Lorber, Jacob

Jacob Lorber was born on July 22, 1800 in the village of Kanisha near Maribor in Styria , which now belongs to the Šentilj (St. Egidi) community in Slovenia ^[1] . He was the first-born in the peasant Catholic family of Michael Lorber and his wife Maria (born Toucher), who had their own farm in Kanish and engaged in the cultivation of grapes ^[1] .

When Lorber was 9 years old, he enters the parish school in Yaring, where a local school teacher begins to teach him how to play the piano, violin and organ ^[2] .

In 1817, Lorber enters Maribor, where he attends classes for classroom mentors and where, at the insistence of a chaplain, who drew attention to his abilities, he enters a gymnasium in Maribor, in which he is in 5 classes ^[2] .

Later, in 1824, Lorber moved to Graz ^[2] . However, due to the inability to earn enough money and at the same time continue his studies, Lorber leaves the latter and enters the home teacher for 5 years.

In the same 1824 ^{[ clarify ]} Lorber is once again trying to get the title of “class teacher” ^[2] . To do this, he takes courses for teachers and passes an exam ^[2] . Having received good evidence, he submits a request for his appointment as a teacher to any school, but when it remains unanswered, he forever leaves the thought of a teacher's career ^[2] . After that, Jacob devotes himself to teaching music privately, while making good money ^[2] . In parallel with the teaching of music, he pays a lot of attention to composing songs and concert plays, as well as performances.

During this period, Lorber met with composers Anselm Hüttenbrenner and Franz Schubert , with whom he gives concerts, as well as with the famous violin virtuoso and composer Niccolo Paganini , who not only gave him several lessons, but also became a peculiar example for him ^[3] . Thanks to his special love for the violin and the successful imitation of Paganini, Lorber won the favor of the public.

Despite the commitment to music, Lorbera begins to gradually gravitate to another. The desire to penetrate into the secrets of the universe and to touch the spiritual is more and more awakening in him, which is why, according to the data of his biographer Karl Gottfried von Leitner , he, along with the Bible, begins to read mainly such books that spoke of the other world: the works of Jacob Boehme , John Tennhard , Emanuel Swedenborg , Johann Heinrich Jung-Stilling , Justinus Kerner ^[4] .

When Lorber reached the age of forty, he was unexpectedly offered the position of the second bandmaster in Trieste ^[2] . Jacob agrees, but he was not destined to move to Trieste. On March 14, 1840, after morning prayer, Lorber, as he later told about it, heard a voice in the region of his heart, which ordered him: “Get up! Take your stylus and write! ” ^[2] . Lorber followed this mysterious call, taking a pen and "starting to serve the Voice", which he later called the "Living Word" ^[2] . He refused a place in Trieste and for 24 years, until his death, remained, as he said this himself, “the secret scribe of the Lord” ^[2] .

Very often, Lorber’s friends, initiated into his calling, were present at his work and watched him ^[2] . According to their testimony, Lorber was sitting at his desk and quite calmly, for hours on end covering one page after another with even handwriting, without stopping and never correcting what was written ^[2] .

On May 16, 1858, he informed one of his friends, in particular, the following: “Regarding the inner Word and how it is heard, I can say a little, or even very little! Is it only that which concerns me personally and how I hear him! I hear the Holy Word of the Lord in the region of the heart as a clearly expressed thought. And it’s so clear and pure, as if these were coined words. No one, even standing next to me, does not hear any voice, but for me this voice of mercy sounds clearer than any material sound! ” ^[2]

With the same ease, he could dictate the text coming to him. As a rule, his closest friend Anselm Hüttenbrenner helped Lorber in this ^{[5] [6]} . According to the assurances of witnesses, Lorber himself was sitting next to the recorder, calmly looking in front of him, speaking in an even voice and never asking again. Whenever he had to unexpectedly interrupt the dictation in the half-phrase, he, taking up work again, never looked at what it stopped.

Lorber did not take remuneration for his work, published during his lifetime without mentioning the name and published thanks to the financial support of friends ^[2] .

Only two times during this period of time Lorber interrupted his usual way of life: from 1845 to 1846 he visited his two brothers in Upper Carinthia, and in 1857 he toured as a violinist through the crown lands of Austria, but even then he returned to Graz between concerts to their usual activities ^[2] . Lorber believed that absences of this kind distracted him from his true calling, so he completely abandoned them and henceforth limited himself to the lessons, thanks to which he received the minimum means for his life ^[2] . Nevertheless, over time, he even could not afford to earn even these funds, as he became more and more sick, and had to rely on the help of friends ^[2] .

In the winter of 1863-1864, Lorber was sick more than usual. However, his mental health, according to the biographer Karl Gottfried von Leitner, remained untouched ^[7] . By spring, although he began to feel better for a short time, he died on August 24, 1864.

Translated into Russian, only three works from the written heritage of J. Lorber are presented, namely, “The Youth of Jesus”, “Three Days in the Temple” and “Correspondence of Jesus with Abgar”. All three translations were made by Lyudmila Pavlovna von Offenberg (nee Gudim-Levkovich) in the forties of the XX century.

• Kurt Eggenstein . Der Prophet Jakob Lorber verkündet bevorstehende Katastrophen und das wahre Christentum. - Lorber, Bietigheim 1975; Pandion, Bad Kreuznach 12.A. 1997. - ISBN 3-922929-75-3
• Karl Gottfried von Leitner . Jakob Lorber. Ein Lebensbild nach langjährigem, persönlichem Umgange. - Neu-Salem, Bietigheim, 1930; 6. A. ebd. 1994. - ISBN 3-87495-043-3 . Abschrift
• Karl Gottfried von Leitner (Hrsg.): Jakob Lorber. Briefe, Urkunden und Bilder aus seinem Leben . Neu-Salem, Bietigheim 1931; Briefe
• Walter Lutz . Die Grundfragen des Lebens im Lichte der Botschaft Jakob Lorbers. - Neu-Salem, Bietigheim 1930; Zluhan, Bietigheim 5.A. 2005. - ISBN 3-87495-113-8
• Walter Lutz . Neuoffenbarung am Aufgang des dritten Jahrtausends. Ein Lehr- und Nachschlagewerk der Neuoffenbarung gegeben durch Jakob Lorber. - 3 Bände. Lorber, Bietigheim 1969. - ISBN 3-87495-068-9
• Frank Mehnert . Die geistliche Gabe Lorbers an die Christenheit. // Matthias Pöhlmann (Hrsg.): “Ich habe euch noch viel zu sagen ...” Gottesboten - Propheten - Neuoffenbarer . Evangelische Zentralstelle für Weltanschauungsfragen, EZW-Texte 169, Berlin 2003, ISSN 0085-0357 . - S. 21-30.
• Ralf Schuchardt . Allein die Bibel? Die Widerlegung einer christlichen Legende. - Turm, Bietigheim 1997. - ISBN 3-7999-0249-X
• Rainer Uhlmann . So sprach der Herr zu mir. Einführung in das prophetische Werk Jakob Lorbers. - Lorber, Bietigheim 1987. - ISBN 3-87495-159-6 .

Documentary about J. Lorber

• Jakob Lorber / Der unbekannte Prophet - Jacob Lorber / Unknown Prophet (Russian subtitles) (German)
• Jakob Lorber / The Unknown Prophet - Jacob Lorber / Unknown Prophet

Others

• Jacob Lorber / New Revelation (Russian)
• Jakob Lorbers Werke online (1) (German)
• Jakob Lorbers Werke online (2) (German)
• Jakob Lorbers Werke online (3) / über den Schreibknecht des Herrn (German)
• Websites mit Inhalten von und über Jakob Lorber (German)
• Inhaltsverzeichnisse der Werke Jakob Lorbers (German)
• Themenverzeichnis von AZ zu den Werken Jakob Lorbers (German)
• Wortverzeichnis zu den Werken Jakob Lorbers (German)
• Lorber-Verlag (German)
• Jakob Lorber Books Online (1 )
• Jakob Lorber Books Online (2 )
• Jakob Lorber Books Online (3 )