2022/08/22

53. The Second and Third Angel (Revelation chapters 15-16)

The second key passage in John 10 is the following sentence: "So the Jews gathered round him and said to him, 'How long will you keep us in suspense? If you are the Christ, tell us plainly'" (John 10:24). Even if they each were in their contradiction and escaped into a fictional world (cf. this blog №52), they are immediately brought back in front of the reality that "God is with us" (Matthew 1:23) by the presence of Jesus. They were irritated because of envy towards God, who had nothing to do with contradictions, being unable to bear the contradictions accumulating in themselves. They frantically look for the cause of them in Jesus. When people fall into this situation, they become blind to the gravity of life. This situation coincides with the following passage of Revelation: "The second angel poured his bowl into the sea, and it became like the blood of a dead man, and every living thing died that was in the sea" (Revelation 16:3). The third key passage is the phrase, "The Jews took up stones again to stone him" (John 10:31), immediately after Jesus’ words, "I and the Father are one" (John 10:30). People, when confronted with the truth in a state of contradiction, try to obliterate it. This condition coincides with the passage, "The third angel poured his bowl into the rivers and the fountains of water, and they became blood" (Revelation 16:4). "Water" here refers to the knowledge to which one is connected, and "the fountains of water" refers to the source of this knowledge. The fact that it is written "became blood" shows that this information belonged to men. It is necessary to make it a habit to pay attention to the work of the enmity placed by God described in Genesis (cf. Genesis 3:15) to transform this fountain into God's one (cf. this blog № 24). Cain, who killed his brother Abel out of envy, had been caught in a contradictory condition and fled to his fictional world. But he came to himself with the enmity placed by God in him working and became awakened to the reality that he was in the presence of God. He then became able to honestly tell God how he felt, saying, "My punishment is greater than I can bear" (Genesis 4:13) (cf. this blog № 23). There is behind the work of enmity placed by God the word of God, who is always sincere to man and tells him the truth. However, people cannot bear to receive God's word as it is. The support of the Holy Spirit, who guides us into all the truth, is indispensable (cf. John 16:12-13). Therefore, the trainee of Revelation continues to train to ensure that his realm of the unconscious is filled with the worldview of Jesus Christ. Eventually, the trainee who has attained the second blessedness (cf. this blog№ 48) finds in the external world with which he is involved the experience of Jesus in John 10 and comes to realise what the "seven plagues of the seven angels" are. He begins to see the world that the author of Revelation portrays as a witness, overlapping with various aspects of his real life. He then comes to share the experiences of the author.

Maria K. M.