Friday, December 5, 2014

Notes On Jesus Christ

Points (Similarities):
  • Jesus emphasized on "inner life" - being "pure internally ". This is where he differs from other Jewish prophets. Whereas Moses taught us to follow ten commandments in our deeds, Jesus instructed us to follow them in our heart.
  • Challenged orthodox religious views of his time.
  • Jesus could perform miracles.
  • Faith. Confidence. Matthew 17:20 : He replied, “Because you have so little faith. Truly I tell you, if you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you can say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it will move. Nothing will be impossible for you.”
  • Jesus had to face the devil - after baptizing and - before he started his work.
  • Started ministerial work at age 30.
  • Jesus died on a Friday.
  • Huge number of followers (Divine "push"). 
  • Jesus said (after resurrection), "All power is given unto me in Heaven and Earth" (Matthew 28:18)


No one expected that Jesus, in His second coming, would be born as the "Greatest Genius of All Time". 
But remember: 
  • Knowledge is a virtue of God. To create a world or to rule over a world - knowledge is required.  
  • What made Adam superior to Angels was His knowledge. 
  • And read this:
A woman speaking from in-between-life state: 
"Our task is to become God-like through knowledge. We know so little."
From: Many Lives, Many Masters: The True Story of a Prominent Psychiatrist, His Young Patient, and the Past-Life Therapy That Changed Both Their Lives by Brian L. Weiss, MD (Amazon) (p. 46)

 


Second Coming of Jesus

Mark 13: 8, 19, 26 -27:
 

8 Nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. There will be earthquakes in various places, and famines. These are the beginning of birth pains.19 because those will be days of distress unequaled from the beginning, when God created the world, until now—and never to be equaled again.26 “At that time people will see the Son of Man coming in clouds with great power and glory. 27 And he will send his angels and gather his elect from the four winds, from the ends of the earth to the ends of the heavens.
 


Matthew 25 : 31 - 43:

31 “When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, he will sit on his glorious throne. 32 All the nations will be gathered before him, and he will separate the people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. 33 He will put the sheep on his right and the goats on his left.34 “Then the King will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father; take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world. 35 For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, 36 I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me.’37 “Then the righteous will answer him, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink? 38 When did we see you a stranger and invite you in, or needing clothes and clothe you? 39 When did we see you sick or in prison and go to visit you?’40 “The King will reply, ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.’41 “Then he will say to those on his left, ‘Depart from me, you who are cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels. 42 For I was hungry and you gave me nothing to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me nothing to drink, 43 I was a stranger and you did not invite me in, I needed clothes and you did not clothe me, I was sick and in prison and you did not look after me.’



 
Resurrection of Jesus
 
Religions other than

Christianity do not believe / doubt resurrection of Jesus after death.



Jesus was supposed to fulfill a set of promises to be considered "the Messiah" (Jews) - which Jesus didn't fulfill in his (first) lifetime.

If the resurrection never happen, then even his Apostles (closest companions) would have doubted the claim that Jesus was the true Messiah. (The apostles were clearly doubtful after Jesus was crucified.)

And if the Apostles didn't believe Jesus to be the true Messiah, then Christianity as a religion would never have existed. It's the Apostles who preached Jesus's saying (Gospels of Bible) and established the Church (in spite of being persecuted). Without Apostles, you can't think of Christianity and without resurrection - you can't think of Apostle's belief in Jesus Christ.

It's only after his resurrection after death - that the Apostles truly believed that Jesus was the promised Messiah.


References



 

A Comparative Study Of Eschatology Of Major World Religions 

Islam










  • Eschatology figures: Jesus, Imam Mahdi and Dajjal.

    • Allah's Apostle said, "The Hour will not be established until the son of Maryam (Jesus) descends amongst you as a just ruler. Wealth will be in abundance so that nobody will accept it." [1] 
    • When the Mahdi appears, Allah will cause such power of vision and hearing to be manifested in believers that the Mahdi will call to the whole world from where he is, with no postman involved, and they will hear and even see him. [2] 
      • [The interesting aspect is, this was said some 1400 years ago in a place where houses were surrounded by deserts all around. Compare the place and time with our modern day society full of Computers and Smartphones.]
    • The Messenger of Allah say: "The Mahdi is of my lineage and family". [2]   





    Christianity




    Buddhism
    • Eschatology figure: Maitreya. A future Buddha of the world. World Teacher [4].  
      • One mention of the prophecy of Maitreya is in the Sanskrit text, the Maitreyavyākaraṇa (The Prophecy of Maitreya). It implies that he is a teacher of meditative trance sadhana and states that gods, men and other beings:
        • "will lose their doubts, and the torrents of their cravings will be cut off: free from all misery they will manage to cross the ocean of becoming; and, as a result of Maitreya's teachings, they will lead a holy life. No longer will they regard anything as their own, they will have no possession, no gold or silver, no home, no relatives! But they will lead the holy life of oneness under Maitreya's guidance. They will have torn the net of the passions, they will manage to enter into trances, and theirs will be an abundance of joy and happiness, for they will lead a holy life under Maitreya's guidance." (Trans. in Conze 1959:241) [4] 




    Hinduism
    • Eschatology figure: Kalki (meaning 'Eternity,' 'White Horse,' or 'Destroyer of Filth'). He will usher in Satya Yuga.
      • "At the end of Kali Yuga, when there exist no topics on the subject of God, even at the residences of so-called saints and respectable gentlemen, and when the power of government is transferred to the hands of ministers elected from the evil men, and when nothing is known of the techniques of sacrifice, even by word, at that time the Lord will appear as the supreme chastiser." - Bhagavata Purana, 2.7.38 [5] 
    References



    Parables of Jesus

    Jesus explained his teachings using parables.

    Why?



    If you say, "Do this. Don't do that." people won't listen to you.

    A King can make sure people do what he wishes by force.

    But Jesus always emphasized on inner purity - changing people's hearts. Whereas Moses taught us to to follow ten commandments in our deeds, Jesus taught us to follow them in our hearts - not even think of sins.

    To make sure people listen to what you say and change their hearts you have to touch their emotions.

    People listen to stories. And that's what Jesus did.



    This is an old tradition. I am sure many of you have heard of Aesop's fables and the morals those stories contained.



    Jesus wanted to touch people by heart.
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