"when Jesus perceived in his spirit" - An Invention

Snowing around Tokyo

An Invention

One day, Satan said to God, "Allow me to invent just one thing and give it to human beings, and then I will prove that I can defeat you, Sir!"

Then, Satan changed his figure to a coin.

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How can we earn money while practicing justice and love perfectly?

It is very difficult.

Because it is a market where we earn money.  We have to compete with others by presenting more attractive goods or services to clients.  To earn money, we have to beat competitors and also provide better products.  But can we accept our own defeat in such competition?  Or can we be satisfied, if we win in this business competition, seeing others failing and losing a chance for success?  To earn money, we have to neglect unhappiness of our competitors.

So, to be rich we have to be cold to our rivals.  We have to rely on any dirty or unlawful means and tricks to  take the wind from the sails of our trade rivals.    In addition, we have to neglect the poor, since we have to invest our money into development of products while stopping providing money for the poor.    

This behavior is all against justice and love.  And this society is built on the assumption that everybody will make money by competing with others applying any dirty tactics and by neglecting the poor while they can be saved, to any degree, if he or she helps them financially.

Even one cent or penny cannot be earned without following this rule: outwit rivals and neglect the helpless.

If a beggar received a coin from a citizen on the street, he must give it to another beggar that has failed in soliciting the citizen for money, since the man must be now unhappier than he is.

For this reason, possessing no money is a necessary condition to prove that he is a true follower of Christ Jesus.

Put extremely, money is an invention of Satan.  He makes people use it so that they will leave the teaching of God, because people will love money more than justice and love.

Maybe before money appeared in this world, Satan must have said to God, "Allow me to invent just one thing and give it to human beings, and then I will prove that I can defeat you, Sir!"  Then generous God must allow Satan to do so in his challenge to God.  Then, the king of all the evil spirits invented money.      

That is why I think there is no money in Heaven.

And no Satan in Heaven.　Because God has confined Satan in coins or any form of money.　

http://za.news.yahoo.com/photos/pope-s-peace-doves-attacked-after-release-slideshow/dove-freed-children-flanked-pope-francis-during-angelus-photo-131852588.html


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Mar 2:7 Why doth this man thus speak blasphemies? who can forgive sins but God only?
Mar 2:8 And immediately when Jesus perceived in his spirit that they so reasoned within themselves, he said unto them, Why reason ye these things in your hearts?
Mar 2:9 Whether is it easier to say to the sick of the palsy, Thy sins be forgiven thee; or to say, Arise, and take up thy bed, and walk?
Mar 2:10 But that ye may know that the Son of man hath power on earth to forgive sins, (he saith to the sick of the palsy,)
Mar 2:11 I say unto thee, Arise, and take up thy bed, and go thy way into thine house.

"Fill the waterpots with water" - The Garden of Eden

Shinjuku Station, Tokyo

The Garden of Eden

Where is Eden, the paradise for Adam and Eve?

The Garden of Eden is the biblical "garden of God", described most notably in the Book of Genesis chapters 2 and 3, and also in the book of Ezekiel.[2] The "garden of God", not called Eden, is mentioned in Genesis 14, and the "trees of the garden" are mentioned in Ezekiel 31. The Book of Zechariah and the Book of Psalms also refer to trees and water in relation to the temple without explicitly mentioning Eden.[3] 

Traditionally, the favoured derivation of the name "Eden" was from the Akkadian edinnu, derived from a Sumerian word meaning "plain" or "steppe". Eden is now believed to be more closely related to an Aramaic root word meaning "fruitful, well-watered."[2] The Hebrew term is translated "pleasure" in Sarah's secret saying in Genesis 18:12.[4]

Genesis 2:10–14 lists four rivers in association with the garden of Eden: Pishon, Gihon, the Tigris, and the Euphrates. It also refers to the land of Cush, which is often incorrectly translated as Ethiopia, but in this case thought to be to Cossaea, a Greek name for theKassite. These are lands north of Elam, immediately to the east of ancient Babylon, which, unlike Ethiopia, does lie within the region being described.[9] In Antiquities of the Jews by the first-century Jewish historian Josephus, he identifies the Pishon as what "the Greeks called Ganges," and the Geon (Gehon) as the Nile.[10]
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Garden_of_Eden#Eden_in_Genesis

However, if the Garden of Eden had been around Nazareth, we would have more faith in God and Christ Jesus.

The Lost Rivers of the Garden of Eden 

The quest for pinpointing the exact location of the Biblical Garden of Eden and the four rivers almost rivals the quest for the location of fabled Atlantis. And the theories that abound are almost as numerous as the interpretations of the seven days of Genesis. Before tackling this question let's review what is written in Genesis about the four rivers: 

And a river went out of Eden to water the garden; and from thence it was parted, and became into four heads. The name of the first is Pison: that is it which compasseth the whole land of Havilah, where there is gold; And the gold of that land is good: there is bdellium and the onyx stone. And the name of the second river is Gihon: the same is it that compasseth the whole land of Ethiopia. And the name of the third river is Hiddekel: that is it which goeth toward the east of Assyria. And the fourth river is Euphrates.
(Genesis 2:10-14 KJV)
... 

The Bible itself lends further credence to Israel (or someplace nearby) as the location of the Garden of Eden. If you run the name "Eden" through a search of the Bible, among several references the following ones provide some insightful clues: 

"Behold, the Assyrian was a cedar in Lebanon with fair branches, and with a shadowing shroud, and of an high stature; and his top was among the thick boughs. The waters made him great, the deep set him up on high with her rivers running round about his plants, and sent out her little rivers unto all the trees of the field. Therefore his height was exalted above all the trees of the field, and his boughs were multiplied, and his branches became long because of the multitude of waters, when he shot forth. All the fowls of heaven made their nests in his boughs, and under his branches did all the beasts of the field bring forth their young, and under his shadow dwelt all great nations. Thus was he fair in his greatness, in the length of his branches: for his root was by great waters. The cedars in the garden of God could not hide him: the fir trees were not like his boughs, and the chesnut trees were not like his branches; nor any tree in the garden of God was like unto him in his beauty. I have made him fair by the multitude of his branches: so that all the trees of Eden, that were in the garden of God, envied him."
(Ezekiel 31:3-9 KJV) 

In this passage the Bible says that the Assyrian was in Lebanon. Spiritually speaking, the "trees" in this passage refer to men and leaders. Cedar trees are mentioned elsewhere in the Bible as references to Lebanon (Judges 9:15, Psalms 29:5 & 104:16, Song of Solomon 5:15, Isaiah 2:13, Jeremiah 22:23 and more). 

Notice also in the last of the passage that the Spirit associates the trees with "Eden" that "were in the Garden of God."  Lebanon, although not a part of modern political Israel, was a part of the Biblical lands ruled by the Kings of Israel in times past. From this we can infer that the Garden and the source of the rivers of the Garden was somewhere close to the land of Lebanon. 

Assuming this postulation is correct, that the source of the four rivers was somewhere near Lebanon, the interconnection of the river systems would need to be somewhat like the map below:

And this corresponds with what John said about the New Jerusalem:
And he shewed me a pure river of water of life, clear as crystal, proceeding out of the throne of God and of the Lamb. In the midst of the street of it, and on either side of the river, was there the tree of life, which bare twelve manner of fruits, and yielded her fruit every month: and the leaves of the tree were for the healing of the nations.
(Revelation 22:1-2 KJV) 

Since the original "Tree of Life" was in the Garden of Eden, does it not make sense that when the Lord makes all things new again the future "Tree of Life" would be restored to its proper place? And that place is in Israel, the same place upon the mountains of Moriah (Jerusalem). 

Also keep in mind that in the days of Adam and Eve a "mist" went up and watered the face of the Earth within the Garden (Genesis 2:6). Fountains of waters (underground waters under pressure gushing upwards) would certainly be a logical source for the generation of such a mist and would be a logical feed-source for such a river. Certainly, we cannot exclude this possibility.
... 

In summary, although the modern-day geology and topography of the Middle-East does not readily reveal the exact location of the Garden of Eden and the four rivers source, guidance by faith from the Holy Bible and a forensic study of the region's geology reveals the matter. The available data appears to suggest that present-day Israel was the central location of the Garden of Eden.
http://www.kjvbible.org/rivers_of_the_garden_of_eden.html

Anyway, the place Christ Jesus spent his childhood must be like a paradise.  So, Nazareth must be an Eden for Christ Jesus.  Or that was why Christ Jesus had to be born there.  




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Joh 2:6 And there were set there six waterpots of stone, after the manner of the purifying of the Jews, containing two or three firkins apiece.
Joh 2:7 Jesus saith unto them, Fill the waterpots with water. And they filled them up to the brim.
Joh 2:8 And he saith unto them, Draw out now, and bear unto the governor of the feast. And they bare it.
Joh 2:9 When the ruler of the feast had tasted the water that was made wine, and knew not whence it was: (but the servants which drew the water knew;) the governor of the feast called the bridegroom,
Joh 2:10 And saith unto him, Every man at the beginning doth set forth good wine; and when men have well drunk, then that which is worse: but thou hast kept the good wine until now.
Joh 2:11 This beginning of miracles did Jesus in Cana of Galilee, and manifested forth his glory; and his disciples believed on him.

"thou hatest the deeds of the Nicolaitanes" - Authentic Sentences of Gospel

The Arakawa River, Tokyo

Authentic Sentences of Gospel 

There is a study on authenticity of sentences of the Gospels, since the Muratorian Fragment was found and examined.

The Muratorian Fragment is the oldest known list of New Testament books. It was discovered by Ludovico Antonio Muratori in a manuscript in the Ambrosian Library in Milan, and published by him in 1740. * It is called a fragment because the beginning of it is missing. Although the manuscript in which it appears was copied during the seventh century, the list itself is dated to about 170 because its author refers to the episcopate of Pius I of Rome (died 157) as recent. He mentions only two epistles of John, without describing them. The Apocalypse of Peter is mentioned as a book which "some of us will not allow to be read in church." A very helpful and detailed discussion of this document is to be found in Bruce Metzger's The Canon of the New Testament (Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1987), pp. 191-201. Below is Metzger's English translation of a critically amended text of the Fragment, from Appendix IV of the same book (pp. 305-7).
http://www.earlychristianwritings.com/passion-young.html

Especially interesting is the Gospel according to St.Mark, since it is believed to have been written earlier than other Gospels.

Gospel.......................Estimated Year of Completion

Mark...........................AD 65 to 80

Matthew....................80 to 100

Luke...........................80 to 130

John...........................90 to 120


Specifically the passion narrative in the Gospel of Mark, verses 14:32-15:47 is of very concern.  Sentences judged to be very authentic by scholars are as follows.

For each verse, the present author has counted up the number of scholars who believe that the verse or part of a verse belongs to the pre-Markan passion narrative. The number of scholars is presented next to the verse in the Young's Literal Translation. 

14:32 [17] And they come to a spot, the name of which [is] Gethsemane, and he saith to his disciples, `Sit ye here till I may pray;'

14:35 [16] And having gone forward a little, he fell upon the earth, and was praying, that, if it be possible the hour may pass from him,

14:43 [24] And immediately -- while he is yet speaking -- cometh near Judas, one of the twelve, and with him a great multitude, with swords and sticks, from the chief priests, and the scribes, and the elders;
14:44 [21] and he who is delivering him up had given a token to them, saying, `Whomsoever I shall kiss, he it is, lay hold on him, and lead him away safely,'
14:45 [24] and having come, immediately, having gone near him, he saith, `Rabbi, Rabbi,' and kissed him.
14:46 [25] And they laid on him their hands, and kept hold on him;
14:47 [20] and a certain one of those standing by, having drawn the sword, struck the servant of the chief priest, and took off his ear.
14:48 [18] And Jesus answering said to them, `As against a robber ye came out, with swords and sticks, to take me!
14:49 [19] daily I was with you in the temple teaching, and ye did not lay hold on me -- but that the Writings may be fulfilled.'
14:50 [22] And having left him they all fled;
14:51 [17] and a certain young man was following him, having put a linen cloth about [his] naked body, and the young men lay hold on him,
14:52 [17] and he, having left the linen cloth, did flee from them naked.
14:53 [24] And they led away Jesus unto the chief priest, and come together to him do all the chief priests, and the elders, and the scribes;
14:54 [16] and Peter afar off did follow him, to the inside of the hall of the chief priest, and he was sitting with the officers, and warming himself near the fire.

15:1 [19] And immediately, in the morning, the chief priests having made a consultation, with the elders, and scribes, and the whole sanhedrim, having bound Jesus, did lead away, and delivered [him] to Pilate;
15:2 [18] and Pilate questioned him, `Art thou the king of the Jews?' and he answering said to him, `Thou dost say [it].'
15:3 [21] And the chief priests were accusing him of many things, [but he answered nothing.]
15:4 [19] And Pilate again questioned him, saying, `Thou dost not answer anything! lo, how many things they do testify against thee!'
15:5 [20] and Jesus did no more answer anything, so that Pilate wondered.
15:6 [17] And at every feast he was releasing to them one prisoner, whomsoever they were asking;
15:7 [17] and there was [one] named Barabbas, bound with those making insurrection with him, who had in the insurrection committed murder.
15:8 [16] And the multitude having cried out, began to ask for themselves as he was always doing to them,
15:9 [17] and Pilate answered them, saying, `Will ye [that] I shall release to you the king of the Jews?'

15:11 [16] and the chief priests did move the multitude, that he might rather release Barabbas to them.

15:15 [21] and Pilate, wishing to content the multitude, released to them Barabbas, and delivered up Jesus -- having scourged [him] -- that he might be crucified.
15:16 [16] And the soldiers led him away into the hall, which is Praetorium, and call together the whole band,
15:17 [16] and clothe him with purple, and having plaited a crown of thorns, they put [it] on him,
15:18 [15] and began to salute him, `Hail, King of the Jews.'
15:19 [17] And they were smiting him on the head with a reed, and were spitting on him, and having bent the knee, were bowing to him,
15:20 [22] and when they [had] mocked him, they took the purple from off him, and clothed him in his own garments, and they led him forth, that they may crucify him.
15:21 [24] And they impress a certain one passing by -- Simon, a Cyrenian, coming from the field, the father of Alexander and Rufus -- that he may bear his cross,
15:22 [24] and they bring him to the place Golgotha, which is, being interpreted, `Place of a skull;'
15:23 [23] and they were giving him to drink wine mingled with myrrh, and he did not receive.
15:24 [26] And having crucified him, they were dividing his garments, casting a lot upon them, what each may take;

15:26 [18] and the inscription of his accusation was written above -- `The King of the Jews.'
15:27 [23] And with him they crucify two robbers, one on the right hand, and one on his left,

15:29 [20] And those passing by were speaking evil of him, shaking their heads, and saying, `Ah, the thrower down of the sanctuary, and in three days the builder!
15:30 [16] save thyself, and come down from the cross!'

15:32 [20] The Christ! the king of Israel -- let him come down now from the cross, that we may see and believe;' and those crucified with him were reproaching him.

15:34 [19] and at the ninth hour Jesus cried with a great voice, saying, `Eloi, Eloi, lamma sabachthani?' which is, being interpreted, `My God, my God, why didst Thou forsake me?'
15:35 [17] And certain of those standing by, having heard, said, `Lo, Elijah he doth call;'
15:36 [21] and one having run, and having filled a spunge with vinegar, having put [it] also on a reed, was giving him to drink, saying, `Let alone, let us see if Elijah doth come to take him down.'
15:37 [22] And Jesus having uttered a loud cry, yielded the spirit,

http://www.earlychristianwritings.com/passion-young.html

These are sentences believed to have been written even before the Gospel by St. Mark.

So, the most authentic verse supported by the largest number of scholars is:
15:24 [26] And having crucified him, they were dividing his garments, casting a lot upon them, what each may take;

This is the most sinful scene.  Roman soldiers took not only life of Christ Jesus but also his clothes while playing a gamble under His crucified body.  For this reason the fate of the Roman Empire was doomed to disintegration.  And, leaders of followers of Christ, namely popes, were also destined for presiding over, as we see today, putting on great garments.

Anyway we are convinced that Christ Jesus was killed by Roman troops who had no respect for Him.  It was for the reason that they judged that Christ Jesus called Himself the King of Jews.  But no verses in Gospels presented and supported the fact.  Then who told a commander of Roman troops about it?  Judas?  Barabbas?  Or Jewish priests?  If the Roman commander had known that Christ Jesus had never called Himself the King of Jews, would not he have arrested and executed Him?



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Rev 2:6 But this thou hast, that thou hatest the deeds of the Nicolaitanes, which I also hate.
Rev 2:7 He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches; To him that overcometh will I give to eat of the tree of life, which is in the midst of the paradise of God.

"or else I will come unto thee quickly" - Buddhist's Floating

Tokyo Views

Buddhist's Floating

There is a Buddhist talk.

An ascetic monk said to a Buddhist high priest, "I cannot float in the water."  Then the priest said, "So then, swim and then you can float."  The monk replied, "But how can I swim because I cannot float?"  The priest said, "A man can float if he swims."

Indeed, a man is born so that he can float; accordingly he can swim.  But if he doesn't swim, he cannot float any more.

In any of these talks, including theories concocted by economists, there is a denial of difference in levels of meanings of a word depending on contexts where it is used.  And also a lack of a time factor is observed as well as disregarding of basic condition.

Inherently a man is born with a physical condition enabling him to float, so that he has inherent ability to swim.  But if a man gets afraid of being in the water and moves his legs and arms violently, he will destroy his inherent ability to float.  His desperate movement of body in the water breaks the condition in which he can float.  However he may still float for a short period of time no matter how adversely he behaves in the water against the natural ability to float.

Taking a pose for swimming adjusts his movement for floating easily and longer.  Floating of the body can be sustained by man's taking movement necessary for swimming.  Swimming is a level higher form of floating.

A man only floating might lose energy needed to maintain a posture suitable for floating in a longer period of time unless he does shift to swimming.  And when a man starts swimming, he can float more easily and longer with less energy.

So, on the lowest level, a man is momentarily floating but soon he may lose his ability to float due to his inadequate posture.  On the second level, a man is swimming so as not to be drowned.  He is not enjoying swimming.  A need not to get drowned makes him swim in any poor manner.  On the third level a man is swimming as the most suitable manner of floating.  He knows that he never gets drowned while enjoying floating and swimming.

And from the beginning a man has evolved from a creature in the sea.  He can float or swim under the surface of the water.

A rich man usually tries to get more money as he is afraid of losing his assets.  The more he gets money, the more he is afraid of losing money.  It is as if a man who is afraid of getting drowned were swimming in a very violent manner.  There is no peace and grace in his life.

But worse must be a very wealthy man who is enjoying his riches while knowing there are many poor people in the society.  It is like a selfish swimmer who is swimming elegantly only for himself as he has mastered the way of swimming while many others are getting drowned around him.

          

A famous Buddhist textbook written by prelate Do-gen in the early 13rd century in Japan
http://blogs.yahoo.co.jp/a151e/55249641.html


Anyway floating is the best and final style of swimming.  Floating is the ultimate target for man's swimming.  It is not easy.  First, swim!



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Rev 2:5 Remember therefore from whence thou art fallen, and repent, and do the first works; or else I will come unto thee quickly, and will remove thy candlestick out of his place, except thou repent.

"If thou seekest her as silver" - Nuclear Energy Policy

Tokyo Views

Nuclear Energy Policy

Today's concern is as follows, since the Tokyo Gubernatorial Election campaign is going on mainly with a focus on a standpoint of each candidate about Japan's nuclear energy policy, though Japan should take into consideration states of nuclear energy handling in other nations.

China set to build 200 nuclear power plants: report 

Beijing aims to cut high level of emissions generated by the large-scale use of coal

First Published: Thu, Sep 26 2013. 11 09 PM IST

Beijing: China plans to build 200 new nuclear power plants and speed up the construction of 29 more as part of efforts to cut the high level of emissions generated by the large-scale use of coal. 

China’s demand for nuclear plants will reach 200, with four to six new projects being approved annually before 2015, said Jian Jingwen, deputy head of the equipment department at the State Nuclear Power Technology Corporation. 

The number will touch 10 plants every year after 2020, Jian was quoted as saying by state-run China Daily. 

China plans to increase nuclear power generation capacity from 10.7 gigawatts in 2010 to 160 gigawatts in 2040, the report said.
http://www.livemint.com/Politics/3s501RtDktWGT48wbF771K/China-set-to-build-200-nuclear-power-plants-report.html

If any of Chinese nuclear power plants should be in a trouble with a large scale of radioactive leakage, radioactive material discharged will flow to the east and eventually to Japan like industrial pollutants such as PM2.5.  Japan cannot be free from a disaster caused by a nuclear power plant in the Chinese continent and the Korea Peninsula. 　

January 15, 2014 7:00 am JST
S Korea to build more nuclear plants despite opposition
KENTARO OGURA, Nikkei staff writer

South Korea currently has 23 nuclear reactors, with plans in the works to build 11 more, including those already under construction. The total capacity of the 34 reactors would be 36 million kilowatts, short of the new target of 43 million kilowatts in 2035.

Furthermore, South Korea hopes to cultivate nuclear power into a major export industry. The nation vies with Japan to win orders for nuclear plant construction in the Middle East, Southeast Asia and elsewhere. Shifting from nuclear power would impede technological development in that field.
http://asia.nikkei.com/Politics-Economy/Policy-Politics/S-Korea-to-build-more-nuclear-plants-despite-opposition

We may further check the state of use of nuclear energy for electricity in Taiwan as Taiwan is another neighboring country to Japan over the East China Sea.

Nuclear Power in Taiwan
(Updated January 2014)

The three nuclear plants comprise four General Electric boiling water reactors and two Westinghouse pressurised water reactors. Construction of the first unit began in 1972. They are all operated by the utility Taipower, under the MOEA, and were expected to have 40-year lifetimes. Five of the six units had undergone minor uprates by the end of 2008, resulting in net 44 MWe increase.

There are two 1350 MWe Advanced Boiling Water Reactors under construction at Lungmen, near Taipei. Initial plans to procure the units on an engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) basis failed, and contacts were awarded to GE for the nuclear reactors, Mitsubishi for the turbines and others for the rest, making it a particularly difficult project to manage. Construction began in 1999 with intention of 2004 completion. 

Following the Fukushima accident in March 2011, the AEC initiated a comprehensive nuclear safety review, and the first phase of this was completed in September. The AEC also strengthened its radiation protection capacity and contingency mechanisms, since Taiwan is very prone to seismic activity. In January 2012 the AEC said that its post-Fukushima inspections found "no safety concerns" with the six operating nuclear units. It also required Taipower itself to review the nuclear plants' safety margins by following the European Union's reactor stress test requirements.
http://www.world-nuclear.org/info/Country-Profiles/Others/Nuclear-Power-in-Taiwan/

It seems to be necessary for all the related countries in the Far East, including North Korea, to hold a meeting to discuss nuclear safety.  However, even the Abe Cabinet of Japan is promoting export of nuclear power generation systems to foreign countries.  Prime MInister Abe flew to Turkey, Vietnam, and India to sell Japanese nuclear power plants in these months.  South Korea is also eager to export nuclear reactors overseas.  According to a source, S. Korea plans to sell 80 nuclear reactors abroad by 2030.  Such irresponsible activities must be stopped.

The era of nuclear energy must be ended specifically as we have suffered the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear disaster.

In this context we have to pay attention to an outcome of the Tokyo Gubernatorial Election to be held on February 9.  If a candidate endorsed by PM Abe should win, the momentum of restoring operation of some 50 nuclear power reactors in Japan will be accelerated, though all of them are now halted mostly due to the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear accident which was set off in March 2011, three years ago.



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Pro 2:3 Yea, if thou criest after knowledge, and liftest up thy voice for understanding;
Pro 2:4 If thou seekest her as silver, and searchest for her as for hid treasures;
Pro 2:5 Then shalt thou understand the fear of the LORD, and find the knowledge of God.

"God blessed the seventh day, and sanctified it" - True Purpose

True Purpose

Blaise Pascal （1623 – 1662), one of the greatest French philosophers, said that a servant was usually not revealed a purpose of an instruction to, which his master gave to him.

Accordingly, Pascal contended that the servant carried out what his master ordered to him blindly, and thus sometimes failed in achieving the purpose of the master.

However, Christ Jesus, Pascal continued, told a purpose of his instructions to His followers; yet we have failed in achieving His purpose.

A master usually does not trust his servant 100%.  He can be betrayed by his servant who just obeys him for money or other profits.  There is no reason that his servant respects him fully.  The master has to be prepared for the worst case, so that he has to hide his true intention in using his servant.  The master has to manipulate his servant without love.

There is no 100% love between a master and his servant.  But, Christ Jesus loved His followers 100%, so that He revealed His purpose to them in guiding, persuading, or ordering them to do something.        

But what is the purpose of Christ Jesus?  It is to save His followers.  But Satan does not want the followers of Christ Jesus to be saved.  Accordingly, there is a great battle between Christ Jesus and Satan.  Christ wants to save His followers while Satan tries to destroy them.

This is a key issue.  What purpose doers your master, teacher, boss, leader, or benefactor have in instructing you or advising you?  

Satan might really say that his purpose is to make you his follower in exchange of money and worldly success.  It might not sound good.  So, Satan will not threaten you but try to persuade you that there is nothing that is called Heaven.  He will say to make this world your heaven by earning big money by making others unhappy.  Most of people accept the assertion of Satan.

So, Christ Jesus has to make His followers or Disciples clearly understand that their enemy is Satan and His purpose is to save them from traps of Satan.

But if we have a servant, what shall we do?  Shall we tell him our true purpose of saving him from Satan?  And if our servant has already become a servant of Satan, is it still a wise strategy?

The One who is the Beginning and the End
https://sites.google.com/site/eriugena/saturday5thweekordi

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Gen 2:1 Thus the heavens and the earth were finished, and all the host of them.
Gen 2:2 And on the seventh day God ended his work which he had made; and he rested on the seventh day from all his work which he had made.
Gen 2:3 And God blessed the seventh day, and sanctified it: because that in it he had rested from all his work which God created and made.

"I know thy works, and thy labour" - Before the Second Coming of Christ

Tokyo Gubernatorial Election Going On

Before the Second Coming of Christ

Egypt, Mesopotamia, Afghanistan, Syria, etc. are all historical places.

Wars were fought in these areas so many times in the past.  Great kingdoms were established in these areas so many times in the past.  And great figures emerged so many times there before.

Indeed focal points of the history also changed so many times and in various ways since eras of Egypt, Mesopotamia, Afghanistan, Syria, etc. had gone.  In Europe economic and political power shifted to the north of the Alps.  The UK expanded its power to overseas and became the largest owner of colonies.  Then the US took over the dominant position from the UK and Europe.  Today, economic and political situations in East Asia with involvement of the US are recognized as the most influential one on the whole world.  But since 2001, those old historical regions have emerged again like a nightmare of mankind.

It was roughly 2700 BC that the Egyptians started to build pyramids.  Then for 1000 years they continued this mighty custom till about 1700 BC.  Around 2500 BC  the three great pyramids were completed at Giza.  But Egypt could not conquer and rule the world.  Though it played important roles in the eras of Abraham, Caesar, Christ Jesus, etc., Egypt never became a world power or an original place of a world religion.  Egypt was forgotten for so long, though it fought against Israel after WWII as one of major players in the modern history.  Then it looked like going to fade away in the history.  But in 2010s, it suddenly caught the eyes of the world as it repeated power shift domestically through an election and intervention of military.

It is truly sad to see that a nation and its people whose ancestors had built the world first and greatest stone monuments 4500 years ago have failed in presenting themselves as the most advanced, civilized, and culturally and religiously influential people.  And as if they were destined to display their failure in the world, Egyptians today live under the military rule after they failed in their version of the Arab Spring.   But its failure looks like still going on.  Its implication is still vivid among Arabs and Muslims, since Egypt is a kind of center of the Islamic world in a different meaning than Saudi Arabia is.  Anyway Egypt is not a forgotten country now, but it is still one of focal points.

It was 2003 that Mesopotamia played a remarkable role in the modern history.  In the wake of the 2001 Terror on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon, the US, President George W. Bush started invasion of Iraq.  The US political leaders decided to eradicate Iraqi President Saddam Hussein for some reasons, though it was not Saddam who had ordered terrorists to attack the East Coast of the US in 2001.

The greatest ancestor of Judaists, including Moses, Christ Jesus and St. Paul, Abraham was born around Ur, an ancient city in Mesopotamia today called Iraq, 2000 years ago. It was 500 years after King Khufu built the largest pyramid at Gaza.  God however did not choose King Khufu and Egyptians as His people.  But God called Abraham from Ur to the west, leaving the then prosperous kingdom of Mesopotamia.  Abraham walked up along the Euphrates through Syria and finally to Egypt and then he came back to Palestine.  Finally he became the greatest ancestor of Hebrews God selected as His own tribe.

After Abraham, no such a glorious incident occurred in Mesopotamia.  Tribes who occupied Mesopotamia could not play a key role in the history.  Babylon takes only attentions of those who learn history today as a place where Alexander the Great died. And Baghdad only shone in history as the capital of the Abbasid Caliphate which existed as an Islamic empire from 750 to 1258.  Though they enjoyed prosperity called the Golden Age during rule of the Abbasid Caliphate,  Mongolian invasion in 1258 put an end of the Golden Age and the glorious days of Islamic Mesopotamia.  Then the region began slowly fading away in history.

But in early 1990s Saddam Hussein, the president of Iraq, suddenly annexed Kuwait by force after a decade long war against Iran, which is regraded as a proxy war between the US and the Soviet Union.  Then US President George W.H. Bush sent the greatest troops since the Vietnam War which ended in early 1970s, to Saudi Arabia and other anti-Iraqi Islamic nations surrounding Iraq to finally destroy Iraqi troops in Kuwait.  President Hussein came to hold a grudge against President Bush.  And his son President W. Bush wanted to take on Saddam Hussein as Saddam continued to insult his father and to pose a dangerous threat to Israel and Saudi Arabia, though the linkage between Iraq and AlQaeda was still a kind of mystery.

So, when Osama bin Laden and AlQaeda attacked the US in September 2001, President W. Bush seized this opportunity well to launch a war against Saddam Hussein on behalf of his father who had been actually targeted by terrorists hired by Iraq, Israel, and Saudi Arabia, a kind of rival for Iraq over hegemony on Arab Islamic nations.  Though the US troops completely withdrew from Iraq in December 2011 under President Obama's presidency after having destroyed Saddam's influence, Iraq is still suffering sectarian violence and terror.  With 100,000 to one million Iraqis were killed in connection with this Iraqi War since the US invasion of 2003, it is still one of focal points in the current world.        

Afghanistan was a limit only to which Alexander the Great marched to the east.  Since then, it contributed to some development of Buddhism taking in some Greek influences, but it never played an essential role in history.  But before WWII, it became a stage where the UK and Russia were confronted with each other over hegemony in Central Asia to India.  After WWII, in the wake of the Vietnam War, the US secretly helped insurgents in Afghanistan under control of the USSR. So, the civil war occurred in Afghanistan as the largest armed conflict, next to the Vietnam War and the Korean War, in the Cold War Era.  Many Muslims joined this civil war against USSR troops.  There AlQaeda and the Taliban were formed after the withdrawal of the Soviet troops.

Then in 2001, AlQaeda based in Afghanistan launched the terror in New York and Washington DC using hijacked commercial jet planes.  A few months later the US started retaliation, sending bombers and troops to Afghanistan.  Even today US troops, joined by NATO troops, are fighting there.  However, they don't seem to conquer the region yet better than Alexander the Great who invaded Afghanistan in 320s BC.

Finally, Syria is a key area in the long history of the world.  Not only Abraham but also Alexander the Great and Caesar traveled Syria.  Even ancient Egyptian kingdoms sometimes sent troops up to Syrian in their effort to hold hegemony in the region. (The Battle of Kadesh took place around 1274 BC between Egyptians led by Ramesses II and troops of the Hittite Empire on the Orontes River now in Syria.)  And most importantly, it was near Damascus that St. Paul was converted to Christianity through spiritual interference by Christ Jesus.  Since then, Syria did not play any decisive role in history till its war against Israel after WWII.  It was just in 1946 that Syria got independent from Persians, Greeks, Romans, other Arabs, crusaders, Mongolians, Islamic Egyptians, Islamic Turks, and France.

But today, Syria is in a strange civil war.  It can be regraded as an extension of the Arab Spring.  But, it is apparent that the coalition of the US and Israel is vying with the camp of Russian and Iran for control over Syria so close to Israel.  It is estimated that more than 100,000 Syrian citizens have been killed in this civil war since 2011.  And it is still going on.

In summary, it looks as though that before the Second Coming of Christ Jesus mankind is forced to review its long history full of wars and tragedies with some glories over Egypt, Mesopotamia, Afghanistan, Syria, etc.

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Rev 2:1 Unto the angel of the church of Ephesus write; These things saith he that holdeth the seven stars in his right hand, who walketh in the midst of the seven golden candlesticks;
Rev 2:2 I know thy works, and thy labour, and thy patience, and how thou canst not bear them which are evil: and thou hast tried them which say they are apostles, and are not, and hast found them liars:
Rev 2:3 And hast borne, and hast patience, and for my name's sake hast laboured, and hast not fainted.