Saturday, February 03, 2018

"bringing one sick of the palsy" - An Old Italian Catholic




An Old Italian Catholic

There was one old Italian Catholic priest in Japan, working as the housefather of a student dormitory of a university in Tokyo.  He was liked by students, because he was extremely generous and kind to students.

One day, he called on students and said that he would leave Japan the next day since he got a cancer and was going to be hospitalized in his own country.

Then one student asked him if he had a fear for his death.  The Catholic priest said that he had trained himself for these 60 years to prepare for death.  He had been trying to build good images of Heaven in his mind.  Now, Heaven was in his mind, so that he was not afraid of his death.

The next day, the old priest put on nice blue suits and flew back to Italy from Tokyo.  A half year later, he died in a monastery in Italy.   

And one student who lived in the dormitory under the supervise of the priest became a famous author.

However, Christianity is the teaching for people who live in this world.  Christ Jesus never said to prepare for one's own death.  But He said that rich men would fall into the hell and poor men would be welcomed in Heaven.  And, Christ Jesus taught that if people lived according to the teaching of God, they would enter the kingdom of God in this world.  He did not recommend people to live for 60 years under authority of the church, preparing themselves for death.

Nonetheless, it must be better to live while building one's own image of Heaven in the mind rather than building money and worldly status.




**** **** ****

Mar 2:3 And they come unto him, bringing one sick of the palsy, which was borne of four.
Mar 2:4 And when they could not come nigh unto him for the press, they uncovered the roof where he was: and when they had broken it up, they let down the bed wherein the sick of the palsy lay.
Mar 2:5 When Jesus saw their faith, he said unto the sick of the palsy, Son, thy sins be forgiven thee.

Wednesday, January 31, 2018

"immediately the fever left her" - Christ Jesus as DNA of History?


Around Tokyo



Christ Jesus as DNA of History?

A human body is made of 60 trillion cells of which 20 trillions are red blood cells.  But all these cells are created from one cell through the process called cell division.

And, every cell including the original one has the same structure.  But there is a programming function in a cell, which is called DNA.  How one original cell is multiplied while building a human body with various parts and internal organs is written in the program in DNA.

For example, if the formula B = A +1 is written in a program, it can create any number beginning from 1.  Indeed, 2 = 1 + 1, 3 = 2 +1, 4 = 3 +1, etc.

In other word, if God wrote this formula in the program to create this universe, all the integers came to exist, including 1 to 10, 100, 1 million, 1 trillion, and infinity.  But, some numbers have special features and characteristics in addition to special relations to other numbers, while God wrote rules  concerning four arithmetic operations.  For example, there are integers that cannot be completely divided by other integers less than itself while other integers can be dividable. 

Now looking back at the human history, we should assume God put just His Son simply as one man into this world 2000 years ago.  And God tried to spread His word and teaching among the mankind through a religion based on His Son.  Since the launch of Christianity, this religion has influenced a huge number of people of various countries and races, while having influence on thinking and actions of those people and on political and social movements, customs, and traditions.  The Christian Bible has been copied in a huge amount: for example, about 338 billion copies of the Bible had been published and distributed from 1815 to 1998. 

So, like other laws and natural mechanisms, this world of today made up through 2000-year history with the main influential power of Christianity, as shown by European/American dominance in global culture and civilization, is the expression of one original human formula or religious DNA called Christ Jesus.

As complicated behaviors of the human body and integers are based on simple original or underlying rules, the versatile, intricate, and elusive features and movements of this world are critically conditioned by Christ Jesus who lived 2000 years ago.  Therefore to understand the world of today and the human history of these 2000 years, we have to study Christ Jesus or the Bible.  This is the justification of our mission.



**** **** ****

Mar 1:31 And he came and took her by the hand, and lifted her up; and immediately the fever left her, and she ministered unto them.

Saturday, January 27, 2018

"with authority commandeth he even the unclean spirits" - The Gospel of Philip



Around Tokyo


The Gospel of Philip

It is interesting to read Gnostic Gospels, since it shows how people were influenced by early Christianity.

The Gospel of Philip is one of the Gnostic Gospels, a text of New Testament apocrypha, dated to around the 3rd century but lost in modern times until an Egyptian man rediscovered it by accident, buried in a cave near Nag Hammadi, in 1945. 
The text is not related to the canonical gospels and is not accepted as canonical by the Christian church. Although it may seem similar to the Gospel of Thomas, scholars are divided as to whether it is a single discourse or a collection of Valentinian sayings. 
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gospel_of_Philip 
Some interesting parts of the Gospel of Philip are as follows:
"Jesus" is a hidden name, "Christ" is a revealed name. For this reason "Jesus" is not particular to any language; rather he is always called by the name "Jesus". While as for "Christ", in Syriac it is "Messiah", in Greek it is "Christ". Certainly all the others have it according to their own language. "The Nazarene" is he who reveals what is hidden. Christ has everything in himself, whether man, or angel, or mystery, and the Father....
The apostles who were before us had these names for him: "Jesus, the Nazorean, Messiah", that is, "Jesus, the Nazorean, the Christ". The last name is "Christ", the first is "Jesus", that in the middle is "the Nazarene". "Messiah" has two meanings, both "the Christ" and "the measured". "Jesus" in Hebrew is "the redemption". "Nazara" is "the Truth". "The Nazarene" then, is "the Truth". "Christ" [...] has been measured. "The Nazarene" and "Jesus" are they who have been measured... 
The eucharist is Jesus. For he is called in Syriac "Pharisatha," which is "the one who is spread out," for Jesus came to crucify the world. 
http://gnosis.org/naghamm/gop.html
It did not have no relevance to His mission how he called himself, although it looks likely that Christ Jesus never called Himself God.  But someone in the second century wrote the Gospel of Philip arguing such a minor matter on the name of Christ Jesus. 

And it shows his ability to manipulate the fact: Jesus came to crucify the world.  But results of  Gnostic authors exercising their ability to manipulate interpretation of Christ Jesus' mission, His intention, His words, etc. always result in nonsense which, however, appeals to intellectual ability of readers.   

Gnostic authors presented their intellectual ability applied to the story of Christ Jesus.  Meaning of the teaching of God presented by Christ Jesus was not their concern.  But by presenting their versions of gospels, they might get followers or take some high positions in Christian organizations to be respected by people.  At least, it seems that the intention of Gnostic authors was not to help the poor and save the world.


**** **** ****


Mar 1:27 And they were all amazed, insomuch that they questioned among themselves, saying, What thing is this? what new doctrine is this? for with authority commandeth he even the unclean spirits, and they do obey him.
Mar 1:28 And immediately his fame spread abroad throughout all the region round about Galilee.

Thursday, January 25, 2018

"Thus hath the Lord dealt with me" - Water, Part of God


Around Tokyo

Water, Part of God

When a supernova, a big fixed star with huge mass, exploded, hydrogen and other elements in the star were discharged into the space.  In the process of this explosion, atoms of hydrogen and oxygen collide and get merged to produce water molecules.  This is the origin of water, including that in the earth.

One water molecule consists of one atom of oxygen and two atoms of hydrogen.  This composition never changes and is stable in any environment in the universe, although water can be decomposed by an electric current into hydrogen and oxygen.

Water can be ice, snow, sold, rain, liquid, vapor, gas, and their complexes depending on temperature and pressure, although its composition of two atoms of oxygen and one atom of hydrogen per water molecule does not change.

People are like water.  Although their internal composition never changes, they can be ice, water, and moisture vapor depending on environmental. social, and psychological environments.  People can be righteous and evil depending on external and internal conditions, while everyone of them has DNAs of the human race, which means all the human beings share the same traits.

But if water molecules are decomposed by an electric current into hydrogen and oxygen, and atoms of hydrogen were gathered to undergo nuclear fusion, a fixed star or another sun is formed, emitting light, heat, and energy.

Maybe God might create His Son Christ Jesus out of an ordinary man of Nazareth in this kind of process.

Looking back to the history, it is the 19th century that the mankind discovered that water consists of hydrogen and oxygen.  Before the discovery, people thought ice, water, and vapor are all different entities of different substance.  And, there are no records that any man before the discovery thought that water consists of hydrogen that makes up the sun and oxygen people breathe.  Especially it must have been out of the scope of imagination of ancient people, although people cannot live without drinking water.

But people of today might be likened to ancient people who could not see through water to understand that it is composed of hydrogen and oxygen.  It is so, because people cannot make a difference between God and the Son of God, since they still believe the creed that Christ Jesus is God, which the Vatican established 1600 years ago with a Roman emperor.

If hydrogen is part of God, water is substance made of parts of God, which is utmost remote part of God but not God Himself.




**** **** ****


Luk 1:24 And after those days his wife Elisabeth conceived, and hid herself five months, saying,
Luk 1:25 Thus hath the Lord dealt with me in the days wherein he looked on me, to take away my reproach among men.
Luk 1:26 And in the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent from God unto a city of Galilee, named Nazareth,
Luk 1:27 To a virgin espoused to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David; and the virgin's name was Mary.

Monday, January 22, 2018

"he had seen a vision in the temple" - All about Jesus, but How Can It be Proved?


Around Tokyo in Snowing


All about Jesus, but How Can It be Proved?

Today none doubts that Christ Jesus really existed 2000 years ago, although some scholars doubt existence of Moses and Abraham.

And, there is no reliable and objective way to verify the contents of the Gospels: Mark, Luke, Matthew, and John.  Even nobody can correctly name the authors or editors of these Gospels.  There are also no other historical documents written by Israelites, Greeks, Romans, or others to prove the believability or credibility of the Gospels.  Even the Vatican has no material to prove what is written in the Gospels is true.  None could show concrete evidence for Jesus' life and how the Gospels came to be written.

But with reference to some documents written by a Jewish author and Roman officials in the Roman Empire in the first century, it could be thought that it is true that a man called Jesus lived, preached, got arrested, and got executed by the Roman authority in a tie up with Jewish priests in Jerusalem in the first half of the first century.  And, it is a fact that many Jewish people and Roman citizens came to believe the teaching of God Jesus preached or the doctrine that Jesus was the Son of God.

Compared with what Christianity has achieved in these 2000 years, its origin and its founder are so vague.  What is more interesting is that after the fall of the Roman Emperor before 500, for almost 1,000 years ordinary Europeans and other people could not read the Gospels in their own languages.  During this dark period of 1000 years, the Vatican established itself.  However, it was after the English version of the Gospels were written in the 16th century that Shakespeare, Newton, and other geniuses could develop their talent and achieved excellent works.

The point at issue is that it is responsible for the Vatican that it has not fully and effectively studied and investigated the origin of Christianity and proof about life of Jesus in these 2000 years.

From a viewpoint of conspiracy, the Vatican has neglected the need to reveal historical truth of Christianity and Jesus, so that people could have no material with which to think about how Christianity was established, what the true life of Jesus was, and how the Gospels came to be made out.  Due to Vatican's negligence, people had to follow blindly the Vatican and still today many people rely on the Vatican.

Although it is not good to deny 100% the Vatican, the Vatican is not God so that it can make a mistake.  And, it seems that it made a big and fatal mistake.



**** **** ****


Luk 1:21 And the people waited for Zacharias, and marvelled that he tarried so long in the temple.
Luk 1:22 And when he came out, he could not speak unto them: and they perceived that he had seen a vision in the temple: for he beckoned unto them, and remained speechless.
Luk 1:23 And it came to pass, that, as soon as the days of his ministration were accomplished, he departed to his own house.

"astonished at his doctrine" - What was the Need for Writing the Gospels



North of Tokyo

What was the Need for Writing the Gospels

Christ Jesus had at least twelve disciples.  Each of them could contribute to establishment of a unique gospel, although most of them could not read and write.

As Christ Jesus acted for His missions in this world for three years, there must have been about 1,000 episodes.  Each disciple could choose any of them for his gospel.  So, such gospels should be vastly different from one another, if each gospel would have contained about 100 episodes.

If early churches had seen two different types of gospels, what would they have?  They would try to merge them but also discard minor episodes from both of them to make a new gospel concise.  As they had to respect both the disciples or authors, the resultant new gospel would not be biased to any of them.

But the common part among Mark, Luke, and Matthew constitutes 76% of Mark's contents, 46% of Matthew's contents, and 41% of Luke's contents.  The common parts between Matthew and Luke occupies 24% of Matthew's contents and 23% of Luke's contents.

(https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Synoptic_Gospels#Common_features)

They heavily depend on Mark.  In addition, it looks as if each of Luke and Matthew was made out first by merging each other into each and then by merging Mark into each.   Apparently Mark was positioned above Luke and Matthew.

Strangely, there are no other authentic gospels except John.   It looks as if there had been no other authentic synoptic gospels.  But because there were 12 candidate sources for gospels and 1,000 episodes of Christ Jesus, there must have been more synoptic gospels with different selection of episodes of Christ Jesus.

It means that there was a specific need for a disciple to write a gospel.  And special conditions were needed for a disciple to write a gospel.  But as only three synoptic gospels were authorized, the need must not have been related to existence and deployment of Christianity in general terms in the last half of the first century.

Put simply, the need was fist found by the author of Mark.  And then, Luke and Matthew realized it.  It also suggests that these authors must have been living in a specific location or a city.  Therefore, these gospels must have been established around Rome to avoid persecution of early Christians by the Roman authority.   

Yet, it is also apparent that these authors did not intend to have their gospels adopted as holy books of Christians on par with the Old Testament or the Jewish Bible.  For early Christians, their holy book was the Jewish Bible.  They could not claim that they had authority to write Christian bibles.  Nonetheless, there was a need for them to write gospels.  The reason must be related to the need to avoid the persecution of Christians by the Roman authority and, especially, the execution of St. Paul and St. Peter.

 
**** **** ****


Mar 1:22 And they were astonished at his doctrine: for he taught them as one that had authority, and not as the scribes.

Friday, January 19, 2018

"he saw James the son of Zebedee" - The Gospels and the the Jewish-Roman War in 66





Tokyo


The Gospels and the the Jewish-Roman War in 66

The four Gospels of Christianity are introduced as follows:
Mark probably dates from 66–70 CE. It appears as the second New Testament gospel because it was traditionally thought to be an epitome (summary) of Matthew, but most scholars now regard it as the earliest written gospel.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gospel_of_Mark

The Gospel According to Matthew is the first book of the New Testament and one of the three synoptic gospels. It tells how the Messiah, Jesus, rejected by Israel, finally sends the disciples to preach the gospel to the whole world.[1] Most scholars believe it was composed between AD 80 and 90, with a range of possibility between AD 70 to 110 (a pre-70 date remains a minority view)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gospel_of_Matthew

Luke–Acts does not name its author.[5] According to Church tradition this was Luke the Evangelist, the companion of Paul, but while this view is still occasionally put forward the scholarly consensus emphasises the many contradictions between Acts and the authentic Pauline letters.[6][7] The most probable date for its composition is around 80–110 AD, and there is evidence that it was still being revised well into the 2nd century.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gospel_of_Luke#Christology

John is usually dated to AD 90–110. It arose in a Jewish Christian community in the process of breaking from the Jewish synagogue.[19] Scholars believe that the text went through two to three redactions, or "editions", before reaching its current form.
John, which regularly describes Jesus' opponents simply as "the Jews", is more consistently hostile to "the Jews" than any other body of New Testament writing.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gospel_of_John#Authorship,_date,_and_origin
The point at issue is their timing of establishment of these Gospels against the Jewish-Roman War that was fought between 66 and 73 CE, giving a huge impact on Jewish people at the time, although subsequently the Bar Kokhba revolt against the Roman Empire occurred in 132 as the second Jewish-Roman war.  Were those Gospels written prior to the Jewish-Roman War or after it?  It is important to understand what Christianity is today and what it was originally, since Christianity is mostly based on interpretation of the Gospels.  To deepen our understanding of them is essential.

It is thought that Mark is the oldest Gospel among them and its chapter 13 implies the incident of the Jewish-Roman War.   
Mark 13King James Version (KJV)
13 And as he went out of the temple, one of his disciples saith unto him, Master, see what manner of stones and what buildings are here!
2 And Jesus answering said unto him, Seest thou these great buildings? there shall not be left one stone upon another, that shall not be thrown down.
3 And as he sat upon the mount of Olives over against the temple, Peter and James and John and Andrew asked him privately,
4 Tell us, when shall these things be? and what shall be the sign when all these things shall be fulfilled?
5 And Jesus answering them began to say, Take heed lest any man deceive you:
6 For many shall come in my name, saying, I am Christ; and shall deceive many.
7 And when ye shall hear of wars and rumours of wars, be ye not troubled: for such things must needs be; but the end shall not be yet.
8 For nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom: and there shall be earthquakes in divers places, and there shall be famines and troubles: these are the beginnings of sorrows.
9 But take heed to yourselves: for they shall deliver you up to councils; and in the synagogues ye shall be beaten: and ye shall be brought before rulers and kings for my sake, for a testimony against them.
10 And the gospel must first be published among all nations.
11 But when they shall lead you, and deliver you up, take no thought beforehand what ye shall speak, neither do ye premeditate: but whatsoever shall be given you in that hour, that speak ye: for it is not ye that speak, but the Holy Ghost.
12 Now the brother shall betray the brother to death, and the father the son; and children shall rise up against their parents, and shall cause them to be put to death.
13 And ye shall be hated of all men for my name's sake: but he that shall endure unto the end, the same shall be saved.
14 But when ye shall see the abomination of desolation, spoken of by Daniel the prophet, standing where it ought not, (let him that readeth understand,) then let them that be in Judaea flee to the mountains:
15 And let him that is on the housetop not go down into the house, neither enter therein, to take any thing out of his house:
16 And let him that is in the field not turn back again for to take up his garment.
17 But woe to them that are with child, and to them that give suck in those days!
18 And pray ye that your flight be not in the winter.
19 For in those days shall be affliction, such as was not from the beginning of the creation which God created unto this time, neither shall be.
20 And except that the Lord had shortened those days, no flesh should be saved: but for the elect's sake, whom he hath chosen, he hath shortened the days.
21 And then if any man shall say to you, Lo, here is Christ; or, lo, he is there; believe him not:
22 For false Christs and false prophets shall rise, and shall shew signs and wonders, to seduce, if it were possible, even the elect.
23 But take ye heed: behold, I have foretold you all things.
24 But in those days, after that tribulation, the sun shall be darkened, and the moon shall not give her light,
25 And the stars of heaven shall fall, and the powers that are in heaven shall be shaken.
26 And then shall they see the Son of man coming in the clouds with great power and glory.
27 And then shall he send his angels, and shall gather together his elect from the four winds, from the uttermost part of the earth to the uttermost part of heaven.
28 Now learn a parable of the fig tree; When her branch is yet tender, and putteth forth leaves, ye know that summer is near:
29 So ye in like manner, when ye shall see these things come to pass, know that it is nigh, even at the doors.
30 Verily I say unto you, that this generation shall not pass, till all these things be done.
31 Heaven and earth shall pass away: but my words shall not pass away.
32 But of that day and that hour knoweth no man, no, not the angels which are in heaven, neither the Son, but the Father.
33 Take ye heed, watch and pray: for ye know not when the time is.
34 For the Son of Man is as a man taking a far journey, who left his house, and gave authority to his servants, and to every man his work, and commanded the porter to watch.
35 Watch ye therefore: for ye know not when the master of the house cometh, at even, or at midnight, or at the cockcrowing, or in the morning:
36 Lest coming suddenly he find you sleeping.
37 And what I say unto you I say unto all, Watch.
In a certain theory, Mark put these sentences as he heard the occurrence of the Jewish-Roman War and the fall of the Jerusalem temple.  The author of Mark, though it is doubted that someone called Mark really wrote the Gospel, made up the scene where Christ Jesus predicts the war.  However, such an attitude is not pious and not Christian at all.  If Christ Jesus had not predicted the war, Mark should not have written and faked such a scene.  So, if the Bible is holy, it means that Mark wrote the fact that Christ Jesus actually predicted the war.  Then, Mark Chapter 13 cannot be a proof that Gospel according to Mark was written as the author heard the occurrence of the Jewish-Roman War although Christ Jesus had not talked about the war.  Indeed, it looks more truthfully and faithful to believe that Christ Jesus really predicted the war.

Especially, in the war, early Christians in Jerusalem did not face the situation:  13 And ye shall be hated of all men for my name's sake: but he that shall endure unto the end, the same shall be saved.  The war was indeed between Israelites and Romans.  It was not early Christians vs. other Jewish people.  Moreover, early Christians were apparently a minority.  If they had been against the war, the majority of Israelites would simply neglect them.  The situation Christ Jesus talked about must be related to many wars and crises Christians should face in the history after departure of Christ from this world.

It is also well known that Mark includes some strange expressions such as "let him that readeth understand" in 14 But when ye shall see the abomination of desolation, spoken of by Daniel the prophet, standing where it ought not, (let him that readeth understand,) then let them that be in Judaea flee to the mountains.  It means that Mark implies certain and concrete situations the readers at the time of its establishment and delivery could easily understand. 

It is reasonable to think that around the time when St. Paul and St. Peter were executed by Nero in Rome in 67 before the Jewish-Roman War, Mark was written.  This is the most critical situation for early Christians at the time.  It can be thought that as it was so grave that Mark wrote the Gospel for the intention to explain what Christianity was to Romans to save Paul and Peter.  The readers of Mark at the time all shared the notion that Christianity was at stake.  So, Mark put some curious expressions to his Gospel as special messages to his contemporary readers.

On the other hand, it is rather strange and unacceptable that Christ Jesus did not give warning to the future crisis and tragedy Peter and Paul would have to face.  He must have delivered some messages concerning the future crisis, so that Mark must have remembered those words.

Accordingly, Mark was written before the death of St. Paul and St. Peter that was prior to the Jewish-Roman War.  Similarly Luke and Matthew must be written before the war.  But, some awe and shock are reflected in John.  After the fall of Jerusalem's temple, early Christians must have been confused and troubled since the foundation of Judaism, to which early Christianity was closely linked, was demolished by the Roman Empire.  John had to write his Gospel to make it another Jerusalem's temple, so that he tried to intentionally establish a new religion Christianity.  This principle of John made his Gospel distinctive and unique against Mark, Luke and Matthew, since only the Gospel according to John was written and established after the Jewish-Roman War.      


**** **** ****


Mar 1:19 And when he had gone a little farther thence, he saw James the son of Zebedee, and John his brother, who also were in the ship mending their nets.
Mar 1:20 And straightway he called them: and they left their father Zebedee in the ship with the hired servants, and went after him.

Tuesday, January 16, 2018

"for they were fishers" - Devil vs. Jesus instead of Satan vs. God


Tokyo


Devil vs. Jesus instead of Satan vs. God

The Gospel said Satan attempted to make Christ Jesus betray God in wilderness:
Matthew 4:1-11King James Version (KJV)
Then was Jesus led up of the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted of the devil.
2 And when he had fasted forty days and forty nights, he was afterward an hungred.
3 And when the tempter came to him, he said, If thou be the Son of God, command that these stones be made bread.
4 But he answered and said, It is written, Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God.
5 Then the devil taketh him up into the holy city, and setteth him on a pinnacle of the temple,
6 And saith unto him, If thou be the Son of God, cast thyself down: for it is written, He shall give his angels charge concerning thee: and in their hands they shall bear thee up, lest at any time thou dash thy foot against a stone.
7 Jesus said unto him, It is written again, Thou shalt not tempt the Lord thy God.
8 Again, the devil taketh him up into an exceeding high mountain, and sheweth him all the kingdoms of the world, and the glory of them;
9 And saith unto him, All these things will I give thee, if thou wilt fall down and worship me.
10 Then saith Jesus unto him, Get thee hence, Satan: for it is written, Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God, and him only shalt thou serve.
11 Then the devil leaveth him, and, behold, angels came and ministered unto him.
It is strange that if Christ Jesus was God, how would the devil try to tempt Him?  Even the devil called Christ Jesus the Son of God.  And, Christ Jesus answered: "Thou shalt not tempt the Lord thy God."  Or were Christ Jesus and the devil so stupid that they could not tell the difference between God and the Son of God?

Indeed, 300 years later after the establishment of the Gospels, the Vatican and a Roman emperor decided that Christ Jesus was God but also the Son of God.  It meant that God was pretending that He is His Son while the devil accepted the self-dramatization of God.  So, the devil was a collaborator with God.  Otherwise, the devil would say: "You are God, Jesus! Don't pretend that you are a son of yourself!"

However, we may support Vatican's creed that Christ Jesus is God.  Satan must have the ability to tell the difference between God and the Son of God.  But, more than Satan's ability, God could conceal His nature before Satan.  We may think that God successfully pretended that He was His Son and Jesus before Satan.  God also successfully hid His nature before followers of Himself as Jesus as depicted in the Gospels.  But did God allow the Vatican and a Roman emperor, in the fourth century, to find and proclaim that Christ Jesus was the Son of God and God Himself at the same time?

If God did not allow them, even in the case that Christ Jesus was God Himself, the act of the Vatican and a Roman emperor of deciding to call Christ Jesus God was a big blasphemy.

If God had wanted to appear as His son before human beings, the Vatican should have respected the intention of God.  If Christ Jesus had been really the Son of God, the Vatican commited a great sin.

So, the truth must be:
Satan saw the success of Christianity.  The Roman Empire adopted Christianity for its state religion.  So, Satan decided to make the Vatican commit a great sin.  Satan put a crazy idea into the brains of Vatican leaders that Christ Jesus was God Himself, so that calling Christ Jesus God would show great respect for God and Christ Jesus.  The Vatican leaders thought that it was better to serve God than a simple son of God.  So, they began proudly to call Christ Jesus God.  Sana's plot succeeded.  The Vatican started to oppress or expel those who could not accept the creed that Christ Jesus was God.  However, God interfered with the human history by giving Islam to people living east of the regions occupied by the Roman Empire.  So, the Koran strongly opposes the idea that Christ Jesus was God.

However today, nobody seriously discusses whether or not Christ Jesus is God.  Christians and Muslims, in addition to Judaists, of today show no interest on whether or not Christ Jesus is God.

Does anybody believe any scientific theory presented 1600 years ago?  It is time to review the Christian theory presented 1600 years ago with support from a Roman emperor.

Do you believe that Christ Jesus is God as Vatican leaders and a Roman emperor determined 1600 years ago?  Or do you think it is pious that we call Christ Jesus God even if He were God while God concealed His identity in Christ Jesus 2000 years ago for some unknown holy reason?



**** **** ****


Mar 1:16 Now as he walked by the sea of Galilee, he saw Simon and Andrew his brother casting a net into the sea: for they were fishers.
Mar 1:17 And Jesus said unto them, Come ye after me, and I will make you to become fishers of men.

Monday, January 15, 2018

"Jesus came into Galilee" - The Industrial Revolution vs. the Vatican


Tokyo



The Industrial Revolution vs. the Vatican

One of big questions in the history is why the Industrial Revolution and the modern capitalism occurred only in England of Christian Europe but not in the Islamic world, India, China, etc.

There are many economic, social, and cultural conditions that enabled the Industrial Revolution in England in the middle of the 18th century.  But specifically, the critical one is religious.

Rulers and elites with power governing people with spiritual authority of religion would not allow people to act beyond spiritual and psychological boundaries that were conveniently set for those leaders.  Order of society was important for the rulers.  If people under their power were absorbed in reading holy books they authorized, there was no fear for revolution.  People were tied down in conventional views and thinking as their leaders were.  The strongest frame that restricted people's views and thinking was religion.

England was separated from continental Europe that had been under Vatican's authority.  Although the Vatican tried to stop development of modern science, as seen in the case of Galileo, Christianity was essentially revolutionary.  Christianity was a challenge to the preceding religion Judaism.  It freed people from old spiritual authority.  It encouraged people to change their views so that they could see the Kingdom of God, which was truth.  This spirit and mindset could apply to daily lives of Christians.  It would not suppress people's inclination to discovery and invention.

However, as the Vatican had adopted a dubious and sinful creed that Christ Jesus was God, they had to strongly control churches and believers.  As their fundamental creed was groundless, if put extremely, Vatican leaders had to suppress people's freedom in thinking and reviewing, so that the Vatican could keep their authority and spiritual power.  This atmosphere suffocated people's momentum for discovery and invention, although Europeans ventured into the Age of Great Exploration because of desire for trade with Asia accompanied by the Christian sense of mission to diffuse Christianity in the world. 

As England came to be freed from this spiritual suppression by the Vatican as early as the 16th century, the British were accustomed to freely think, try, and incarnate their ideas in their lives.  So, Shakespeare emerged; Newton emerged, and the Industrial Revolution emerged.  And, Judaists free from the Vatican's creed helped this movement in financing.

So, the Industrial Revolution and the modern capitalism were made possible in England, a domain where the Vatican's control had less influence.           

In this context, other religions in the world did not give people spiritual freedom enough to allow them to venture into an industrial revolution.


**** **** ****


Mar 1:14 Now after that John was put in prison, Jesus came into Galilee, preaching the gospel of the kingdom of God,
Mar 1:15 And saying, The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand: repent ye, and believe the gospel.

Saturday, January 13, 2018

"he was troubled, and fear fell upon him" - How to Work Miracles on Sick People


Tokyo


How to Work Miracles on Sick People

He came to the bank of a lake.  The sky was mostly blue and the sun was high.  The air was warm and some clouds, after a small rain, were floating high. 

He saw the ground.  Some plants were growing well and some came into flower.  But over the lake, he could view a desert and rocky hills without green.  He thought seeds could not bud in such wildness without rain, although without the sun no plants could grow.  If seeds of the same kind fell on the grounds in different conditions, some would sprout but others could not.

Then he saw children playing around him.  He blessed them while they were smiling at him.  He could see their bodies were growing as cells of their body were growing proliferously.  Surrounded by the good nature and living in love from their families, these children were growing in good health.  He could see the light and heat from the sun in the sky and nourishment they got from foods contributing sound growth of their bodies and cells.

Then he saw some grass in the shadow of rocks withered and dried up in brown.  It looked like a sick body of a human being.  Then he understood how people got sick like some plants.  Cells of a plant needed some good condition to grow soundly to sprout and blossom.  Cells of the human body also needed good conditions to grow soundly.  He could also see DNAs in human cells.  According to conditions, they worked in cells and multiplied.  He could also see molecules in DNAs act and work specifically according to conditions.  If molecules, DNAs, and cells could not be in suitable conditions, they did not correctly and soundly function, resulting in human illness.  A kind of super senses he had, about 2000 years ago, could show him all these things that modern science would reveal.

Then, he thought if he could play some critical role to human bodies like the sun and a rain working on plants, he might be able to promote sound growth or function of them.  Plants, their seeds, and their cells only feel the natural environment.  But human bodies and their cells were tightly linked with the nerve system that could feel a human atmosphere.  As children were loved by their parents and family members, their nerves sensed it, the effect of which was transmitted to the cells of their bodies, resulting in their sound growth.  The effect should even come down to DNAs and molecules in the cells, which in turn should encourage sound cell division.  But even if an adult happened to lack good conditions, their cells and DNAs would be affected badly.

So, he came to understand how to cure sick people.  If he loved a sick person with strong love, his or her nerves would feel it and let linked sick cells cure themselves like plants receiving the light and heat from the sun and water from a rain.

In this way, Jesus mastered how to work miracles on sick people and even dying people.  Accordingly, the Gospels report many cases of His healing physically or spiritually damaged and sick people.         

**** **** ****


Luk 1:12 And when Zacharias saw him, he was troubled, and fear fell upon him.
Luk 1:13 But the angel said unto him, Fear not, Zacharias: for thy prayer is heard; and thy wife Elisabeth shall bear thee a son, and thou shalt call his name John.

Monday, January 08, 2018

"while he executed the priest's office before God" - The Wrong Christian Creed


Tokyo


The Wrong Christian Creed

Christianity is based on the creed that Christ Jesus is God, which He forbade making spoken outwardly.

But since the Vatican adopted this creed, with a Roman emperor, in the fourth century, Christians built complicated theories about divinity of Christ Jesus: why God appeared as a man called Jesus; why God had to die on the cross; why God performed miracles to certain people and did not to others; why God should be betrayed by Judas, etc., all in a manner conforming to the creed.

The Vatican and European Christians have studied these issues while building complicated theology.  As such acts are against the teaching of Christ Jesus, they could not obtain clear answers so that they could explainn them to fishermen, poor farmers, and the likes who cannot read and write in a plain way made by Christ Jesus.

Put simply, the creed is wrong, although as European Christians were required to make great intellectual efforts in building their theology, their work contributed to great advancement of their intellect and establishment of the European civilization after the fall of the Roman Empire.  Even if Christ Jesus is God, the Vatican and Christians should not have established the creed that Christ Jesus is God, since Christ Jesus prohibited His followers to discuss what He was.

All the contents of the Christian mythology should be reviewed and rebuilt based on the new creed that nobody should call Christ Jesus God even if He actually is.

Then, Judaists, Muslims, and even Buddhists might start to read the Christian Gospels.


**** **** ****


Luk 1:8 And it came to pass, that while he executed the priest's office before God in the order of his course,
Luk 1:9 According to the custom of the priest's office, his lot was to burn incense when he went into the temple of the Lord.

Saturday, January 06, 2018

"both righteous before God" - Don't Call Me God




Tokyo


Don't Call Me God

Christ Jesus came to this world to save the poor and preach the word of God.  He did not come to be respected as God.

But if Christ Jesus had been God, it could have been impossible for His followers to be unable to sense the truth that Christ Jesus was God; accordingly on some occasions they called Him God, but Christ Jesus told them not to call Him God.

Or rather on anone occasion, Christ Jesus asked His followers who they thought Him to be.  The competed in showing respect, saying, "You are a messiah!" and "You are the Son of God!"  But Christ Jesus also told them not to tell who He was.

Later Christianity adopted a creed that Christ Jesus was God and other doctrines based on the creed.  However, God did not destroy the Vatican.  Yet, He allowed the establishment of another religion Islam that denied the Christian creed that Christ Jesus was God.

Today, however, there is no dispute as to whether or not Christ Jesus was God between Christians and Muslims as well as between Christians and Judaists.  Rather, Muslims who suffered wars and other tragedies have left their countries and immigrated into Christian Europe.  If religion was more important then their safety and lives, those Muslims would not have asked shelters in Christian Europe.

In addition, there have been many Jewish people having been engaged in various sectors of Christian societies.  They have obtained high reputation due to their success, especially, in the financial sector, the academic sector, the entertainment sector, etc.  How could those Jewish people feel content in their success in societies whose mainstream religion they could not accept?       

Put extremely, nobody believes in religion.  They don't mind what and who their God is.  They believe that God does not save them but money does.  And the major source of money is outwardly-Christian Europe and America.  Whatever religions they might belong to, they would rather immigrate into Europe and America or continue to build their lives there as long as safety and wealth are promised there.  And, those successful Jewish people and Muslims would still perform their religions in Europe and America most of whose people believe, on a superficial level, that Christ Jesus is God, which their religions originally and officially cannot accept.

Put frankly, nobody believe in his religion.  They don't believe God saves them but believe money does.  Even Christians in Europe and America don't mind their God.  For them, it is also money but not God that saves them.  So, Christians in Europe and America don't mind that Judaists and Muslims don't believe that Christ Jesus is God as long as they believe that money saves them but not God.  They - Christians, Judaists, and Muslims - believe in the same religion where money is positioned above God.  They understand one another as believers of money.  They belong to the same religion overriding Judaism, Christianity, and Islam.

So, if God gave a new religion to the mankind, the result would be the same.  The mankind might accept the new religion facially, but they respect money more.  That is why God has not given another religion to the mankind since He gave Islam.

So, Christ Jesus said not to call Him God.  If people had done so, though actually they did, their sins would have been much worse as we observe the situation today.     



**** **** ****


Luk 1:6 And they were both righteous before God, walking in all the commandments and ordinances of the Lord blameless.

Wednesday, January 03, 2018

"which from the beginning were eyewitnesses" - In the Case of Christ Jesus' Mission



 Tokyo 

 In the Case of Christ Jesus' Mission

It is said that Who, What, Why, When, and Where are five questions kids learn in grade school or when they first learn a language, in addition to the sixth How.  In the case of Christ Jesus' mission:

Who: the Son of God as claimed by Christ Jesus Himself
What: Preaching the word of God
Why: To save the poor people, the tribe of Hebrews, and the mankind
When: Years after the era of Caesar and Cleopatra and before the Jewish-Roman War
Where: Around the Galilee Lake, the River Jordan, and Jerusalem
How: Traveling, preaching, healing and performing other miracles and resurrecting Himself after the Crucifixion

However, it was mostly Roman citizens in the Roman Empire who came to accept Christ Jesus but not Judaists who fled Palestine and Jerusalem after the Jewish-Roman War.  And more importantly, leaders of those so-called Christians in the Empire, with the Emperor, established a creed that forced believers of Christianity to accept Christ Jesus as God though He was also a man.  But, soon after the establishment of this creed by the early Vatican, the Empire fell in a mysterious manner.  And further interestingly, soon after the fall of the Roman Empire, Islam was given to Arabs, which denied the creed of the Vatican that Christ Jesus was God while anti-Christianity Judaism continued to survive among Jewish people.

None could change this history.  What happened in the past has its reason.  But the meaning of the history should be reviewed and modified, if necessary, by later generations.

The core of this situation is of course Christ Jesus Himself.  And, the creed that He was God was adopted by only handful of Christian leaders around the 4th century, and it was never changed since then while knowledge of the religion expanded to more people as time went by.  What was decided by men should be reviewed by new generations and should be corrected and changed accordingly.

It is time for people to review the creed that Christ Jesus is God.  Especially, Who, What, Why, When, Where, and How in the case of Christ Jesus' mission suggest that it was not a direct act of God.


**** **** ****


Luk 1:2 Even as they delivered them unto us, which from the beginning were eyewitnesses, and ministers of the word;
Luk 1:3 It seemed good to me also, having had perfect understanding of all things from the very first, to write unto thee in order, most excellent Theophilus,
Luk 1:4 That thou mightest know the certainty of those things, wherein thou hast been instructed.

Monday, January 01, 2018

"Jesus Christ, the Son of God" - Miracle-enabled Jesus vs Miracle-disabled Priests



Mt. Tsukuba, a Shrine City, and Mt. Fuji in Straight Line Viewed from Tokyo Skytree Tower on January 1  


Miracle-enabled Jesus vs Miracle-disabled Priests

The list of miracles by Christ Jesus is as follows:
1. Born to a virgin - Miracles of Jesus
2. Changing water into wine - Miracles of Jesus
3. Healing of the royal official's son - Miracles of Jesus
4. Healing of the Capernaum demoniac - Miracles of Jesus
5. Healing of Peter's mother-in-law - Miracles of Jesus
6. Healing the sick during the evening - Miracles of Jesus
7. Catching a large number of fish - Miracles of Jesus
8. Healing a leper - Miracles of Jesus
9. Miracle of healing a centurion's servant - Miracles of Jesus
10. Healing a paralyzed man - Miracles of Jesus
11. Healing a withered hand - Miracles of Jesus
12. Raising a widow's son - Miracles of Jesus
13. Calming the storm - Miracles of Jesus
14. Healing the Gerasene man possessed by demons - Miracles of Jesus
15. Healing a woman with internal bleeding - Miracles of Jesus
16. Raising Jairus' daughter - Miracles of Jesus
17. Healing two blind men - Miracles of Jesus
18. Healing a mute demon-possessed man - Miracles of Jesus
19. Healing a 38 year invalid - Miracles of Jesus
20. Feeding 5000 men and their families - Miracles of Jesus
21. Walking on water - Miracles of Jesus
22. Miraculous healing of many people in Gennesaret
23. Healing a girl possessed by a demon - Miracles of Jesus
24. Healing a deaf man with a speech impediment - Miracles of Jesus
25. Feeding the 4,000 men and their families - Miracles of Jesus
26. Healing a blind man - Miracles of Jesus
27. Healing a man born blind - Miracles of Jesus
28. Healing a demon-possessed boy - Miracles of Jesus
29. Catching a fish with a coin in its mouth - Miracles of Jesus
30. Healing a blind and mute man who was demon-possessed - Miracles of Jesus
31. Healing a woman with an 18-year infirmity - Miracles of Jesus
32. Healing a man with dropsy - Miracles of Jesus
33. Healing 10 lepers - Miracles of Jesus
34. Raising of Lazarus - Miracles of Jesus
35. Healing Bartimaeus of blindness - Miracles of Jesus
36. Jesus curses the fig tree with no fruit - Miracles of Jesus
37. Restoring a severed ear - Miracles of Jesus
38. The resurrection of Jesus - Miracles of Jesus
39. Catching 153 fish - Miracles of Jesus
40. The ascension of Jesus - Miracles of Jesus 
http://www.aboutbibleprophecy.com/miracles.htm

Christ Jesus said that God was inside Him, so that it is no wonder that He could perform those miracles since God is almighty.  But, Christ Jesus was also a man, so that His miracles should be restricted by His being a man but not God Himself.

It is apparent that those healing acts were based on His love to sick people.  When He pitied a sick person, he executed His healing power.  Those episodes show how much and how many times Christ Jesus pitied and loved sick people.

Christ Jesus did not give money to poor and sick people.  Instead, He loved them and healed them.  Money could buy medicines and cares by medical doctors.  But, money also belonged to Satan.  If money and medication bought by money had cured sick people, their lives should have been under Satan's influence.  Christ Jesus had no intention to make and help healthy servants of Satan.

Without these miracles, Christ Jesus should have been just a preacher, a teacher, or a prophet.  But as He performed those miracles and curing of sick people, Christ Jesus was more than such a man, which impressed His followers.  So, His followers followed Christ Jesus for a few years till His Crucifixion.

The band of Christ Jesus was welcomed and respected by people.  If somebody preached the word of God to people, such a preacher would be soon forgotten because priests in the Temple of Jerusalem could also teach the word of God.  But if that somebody performed healing with love to the sick, people should be impressed in a very different way.

Christ Jesus must have performed miracles in addition to preaching the word of God, which Jewish priests in the Jerusalem Temple could not do.  People would naturally follow Christ Jesus than those priests.  In this context, the miracles of Christ Jesus were targeted at the Temple priests.  Because those priests could not cure sick people and perform other miracles, it showed that they were not supported by God.

Accordingly, those priests decided to kill Christ Jesus and wipe away His influence.  Though they partly succeeded in fulfilling their evil plot, they were ultimately wiped away through the Jewish-Roman War.  Today, there are no heritage and legacies of the priests of the Temple in Jerusalem in the first century.  Indeed, those Jewish priests could not perform miracles but Christ Jesus could. 


**** **** ****


Mar 1:1 The beginning of the gospel of Jesus Christ, the Son of God;

Mar 1:2 As it is written in the prophets, Behold, I send my messenger before thy face, which shall prepare thy way before thee.
Mar 1:3 The voice of one crying in the wilderness, Prepare ye the way of the Lord, make his paths straight.


Saturday, December 30, 2017

"thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart" - Sinful Arrogance in Nicaea in AD 325



Buddhist Temple around Tokyo on the Day before the Year End


Sinful Arrogance in Nicaea in AD 325

Christianity started to fail in AD 325 when  a council of Christian bishops convened in  Nicaea (now İznik, Turkey) by the Roman Emperor Constantine I.

Almost 300 years later since the Crucifixion of Christ Jesus, Christian leaders decided that those who don't admit that Christ Jesus was God must be excluded from the church, which Christ Jesus never ordered.  It is unforgivable arrogance that Christian leaders tried to define what Christ Jesus was based on the authority of the Roman Emperor.
In Rome, for example, the Apostles' Creed was popular, especially for use in Lent and the Easter season. In the Council of Nicaea, one specific creed was used to define the Church's faith clearly, to include those who professed it, and to exclude those who did not. 
Some distinctive elements in the Nicene Creed, perhaps from the hand of Hosius of Cordova, were added, some specifically to counter the Arian point of view.[12][50] 
1. Jesus Christ is described as "Light from Light, true God from true God," proclaiming his divinity. 
2. Jesus Christ is said to be "begotten, not made," asserting that he was not a mere creature, brought into being out of nothing, but the true Son of God, brought into being "from the substance of the Father." 
3. He is said to be "of one being with the Father," proclaiming that although Jesus Christ is "true God" and God the Father is also "true God," they are "of one being," in accord to what is found in John 10:30: "I and the Father are one." The Greek term homoousios, or consubstantial (i.e., "of the same substance) is ascribed by Eusebius to Constantine who, on this particular point, may have chosen to exercise his authority. The significance of this clause, however, is extremely ambiguous as to the extent in which Jesus Christ and God the Father are "of one being," and the issues it raised would be seriously controverted in the future.
 (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/First_Council_of_Nicaea) 
It is apparent that God was displeased with this movement of the Vatican and other churches.  So, God preserved Judaists who did not accept the idea that Christ Jesus was God and later allowed Islam to prevail.

However, God did not destroy the Vatican and other Christian churches that upheld the creed that Christ Jesus was God.  God must have judged that it was better to allow existence and development of Christianity despite its wrong creed about divinity of Christ Jesus than to destroy it.

From the beginning, Christ Jesus started His mission by preaching to fishermen, farmers, and poor people in the society but not to the elites of the society.  He did not teach theology to the Roman Emperor.  He did not want His followers to discuss what He was in the relationship with God.  Christ Jesus did not come to present a complicated theory about the relationship between Him and the God to illiterate people.  Therefore, the First Council of Nicaea and the following Councils must be neglected.

We should allow people to think that Christ Jesus is God, Christ Jesus cannot be God, or Christ Jesus is at the same time God and a man, or Christ Jesus is something else, as long as people accept His teaching and live their lives following His teaching.

Then, even Judaists and Muslims might start to live in accordance with the teaching of Christ Jesus.  They will lose reasons for regrading Christians as their enemies or enemies of their religions and God.  It is never too late to correct a mistake.  The Vatican, especially, should declare that their creed should be invalidated.

Anyway there is not more sinful arrogance than to try to define what Christ Jesus is by simple men, if a Roman Emperor is included.

**** **** ****


Mar 12:30 And thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind, and with all thy strength: this is the first commandment.
Mar 12:31 And the second is like, namely this, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. There is none other commandment greater than these.

Wednesday, December 27, 2017

"Father, save me from this hour" - Question on the Gospel according to John



Mt. Fuji, 3,776 m, 100 Km Distant from around Tokyo


Question on the Gospel according to John

There is one question about the Gospel according to John:
In the New Testament exorcisms are primarily found in the Synoptic Gospels and Acts. No exorcisms are referred to in the Gospel of John.
(https://www.gracenotes.info/documents/topics_doc/exorcism.pdf)
John is featured by its assertion that Christ Jesus is God:
Jesus is identified with the Word ("Logos"), and the Word is identified with theos ("god" in Greek); no such identification is made in the synoptics. In Mark, Jesus urges his disciples to keep his divinity secret, but in John he is very open in discussing it, even referring to himself as "I AM", the title God gives himself in Exodus at his self-revelation to Moses.
(https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gospel_of_John) 
The adversary relationship between God and Satan is one of key factors of the religion Christianity.  So, it is natural that Satan is defeated by Christ Jesus as depicted in Mark, Luke, and Mathew.  But, John does not mention the direct confrontation between Christ Jesus and Satan in the form of  Jesus' performance of exorcisms.  On the other hand, John clearly implies or claims that Christ Jesus is God, though implying sometimes that people may call Him the Son of God.

The Gospel of John was written after the establishment of Mark, Luke and Mathew.  The success of Christianity was promised by diffusion and wider acceptance of the Synoptic Gospels of Mark, Luke and Mathew.  Bur, John was added, as if to further promote assure success of Christianity.

If there had been Satan, how could he let this situation pass?  Satan must have interfered.  He could not change contents of Mark, Luke, and Mathew any more.  But, there, John was writing the other Gospel with the passion based on his belief that Christ Jesus was God.  And, John actually asserted that Christ Jesus was God while He forbade to say or write who He was.

Although John was not Satan or influenced by Satan, Satan could have influence on John.  Satan wanted John to assert Christ Jesus was God, which John actually did.  Accordingly, later the Vatican claimed that only those who admitted that Christ Jesus was God were Christians.  This creed caused many tragedies.  It finally separated Christianity from Judaism.  And centuries later, God had to give Islam to Arabs, a religion where it was asserted that Christ Jesus could not be God.  The three religions, Judaism, Christianity, and Islam, were definitely separated, which caused many tragedies.

So, if Satan exerted an influence on John, it is understandable that Jesus' exorcisms was omitted from the Gospel of John, because Satan could not bare with those descriptions.

Anyway, even if John had not been written, Christianity must have been successfully accepted by people with the Gospels according to Mark, Luke, and Mathew.  But, the desire of John to write his own Gospel based on his belief that Christ Jesus was God despite a warning of Christ Jesus gave a chance to Satan to interfere with Christianity.

Even today, the gaps between Christianity and other religions, such as Judaism and Islam, where Christ Jesus is not admitted as God are despairingly wide and fixed as they are, which has caused many tragedies.     
     

**** **** ****


Joh 12:27 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.
Joh 12:28 Father, glorify thy name. Then came there a voice from heaven, saying, I have both glorified it, and will glorify it again.

Saturday, December 23, 2017

"the Son of man should be glorified" - Christmas Story

Tokyo

Christmas Story

On the River Jordan 2000 Years Ago

One day, 2000 years ago, a man appeared from nowhere to the bank of the River Jordan.

In the river, there was a prophet baptizing people with water.  Scores of people were in the river and on the river side waiting to be baptized.  The sky was clear, and trees and weeds are in the early summer.

The man walked down to the river, but he realized there were a few Roman officers on horses watching the prophet and the people.  There were also some Jewish officials from King's palace and Temple priests standing near the Roman officers.

While the man was approaching to the prophet, he saw a terrible vision.  The prophet was arrested and put in a jail, and a dancing girl shouted, "Kill him!"   And then, he could further see a more terrible vision where he himself was hung on the cross to be killed by Roman soldiers.   But he continued to walk down to the prophet.

The prophet looked up to see the man coming into the river toward him.  They exchanged words, and the prophet baptized him.  Then, a strong voice came down from the Heaven like a thunder in summer, telling: "It is My Son," although some people looked like not hearing it.

And then, Jesus started his mission, though, he continued his journey back to his old house he had left more than a decade before to see his mother and brothers who, however, would not believe that he was authorized by God.


The Righteous Servant at the Wedding at Cana


The man finally reached his old house.

Then, his mother took him to a wedding ceremony for which he had returned from Qumran through the River Jordan.  However, when he met a prophet there, he changed, but he continued to travel to his old home where he came back the first time in a decade or more.

Nobody, later, would tell whose wedding it was and what relationship his family had with the newly married couple.  However, it was clear that his mother played an important role in the ceremonial.  Jesus was needed because his father had been off to a very remote place.  It was a wedding ceremony at least where the mother and the father of Jesus had been expected to attend.

They served meals and wine.  But one servant took a little amount of wine, each time he poured it from a jar to a cup, out of the cup to another jar and poured an equal amount of water to the half-filled cup from other jar in a corner of the kitchen of the host house.

As the party was going on, somebody who was loudly speaking Greek requested more wine, but the servant told the host of the party that there was no more wine.  The host was embarrassed; so were the newly married couple.  The guest who requested another cup of wine looked important for the host family.

Then, Jesus said to the servant, "Bring another jar filled with water!"  His mother looked puzzled, but soon she realized that her son had looked mysteriously changed since he had returned home.  And he helped her find something missing in her house, although he had been away from home for a long time.  She said, as if she had been the wife of the host, to the servant to obey her son.

So, the servant went into the corner of the kitchen, where he had prepared cups of wine while doing his secret business, stealing wine, to fetch the jar with water.  He came back with the water jar to the hall and dipped water from the jar to the cup of the requesting guest.  The guest drank the water and said, "How sweet this wine is.  Usually a host offered poor-quality wine when guests got drunken.  But this house prepares the best quality wine for the end of the party!"

And then everybody took more cups of wine from the jar.

But there was another servant who was watching the party from the beginning.  He of course noticed that the bad servant was making a dirty trick.  When he heard the voice of Jesus, he exchanged the two jars in their positions in the corner, so that the bad servant took the jar with stolen wine to the hall as he thought it was the jar with water.

But Jesus saw the face of the bad servant who was wondering why it was wine but not water.  The bad servant looked at the face of the righteous servant in a vindictive mood.  So, Jesus said to the important guest, "This is my first miracle in this village."  The guest looked astonished and tried to say something.  But Jesus stood up and started leaving the party with his mother who exchanged goodbyes, in a hurry, with  the bridegroom and then bride.

This was the only social event Jesus joined since he had returned from Qumran to his old home through the River Jordan.


On the Galilee Lake

On the Galilee Lake 2000 years ago, two poor fishermen were mending nets.

"If we could catch fish enough to fill our boat, we could be rich men," said a younger brother.
"If we could catch fish enough to fill our boat, we would sell them even to Roman soldiers," said an elder one.

They continued their work outside the boat on the ground.

"Only if we could catch fish enough to fill the boat every night, I could build my house," said the younger brother.
"If we could catch fish enough to fill our boat over and over again, we would sell them even to Greeks at nice prices," said the elder one.

They continued their work under the softly blue sky with spring birds flying.

"Indeed, if we could catch fish enough to fill the boat and get big money, I could marry a beautiful girl," said the younger brother.
"If we could always catch fish enough to fill our boat and become famous, we would sell fish even to Jerusalem priests at very nice prices," said the elder one.

They continued their work in the warm air, being surrounded by spring flowers along the shore.  In good time, a strange strong wind started to blow over the Lake.  Then suddenly they saw a Moses-like man walking swiftly through the Lake toward them with water being parted so as to make a path for the man to travel.  He got on the shore while the wind stopped and the Lake returned to the ordinary state.  Then, he stood by the two brothers.

"Master, we could not catch fish at all though we had tried hard all night," said the elder brother at strain as he could not know what to say to a Moses.  "Then, take your boat to the middle of the Lake and throw your net!" said the Moses-like man.

The two brothers silently and obediently, as if blamed by a prophet, rowed their boat to the middle of the Lake in the wake of the path where the Moses-like man had come, and threw their net to soon find many fish caught.  They took the fish into the boat over and over again, so that the boat got full of fish.  They hurriedly returned to the shore with shock and awe, and got on land, leaving fish in the boat.   And, they knelt down before the man like two criminals under the death sentence.

Then Jesus said to them, "Follow me and you will catch many souls."  They started to follow him, leaving the boat with full of fish that should have generated a great fortune for them, although the younger brother looked back at the boat for a moment.


**** **** ****

Joh 12:23 And Jesus answered them, saying, The hour is come, that the Son of man should be glorified.