More and more people are beginning to sense these days that the many different changes which have occurred within just a few years on our earth cannot be considered to be merely temporary by nature. Jobs thought to be secure for ever a few years ago have since been lost in their millions all over the world. All the efforts made to get rid of unemployment have proved unsuccessful. In many countries the value of the local currency is melting away like snow in the sun. A shortage of raw materials and energy resources is beginning to show itself. In consequence of this, developing countries no longer ask for help but demand it. As well as tension between East and West, we now have a new field of tension in the North-South dialogue. Science and technology appear to be losing control of the synthetic world they have created. An absolute flood of poison has spread over the earth, and new events are constantly coming up to alarm the population. Enthusiasm over progress, the notion that nothing must be allowed to stand in its way, has faded and the mood has changed. Worry and concern for the future are spreading. The safety net provided by social services is being stretched to breaking point, with gaps already appearing. The standard of life has improved surprisingly quickly, yet discontent, envy and hatred continue to prevail. Spiritual and moral values are breaking down. Terrible acts of violence are becoming overwhelming. Within a single decade, a change previously undreamed of has occurred in the churches. The exit of the young generation from the churches is practically complete. At the same time, materialism is spreading over the whole world to a degree never before recorded in the history of mankind. More and more people are growing thoughtful and asking themselves if the constant increase in natural disasters such as earthquakes, floods, droughts, hurricanes and climatic changes are the beginning of a deeply ominous trend.
In this situation, with the economic, social and religious scene changing more and more, a prophetic message from the 19th century is presented to the people of the industrial age, a message that claims their attention. Convincing proof has been given that this message from a world beyond our natural world is genuine. It has a number of aspects and makes it clear beyond doubt that mankind faces a turning point in time and that terrible disasters will come upon the inhabitants of the earth. The disclosures made also contain an urgent warning for modern man to abandon the path of theoretical and practical materialism. Before the worldwide catastrophe occurs, modern man is once more offered the true teaching of Jesus, as originally given to the apostles, in its true, unadulterated form, through the prophet Jakob Lorber.
Generally speaking, the message brought by Jesus has lost significance for the people of the industrial age. There are many reasons for this, which will be discussed later. Many have completely lost any relation to the transcendental; with others, some religious substance is still there, but their faith lacks solid foundations. Belief in what the Church has to say has been seriously undermined. For too long, religion ruled by terror, played on the fears of people. Protestant theologians often appear to be atheist in their views to their congregations. The pious set formulae of the Roman Catholic Church no longer hold meaning for the younger generation. Everywhere, people are quietly falling away.
The situation one perceives in Western Christianity is horrifying. Professor Karl Rahner SJ has given an apt description: "We are living in a heathen country with a Christian past and residual pockets of Christian elements." 1
Nevertheless, religious substance is still there, however latent, in many people. Yet they are confused, asking, like Pilate: "What is truth?" Deep down, many souls hunger for religious truth. It is for these seekers this book has been written. We bring them a message that is out of the ordinary. lt stands out from all other Literature on religion, and particularly from the biblical text criticism of liberal theologists, in being a message unique in itself. We may refer here to the words of Professor Hans Kueng, a well-known Catholic theologian: "There are at times strange graces conferred, and some are called upon to bear very special witness of prophetic missions. . ." 2
This also applies to a most extraordinary event that occurred in the last century, though it will only attain its full significance in our time. Today, when traditions crumble and innumerable ideas and ideologies confuse the mind, many are asking why God does not speak. But that is not true. God has at all times sent messages and warnings to men, at certain intervals.
These have only rarely found acceptance - not even at the time when Jesus, the incarnated Son of God, proclaimed His Good News. The clerical establishment has always opposed such messages.
It was in the period 1840 to 1864 that the seeds were sown for the wide-ranging revelation intended for us today, a revelation encompassing elucidation and supplementation of the gospels as well as the prophesies relating to disasters that will befall the whole of mankind before the end of this century. At that time, Jakob Lorber in Graz (Austria) heard the Inner Word, and writing it down produced a work of monumental significance the content of which can only be grasped today. The revelations reached many people, wholly or in part, during the long period of time which has elapsed since, with about a million copies of Jakob Lorber's writings sold, yet the tenor of the work and its content make it quite clear that the seed will only come to bear full fruit now, in these Final Days. Lorber was prompted to write:
"God never ceases to reveal himself to man in many different ways, so that it requires but some reflection to see that far from ordinary events have happened." (GR VI 149, 15)
"God reveals himself in a major way out of the mouths of fully awakened prophets. These prophets are always clearly recognizable to anyone who is to some extent awakened, firstly by their written or spoken word, secondly by many miraculous deeds they also perform; for instance, in foretelling future events as need arises, that people may take heed and change their ways, asking God to turn away the calamity foretold. . ." (GR VI 150, 1).
"A righteous prophet proclaims judgment upon judgment to come for the world. The reason for this is quite simply that God only calls forth a prophet when the world has forgotten him and plunged into all the vices of the world." (GR II 108, 8)
According to the revelation, Jesus said to his disciples: "This however, is something you may take to be wholly true, that close on every two thousand years a great change will come over the earth. And that is how it will be, counting from now on. . ." (GR VI 76, 10)
"Toward the end of the time indicated, I shall call forth greater and greater prophets increasingly, and with them too the judgments will increase in both number and extent." (GR VI 150, 15)
Yet, as experience has always shown, we may feel sure that it is Goethe's words that will hold true: "How small are the numbers of those who feel inspired by something that really is apparent only to mind and spirit." Anything that lies outside the world of direct experience is not acceptable in this age of rational calculation where any interpretation of this world based on supernatural principles is highly suspect. The poison of materialism has already penetrated deeply into Christianity. The question remains open as to whether there still are points of contact through which the revelations of the Lord may be recognized as such. A certain religious faculty, an ability to receive, and in mind and spirit digest the message of salvation, is an absolute prerequisite.
No one should make premature judgments as to what Jakob Lorber had to tell, certainly not without first reading his prophesies relating to the true facts of astronomy, atomic physics, and anthropology in the section entitled "Proof as to the Authenticity of Jakob Lorber's Prophesy". Predictions confirmed by scientific research a hundred or more years after they were made should give pause to reflect to even the most sceptical of readers.