2026/10/05

268. The Gospel of John and the Priesthood of the New Covenant: Distinction and Discernment II

When God created man in Genesis, He created him as a physical being endowed with power, wealth and authority so that he may manifest "our image" (Gen 1:26) (cf. blog No. 252); he was created such that, as a normal state of affairs, the spontaneity of his physical body is connected to "God's spontaneity (the breath of life)"—which was breathed into him to manifest "our likeness" (Ibid.)—through his "human knowledge" and via "the Word (the Tree of Life)." It is only when this pattern—comprising "the breath of life" + "the Tree of Life" + "human knowledge" + "the physical body created in 'our image'"—is established that humanity can collaborate with the Holy Spirit. The following passage in Genesis depicts the moment when humankind first collaborated with the Holy Spirit: "So out of the ground the LORD God formed every beast of the field and every bird of the air, and brought them to the man to see what he would call them; and whatever the man called every living creature, that was its name" (2:19). 

Subsequently, when humanity became two, "human information" emerged among them. People are strongly drawn to this "human information," which can become either good or evil depending on the recipient. Judging whether something is good or evil awakens one's desire for self-transcendence, and the resulting elation leads them into the illusion of having become like God. This explains why, in Genesis, God said, "Behold, the man has become like one of us, knowing good and evil; and now, lest he put forth his hand and take also of the tree of life, and eat, and live for ever" (Gen 3:22), banished humankind, and guarded the way to the "Tree of Life." If one absorbs the "human information" that enters their memory without "distinguishing" it, and turns it into their own "human knowledge," then that "human knowledge"—which has incorporated "human information"—will leap over the "Tree of Life" to connect with the "Breath of Life," and as a result, their spiritual realm will cease to be maintained. Humanity has thus lost the opportunity to cooperate with the Holy Spirit. 

We believers today have found the path to the "Tree of Life" through Jesus Christ and have been granted the opportunity to cooperate with the Holy Spirit again. If we can call upon the name of the Heavenly Father, as Jesus taught us, and express our desire to cooperate with the Holy Spirit, then at that moment the pattern of the "Breath of Life" + the "Tree of Life" + "human knowledge" + "the physical body created in 'our image'" is established within us. However, the danger of absorbing "human information" and becoming filled with and taken over by it is ever-present. To prevent this danger, we must "distinguish" that "human information" from ourselves who desire to cooperate with the Holy Spirit. And to do so, specialised training is required. We must not lose the desire we once held to cooperate with the Holy Spirit. By cooperating with the Holy Spirit, believers experience the words of Jesus first-hand, are led to the beatific vision, and manifest the likeness of Jesus Christ. 

The Gospel of John and the Book of Revelation teach this concept using the metaphor of "rivers." In the Gospel of John, we find the following passage: "On the last day of the feast, the great day, Jesus stood up and proclaimed, 'If any one thirst, let him come to me and drink. He who believes in me, as the scripture has said, "Out of his heart shall flow rivers of living water."' Now this he said about the Spirit, which those who believed in him were to receive; for as yet the Spirit had not been given, because Jesus was not yet glorified" (Jn 7:37–39). Just as Jesus said, after Pentecost, the Holy Spirit is always ready to connect with and collaborate with each believer (cf. Acts 2:3–4), drawing Jesus' words from their memory and striving to bring them to fulfilment. The Holy Spirit waits for the moment when our spontaneity turns towards Him. 

On the other hand, the Book of Revelation describes a "river" as follows: "Then he showed me the river of the water of life, bright as crystal, flowing from the throne of God and of the Lamb through the middle of the street of the city; also, on either side of the river, the tree of life with its twelve kinds of fruit, yielding its fruit each month; and the leaves of the tree were for the healing of the nations" (Rev 22:1–2). These are the words of the final chapter of the Book of Revelation. Those who have trained themselves by reciting Revelation daily and listening to its voice up to this point realise that Revelation, which God gave Christ to show to His servants, is "the river of the water of life, bright as crystal, flowing from the throne of God and of the Lamb." The prophetic words, flowing through the reciter’s voice, enter the reciter’s own memory, becoming tacit knowledge, and transform them into one who keeps what is written therein. In this way, they are prepared for the moment when the Holy Spirit draws forth those prophetic words. When this actually occurs, that person experiences the beatific vision and receives abundant fruit and healing. The training of Revelation guarantees this (cf. Rev 1:3, 22:7).

In this way, the Holy Spirit added the Book of Revelation to the New Testament so that those who believe in Jesus may receive the Holy Spirit and have the blessedness of collaborating with Him. Revelation is a book of prophecy specifically designed to train us believers to "distinguish" between the self that desires to cooperate with the Holy Spirit and the "human information." The following words at the beginning of Revelation clearly demonstrate this. 

"The revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave him to show to his servants what must soon take place; and he made it known by sending his angel to his servant John, who bore witness to the word of God and to the testimony of Jesus Christ, even to all that he saw. Blessed is he who reads aloud the words of the prophecy, and blessed are those who hear, and who keep what is written therein; for the time is near" (Rev 1:1–3). 

Maria K. M.