"they both were now well stricken in years" - Christianity: the Religion for the Poor

 

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Christianity: the Religion for the Poor 

Why did Christ Jesus come to this world?  He came to this world to save poor people.  Therefore, the fist thing for us to do in order to show our faith in Christ Jesus should be to confess that we believe that Christ Jesus came to this world to save the poor.

Indeed, the Gospels clearly says this fact:

Luke 6
20 And he lifted up his eyes on his disciples, and said, Blessed be ye poor: for yours is the kingdom of God.

21 Blessed are ye that hunger now: for ye shall be filled. Blessed are ye that weep now: for ye shall laugh.

The God and Christ Jesus love the poor but hate the rich.  Indeed, the Gospels show Christ Jesus' judgment on the rich:

Matthew 19
24 And again I say unto you, 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.

Put simply, the God sent His Son Christ Jesus to this world because the poor were made to suffer in this world by the rich.  But, how did Christ Jesus save the poor?  Did He give the poor big money?  No, but He gave the promise that the poor would be accepted in Heaven, and the rich should not be accepted in Heaven.    

When hearing these words from Christ Jesus, whom they admitted to be the Son of the God or a very holy man, poor men 2,000 years ago became glad and started to follow Him, which led to initiation of Christianity.  In this context, Christianity is the religion for the poor but against the rich.  And, this truth and the situations in this world have not changed even today.

Rather, Satan has penetrated in the Vatican and other churches to soil and contort the teachings by Christ Jesus so that rich people do not feel guilty or fear the anger by the God and Christ Jesus on them.  Satan helped the Vatican, other churches, priests, etc. become rich, and they have come not to be ashamed of being rich.  The implication of the issue on "the rich vs. the poor" is that being rich means being evil, and being poor means not being decisively evil, although none is good except the God, according to Christ Jesus. 

A man can be rich by neglecting other poor people without giving enough money to them and by doing every evil thing to defeat them in any competitions as much as possible.  A man will sell his soul to Satan in order to be rich and continue to be rich.  That is why Satan loves the rich and brainwashes the rich so as for them to be more evil.

Today, due to advancement of information and communication technology, every rich man knows that there are many poor people suffering from poverty and injustice in many regions in the world. So, they cannot excuse themselves. 

In this context, even the Pope may not be accepted in Heaven unless he sells the Vatican's buildings, lands, and all assets and gives the money to the poor in the world. 

Or put extremely, any body may not be accepted in Heaven as long as there is a man who is poorer than he is.  At least, the poorest man in this world can surely enter into Heaven.

Finally, we had better love poorer men than we are, so that they will not offer, before the God, opposition to our being accepted in Heaven. 

We should not forget that we cannot be accepted in Heaven unless we are poor.

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Luke 1, King James Version
5 There was in the days of Herod, the king of Judaea, a certain priest named Zacharias, of the course of Abia: and his wife was of the daughters of Aaron, and her name was Elisabeth.
6 And they were both righteous before God, walking in all the commandments and ordinances of the Lord blameless.
7 And they had no child, because that Elisabeth was barren, and they both were now well stricken in years.
8 And it came to pass, that while he executed the priest's office before God in the order of his course,
9 According to the custom of the priest's office, his lot was to burn incense when he went into the temple of the Lord.

"Jesse begat David the king; and David the king begat Solomon" - The Faithful Vs Evil Spirits

 

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The Faithful Vs Evil Spirits

There are many reports on the afterlife or spirit world by those who had near-death experiences or who have psychic ability.  But, they have rarely reported that they were attacked by evil spirits or Satan.  Nonetheless, if they had been faithful to the God, they should have attacked by evil spirits or Satan like in the case of Swedenborg.

The faithful would be targets by evil spirits or Satan as Christ Jesus said:

(Matthew 5)
10 Blessed are they which are persecuted for righteousness' sake: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
11 Blessed are ye, when men shall revile you, and persecute you, and shall say all manner of evil against you falsely, for my sake.
12 Rejoice, and be exceeding glad: for great is your reward in heaven: for so persecuted they the prophets which were before you.

These worlds should apply to those who believe in Christ Jesus in their minds and souls, even if they are not church members, since evil spirits and Satan should be able to see their minds and souls.

When a faithful man is casually walking, an evil spirit might come into a mind of another man who is passing by him, and the passerby might suddenly curse at him loudly or laugh at him violently to insult him for any or no reasons.

When a man with an evil spirit in his mind sees a man with faith in Christ Jesus or the God coming toward him, he must feel an urge to attack the coming man.   

Indeed, when Christ Jesus was casually walking, He must have been attacked by many passersby with evil spirits in their minds who might have suddenly cursed at Him loudly or laughed at Him violently to insult Him for any or no reasons.

Swedenborg wrote that evil spirits in the hells or the spirit world were so evil and outrageous that souls of dead men and living men would be in danger without help from the God or angles.  Even in this world, evil spirits or Satan would come into the minds of men without faith, and when such men see a faithful man, they would try to attack and destroy the faithful.

Therefore, all the past followers of Christ Jesus must have been attacked or inflicted by men without faith but with evil spirits in their minds.  The Gospels should be read from this point of view.  In other words, the proof that one is faithful believing in Christ Jesus or the God is that he is being attacked by evil spirits or Satan.

When evil man die and go into the spirit world, they are free from legal, social, or moral restrictions, so that they outwardly expose clearly their evil natures and characteristics.  According to Swedenborg, the souls of such men will become thousand time more heinous in the spirit world than in this world.

At the entrance to the spirit world, those in near-death experiences should not encounter evil spirits, so that they only see wonderful environments in the spirit world.  Therefore, when they have come back to life, they report that they were happy in the spirit world, and they seldom report that they were attacked by evil spirits when they were in the afterlife.  As a result, some rich and evil people might believe that they can be rich and happy both in this world and in the afterlife.          

In this context, we should understand the words of Christ Jesus:

"The rich cannot enter into Heaven, but the poor are accepted in Heaven, and the rich go to the hells."  

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Matthew 1, King James Version

1 The book of the generation of Jesus Christ, the son of David, the son of Abraham.
2 Abraham begat Isaac; and Isaac begat Jacob; and Jacob begat Judas and his brethren;
3 And Judas begat Phares and Zara of Thamar; and Phares begat Esrom; and Esrom begat Aram;
4 And Aram begat Aminadab; and Aminadab begat Naasson; and Naasson begat Salmon;
5 And Salmon begat Booz of Rachab; and Booz begat Obed of Ruth; and Obed begat Jesse;
6 And Jesse begat David the king; and David the king begat Solomon of her that had been the wife of Urias;
7 And Solomon begat Roboam; and Roboam begat Abia; and Abia begat Asa;

"the life was the light of men" - Poor, Unhappy, but Faithful People to Support Churches

 

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Poor, Unhappy, but Faithful People to Support Churches

Once or decades ago, there was a seminary student in Japan who was studying in a university in a big city remote from his home village.  But he was mentally and spiritually suffering about his future.  He was not sure about whether or not he should continue his study to be a priest for various reasons.  As his home village was in a unique region with the tradition of hidden Christianity (Christianity had been banned in Japan from the 17th century to the late 19th century, but in some areas people secretly revered Christianity through the period) and his family also believed in Christianity, he naturally proceeded to a School of Divinity to be qualified as a priest.  But, in those days, he had a doubt about whether it was a right choice on course of life for him to become a priest.

One day, he came back to his home village and entered into an old church with which he had been familiar from his childhood to pray alone to the God there.  Then, there came an old woman speaking to him: "Please continue your study and become a priest.  There are unhappy people in this world who need a priest like you.  Please become a good priest and save those unhappy people."  At the time, he did not respond to the words of the poor little old woman. 

When he came back to his old home, he asked about the woman to his family members to be informed that she was a mother of a son who had been a member of a gangster in a big city but recently killed by other gangster members, and she had buried his son in the village recently.  

 

He decided to continue his study to be qualified as a priest.  A notable sister of Catholic who believes in spiritual power wrote this story about a certain priest.

However, it should be noted that the key person in this story is not the seminary student but the old, poor, unhappy, but faithful woman.  The depth of understanding of love of Christ Jesus is deeper in the old woman than the the seminary student.  She needed a church as a place to pray to the God, and a church needs a priest.  As she fully learned human unhappiness, her sense must have become keen enough to see unhappiness of others.  Therefore, she could see the suffering mind of the student.  So, she dared to speak to the student.

Like in this case in Japan, Christianity and churches have been supported all through the history by poor, unhappy, but faithful people who could even foster priests.  

Indeed, poor, unhappy, but faithful people are accepted in Heaven after their death in this world to be consoled, satisfied, fulfilled and made happy.        

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John 1, King James Version

1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.
2 The same was in the beginning with God.
3 All things were made by him; and without him was not any thing made that was made.
4 In him was life; and the life was the light of men.
5 And the light shineth in darkness; and the darkness comprehended it not.
6 There was a man sent from God, whose name was John.

"they should not depart from Jerusalem" - Seek the Kingdom of God but Not Money

 

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Seek the Kingdom of God but Not Money

Without influence of Satan, this world should be far better than today it is.

Satan is trying to make people revere it as God.  For this purpose, it has brainwashed people so that they want money to be happy.  And, it has established a social system where people cannot get any money without showing respect to Satan.  Under this system, people attack others who do not show respect to Satan, as if they were attacking enemies of God, since those brainwashed by Satan or money regard Satan as God.     

That is why Christ Jesus did not earn money or provide money to help poor people.  Christ Jesus did not say to people that if they wanted to be happy, they should earn much money.  Indeed, from the beginning, the Bible does not say that the God created money to make people happy.  Rather, the Gospels say that people should choose God but not money.  Christ Jesus said that rich men with much money would not be able to enter into Heaven.

However, today money has become a global religion.  Everybody wants and seeks money no matter what evil things they have to do to get money.  Indeed, everybody tries or implies to show how much they love Satan when they want to gain the goodwill from customers, business partners, seniors, bosses, etc.  They want to strengthen friendship with others by trying to share their respect to Satan or money with others.  Indeed, it is the Kingdom of Satan.  However, people must want and seek love to enter into the Kingdom of the God as Christ Jesus said. 

The key issue is that everybody will compromise internal conflicts between good and evil so that they will neglect good and prefer evil over love and justice to get any money.  This is the situation that Satan wants.  Rich men would simply neglect poor neighbors.  Big and rich enterprises would simply neglect poor people in the world.  Rich winners or successful people would simply neglect the poor, the weak, the non-smart, etc.  And happy people simply neglect unhappy neighbors or unhappy people in other areas and countries shown in TV or the Internet.  This is completely opposite to the teaching of Christ Jesus.    

To abandon money in solving any problems, including poverty, but rely on love to the God and Christ Jesus is the right way.  Indeed, Christ Jesus said: But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you (Matthew 6).     

Therefore, being rich is evil.  Maintaining riches means accepting and promoting evil.  Continuing to be rich means continuing to neglect the poor and turn one's back to teachings of Christ Jesus.  But, if we seek the Kingdom of God, all necessary for us will be given by the God as Christ Jesus said:
31 Therefore take no thought, saying, What shall we eat? or, What shall we drink? or, Wherewithal shall we be clothed?
32 (For after all these things do the Gentiles seek:) for your heavenly Father knoweth that ye have need of all these things.
33 But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you.
34 Take therefore no thought for the morrow: for the morrow shall take thought for the things of itself. Sufficient unto the day is the evil thereof. (Matthew 6)

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Acts 1, King James Version

1 The former treatise have I made, O Theophilus, of all that Jesus began both to do and teach,
2 Until the day in which he was taken up, after that he through the Holy Ghost had given commandments unto the apostles whom he had chosen:
3 To whom also he shewed himself alive after his passion by many infallible proofs, being seen of them forty days, and speaking of the things pertaining to the kingdom of God:
4 And, being assembled together with them, commanded them that they should not depart from Jerusalem, but wait for the promise of the Father, which, saith he, ye have heard of me.
5 For John truly baptized with water; but ye shall be baptized with the Holy Ghost not many days hence.

"As it is written in the prophets, Behold, I send my messenger" - Not to Give Money but Promise Eternal Life

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Not to Give Money but Promise Eternal Life

Why did the God send His Son Christ Jesus to this world?  According to the Gospels, the God loved men and especially poor men, so that He wanted to save them, and thus He sent Christ Jesus to the human world in Palestine 2,000 years ago.  

Then, what did Christ Jesus do to men and especially poor men?  Did He teach them theology, as taught today in the Vatican, other churches, the School of Divinity, etc., which needs a high degree of education to be understood?

Christ Jesus first showed people miracles, such as healing the sick, proving His divinity and performed sacred work, such as driving out demons.  Then, He told  parables that could be easily understood by any men without education or literacy.  And, He delivered the simple and direct teaching that poor men could be accepted in Heaven so as to be happy after their death in this world, focusing on poor and suffering people.  Then, His teaching was accepted, although with some tragedies due to attacks by Satan, by some Jewish people in Palestine 2,000 years ago, then citizens of the Roman Empire, and later Europeans, and finally by billions of people in the world today.

Put simply, Christianity started with the simple teaching that poor men can be accepted in Heaven so as to get eternal life and become happy after their death in this world.  As a matter of fact, Christ Jesus lived as a poor man not as a king or a rich man while He was living in this world 2,000 years ago, although He could have been a king or a rich man in this world if only He had used His power.         

So, the Vatican, other churches, and any priests should teach only one thing that rich men cannot be accepted in Heaven. Rich men should go into the hells where they would be finally destroyed with Satan by the God.  They have to encourage people to try to be poor as much as possible, so that they can enter into Heaven after their death in this world.  Or, they have to help poor people as much as possible.

If successful, this world should be a place where people are competing among themselves in terms of how much poor they can be. 

Only poor men sincerely and desperately asked help from the God, which must have been well understood by Christ Jesus.  Every kind of unhappiness in this world is a result of everyman's seeking his own wealth and happiness while neglecting others.  Being rich means being evil, since a man cannot be and continue to be rich if he loves the poor and gives enough money to his poor neighbors.  And, Christ Jesus must have found that Satan made people want money so that they will sell their souls to Satan who could make them rich to any degrees, since money is a tool of Satan.

Those who cannot fully sell their souls to Satan are destined to be poor.  They are inflicted and attacked like Christ Jesus by Satan and its followers.  But, it is the God who has the power and authority to allow any men to enter into Heaven and get eternal life.  Therefore, as the Son of the God, Christ Jesus promised poor men that they would be accepted in Heaven where they should be happy and given eternal life.

Indeed, Christ Jesus came not to give money to poor men but to promise them that they will be given eternal life and happiness in Heaven.  Money in this world or eternal life and happiness in the afterlife?  The only condition to get eternal life in Heaven is being poor in this world, according to Christ Jesus. 

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Mark 1, King James Version

1 The beginning of the gospel of Jesus Christ, the Son of God;
2 As it is written in the prophets, Behold, I send my messenger before thy face, which shall prepare thy way before thee.
3 The voice of one crying in the wilderness, Prepare ye the way of the Lord, make his paths straight.
4 John did baptize in the wilderness, and preach the baptism of repentance for the remission of sins.
5 And there went out unto him all the land of Judaea, and they of Jerusalem, and were all baptized of him in the river of Jordan, confessing their sins.
6 And John was clothed with camel's hair, and with a girdle of a skin about his loins; and he did eat locusts and wild honey;
7 And preached, saying, There cometh one mightier than I after me, the latchet of whose shoes I am not worthy to stoop down and unloose.