"beforehand the sufferings of Christ, and the glory that should follow" - Be Poor Enough to See the Heavenly Truth

 

Around Tokyo toward Mt. Fuji

Be Poor Enough to See the Heavenly Truth

In anything, truth is simple.  Therefore, the teaching of Christ Jesus should be simple.  Except his teaching to love the God with all of our strength and hearts and love our neighbors like ourselves, the most simple teaching of Christ Jesus is that the rich cannot enter into Heaven.

However, this teaching on the rich being unable to enter into Heaven leads to creation of various and many deliverables that need volumes of books on theology.  

The underlying truth of this teaching should be that being rich means being evil.  Every issue concerned with evil and wickedness in the human society is related to this underlying truth.  Therefore, to save this world means to suppress evil so that people should be stopped trying to be rich.  For this reason, Christ Jesus said the truth that rich men cannot enter into Heaven after their death in this world.  In other words, Christ Jesus said to be poor if we wanted to be accepted in Heaven after our death in this world.

Indeed, if all the people stopped trying to be rich, most of evil and wickedness in this world would disappear.  The poor should be helped by the rich, and the rich would try to be poor by abandoning their wealth and giving it to the poor so as to be accepted in Heaven after their death in this world. 

A poor man, when he dies and goes into the spirit world, would be rejoiced to see light of the love from the God, since the love of the God is given free and unconditional.  But, a rich man would try to buy happiness with their money in the spirit world in vain, since he cannot trust anything that cannot be bought by money.  Such rich men should join Satan who praises those with much money and the capacity of doing any evil for money.  Therefore, poor men go up to the bright Heaven from the spirit world, but rich men go down to the dark hells from the spirit world spontaneously as witnessed by Swedenborg who observed the afterlife while living in this world in the 18th century.

Christ Jesus meant that although poor men are suffering in this world, they will be accepted in Heaven and become happy in the afterlife.  This is a simple and effective teaching to the poor suffering in this world.  Their salvation is promised, although which should come true after their death in this world.  But, if Christ Jesus had not come from the God, none should have believed this teaching.

So, Christianity depends on people's belief that Christ Jesus came from the God or He is the Son of the God.  And, to make people believe that Christ Jesus came from Heaven and He is the Son of the God, Christ Jesus had to fight against Satan, defeating evil spirits, and heal the sick, even reviving the dead.   

However, to see that Christ Jesus came from the God, one needs spiritual eyes.  To have spiritual eyes, one must have sound spiritual sense like that possessed by little children.    

         

Otherwise, one must be poor enough so that his eyes and senses are not contaminated or blurred by desires, wealth, and evil minds to see that Christ Jesus came from Heaven and He should be the Son of the God.

Anyway, a priest in every church should proclaim that their aim is to be poor and thus get accepted in Heaven after death in this world.

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1 Peter 1, King James Version

9 Receiving the end of your faith, even the salvation of your souls.
10 Of which salvation the prophets have enquired and searched diligently, who prophesied of the grace that should come unto you:
11 Searching what, or what manner of time the Spirit of Christ which was in them did signify, when it testified beforehand the sufferings of Christ, and the glory that should follow.
12 Unto whom it was revealed, that not unto themselves, but unto us they did minister the things, which are now reported unto you by them that have preached the gospel unto you with the Holy Ghost sent down from heaven; which things the angels desire to look into.
13 Wherefore gird up the loins of your mind, be sober, and hope to the end for the grace that is to be brought unto you at the revelation of Jesus Christ;

"let the dry land appear: and it was so" - What is Told in The Tibetan Book of the Dead

 

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What is Told in The Tibetan Book of the Dead

About 50 years ago, in the era of the Vietnam War, some young and radical Americans were interested in The Tibetan Book of the Dead (reportedly composed in the 8th century), since it tells how dying people would feel and should be treated.  Its description appealed to young Americans who wanted to see a different and peaceful world while they might get drafted and be sent to Vietnam where 50,000 American soldiers were to be killed.  Some of them found the sate of death described in The Tibetan Book of the Dead resembled the effect of narcotic drugs, such as LSD, on the human body and mind.   

According to the book, after three and a half days later after the moment of death, every dead man would surely come to oneself; his soul should find that it is alive.  And, within 49 days after death, the soul of a dead man would undergo reincarnation.

During the three days after death, some Buddhist sutras should be chanted to the ears of a dead man to make his undying soul understand that his body is in the state of death.  And when a metempsychosis or a cycle of death and life is made, his identity in the former life should be lost in most cases.  But, when a disciplinant of yoga or a yogi masters a way to join his soul to universality or universal status in the universe, his own identity loses its meaning. Or, the Buddha found the way to cut off this cycle through enlightenment.   

This process of dying generally matches what people having near-death experiences reported, although there seems to be no report of reincarnation.  The body can be dead, but the soul does not die.  It goes to the entrance of the spirit world.  According to The Tibetan Book of the Dead, the spirit stays in the spirit world for scores of days till reincarnation, but those with near-death experiences come back to life into their own old bodies after being told to go back to their old life by some spirits.  

In the Japanese Buddhism, memorial services for the dead have been traditionally practiced to console dead men's souls.  On the 49th day after death, the 49th-day memorial service is performed.  On the day of death one year after the death, the anniversary memorial service is performed.  Even when a man is dying or dead, sutra recitation at the bedside is performed.  However, this tradition is nowadays fading away.  

Anyway, the spiritualism, the study results on near-death experiences, etc. are generally approvingly accepted by the Japanese people.  However, immortality of souls and the existence of the spirit world seem to have lost appealing power to people while the human world is being contaminated more and more by materialism and the worship of money.   

In this context, we should remember the teaching of Christ Jesus that the sols of poor men are accepted in Heaven, but those of rich and evil men cannot enter into Heaven but go to the hells in the spirit world.

Anyway, both Christ Jesus and the Buddha took it for granted that a soul is immortal and there is the spirit world.  However, it is rare for a living man to see his own soul and see the spirit world.  That may be why we need religions such as Christianity or Buddhism.  However, Christ Jesus and the Buddha taught truth through the spirit world and the human world but not religious business.

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Genesis 1, King James Version

3 And God said, Let there be light: and there was light.
4 And God saw the light, that it was good: and God divided the light from the darkness.
5 And God called the light Day, and the darkness he called Night. And the evening and the morning were the first day.
6 And God said, Let there be a firmament in the midst of the waters, and let it divide the waters from the waters.
7 And God made the firmament, and divided the waters which were under the firmament from the waters which were above the firmament: and it was so.
8 And God called the firmament Heaven. And the evening and the morning were the second day.
9 And God said, Let the waters under the heaven be gathered together unto one place, and let the dry land appear: and it was so.
10 And God called the dry land Earth; and the gathering together of the waters called he Seas: and God saw that it was good.

"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

 

Snow around Tokyo

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

 

Mt. Fuji from around Tokyo

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.

"Jesus Christ, the son of David, the son of Abraham" - The Corona-Pandemic: a Warning from Heaven to the Mankind

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The Corona-Pandemic: a Warning from Heaven to the Mankind

We may be allowed to refer to the Bible to see when the current corona-pandemic will be terminated.

Put simply, it seems that the pandemic will continue into 2024 or will be terminated around 2025.  However, it does not mean that the mankind will never face other pandemics.

However, as more people are living than those who died of the corona virus, the future of the mankind must be more important.  When will the human civilization be ended?  And, what will happen after the era of the mankind?  What will the God or Christ Jesus do to save the mankind?  Will Newton's prediction that the end of the world would start after 2060 be realized?  Will Swedenborg's description that the Last Judgement has been completed around 1750s in the spirit world whose influence will appear in the human world in 2 to 3 centuries be found correct?

From the view point that development of the human civilization can be measured by the degree of evolution and expansion of science and technology, there will come the critical time point when developed science and technology will start to have an opposite effect on the mankind.  For example, to get rid of the fate of physical death, the mankind will develop technology to replace their biological parts in their bodies with artificial organs.  They may even invent artificial brains to replace old biological brains.  And, finally they will invent human-like robots.  And, when the mankind are exterminated due to some fatal pandemic, the human-like robots might take over the human civilization.  Human-like robots never die of biological diseases.  They may travel the Milky Way Galaxy taking hundreds of thousand light years.  They may conquer this Galaxy and others in the vast universe millions of years later.  But, it is no more a human history.    

Indeed, when people are drinking, eating, dancing, and singing as they conquer death by inventing artificial bodies in the future, the end of the human civilization might come so close.

However, the spirit world must be more important than this world or the human world.  What will happen in the spirit world if the mankind is terminated in this physical world?  Why and how will the God or Christ Jesus allow or act against such a fate while Swedenborg wrote that human beings were created in this world so that Heaven or the heavenly world should further develop and expand?  To increase human spirits coming from the physical world to the spirit world and Heaven, the God created the mankind, on which Christ Jesus said that God the Father loves the mankind so much.  Anyway, there are many galaxies, solar systems, and planets like the earth in this vast universe, so that an adverse effect will not soon appear in the spirit world even if the mankind on this earth in our solar system in our galaxy should be exterminated in the future.  The God might send His Son Christ Jesus to another planet when the mankind on this planet Earth is terminated.  But, it is no more a human history.

So, we had better think about the end of this vast physical universe.  But again, the God will create another universe using His spirit energy when this material universe stops to exist.

Finally, we have to think about the relationship between the mankind and the God.  As a basic condition, we have to respect and appreciate the God, since any possible relationships with the God should be based on our appreciation of the God, as the God has overlooked disbelief and corruption of the mankind for so long while the God has the power to exterminate the mankind at any time.  As long as the God has a reason to love the mankind, we must be able to survive.  But, if we lose awe and love to the God, for example, by allowing robots to take over the human civilization, the God might forsake the mankind.

The current corona-pandemic must be a warning from Heaven to the mankind.          　

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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;

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

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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.

"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.

"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.

"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?

"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.