"Blessed are ye, when men shall revile you" - Spiritual Ability

 

Spiritual Ability

With strong faith, one can see what ordinary people cannot see and one can hear what ordinary people cannot hear.

13 Therefore speak I to them in parables: because they seeing see not; and hearing they hear not, neither do they understand.
14 And in them is fulfilled the prophecy of Esaias, which saith, By hearing ye shall hear, and shall not understand; and seeing ye shall see, and shall not perceive: (Matthew 5)

In old days, say 2,000 years ago, there must have been many who could see and hear what spirits did and told.  They should have easily understood what the Lord Jesus Christ meant in His teaching, since His teaching was almost related to spiritual matters.

But as time went by, this ability to see and hear spiritual matters was lost.  With development of material civilization, people did not need spiritual ability to see and hear spiritual matters.  Products of the material civilization gave people more convenience, amenity, and pleasant sensation.  Material civilization came to satisfy desire of people.  People did not have to have strong faith to get spiritual satisfaction but had to have money and wealth to buy products of the material civilization so as to satisfy material desire.

In this trend, as the material civilization has developed so much, people have lost the ability to spiritually see and hear spiritual matters.  Although authors of the Gospels seem to have the spiritual ability to spiritually see and hear what various spirits did and said, readers have lost the spiritual ability so that they cannot understand what the Gospels tell.

So, when the authors of the Gospels wrote that Satan had done something against the Lord Jesus Christ, today's readers should take it is as a figurative phrase.  The truth of the fight between the Lord Jesus Christ and Satan cannot be understood by such readers of the Gospels.

In the spirit world, as Swedenborg wrote, what a spirit wishes would soon be realized.  Nothing is impossible in the spirit world.  But anything that is not realized through faith in and love to the God is meaningless in the spirit world.  So, those who want material things even in the spirit world should go to the hells spontaneously.  But, those who want truth and love of the God should come close to Heaven.

Those with the spiritual ability even in this human world should be able to see various evil spirits in addition to holy spirits working in the human world.  Without being contaminated and debased by the material civilization, such people with strong faith should be able to see the real spiritual situations in this world.  They should naturally ask the Lord Jesus Christ and the God to save them from Satan and evil spirits.

Only those with the spiritual ability can understand this theory.  Those without such ability should neglect this theory as a trick statement.

But, even without strong faith in the Lord Jesus Christ and His God, some honest and pious people might have such spiritual ability.  You cannot judge people based on whether they belong to Christian churches or not.  The spiritual ability others have cannot be easily seen from the outside.

So, you should not be proud if you can only see value of money and wealth, which every servant of Satan can.  In other word, the spiritual ability to see the difference between evil and holy should be more valuable in the spirit world where everyone goes after death in this world.                  

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Matthew 5, King James Version
3 Blessed are the poor in spirit: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
4 Blessed are they that mourn: for they shall be comforted.
5 Blessed are the meek: for they shall inherit the earth.
6 Blessed are they which do hunger and thirst after righteousness: for they shall be filled.
7 Blessed are the merciful: for they shall obtain mercy.
8 Blessed are the pure in heart: for they shall see God.
9 Blessed are the peacemakers: for they shall be called the children of God.
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.

"immediately the man was made whole" - Who Can Have Supernatural or Spiritual Power?

Pacific Ocean Cost around Tokyo

Who Can Have Supernatural or Spiritual Power?

There are some people with supernatural power or spiritual power.

In Japan, there have been scores of persons who are said to have such power since modernization of the country in the late 19th century to the present day through WWII.  Some of them have launched new religious bodies or became famous in the society.  Yet, the nation with respect for science has not encouraged people to try to cultivate and develop such power and ability.

And, it does not mean that a man with such power and ability can be a billionaire or a great political leader.  Most of then have lived simple or humble lives. 

For example, it seems that humble and nameless Christian monks or nuns could have such power or ability.  But they would not advertise their power and ability to keep a state of tranquility of life.

Indeed, it seems that there are tens of thousands or more people who have such power and ability but who keep silence on their power and ability in Japan alone.  When Uri Geller came to Japan and made TV appearance in early 1970s, tens of thousands of children who saw Geller's performance on TV started to show their supernatural power to bend spoons.  Little children without doubts especially seemed to be able to exercise such power and ability.  

So, faithful religious people or children with pure minds seem to have such power and ability.  No one can see how much faith others have or how much pure minds children have.  Yet, religious men with pure and strong faith at the bottom of their minds seem to have more chances to exercise their supernatural power and ability than others.  And, little children without influence of commonsense or worldly wisdom seem to have more chances to exercise their supernatural power and ability than grown-ups. 

From the point of view of spiritualism, a man's mind is based on his soul that is linked with the spirit world.  As the spiritual energy can flow into the material world and the human world, if a man's mind is strongly connected to his soul, he can easily use the spiritual energy through his soul even without being conscious.  Little children's minds should be strongly connected to their souls so that they can easily use the spiritual energy.

But as others cannot see the mind state of a man with supernatural or spiritual power, it is hard to tell how much faith or purity a man has to have so that he can exercise such power.  A man of religion who has a high status in his religious body might look so enthusiastic in his practice of religion, but he might love things in this world more than paradise or Heaven.  Such a man cannot have supernatural or spiritual power.  But a man of religion in lower status who humbly and quietly live his faithful and pure life can have such power although he does not like to advertise such power. 

Even an ordinary man who lives his humble and quiet life might have strong, deep, and pure faith in the God might have and exercise such power and ability as his mind is strongly connected to his soul linked with the spiritual power.

Therefore, it is difficult to apply scientific methods so as to analyze behaviors and mind states of men with or without supernatural power and spiritual power.

Yet, it looks plausible that men who love strong material desire and pursue material happiness cannot have such power.  Only the God knows in what state a man's mind is.  And a man who has strong compassion to the poor, the sick, and the weak and has strong respect for and faith in his ancestors and deities of his religion might have and exercise such power.         

Supernatural power and spiritual power must come from the spirit world.  For a man to have and exercise such power, he must have a mind set or a mind state that can strongly connect to the spirit world through his soul.  And only the God knows what a man thinks in the bottom of his mind.

A great eminent religious man might have little faith in the God at the bottom of his mind, but a low-keyed ordinary man might have strong and pure faith in the God at the core of his mind.  The God should surely give supernatural or spiritual power to the latter.  

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John 5, King James Version

9 And immediately the man was made whole, and took up his bed, and walked: and on the same day was the sabbath.
10 The Jews therefore said unto him that was cured, It is the sabbath day: it is not lawful for thee to carry thy bed.
11 He answered them, He that made me whole, the same said unto me, Take up thy bed, and walk.
12 Then asked they him, What man is that which said unto thee, Take up thy bed, and walk?
13 And he that was healed wist not who it was: for Jesus had conveyed himself away, a multitude being in that place.
14 Afterward Jesus findeth him in the temple, and said unto him, Behold, thou art made whole: sin no more, lest a worse thing come unto thee.
15 The man departed, and told the Jews that it was Jesus, which had made him whole.

 

”when he saw Jesus afar off” - The Spirit World and This Human World over the Dead

 

Around Tokyo with Mt. Fuji in Sunset Glow

The Spirit World and This Human World over the Dead

When a man dies even in Ukraine or Gaza, his soul (with his mind) continues to live in the spirit world but not in this world.  So, although his family members and friends should be sad, his soul does not feel grief. 

It is because human bodies and souls (with his minds) were created through spiritual energy like everything in the material world was.  Dead human bodies just turned to another form of materials but human souls returned to the spirit world where they had been originally generated.  A man's soul is separated from his body that is essentially material when he dies.  The mechanism of materials going back to the spirit world is different from souls going back to the spirit world as a spirit.

So, sadness felt by others seeing their friend being dead is not absolute, although from the human point of view such sadness is acute.  Even the Lord Jesus Christ tried to bring his fried back to life, although He knew that His friend could continue to live as a spirit in the spirit world.    

https://etc.usf.edu/clipart/189200/189248/189248-jesus-resurrects-lazarus-of-bethany.htm

But it does not mean that life in this world is essentially meaningless.  The life in this world with the body and the soul has its specific value not possessed by the soul as a spirit in the spirit world.  So, sadness to see one's family member or friend being dead in this world should not be made light of.  The dead man consisting of his body and soul is no more in this world but his soul continues to live as a spirit in the spirit world.  Yet, it is natural and meaningful for others to feel sadness seeing their family member or friend being dead.

If the spirit world is complete, the God must not have created the material world and sent human spirit to the material world or into the human body in this world.

However, living men often regard this material world as the only sure world, while neglecting the spirit world.  Even science in this world cannot be effective in dealing with the spirit world.  It is absurd to claim that what deficient science cannot prove should not truly exist.

The spirit world is superior and this material world including the human world is subordinate.  However, the spirit world itself is not complete and perfect for some aim related to the human beings, so that the God created the material world through spiritual energy and put human spirits as souls into the human bodies.

Related to the aim, we have to grieve to see our family member or friend being dead like the Lord Jesus Christ.

Nonetheless, the God must not feel sad to see anyone being dead in the human world.  In addition, Satan must not either.  Yet, a true religious man like the Lord Jesus Christ who understands the spirit world should also feel sad to see anyone being dead in the human world.  

Therefore politicians who cause a war such as one in Ukraine or Gaza should be close to Satan if they are not close to the God.           

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Mark 5, King James Version
5 And always, night and day, he was in the mountains, and in the tombs, crying, and cutting himself with stones.
6 But when he saw Jesus afar off, he ran and worshipped him,
7 And cried with a loud voice, and said, What have I to do with thee, Jesus, thou Son of the most high God? I adjure thee by God, that thou torment me not.
8 For he said unto him, Come out of the man, thou unclean spirit.
9 And he asked him, What is thy name? And he answered, saying, My name is Legion: for we are many.
10 And he besought him much that he would not send them away out of the country.
11 Now there was there nigh unto the mountains a great herd of swine feeding.
12 And all the devils besought him, saying, Send us into the swine, that we may enter into them.
13 And forthwith Jesus gave them leave. And the unclean spirits went out, and entered into the swine: and the herd ran violently down a steep place into the sea, (they were about two thousand;) and were choked in the sea.