The Basis of Our Current Beliefs
I believe in God. And as a believer in God I read HIS Word, as I imagine most people who profess a great Faith in Him do. HIS Word, as far as we have been taught, is collected in the book entitled The Bible. Well, I received the Bibles I received as a gift from two great friends, one Deacon of the Catholic Church and the other faithful servant of the Evangelical Church. These two books are titled "The Latin American Bible", revised edition 1995 and "Holy Bible. Old and New Testament. Old Version of Casiodoro de Reina (1569) Revised by Cipriano de Valera (1602) Other Reviews: 1862, 1909 and 1960. I don't want to draw conclusions about what the word "version" and the words "other revisions" mean in a book that It contains the Word of God, the Truth. That everyone, according to their ability to understand, draw their own conclusions.
I don't know the others, but I don't want to be a slave to a point in history. I remember that at the University, as participants of Andragogy, we did an exercise that consisted of a participant being taken apart and told a short story, without the others listening, and then he should come to the classroom to tell us the story. Then another participant came out, listened to the same story and came to tell it to those left in the classroom. The result was that when the story had passed by approximately ten people it was already totally different from the initial story. Moral?
Well, the Bible says that the synoptic gospels that make up the New Testament reached their final form at the end of an evolution that lasted a few tens of years and that ended around the 1970s. Also, it should be noted that it was until the year 1460 when the discoveries of Gutenberg allowed to print books. Before that year, one thousand four hundred and sixty years AFTER the birth of Jesus Christ, there were only handwritten books and the common human could not read a Bible. Would the Truth remain completely intact over the years in which it reached its final form? It is possible that what we have received contains many truths, but it is also possible that these truths have been misrepresented, or that they do not include the whole truth.
It catches my attention that on the presentation page of the version of the Catholic Bible I have, where it explains the origins of it says, and I quote, “Those books that were approved by those responsible for the Church became part of the New Testament. ”So, I can't help wondering those books that were APPROVED by those responsible for the Church? And those who were not approved, what did they say? Why were some approved and others not?
Should we trust 100% and give as good and valid forever the criteria used by these so-called “church leaders” to choose those that should be approved to integrate what we call the Bible today and which is the book on which all so-called Christians base their beliefs? That the other "unapproved" books were not also God's Word? I also wonder, did these “church representatives” use the same criteria that the priests - representatives of the church - used for this selection when they asked the authorities for the cruxification of Jesus Christ? What were not the “church leaders” who sought some testimony that would allow them to condemn Jesus Christ to death? (Ex. Mc.14, 55 "The chief priests and the entire Supreme Council sought some testimony that allowed Jesus to be condemned to death, but could not find him").
The Bible says that just Luther had translated these selected books, his followers began to fight among themselves and found opposite churches, each one sure to retain the Truth alone. Also the introduction of the Bible speaks of the political conflicts that were between popes and kings, this being understandable since we understand that the main teaching that Jesus Christ left us as a legacy It is the path of Love, of the Brotherhood among all human beings. So why the conflicts? Would you have power and control over other human beings? May Discernment and the personal search for Truth, within each one of us, enlighten us.
The Church itself recognizes that it is no more than a minority in the world, some 700 million Catholics among five billion inhabitants of the Earth (according to the revised edition in nineteen ninety five). How many Truths are there? Because the Truth IS, and is supported by its own merits for eternity, therefore there can only be one Truth! In addition, by writing this version of the Bible, we were five billion inhabitants of the Earth and only 700 million Catholics, which is the Truth of the cannot be be endowed in the book we know and have accepted the basis of our beliefs ?.
Is Jesus Emmanuel?
Even the Bible says that the biblists remain divided on the conclusions that can be drawn regarding the origin and dates of composition of the Gospels (Introduction to the New Testament, page 3 Del Aramaic of Jesus to the Greek of the Gospel ). By the way, we should note that although there were twelve Apostles who accompanied Jes s, the Bible has only four Gospels (Matthew, Mark, Luke and John ), of which the first three tell the same facts, with many similarities and also divergences, from what the Bible says t so far it has not been possible to explain both of them at the same time . And the last gospel, that of John does not coincide with the others but from time to time and this gospel did not cease to provoke controversies within the same Church in the first times in which it was disclosed, it was done and remade and undoubtedly it was only published after the death of its author, towards the year 95 .
Was John really the author of the gospel that bears his name? This is a very difficult question to answer. There is no reason to doubt that John was the author. (This is written in the Catholic Bible, Signed and Sealed by Archbishop Antonio J. Gonz lez, President of the Ecuadorian Episcopal Conference, in the Introduction n to the Gospel of John, pp. 228-229). Then?
Sometimes I think we spend little time, or none, to personally seek the Truth. Sometimes I think we form a group hungry to find something that, unfortunately, we are not looking for! Why? Why have we accepted versions of the Truth, imposed by others, without even having the slightest interest in analyzing where they come from, how and when the doctrines that have followed originated? all our life, as true, universal, good and valid ?. I think it is time to look a little further than what we have been given. Jesus Christ said Find and Find. Because why did we have a mind to think and eyes to see? Is it that as much as we look we don't see and as much as we hear we don't understand?
Among the many things that I have not been able to understand from these pre-selected books for our consumption, is the origin of the name of Jesus. Only two of the four New Testament Gospels speak of the birth of Jesus Christ. In the Gospel of Matthew (Mt. 22, 25) it is written “All this happened so that the Lord had said through the mouth of the prophet: The virgin will conceive and give birth to a son, and they will name him Emmanuel, which means: God-with-us. When Joseph woke up, he did what the Angel of the Lord had commanded him and took his wife with him. And without having had relations, he gave birth to a son, whom he named Jesus. "While the Gospel of Luke (Lk 1:30-33) says" But the angel said to him: "Do not fear, Mary, for You have found the favor of God. You will conceive in your womb and give birth to a son, to whom you will put the name of Jesus. ” Did they not agree ?, Was Jesus called or was Emmanuel ?.
The Second Coming of the "Son of Man"
Matthew 23, Verses 1 and 2 says “Jesus left the Temple and while walking, his disciples made him notice the imposing constructions of the Temple. Jesus said to them: Do you see all that? Truly I tell you: there will not be stone on stone. Everything will be destroyed. ” Almost similar is written in Mark 12, 1-2 and Luke 20, 5-7. The destroyed temple? What did "Jesus" mean to us that all the buildings of the Temple would be destroyed? "Jesus" told them that "the Good News of the Kingdom will be proclaimed throughout the world, and all nations will hear the message." Which message? If it is a message that identifies “the end of time” it must be something that we have not heard all these years after its first arrival.
He also said that “it will be a test as huge as there has been no equal since the beginning of the world until now, nor will it ever be. And if that time were not shortened, nobody would come out alive. But God will shorten it in consideration of his elect. ”That“ no one would come out alive ”leads us to think that he was talking about a great planetary event. Or an event in our Universe that will drastically affect this Planet, so that if He does not return when that happens, to assist us, we would all die. Does it have to do with what we are observing that is currently happening with our Planet Earth? With the dramatic climate change and its consequent natural disasters? Because he said “if you are on the roof of your house, do not delay or go down to look for your things” (Mt. 24.17; Mc 13.15). What can make us go up to the roofs of our houses?
The Gospel of Luke says it a little differently “Then there will be signs in the sun, the moon and the stars, and throughout the earth the people will be full of anguish, terrified by the thunder of the raging sea. People will die of fright just thinking about what will fall on humanity, because the forces of the universe will be shaken. And at that precise moment they will see the Son of Man coming in the Cloud, with great power and infinite glory. ”(Lk 20, 25-27).
“After those days of anguish, the sun will darken, the moon will lose its brightness, the stars of the sky will fall and the mechanisms of the universe will wobble. Then the sign of the Son of Man will appear in the sky. While all the races of the earth will hit each other in the chest, they will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven with divine power and the fullness of glory. He will send his Angels who will play the trumpet and gather the elect of the four cardinal points, from one end of the world to the other. ”(Mt. 24, 29-31; Mc 13, 27).
“The coming of the Son of Man will remember the times of Noah. A few days before the Flood, people kept eating and drinking, and married men and women, until the day Noah entered the ark. They did not realize anything until the Flood came and took them all. The same will happen with the coming of the Son of Man: from two men who are together in the field, one will be taken, and the other not; of two women who are grinding wheat together, one will be taken, and the other not. ”(Mt. 37, 41; Lk 17, 26-28).
Consider several things. The Bible says that this is about the "end of the world, " however, "Jesus" clearly explained to his apostles that these events would be the prelude to his Second Coming. So, wouldn't it be more understandable and logical to believe that this Revelation is about a great planetary change, rather than a planetary end? What would make sense, if it were the “end of the world, ” the promise He made that he will gather the elect of the four cardinal points, from one end of the world to the other ”and then says“ Come, blessed of my Father, and take possession of the kingdom that has been prepared for you since the beginning of the world. ”
As the Bible says that the coming of the Son of Man will remember the times of Noah, will it be that a planetary change will happen through which the Earth will "cleanse" itself from a large part of the world's population and in which the "chosen ones will survive" ”, Rescued from the disaster that this change implies, by the same Angels and“ Jesus ”in person, for, as in the time of Noah, after the great cleansing, to enjoy the Kingdom of Heaven on Earth?
"The sun will darken, the moon will lose its brightness, the stars of the sky will fall and the mechanisms of the universe will wobble." How can the sun darken? Could it be that our Sun, like all living beings, has its life cycle? That perhaps it is already very old, tired and, like every living being, will die? Could it be that his death implies that "things" fall to Planet Earth ("People will die of fright just thinking about what will fall on humanity, because the forces of the universe will be shaken ..." Lc 20, 25-27 ) ?.
Let us also consider that He said that we would see "the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven." An interesting point to consider. How are you going to come over the clouds, surrounded by all your angels? In the same way that he went up to Heaven after his resurrection? Over a cloud? One of those many clouds mentioned in the Bible, which covered the mountains and from which the voice of God was sometimes heard? (Ex. Mc 8, 7-8; Lc 9, 34): “In that a cloud formed that covered them with its shadow, and from the cloud came these words“ This is my Son, the Beloved, listen to him ”). Where will it come from? Even the children would tell me "from heaven, of course." Yes. He said it, according to John 8, 23-24 “I am from above. You are from this world, I am not from this world. ”
Well, now we have two other things to consider. First, it will come from Heaven, where the Holy Scriptures say it went 2007 years ago. To put things in their proper place, in relation to this expression "to heaven, " "from heaven, " we have to remember that at the time this was written, man had not gone to space. It was not until 1969 when man was able to step on the Moon, so going back in time, Heaven for that time did not go beyond what could be seen with the naked eye, even the clouds. “What is visible to the physical eye of the human being represents only one point in infinity. What is not visible to the human eye is immeasurable, inconceivable, and unthinkable, and confuses its intelligence and human capacity. ”
Today we know what is in Heaven, which would be more correctly called Cosmos. There are planets, stars, meteorites, suns, moons ... etc. So where did Jesus Christ go when he went up to the Cosmos, to sit to the right of the Father? We are already adults enough to stop thinking that 2007 is floating in a cloud, right ?. Because what are clouds? Are they not made up of tiny drops of water, snowflakes and ice crystals? So, can we imagine Jesus Christ going up and now when he comes back, going down to and from the Cloud-mounted Cosmos? Obviously it would fall.
If He was not of this world, as he himself said, what world was he from? Now that we are "civilized" beings and we are conquering space, the Cosmos, trying to visit the Planet Mars in the next few years, what do we need to get there? Something more than a cloud, right? And the "Holy Scriptures" say that "Jesus" when he went up to Heaven did it as a man, resurrected in human form, as we are now ... not as spirit. So, could we begin to imagine that Jesus Christ will come, along with the Angels of Heaven, in a safer and more logically credible means of transport that is NOT a cloud? Would it be more logical to believe that he will return in a Spaceship?
If Jesus Christ was not of this world, he was not terrestrial, by definition it is clear that then he was “extraterrestrial, ” which means nothing more than simply was not a being from Earth. His words, according to John 8, 23-24; as well as his travel companions, the Angels of Heaven. So why do we humans have so many taboos when it comes to talking about aliens? Is it because of the films that have been presented to us, where aliens are green or gray monsters that come to attack us, to kidnap us to do strange experiments? What have been the bases to make these films? Could it be that the fears of monsters and mutants are imposed on our minds by those who wanted to manipulate us through fear, panic, terror?
Jesus Christ said that we love our neighbor as ourselves. That must include the beings that inhabit the Cosmos, where He dwells. Consequently, there should be no fear if these brothers of ours come to visit us, since they are most likely to come with totally peaceful intentions. Maybe it's time to open our minds to what we consider unknown. Maybe it's time to look at Heaven ... in this time of awakening the Truth. I share with you again the phrase with which I won the contest "Make a Wish at Christmas", published on December 24, 2004, which said "May all our forces, faculties and talents come alive ... and discover that we are better people than what we have dreamed to be ”. So better people that we are worthy of Him coming at a time when we are in visible danger. And a great friend would add “May the WORD come to your understanding in your eyes and ears so that your souls awaken within the wonderful promise of God and Creation. May the understanding be given to us. Salu. ”
I am Melba.
