Friday, December 31, 2021

"rather seek ye the kingdom of God; and all these things shall be added" - Invoke the Spirit of Christ Jesus!




Around Tokyo
 

Invoke the Spirit of Christ Jesus!

The Bibles cannot be fully understood unless it is realized that Christ Jesus was not only a man but also a spiritual entity, thus He acted as a holy spirit with spiritual power causing various miracles.

There are some people who have the spiritual ability to invoke spirits, communicate with spirts, predict future situations, and even cure or heal illness.  Especially those who had near-death experiences sometime acquire this type of ability.  Even there are specialists to invoke spirits of dead persons at request from their relatives. 

Swedenborg, an 18th century psychic, was one of those people, and he exercised this ability for 30 years while living in this world.  But, he could only once see the spirit of Christ Jesus before being allowed to enter into the spirit world.  He wrote that he was instructed to write his experiences in the spirit world.  But, Swedenborg could not again meet the spirit of Christ Jesus in his 30-year-long experiences in the spirit world, although he communicated with various spirits in Heaven or the hells.

Other spirit mediums and those having the spiritual ability to invoke spirits also have not succeeded in directly invoking the spirit of Christ Jesus in the history.  They sometime called spirts of ancient men who talked about teachings of Christ Jesus or who knew the childhood of Christ Jesus, but they never directly invoked and talked with the spirt of Christ Jesus.  It is a little strange.

The past Popes in the Vatican sometimes beatified faithful people who performed miracles or holy excellent work for Christianity.  To execute spiritual ability for poor people is also holy work.  The Pope and other leaders of churches should also have the spiritual ability.  The current Pope should also have the ability to invoke and communicate with the spirit of Christ Jesus.  If the Pope and other leaders of churches do not have this ability, they should invite such persons into churches so that these qualified persons would help other believers to hear words of the spirt of Christ Jesus.

The job advertisement of "Any body who can invoke the spirit of Christ Jesus is wanted!" should be issued by the Vatican or other churches.

In other words, anybody who boasts his or her spiritual ability to invoke spirits of dead men should first invoke the spirit of Christ Jesus.  Although this is the duty for the Pope, if he cannot, anybody should perform it on behalf of the Vatican as a representative of living believers in this world.  

However, as it is very rare that men have happened to see the spirt of Christ Jesus in their near-death experiences, the Last Judgement on men might have been already finished at least in the spirit world as written by Swedenborg.  So then, the End of the World should come soon at the same time of the second coming of Christ Jesus to this world.

Nonetheless, the  mankind should make every effort to avoid such a tragedy.  Therefore, we have to invoke the spirit of Christ Jesus and ask Him to postpone the timing or give us more advice to evade the fatal fate.       

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Luke 12, King James Version

29 And seek not ye what ye shall eat, or what ye shall drink, neither be ye of doubtful mind.
30 For all these things do the nations of the world seek after: and your Father knoweth that ye have need of these things.
31 But rather seek ye the kingdom of God; and all these things shall be added unto you.
32 Fear not, little flock; for it is your Father's good pleasure to give you the kingdom.


Thursday, December 30, 2021

"This voice came not because of me, but for your sakes" - Japanese Spiritualism with Japanese Buddhism and Shintoism

 




A Shinto Shrine around Tokyo

Japanese Spiritualism with Japanese Buddhism and Shintoism

Some schools of Japanese Buddhism believe that the Buddha never mentioned things or matters about the afterlife or human spirits or souls.  But as the Buddha taught the way to get rid of a never-ending cycle of life and death or samsara, followers of the Buddha have taken pains to explain the content of the teaching of the Buddha.

The truth must be that the Buddha had already lived in the afterlife or the spirit world while living in this world as a result of his past hard spiritual training.  Therefore, for him, this world and the afterlife must have no difference; living people are not different from their souls or spirits in the spirit world.  So, the Buddha must have taught his teachings in a manner to make them effective and useful in both this world and the spirit world.  The ultimate purpose of his teaching is to guide people to nirvana meaning a state of perfect quietude, freedom, highest happiness as well as the liberation from attachment and worldly suffering and the ending of samsara, the round of existence (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nirvana).  It is meaningful both in this world and in the afterlife. 

Apart from Buddhism, there is another major religion in Japan called Shinto or Shintoism whose origin could be traced far back from the era of the coming of Buddhism to Japan about 1,500 years ago and the establishment of the Japanese imperial court about 1,700 years ago, and probably back to the time when human beings first reached the Japanese archipelago, say, 38,000 years ago, or when the Jomon culture started about 13,000 years ago.  Shinto is still alive, since tens of millions of the Japanese visit Shinto shrines as well as Buddhist temples especially through new year holidays to pray to deities, wishing their happiness.          

However, there are no specific creeds and tenets in Shinto.  The religion of the Japanese ethnic group is supported by respect of the Japanese to their ancestors, including gods of the Japanese mythology, and by love to the Japanese nature.  But, there is one specific trait: Shinto priests or those performing Shinto religion should pray to spirits of their ancestors or various spirits in the nature.  Without recognizing the afterlife or the spirit world, there can be no meaning of the Shinto religion.  In other words, the only understandable element of Shinto is recognition of spirits and the spirit world.

In Japan, there have been some professionals or specialists, although they are not necessarily Shinto priests or Buddhist monks, who perform invoking of souls of dead men or any deities at request of customers.  Their profession or art is thought to be rooted in the so-called shamanism in Japan that can be traced back to the era of the Jomon culture.    

Far before Christianity was introduced into Japan, first in the middle of the 16th century and second in the late 19th century, the Japanese had been familiar with religions based on a kind of spiritualism.

In this context. for the Japanese to join the mainstream of religion in the world, all they have to do is to admit that nirvana of Buddhism is a kind of Heaven in Christianity and that there is the only one God and His Son Christ Jesus above any other deities.            

The Japanese do not think that their believing in souls or spirits, or the afterlife or the spirit world in their own way is a religion that can be officially recognized in the world.  Therefore, they often answer that they believe in no religions when they are asked what religion they believe in.  But, their spiritual state associated with Japanese Buddhism or Shinto is equal to or higher than the level of that among ordinary Christians in the world.

But, Japanese Christians might realize that believing in the God and Christ Jesus as the supreme existence in the spirit world is better than living only with the Japanese spiritualism.       

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John 12, King James Version

29 The people therefore, that stood by, and heard it, said that it thundered: others said, An angel spake to him.
30 Jesus answered and said, This voice came not because of me, but for your sakes.
31 Now is the judgment of this world: now shall the prince of this world be cast out.
32 And I, if I be lifted up from the earth, will draw all men unto me.
33 This he said, signifying what death he should die.

Wednesday, December 29, 2021

"except he first bind the strong man?" - Christianity: A Religion of Immortality




Tokyo Subway

Christianity: A Religion of Immortality

Everybody knows that men should die someday in this world.  And, everybody also knows that Christ Jesus is the foundation of Christianity.  But, everybody does not necessarily link Christ Jesus with the fate of death of everybody.

However, believing in Christ Jesus is tantamount to believing that there is the afterlife and dead men will all enter into the afterlife.  It means that the physical body of a man dies someday in this world, but his soul will continue to live with a spiritual body in the spirit world.

So, it is a kind of wonder that people are still afraid of death 2,000 years after the appearance of Christ Jesus.  If the teaching of Christ Jesus already prevailed all over the world, the mankind should conquer the fear of death and concentrate on preparation for the new life as spirits in the afterlives or the spirit world.     

Even churches do not emphasize the basics of teaching of Christ Jesus: there is surely the afterlife or the spirit world where the soul of everyone goes after physical death in this world.  In this context, the first doctrine of Christianity should be that there is life for everyone in the afterlife or the spirit world after his or her physical death in this world.  

In everything strange in terms of religion, there can be interference of Satan.  So, this negligence or contempt in churches of this underlying presumption in the teaching of Christ Jesus that there is the afterlife or the spirit world might be a result of Satan's plot to harm Jesus' work for salvation of men.

Christ Jesus emphasized that there is Heaven in the afterlife or the spirit world in the context that poor men should be accepted in Heaven after their death in this world.  To soil or blur this teaching of Christ Jesus, Satan should act on churches and church leaders so that they will not put priority in their preaching on the fact that there is the afterlife or the spirit world where everyone goes after death so that they should not be afraid of their death.  If everybody realized the underlying fact and every poor man believed that he or she would be accepted in Heaven and become happy after death in this world, none would sell his or her soul to Satan to be rich and happy in this world.  If all the mankind come not to mind poverty in this world, Satan will be completely defeated.  

When not only special holy men, such as martyrs, but also ordinary people come not to fear death in their missions or lives, this world should turn to the Kingdom of God.    

Just to be certain, Christ Jesus told that poor men should be accepted, filled, and satisfied to be happy in Heaven on the premise that there is the afterlife or the spirit world after physical death in this world.  In this context, Christianity should be a religion of immortality. 


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Matthew 12, King James Version

28 But if I cast out devils by the Spirit of God, then the kingdom of God is come unto you.
29 Or else how can one enter into a strong man's house, and spoil his goods, except he first bind the strong man? and then he will spoil his house.
30 He that is not with me is against me; and he that gathereth not with me scattereth abroad.
31 Wherefore I say unto you, All manner of sin and blasphemy shall be forgiven unto men: but the blasphemy against the Holy Ghost shall not be forgiven unto men.
32 And whosoever speaketh a word against the Son of man, it shall be forgiven him: but whosoever speaketh against the Holy Ghost, it shall not be forgiven him, neither in this world, neither in the world to come.
33 Either make the tree good, and his fruit good; or else make the tree corrupt, and his fruit corrupt: for the tree is known by his fruit.


Monday, December 27, 2021

"Consider the lilies how they grow: they toil not, they spin not" - The Entrance of the Spirit World

 



Mt. Fuji from around Tokyo

The Entrance of the Spirit World

There are many people in the world who have had near-death experiences.  When they were in the state of death due to medical treatments or accidents, their minds saw the spirit world or the afterlife or at least the entrance of the spirit world.  

The most notable one of them is Swedenborg, an 18the century scholar and psychic.  Different from others, Swedenborg reported that he saw many evil spirits and even observed the states of the hells as well as Heaven. 

Ordinary people saw just the entrance of the afterlife.  They usually saw souls of deceased relatives who often told them to return to the human world and continue living again.  They sometimes saw angels or a kind of god in the bright light.  But, they seldom saw Satan or evil spirits.  It is rare that one has seen the hell in a near-death experience.  Their near-death experiences rarely gave them fear about the afterlife.  Most of them reported that the spirit world looked like Heaven.
 
Therefore, it is considered that souls of all the men, including good men and evil men, should enter into the spirit world without judgement on quality of their souls after death in this world.  And, the souls of good ones would go into Heaven while the souls of evil ones would go to the hells, spontaneously, as wrote by Swedenborg. 

The entrance of the spirit world seems to be close to this world.  So, some spirits seem to communicate with living men; thus communications between souls of dead men and living men are possible.  For these communications, spirit mediums are sometimes employed.  According to Swedenborg, these communications can be made in two ways: First, a soul of a dead man comes into the mind of a spirit medium and second, a soul of a dead man communicates with the soul of the spirit medium.  The latter case is safe for the spirit medium, but the former case is dangerous as it may result in taking over the mind of the spirit medium by the soul of a dead man.  If the dead man was an evil man, it should be extremely dangerous.

Satan and evils spirits in the sprit world are trying to destroy human beings or good souls.  According to Swedenborg, unless there is interference from the God or angels, human beings can be spiritually controlled, occupied, and destroyed by Satan and evil spirits.

In other words, after the entrance of the spirit world, which even those in near-death experiences can see, souls of dead men should be confronted with attacks from Satan and evil spirits.  However, souls of poor and faithful men should be protected by the God and His angels, so that they will be guided into Heaven where they are safe from Satan.  

In summary, after death, poor and faithful men should be accepted in Heaven, but rich and evil men would go down to the hells as declared by Christ Jesus in the Gospels.  But, even evil men seem to see the splendor of the spirit world in afterlife before they go down to the hells.  Indeed, the God is benevolent and merciful.

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Luke 12, King James Version

24 Consider the ravens: for they neither sow nor reap; which neither have storehouse nor barn; and God feedeth them: how much more are ye better than the fowls?
25 And which of you with taking thought can add to his stature one cubit?
26 If ye then be not able to do that thing which is least, why take ye thought for the rest?
27 Consider the lilies how they grow: they toil not, they spin not; and yet I say unto you, that Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these.
28 If then God so clothe the grass, which is to day in the field, and to morrow is cast into the oven; how much more will he clothe you, O ye of little faith?

Saturday, December 25, 2021

"He that loveth his life shall lose it" - What is Written in the Gospels




Mt. Fuji around Tokyo

What is Written in the Gospels

For what purposes were the Gospels written?  For whatever reasons they were written, they gave us information on living Christ Jesus.  But, by clearly understanding the reasons why the Gospels were written, we can strengthen our faith in Christ Jesus.

The contents of the Gospels are as follows:

1. The God loves the poor more than the rich.

2. The souls of the poor should be accepted in Heaven, but the souls of the rich would fall into the hells.

3. The souls of the poor should be consoled, filled, satisfied, and given their blessings and eternal life, but the souls of the rich would be neglected, punished, and finally destroyed.  

4. Therefore, we should love the God and our neighbors as much as we love ourselves.

5. Satan and evil spirits attack followers of the God and Christ Jesus as shown by the death on the cross of Christ Jesus.

As extension of this teaching, we can get the following teachings:

Being rich is being evil.  Being poor is regarded as being faithful.  If a poor man is regrettably found evil, he should be expelled out of Heaven.  Even if a rich man is found miraculously faithful, he should be accepted in Heaven.

Being elites of the society, happy men in this world, successful men in the human world, or members of the upper class  means, in most cases, being rich; therefore, they should naturally fall into the hells.

However, they go to the hells spontaneously without being forced to do so.  It is because the souls of evil men cannot bear or withstand the light of the God in Heaven.  They evade the light of the God, so that they go down deep in shadows in the spirit world that are called the hells.

The light of the God is the source of love, truth, and life.

Put simply, the Gospels were written in order to save, help, and rescue poor men, people in the lower class, unhappy men, inflicted or abused men, unsuccessful men, etc. by telling them that their souls will be accepted in Heaven and they will be given eternal life.

Rich men usually love their wealth and their rich lives in this world.  Poor men naturally hate their poverty and their poor lives in this world.  That is why Christ Jesus said not to love your lives in this world but hate your lives in this world.  The wealth poor men would receive in Heaven is much greater than the wealth rich men are enjoying in this world beyond comparison.

In summary, the Gospels are a kind of devotional songs for poor men.  Love to poor people made Christ Jesus preach among people.  And the Gospels are based on this love to poor people.

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John 12, King James Version

23 And Jesus answered them, saying, The hour is come, that the Son of man should be glorified.
24 Verily, verily, I say unto you, Except a corn of wheat fall into the ground and die, it abideth alone: but if it die, it bringeth forth much fruit.
25 He that loveth his life shall lose it; and he that hateth his life in this world shall keep it unto life eternal.
26 If any man serve me, let him follow me; and where I am, there shall also my servant be: if any man serve me, him will my Father honour.
27 Now is my soul troubled; and what shall I say? Father, save me from this hour: but for this cause came I unto this hour.
28 Father, glorify thy name. Then came there a voice from heaven, saying, I have both glorified it, and will glorify it again.

Friday, December 24, 2021

"ye know not the scriptures, neither the power of God?" - The Human Civilization to be Ended in 500 Years

 




Around Tokyo & Mt. Fuji

The Human Civilization to be Ended in 500 Years

It is 2000 years since Christ Jesus first appeared in the human history.  And, it is also thought to have been 2000 years since the days of Abraham to Christ Jesus.  Although the Great Pyramids at Giza were built about 500 years before Abraham, it was about 500 years before Christ Jesus that the Buddha, Confucius, and Socrates had launched their religious, ethical, and philosophical activities.  What's more, 1500 years after Christ Jesus, there appeared Martin Luther establishing Protestantism against Catholicism, and Christopher Columbus discovered America where Christianity has grown and expanded more than in Europe, etc. 

Put simply:
Great Pyramids at Giza =500 years=> Abraham =1500 years=> Buddha/Confucius/Socrates =500 years => Christ Jesus =1500 years => Martin Luther/Christopher Columbus =500 years => Now, 21st Century
 
This sequence really tells that there is no wonder that somebody corresponding to Abraham or Christ Jesus would appear in this early 21st century.  And, 500 years after the current century, the end of the human civilization which could be regarded as started with the Great Pyramids at Giza might come.  In other words, our civilization would start to collapse in this century and should be terminated in the 26th century. 

Isaac Newton predicted that the end of the world would start from around 2060.  Swedenborg wrote that the Last Judgement was completed around 1750's in the spirit world and its effect should be manifested 200 to 300 years later in the human world, which means the current era.

Indeed, the collapse of the human civilization should take about 500 years from this century.  But, after the mankind lose the power of sustaining their civilization, probably robots and computers should take over the civilization.  As robots are immortal, its civilization might be endless, but if they cannot believe in the God and understand love coming from Heaven, they will lose passion some day to continue their civilization.  Finally, everything, including AI robots, the mankind has created and will create will become naught in this material universe, say, in the next 2000 years.

However, as souls of dead men will continue to live in the spirit world, a kind of human history will continue in the spirit world.  The souls of poor and faithful men should continue to enhance their history in Heaven, but the souls of rich and evil men should continue to foul up their history in the hells.  

In short, the stage where the mankind will play will be shifted from this material world to the spirit world (either Heaven or hells) in the future.  A million years later, some aliens from a different planet in this universe might see ruins of New York, London, Tokyo, etc. as we today see the Great Pyramids at Giza in Egypt.

In deed, it is 2500 years from the Great Pyramids at Giza (the symbol of the start of the material human civilization) to Christ Jesus (the Son of God), and it will be 2500 years from the Son of God (Christ Jesus) to the end of the material human civilization.


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Mark 12, King James Version

24 And Jesus answering said unto them, Do ye not therefore err, because ye know not the scriptures, neither the power of God?
25 For when they shall rise from the dead, they neither marry, nor are given in marriage; but are as the angels which are in heaven.
26 And as touching the dead, that they rise: have ye not read in the book of Moses, how in the bush God spake unto him, saying, I am the God of Abraham, and the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob?
27 He is not the God of the dead, but the God of the living: ye therefore do greatly err.

Tuesday, December 21, 2021

"he healed him, insomuch that the blind and dumb both spake and saw" - Not Enlightenment But the Way

 



Xmas Coming around Tokyo

Not Enlightenment But the Way

Once, say about 100 years ago, there lived one young man seeking truth in life in Japan.  He learned Christianity as a member of a church.  But as he could not get confidence that he became enlightened, he decided to train himself in a mountain although he became a kind of sick.

He visited a notable shrine in a mountain in winter without money, but his sickness became heavier, so that he almost fell down in snow.  But, a strange mountain man appeared and led him to a small wooden hut to save him.  Next morning, when he awoke, he could not see the footprints of the strange man but only his own ones on the snow.  But, his illness was cured.  So, he decided to further go deep in the mountain to train himself among some disciplinants and a mountain hermit.

He was tested by them in terms of his resolution.  As he passed those tests, he was accepted by them.  Then he trained himself in the mountain taking only native grasses as foods and living in a coarse hut.  In time, he realized that his spiritual power grew and increased.  Then, he sometimes went down the mountain and into villages around to perform preaching in the street.  He even healed a sick girl, a haunted woman, and a depressed boy.  Finally, he competed with the mountain hermit in terms of spiritual power to defeat him.  Finally, he got confidence that he had obtained enough spiritual power as he mastered a way of astral projection or having out-of-body experiences.

So, he left the mountain to a city.  While he was walking through a rural zone where no private houses were seen, he found a poor beggar walking toward him on a narrow and straight but long road in the middle of agriculture fields.  The beggar hanged a placard reading "I AM BLIND."  The young man saw sometimes such beggars hanging such placards to arouse a feeling of compassion of people to earn money.  So, he did not feel strange seeing such a beggar, but rather tried to give some words of compassion to him.  But, the moment they passed each other, the beggar pre-emptively said to him, "Not Enlightenment But the Way!"         

The young man could not see in what sacred books the words of teaching were written.  So, he admitted that the beggar was in a superior position to him.  He turned around to ask the beggar what the words meant.  But, there was no beggar in the narrow, straight, and long road through agriculture fields.  The beggar evaporated.  The young man was struck by light from the sky and sat down on the road, beginning to weep.  

At the moment, he realized that the process of pursuing and performing love and truth was more important than seeking enlightenment and super-natural power.   

In this context and from this point of view, the young man started to read the books of Swedenborg to further have spiritual experiences.  He later became notable among believers in his circle and respected by them as a private religious man, but he did not become so famous in Japan.  Yet, even today, some people called him a genius of religion, since he continued to have remarkable faith in the Japanese Shinto religion as well as Christianity of the Swedenborg's version through WWII till his death around 1980. 


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Matthew 12, King James Version

18 Behold my servant, whom I have chosen; my beloved, in whom my soul is well pleased: I will put my spirit upon him, and he shall shew judgment to the Gentiles.
19 He shall not strive, nor cry; neither shall any man hear his voice in the streets.
20 A bruised reed shall he not break, and smoking flax shall he not quench, till he send forth judgment unto victory.
21 And in his name shall the Gentiles trust.
22 Then was brought unto him one possessed with a devil, blind, and dumb: and he healed him, insomuch that the blind and dumb both spake and saw.

Sunday, December 19, 2021

"take thine ease, eat, drink, and be merry, but God..." - To Survive Another 1300 Years Again

 



Xmas Coming to around Tokyo and Mt. Fuji

To Survive Another 1300 Years Again

Christ Jesus sometimes directly talked about spirits, which means that He saw a spirit or a soul in each man.  However, some of these words are difficult to comprehend. 
Luke 11, King James Version
24 When the unclean spirit is gone out of a man, he walketh through dry places, seeking rest; and finding none, he saith, I will return unto my house whence I came out.
25 And when he cometh, he findeth it swept and garnished.
26 Then goeth he, and taketh to him seven other spirits more wicked than himself; and they enter in, and dwell there: and the last state of that man is worse than the first.
It should be possibly interpreted in historical context.

For example, in the late 18th century, the Unites States got successfully independence and France underwent the French Revolution.  Democracy was expanding in America and Europe.  Old unclean spirits working in the world before the Industrial Revolution were gone.  But, along with modernization of the world, WWI occurred in the early 20th century, leaving deaths and demolition of the civilization in the scale that had never been seen.  After WWI, the League of Nations was established for international peace and social policies were promoted in each country to save laborers.  Old unclean spirits working in the world, or especially in Europe still under imperialism were gone.  But, along with further development of industry and science, WWII occurred in the middle of the 20th century, leaving deaths and demolition of the civilization in the scale that had never been seen.  Old unclean spirits working in Africa and Asia under colonialism and in Europe under anti-Semitism were gone. 

We had better think about the possibility of WWIII now that further development of science and technology since WWII is so clear as seen especially in the authoritarian state China with the population of 1.4 billion. 
     
From the beginning, in the 1st century, Christ Jesus first came to this world, spreading right faith and belief in the God.  However, after the crucifixion of Christ Jesus, the Jewish-Roman War occurred with the result of diaspora of Jewish people from Palestine.  Yet, in the late 4th century, the Roman Empire adopted Christianity as its state religion.  Nonetheless, the the Roman Empire fell in the late 5th century.  And, 1300 years later, finally the Unites States won successfully independence and France accomplished the French Revolution.

Indeed, if we can avoid the Third World War in the near future, the mankind might survive another 1300 years.  This century, the 21st century, must be critical for the human history.  All we have to do is to read the Bible and try to correctly comprehend the true or spiritual meaning of the words of Christ Jesus.    

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Luke 12, King James Version
16 And he spake a parable unto them, saying, The ground of a certain rich man brought forth plentifully:
17 And he thought within himself, saying, What shall I do, because I have no room where to bestow my fruits?
18 And he said, This will I do: I will pull down my barns, and build greater; and there will I bestow all my fruits and my goods.
19 And I will say to my soul, Soul, thou hast much goods laid up for many years; take thine ease, eat, drink, and be merry.
20 But God said unto him, Thou fool, this night thy soul shall be required of thee: then whose shall those things be, which thou hast provided?

"Master, Moses wrote unto us" - Swedenborg and St. Paul

 



Around Tokyo

Swedenborg and St. Paul

It was in the 18th century that Swedenborg wrote about his experiences in the spirit world or the afterlife he had had while living in this world.  But, in the 4th century, somebody wrote about Paul's experiences in the spirit world or the afterlife.

The text, which is pseudepigraphal, purports to present a detailed account of a vision of Heaven and Hell experienced by Paul the Apostle; "its chief importance lies in the way it helped to shape the beliefs of ordinary Christians concerning the afterlife".  (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Apocalypse_of_Paul)

Although Swedenborg wrote in one of his books that he had seen Paul in the hell, Swedenborg's experience shared rather common traits with the Apocalypse of Paul.  However, the latter described more clearly a judgment by the God:
17. And again I saw, and behold a soul which was led forward by two angels, weeping and saying: Have pity on me, just God, God the judge, for to-day is seven days since I went out of my body, and I was handed over to these two angels, and they led me through to those places, which I had never seen. And God, the just judge, saith to him: What hast thou done? for thou never didst mercy, wherefore thou wast handed over to such angels as have no mercy, and because thou didst not do uprightly, so neither did they act piously with thee in the hour of thy need. Confess therefore thy sins which thou didst commit when placed in the world. And he answered and said: Lord, I did not sin. And the Lord, the just Lord, was angered in fury when it said: I did not sin, because it lied; and God said: Dost thou think thou art still in the world? if any one of you, sinning there, conceal and hide his sin from his neighbour, here indeed nothing whatever shall be hid: for when the souls come to adore in sight of the throne, both the good works and the sins of each one are made manifest...(https://www.biblestudytools.com/history/early-church-fathers/ante-nicene/vol-9-discovered-additions/apocalypses-and-romances/vision-of-paul.html)   
However, Swedenborg wrote that the evil souls of evil man would spontaneously go down to the hell so as to avoid light and love from the God in Heaven, since such evil men could not bear holy light and love from the God. 

Anyway, poor, faithful, and good men should not be afraid of their death and their afterlife as Socrates and Plato claimed, since they are surly accepted in Heaven.

From the beginning, the Gospels tell that Christ Jesus said that poor and faithful men would surely enter into Heaven to receive blessings and happiness there.    


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Mark 12, King James Version
17 And Jesus answering said unto them, Render to Caesar the things that are Caesar's, and to God the things that are God's. And they marvelled at him.
18 Then come unto him the Sadducees, which say there is no resurrection; and they asked him, saying,
19 Master, Moses wrote unto us, If a man's brother die, and leave his wife behind him, and leave no children, that his brother should take his wife, and raise up seed unto his brother.
20 Now there were seven brethren: and the first took a wife, and dying left no seed.
21 And the second took her, and died, neither left he any seed: and the third likewise.
22 And the seven had her, and left no seed: last of all the woman died also.
23 In the resurrection therefore, when they shall rise, whose wife shall she be of them? for the seven had her to wife.
24 And Jesus answering said unto them, Do ye not therefore err, because ye know not the scriptures, neither the power of God?
25 For when they shall rise from the dead, they neither marry, nor are given in marriage; but are as the angels which are in heaven.

Thursday, December 16, 2021

"they should not make him known" - Robot World in the 41st Century

 



Tokyo

Robot World in the 41st Century

Isaac Newton got a conclusion from his secret study on the Bible that the end of the world would not begin till 2060.

None could explain why it must be 2060 when the drastic change in the human history will start.  It can be found how Newton checked the Bible to get the conclusion.  However, apart from Newton's method, it should be noted that 2000 years before the year of 2060 there was the Jewish-Roman War when the temple of Jerusalem was destroyed and the Jewish people were dispersed through the world till their return to Palestine after WWII.

History sometimes repeats itself.  Over the period of 2000 years, another decisive incident for the human history might happen around 2060 in the similar degree to that of the Jewish-Roman War.  And then, the end of the world should begin.  However, it does not mean that the human civilization will collapse in the 21st century.  The process of the end of the world might continue for a few hundred years.  Yet, it is unthinkable that the mankind can survive another 2000 years, say till the 41st century.  

The reason for assuming the coming of the end of the world in a few centuries is that there are too many sinful people who do not respect and follow the God and Christ Jesus but sell their souls to Satan to get any money or riches or achieve worldly success.

How can we believe that the God will still allow the human civilization to develop and prosper while only 1 in 1000 people resect and follow the teaching of the God.  There are many planets like the earth in the whole universal.  The God should at any time abandon this earth and forsake the mankind if He finds that there is no chance for the mankind on the earth to establish the Kingdom of God on the earth.  

In this context, it is interesting that Swedenborg, an 18th century psychic, wrote that he met with souls from different planets in the spirit world.

In my calculation, the human civilization might be taken over by AI robots and computers in future.  In the 41st century, main players in this solar system must be robots powered by AI computers.  They must venture into conquering the Milky Way Galaxy with robotic bodies that never die like biological bodies of human beings who invented those robots.  But it will be their history that the mankind will have nothing to do with.  Yet, can those robots see the God or think of the spirit world?   
               
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Matthew 12, King James Version

15 But when Jesus knew it, he withdrew himself from thence: and great multitudes followed him, and he healed them all;
16 And charged them that they should not make him known:
17 That it might be fulfilled which was spoken by Esaias the prophet, saying,
18 Behold my servant, whom I have chosen; my beloved, in whom my soul is well pleased: I will put my spirit upon him, and he shall shew judgment to the Gentiles.

Tuesday, December 14, 2021

"to the woman were given two wings of a great eagle" - Swedenborg Met with Newton in the Spirit World

 



A Museum around Tokyo

Swedenborg Met with Newton in the Spirit World 

Swedenborg, a notable psychic in the 18th century, met with the spirit of Isaac Newton, a notable scientist in the 18th century, in the spirit world while Newton was dead and Swedenborg was alive and mentioned the state of Newton in his book:  

Spiritual Experiences by Swedenborg
6064. About Newton
I spoke with him several times. He is an utterly sincere person and is among his own colleagues and is loved. He told me that he now knows that the Lord is the Sun of the angelic heaven and that all light comes from Him, which in essence is Divine intelligence and is what gives intelligence to angels and also to mankind, although people do not know that this light enlightens their understanding and causes them to think intelligently. He knew also that there was one life that makes anyone really alive, and that this life appears with them as light, and that from this comes life, and that this flows into people's innermost parts, and makes it so that this life appears to them just as if it is coming from themselves. He said that colors there appear much brighter than in the world, and in far greater variety, and that colors there arise from the modification of the Divine light in forms capable of receiving life in angels and in people on earth, and that it is from this that the varieties of intellect arise,؈e spoke also about the planes of colors, that there were [fundamentally] three, white from light, red from fire, and black from [hell 1 ], and that the variety of all the colors comes into existence from these.                           (https://newchristianbiblestudy.org/multi/swedenborg_secrets-of-heaven-nce_1042/swedenborg_spiritual-experiences-odhner_6064)
Newton established the law of gravitation where the mass of material is assumed as the source of gravitation.  One of the elemental particles with mass is an electron with the mass of 9.109×10−31 kilograms.

However, an electron and a positron, the antimatter counterpart of the electron with an electric charge of +1 e, a spin of 1/2 (the same as the electron), and the same mass as an electron, are produced in the pair production process where an incident gamma ray (a type of light with the shortest wavelength and highest energy) of sufficiently high energy is annihilated in the Coulomb field of a nearby charged particle, resulting in the creation of an electron–positron pair.  Put simply, light with higher energy can be transformed to the mass of material such as an electron and a positron.  Therefore, light is the source of every material.  In other words, light from the spirit world or Heaven should create the material world or universe where materials and substances with mass are essential components and human beings live.

Another target of Newton's study was light.  He found that the light from the sun can be split to seven different colors.  The light from the sun looks white.  The light with longer wavelength than visible light is called infrared light that is extension of the color red.  The light with shorter wavelength is called ultraviolet light that is extension of the color violet.  Newton seemed to assume the infrared light as light from fire and the ultraviolet light as black light from the hell (since it has the ability to kill bacteria).  

In this context, it is thought Newton had found truth of the material world, as modern science teaches, when Swedenborg met with him in the afterlife in the 18th century.

Therefore, we had better trust in Swedenborg's claim that he saw and entered into the spirit world or the afterlife while he was alive in this world and met there with Newton who had died already.

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Revelation 12, King James Version

13 And when the dragon saw that he was cast unto the earth, he persecuted the woman which brought forth the man child.
14 And to the woman were given two wings of a great eagle, that she might fly into the wilderness, into her place, where she is nourished for a time, and times, and half a time, from the face of the serpent.
15 And the serpent cast out of his mouth water as a flood after the woman, that he might cause her to be carried away of the flood.
16 And the earth helped the woman, and the earth opened her mouth, and swallowed up the flood which the dragon cast out of his mouth.
17 And the dragon was wroth with the woman, and went to make war with the remnant of her seed, which keep the commandments of God, and have the testimony of Jesus Christ.

Sunday, December 12, 2021

"it is lawful to do well on the sabbath days" - The Gospel of Nicodemus Reveals the State of the Hell

 



Cherry Trees in Winter around Tokyo

The Gospel of Nicodemus Reveals the State of the Hell

Nicodemus was mentioned in the Gospels as a member of the Jewish authority who sought teachings of Christ Jesus and provided embalming spices at burial of Christ Jesus.

There is an apocryphal work under his name: the Gospel of Nicodemus—was produced in the mid-4th century, and is mostly a reworking of the earlier Acts of Pilate, which recounts the Harrowing of Hell (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nicodemus).

This Gospel of Nicodemus is unique in that it describes the state of the Hell when the spirit of Christ Jesus came down to the Hell after death on the cross.
THE GOSPEL OF NICODEMUS, OR ACTS OF PILATE
VI (XXII)
1 When Hell and death and their wicked ministers saw that, they were stricken with fear, they and their cruel officers, at the sight of the brightness of so great light in their own realm, seeing Christ of a sudden in their abode, and they cried out, saying: We are overcome by thee. Who art thou that art sent by the Lord for our confusion? Who art thou that without all damage of corruption, and with the signs (?) of thy majesty unblemished, dost in wrath condemn our power? Who art thou that art so great and so small, both humble and exalted, both soldier and commander, a marvelous warrior in the shape of a bondsman, and a King of glory dead and living, whom the cross bare slain upon it? Thou that didst lie dead in the sepulchre hast come down unto us living and at thy death all creation quaked and all the stars were shaken and thou hast become free among the dead and dost rout our legions. Who art thou that settest free the prisoners that are held bound by original sin and restorest them into their former liberty? Who art thou that sheddest thy divine and bright light upon them that were blinded with the darkness of their sins? After the same manner all the legions of devils were stricken with like fear and cried out all together in the terror of their confusion, saying: Whence art thou, Jesus, a man so mighty and bright in majesty, so excellent without spot and clean from sin? For that world of earth which hath been always subject unto us until now, and did pay tribute to our profit, hath never sent unto us a dead man like thee, nor ever dispatched such a gift unto Hell. Who then art thou that so fearlessly enterest our borders, and not only fearest not our torments, but besides essayest to bear away all men out of our bonds? Peradventure thou art that Jesus, of whom Satan our prince said that by thy death of the cross thou shouldest receive the dominion of the whole world.

2 Then did the King of glory in his majesty trample upon death, and laid hold on Satan the prince and delivered him unto the power of Hell, and drew Adam to him unto his own brightness. (http://www.earlychristianwritings.com/text/gospelnicodemus.html)
It is interesting that evil spirits in the Hell took Christ Jesus as so great and so small, both humble and exalted, both soldier and commander, a marvelous warrior in the shape of a bondsman, and a King of glory dead and living, whom the cross bare slain upon it.

It is interesting that people in the 4th century such as Romans had a belief that the spirit of Christ Jesus visited the Hell to release all the spirits captured in the Hell and put Satan under the power of the Hell.

Such spiritual interpretations of work and activities of Christ Jesus are rarely found in today's churches, though they teach that there are Heaven, the Hell, and the spirit world. 


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Matthew 12, King James Version

10 And, behold, there was a man which had his hand withered. And they asked him, saying, Is it lawful to heal on the sabbath days? that they might accuse him.
11 And he said unto them, What man shall there be among you, that shall have one sheep, and if it fall into a pit on the sabbath day, will he not lay hold on it, and lift it out?
12 How much then is a man better than a sheep? Wherefore it is lawful to do well on the sabbath days.
13 Then saith he to the man, Stretch forth thine hand. And he stretched it forth; and it was restored whole, like as the other.

"he came to the house of Mary the mother of John, whose surname was Mark" - Friendship and Betrayal

 


Mt. Fuji around Tokyo, 100 Km Far

Friendship and Betrayal

What was the relationship between Christ Jesus and Judas Iscariot?
In this context, the following word of Christ Jesus should be noted: 
John 15
13 Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends.
Therefore, it can be assumed that Christ Jesus was a friend of Judas Iscariot.  As Christ Jesus died on the cross for some reason related to Judas Iscariot, He observed His own word.  Therefore, as Judas Iscariot realized that Christ Jesus died on the cross for their friendship, he committed a suicide.

Indeed, Christ Jesus with superpower as the Son of the God should have been able to avoid the death on the cross.  But, if He had avoided the death on the cross, Judas Iscariot must have been killed by Roman soldiers or the Jewish authority.  So, in order to save the life of Judas Iscariot, Christ Jesus chose to die on the cross.

This is one interpretation on Christ Jesus' death on the cross.  Indeed, He had the super power with which He could suppress Roman soldiers and the Jewish authority.  But, He allowed Roman soldiers and the Jewish authority to kill Him on the cross.  And, it is reasonably thought that if Christ Jesus had successfully run away from Roman soldiers and the Jewish authority, Judas Iscariot, the betrayer who sold Christ Jesus to them, should have been blamed so as to be killed by them.  

However, Christ Jesus was not lenient, mentioning the betrayer:
Mark 14
21 The Son of man indeed goeth, as it is written of him: but woe to that man by whom the Son of man is betrayed! good were it for that man if he had never been born.
Indeed, it is not easy to completely understand Christ Jesus and Judas Iscariot.  However, it is clear that Christ Jesus recommended friendship but condemn betrayal.   


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Acts 12, King James Version

12 And when he had considered the thing, he came to the house of Mary the mother of John, whose surname was Mark; where many were gathered together praying.
13 And as Peter knocked at the door of the gate, a damsel came to hearken, named Rhoda.
14 And when she knew Peter's voice, she opened not the gate for gladness, but ran in, and told how Peter stood before the gate.
15 And they said unto her, Thou art mad. But she constantly affirmed that it was even so. Then said they, It is his angel.