Then the devil left him alone and here are angels stepped up and served to him.” From Mathew 4: 3-11
I shall take the verses from the third to the eleventh where it is talking upon the temptation.
Many of you had read this chapter and thought upon the three temptations. At first sight it looks that the temptations which the devil offers are very simple. But in these three temptations there is a threefold understanding, i.e. in the Gospel the fall is not given. The great truth which is hidden in the three temptations is an enigma. Why namely did the devil have to offer to Christ to turn the stones into bread? These are three psychological moments in the life of every man. All that Christ experienced in the temptations and every one of us will pass; some men have not reached this stage but the day will come and they will pass it. That is why you have to elucidate upon the difficulties which you will meet then.
Don’t think that immortality may be obtained easily; whoever preaches teaching like this, doesn’t preach the truth. When we talk for the immortality, for the execution of the will of God, we understand something else. Therefore we have to understand these three great falls in every soul.
The devil says to Christ: “If you are son of the God tell these stones to become bread.” The word ‘if’ supposes one condition: “If you are son of the God…” But was there something wrong if Christ could transform the stones into flour? There was something tempting for the devil in this that he could see the process how Christ transforms one stone into plant. But Christ who did understand the orders of God very well, did you know that every thing has its purpose, i.e. that and the stones have their purpose. Now I shall not stop myself upon the esoteric side; one day, when you come to the position to be clear in your mind and heart, only then this truth will be revealed to you. Everyone of your exams proves how very clear you are…
Do you know what would happen with Christ if He was succumbed to this temptation? The devil appears in a moment in which Christ is infirm and says: “Here is one case – if you are the son of God you can apply this knowledge and these laws.” But Christ answers him: “Not only with bread will man live but with every Speech which originates from the mouth of God.” These stones are sinful spirits, fallen people, in them the devil is hidden; if Christ was try to transform the stones into bread, do you know what it means to transform one evil spirit to bread? Christ says: “If one man accepts the Speech of the God…” – this has practical meaning, every one of you tries to turn stones into bread. Some men say: “Why doesn’t the bread grow, not to have the need to knead it?” In Germany and England try to think of a method with which to transform the inorganic substances into organic ones, but if the contemporary science failed in this diversion, it would develop the biggest lewdness. That which saved contemporary people is the labour and the work, and if stones could be transformed into bread all of you would start to feast. I know that often people want to transform stones into bread; for example you meet one bad man, lewd in mind and heart and say: “Why can’t we transform this stone to bread? But if you transform it…In this way man doesn’t correct himself. Some men say: “Let’s marry this loose man to correct him” – this is not allowed. Christ says: “You are live stones”, but there are dead stones. Therefore one girl who understands the laws never has to marry for one sinner or some lewd woman to marry to find one good man. What will happen from this? They will bring criminals into the world. This is the first teaching that the devil preaches to Christ – to transform these stones to bread, i.e. the pleasure to exist. Christ says that people improve only then when their heart accepts the Speech of God.
Now, some men say to me: “You come to put the world to rights, you will have followers.” – Yes, there will be such lewd followers but in this way the world will not reform. The world will reform with every Speech which comes out from the mouth of God. And when the human soul accepts it, it will be alive.
Of course this principle touches and one other side – for example eating which for now is one of the lowest principles in the world. Eating is an important process in Life. But do you know how much hidden powers are hiding in the stones; do you know what is closed inside in these little vials? Christ says: “Who may come out from the mouth of God has the right to unseal these little vials.” I often hear people say: “Why didn’t God give me such power to put the world to rights?” This looks like that queen who said to her husband: “Give me three days to rule to put the world to rights.” She reigned for three days and do you know what she did first of all? First she hanged her husband. These men who interpret the Writing say that with the first temptation the devil tested Christ to see if he would be scared from joy. But Christ says: “For Me it makes no difference if the stones will become bread or not – I have food which is always given to Me upwards.
Farther the devil takes him on the wind of the temple and says: “If you are the son of God throw yourself down.” At first sight this is a very flagrant temptation but in it other things are hidden – this temple is the man who stays on the highest place in his head and thinks how the Divine things are arranged. And the devil says to him: “Come down to your subjects and start to live like them, come down and drink like they drink; since you have Knowledge and Power don’t be afraid that you will fall, do it and know that your virtue will not be wounded from this.” Christ answers him: “Not to tempt the God of yours because I have got no need to meet with these subjects.” You think so father, who brought into the world ten kids, has to give an education to them? The father may know his son; the mother may know her daughter when they go the all time on the same way. This temptation has relation to the contemporary Christians – for a man to run away in the desert and there to rest means to enter a little in Life but not to stay as one policeman.
And so, you are always are on the wing of the temple – the second temptation understands that we tempt God into ourselves. This is the passing from one position to the other, from one church to the other, from one teaching to the other. If you come down, you will use your powers. In the principle of the second temptation slyness touches a man, but in the opposite sense. It is not allowed for you to do as David; before making him king, God gave him power and what did David do? One day he was on the top of the temple, saw one beautiful woman and came down; but after that one prophet appeared and said to him: “You became the reason this teaching was broken and from now there will not be order.” And this is the way it happened – his son fornicates with his wife, with his sisters. Yes, David came down from the top of the temple to show that he is the son of God, but after that he had to run away. Now many of you will come down but they will be like Davis: if you are woman your husband will fornicate; if you are man your wife will fornicate – that will be the result if you come down from the roof of this temple. That is why Christ says: “Not to tempt the God of yours because I have all things and I have got no need to come down.”
At last the strongest temptation comes, which has a direct relation to this sly spirit. The devil takes Christ to one very high mountain, shows him all the worldly kingdoms and their glory and says to him: “If you stoop to bow to me I shall give you everything.” Then Christ answers: “Get away, Satan, go back into your kingdoms, I can’t come and have got no need to go into your kingdoms.”
What relation does the third temptation have to social life? After one woman or one man had passed through the first or the second temptation, one prince will come, will say that they are clean and innocent, and will tell them: “If you love me, I shall give you all the wealth”, then all the relatives decide: “He is a rich prince, has a fortune, quickly call the pope here!” and they bow. How many American women had married such princes but after that they burned; the devil promises but doesn’t give, he is one procurer. Christ says: “Get away, go into your kingdom, to your wealth, I have got no need of your knowledge, I have got enough in myself, which God gave me.” There are contemporary young men who succumb to the third temptation – for example the youth marries but in fact he sells himself out for profit which the girl has in the bank. I read one book soon named “For the love”, written from one colonel in which it is describing how you may lie to one rich girl. And Christ says: “Go away, you have to bow only to God!” Do you know what the bowing means? To make a bow, that means to adopt something in yourself, to come back, to limit yourself, to become a slave, to lose your Freedom. And when you bow to such a spirit you lose your freedom. Christ says: “Go away!”
Now in the newspapers it is written that so and so girl had so and so much money and you ask if these marriages become successful after that – this is lewdness in contemporary society, lewdness everywhere. The whole world has fallen into this third temptation; there is no man in our country who hasn’t bowed. It is good that you bow but do you know what result this will have? When one woman bows to such a man, she is like a procurer to him; as a result of it she will violate herself and after that through the whole of her life she will live to regret it. Today mothers and fathers sell their daughters for money – to these lewd youths they give on top of that and money! I say: it is better your daughter to stay unmarried than to give her away and to bow to such a spirit. You say: “Two thousand years ago the devil tempted a lot ”; I want to know how the devil acts today in your houses, in your hearts, in your souls. Yes, you became his friends, ransom yourself, mask yourself, but you have to say once forever: “Go away, leave my soul alone!”
And after that it is said that the Angels of the God did come to serve Christ. After you pass these three temptations the Angels will come to rescue you from the fourth. When some youth offers to some girl wealth, and glory, and honour, and she refuses him, he decides to kill her; so and the devil decided to kill Christ. You say for the girl: “But he will kill her!” – let him kill her, it is better to die than to fornicate. In this case death is one advantage – to die for one idea, for one Divine thought, this is a privilege. Of course, I don’t want to discourage yourselves.
And so, when some man doesn’t want to break these connections, then we will say: “Go away, go into your kingdom!” This is Divine law – with God must remain only those men who can live one clean and holy life. Contemporary people say: “If we live like this, what can we transform on?” But now what did you transform on, you think that these people who die now in the war, die for the teaching of Christ? There is the false philosophy of contemporary society. If we accept the teaching of Christ we will have families and society which will stay a thousand times higher, and we will create music, much more beautiful than the present, we will create social order a thousand times better than the present. Some man will say: “Then we will live in the woods”; animals live in the woods because they had never bowed to the devil and if you decide to bow to him, you will become four-footed too. This is the theory of Darwin – if one ox repents for its sins and doesn’t listen to the teaching of the devil, may become a man. One time in Heaven a man was a beautiful creature, but when he hadn’t listened to God, He gave him bear hide.
Now, in the contemporaries there is some guilt. When we become Christians we think that we understand Christianity, and start to go to church, to listen to great sermons, but if we become Christians from that it is still a question. There is something more essential. One of the disciples of Socrates, after he listened for a long time that man has to be subdued, start to go with torn pants, and Socrates said him: “Your pride shows and through the torn pants.” I am shamed much more by people with ripped pants than people with cylinders. Dress well but after you dress thank God and live in a way that He wants. Look that bird, with what clothes is – for them God had given two hundred thousand leva; if God dresses in this way the bird in this way, how more will you.
The devil said to Christ: “If you are the son of the God, turn the stones into bread! Throw yourself down from the temple!” Years ago, in Sliven, one pious woman, in order to show the people that there is a God, went on to one roof, and said: “In the name of the Father, the Son and the Holy Ghost” and throw herself down. Really nothing happened with her but did she convince the people that there is a God? They charged her that she is crazy. The devil appears and says: “All these I shall give you” but after years, as the prodigal son, you come back with ripped pants. And now it is time when all of you are with ripped moral pants. Leave this stage to come back to that Life in which you have lived before; and you will say: “We are not worthy neither to call ourselves sons, nor your daughters.” This is the act which everyone of you has to do.
In the way of Christianity there is one danger: the second temptation fixes like a wooden plough into people and they start to think that they will put the world to rights, that they will give new ideas; in the third temptation but man goes into business, becomes “clever”. The father says to his son: “Son, you have to be a clever man – look, that man stole and made a house, be you like him” – this is the third temptation and with it you bow.
Not only is there a law-court on the Earth but and God will judge you. And this man who preaches another teaching, it is from the sly. Contemporary people have to part from the teaching which devastates their minds and hearts. We have to destroy it. And if somebody dies, let him die for the love of God and to become power for the advancement of the world.
And so, these are three great temptations which will come to your head. Some of you are in the first temptation, some are in the second, and some are in the third. Stand them to stand and the fourth, after which the Resurrection is to come – then God will give you Power. And when you sacrifice your life for the Glory of the God, then God will resurrect you as a reward. That is why we have to be in love with God, no one else.
Do not connect your hearts with lewd people. I knew one rich American young lady who married one lewd man to transform him but she could not. Don’t try, such a man will beat you and torture you.
God bless you with good men and good women, God bless you with good sons and good daughters! God keep you from evil sons and evil daughters! Down with the evil men and the evil women, down with the evil sons, the evil daughters! Gore the good sons and the good daughters! This is the Speech of God which we have to make.
20th of July, 1915, Sofia
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