"he that entereth in by the door is the shepherd" - The Image of Christ Jesus on the Cross against Satan

 

Around Tokyo

The Image of Christ Jesus on the Cross against Satan

The symbol of Christianity showing Christ Jesus on the cross is also a symbol showing evil and horrible power of Satan.  It does not display power and victory of the God or Christ Jesus over Satan.  To preset Their power and victory, Satan should be displayed under the cross.

Yet, churches may claim that the image of Christ Jesus on the cross shows love of Christ Jesus to everyman.  However, if you do not know the Gospels and the life of Christ Jesus depicted in the Gospels, you cannot immediately understand that the image of Christ Jesus on the cross present His love exercised until His death to everybody.

However, the image of Christ Jesus on the cross is not happy or pleasant one.  It really tells that Satan could kill Christ Jesus on the cross 2000 years ago.  If you do not know the Gospels, you do not know that Christ Jesus was resurrected three days after the death on the cross.  But the image of Christ Jesus on the cross does not present victory of Christ Jesus against death and Satan.

The image of Christ Jesus on the cross is a suffering Jesus.  Should we be glad and happy to see Christ Jesus on the cross made suffering by Satan due to our sins?  How should we interpret the image of Christ Jesus on the cross?

It is the symbol to warn us about power of Satan.  It is also the symbol of love of Christ Jesus who did not exercise His punishing power to men who followed Satan and killed Him on the cross because He loved all the men so much, which Satan must not have expected.  Satan knowing power of the Son of God, namely Christ Jesus, must have expected that He should use His power to destroy men who followed Satan.  But Christ Jesus forgave those followers of Satan till His death on the cross.  Satan should not have minded if Christ Jesus have destroyed Satan's followers, since other people watching the power and the anger of Christ Jesus would have more fear than love to Christ Jesus.  Then, Christianity should be called later a religion of power and anger of the Son of God.  But, as Christ Jesus forgave those followers of Satan with love to them, Christianity became a religion of love.  In this context, the image of Christ Jesus on the cross symbolizes love of Christ Jesus.  Due to this love, Christianity became a religion of love.

The image of Christ Jesus on the cross is telling first that Satan is so dangerous as to kill even the Son of God on the cross and secondly that He forgives and loves everybody including followers of Satan who is trying to kill Him on the cross.  Indeed, Christ Jesus on the cross is a victim of Satan.  And we are expected to see His love to us as Christ Jesus continues to love us while being victimized by Satan.

We are required, when seeing the image of Christ Jesus on the cross, to remember evil and horrible power of Satan and unbelievable love of Christ Jesus to us.  We should remember that Satan and its followers put Christ Jesus on the cross whenever seeing the image of Christ Jesus on the cross.

Put simply, we have to receive an alarming message against Satan when we see the image of Christ Jesus on the cross.  However, followers of Christ Jesus should be happier if it was the image of Satan that was on the cross.      

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John 10, King James Version
10 Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that entereth not by the door into the sheepfold, but climbeth up some other way, the same is a thief and a robber.
2 But he that entereth in by the door is the shepherd of the sheep.
3 To him the porter openeth; and the sheep hear his voice: and he calleth his own sheep by name, and leadeth them out.
4 And when he putteth forth his own sheep, he goeth before them, and the sheep follow him: for they know his voice.
5 And a stranger will they not follow, but will flee from him: for they know not the voice of strangers.

"The harvest truly is great" - The Gospels are Holy Books to Tell Truth and Save the Poor

 

Tokyo

The Gospels are Holy Books to Tell Truth and Save the Poor

The Bible is a book of spiritualism as, for example, the Act describes work of the holy spirit after the crucifixion of Christ Jesus:

Acts 2, King James Version
And when the day of Pentecost was fully come, they were all with one accord in one place.
2 And suddenly there came a sound from heaven as of a rushing mighty wind, and it filled all the house where they were sitting.
3 And there appeared unto them cloven tongues like as of fire, and it sat upon each of them.
4 And they were all filled with the Holy Ghost, and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance.

Works of Swedenborg, Elizabeth Kubler-Ross, Raymond Moody, etc., where spirits, the life after death, near-death experiences, etc. are described and reported, can be easily understood by the faithful and believers in Christ Jesus.

In other words, faithful men believe in spirits, the life after death, near-death experiences as well as the sprit world, Heaven, and the hell.  They should believe that they are allowed to enter Heaven and enjoy eternal life.  Therefore, faithful men are not afraid of death, since Christ Jesus said that their enemies, including Satan, could not put them in the hell although they might kill their bodies in this world.

The Gospels teaches:

A man has a soul in addition to its body.  When his body dies, his soul enters into the spirit world and then is accepted into Heaven.  Finally his soul is given eternal life.

It is so simple.  But the core of the teachings of Christ Jesus lies in that poor and faithful men are accepted into Heaven but rich and evil men are condemned to the hell.  This is partly supported in works of Swedenborg.  But other people who experienced communications with spirits and near-death experiences did not focus on this point.  They are just satisfied by observing dead men going into the spirit world and looking happy there.  They do not focus on salvation of poor people by telling them that poor men can be accepted in Heaven to acquire eternal life.

The Bible is not a mere book of spiritualism but a holy book to tell truth about good news on the spirit world and Heaven to poor people so that they can be consoled, relieved, and feel happy in a hope for the afterlife. 

   

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Luke 10, King James Version
10 After these things the Lord appointed other seventy also, and sent them two and two before his face into every city and place, whither he himself would come.
2 Therefore said he unto them, The harvest truly is great, but the labourers are few: pray ye therefore the Lord of the harvest, that he would send forth labourers into his harvest.
3 Go your ways: behold, I send you forth as lambs among wolves.
4 Carry neither purse, nor scrip, nor shoes: and salute no man by the way.

"Then touched he their eyes" - A Buddhist Monk Talking with Dead Men's Souls

 

A Tokyo Subway Line

A Buddhist Monk Talking with Dead Men's Souls

A certain Japanese Buddhist monk wanted to confirm for himself that souls of dead men were existent and alive after bodily death in this world as he often attended funeral services in these decades, although Buddhism he believed in assured existence of the afterlife of dead men's souls.  Finally, he got confidence that souls existed after death.

He aimed at collecting 2000 cases of funeral services for his personal investigation to make it meaningful statistically.  He talked in mind to souls of dead men in funeral services.  As time went by, he felt sure that he could feel what dead men's souls think or make conversations with them.  He made records and took note of these experiences.

To make it sure that he had really made communications with a dead man's soul in a funeral service, he talked with family members of the deceased after a funeral service and compared what he had known from the dead man's soul through spiritual communications with witness of his bereaved family.  Those family members usually got surprised at the monk's obtaining various information of the deceased (from their souls), although the monk usually came to funeral services without knowing who and what the deceased were.   

In one case, the monk felt strange spiritually to the deceased lying in a casket while reading the sutras in a funeral service.  To the monk spiritually speaking to the soul of the dead man, he did not respond normally or squarely as were the ordinary cases.  So, after the service, the monk asked about the status at death of the deceased.  A family member confessed that he had given morphine so often to the patent before he died since the patient had been suffering so much for a long time.  So, the monk had talked to the soul still intoxicated or paralyzed by morphine. 

Based on such 2000 cases of funeral services, the monk felt sure that he confirmed existence of dead men's souls.  The souls with whom he made communications were not in near-death experiences but in real death.  And one of his findings is that characters and personalities of dead men's souls do not change from what they were while they were alive in this world.      

The ability to talk with dead men's souls was naturally obtained as he performed many funeral services where he was usually called by funeral service companies.  A Japanese bereaved family who does not belong to, or has a strong tie, with a specific Buddhist temple often accepts whatever monk a funeral company calls for a funeral service.  Therefore, the monk meets bereaved families and dead men in caskets for the first time in funerals.

So, what the monk has understood after decades-long personal investigation on existence of dead men's souls is so simple: What the religion teaches about immortality of the soul is true.

Christianity is also based on the belief and faith that a soul of a dead man lives after bodily death in this world.      

 

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Matthew 9, King James Version
28 And when he was come into the house, the blind men came to him: and Jesus saith unto them, Believe ye that I am able to do this? They said unto him, Yea, Lord.
29 Then touched he their eyes, saying, According to your faith be it unto you.
30 And their eyes were opened; and Jesus straitly charged them, saying, See that no man know it.
31 But they, when they were departed, spread abroad his fame in all that country.

"Why could not we cast him out?" - Souls of the Rich in Heaven?

 

A Shinto Shrine around Tokyo

Souls of the Rich in Heaven?

According to Swedenborg, there are souls of rich men in the spirit world and even in Heaven.

Rich men who earned and spent big money not for their own interest but for promoting the divine will and achieving holy purpose can enter into Heaven.  Indeed, Christ Jesus did not say that rich men could not 100% enter into Heave.  However, the emphasis of His saying is not on the fact that even rich men can be accepted into Heaven.  His intention is still to give a warning to those who want to be rich in this world.

Those who think that they need money to perform the teaching of God and thus earn big money to be eventually rich must not be rich at all in the worldly sense.  Such men must be still poor inside, although he has earned big money to achieve divine purpose.  Such men should not live rich, eat rich, or equip themselves rich.  Their souls should look poor because their inside is humble and poor unlike the souls of worldly rich men.

The fact that there are rich men means that there are poor men.  The rich make the poor envy the rich.  The poor who see and envy the rich would naturally try to be rich.  It does not matter whether the rich use their money only for godly purposes or for their own interest.  The rich can satisfy their desire to be rich, but the poor cannot enjoy such status and pride.  The poor should envy the rich even if the rich use all the money they have to save the poor and fulfill the divine will.  Such poor men might try to be rich by any means, for example, by selling their souls to Satan.

In reality, it must be almost impossible for the rich to use their wealth only for godly purposes.  If you are rich, you should surely live rich, eat rich, and wear rich clothes.  So, it is very misleading for Swedenborg to say that there are souls of rich men in Heaven who spent their money for achieving divine will.

The souls of rich men Swedenborg saw in Heaven must not be souls of rich men in this world.  They must have been poor in this world.  But, when they were admitted into Heaven, they earned much money (if there should be money in Heaven) to spend it according to the divine will, so that they must have looked rich in Heaven to the eyes of Swedenborg.

Christ Jesus told the poor in this world that they should be satisfied in Heaven, which means that they should be rich in Heaven.  So, the souls of the rich Swedenborg saw in Heaven must not be the souls of those who were rich while living in this world. 

Swedenborg was a rich man while living in this world.  Therefore, he wanted to see that even rich men in this world could be allowed into Heaven.  But it indicates that Swedenborg did not understand the divine well.

If there had be such rich men in this world as would spend their wealth to achieve divine purposes, the poor in this world should not have suffered so much that the God had to send His Son Christ Jesus to the human world to save the poor.  In other words, Christ Jesus did not come to this world to allow the rich to enter into Heaven but to save and help the poor to go to Heaven.

No matter how rich and high in the social status, you can be accepted in Heaven as long as you perform the divine will.  Swedenborg wanted to spread this notion by writing various books and reports on the spirit world and the afterlife.  Yet, the divine will is for people to understand that everybody should be poor so that nobody sells his soul to Satan.

Swedenborg should understand why Christ Jesus purposely declared:
It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle, than for a rich man to enter into the kingdom of God. (Matthew 19:24)

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Mark 9, King James Version
27 But Jesus took him by the hand, and lifted him up; and he arose.
28 And when he was come into the house, his disciples asked him privately, Why could not we cast him out?
29 And he said unto them, This kind can come forth by nothing, but by prayer and fasting.
30 And they departed thence, and passed through Galilee; and he would not that any man should know it.
31 For he taught his disciples, and said unto them, The Son of man is delivered into the hands of men, and they shall kill him; and after that he is killed, he shall rise the third day.
32 But they understood not that saying, and were afraid to ask him.

"will ye also be his disciples?" - St. Paul in the Afterlife Observed by Swedenborg

Mt. Fuji 100 km far from around Tokyo

St. Paul in the Afterlife Observed by Swedenborg

Swedenborg, a scientist, philosopher and mystic in the 18th century who was allowed by the God to see the spirit world while living in this world and wrote many books on his miracle spiritual experiences, saw St. Paul among the worst spirits in the afterlife, which must be the reason why the Vatican does not recognize Swedenborg as a saint.

According to The Spiritual Diary, the spirit of St. Paul kept in the afterlife his tendency and inclination he had had before his conversion to early Christianity.  He tried to rule all the Jewish people with his doctrine without referring to words and teachings of Christ Jesus in his letters put in the Bible.  St. Paul was shut away from spirits of other disciples of Christ Jesus and became a member of a group of evil spirits.

Swedenborg also saw the spirit of Christ Jesus watching a certain man, then shutting His eyes, and going inside Himself.  Although it is not written that these two incidents in the spirit world were related or tied to each other, it is very profound and suggestive.

Swedenborg noted that what is written by any man does not necessarily represent what man he is.  Any ungodly man may be able to write an excellent book of religion.  Any man who writes a book or a letter promoting and recommending ethics and moral acts is not necessarily a saint, but such a man is often ignorant about true value of humanity, justice, love, etc.  Any man with some ability can write a book of morality for the purpose of earning money and profit, pretending virtuous.  And St. Paul looked like one of such men to the spiritual eyes of Swedenborg.

However, Swedenborg did not reject or neglect what St. Paul had written in his letters.  Therefore, it is thought that the God or Christ Jesus used St. Paul for promotion of Christianity although his hidden tendency and inclination were known to Them.

On the other hand, Swedenborg praised the spirts of Seneca of ancient Rome in the 1st century and Newton of England in the early 18th century.  They loved truth and accepted the holy story depicted in the Bible.

Today, there are some people who claim that they can invoke spirits of deceased men.  Some people work as spiritualistic media.  Even some people who had near-death experiences claim that they saw the spirit of Christ Jesus shining like bright light in their experiences.  Although some people say that they have changed to become more humble, moralistic, or thoughtful after near-death experiences, others say that though they have acquired some mysterious spiritual ability, their personal quality and human natures have not changed.  But, generally speaking, such people seem to become unafraid of death any more.

What should be noted is that there is Satan and evil spirits in this world and the spirit world.  The reason why Swedenborg can be trusted is that he described how evil spirits worked and attacked the faithful in this world and the spirit world.  Satan should not mind if people realize existence of the spirit world as long as they sell their souls to Satan.

The battles with Satan should continue to the spirit world.  However, as Swedenborg wrote, men are protected by the God from Satan and evil spirits coming from the spirit world to attack them.  Without such protection by the God, all men should become victims of Satan or sell their souls to Satan.            

Anyway, it is a shame that the Pope in the Vatican and other leaders of churches do not report what they have seen in the spirit world when they are allowed by the God or Christ Jesus to see the status in the afterworld while living in this world like Swedenborg.

 

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John 9, King James Version
26 Then said they to him again, What did he to thee? how opened he thine eyes?
27 He answered them, I have told you already, and ye did not hear: wherefore would ye hear it again? will ye also be his disciples?
28 Then they reviled him, and said, Thou art his disciple; but we are Moses' disciples.
29 We know that God spake unto Moses: as for this fellow, we know not from whence he is.
30 The man answered and said unto them, Why herein is a marvellous thing, that ye know not from whence he is, and yet he hath opened mine eyes.
31 Now we know that God heareth not sinners: but if any man be a worshipper of God, and doeth his will, him he heareth.
32 Since the world began was it not heard that any man opened the eyes of one that was born blind.
33 If this man were not of God, he could do nothing.