2024/03/18

135. The Second Death and the Salvation of the Evil Spirits

In the Synoptic Gospels, Jesus foretold his Passion, Death and Resurrection three times but did not give the reasons for them. The Gospel of John, however, gives two reasons. One is: "I am the good shepherd; I know my own and my own know me, as the Father knows me and I know the Father; and I lay down my life for the sheep" (John 10:14-15). 

Here, "my own" are those who are alive, "the souls of those who had been slain for the word of God and for the witness they had borne" (Revelation 6:9) and "the souls of those who had been beheaded for their testimony to Jesus and for the word of God" (Revelation 20:4) (cf. blog № 133). 

The reason Jesus dies for these people is to fulfil his words: "Nevertheless I tell you the truth: it is to your advantage that I go away, for if I do not go away, the Counselor will not come to you; but if I go, I will send him to you" (John 16:7). 

The other is: "And I have other sheep, that are not of this fold; I must bring them also, and they will heed my voice. So there shall be one flock, one shepherd" (John 10:16). 

The "other sheep, that are not of this fold" are the "rest of the dead" (Revelation 20:5), those who have died and have not come back to life because they have no 'soul,' i.e., the evil spirits. They are all those who, despite having been endowed with 'the enmity God has placed' (cf. Genesis 3:15) from birth as descendants of the first 'woman' of Genesis, died in the state of the first 'man', the only one who was not given this 'enmity' (cf. blog № 130). 

Jesus often cast out the evil spirits but did not save them. He only allowed them to enter the swine as they wished and gave them the opportunity to share in the death of the swine (cf. Matthew 8:30-32). The evil spirits knew who Jesus was, as Jesus said, "[T]hey will heed my voice." 

When a person dies, the divine command 'Be!' returns to the heavenly Father, fulfilling His will. At this time, if his 'knowledge and memory proportionate to man' that incorporates the 'human accidental information' is attached to his 'breath of life', the 'breath of life' will not follow after the 'Be!' and will remain on earth as a spirit. Then the words of God in Genesis come true: "Because you have done this, cursed are you above all cattle, and above all wild animals; upon your belly you shall go, and dust you shall eat all the days of your life" (Genesis 3:14). This is what the evil spirit looks like. 

Jesus died and descended into Hades, where he became 'I AM' (John 8:58), drew the evil spirits with him and regained the 'breath of life' from their 'knowledge and memory proportionate to man', which had taken in the 'human accidental information.' That is "the second death" (Revelation 20:6), the salvation of the evil spirit. Jesus entrusted this work of salvation to the future Church. 

Maria K. M.

 2024/03/11

134. The Rest of the Dead

Let us continue the previous discussion. "The rest of the dead did not come to life until the thousand years were ended. This is the first resurrection" (Revelation 20:5). Here, the 'rest of the dead' have no 'soul', so these dead are those who have died and not come back to life. 

However, since it says, "until the thousand years were ended," it is suggested that they may be brought back to life once the 'thousand years,' i.e. the liturgy of the Mass, are over. This fact shows that the statement "This is the first resurrection" refers to the state of everyone involved in the Mass liturgy, who will eventually be brought back to life. That is because there is an awareness of the day when the mission entrusted to the Holy Spirit and the work of the Christians will be accomplished. 

In order to share in this awareness, believers must be accompanied by the fifth 'blessedness' in the verse that follows: "Blessed and holy is he who shares in the first resurrection! Over such the second death has no power, but they shall be priests of God and of Christ, and they shall reign with him a thousand years" (20:6). 

When they practice the training of Revelation, the seven 'blessedness', placed at pivotal points in the Book of Revelation, will accompany them. The fifth 'blessedness', which appears here, accompanies the trainees of Revelation, and goes into the very heart of the spirituality of the Holy Spirit (cf. 20:6-22:6). To receive the spirituality of the Holy Spirit sent in the name of Jesus, it is essential to have the worldview of Jesus Christ. 

The Church can implant in the memory of believers the worldview of Jesus Christ, which the first disciples of Jesus unconsciously possessed, by leading them to the training of Revelation. It contains the memory of the Mass liturgy enhanced to the spirituality of the Holy Spirit as imagined by Jesus. It is what Jesus did not tell his disciples the full story at the Last Supper because the Holy Spirit had not yet descended. That is just as Jesus said, "I have yet many things to say to you, but you cannot bear them now. When the Spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all the truth" (John 16:12-13). 

In addition, the Church must complete the Mass liturgy so that all believers may become those described as "they shall be priests of God and of Christ, and they shall reign with him a thousand years." The fulfilment of the following words of Jesus depends on it: "I tell you I shall not eat it until it is fulfilled in the kingdom of God" (Luke 22:16). So much perfection is expected in the completion of the Mass liturgy. That is because Jesus prepared everything for it. 

Therefore, once the complete Mass liturgy is celebrated, the only "the rest of the dead" who do not come to life until it is over will be the evil spirits.

Maria K. M.

 2024/03/04

133. The Two Types of 'Souls' in Revelation

'Souls' appear in two places in Revelation. One is the 'souls' in "Also I saw the souls of those who had been beheaded for their testimony to Jesus and for the word of God" (Revelation 20:4), and they were the living ones, as discussed in the previous issue. 

The other is the 'souls' in "When he opened the fifth seal, I saw under the altar the souls of those who had been slain for the word of God and for the witness they had borne" (6:9), and they had 'souls' because they "had been slain" and yet alive. 

As discussed in blog № 15, the 'fifth seal' refers to the Acts of the Apostles. In it, the apostles are described in detail as they bear their testimony. Thus, the souls that the author of the Book of Revelation "saw under the altar" are of these apostles. 

Underlying their missionary work in the Acts of the Apostles is the "the witness they had borne" towards Jesus, as stated in the Gospel: "Peter said to him, 'Even if I must die with you, I will not deny you.' And so said all the disciples" (Matthew 26:35). The apostles accomplished the witnesses they had not been able to fulfil at that time through the descent of the Holy Spirit. 

So, the Revelation says: "Then they were each given a white robe and told to rest a little longer, until the number of their fellow servants and their brethren should be complete, who were to be killed as they themselves had been" (6:11). 

They are looking "under the altar" at "their fellow servants and their brethren" who, like themselves, celebrate the Mass liturgy today "for the word of God and for the witness they had borne" and are waiting for their numbers to be complete. At that moment, they gather with the faithful attending the Mass liturgy. 

These two kinds of 'souls,' "the souls of those who had been beheaded for their testimony to Jesus and for the word of God" (20:4) and "the souls of those who had been slain for the word of God and for the witness they had borne" (6:9), are the fulfilment of Jesus' words, "I am the resurrection and the life; he who believes in me, though he die, yet shall he live, and whoever lives and believes in me shall never die" (John 11:25-26).  

That is, at the same time, the fulfilment of Jesus' words, "[T]he powers of death shall not prevail against it" (Matthew 16:18). And the "word of God" common to both 'souls' is the words, "You are the Christ, the Son of the living God" (Matthew 16:16), the "true words of God" (Revelation 19:9) (cf. blog № 95). 

In the coming article, we will approach the following passage in Revelation: "The rest of the dead did not come to life until the thousand years were ended. This is the first resurrection" (Revelation 20:5).

Maria K. M.

 2024/02/26

132. The Completion of the Liturgy of the Mass and the First Resurrection

Based on the previous discussion, let us return to the Book of Revelation and continue our discussion of the Prophecy of the Completion of the Liturgy of the Mass (Revelation 19-20) in the Prophetic Composition of Revelation (cf. diagram of blog № 120), which we dealt with in blog № 121. 

In retrospect, the prophecy of the completion of the liturgy of the Mass commends the judgement of the fallen Church in the beginning (19:1-4). Next, the completion of the Mass liturgy is prophesied on the basis of the fulfilment of the prophecy of the establishment of the New Testament (19:5-10). Therefore, in preparation for the completed Mass liturgy, the faithful undergo various forms of purification by the Holy Spirit (cf. blog№ 98-105) and are purged of the greed created by human knowledge and experience (19:11-21). The second half describes what happens during and after the celebration of the Mass with the actual completed liturgy (20:1-15). 

The term 'thousand years,' which appears frequently here, refers to the period during which the Mass with the completed liturgy is celebrated 'with the Lord' as Peter wrote in his letter, "But do not ignore this one fact, beloved, that with the Lord one day is as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day" (2 Peter 3:8). During this time and space, neither 'human accidental information' nor evil spirits can be involved (20:1-4). 

This time, I will start the discussion with the following statement: "Also I saw the souls of those who had been beheaded for their testimony to Jesus and for the word of God, and who had not worshiped the beast or its image and had not received its mark on their foreheads or their hands. They came to life, and reigned with Christ a thousand years. The rest of the dead did not come to life until the thousand years were ended. This is the first resurrection" (20:4-5). 

"[T]he souls of those who had been beheaded for their testimony to Jesus and for the word of God" are those to whom the 'breath of life' and the 'tree of life' were connected thanks to the word of God, distinguishing the 'human accidental information' that Jesus testified. In these people, the 'likeness of God' becomes manifested (cf. blog№ 129). They never act at the mercy of their 'knowledge and memory proportionate to man,' which has taken in 'human accidental information' as their own knowledge without distinction (cf. blog №130). They become like, so to speak, "those who have been beheaded." That is why they "had not worshiped the beast or its image and had not received its mark on their foreheads or their hands." Since it says 'souls', they are a living people. 

When they enter the Mass liturgy, put at the heart of their daily routine, they are given the Word and the daily bread and "come to life." The phrase "reigned with Christ a thousand years" describes how they all concentrate on the reality of staying with Christ during the Mass liturgy. 

Even today, the celebration of the Mass brings great blessings to the people. However, the Mass liturgy must be completed and perfected so that all believers may have the 'blessedness' of becoming holy and partake in the 'first resurrection' while alive. That means that the work of the Holy Spirit becomes visible there.

Maria K. M.

 2024/02/19

131. Visualization

With the coming of Jesus Christ, the 'Word', God and life, was made visible (cf. John 1:1-12). However, at that time, there were those who received the reality of the visualized God and those who instead stumbled over it. 

That is what the Gospel of John testified: "He was in the world, and the world was made through him, yet the world knew him not. He came to his own home, and his own people received him not. But to all who received him, who believed in his name, he gave power to become children of God" (John 1:10-12). 

Then, "grace and truth came through Jesus Christ" (John 1:17). Therefore, 'the enmity that God had placed' became the Word through Jesus. It was placed between Jesus and those who had taken 'human accidental information' as their own knowledge. That is as Jesus said, "You are of your father the devil, and your will is to do your father's desires" (John 8:44). For 'human accidental information' is "the dragon, that ancient serpent, who is the Devil and Satan" (Revelation 20:2). 

Because they are unaware of 'human accidental information' and do not distinguish it from themselves, they see the one who manifests 'the enmity God had placed' as their enemy and soon come to hate him. Eventually, they begin to conceive of murder (cf. John 8:31-59). To 'kill' is to 'do evil' (cf. Mark 3:4) and is 'to destroy' the life God has created (cf. Luke 6:9). 

It is essential for those who received Jesus and believe in his name to distinguish themselves from 'human accidental information.' Only then can they listen to and follow Jesus, the visualized God. Therefore, the New Testament inserts scenes of Jesus being tested in the wilderness (cf. Matthew 4:1-17) and Jesus' rebuking Peter in front of his disciples (cf. Matthew 16:21-23), depicting Jesus' confronting 'human accidental information.' 

From the experience of living in the present age of visualized information, we can be aware of 'human accidental information' generated in the plurality of people and vividly receive the fact that we are surrounded by it. 'Human accidental information' is taken in by people as their knowledge, shared as episodic and semantic memory, and has played an essential and significant role in people's cognitive functions and their development, as well as in human nature, culture, and the accumulation of knowledge. 

On the other hand, 'human accidental information' consists of a constant intertwining of elements that can be either the knowledge of good or that of evil. When taken in by a person, it becomes indeed the knowledge of good and evil. We must know it and distinguish it from ourselves. That is the first step to understanding the fifth 'blessedness,' which concerns the first resurrection and the second death of the Book of Revelation (cf. blog № 121).

Maria K. M.

 2024/02/12

130. The Sign That Is Spoken Against

The first man in Genesis said, "The woman whom thou gavest to be with me, she gave me fruit of the tree, and I ate" (Genesis 3:12), and attributed the cause of his fault to God. God, therefore, excluded him from the benefit of the 'enmity God has placed' by saying to the 'human accidental information' (the serpent), "I will put enmity between you [the serpent] and the woman, and between your seed and her seed" (Genesis 3:15). In this way, the first man became the only person to go through life without having any means to distinguish 'human accidental information.' 

The statement, "The man called his wife's name Eve" (Genesis 3:20), tells us that his 'knowledge and memory proportionate to man' was again connected to the 'breath of life' via the 'tree of the knowledge of good and evil' (cf. blog №127). He has become a man who acted on whatever his 'knowledge and memory proportionate to man,' which had taken in 'human accidental information' as his own knowledge without distinction, demanded of him. 

Just as God's word of command, 'Be!' which maintains interaction with individual life through the work of the Holy Spirit, is connected to the life of living beings (cf. blog № 128), so the first man became permanently connected to the 'breath of life' through the 'tree of the knowledge of good and evil' (cf. Genesis 3:22). God expelled him and protected the way to the 'tree of life' so that he would not, in turn, be connected to the 'tree of life' and gain knowledge to live forever (cf. Genesis 3:24). 

The phrase "the LORD God sent him forth from the garden of Eden, to till the ground from which he was taken" (Genesis 3:23) is inserted here. That was to fulfil God's words to him, "[C]ursed is the ground because of you; in toil you shall eat of it all the days of your life" (Genesis 3:17), so that the task of tilling the ground would be passed on from the first man to male descendants from generation to generation (cf. Genesis 5:29). 

God's plan of redemption of which he had said, "In the sweat of your face you shall eat bread till you return to the ground, for out of it you were taken; you are dust, and to dust you shall return" (Genesis 3:19) was set in motion. Noah, who had passed through the flood, built an altar to the Lord (cf. Genesis 8:20), Abraham met Melchizedek, king of Salem, priest of God Most High (cf. Genesis 14:18), and God appointed Aaron and his sons to be priests (cf. Exodus 29:9). Jesus Christ, the Son of God, who completes the redemption commanded by God, comes in the course of these biblical histories. 

He, of whom Simeon said, "Behold, this child is set for the fall and rising of many in Israel, and for a sign that is spoken against" (Luke 2:34), was born as the 'enmity God has placed' itself which the first man had never had.

Maria K. M.

 2024/02/05

129. 'Let us make man in our image, after our likeness' Part 2

The 'enmity' (cf. Genesis 3:15) that God had put between 'the woman' and 'man's accidental information' (the serpent) was passed on from generation to generation to her offspring by women's birth pangs. The 'enmity' worked to continually prompt people to discern the 'man's accidental information.' In time, the people's 'knowledge and memory proportionate to man' grew to such an extent that prophets who spoke for the word of God appeared out of them. The "cherubim, and a flaming sword which turned every way" which God placed "to guard the way to the tree of life" (Genesis 3:24) have become markers that the 'tree of life' was there. Therefore, people would sense the 'tree of life' in them even though it is hidden. 

In the fullness of time, Mary was born and was Joseph, then John the Baptist, too. So, God sent the 'Word' as the only begotten Son (cf. John 1:1-5). The Gospel of John testifies that "grace and truth came through Jesus Christ" (John 1:17) and that "no one has ever seen God; the only Son, who is in the bosom of the Father, he has made him known" (John 1:18). 

Jesus Christ taught people that God is their Father and led them to naturally realize the relationship between the heavenly Father and the Son by praying and calling out to God, 'Father in Heaven,' as their own, and the words of God, "in our image" (Genesis 1:26), to be fulfilled. He did so also to fulfil what God had foretold to David but had failed to be realized in Solomon (cf. 2 Samuel 7:14). 

Jesus clearly showed 'man's accidental information.' When people distinguish that information, it is a sign that the way to the 'tree of life' has been opened. The connection of the 'breath of life' to the 'tree of life' is essential for the 'likeness of God' to be manifested in the one into whom the 'breath of life' had been breathed. 

The incident in which Jesus Christ confronted the 'man's accidental information' (the tempter, Satan, the devil) in the wilderness at the beginning of his ministry (cf. Matthew 4:1-11) was crucial to show the exemplar of discerning accidental information to the many disciples who followed him. It is interesting to note that Jesus here not only exposed who the tempter, the devil and Satan were but also dismissed the 'man's accidental information' who tempted him with the words of the Psalms, quoting from Deuteronomy. 

Furthermore, the themes in the exchange between Jesus and the 'man's accidental information' in this scene closely resemble those in the dialogue between the 'woman' and the 'serpent' in Genesis. They are initially about food (cf. Genesis 3:1; Matthew 4:3), then about life and death (cf. Genesis 3:4; Matthew 4:6), and finally about getting knowledge and prosperity (cf. Genesis 3:5; Matthew 4:8-9). Jesus restored, at every turn, the mistakes of the first two in Genesis (cf. blog №116). 

Maria K. M.