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Jakob Lorber (22 July 1800 – 24 August 1864) was a Styrian Christian mystic and visionary who referred to himself as the "God's scribe". He wrote that on 15 March 1840 he began hearing an 'inner voice' from the region of his heart and thereafter transcribed what it said. By the time of his death 24 years later he had written manuscripts equivalent to more than 10,000 pages in print.

His writings were published posthumously as amounting to a "New Revelation", and the contemporary "Lorber movement" forms one of the major neo-revelationist sects, mostly active in German-speaking Europe, although part of Lorber's writings have also been translated into English and Afrikaans.

Lorber's writings have been associated with the occult.

Biography

Jakob Lorber was born in Kaniža, a small village in the Jahring parish, Duchy of Styria (now Kaniža pri Jarenini in Lower Styria, Slovenia) to a peasant family, Michael Lorber and his wife Maria, neé Tautscher. He was trained as a village teacher. A brief biography by his friend Karl Gottfried Rtter von Leitner indicates that Lorber was an uncomplicated person.

He was observed while writing by well-educated men in the city of Graz, such as Dr. Justinus Kerner, Dr. Ch. F. Zimpel, the mayor of Graz, Anton Hüttenbrenner, his brother the composer Anselm Hüttenbrenner, the poet and Secretary to the Estates Karl Gottfried von Leitner, Dr. Anton Kammerhuber, Leopold Cantily, pharmacist of Graz, and others. These men observed him writing and verified his simple life.. Lorber was open and friendly regarding his transcriptions yet found himself involved in small intrigues designed to prove that he was a fake. For instance, the wife of one of his friends was certain that Lorber had studied the material he was pretending to hear from the inner voice, but she never found the scientific books she had supposed he was hiding, eventually finding his only research material to be a single copy of the Bible.

He had musical talent and learned the violin, taking lessons from the virtuoso violinist Paganini, and once giving a violin concert at the La Scala Opera House in Milan. In 1840—the same year he claimed to begin hearing the inner voice—Lorber was offered the position of assistant musical director at the theater in Trieste. He claimed that the inner voice, however, directed him to decline and take up a life of solitude instead. Lorber's writings reveal that the inner voice spoke freely in first person as the voice of Jesus Christ.

Theology, geology, history, free will

Lorber's prose has been described as compelling, moving some readers to compare it with writings by other mystics such as Emanuel Swedenborg and Jakob Boehme. His Great Gospel of John is a detailed first-person narrative of Jesus' three-year ministry, around 2,000 pages in length and based on the same structure as the Gospel of John, which is described as an eternal book because of John's continual desire to understand the spiritual interpretation of Jesus' parables. The larger book reiterates Jesus' claim to be God himself by revealing many more astonishing miracles than are found in the original gospels. Lorber's work shows a resemblance to Swedenborgianism.

The Great Gospel of John

In the Great Gospel of John, the narrator, Jesus, explains that he is the creator of the material universe, which was designed both as a confinement of Satan, and so he could take upon himself the condition of a man. He says he did this to inspire his children who could otherwise not perceive him in his primordial form as a spirit. He gives descriptions of the eons of time involved in creating the Earth. He does so in a manner similar to the modern theory of Evolution all the way up to the point several thousand years ago when Jesus placed Adam upon the Earth, which at the time contained man-like creatures who did not have free will, being simply the most clever of the animals. Readers have noted that Lorber was writing such things before Darwin published his famous insights on evolution in 1859.

In comprehensive manner, the Great Gospel of John continually emphasises the importance of free will. In this book, heaven and hell are presented as conditions already within us, expressed according to whether we live in harmony or contrary to God's divine order. The Great Gospel of John also states that the gospels of John and Matthew were written at the time of the events they chronicle; for instance, Lorber writes that Jesus specifically told Matthew to take notes during the Sermon on the Mount. Such an account seems at first contrary to orthodox Christian theology which typically places the authorship of Matthew some years after the resurrection of Jesus Christ and that of John even later. However, in the Great Gospel of John the narrator explains how this happened. He claims that there were many writers who described him, including several authors named Matthew, who all wrote similarly over a period of many years. The original author's manuscript is lost today, so there is no extant evidence of its age.

Paul's epistle to the Laodiceans

Lorber claimed to have heard by the inner voice, in 1844, the "lost" letter Paul wrote to the assembly of the Laodiceans, as referred to in Colossians 4:16.

Several texts purporting to be the "lost" letter survive, notably one brief text preserved in medieval Vulgate manuscripts, attested from the 6th century. Another candidate is attributed to Marcion, listed in the Muratorian fragment. Marcion's text is lost, and the Vulgate text is widely recognized as pseudepigraphical, and was decreed uncanonical by the Council of Florence of 1439-43.Cite error: The <ref> tag has too many names (see the help page).

Publisher of this Lorber manuscript claims that the letter's being lost reflects the falling away of the Church from true Christianity.

Reception

Publication

Lorber posthumously attracted a following, and his writings were published and frequently reprinted, mostly with Lorber & Turm, a dedicated publisher based in Bietigheim-Bissingen, Germany. The original manuscripts and copies of some of the manuscripts by close friends of Lorber are still preserved in the archives of the Lorber & Turm publisher.

Lorber's work is divided into several books which, in aggregate, are called the New Revelation.

His Great Gospel of John was published in 10 volumes and frequently reprinted, the 8th edition dating to 1996. The Gospel of Jacob appeared in 12th edition in 2006.

Lorber's works have partialy been translated into English, appearing with Merkur Publishing.

Adherents

Lorber and his friends were members of the Roman Catholic Church, and Lorber's revelations asked them not to leave the church, but to convince it of the genuinely divine nature of the "New Revelation" by leading exemplary lives. However, the First Vatican Council of 1869/1870 set Lorber's writings on the index. Occultist Leopold Engel was one of Lorber's followers, and also wrote an 11th volume, claiming to be a follow up to Lorber's The Great Gospel of John close to 30 years after Lorber's death. Ellic Howe and Prof Helmut Moller (Gottingen) confirmed in their article 'Irregular Freemasonry in Germany' that Engel (occultist and revivar of the illuminati with Theodor Reuss) was a follower of Jakob Lorber (1800-64). The article explains further how in 1891 Leopold Engel heard an inner voice which commanded him to go to his desk and write and accordingly recorded the text of an eleventh volume and how many years later (in 1922) he was to commemorate his own father's utterances from beyond the grave. The article continue to explain Engel's role in promoting the Rite of Swedenborg (freemasonary) and his role in the illuminati.

There is a movement of adherents of Lorber's writings (Lorber-Bewegung, Lorberianer, Lorber-Gesellschaften), mostly active in German-speaking Europe. There is no organizational structure beyond small regional circles, While there is no accurate estimate of the total number of adherents, it likely exceeds 100,000 worldwide.

Criticism

A main point of criticism of Lorber's works was the use of the first person as if the writings were dictated by Jesus Christ himself. Some statements can be considered anti-semitic, and Lorber was in fact noted by the anti-semitic proponents of "Ariosophy" racial mysticism during the 1920, e.g. by Lanz von Liebenfels, who in 1926 published on Jakob Lorber as "the greatest ariosophic medium of the modern era" (das grösste ariosophische Medium der Neuzeit)

When comparing the theology of salvation in the Great Gospel of John written by Lorber with doctrines in mainstream Christianity and that of Eastern religions Lorber's work shows a much closer resemblance to Eastern religion than to that of Christianity.. The Christian Apologetics & Research Ministry has concluded that Swedenborgianism, which relates strongly with Lorber's work, are dangerous mystical non-Christian religion, and added that its denial of the Trinity and the Holy Spirit, the vicarious atonement, and rejection of Acts and the Pauline epistles clearly set it outside of Christian orthodoxy. . Swedenborgianism has also been labeled as a "mind control" cult which relates to Hinduism rather than Christianity. In Lorber's writing 'From heaven to hell', book 2, in chapter 104 vers 4, the inner voice explains to Lorber how it was him who also spoke to Swedenborg.

Kurt Hutten, former chairman of the Evangelische Zentralstelle für Weltanschauungsfragen (EZW, an apologetic institution of the Evangelical Church in Germany) has identified Swedenborg and Lorber as recipients of equally valid private revelation. Official statements of the EZW are more skeptical, assuming psychological explanations for Lorber's revelations. EZW points to a 1966 Berne dissertation by Antoinette Stettler-Schär which diagnosed Lorber with paranoid schizophrenia. This diagnosis has been dismissed by Bernhard Grom, who diagnoses self-induced hallucination.

Andreas Finke, vice-chairman of the EZW, concludes that the content of Lorber's revelations reflect both the period during which they were written down and the knowledge of their author, identifying them as "pious poetry in the best sense of the term, but not divine dictation."

References

1. Exposing the role of Christian mystics and neo-revelationists such as Jakob Lorber, Emanuel Swedenborg, and Leopold Engel, in the plan of the illuminati to bring about a new bible and new world order http://www.foundationsofchristianity.co.za
2. Publisher's introduction to Lorber's Epistle to the Laodiceans
3. http://www.merkurpublishing.com/jakob_lorber_main_book_page.htm
4. Irregular Freemasonary in Germany; Theodor Reuss, Freemasonary in Germany 1900-23, Bro. Ellic Howe and Prof. Helmut Moller (Gottingen) AQC 16 Feb 1978 http://www.mastermason.com/luxocculta/reuss.htm
5. Leopold Engel: Geschichte des Illuminatenordens
6. Horst Reller, Hans Krech & Matthias Kleiminger (eds.): Lorber-Bewegung - Lorber-Gesellschaft - Lorberianer. In: Handbuch Religiöse Gemeinschaften und Weltanschauungen. 6th ed., Gütersloh 2006, 214-226.
7. ^ Himmelsgaben Band 2, 8. Februar 1844
8. ^ Evangelische Zentralstelle für Weltanschauungsfragen, Ich habe euch noch viel zu sagen …”, p. 21
9. Dr. Reinhard Rinnerthaler: Zur Kommunikationsstruktur religiöser Sondergemeinschaften am Beispiel der Jakob-Lorber-Bewegung. p. 82
10. Andreas Fincke, Jesus Christus im Werk Jakob Lorbers: Untersuchungen zum Jesusbild und zur Christologie einer „Neuoffenbarung”, 162ff.
11. Dr. Reinhard Rinnerthaler: Zur Kommunikationsstruktur religiöser Sondergemeinschaften am Beispiel der Jakob-Lorber-Bewegung. p. 82
12. published in Zeitschrift für Menschenkenntnis und Schiksalsforschung; noted in Nicholas Goodrick-Clarke, The Occult Roots of Nazism (1985), p. 256.
13. Christian Apologetics & Research Ministry
14. Swedenborgianism :mind control cult
15. Kurt Hutten, Seher - Grübler - Enthusiasten. Das Buch der traditionellen Sekten und religiösen Sonderbewegungen. Quell Verlag, Stuttgart 1997, ISBN 3-7918-2130-X.
16. EZW, ed. Pöhlmann (2003), p. 10.
17. Jakob Lorbers „Neuoffenbarungen” spiegeln nicht nur die Zeit des 19. Jahrhunderts wider, sondern auch den Kenntnisstand und die geistige Welt ihres Verfassers. (…) Lorbers Texte sind – im besten Sinne des Wortes – fromme Dichtung, aber sie sind kein Diktat Gottes. EZW, ed. Pöhlmann (2003), p. 44

List of works

• Das grosse Evangelium Johannis (The Great Gospel of John), first edition 1871, 10 volumes, Lorber-Verlag, 1996 reprint: ISBN 9783874952132 ff.
  • "condensed version" in English, Zluhan Verlag (1985), ISBN 978-3874953054.
• Die Haushaltung Gottes (The Household of God), 3 vols., Lorber-Verlag, 5th ed. (1981), ISBN 978-3874952002.
  • English translation: Zluhan Verlag (1995) ISBN 978-3874953146.
• Die geistige Sonne, 2 vols., Lorber-Verlag, 9th ed. (1996), ISBN 978-3874952064.
• Die natürliche Sonne Bietigheim Württemberg, Neu-Salems-Verlag (1928)
• Die Heilkraft des Sonnenlichtes, Lorber-Verlag, 2006 reprint: ISBN 978-3874951753.
• Jenseits der Schwelle: Sterbeszenen, Lorber-Verlag, 2004 reprint (9th ed.): ISBN 978-3874951630.
• Die Jugend Jesu. Das Jakobus-Evangelium, 12th ed. (1996), ISBN 978-3874951647.
• Die Fliege: Einblicke in die Wunder der Schöpfung , Zluhan Verlag, 7th ed. (2000), ISBN 978-3874951685.
• Bischof Martin: Die Entwicklung einer Seele im Jenseits , 3rd ed. (2003), ISBN 978-3874950091.
• Die drei Tage im Tempel , Zluhan Verlag, 10th ed. (1995), ISBN 978-3874950145.
• Naturgeheimnisse: Das Naturgeschehen und sein geistiger Hintergrund , Lorber-Verlag, 3rd ed. (1994), ISBN 978-3874950459.
• Die Wiederkunft Christi: Ein Entwicklungsbild der Menschheit , Zluhan Verlag, 5th ed. (2000), ISBN 978-3874951098.
• Paulus' Brief an die Gemeinde in Laodizea, Zluhan Verlag; 6th ed. (1993), ISBN 978-3874951241.
• Briefwechsel Jesu mit Abgarus Ukkama von Edessa, ISBN 978-3874950114.
• Der Saturn: Darstellung dieses Planeten samt Ring und Monden und seiner Lebewesen, Lorber-Verlag, 4th ed. (2009), ISBN 978-3874950480.
• Erde und Mond, Zluhan Verlag, 2000 reprint of 4th ed. (1953), ISBN 978-3874951654.
• Der Großglockner: Ein Evangelium der Berge, Zluhan Verlag, 7th ed. (2009), ISBN 978-3874951111.

Further reading

• Ritter von Leitner: Jakob Lorber, der steiermärkische Theosoph

External links

• His New Word
• New Revelation
• The New Revelation
• Jakob Lorber - Some Personal Details
• Jakob Lorber Foundation, New Zealand
• The books of Lorber as german PDF
• Lorber-Weblinks
• Exemplary messages of Jakob Lorber’s New Revelation
• Jakokob Lorber Books . com | Books E-Books Links
• Jakob Lorber: Letter of St. Paul to the Assembly of the Laodiceans

• 1800 births
• 1864 deaths
• Christian mystics
• Enlightenment philosophers
• Austrian Christians