567 lines
29 KiB
Plaintext
567 lines
29 KiB
Plaintext
The Kingdom of Heaven
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World Scripture
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THE KINGDOM OF HEAVEN
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The hope for the advent of the millennium, an ideal world, a world without
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evil, a world in which God's sovereignty is fully manifest, is present to some
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degree in every world religion. However, this hope is most strongly expressed
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in Judaism, Christianity, and Islam (and the new religions which show their
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influence), where it is not only a hope but the firm promise of God. Sometimes
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the term Kingdom of Heaven denotes a spiritual ideal, a state of bliss beyond
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death: see Heaven, pp. 352-61; but that sense of the term does not do justice
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to the most thoroughgoing eschatological visions. We are concerned in this
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chapter with the hope of an ideal future that is to be realized in this world.
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Furthermore, calling this ideal the Kingdom of Heaven is not meant to connote
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that its political system should be a monarchy; rather, it is God who will
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reign on earth through the hearts of godly people.
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This section assembles passages which regard the Kingdom of Heaven from several
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vantage points. First, it is a world of God's absolute sovereignty; His will
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alone will be exalted. Righteousness, peace, prosperity, and joy will prevail,
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gladdening all humanity. Second, human beings will be perfected in character,
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knowing intimately the heart and will of God and rejoicing in the practice of
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the heavenly way. They will have no inward impediments to doing good. Third,
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death will be no more, or the dead will return in a general resurrection.
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Fourth, the Kingdom of Heaven will be an ideal community, symbolized by Zion,
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the Holy City, the New Jerusalem. Finally, we offer passages from several new
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religions which connect the dawning of this ideal world with the progress of
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human civilization in this century.
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The sovereignty on that day will be God's. He will judge between them.
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1. Islam. Qur'an 22.56
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The Lord will become king over all the earth; on that day the Lord will be one
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and His name one.
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2. Judaism and Christianity. Zechariah 14.9
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The seventh angel blew his trumpet, and there were loud voices in heaven,
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saying, "The kingdom of this world has become the kingdom of our Lord and of
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his Christ, and he shall reign for ever and ever."
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3. Christianity. Revelation 11.15
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All Israel shall have part in the World to Come, as it is said, "And the people
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shall be all righteous; they shall inherit the land forever, the branch of my
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planting, the work of my hands that I may be glorified" [Isaiah 60.21].
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4. Judaism. Mishnah, Sanhedrin 11.1
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On the day when We shall roll up heaven as a scroll is rolled for the writings;
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as We originated the first creation, so We shall bring it back again--a promise
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binding on Us; so We shall do. For We have written in the Psalms, after the
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Remembrance, "The earth shall be the inheritance of My righteous servants."
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5. Islam. Qur'an 21.104
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Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth.
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Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall
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be satisfied.
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Blessed are the merciful, for they shall obtain mercy.
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Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God.
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Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God.
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Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness' sake, for theirs is
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the kingdom of Heaven.
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6. Christianity. Matthew 5.5-10
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- - - - - - - - - - - -
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Qur'an 22.56: Cf. Qur'an 9.33, p. 448; Hadith of Ahmad, p. 448. Zechariah
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14.9: Cf. Isaiah 45.22-23, p. 448; the Lord's Prayer, p. 53. Revelation 11.15:
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Cf. the Lord's Prayer, p. 53.
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- - - - - - - - - - - -
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We therefore hope in Thee, O Lord our God, that we shall soon behold the
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triumph of Thy might, idolatry will be uprooted from the earth, and falsehood
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be utterly destroyed.
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We hope for the day when the world will be perfected under the dominion of the
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Almighty and all mankind learn to revere Thy name; when all the wicked of the
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earth will be drawn in penitence unto Thee.
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O may all the inhabitants of the world recognize that unto Thee every knee must
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bend, every tongue pledge loyalty. Before Thee, O Lord our God, may they bow
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in worship, and give honor to Thy glorious name.
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May they all acknowledge Thy kingdom, and may Thy dominion be established over
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them speedily and forevermore. For sovereignty is Thine, and to all eternity
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Thou wilt reign in glory.
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7. Judaism. Daily Prayer Book, Alenu
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If kings and barons would but possess themselves of [Tao],
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The ten thousand creatures would flock to do them homage;
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Heaven and earth would conspire
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To send Sweet Dew.
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Without law or compulsion, men would dwell in harmony ....
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To Tao all under heaven will come
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As streams and torrents flow into a great river or sea.
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8. Taoism. Tao Te Ching 32
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It shall come to pass in the latter days
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that the mountain of the house of the Lord
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shall be established as the highest of the mountains,
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and shall be raised above the hills;
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And all the nations shall flow to it;
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and many peoples shall come, saying,
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"Come, let us go up to the mountain of the Lord,
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to the house of the God of Jacob;
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That he may teach us his ways
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and that we may walk in his paths."
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For out of Zion shall go forth the law,
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and the word of the Lord from Jerusalem.
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He shall judge between the nations,
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and shall decide for many peoples;
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They shall beat their swords into ploughshares,
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and their spears into pruning hooks;
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Nation shall not lift up sword against nation,
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neither shall they learn war any more.
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9. Judaism and Christianity. Isaiah 2.2-4
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Alenu: Cf. Isaiah 2.12-17, p. 354; 45.22-23, p. 448; Kaddish, p. 54. Tao Te
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Ching 32: Cf. Tao Te Ching 80, p. 257, for a vision of a world at peace and
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where people will live a simple and contented life. Isaiah 2.2-4: Cf. Isaiah
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42.1-4, p. 449; 45.22-23, p. 448; 1 Samuel 2.4-9, p. 475; Matthew 23.12, p.
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474.
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- - - - - - - - - - - -
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Now is the gracious Lord's ordinance promulgated,
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No one shall cause another pain or injury;
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All mankind shall live in peace together,
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Under a shield of administrative benevolence.
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10. Sikhism. Sri Raga, M.5, p. 74
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This world differs from the days of the Messiah only in respect of servitude to
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foreign powers.
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11. Judaism. Talmud, Sanhedrin 99a
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What is the difference between our times and the messianic times? Purity and
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attainment of knowledge.
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12. Judaism. Zohar, Genesis 139a
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In the messianic future the Holy One will heal the injury [of Adam's sin]. He
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will heal the wound of the world.
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13. Judaism. Genesis Rabbah 10.4
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Beloved, we are God's children now; it does not yet appear what we shall be,
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but we know that when he appears we shall be like him.
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14. Christianity. 1 John 3.2
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Some persons asked the Prophet, "Shall we see God on the day of resurrection?"
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He answered, "Do you feel any trouble in seeing the moon on the night when it
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is full? Do you feel any trouble in seeing the sun on a cloudless day?" They
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answered, No. He said, "In the same way you will see your Lord."
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15. Islam. Hadith of Muslim
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For our knowledge is imperfect and our prophecy is imperfect; but when the
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perfect comes, the imperfect will pass away. When I was a child, I spoke like
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a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child; when I became a man,
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I gave up childish ways. For now we see in a mirror dimly, but then face to
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face. Now I know in part; then I shall understand fully.
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16. Christianity. 1 Corinthians 13.9-12
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While the living see, at the kalpa's end,
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The conflagration in its burning,
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Tranquil remains this realm of mine,
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Ever full of gods and men,
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Parks and many palaces,
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With every sort of gem adorned,
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Blooming and fruitful jewel trees,
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Where all creatures pleasure take;
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The gods strike up their heavenly drums
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And music make for evermore,
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Showering down celestial flowers
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On Buddha and his mighty host.
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My Pure Land is not destroyed,
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Though all view it as being burned up,
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And grief and horror and distress
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Thus fill them to the full.
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Those creatures, full of sin
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By reason of their evil karma,
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Throughout kalpas numberless hear not
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The name of the most Precious Three.
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But those who virtuous deeds shall do,
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Are gentle and of upright nature,
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These will ever me behold
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Here expounding to all the Law.
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17. Buddhism. Lotus Sutra 16
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"Be holy unto your God" [Numbers 15.40]. As long as you execute the
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commandments, you are sanctified, but if you separate yourself from the
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commandments, you are profaned. And God says, "In this world the evil
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inclination [within every person's heart] separates you from the commandments,
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but in the world to come I will root it out from you, as it is said, 'I will
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put my Spirit within you, and I will take away the stony heart out of your
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flesh, and I will give you a heart of flesh, and I will put my Spirit within
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you, and cause you to walk in my statutes and do them' [Ezekiel 36.26-27]."
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18. Judaism. Midrash, Tanhuma
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Sanhedrin 99a: The variety of conceptions about the World to Come in Judaism is
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evidenced by comparing this conservative statement by Rab Samuel with some of
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the others in this section which speculate on more radical transformations.
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Genesis Rabbah 10.4: The remedy of Torah has already healed the Jews of any
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injury from Adam's sin--see Tanhuma, below; Shabbat 145b-146a, p. 476; but
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ultimately the entire world must be healed. Cf. 1 Corinthians 15.21-22, p. 476.
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1 John 3.2: That is, we shall all become perfect and Christ-like at the Second
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Coming of Christ. Thomas Aquinas described this Beatific Vision as "the
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ultimate goal for the redeemed." Cf. Romans 8.22-23, pp. 278-79; 2 Corinthians
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3.18, p. 507. Hadith of Muslim: Cf. Berakot 17a, p. 305; Job 19.25-26, p. 507.
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1 Corinthians 13.9-12: We can expect to gain clearer understanding of truth
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that can guide us about life in the Kingdom of Heaven. Cf. John 16.12-13, p.
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699; Book of Certitude, 33-41, pp. 932f; Divine Principle I.3.5.2, p. 933.
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Lotus Sutra 16: In keeping with the Hindu theory of cycles of cosmic time, 'the
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kalpa's end' is not a final consummation but rather the end of an age.
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Although the entire phenomenal world is apparently consumed in the
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conflagration, for those with eyes to see, the Buddha's Pure Land remains
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unharmed. The Buddha's nature is eternal, and likewise the natures of those
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who realize their own Buddha nature.
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- - - - - - - - - - - -
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When God appears, there is goodness, there is justice, there is benevolence,
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harmony comes of itself, all creatures find their places, and there is not
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conflict, no preying on each other, no disease, no suffering, no poverty.
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19. Seicho-no-Ie. Nectarean Shower of Holy Doctrines
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Behold, the days are coming, says the Lord, when I will make a new covenant
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with the house of Israel and the house of Judah, not like the covenant which I
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made with their fathers when I took them by the hand to bring them out of the
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land of Egypt, my covenant which they broke, though I was their husband, says
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the Lord. But this is the covenant which I will make with the house of Israel
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after those days, says the Lord: I will put my law within them, and I will
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write it upon their hearts; and I will be their God, and they shall be my
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people. And no longer shall each man teach his neighbor and each his brother,
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saying, "Know the Lord," for they shall all know me, from the least of them to
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the greatest, says the Lord; for I will forgive their iniquity, and I will
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remember their sin no more.
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20. Judaism. Jeremiah 31.31-34
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In the Kali age, men will be afflicted by old age, disease, and hunger, and
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from sorrow there will arise depression, indifference, deep thought,
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enlightenment, and virtuous behavior. Then the age will change, deluding their
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minds like a dream, by the force of fate, and when the Golden Age begins, those
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left over from the Kali age will be the progenitors of the Golden Age. All
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four classes will survive as a seed, together with those born in the Golden
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age, and the seven sages will teach them all dharma. Thus there is eternal
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continuity from age to age.
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21. Hinduism. Linga Purana 1.40
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- - - - - - - - - - -
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Nectarean Shower of Holy Doctrines: This passage reflects the millenarian hopes
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in popular Japanese religion, and is given concrete expression in many of the
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new religions. Cf. Johrei, below. Jeremiah 31.31-34: Christianity regards
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this prophecy as having been fulfilled with the coming of Jesus Christ, who
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inaugurated a 'New Covenant'--see 1 Corinthians 11.23-25, p. 735; 2 Corinthians
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3.6, p. 697; Galatians 3.21-26, p. 151--from which we get the term New
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Testament. But the perfect knowledge of God and His law, which would be the
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full realization of this prophecy, awaits the eschatological future. Cf. Sun
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Myung Moon, 10-20-73, pp. 850f. Linga Purana 1.40: Here the sufferings of the
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old age beget a process which leads to enlightenment and transfiguration of the
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age. The 'seven sages' are the traditional teachers of the Veda. Yet the
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continuity between the ages is required because of the continual operation of
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the law of karma; the caste system, too, which is a result of karma, also will
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persist. The image of the survivors as a seed recurs in Vishnu Purana 4.24, p.
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942. See also Laws of Manu 1.81-86, p. 377.
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They will practice these virtues: abstain from taking life, abstain from taking
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what is not given, abstain from adultery, abstain from lying, abstain from evil
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speaking, abstain from abuse and from idle talk, abstain from covetousness,
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from ill will, from false opinions, abstain from the three things--incest,
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wanton greed, and perverted desires--be filial towards their mothers and
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fathers, be pious toward holy men, and respect heads of clans. And because of
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the good they do they will increase in length of life, and in comeliness, so
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that the sons of them who lived but forty years will come to live eighty years;
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their sons to 160 years; their sons to 320 years; their sons to 640 years...
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2,000 years... 4,000 years... 8,000 years... 20,000 years... 40,000 years; and
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the sons of those that lived 40,000 years will come to live 80,000 years.
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Among such humans there will be only three kinds of disease: appetite,
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non-assimilation, and old age. Among such humans, this world will be mighty
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and prosperous, the villages, towns, and royal cities will be so close that a
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cock could fly from each one to the next. Among such humans this India--one
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might think it a Waveless Deep--will be pervaded by mankind even as a jungle is
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by reeds and rushes.
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22. Buddhism. Digha Nikaya iii.74-75, Chakkavattisihanada Suttanta
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As earthly paradise moves into its advanced stages, people's inner attitudes
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towards God will directly affect more and more aspects of daily life. Those
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whose souls are closer to God will be so much of the same heart that they can
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communicate without verbalizing their thoughts and feelings. By this stage,
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contemplation will have become the mode of existence for everyone. God will
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have given them such highly refined powers of spiritual perception that they
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can at last see His will directly and perfectly understand what is in the
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hearts and minds of others.
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In its ultimate phase, paradise on earth will be so perfect, so unblemished,
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that it may be called the Crystal World. All evil and hatred will have been
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cleansed away. The world will have become the final realization of absolute
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goodness and love. Completely free from even a hint of sin or impurity,
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humankind at last will dwell in the heavenly abode longed for through the ages.
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This is the Crystal World of unity with God.
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23. Sekai Kyusei Kyo. Johrei
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Then comes the end, when he [Christ] delivers the kingdom to God the Father
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after destroying every rule and every authority and power. For he must reign
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until he has put all his enemies under his feet. The last enemy to be
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destroyed is death.
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24. Christianity. 1 Corinthians 15.24-26
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- - - - - - - - - - - -
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Digha Nikaya iii.74-75: This renovation will be presided over by the Maitreya
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Buddha; see Digha Nikaya iii.76, p. 943. This description of the ideal world
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as one of closely packed villages and kingdoms where none will molest its
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neighbor is similar to the Taoist ideal as presented in Tao Te Ching 80, p.
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256. Johrei: The world of daily life is being changed from a state of strife
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to a 'Crystal World' of purity and harmony. This transformation is said to
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have already begun in this century. Cf. Vishnu Purana 4.24, p. 942. 1
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Corinthians 15.24-26: Cf. Job 19.25-26, p. 507; John 11.25, p. 502; 1
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Corinthians 15.52-57, pp. 504f.
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- - - - - - - - - - - -
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The holy man told them, "I'll give you something to eat that will kill you, but
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don't be afraid; I'll bring you back to life again." They believed him. They
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ate something and died, then found themselves walking in a new, beautiful land.
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They spoke with their parents and grandparents, and with friends that the white
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soldiers had killed. Their friends were well, and this new world was like the
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old one, the one the white man had destroyed. It was full of game, full of
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antelope and buffalo. The grass was green and high, and though long-dead
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people from other tribes also lived in this land, there was peace. All the
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Indian nations formed one tribe and could understand each other. Kicking Bear
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and Short Bull walked around and saw everything, and they were happy. Then the
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holy man of the Paiutes brought them back to life again.
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"You have seen it," he said, "the new land I'm bringing. The earth will roll
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up like a blanket with all that bad white man's stuff, the fences and railroads
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and mines and telegraph poles, and underneath will be our old-young Indian
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earth with all our relatives come to life again." Then the holy man taught them
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a new dance, a new song, a new prayer. He gave them sacred red paint.... Now
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everywhere we are dancing this new dance to roll up the earth, to bring back
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the dead. A new world is coming.
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25. Native American Religions. Ghost Dance
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The wolf shall dwell with the lamb,
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and the leopard shall lie down with the kid,
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and the calf and the lion and the fatling together,
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and a little child shall lead them.
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The cow and the bear shall feed;
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their young shall lie down together;
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and the lion shall eat straw like the ox.
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The sucking child shall play over the hole of the asp,
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and the weaned child shall put his hand on the adder's den.
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They shall not hurt or destroy
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in all my holy mountain;
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for the earth shall be full of the knowledge of the Lord
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as waters cover the sea.
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26. Judaism and Christianity. Isaiah 11.6-9
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The victorious World-renovator and his helpers... shall make the existence
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renovated--ageless, deathless, unputrifying, uncorruptible, ever-living, ever
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benefitting, ruling at will. The dead shall rise up, life shall prevail
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indestructible, and existence shall be renovated at the will of God!
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The worlds shall be deathless, by the will of Right, benefitting all! Evil will
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stand against, but will flee away, here and there causing death to the holy and
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his progeny and creatures, but running to its death and destruction at the will
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of the Judge!
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27. Zoroastrianism. Avesta, Zamyad Yast 19.11-12
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- - - - - - - - - - - -
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Ghost Dance: The Native American Ghost Dance religion, which has incorporated
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some ideas from Christian eschatology, looks to a divine visitation which will
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bring judgment upon the white man and vindication to the Native American
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people. Cf. Yakima Tradition, p. 287. Isaiah 11.6-9: Cf. Romans 8.19-23, pp.
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278f.
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- - - - - - - - - - - -
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And the ransomed of the Lord shall return,
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and come to Zion with singing;
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everlasting joy shall be upon their heads;
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they shall obtain joy and gladness,
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and sorrow and sighing shall flee away.
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28. Judaism and Christianity. Isaiah 51.11
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In the City Joyful dwell the saints of God;
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Neither suffering nor sorrow is found therein;
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Neither anxiety to pay tribute nor any imposts;
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Neither fear of retribution nor of fall from eminence.
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In this happy land where my dwelling is,
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Abides unending well-being.
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All who therein dwell are blessed with eternal kingship;
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None is there reckoned inferior to any.
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That city knows no decline;
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Its citizens are rich and fulfilled.
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Unlimited their freedom--
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None are alien there;
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All in true liberty abide.
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Says Ravidas, the emancipated cobbler,
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Only a citizen of that City reckon I my friend.
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29. Sikhism. Adi Granth, Gauri, Ravidas, p. 345
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|
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Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth; for the first heaven and the first
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|
earth had passed away, and the sea was no more. And I saw the holy city, new
|
|
Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for
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|
her husband; and I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, "Behold, the
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|
dwelling of God is with men. He will dwell with them, and they shall be his
|
|
people, and God himself will be with them. He will wipe away every tear from
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|
their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning nor
|
|
crying nor pain any more, for the former things have passed away."
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|
|
|
And he who sat upon the throne said, "Behold, I make all things new." Also he
|
|
said, "Write this, for these words are trustworthy and true." And he said to
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|
me, "It is done! I am the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end. To
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|
the thirsty I will give from the fountain of the water of life without payment.
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|
He who conquers shall have this heritage, and I will be his God and he shall be
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|
my son."...
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|
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And I saw no temple in the city, for its temple is the Lord God the Almighty
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|
and the Lamb. And the city has no need of sun or moon to shine upon it, for
|
|
the glory of God is its light, and its lamp is the Lamb. By its light shall
|
|
all the nations walk; and the kings of the earth shall bring their glory into
|
|
it, and its gates shall never be shut by day--and there shall be no night
|
|
there; they shall bring into it the glory and the honor of the nations. But
|
|
nothing unclean shall enter it, nor any one who practices abomination or
|
|
falsehood, but only those who are written in the Lamb's book of life.
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|
|
|
Then an angel showed me the river of the water of life, bright as crystal,
|
|
flowing from the throne of God and of the Lamb through the middle of the street
|
|
of the city; also, on either side of the river, the tree of life with its
|
|
twelve kinds of fruit, yielding its fruit each month; and the leaves of the
|
|
tree were for the healing of the nations. There shall no more be anything
|
|
accursed, but the throne of God and of the Lamb shall be in it, and his
|
|
servants shall worship him; they shall see his face, and his name shall be on
|
|
their foreheads. And night shall be no more; they need no light of lamp or
|
|
sun, for the Lord God will be their light, and they shall reign for ever and
|
|
ever.
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|
|
30. Christianity. Revelation 21.1-22.5
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|
- - - - - - - - - - - -
|
|
Isaiah 51.11: The promised return to Jerusalem is central to the Jewish
|
|
messianic hope; it no doubt helped to fuel the Zionist movement and the
|
|
reestablishment of the State of Israel in this century. Some Christians also
|
|
expect a return of the Jews to Jerusalem to herald the return of Christ, and
|
|
have supported the State of Israel for such theological reasons. Gauri,
|
|
Ravidas: Cf. Suhi Chhant, M.5, p. 253; Sri Raga, M.5, p. 483.
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|
- - - - - - - - - - - -
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|
|
It is our duty in this radiant century to investigate the essentials of divine
|
|
religion, seek the realities underlying the oneness of the world of humanity,
|
|
and discover the source of fellowship and agreement which will unite mankind in
|
|
the heavenly bond of love. This unity is the radiance of eternity, the divine
|
|
spirituality, the effulgence of God and the bounty of the Kingdom.
|
|
|
|
31. Baha'i Faith. 'Abdu'l-Baha, The Promulgation of Universal Peace
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|
|
|
And verily I say unto you a sign, that you may know the time when these things
|
|
shall be about to take place--that I shall gather in, from their long
|
|
dispersion, my people, O house of Israel, and shall establish again among them
|
|
my Zion...
|
|
|
|
For it is wisdom in the Father that they should be established in this land
|
|
[America], and be set up as a free people by the power of the Father, that
|
|
these things might come forth from them unto a remnant of your seed, that the
|
|
covenant of the Father may be fulfilled which he has covenanted with his
|
|
people, O house of Israel...
|
|
|
|
If they [the Gentiles] will repent and hearken unto my words, and not harden
|
|
their hearts, I will establish my church among them and they shall come unto
|
|
the covenant and be numbered among this remnant of Jacob, unto whom I have
|
|
given this land for their inheritance;
|
|
|
|
And they shall assist my people, the remnant of Jacob, and also as many of the
|
|
house of Israel as shall come, that they may build a city, which shall be
|
|
called the New Jerusalem.
|
|
|
|
And then shall they shall assist my people that they may be gathered in, who
|
|
are scattered upon all the face of the land, in unto the New Jerusalem.
|
|
|
|
And then shall the power of heaven come down among them; and I also will be in
|
|
their midst.
|
|
|
|
And then shall the work of the Father commence that day, even when this gospel
|
|
shall be preached among the remnant of this people. Verily I say to you, at
|
|
that day shall the work of the Father commence among all the dispersed of my
|
|
people, yea, even the tribes which have been lost, which the Father hath led
|
|
away out of Jerusalem.
|
|
|
|
Yea, the work shall commence among all the dispersed of my people, with the
|
|
Father, to prepare the way whereby they may come unto me, that they may call on
|
|
the Father in my name.
|
|
|
|
Yea, and then shall the work commence, with the Father, among all nations, in
|
|
preparing the way whereby his people may be gathered home to the land of their
|
|
inheritance.
|
|
|
|
And they shall go out from all nations; and they shall not go out in haste, nor
|
|
go by flight, for I will go before them, says the Father, and I will be their
|
|
rearward.
|
|
|
|
31. Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Book of Mormon, 3 Nephi
|
|
21.1-29
|
|
|
|
- - - - - - - - - - - -
|
|
Revelation 21.1-22.5: This is the central Christian passage depicting in
|
|
symbolic terms the coming millennium, the Kingdom of Heaven. Cf. Isaiah
|
|
62.4-5, pp. 184-85; Revelation 7.9-17, pp. 309f. On the Tree of Life as a
|
|
symbol, see Psalms 1.1-3, pp. 148f.; John 15.4-11, p. 559. On the Church as
|
|
Bride, see Ephesians 5.22-32, p. 233. The Promulgation of Universal Peace: For
|
|
more from this text, see pp. 256f. Cf. Gleanings from the Writings of
|
|
Baha'u'llah 15, p. 449; 111, p. 243.
|
|
- - - - - - - - - - - -
|
|
|
|
As we have observed repeatedly, the development of the cultural spheres also
|
|
shows that a worldwide cultural sphere is now being formed centered on one
|
|
religion. Nations, too, are moving toward one worldwide structure of
|
|
sovereignty, starting from the League of Nations, through the United Nations,
|
|
and reaching today for world government. Regarding economic development, the
|
|
world is now on the threshold of forming one common market. Extremely
|
|
well-developed transportation and communication facilities have reduced the
|
|
limitations of time and space. Men are able to communicate with one another on
|
|
the earth as easily as if the earth were the garden of a house in which people
|
|
of all the different races of the East and the West lived as one family. All
|
|
mankind is crying out for brotherly love.
|
|
|
|
However, a home is formed around the parents; there alone can true brotherly
|
|
love occur. Therefore, upon the Second Advent of the Lord as the True Parent
|
|
of mankind, all men will come to live harmoniously in the garden as one family.
|
|
|
|
32. Unification Church. Divine Principle I.3.4.3
|
|
|
|
- - - - - - - - - - - -
|
|
Nephi 21.1-29: 'My Zion,' the new refuge for the dispersed of God's people, is
|
|
to be built in America. The New World figures centrally in the Latter-day
|
|
Saints' expectation of the millennium. Divine Principle I.3.4.3: 'True Parent'
|
|
is a messianic title, specifying the Messiah's parental love for all humankind
|
|
and his role as the new Adam, the origin of the new lineage of God that is free
|
|
from the sin and death which pervades the lineage of the fallen Adam. Cf. Sun
|
|
Myung Moon, 9-11-77, p. 274; 8-26-86, p. 287; 9-3-89, p. 619; 8-20-89. p. 577.
|
|
- - - - - - - - - - - -
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