Life after death. God is great. God anthropormorphized, sent his Son Jesus. Jesus was born in Bethlehem, escaped to Egypt when King Herod was killing children. His birth was prophesied, espicially by Isaiah. Wise men from the East, one from Ethiopia, came to celebrate his birth. Miracles and awe.
His father was a carpenter and he learned the carpenter trade. As a boy on return to Israel he debated with the learned men of his day and was clearly a gifted genius with profound depth and insight. His first miracle was to turn water into wine. He was loving and kind. In his 20’s he began to teach with knowledge of scripture that amazed the learned men of the day. He debated the most powerful. He was a threat to the status quo. He collected disciples, 12, fishermen and other working men, who followed him and who he taught. He cured the sick. He cast out demons which to the best of our understanding today would be curing mental illness. His specialties were dermatology, ophthalmology and psychiatry.
He was inclusive of all humans denying caste or outsider. He appeared to know his personal future. He had a Last Supper with his disciples. He said the bread was his body and the wine was his blood and that human sacrifice must end as he was the last, freely given. He would right the error of the world. The error of the world was that it denied God and denied the spiritual nature of reality. His message was Love.
He said all Scripture could be summed up , Love God and Love thy neighbour as thyself. The government, local and international of the day, crucified him ,based on false allegation and lies. His disciple Judas betrayed him for money. Given the last chance to free a man, the people chose to free a warrior revolutionary rather than a peaceful man of God. He said that if one accepted him he would be saved. To be saved was to go directly to heaven. No hell. No purgatory. No lost soul. No ghost existence. From this life to heaven.
There were two other men being crucified. One was saved. Repenting, or acknowledging their error of thought, ie putting their faith in the material world rather than the spiritual, he changed and accepted Jesus.
“Forgive them for they know not what they do.” Jesus said on the cross. “Why God have you forsaken me?’ “It is done.”
He was buried in a tomb and the women came to find the stone moved from the tomb. An angel, gleaming white, told them he was gone. The ladies went to tell the disciples. Jesus met them in life one after another. Resurrected. He showed them the wounds on his hands. feet and side. Even doubting Thomas who would go on to lead the church of the Middle East and to India accepted the evidence. Jesus rose into heaven.
He had done miracles on earth, the loaves and fishes, healing lepers, curing the blind. Now he had overcome death. He’d already saved a Centurion’s son and resurrected Lazarus. Now he was himself alive despite everyone seeing his death. He had further told them what would occur. It was as Isaiah had prophesied. He said he did this all for his father’s sake, that men would know God.
The story of the life of Jesus was told in the four gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke and John.
Now the disciples went forth and carried this message of Love to the world. Love and Truth. As Christians we celebrate Easter Sunday as the day of Resurrection.
Hallelujah! Christ is risen!
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