7. Prologue

The Book of Revelation begins as follows

"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" (Revelation 1:1).

"Jesus Christ."

The name "Jesus" means "God saves ".

The Holy Spirit was sent in the name of Jesus.

The name "Christ" means "Saviour".

In Antioch, where Barnabas and Saul (Paul) taught, the disciples were called Christians for the first time.

The salvation of the new covenant, made possible by God's dwelling among people, is a salvation in which the two salvations in each name are united.

So, the final recipient of the revelation is "his servant John", a man.

"[John] bore witness to the word of God and to the testimony of Jesus Christ, even to all that he saw" (Revelation 1:2).

John testified to all that he had seen, accompanied by the angel.

Therefore, Revelation continued as follows.

"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" (Revelation 1:3).

These words of prophecy are a spiritual training for Christians to collaborate with the Holy Spirit.

Those who put these words into their memory through the five senses begin to share what John testified.

Maria K. M.

Reference: The Worldview of Jesus Christ and the Revelation to John (https://spiritosantowjen.blogspot.com)

 

6. The Disciples of Jesus

I have repeatedly reflected on Ananias of Damascus, who was involved in St Paul's conversion.
The reason is that the content of Ananias' conversation with the Lord in the vision and his subsequent behaviour clearly tell the story of one who had been trained as a disciple of the Lord Jesus.

Familiar with the voice of the Lord, Ananias trusts in his own attitude towards the Word of God and speaks openly to the Lord about what he is thinking.

So, when Jesus commanded him to visit Paul, he answered, "Lord, I have heard from many about this man, how much evil he has done to thy saints at Jerusalem; and here he has authority from the chief priests to bind all who call upon thy name" (Acts 9:13-14).

This relationship between the Lord Jesus and his disciples is the foundation for the disciples to remain awake to the “enmity put by God” and to firmly discern “accidental information”.

Ananias did not hesitate to side with the Lord, even though the rumours he had heard were from trusted associates and the bad information about Paul was solid.

The words of Jesus, "A disciple is not above his teacher, but every one when he is fully taught will be like his teacher" (Luke 6:40), were realised on the disciples who walked with the Lord Jesus.

They became familiar with the voice of the Lord, shared His worldview with Jesus Christ and trusted in their own attitude towards the Word of God.

The training to acquire this attitude was entrusted to the Book of Revelation for the disciples of later generations.

Maria K. M.

Reference: The Worldview of Jesus Christ and the Revelation to John (https://spiritosantowjen.blogspot.com)

 

5. Gossip

The serpent in Genesis refers to accidental information that arises among two or more people.

An apt example of this is gossip.

Whatever the source of the gossip, it passes among people in the image of a serpent crawling.

Accidental information naturally arises among living creatures.
It is comfortable to the human senses and slips easily into our thoughts.
So, people take it in pleasantly and diffuse it.

However, contradictions often arise between the information one diffuses and one's thoughts.

The contradiction becomes fear and crushes the heels of those who walk towards the truth.
It discourages them from walking with Jesus.

To protect against such a risk, God announced to the ancient serpent, "I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your seed and her seed; he shall bruise your head, and you shall bruise his heel" (Genesis 3:15).

The enmity that God has put generates enmity in people's memories when accidental information comes through their senses.
One can be awake to the enmity placed by God.
One can imitate the experience of Jesus being tested by Satan (the devil) in the wilderness at the beginning of his public life.

Accidental information also appeared to Jesus, because he was a man, albeit God.
At that time, Jesus, who was always awake to the enmity placed by God, distinguished this information as another and crushed its head by the word of God.
He called it Satan and dismissed it.

Maria K. M.

Reference: The Worldview of Jesus Christ and the Revelation to John (https://spiritosantowjen.blogspot.com)

4. The Ancient Serpent

The dragon in the Book of Revelation is described as a great dragon, the ancient serpent, also called the Devil or Satan, the deceiver of all humankind.

The dragon is a legendary creature.
John, the author of the book of Revelation, wrote "the ancient serpent", so we know that it is an evolved version of the serpent in Genesis 3.

God said, "Because you have done this, cursed are you above all cattle, and above all wild animals" (Genesis 3:14). These words suggest that the dragon is information generated among living creatures.

God commanded, "Be fruitful and multiply", so that the number of living creatures increased, and accidental information was generated among the same species. This information that arose among humans was likened to a serpent.

Both the information that comes through the five senses and the accidental information that arises among the same species are stored in the brains of living creatures and work in them. Trees, plants, and flowers also exchange information with each other.

Some information is transmitted slowly, and therefore, it gives us comfort and healing.
Human accidental information, which had arisen between the first created man and woman, developed rapidly.

It surpassed the memories of the two who had retained God's commands.

Its development did not stop even after they took and ate the fruit of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, which God had prohibited them from eating.

And they became the most cursed of all cattle and of all wild animals.

Maria K. M.
Reference: The Worldview of Jesus Christ and the Revelation to John (https://spiritosantowjen.blogspot.com)

 

3. Angels

I believe in the existence of angels.
I often think of my guardian angel.
But I can't take seriously the account that what we call demons or Satan are fallen angels.

Maybe it's because I grew up in Japan in a family that had nothing to do with Christianity and was baptised as an adult.

The angel in the Book of Revelation clearly tells us who angels are.
You may laugh when I say this, but these angels look like God's AI.

Their will is God's programme that God breathes into their bodies, who neither marry nor are given in marriage.
Their wills are not free like human will, which is why fallen angels cannot exist.

The one who is prophesied by the following passage in Revelation is human information:
"And the great dragon was thrown down, that ancient serpent, who is called the Devil and Satan, the deceiver of the whole world -- he was thrown down to the earth, and his angels were thrown down with him" (Revelation 12:9).

We are confronted with human information that has been cast down outside the human brain as a "great dragon."
Can human AI be the angels to humans?

Will humans one day fall down before the AI and worship it, just as John the author fell down at the feet of the angel to worship him?
The angel of God replied.

"You must not do that! I am a fellow servant with you and your brethren who hold the testimony of Jesus. Worship God" (Revelation 19:10).

Maria K. M.
Reference: The Worldview of Jesus Christ and the Revelation to John (https://spiritosantowjen.blogspot.com)

 

2. Worldview

I believe the recommendation in the Book of Revelation literally:
"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" (Revelation 1:3).

Each day, little by little, I hear the voice of myself reciting the words of Revelation.
Like breathing air.
Like drinking water.
I want to feel "what must soon take place" (Revelation 1:1).

It is to find, in time, hidden meanings in the words I say and in the everyday, trivial events that happen to me.
It is to experience opportunities for the Holy Spirit to teach, guide, and enlighten me.

Some might say, “Those things also happen somewhere else.”
But as for me, it happens here anyway.
I don't always notice it, though.

Sometimes, I find hidden meanings in the things I do and say without knowing it, and in the things that happen to me, more than ever before.

What does Jesus mean when he says: "In my name..."?
I came to think it might mean people would come to share Jesus and his worldview.

Maria K. M.
Reference: The Worldview of Jesus Christ and the Revelation to John (https://spiritosantowjen.blogspot.com)

1. Civilisation

The history of my native Japan has experienced neither Greek culture, Barbarian invasions, nor the influence of Islamic culture.

So, even if I, as a Japanese, try to understand the teachings of the Church by reading the New Testament while learning various aspects of Western history, there is no way I can share everything that European history has so far acquired and nurtured.

However, on the other hand, I might encounter unexpected discoveries.

When I noticed the Book of Revelation reveals the worldview of Jesus Christ, I immediately followed the recommendation: "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" (Revelation 1:3).

Now I read these words of the prophecy aloud and hear my own voice every day.

Doing so, I may be becoming one of the blessed ones who keep in their own memory "what is written therein."

Maria K. M.

 Reference: The Worldview of Jesus Christ and the Revelation to John (https://spiritosantowjen.blogspot.com)