Posted by Roberta Grimes • May 09, 2016 • 20 Comments
Jesus, The Teachings of Jesus
If you are reading this, then you have survived another predicted 
Apocalyptic demise. Incredibly, there is a growing movement that takes seriously the Biblical Book of Revelation, and many Christians are so sure the end is nigh they say they won’t bother to vote in November.
For those unfamiliar with the Christian Bible, Revelation is its final book. It describes a vision of someone named John, who in about the year 95 A.D. wrote up his vision and circulated it as assurance to other persecuted Christians that Jesus was about to save them. If you are curious, here is a narrative attempt to make sense of the Book of Revelation. There is a lot going on, but in the climactic scene Jesus returns on a horse and defeats the enemies of Christianity in the Battle of Armageddon. Revelation quotes Jesus as saying, “Behold, I am coming quickly, and My reward is with Me, to render to every man according to what he has done.” (Rev 22:12)
Let us be absolutely clear about this. John was born after Jesus died. He knew nothing about Him beyond hearsay. Certainly he never read a finished Gospel. And please read what John quotes Jesus as saying! The words that he ascribes to Jesus could not have been spoken by the Jesus of the Gospels, which all by itself refutes the possibility that John was reporting a vision from God. Then too, think about the timing! Sixty-five years earlier the genuine Jesus was teaching us how to love and forgive so we could bring the Kingdom of God on earth, and then almost at once he decided to chuck it all and take us to final judgment? The words ascribed to Jesus in Revelation contradict the words that we can confirm that Jesus actually spoke. In the face of all this, how did John’s ravings come to occupy such a central place in Christian theology?
The Christian Bible was assembled by fourth-century clerics. They believed themselves to be inspired by God, but the Bible they produced is full of contradictions. The Christian Bible as it stands could not possibly be the inspired word of a loving and internally consistent God, or even of a sane and rational God. And even among all the Bible’s contradictions, John’s ravings stand out as utterly averse to the Gospels being written at about the same time. Worse, John’s quoting of his guy on a horse has distorted or replaced for many Christians the genuine words of the living Jesus!
In case you find this hard to believe, here are some prominent Christian pastors who
make preaching about John’s end-times ideas an important part of their spiritual message.
All of this is nonsense! It is evident from the words of Jesus that He never will bring about the end of the world, yet this fake theology has so polluted Christianity that it has made the religion that was named for Jesus the biggest obstacle that we now face in carrying out the Master’s work on earth. Jesus tells us in the Gospels that neither He nor God ever judges us. He tells us that we enter earth-lives in order to learn to better love and forgive so we can grow spiritually. It is a tragedy of cosmic proportions that the ravings of a persecuted madman are now believed by so many Christians to be more important than the Lord’s Gospel message.
Christians can stop waiting for Jesus to return. His teachings have been with us for two thousand years; you might say He never really left. Instead of battling evil with force and negating the value of His own teachings, Jesus and His minions 
are working now to raise the spiritual awareness of this planet. The dead agree with Jesus that once enough of us embrace His Gospel teachings, the Kingdom of God will overspread the earth. So instead of waiting in their churches to be Raptured before an Apocalypse that never will come, Christians who love Jesus should be out there now, helping the Lord to share the greatest news in all of history. We have His eternal promise that our future will not be an end-times war. Instead, our future will be the spiritual awakening that He came two thousand years ago to share. He says, “If you hold to my teaching, you are really my disciples. Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.” (JN 8:31-32)
Thank you again, Roberta, for your timely message. It is so easy to lose sight of the truth when you consider what is happening in the world right now.
Thank you for your thoughts, dear Penny! And I think you’re right. It seems to be the chaos of our present existence, from economic uncertainties to the presidential election to terrorism to nuclear and environmental fears, that is making more Christians susceptible to the Revelation delusion. And where preachers are concerned, insisting that the Rapture is imminent and after that all hell breaks loose is a great way to keep the seats warm! But it is all bunk. We cannot call ourselves followers of the risen Lord when we accept uncritically any teaching that so directly contradicts the Gospels, no matter where it comes from, can we?
Thank you so much Roberta. I was a religious person years ago and as I became more spiritual I moved away from organized religion but I always loved the words of Jesus. You have brought it all together for me. You bring a message that has taken me years to come to and any little loose ends were nicely tied up for me by your books. You have saved years of research for those searching for the truth.
I’ve read two of your books and I am about to read a third that I am looking forward to reading. “Liberating Jesus”.
I gifted “The Fun of Dying” to my skeptical son and it really answered a lot of his questions and is turning him around.
I am so delighted I came across your books and blog. Thank you for the wonderful message you share.
Dear Mary, you cannot possibly be more delighted about our meeting than I am! I’m thrilled to find that you’re learning and growing, and if I ever can be of help to you, you know how to reach me. This is such an exciting time to be alive!
There are so many contradictions revolving around the teachings of Jesus, and most of them were written by people who never even knew him. However, if they had stuck to his original teachings, people would realize that he wasn’t trying to induce fear, and then they would be more ready to accept that they need not be under the domination of any organized religion and as such, not be the victims of control freaks.
You are so right! And actually, dear, the genuine teachings of Jesus as we have them in the Gospels and as they have been confirmed by dead communicators are entirely love-based. Nothing about them induces fear! He tells is that we must grow spiritually or we will fall back – that is the only bit of scary that he gives us, and it’s a warning about the physics of consciousness, nothing more. Then he gives us a method for attaining spiritual growth that is highly effective and almost laughingly easy.
God is love. Jesus is love. Since Christianity is based in fear, it does not and cannot conceivably have anything to do with either!
The book of Revelation, at best is apocalyptic writing about the time of Rome’s persecution of Christians. It was coded so that it could be transmitted without further persecution. AT BEST. What is is NOT is a book that was meant to be taken literally or to apply to our lives today.
There was much debate about putting the book in the canon. The wrong side won. It has caused more fear and confusion than it is worth.
Amen to all of what you say, dear Brian. Revelation is emphatically not the word of God! And what disturbs me now – and what prompted me to write a post about it – is that there seems to be an Apocalyptic craze taking hold in mainstream Christianity that threatens to engulf it at the very time when what is most needed is a rethinking of even the less extreme dogmas. Might this be something like the death-throes of a religion that is rapidly hemorrhaging followers? I don’t know. But I do know that it is very important to keep pointing out what nonsense this is!
There has always been this subset within Christianity. I’m not sure if it’s becoming more prominent or not because I was raised in it.
What’s wild is there is a group of Muslims with the same belief, that Jesus (Issa) is going to come back right before they are wiped out in a battle in the Middle East. So, we have people on both sides itching for a battle so Jesus can come back and wipe out the other side.
All I can say to the notion of a Battle of Armageddon where Jesus fights for both armies is that it is a fitting end to BOTH sides, since then they both are bound to lose!
I think the notion of the end-times is becoming more prominent now because they are using the Internet to spread it. Now everyone is kind of aware of it, when it used to be just kind of a loony-fringe idea that stayed within the Christian community. But perhaps its spreading now is a good thing! Perhaps this broader exposure – and the ridicule that it generates – will help those who – like you, dear – have been indoctrinated this way to begin to see the light.
But the whole Book of Revelation is antithetical to the Jesus of the Gospels! I still sputter when I say those words. Is it possible that people who call themselves Christians are so unfamiliar with the Gospels that they can’t see that?
Perhaps ending this nonsense actually will take a war – a war of words between those defending the genuine Lord and those who, out of ignorance, continue to soil His name.
Thank you for your comments, dear Brian. You and I don’t agree on everything, but I love our frequent exchanges!
An excellent brief summation, Roberta, of the problems associated with the Book of Revelations. Yet, perhaps millions of fundamentalist Christians fervently believe in some version of “end times” as portrayed in Revelations. Even many non-Christians see the Book of Revelations as legitimate prophetic literature.
Brian is correct, it’s usually thought of by most theologians as dealing with the Roman Empire and as a colorful and coded morale booster for persecuted Christians of that era, showing the overthrow of the Empire. It had to be coded to get past the Roman censors. He’s also right, there was debate on including it, but it was over several other “end times” writings that were gentler and less violent. I haven’t looked into exactly why Revelations was finally chosen.
The number 666 has taken on legendary and sinister proportions throughout the centuries as a sign of “Satan” or the “anti-Christ.” Wikipedia gives this take on it:
“Using the same system in Hebrew of generating a number from the letters of a name, Neron Caesar written in Hebrew produces the number 666. Thus, in the Bible, 666 may have been a coded reference to Nero the Roman Emperor from 55 to 68 AD.”
Meantime, I really enjoyed your interview with Gary and Rhonda Schwartz. And am beginning to listen to your latest one with Craig Hogan.
Keep up the great work!
Aren’t the Schwartzes wonderful? And they’re lovebirds. Really adorable. Their news, and Craig Hogan’s, are becoming impossible for us even to keep up with now: we are beginning to feel confident that 2017 will be the year of easy real-time communication with those we used to think were dead!
What I find most upsetting about the whole Apocalypse idea is the fact that it DIRECTLY CONTRADICTS the Gospels. There, Jesus teaches us that if enough of us can learn to love perfectly and forgive completely, we can bring the Kingdom of God on earth. THAT is supposed to be our future! These people who think they are following Him altogether ignore what He actually said and assume that instead He decided a few decades later to say “Never mind” and start the final judgment? Good grief.
Nothing can upset me anymore except these kinds of direct attacks on the Lord’s work!
Dear Roberta,
I enjoyed your take on this topic. And many of your commentators have pointed out the big problems with this book: the reluctance of the early church to include it as texts like this were a dime a dozen back then, most theologians and historians have covered how it relates to events at the time etc. On a broader theme, people have predicted end-times and impending doom for centuries. I think Revelation appeals to some for its lurid imagery and La Haye and his ilk have made millions from the violent fantasy aspects, ‘highest stakes’ perceived plotlines and the narcissism of ‘we know it all: sign here’. And we notice that Rapture fans will always include themselves among the saved! Such humility!
Best wishes from the UK
Thank you for your thoughts! What the religion-builders love most about the end-times nonsense is the fear they can use it to generate, since fear is the most effective motivator to keep us filling those pews and collection plates. Not for much longer, though, since once good electronic communication with the dead is in place everyone will know that Jesus is genuine but Christianity is bogus and has nothing to do with the teachings of Jesus. That day cannot come soon enough for me! I agree, too, with what you say about the Rapture. More nonsense, but it really is funny to watch the story’s biggest adherents always including themselves among the Raptured! Best wishes right back at you from across the pond, Neil, and a big hug as well!
Hi Roberta,
I just listened to an interview on We Don’t Die Radio with Curtis Childs. If you aren’t familiar with Curtis he has a great many videos on You Tube regarding the writings of Emanual Swedenborg. I am particularly interested in what Swedenborg says about who Jesus was and why he was here, the main reason having to do with redemption, which confused me. I was wondering if you would consider doing an interview with Curtis on your radio show with that focus. Thank you, Roberta for all that you do.
Hello Sharon! Thank you for the suggestion. Probably not at all coincidentally, I will be having lunch next Wednesday with my treasured friend, Sandra Champlain, so you have just given us another great topic for discussion!
I am still trying to understand my assigned task in what is a gigantic movement being orchestrated far above our paygrade, and it seems still to be a very narrow one at this stage of my life: I support the afterlife experts and offer education about the meaning and message of the genuine Jesus as I have come to understand them. My Seek Reality podcasts and radio show (beginning on June 2) build on these two missions, of course, but I think that perhaps Swedenborg might be a bit beyond what I am supposed to be doing. He founded a movement that thrives today, and that at its core is religion-like. Apparently I’m supposed to stay away from religions and stick just with what Jesus actually said!I don’t know yet; as I say, I am still seeking to understand. But please be assured, dear, that God is perfect love and Jesus DID NOT come to redeem you from anything! Instead, He came with the glorious truth of who and what you really are, and His teachings begin for each of us the process of remembering at last the purity of our eternal selves in God so we can with joy return home. Thank you again for commenting, and God bless you on your journey!
Hi Roberta,
Just an FYI – There was nothing discussed on Sandra’s radio interview with Curtis with respect to who and why Jesus came here. Following her interview with Curtis, I had listened to part of one of Curtis’ videos and it talked about Jesus. However, when Sandra started the interview with Curtis she had mentioned that she had watched some of his videos so she may too have stumbled on that subject. I was just curious what your take was on it. I haven’t delved any deeper into the subject to find out if per Swedenborg the “redemption” also includes the folks who don’t believe in Jesus as our “Savior” or have never even heard of him. To me that in and of itself is a ridiculous notion and I can certainly see why the church would have come up with that one to serve their agenda. God bless and have a great visit with Sandra.
The god of the universe having a future earthly kingdom makes no sense. It seems Christians today spend most of their devotional time looking for the New World Order and the Antichrist, making prophesies left and right. They have made America into the whore of Babylon and every policy for the betterment of citizens into something sinister. This is against mortal progress and turning us against one another. Forgive me, but lately I’ve been thinking how bad Christianity has become for the country.
Oh my yes. And it feels terrible to say it! But so many people who call themselves Christians are flagrantly ignoring the parts of the Bible that they don’t like – including even some of the words of Jesus – while they use the parts that they happen to like to beat other people over the head (e.g. the strictures against homosexual practice). If only Christians put the teachings of Jesus first, they would be able to lead this country to new spiritual heights! But by adhering to their anti-love dogmas, they instead are helping to tear it apart :-(.