2022/02/07

25. The Realm of Consciousness

People feel "existence" as something that "is" because we have spontaneity. This spontaneity originates from the fact that, according to Genesis 1, the heavens and the earth and everything in them were created through God's word, "Let there be." This word of God gave spontaneity to all creatures. Human beings can be aware of this spontaneity, so they feel something that "is" in the object and take it as "existence." So, even when God says in the Bible, "I am", they take it to mean that God "exists". But when God says "I am" in the Bible, the word means that God is with people. In the bush passage in Exodus, God who replied, "I am who I am" (Exodus 3:14), to Moses, who asked for his name, had taught him, "I will be with you; and this will be your sign that I have sent you" (Exodus 3:12). Jesus also used the phrase "I am" to mean "God is with people."¹ The world that we perceive as reality is constructed in the realm of consciousness in our brain. In other words, the human brain takes information from the outside world and reconstructs it and creates, so to speak, a virtual reality. To confirm our experience of God being with people as a reality, we need a connection with people who share the space and the things that happen there. Jesus said, "For where two or three are gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst of them" (Matthew 18:20), and he required that the connection should be his name. The scene of the Transfiguration,² in which Jesus gave the three Apostles an intense experience, was just like a metaverse. We can come together in the name of Jesus, even in a metaverse.

Reference: 1. replacing the words "I AM" with "God is with people," each verse of John comes to as follows: "For if you do not believe that God is with people, you will die in your sins" (John 8:24), "When you lift up the Son of Man, then you will realize that God is with people, and that I do nothing on my own, but I say only what the Father taught me" (John 8:28), "Amen, amen, I say to you, before Abraham came to be, God is with people" (John 8:58), 2. "Jesus took Peter, James, and John his brother, and led them up a high mountain by themselves. And he was transfigured before them; his face shone like the sun and his clothes became white as light. And behold, Moses and Elijah appeared to them, conversing with him. Then Peter said to Jesus in reply, 'Lord, it is good that we are here. If you wish, I will make three tents here, one for you, one for Moses, and one for Elijah.' While he was still speaking, behold, a bright cloud cast a shadow over them, then from the cloud came a voice that said, 'This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased; listen to him.' When the disciples heard this, they fell prostrate and were very much afraid" (Matthew 17:1-6).

Maria K. M.

 2022/01/31

24. The Contradiction

Jesus said to those who have believed in him: "If you remain in my word, you will truly be my disciples, and you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free" (John 8:31-32). But they said, "We are descendants of Abraham and have never been enslaved to anyone. How can you say, 'You will become free'?" (John 8:33), which shows that there was a contradiction between their understanding and the words of Jesus. An illusion had developed in their realm of consciousness because they were unaware of the accidental information¹ occurring among them. Jesus replied, "Amen, amen, I say to you, everyone who commits sin is a slave of sin. A slave does not remain in a household forever, but a son always remains. So if a son frees you, then you will truly be free" (John 8:34-36). Everyone has the "enmity God has put in place"² in their deep inside the realm of consciousness. Here Jesus compared the "enmity God has put in place" to a son because that was what Jesus was. Jesus continues to persuade them sincerely to become aware of the contradiction and confront it, with the "enmity God has put in place" in them getting awakened. But they could not bear contradiction, which grew greater in their subsequent dialogue with Jesus, and created the fiction that Jesus was a Samaritan and possessed by a demon, and in the end, they tried to kill him. As Jesus said, "Whoever belongs to God hears the words of God; for this reason you do not listen, because you do not belong to God" (John 8:47), the reason why many people do not listen to the word of God is that they are unaware of the accidental information that occurs among them and are united with it. Jesus fulfilled what he had said to Nicodemus, "And just as Moses lifted up the serpent in the desert, so must the Son of Man be lifted up" (John 3:14) and has become a sign of saving people from this reality, so that the "enmity God has put in place" is awakened in all men when they look up at Jesus crucified. This awakening first happened to one of the criminals crucified with Jesus. He said, "Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom" (Luke 23:42). Jesus replied to him, "Amen, I say to you, today you will be with me in Paradise" (Luke 23:43), and these words were the very worldview of Jesus Christ that embraces the conversion of the sinner. Christians, imitating Jesus, must always stay awakened to the "enmity God has put in place." To do so, it is essential for us to have the worldview of Jesus Christ in our unconscious realm. The Book of Revelation provides us the training for it.  

Reference: 1. this blog № 4, 2. this blog № 5, № 23

Maria K. M.

2022/01/24

23. The Enmity God Has Put in Place and the Worldview of Jesus Christ

When two or more people interact, there emerges accidental information.¹ It develops an illusion in the realm of the human consciousness, and a contradiction arises. People troubled by the contradiction create fiction, and when it is shared with others, the "work of man" occurs. In Genesis, when God made the man and the woman from the "man" he created first, the two inherited the words God had commanded to the "man." Then, accidental information emerged between them, who were more than one, and an illusion was developed in the realm of her consciousness. The words that God commanded to the "man": "You are free to eat from any of the trees of the garden except the tree of knowledge of good and evil. From that tree you shall not eat; when you eat from it you shall die" (Gen. 2:16-17) were altered by the woman into the words, "[I]t is only about the fruit of the tree in the middle of the garden that God said, 'You shall not eat it or even touch it, or else you will die'" (Gen. 3:3). She suffered from the contradiction and doubted the word of God.² Then, she created a fiction, "You certainly will not die! God knows well that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened and you will be like gods, who know good and evil" (Gen. 3:4-5) and ate the fruit of the tree that God had forbidden. So, God put "enmity" in the realm of human consciousness, saying, "I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and hers" (Genesis 3:15). Cain, the firstborn of the man and the woman, was caught in the illusion that God looked with favor on Abel and his offering but not on him and his offering, and he got angry in the contradiction and dejected, doubting God. And Cain attacked Abel and killed him. He created a fictional world and committed the murder in it, which we can see from his answer to God, who asked where Abel was: "I do not know. Am I my brother's keeper?" (Genesis 4:9). But the word of God, who always treated Cain with sincerity and told him the truth, made him come to himself, and he confessed his feeling and asked for forgiveness. The "enmity God has put in place" began to be activated in the realm of the human consciousness for the first time. Whenever "the enmity God has put in place" is at work, there is the word of God, who always treats people sincerely and tells the truth. The word of God enters the realm of human consciousness first. The worldview of Jesus Christ is indeed the city that receives the word of God into the unconscious realm.³

Reference  1. this blog #4, 2. Genesis 3:1, 3. Revelation 21:9-27

Maria K. M.

 2022/01/17

22. The Earthly Warfare

"When the dragon saw that it had been thrown down to the earth, it pursued the woman who had given birth to the male child" (Revelation 12:13). This description, which follows the previous discussion, shows that the "earth" to which the dragon was thrown down is still the realm of the Apostles' brain. It is the realm of the conscious mind which governs thoughts, judgments, decisions and other things that lead to action, and it can be said to be the “earth” as a contact point at which one interacts with others. The Apostles, on the other hand, were "given the two wings of the great eagle, so that she could fly to her place in the desert" (12:14). These wings consist of "the blood of the Lamb" and "the word of their testimony."¹ Each of them represents the new covenant made through the blood of Jesus and the Apostles' words of response to his choice that bear witness to it.² "Her place in the desert" represents their seat at the table of Jesus' last supper. It is in the unconscious realm of the Apostles where the memory of Jesus who had lived with them, the worldview of Jesus Christ, is alive. The "serpent" in Revelation, in the Apostles’ realm of the conscious mind, spews a torrent of water out of his mouth and tries to sweep away their memories.³ This water represents a fiction, an illusion, which, if taken in, would create a contradiction between the realm of the unconscious mind and the realm of the conscious mind, and it would cause the Apostles to hesitate. So, the earth "opened its mouth and swallowed the flood that the dragon spewed out of its mouth" (12:16). The fact that Revelation here replaces the word "serpent" with "dragon" shows that the influence of the "serpent" grew as they interacted with other people. The "earth" which helped the Apostles is the "enmity" of which God said to the "serpent" in Genesis: "I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and hers" (Genesis 3:15). This "enmity that God has put in place", which lies deep in one's realm of the conscious mind, comes into full effect when he holds the worldview of Jesus Christ. The Apostles, amid persecution, conquered hesitation and spared their lives even unto death to distribute the Body and Blood of Christ for the community. The earthly warfare always begins in the realm of consciousness of each individual. This current that has begun can be stopped from becoming "the work of man" only when the "enmity which God has put in place" placed in the innermost sphere of human consciousness fully works. For this to happen, it is essential to have the worldview of Jesus Christ in one's unconscious realm. That is one of the reasons why God added the Book of Revelation to the New Testament, and so the unconscious realm of people can be filled with the worldview of Jesus Christ.

Reference　1. Revelation 12:11, 2. Matthew 26:35, 3. Revelation 12:15　

Maria K. M.

 2022/01/10

21. Heavenly Warfare

A great red dragon appeared in Revelation 12. A dragon is a creature of legend, so the description of its appearance and attack is fictional. The expression: "And the dragon stood before the woman who was about to bear a child, that he might devour her child when she brought it forth" (Revelation 12:4), shows that heretics and persecutors were the imminent reality in the memory of the Apostles and that their fear was growing. And the solemn image of themselves collaborating with the Holy Spirit that appeared in the form of a woman in their minds¹ indicates that they had also taken the gravity of their duty. "[S]he brought forth a male child," which means that the Body and Blood of Christ were born of the Holy Spirit and his "helpers," the Apostles. The child was the "one who is to rule all the nations with a rod of iron, but her child was caught up to God and to his throne" (12:5). Meanwhile, the Apostles had a place prepared by God in the "wilderness."² In this timely moment, war arose in heaven, "Michael and his angels fighting against the dragon; and the dragon and his angels fought, but they were defeated and there was no longer any place for them in heaven" (12:7-8). The "heaven" refers to the Apostles' brains. The "wilderness" is the unconscious realm of their brains. It was also the place where Jesus was tempted by Satan after fasting for 40 days. The description in the Gospel of Jesus being with the wild beasts in the "wilderness"³ suggests the "wilderness" is an unconscious realm inherent in both man and beast. Satan appeared even in the unconscious realm of Jesus, who was both divine and human, and he tempted him. But Jesus, with the word of God, bruised his head and dismissed him.⁴ And the angels ministered to him. Likewise, in the unconscious realm of the Apostles, the memory of Jesus who had lived with them, the worldview of Jesus Christ, was alive, where Michael and his angels were guarding. They threw the great dragon down to the earth, the conscious realm, along with his angels, from the unconscious realm of the Apostles, where the worldview of Jesus Christ was alive.

Reference 1. Revelation 12:1, 2. Revelation 12:5-6, 3. Mark 1:13, 4. Matthew 4:1-11

Maria K. M. 

 2022/01/03

20. The Connection

When the Lamb opened the first four of the seven seals in order, horses associated with the four Gospels appeared (Revelation 6:1-8). Thus, the first half of the Book of Revelation prophesied the establishment of the New Testament, suggesting its connection with the other books of the New Testament employing the coincidence in words and allusions. In addition, the "event" that appears at some important points announced at the end of chapter 11 that the Mass was ready.1 So, it is clear that the great sign that appeared in heaven in the form of a "woman" at the beginning of chapter 12 represents the image of the Holy Spirit and the Apostles collaborating in celebrating the Mass. The description that follows: "She was with child and she cried out in her pangs of birth, in anguish for delivery" (12:2), refers to the Apostles, who, amid the persecution and the daily hardships, celebrate the Mass with the Holy Spirit and try to bring forth the Eucharist by the Holy Spirit. We can see this from the fact that it corresponds to Jesus’ words at the last supper in John's Gospel: "Truly, truly, I say to you, you will weep and lament, but the world will rejoice; you will be sorrowful, but your sorrow will turn into joy. When a woman is in travail she has sorrow, because her hour has come; but when she is delivered of the child, she no longer remembers the anguish, for joy that a child is born into the world" (John 16:20-21). Jesus compared the Apostles, who were to give birth to the Word as "helpers" of the Holy Spirit, to a pregnant woman. The Apostles, who had heard Jesus' words of instituting the Eucharist at first hand and had engraved in their memory these words by which the bread and wine became the Body and Blood of Christ, conceived the Word by which the Holy Spirit brought forth the Eucharist as "helpers" of the Holy Spirit. They indeed became like another Mary. Jesus could not afford to lose any of them, who had been set aside for the Holy Spirit in this way, until the Holy Spirit came.2 Jesus foretold to the Apostles that the time would come when they would be scattered and return to their homes, leaving him alone, and he kept them away from his suffering and death. And this warning came true, and the Apostles were protected. Only the disciple whom Jesus loved went to the foot of the cross of Jesus, taking Jesus' mother, Mary the wife of Clopas and Mary Magdalene, which was for establishing a parent-child bond between the mother of Jesus and the disciple, according to Jesus' command on the cross. At that time, the disciple must have been confident that the one of whom Jesus had said, "who will not taste death," was himself.3

Reference 1. this blog №18, 2. John 18:9, 3. Matthew 16:28, Mark 9:1, Luke 9:27, John 21:23

Maria K. M.

 2021/12/27

19. Divine Authority

"And a great portent appeared in heaven, a woman clothed with the sun, with the moon under her feet, and on her head a crown of twelve stars" (Revelation 12:1). Last time, I wrote that this portent shows the image of the Holy Spirit and the priest collaborating for the body and blood of Christ becoming present in the Mass. This image echoes the words of the angel Gabriel to Mary: "He will be great (clothed with the sun), and will be called the Son of the Most High (with the moon under his feet); and the Lord God will give to him the throne of his father David (on her head a crown of twelve stars)" (Luke 1:32). On the other hand, the words an angel told Joseph in his dream was different from what Mary had been told; he was told that Jesus would save his people from their sins.¹ God's way of "saving from sin" was to forgive and heal sins. The blood and water that flowed from the side of Jesus on the cross was a sure sign that the divine authority for forgiveness and healing of sins covered the whole of humanity. The Evangelist writes: "He who saw it has borne witness – his testimony is true, and he knows that he tells the truth – that you also may believe" (John 19:35). Jesus came into the world with the divine authority from his Father to forgive and heal all sins. While Jesus was an infant, his earthly father, Joseph, was entrusted with this authority and exercised it to protect Jesus and his mother Mary, following the angel's instructions.² After Jesus' ascension and the descent of the Holy Spirit, the Apostles, receiving the Holy Spirit, are entrusted with this authority and practice it to protect the Body and Blood of Christ and the Church collaborating with the Holy Spirit. Therefore, the risen Jesus, to make the Apostles remember he said this when the Holy Spirit descends, breathed on them beforehand and told them: "Receive the Holy Spirit. If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven; if you retain the sins of any, they are retained" (John 20:22-23). Thomas was not there at that time, but fellow Apostles must have shared with him what had happened, saying, "We have seen the Lord." However, he could not believe what they said. When Jesus appeared again eight days later, Thomas saw him and believed. Jesus said: "Have you believed because you have seen me? Blessed are those who have not seen and yet believe" (John 20:29). What Jesus talked about at that time was the blessedness of those who believe the Holy Spirit, who is invisible and was to come and guide them after his ascension.

References 1. Matthew 1:21, 2. Matthew 1:24-25, 2:13-23, Luke 2:1-7, 2:41-50

Maria K. M.