"those which were possessed with devils" - No Religions Accept Fatal Viruses

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No Religions Accept Fatal Viruses

It is 1,000 years ago that the Japanese Buddhism entered into a new era setting a frame work leading to today's Japanese spiritual paradigm.

Genshin (942 – July 6, 1017), also known as Eshin Sōzu , was the most influential of a number of scholar-monks of the Buddhist Tendai sect active during the tenth and eleventh centuries in Japan. Genshin, who was trained in both esoteric and exoteric teachings, wrote a number of treatises pertaining to the increasingly popular Pure Land Buddhism from a Tendai viewpoint, but his magnum opus, the Ōjōyōshū ("Essentials of Birth in the Pure Land") had considerable influence on later Pure Land teachers such as Honen and Shinran. (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Genshin) 

It was the pre-Crusader era in Europe when the Caliphate of Córdoba, an Islamic state, ruled by the Umayyad dynasty in Iberia collapsed.  In this period, as a Danish prince, Cnut won the throne of England in 1016, in the wake of centuries of Viking activity in northwestern Europe.

Buddhism was imported to Japan through China and Korea before the 6th century and adopted by the Imperial court, encouraging building of Buddhist temples in Nara, Kyoto, etc., but the religion was mostly revered, studied, and practiced by noble people and elites of Japan.  But, around 10th century, many monks started to make Buddhism prevail in ordinary people in society.  Genshin was one of such progressive monks.

Genshin is still well known as a pioneer monk who contributed to foundation of Pure Land Buddhism that is still a major sect of Buddhism among Japanese people.  So, images about Heaven and the hell for Japanese people of today are still based on Genshin's Ojoyoshu.

To write the Ojoyoshu, Genshin studied various Buddhist sutras and collected descriptions about the pure land and the hell, which he introduced in the Ojoyoshu.  Those descriptions about the pure land and the hell were a kind of real, and people believed the content of the book, whose influence can be even seen today.  The book, the Ojoyoshu, was introduced to China to help revival of Buddhism in the Tang Dynasty of China. 

In the Ojoyoshu, Genshin encouraged people to chant the name of the Buddha while imaging the state of the pure land.  He also encouraged people to do good in order to be admitted into the pure land.  Even a sinful man could be accepted in the pure land only if he repented and prayed to the Buddha.  It is not known how Genshin himself saw the pure land and the hell, but his description was compelling. 

Even today, images a Japanese would see in his near-death experience are mostly influenced by the content of the Ojoyoshu or by contents of Japanese Buddhist sects in the 'Jodo' line based on the Ojoyoshu.

So, the paradigm of Christian Heaven and hell and the encouragement of good in Christianity can be easily understood by Japanese, since they are parallel with the images of the pure land and the hell and teachings depicted by Genshin 1,000 years ago.  

If a Japanese thinks that Heaven and the hell or the spiritual world exists, it is not only because he blindly accepts Christian teachings, but it is because he can find similar teachings and images in traditional Japanese Buddhism.  Therefore, it is likely that Heaven and the hell or the spiritual world exists, although Buddhism regards the Buddha as the highest personality both in this world and in the spiritual world.

In addition, the concept of Satan or Evil One is also found in the Japanese Buddhism as a false god that hinders people from accepting and following the Buddha.

As the crisis leading to the end of the world is near nowadays, the God should invoke spiritual tradition of every tribe and religion in the earth so that the mankind can conquer the crisis and survive for future centuries.  And, it is lucky that Japan as a member of leading G7 countries share a similar concept on Heaven and the hell with other members that are all Christian.

Anyway, no religions accept fatal viruses that would cause the hell in the earth.

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Matthew 4, King James Version
23 And Jesus went about all Galilee, teaching in their synagogues, and preaching the gospel of the kingdom, and healing all manner of sickness and all manner of disease among the people.
24 And his fame went throughout all Syria: and they brought unto him all sick people that were taken with divers diseases and torments, and those which were possessed with devils, and those which were lunatick, and those that had the palsy; and he healed them.
25 And there followed him great multitudes of people from Galilee, and from Decapolis, and from Jerusalem, and from Judaea, and from beyond Jordan.

"Jesus saith unto her, Woman, believe me, the hour cometh" - The Corona-Pandemic, a Warning just before the Preparatory Period prior to the Crucial Year of 2070

 

Mt. Fuji from around Tokyo

The Corona-Pandemic, a Warning just before the Preparatory Period prior to the Crucial Year of 2070

In 1995, Japan suffered a big earthquake around Kobe City, west of Osaka and Kyoto, resulting in more than 6,000 deaths.

In 2011, Japan suffered again a big earthquake and huge tsunamis around Sendai City and the Fukushima Prefecture, north east of Tokyo, resulting in more than 20,000 deaths and missing persons in addition to the Fukushima Nuclear accident. 

In 2020, Japan was attacked by the corona-pandemic, resulting in about 9,000 deaths and postponement of the 2020 Tokyo Summer Olympics, which is still going on as of April 2021.  

It is 16 years from 1995 to 2011, and 9 years from 2011 to 2020.  So, it is assumed that another tragedy might happen in 2024, since it would be 4 years from 2020 to 2024.  Indeed, 16 is a square of 4, 9 is a square of 3, and 4 is a square of 2.  The series of crises in Japan looks like following the series of year gaps in squares of 4, 3, and 2.

In my view, the end of the century still continues since 1995 for Japan.  For the U.S., the end of the century seems to have started around 2001 with the 9/11 Attacks.  And, the U.S. underwent the 2007/2008 Financial Crisis and the 2020 corona-pandemic.  It is 7 years from 2001 to 2008 and 13 years from 2007 to 2020.  The series of crises in the U.S. looks like following a series of prime numbers in terms of the years interval.  Therefore, the U.S. might face a more critical crisis around 2039, since it is 19 years from 2020 to 2039 in a series of 7, 13, and 19.

For comparison with the 1st century when Christ Jesus first appeared in the human world, in AD 24 Christ Jesus was about 28, being prepared for His mission prior to being Baptized in the Jordan, and in AD 39, after the crucifixion and ascendance to Heaven of Christ Jesus, Paul had been converted on the way to Damascus and already started his mission.

So, between 2024 and 2039, Christ Jesus might come the second time and perform His second mission in this world, although we might not be able to realize it.

But, around 2070, a clear catastrophe to the world, such as WWIII, might happen, since the destruction of Jerusalem through the Roman-Jewish War happened in AD 70, which is 50 years later from now.

And, if the God decides to forgive and save the mankind, the human history should be allowed to continue through the 22nd century and thereafter, though, with a new mindset or notion about the God or the relationship between the God and men. 

In this context, this corona-pandemic might be an episode or a warning just before the preparatory period prior to the crucial event around 2070.   

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John 4, King James Version
19 The woman saith unto him, Sir, I perceive that thou art a prophet.
20 Our fathers worshipped in this mountain; and ye say, that in Jerusalem is the place where men ought to worship.
21 Jesus saith unto her, Woman, believe me, the hour cometh, when ye shall neither in this mountain, nor yet at Jerusalem, worship the Father.
22 Ye worship ye know not what: we know what we worship: for salvation is of the Jews.
23 But the hour cometh, and now is, when the true worshippers shall worship the Father in spirit and in truth: for the Father seeketh such to worship him.
24 God is a Spirit: and they that worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth.

"To preach the acceptable year of the Lord" - Please Forgive our Sins and Save us from this Pandemic!

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Please Forgive our Sins and Save us from this Pandemic!

The God said to Moses:
14 And God said unto Moses, I Am That I Am: and he said, Thus shalt thou say unto the children of Israel, I Am hath sent me unto you. (Exodus 3, King James Version)

If we trust in the Bible, the God actually spoke to Moses about 3300 years ago, saying that He described Himself as somebody that could exist only due to Himself alone. 

Everything and everyman that exist can only exist due to certain appropriate preceding conditions.  Everything exists due to certain appropriate physical or natural conditions.  Everyone exists due to certain appropriate biological and spiritual conditions.  But the God's existence does not owe itself to anything but itself or the God Himself.  Existence of anything depends on the God or His intention to allow such existence.   In this context, the God is equivalent to existence in logic or discussion.  

Above the concept of existence or non-existence, there must be some ascendant concept that the mankind cannot still understand.  And the God must be originally there.  It means that the God does not have to even exist, since He is above existence.  But the word "I am" implies that He decided to exist for Himself and execute the power of existence.

If this material universe had not been created about 13.7 billion years ago, which means that no mankind could be also created 250,000 years ago, the God should exit or more than exist.

With continuation of development of man's science, the mankind may understand and explicate all the wonders, mysteries and secrets of what can exist, but it must be theoretically impossible for us to know the full aspects of the God who is also above existence.

We think that the God somewhat resembles us, and thus we often think that the God should save us immediately if He finds we are at risk, in danger, or in a trouble.  If we have faith in the God, He should surely save us, but He might save us in a way and manner we cannot understand.  For example, He might not save our life in this world, but He might decide and plan to accept us in Heaven after our life in this world.

Therefore, men with faith in the God are not afraid of the corona-virus and other fatal disease germs and viruses.

In addition, traditionally it is thought that the God is the highest good.  We might have to think of the God from this point of view other than the point that the God has the power to save us in a predicament such as a pandemic.  

And in that case, we must have a wonder if the God would save us without a higher level of goodness or virtue the God should expect.  Indeed, it looks sure that the God would surely save the mankind from any pandemic immediately if all the mankind are good enough to rejoice the God who is also the highest good.  

Finally, all we can do is still pray to the God, saying, "Please forgive our sins and save us from this pandemic!"        

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Luke 4, King James Version
17 And there was delivered unto him the book of the prophet Esaias. And when he had opened the book, he found the place where it was written,
18 The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he hath anointed me to preach the gospel to the poor; he hath sent me to heal the brokenhearted, to preach deliverance to the captives, and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty them that are bruised,
19 To preach the acceptable year of the Lord.
20 And he closed the book, and he gave it again to the minister, and sat down. And the eyes of all them that were in the synagogue were fastened on him.