(After the time of Jesus)
for the index click here
THE
DISCIPLES
(Their limited understanding)
SAINT
FRANCIS
(Perhaps the closest to Jesus
since Jesus Himself)
MAHATMA
GANDHI
and others (not necessarily nominal
Christians yet knowing
and following the
One Way)
MOTHER
TERESA
MARTIN
LUTHER KING
and others
john
lennon
and other possible surprises
possibly including
even
you
and/or me
and
hopefully many to come
TRIBULATION...THE
RETURN OF JESUS...AND THE FELLOWSHIP OF
THE SPIRIT
When we think of all the "important"
people in history
... kings, conquerers, heroes
and heroines ...
many of those who have seemed
the least at the time
have BECOME the GREATEST,
while many of those who have
seemed the GREATEST
have become the least.
It Has happenned ... It will
Continue to happen.
There are eternal Principles which
have manifested in individuals throughout history.
No human effort can keep them
from continuing to manifest.
They are eternal.
As far as I can tell these Principles
are strongly related, if not identical, to
Love
and Truth
------------------------------------------------------------
------------------------------------------------------------
AFTER
JESUS
From Jesus to the Apostles
I feel that a lot is lost
from Jesus to the Apostles.
If this is true, it should tell
us something about spiritual
heritage. Physical lineage
is passed down from generation
to generation according to genetic
relationships. Spiritual
lineage is passed on from moment
to moment. It is passed on
from a vessel which is highly
developed spiritually, to one
who is ready for spiritual enlightenment.
In Tibetan Buddhism, the Dalai
Lamas succeed one another,
generation after generation,
yet this succession does not
depend on genetics
but on a thorough search for
the appropriate spiritually ready vessel.
Likewise, Catholic Popes do not
pass on their authority thru their children as kings have.
In both cases I doubt that spirituality
evolves in a smooth linear way.
Each Pope or Dalai Lama does not
necessarily become
closer to God or Truth than their
predecessor.
In both Chrisitanity and Buddhism
great people crop up from time to time,
often when most needed,
and this tends to happen according
to God's schedual,
not ours.
That the spirit isn't always
immediately received
is not the fault of the teacher;
it is just a fact of human nature,
of diversity ... of the freedom
to be ourselves.
The disciples though physically
close to Jesus
often missed what he was on about.
And while Jesus inspired a lot
of love from his followers
they were human after all
and sometimes had arguments and
divisions amongst themselves
(Acts
15:36-41).
The disciples added their own
biases and concerns
to the hearing and passing on
of Jesus' message.
There is that which is
lost from Jesus to the disciples.
And yet, it is probably helpful
and not harmful
to have many accounts and interpretations
of what Jesus
meant to various personalities.
So long as the main gist of
His Way
is not lost, it is good to have them presented in a
way that speaks to each of us
where we are now. Trying
to make each account agree on
every point is not only
unnecessary, it is a detriment
in passing on such an
important message. The
Bible is truly inspired by God, but
that doesn't mean that everything
that is presented in it is
literally true. The truth
is GREATER than that.
The disciples, like ourselves,
are humans with human actions and human concerns.
The Truth centers on Jesus ...
on his Way.
The utterances of others (including
my own) are
sometimes helpful and sometimes
not. The important thing is
to see where the difference lies
between Truth and
non-truth, and where differences
are merely due to different
personalities.
It is very helpful to keep
our motives and goals
pure; discerning the Truth then
becomes much easier.
A few Jewels from the Apostles
Stephen:
Before he was stoned, Stephen
gave a wonderful continuum of truth
and how it is normally treated
by human organisation and authorities
Acts
7:1-53.
I will include it here:
"Brothers and fathers, listen
to me! The God of glory appeared to
our
father Abraham while he was still in Mesopotamia, before he lived in Haran.
3'Leave
your
country and your people,' God said, 'and go to the land I will show you.'[1]
4"So
he left the land of the Chaldeans and settled in Haran. After the death
of his
father,
God sent him to this land where you are now living. 5He gave him no
inheritance
here, not even a foot of ground. But God promised him that he and his
descendants
after him would possess the land, even though at that time Abraham had
no child.
6God spoke to him in this way: 'Your descendants will be strangers in a
country
not their own, and they will be enslaved and mistreated four hundred years.
7But
I will punish the nation they serve as slaves,' God said, 'and afterward
they will
come
out of that country and worship me in this place.'[2] 8Then he gave Abraham
the
covenant of circumcision. And Abraham became the father of Isaac and
circumcised
him eight days after his birth. Later Isaac became the father of Jacob,
and
Jacob
became the father of the twelve patriarchs.
9"Because
the patriarchs were jealous of Joseph, they sold him as a slave into Egypt.
But
God was with him 10and rescued him from all his troubles. He gave Joseph
wisdom
and
enabled him to gain the goodwill of Pharaoh king of Egypt; so he made him
ruler
over
Egypt and all his palace.
11"Then
a famine struck all Egypt and Canaan, bringing great suffering, and our
fathers
could
not find food. 12When Jacob heard that there was grain in Egypt, he sent
our
fathers
on their first visit. 13On their second visit, Joseph told his brothers
who he
was,
and Pharaoh learned about Joseph's family. 14After this, Joseph sent for
his
father
Jacob and his whole family, seventy-five in all. 15Then Jacob went down
to
Egypt,
where he and our fathers died. 16Their bodies were brought back to Shechem
and
placed in the tomb that Abraham had bought from the sons of Hamor at Shechem
for
a certain sum of money.
17"As
the time drew near for God to fulfill his promise to Abraham, the number
of our
people
in Egypt greatly increased. 18Then another king, who knew nothing about
Joseph,
became ruler of Egypt. 19He dealt treacherously with our people and
oppressed
our forefathers by forcing them to throw out their newborn babies so that
they
would die.
20"At
that time Moses was born, and he was no ordinary child.[3] For three months
he
was
cared for in his father's house. 21When he was placed outside, Pharaoh's
daughter
took
him and brought him up as her own son. 22Moses was educated in all the
wisdom
of the
Egyptians and was powerful in speech and action.
23"When
Moses was forty years old, he decided to visit his fellow Israelites. 24He
saw
one
of them being mistreated by an Egyptian, so he went to his defense and
avenged
him
by killing the Egyptian. 25Moses thought that his own people would realize
that
God
was using him to rescue them, but they did not. 26The next day Moses came
upon
two
Israelites who were fighting. He tried to reconcile them by saying, 'Men,
you are
brothers;
why do you want to hurt each other?'
27"But
the man who was mistreating the other pushed Moses aside and said, 'Who
made
you ruler and judge over us? 28Do you want to kill me as you killed the
Egyptian
yesterday?'[4]
29When Moses heard this, he fled to Midian, where he settled as a
foreigner
and had two sons.
30"After
forty years had passed, an angel appeared to Moses in the flames of a burning
bush
in the desert near Mount Sinai. 31When he saw this, he was amazed at the
sight.
As he
went over to look more closely, he heard the Lord's voice: 32'I am the
God of
your
fathers, the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.'[5] Moses trembled with fear
and
did
not dare to look.
33"Then
the Lord said to him, 'Take off your sandals; the place where you are standing
is holy
ground. 34I have indeed seen the oppression of my people in Egypt. I have
heard
their groaning and have come down to set them free. Now come, I will send
you
back
to Egypt.'[6]
35"This
is the same Moses whom they had rejected with the words, 'Who made you
ruler
and judge?' He was sent to be their ruler and deliverer by God himself,
through
the
angel who appeared to him in the bush. 36He led them out of Egypt and did
wonders
and miraculous signs in Egypt, at the Red Sea[7] and for forty years in
the
desert.
37"This
is that Moses who told the Israelites, 'God will send you a prophet like
me from
your
own people.'[8] 38He was in the assembly in the desert, with the angel
who
spoke
to him on Mount Sinai, and with our fathers; and he received living words
to
pass
on to us.
39"But
our fathers refused to obey him. Instead, they rejected him and in their
hearts
turned
back to Egypt. 40They told Aaron, 'Make us gods who will go before us.
As for
this
fellow Moses who led us out of Egypt--we don't know what has happened to
him!'[9]
41That was the time they made an idol in the form of a calf. They brought
sacrifices
to it and held a celebration in honor of what their hands had made. 42But
God
turned away and gave them over to the worship of the heavenly bodies. This
agrees
with what is written in the book of the prophets:
" 'Did you bring me sacrifices and offerings
forty years in the desert, O house of Israel?
43You have lifted up the shrine of Molech
and the star of your god Rephan,
the idols you made to worship.
Therefore I will send you into exile'[10] beyond Babylon.
44"Our
forefathers had the tabernacle of the Testimony with them in the desert.
It had
been
made as God directed Moses, according to the pattern he had seen. 45Having
received
the tabernacle, our fathers under Joshua brought it with them when they
took
the
land from the nations God drove out before them. It remained in the land
until the
time
of David, 46who enjoyed God's favor and asked that he might provide a dwelling
place
for the God of Jacob.[11] 47But it was Solomon who built the house for
him.
48"However,
the Most High does not live in houses made by men. As the prophet says:
49" 'Heaven is my throne,
and the earth is my footstool.
What kind of house will you build for me? says the Lord.
Or where will my resting place be?
50Has not my hand made all these things?'[12]
51"You
stiff-necked people, with uncircumcised hearts and ears! You are just like
your
fathers:
You always resist the Holy Spirit! 52Was there ever a prophet your fathers
did
not
persecute? They even killed those who predicted the coming of the Righteous
One.
And
now you have betrayed and murdered him-- 53you who have received the law
that
was put into effect through angels but have not obeyed it."
Also from Stephen (much
like Jesus' own statement):
"Lord, do not remember this sin
against them!" (v. 60)
Doing away
with prejudice:
Jesus made the despicable samaritan
the
hero of one of his parables,
teaching acceptance
And while He was rough on the
Sadducees and the Pharisees,
God chose a pharisee to be one
of his greatest apostles (Paul).
Prejudice is not acceptable in
Heaven.
"...whenever of their
own free will they [the
gentiles] do what the Law
commands, they are a law to
themselves..."1
Does this verse not pertain to
Bhuddists and even atheists
as well?!!
LOVE
Though I have all else
and have not Love, I have
nothing. Love is patient and
kind, not jealous or conceited,
proud or ill mannered, selfish
or irritable. Love doesn't
keep a record of wrongs but rejoices
in the truth.
Love never gives up: Its
faith, hope, and patience
never fail. Love is eternal.
All else, including
inspiration, prophesy, and knowledge,
will cease. When the
perfect comes, that which is
partial will disappear.
Three things abide: faith,
hope, and love, and the
greatest of these is love. (shortened
version of I Cor. 13)
James
I think this is a great book.
James' and my biases
are similar. He focuses
(as does Jesus) on works, and is
strong in defending the poor
and warning the rich.
I
John
I like I John too, though it
caused me some
difficulties. I really
like his "God is Love"2.
He
sandwiches into his love of Love
many statements about
believing in Jesus. This
caused me trouble at first. I
think this is because of the
many nominal Christians who
claim they love Jesus yet treat
their neighbours horribly.
This no longer bothers me as
I can more easily see people's
faith by their fruits, and the
real Jesus comes shining
through.
* * *
SAINT
FRANCIS
It seems funny to me that
we can be so physically close
to perfection as the disciples
were to Jesus, and yet not be
as affected by it as much as
someone who lives many centuries later.
But this is one of the wonders
of God. I think St. Francis
was such a man. The reason
he was so affected was that he
was properly prepared for the
transition. He lived 100%
what he believed. He gave
100% and therefore was able to
become 100% of his ability.
St. Francis loved animals,
the poor, children,
and thus understood the subtle
beauties
and powers of the universe.
He lived, many of us feel, much
like Jesus did.
At one point, St. Francis
is said to have read the
scripture which states, "Take
no gold, silver, or copper in
your belts, no pack for the road,
no second coat, no
sandals, no stick; the worker
deserves his keep."3,
and is
reported to have immediately
thrown off all these things and
remained devoted to poverty the
rest of his life. How I
admire the Love and simplicity
of St. Francis.
For a brief biography on St.
Fracis click see:
http://www.travel.it/relig/saints/francis.htm
MAHATMA
GANDHI
So very much like Jesus,
and St. Francis in his total
devotion to the spiritual path,
Gandhi is often acclaimed as
the Greatest Christian of the
twentieth century. The funny
thing is, he was never a member
of a Christian church, and
only claimed Christianity as
one of many faiths he ascribed
to. Gandhi mixed politics
with religion, seeking a free,
non-violent India. He was
ever ready to give his life for
the oppressed, or even his enemies.
A
Gandhi link
MOTHER
TERESA
Again, who does Mother
Teresa remind you of? Is it not
Jesus, himself, and St. Francis.
She gives Mahatma Gandhi a
good run for best Christian in
our century, though neither
would wish to be admired more
than the other. They are like
sister and brother. Both
focusing on the needy. Both
focusing on the spiritual.
more
on Mother Teresa
MARTIN
LUTHER KING
Among the greatest, of
the best known people of our
century, Martin Luther King might
be the best American. He
seemed too much of the establishment
for my taste, but that
seems to be what it takes to
get one into power these days,
especially in the Western World.
Had he still been alive he
might have made a fine U.S. president.
His courage was incredible.
His compassion ... infinite.
His faith, inspiring.
Brief
biography of Dr. King
John
Lennon (harder to believe?)
Many will laugh, along
with me, when I add John Lennon
to the list above. He certainly
had no claim of organised
religion. His connection
with absolute truth is even harder to see.
His dedication to a better
world and his courage in
speaking out, considering that
he was a famous personality,
is what does it. He was
a world famous entertainer, and
didn't need to be an activist.
The need of his time was to
stop the stampede of the economic-military
establishment, in
the guise of the Viet-Nam War.
No one person stopped that
war, but John's courage to take
a strong stand helped a lot.
He and his words were great comfort
to me and to many in our
struggle to maintain our beliefs
in those dark days. My
hat's eternally off to John.
"How can I go foreward when I
don't know which way I'm facing?"
"Love is the Answer!"
We know that for sure.
John's
biography
You and/or
I (even harder to believe)
Here is where we move from
the well known to the
relatively unknown. I believe
that you and I have the
potential for doing things which
are not as possible for
those in higher profile.
In order to rise to important
positions of influence, certain
ways must be maintained.
Even Jesus resorted to trick
answers to trick questions
which might have otherwise brought
his influence down (see
"The Taxes Trap" [Matt. 17:24-27];
also the story of
Herod's inquirey while Jesus
was on the road).
Those who work behind the scenes,
maintaining a certain purity,
have other fruits to offer.
It is possible that those who
have done the most for you or
I are people who we would never
recall as having done so: a
servant, a stranger, an "enemy".
We don't need to be famous
to be of great help.
more to come... "I hope
some day you will join us"
It naturally follows that since
the Essence is eternal,
there will be many in the future
which will relate to it.
There may come a time when it
becomes impossible to find
Truth, but this is when God or
Nature will step in and say
"Enough". The illusion
will pass, leaving the Eternal.
----
End Time Prophecy
Last days, according to Jesus (Matt. 24) }
Jesus says three things to me
in this chapter about the end times:
First, that things will get worse,
like a woman in labour, before they get better.
Smooth evolution is not prophesied
here.
Then, that many will be deceived
by false prophets and false messiahs.
How many of these have appeared
already.
and finally that no one will
be able to predict the day or the hour.
Perhaps the final battle ... the
end ... comes to each of us individually
as well as on a world scale.
end time parables (Matt. 24-25)
The ten virgins ...
says to me that we need to have
plenty of faith and
be living lives that are more
than just passable, ethically.
There will be times when we will
need the extra strength
and "just passable" questions
our true motives and values.
The talents ...
has a similar message.
We need to use our abilities
(our true resources)
or we will lose them.
In using them, they will multiply.
The sheep and
goats (Matt. 25:31-46)
What distinguishes those who are doing God's will
is not so much what we do for God directly
but how we treat each other (His/Her creation)
Revelation, the end of man's world.
Revelation is one of the more
unusual books of the Bible. It's impossible to take it literally
as even the text speaks of what certain images mean. But it does
help to let us know that there are more things involved in history than
mere human endeavors ... there is a big scheme of things. Big changes
occur. Almost everything that we are familiar with ends.
We, ourselves, will die.
Love and Truth remain supreme
... they last.
The following is fairly scetchy
as I haven't spent much time studying Revelation.
I think ethics is a much more
worthwhile study.
Those who would take for themselves
as much as they can from this present world
and then change in the nick of
time are very likely to be in for
a very unpleasant long lasting
surprise.
The letters to the churches (Rev.
2-3):
remind me of the Dalai Lama's
words that it is good to have many religions
because there are many personalities
and so there is a religion
which is best suited for each
personality.
So long as they bring us to Love
and Truth
I can accept this.
Chapter 5: Only Jesus is
worthy to open the scrolls
(to begin the wheels that bring
ultimate justice).
Chapter 6: The white horse,
in my opinion, does not carry
Jesus, as others believe.
It carries the anti-christ.
Today (in the year 2000) it seems
most like
the spirit of consumerism,
though I wouldn't be surprised
if a human being came to fully
incarnate this foolish destructive spirit.
After all, Love was fully embodied
in Jesus,
why not its opposite embodied
by someone else?
The oil in
the third seal reminds me of how
everyone values petroleum these
days.
The 1/4 of the earth might
mean 1.2 billion
people die, or it could mean
much death in 1/4 of the earth
geographically. I don't
know.
The white robes
in the fifth seal refer to goodworks.
The sixth
seal, the sixth trumpet, and the sixth bowl
all bring in earthquakes and
great destruction.
Chapter 7: The 144,000 are
probably Jewish and not
necessarily a literal number.
The great
uncountable crowd "from every nation,
tribe, people, and language"
is probably still a minority of
the people who ever existed.4
This crowd may include
other-worldly beings like angels,
as well. At best, it
may allude to the possibility
of everyone eventually making
it to heaven (though this seems
unbiblical).
Chapter 8: The U.S. is not
obvious in Revelation. Some
people think it will be the large
flaming mountain, thrown
into the sea (they believe Russia
will destroy the U.S.). I
think this is still possible
even given Russia's weak
position politically and economically
(they still have a
strong military--the worlds second
strongest, I believe).
Chapter 9: The fifth trumpet
reminds me of Iraq.
The 200,000,000
troops from the east were
unthinkable until last century.
China, alone, now has this much.
Chapter 10: The little scroll
could be prophecy of doom,
which seems sweet in the mouth
to those seeking vengeance,
but as its actual fulfilment
comes about becomes hard for the compassionate
to stomach.
Chapter 11: The two witnesses
are probably two actual people
(though spiritually "the law
and the prophets" fits well).
Chapter 12: This seems to be a
flash back to Jesus' birth
and his family fleeing the worldly
rulers of the day. It
seems to continue up to the end
days, however.
The battle in heaven has always been interesting to me.
I don't believe god's people
fight in the normal way.
"Our brothers won the victory
over him by the blood of
the Lamb, and by the truth which
they proclaimed; and they
were willing to give up their
lives and die."
There's nothing here about them
killing others.
Their actions elevated them in
heaven,
while those of Satan lowered
him to more beast-like states.
Chapter 13: The identity of the
two beasts in today's world
is not certain, but these will
be/are obviously the embodiments of
the anti-christ and the false
prophet.
No one being
able to buy or sell without the
mark of the beast is another
condemnation of our economic
system, in my opinion.
It is certainly a method used today
against those who would rebel
against the current world
rulers.
The Great Religious Economic Prostitute:
She is also a city (Ch.17
v.18), and is to be destroyed
by the political system that
rides in on her. Is she Rome?
the new Rome?
A key to the Babylonian religion:
"...she gave her wine to
all peoples...the strong wine
of her immoral lust." (ch.18
v.3)
Chapters 21 & 22:
It is hard to describe
Heaven. It is better than we can imagine, and
it dwells within.
It is here and now, and
it is there and then.
the end
(of man's world)
and
The Beginning
(of GOD's)
Thy Kingdom Come
* * * * * * * * * *
The
Christian Science Monitor