“Worship the Lord your God, and serve Him only.’” (Matthew 4:10)

“Away from me, satan! For it is written: ‘Worship the Lord your God, and serve Him only.’” (Matthew 4:10)

Who is 'satan' or 'the devil'?

This ends the exchange described in Matthew during which Jesus was tempted by the devil or satan. Just who is this person that Jesus is having conversations with? Is it really a person? Is the devil really someone who is challenging God and whom God cannot control?

The event unfolds during Jesus' fast of forty days and nights. Jesus was hungry:

Then Jesus was led by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil. After fasting forty days and forty nights, he was hungry. (Matt. 4:1-2)

"The devil" is introduced in the text as "the tempter", translated from the Greek word πειράζω (peirazō) - meaning "to try, make trial of, test:"

The tempter came to him and said, "If you are the Son of God, tell these stones to become bread." (Matt. 4:3)

Jesus responded by describing our identity as spiritual and our relationship with the Supreme Being:

“It is written : ‘Man does not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God.” (Matt. 4:4)

But next we find that "the tempter" - the "devil" - now takes Jesus to "the holy city" - apparently Jerusalem:

Then the devil took him to the holy city and had him stand on the highest point of the temple. (Matt. 4:5)

And then he tempts him with another possibility:

"If you are the Son of God," he said, "throw yourself down. For it is written: " 'He will command his angels concerning you, and they will lift you up in their hands, so that you will not strike your foot against a stone.'" (Matt. 4:6)

Jesus responded to this latest temptation:

“It is also written: ‘Do not put the Lord your God to the test.” (Matt. 4:7)

And this is precisely what "the tempter" is asking of Jesus - to put God to the test. And what is putting God "to the test" mean? We'll discuss this below.

Next "the devil" takes Jesus to another place and tempts him with another possibility:

Again, the devil took him to a very high mountain and showed him all the kingdoms of the world and their splendor. "All this I will give you," he said, "if you will bow down and worship me." (Matt. 4:8-9)

So we must ask: Who is this person who can not only tempt Jesus with turning stones to food but can take him many miles away to Jerusalem and then also take him to a mountaintop to show him "all the kingdoms of the world and their splendor"?

Who has this kind of power of transport? And who has the power to give someone "all the kingdoms of the world and their splendor"?

And what about God? Does God not have such power? Doesn't God have the power to remove those powers of satan? Doesn't God have the ability to strike down the devil? Why, then, is the devil still around?

Who has 'all this' to give to Jesus?

Some sectarian institutions and their teachers threaten us that "the devil" or "satan" is a person who has somehow gotten out of God's control and is now going around tempting people. They also teach that all the suffering in the world is caused by "the devil" or "satan." That he has somehow gotten out of control and now he is going around messing things up for us and God.

It makes no sense to say that there is the existence of a Supreme Being - who is all-powerful - yet someone has gotten out of His control. As if God - which means omniscient - cannot control His creation.

This is an atheist concept: If someone has gotten out of God's control there is no God: A God who is not in control is not God.

This is hypocrisy. To say there is a God but God lost control over part of His creation is a nonsensical doctrine.

The reality is that there is a Supreme Being and He never loses control. There is never anyone out of His ultimate authority and control.

Is anything out of control?

This would mean that such a "tempter" or "devil" or "satan" is ultimately within God's control.

And this means that all the temptations that we are presented with are ultimately taking place with God's authority and permission.

The reality is that the Supreme Being arranged temptation. It is part of His energy that deceives us into thinking we will be happy if we act in a self-centered fashion within the physical world.

Temptation is ultimately designed by God to give us freedom of choice. Each of us has the freedom of choice to act in a myriad of ways.

Ultimately, we each have the choice to love others or love ourselves. We have the choice to be God-centered or self-centered.

We can also waiver between the two, in various ways. These are part of the choices each of us is given by the Supreme Being as He created us.

God created each of us to love Him and serve Him. But love requires freedom. We cannot be forced to love someone.

So the Supreme Being created each of us with the option to love Him or love ourselves.

The option of self-centeredness also has a number of gradients. We can still be self-centered and inflict less harm to others. Or we can not care at all, which can lead to becoming violent and even hateful.

Loving others also has gradients. These range from sacrificing oneself to help others to just trying to be kind when possible. We can love others more or less.

Regardless, this world provides choice: It requires us to make a choice in one respect or another - and at one gradient or another.

Isn't temptation a form of choice?

As such, the physical world continually gives us the choice, through temptation.

Temptation is set up through the mind and the senses. The senses, through nerve conduction and neurotransmitters, feed the mind physical attractions. And the mind concocts designs for us to try to enjoy those attractions.

The combination of these sensual attractions and the mind's concoctions create the temptations that pull us into the physical world's net.

And this net of the physical world keeps pulling at us - constantly giving us the choice of remaining away from the Supreme Being. This, as stated in Matthew 4:3, is what a test is: A choice.

Yes, we can certainly personify this system - as it has been personified by ancient teachers. And it is not incorrect to say that the Supreme Being has others help Him manage things. Yes, the Supreme Being has many servants and those who don't serve Him - who help maintain the physical world from different aspects.

For example, there have been many cruel leaders in the past who treated their subjects with painful consequences. Where was God in these circumstances? Was God not around when millions of Jews were persecuted by German leaders? Was He not around when millions were slaughtered and raped by African overlords? Did He lose control during these times as some institutions like to teach?

Certainly not. None of those evil leaders were challengers to God. None of them are out of God's control. Yes, each abused the power they were given by virtue of their own consequences, and they will each have to suffer the consequences of their actions, just as their actions executed the consequences of others' previous actions.

What we do not understand about these circumstances is that we are not these physical bodies. They are temporary vehicles. The pain we feel when they are damaged are nerve impulses to our brains. Just as the driver of a car is not harmed when the car breaks down, the spiritual person within is not harmed when the body is harmed or killed.

We might compare this to a video game. The video game icon we identify with might be shot or even killed, but we are not shot or killed. We simply turn off the game and walk away from the computer. In the same way, the spirit-person leaves the physical body when it dies.

So these experiences that produce pain within the physical body are merely teaching opportunities, just as being shot in a video game can teach us.

The bottom line is that the physical world - the physical senses and the mind - was set up perfectly to offer us temptations that allow us to exercise our freedom to not love God.

Did God create this world as a place of choice?

Ultimately, in order to provide us with the choice not to love Him, the Supreme Being created a separate world - a virtual world - to allow us the ultimate dimension of choice. Here we get to make choices regarding love and selfishness. But we can also choose to completely forget God, or even deny God's existence.

This physical world was created for those of us who chose not to love Him to play out our self-centeredness without having to see Him.

Why would He make the choice complete? Because only this will allow us to make a real choice to love Him out of freedom. The option of not loving Him has to be real and it has to be executable. What is the benefit of having choice if we have no way of exercising one of the options?

So the Supreme Being created this dimension - the physical world - in order for us to exercise our choice not to love and serve Him.

And these physical bodies are the vehicles that we use to access the physical world. These bodies are not us - they are vehicles we utilize temporarily. They are like a car a person gets in and drives for a while. After a few decades, the physical body dies and we move on.

We are spiritual in essence. But our spiritual identity and the Supreme Being are hidden from the perception of the physical body and mind. Why?

To give us the complete freedom to exercise our desire not to love and serve God. If God was ever-present to our physical eyes and mind as He is in the spiritual realm then how could we play out our fantasies to be independent of Him and seek out our personal pleasure, fame and glory?

We couldn't. If we were faced with His presence we'd be unable to ignore Him.

We might compare this to how parents will give a child their own bedroom. While they own the house and have complete control over the house including the bedroom, they give the child their own room so the child can have some privacy and not have to have their parents looking over their shoulders all the time.

But this privacy is only perceived. The parents can go into the room anytime they want. They can look through all the kid's stuff as they want. But they may not because they want to teach the child respect. They may respect the child's privacy as part of their raising of the child.

Just as the child is given their own room and the perception of privacy, the Supreme Being has given each of us the physical world and this physical body and mind to act out our self-centered desires. The perception of privacy from Him gives us the freedom to choose as we want, without having Him "in our face" so to speak.

After all, how could we make an objective choice to love God if we couldn't get away from Him?

And just like the child's bedroom is always within the control of the parents, the Supreme Being is always in control over the physical world. He just set up things so that the world seems independent from Him, and yet still feeds back to each of us the consequences of our various choices.

And this is why there is suffering in the world. It is not because some guy (devil or satan) got out of control. It is because the Supreme Being designed the physical world to produce precise consequences for our activities. When we do something good, there is a good consequence, and when we do something that harms another, we get harmed in return.

This consequence system is designed to teach us, just as the best way of parenting has been shown to be consequence training rather than physical discipline.

So while the physical world is set up by God to allow us the freedom to choose, it also teaches us. Why? Because our innate identity is spiritual - and our innate behavior is loving. So the physical world has been designed to point us towards our innate spiritual nature.

But it still gives us the ultimate freedom to choose whether we want to love and serve God or love and serve ourselves. This is God's perfect design.

Is this a symbolic conversation between Jesus and the 'devil'?

There may be a practical element to Jesus' fast and walk through the desert. But this exchange between Jesus and the devil is certainly metaphorical - and symbolic.

The symbolism used in the event that played out between Jesus and "satan" portrays our freedom of choice precisely. It illustrates how Jesus was given the choice to exercise his self-centeredness, by being offered the notion of seeking wealth, power, and fame within the physical world.

But Jesus did not choose those. He chose to love and serve the Supreme Being - and "worship" Him - rather than "testing" God.

This is the teaching purpose of this event portrayed using personification and symbolism. We each have this choice to make: we can love and serve ourselves by chasing the various concoctions of our mind as fed by the senses - and executed through the chase for wealth, fame and power.

Or we can love and serve the Supreme Being. We have that choice.

This is the lesson provided by this event, and this is the sum and substance of the real teachings of Jesus. Jesus came to deliver to us this message that if we make the choice to love and serve the Supreme Being as our Best Friend and Soul Mate, we will be fulfilled, simply because this is our innate spiritual nature.

This is why Jesus states clearly:

"‘Worship the Lord your God, and serve Him only.’"

*Here is the translation of this verse from the Lost Gospels of Jesus:

“Go away, enemy of God! For it is written, “You shall worship the LORD your God and Him only shall you serve.” (Matt. 4:10)

“Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness..." (Matthew 5:10)

“Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.” (Matthew 5:10)

What is the 'kingdom of heaven'?

The phrase "kingdom of heaven" is often misinterpreted as being a physical place. It is often pictured as a place up in the clouds where a bunch of old people in robes are sitting around playing harps and God - an old man with a long gray beard - is floating over them.

Actually, the "kingdom of heaven" that Jesus is referring to is not a location.

Here the phrase "kingdom of heaven" is being translated* from the Greek phrase, βασιλεία τῶν οὐρανῶν. The word "kingdom" is translated from the word βασιλεία (basileia), which means, according to Thayer's lexicon, "royal power, kingship, dominion, rule" and "not to be confused with an actual kingdom but rather the right or authority to rule over a kingdom."

This means that Jesus is speaking of a particular consciousness. It is the acceptance of God as having dominion or authority over all things. That God is the center. Thus the "kingdom of heaven" that Jesus is speaking of is a state of awareness or realization about the Supreme Being being the center, rather than us being the center of the universe.

Yes, the word "heaven" - translated from the Greek word οὐρανός (ouranos) meaning "the region above the sidereal heavens, the seat of order of things eternal and consummately perfect where God dwells and other heavenly beings." Indeed, this does make the phrase "kingdom of heaven" sound like a physical place.

But this is not what Jesus is referring to. The word used between βασιλεία and οὐρανῶν is not the word "of" as translated. It is the word τῶν - which is best translated to "the."

This would mean that Jesus would be saying, literally, something like "acceptance of God's authority the heaven."

This means that the acceptance of God's authority and dominion is heaven. Realizing that the Supreme Being is the center of our lives is the spiritual realm.

Thus we can conclude that the original phrase translated to "kingdom of heaven" that Jesus is referring to is the consciousness where God is the center. The kingdom of heaven is the consciousness where we see God as our life and soul.

Is this about love?

Where there is love, there is service and sacrifice. Where there is love, a person will undergo various hardships in order to facilitate the will of their beloved.

In other words, no matter where they may be located physically, a person who has put God in the center of their lives, in both love and service, is already dwelling within the spiritual realm.

Whatever sacrifices are made in the physical world are not difficult for such a person. Because they are not considering their welfare that important. They are functioning to please the Supreme Being.

However, this does not mean the loving servant of God seeks suffering. While we might qualify a devoted lover of God as one who sacrifices the comforts of the physical world, the devoted lover of God simply does not seek happiness and fulfillment in the comforts of the physical world.

Thus, if physical comforts allow the lover of God to better serve the Supreme Being, then such a lover of God will seek those comforts in an attempt to accomplish God's will. This is because the devoted lover of God finds pleasure in doing the will of God.

A devoted lover of God is not looking to be persecuted. Jesus may have accepted arrest because he knew the High Priest wanted to arrest him and silence him at some point. He simply allowed it to happen at a point that pleased the Supreme Being.

What is the goal?

Love of God is the goal.

The true lover of the Supreme Being is not out there looking to be punished so that they can claim to be devoted. They have no intent to show others how devoted they are. The lover of God simply works to please the Supreme Being. They work to glorify the Supreme Being.

If, however, the lover of God is ridiculed, punished, or banned somehow for their work in pleasing God, they accept this as a matter of course.

If a person is persecuted for pursuing the will of God and keeps on trying to please God throughout, they are already in heaven - the spiritual realm.  God created everything, so every location is located within the kingdom of God.

Such a person who sees God as the center and works to please Him has already achieved the spiritual realm.

Such a person - as Jesus states - is truly "blessed" - translated from μακάριος (makarios) meaning "happy" according to the lexicon.

In other words, Jesus is stating that a person who sees God as the center and sees everything to be used to please the Supreme Being, such a person is happy. They are fulfilled.

We might compare it to a finger. If the finger tries to eat some soup by itself by submerging itself into some soup, it will remain under-nourished. It will not get any nutrition from the soup. But if the finger helps pick up a spoon so that it can deliver some soup to the mouth and eventually to the stomach, the finger will become nourished.

It is the same with us. We become happy when we work to please the Supreme Being.

In other words, we are not the enjoyers. The Supreme Being is the Enjoyer and we were created by Him to be His servants and playmates. Thus we are nourished spiritually - we become fulfilled or happy - only when we are endeavoring to please our Best Friend and Soul Mate, the Supreme Being.

This is confirmed by Jesus when he said:

" 'Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.' This is the first and greatest commandment." (Matt. 22:37-38)

*Here is the translation of Jesus' statement from the Lost Gospels of Jesus:

"Blessed are those who have been persecuted for the sake of devotion, for theirs is the sanctuary of the spiritual realm." (Matthew 5:10)

"‘Do not murder, and anyone who murders will be subject to ...'" (Matthew 5:21-22)

“You have heard that it was said to the people long ago, ‘Do not murder, and anyone who murders will be subject to judgment.’ But I tell you that anyone who is angry with his brother without cause will be subject to judgment. Again, anyone who says to his brother, ‘Raca,’ is answerable to the Sanhedrin. But anyone who says, ‘You fool! Will be in danger of the fire of hell." (Matthew 5:21-22)

What does 'Raca' mean?

“Raca” is a Hebrew word indicating contempt for someone. Jesus condemns this as something the Sanhedrin—referring to the institutional temple council—can address.

Jesus is clarifying that lashing out at someone with a statement of ridicule - such as "you fool" - reflects an issue we have deep within. This indicates a level of jealousy and hatred that rots within us. This is why Jesus said:

"But anyone who says, ‘You fool! Will be in danger of the fire of hell."

This bears witness to the rotten state of our own consciousness. "the fire of hell" is thought of as a physical place - like a cave with lots of fire and people chained to the walls.

The issue is anger - the opposite of mercy.

Why is anger a problem?

This statement by Jesus to his students refers to the law of love. If we love our fellow children of God, there is no question of being angry and not forgiving them, let alone hurting or murdering them.

That is to become angry with someone without sufficient cause. What cause would be sufficient? Their offending God or His representative, which is essentially breaking the ‘first and foremost commandment,’ to love God and His children with all our heart and soul.

Now sometimes we might become angry with a fellow child of God if they do something that hurts themselves spiritually. This is also “with cause.” 

Becoming angry in this way, out of love, is not the same as saying “you fool” to them. It is like saying, "please come home" - which is what God keeps asking us to do.

What does Jesus mean by 'the fire of hell'?

A more appropriate translation* of the Greek word γέεννα (geenna) in Jesus' statement would refer to "wickedness" rather than "hell" because wickedness relates to consciousness, rather than a physical location.

The fire of wickedness occurs within our consciousness, but burns for everyone around us. Having a consciousness of hatred and envy is in itself wickedness. And this consciousness itself causes a burning of self-centeredness.

What is that burning of self-centeredness? We are speaking of lust and anger. These two sensations are compared to burning because if we have ever watched a fire, we know that fire consumes everything around it.

Next time you watch a fire, look closely at how it consumes its fuel. The flames lap up around the fuel and slowly work in and torch the fuel. But it is not as if the flames are satisfied with what they consume. They remain unsatisfied. They always need more fuel to consume.

This is the nature of lust and anger. Lust, when unsatisfied, can lead to anger. When we want something (lust) and we do not get what we want, we can become angry.

Note that Jesus says:

"But I tell you that anyone who is angry with his brother without cause will be subject to judgment."

Becoming angry "without cause" relates directly to anger and envy. Being envious means being jealous of someone else because they have what we want.

Becoming envious is our worst conscious development. It is at the root of much of the violence and harm that are done against others. Envy is one of the key reasons for our being here in the physical world, away from the Supreme Being.

Why are we away from God now?

We are here, away from God, because we became envious of Him. Yes, we wanted to have what He has. He has the power, the beauty, the authority, the fame. And we want those things. So we were sent away, tossed out of the spiritual realm - symbolized by Adam and Eve being tossed out of the "Garden."

It is the same with heaven: Yes, there is a spiritual world, but heaven is a state of consciousness.

Consider this verse in Genesis:

The LORD God made garments of skin for Adam and his wife and clothed them. (Genesis 3:21)

The "garments of skin" symbolize these physical bodies we temporarily occupy. We are not these physical bodies. We are the spirit-person within them. We are the drivers of these physical bodies.

This physical world is like a rehabilitation center. Here we deal with the consequences of our envy, lust and anger. One of the reasons we are here in this world is to learn to transcend enviousness. 

As we look around us we have so many opportunities to become envious of others. Others who have become more wealthy, famous or otherwise successful in the material world can become the subject of our envy.

But we are also provided the ability to combat envy. First, the world combats our envy with consequences. When we act out of envy, we typically are met with the consequences of those actions. This can help us learn that envy does us no good.

Ultimately, envy is treated spiritually. By becoming closer to the Supreme Being and developing a relationship with Him.

Why is there so much suffering?

Often people ask if God is so good, how come there is so much suffering in the world?

The suffering of the world is not the result of God’s actions or decisions. The design of the world is set up to teach us and guide us, as well as offer us the freedom to make our own decisions.

As a result of that design, we are also met with the consequences of our actions. We“reap what we sow.” This means that the actions we take now will lead to particular results either here and now, or in the future.

We must ask ourselves logically, why a person would be born into a suffering situation like Darfur? Why are these kids suffering from birth? Did God just decide to punish these people for no reason?

Certainly not. As we will see later, Jesus also addresses this issue. These souls are being punished for the acts they committed in previous lifetimes. Today we experience the hell we caused to others in the past. It is a perfect system. It is a teaching system.

Depending upon the act and the situation, sometimes we receive our consequences in this lifetime, immediately. Prison or war are good examples of punishment for decisions made during the same lifetime. For those who are angry and hostile toward others, that anger and hostility may lead to a backlash of a fight or even escalate into a war. This is the immediate “hell” for these activities.

The world is also designed for love. Caring for others leads to a completely different result as well. When we care for others, this will result in being cared for - if not by others then by God. This too is the design of this world: A perfect world designed by God to teach each and every one of us our own set of lessons, simultaneously.

We might wonder why love is such an important part of Jesus’ teachings and such an integral part of the commandments that Moses revealed. What is it about love that is so important to God?

Is God love?

We often hear vague sayings such as “God is love.” Does this have any meaning?

Yes, God is the embodiment of Love. Love emanates from Him. God is also the most loved, the move loveable, and the most loving.

The real point is that God is a Person, and He unconditionally loves each of us personally. His whole Personality is tied to His love and care for each of us. The spiritual dimension is thus the place where this unconditional love governs all activity. Every one of His actions is founded upon love and compassion.

Therefore, actions of hatred, anger, and spite are simply out of context with His world. They run contrary to His Personality and nature. Self-centered activities of lust, envy, and anger oppose love. Where true love is, envy, hatred, and anger do not have a place. It is for this reason that actions against love have such negative consequences.

We were all created with an innate propensity for love. But each of us also has the innate ability to make choices. This is because freedom is inseparable from love. If God forced us to love Him that would hardly be considered real love.

Those of us floundering among the temporary physical dimension, dwelling within these temporary "garments of skin” made a choice at one point or another not to love and trust God. This decision point is the symbolic story of Adam and Eve.

So now we find ourselves here trying to enjoy as He might enjoy. Here we try to play god by trying to control and dominate others, and gather up as much money, possessions and attention as we possibly can. As the expression goes: "He who dies with the most toys wins." This aptly summarizes our attempts to "win" over our environment by trying to enjoy as a ruler - the expression of our desire to be in God's position.

God did not want to lose us, though. So He also designed a facility to allow us to learn to love. A facility that allows us to grow spiritually and understand that true happiness is having a loving relationship with Him. This is confirmed by Jesus' most important teaching:

“ ‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind" (Luke 10:27)

*Here is the translation of Matthew 5:21-22 from the Lost Gospels of Jesus:

"You have what it was taught in ancient times, ‘You shall not kill, and whoever kills shall face the consequences. Yet I say to you that anyone who becomes angry with his brother shall be subject to consequences, and whoever calls his brother ‘stupid’ shall be subject to judgment, and whoever speaks godlessness shall be subject to the fires of wickedness." (Matt. 5:21-22)

“Give us today our daily bread.” (Matthew 6:11)

Is this really about 'bread'?

This part of Jesus' prayer is not about the bread eaten by our physical bodies.

One can find food on this planet with or without God's help. Food literally grows on trees here. Or in the case of bread, wheat grows from the ground and can be harvested and milled. From there it can be made into bread.

We don't need to ask God for food in order to get fed. Most of us simply need to work to get our food. Sometimes this requires hard work. Regardless of whether we ask God for food, we will still likely have to work to continue to have food available.

Furthermore, Jesus has already answered this question:

"Man shall not live on bread alone." (Matthew 4:4)

So if Jesus wasn't speaking literally about bread, what was he speaking of?

Jesus was speaking metaphorically, about becoming spiritually fed. How do we know this? Consider this teaching of Jesus:

“And why do you worry about clothes? See how the lilies of the field grow. They do not labor or spin. Yet I tell you that not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these. If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today and tomorrow is thrown into the fire, will He not much more clothe you, O you of little faith? So do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat? Or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ For the pagans run after all these things and your heavenly Father knows that you need them. But seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.” (Matt. 6:28-33)

The reality is that God has designed nature to provide each species with their allotment of food, which must be worked for but also shared.

This assumes that each of us takes what we need and shares the rest, rather than hordes it - which is what is taking place in human society today. There is enough food for everyone by His design. We may not share it properly - but there is enough for everyone.

But even if someone is well-fed, this brings no spiritual satisfaction. Physical food does not provide spiritual fulfillment.

The "daily bread" Jesus is referring to metaphorically is the bread that feeds our soul. Jesus is referring to soul food. That which feeds the spirit-person within the physical body.

What food will fulfill our spirit?

As Jesus states in Matthew 6:28-33 above, having plenty of food will not fulfill our real craving. Physical food will not fill our need for spiritual fulfillment.

This is why wealth or fame does not satisfy us. Those with wealth and/or fame continue to seek more of those things and anything else. Once wealth and fame is reached, those who have achieved that do not stop. They keep on trying to get more. It is like a bottomless pit.

This tells us we do not have to pray for food or any other material thing. Indeed, Jesus’ teachings illustrate that the things of this world will not satisfy us.

This is because we are not these temporary physical bodies. Our identities are not physical. We are spirit-persons driving temporary physical bodies. Jesus emphasizes this throughout his teachings, including this statement:

“Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moth and rust do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.” (Matthew 6:19-20)

Why then this seeming departure to pray to God for our “daily bread”?

The “bread” Jesus is referring to in Matt. 6:11 is our relationship with God. We need to love and serve God as our heart and soul. This is confirmed in the previous stanza of the prayer:

"Your kingdom come, Your will be done."

By serving God we become part of his intimate kingdom, and we grow in our love for Him, which feeds us spiritually. Loving God and serving God becomes our daily bread.

We need this love for God every day. We need this loving relationship with God all day long. We need this loving relationship or we become spiritually hungry. Without this loving relationship, we are seeking satisfaction from all sorts of different things, trying to fill the empty void caused by not having this intimate relationship. This is confirmed by Jesus elsewhere:

" 'Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.' This is the first and greatest commandment." (Matthew 22:37-38)

“Do not judge, or you too will be judged ..." (Matthew 7:1-2)

“Do not judge, or you too will be judged. For in the same way you judge others, you will be judged, and with the measure you use, it will be measured to you." (Matthew 7:1-2)

What does Jesus mean by 'judge'?

The word "judge" here is being translated from the Greek word κρίνω (krinō), which means, according to the lexicon:

-to separate, put asunder, to pick out, select, choose
-to approve, esteem, to prefer
-to be of opinion, deem, think, to be of opinion
-to determine, resolve, decree
-to judge
-to pronounce an opinion concerning right and wrong
-to rule, govern

While "judge" may be the best word to use, the meaning of Jesus' statement begins to have greater meaning because it indicates not just judging others but feeling oneself in a position to judge others. That is, thinking highly enough of oneself to think that our opinions and judgments have value. It is a false sense of entitlement - feeling ourselves great enough to be able to judge others.

Feeling so highly of ourselves to enable us to judge others is practically universal in the physical world. The citizens of this world feel it is our right and responsibility to judge others.

Are our judgments and opinions valuable?

In this world, practically everyone has an opinion - on practically everything. Regardless of whether we know anything about what we are talking about or not. We think our opinions and judgments are invaluable.

We can see it online in the form of comments and reviews. So many people want to get their opinion out there - judging an article or book or topic in general. Regardless of their expertise on the topic. Regardless of whether they have had any training or any kind of knowledge given to them to share.

There are two issues here. One relates to a lack of knowledge and the other relates to humility.

Are we really in any kind of position to make judgments upon anyone else? No. Therefore, our judgments have no value.

Just consider how small and inconsequential we are. There are about 7,800,000,000. Thus we are each one 1/7,800,000,000 of the human population on earth.

Now consider the Supreme Being. He created every single one of these 7.8 billion people, and a lot more. How can each of us be undergoing simultaneous learning experiences?

Because God intelligently designed the physical world and all of its lessons and consequences.

Humans have invented computer programming that allows for what is called artificial intelligence. God is the ultimate programmer, and he has designed a whole living mechanism within the physical world that expresses intelligence in the form of teaching us. 

Only the intelligence within this world is not artificial. It is alive.

Who is in a position to judge?

In order to judge, one must have all the facts, and the intelligence to interpret them. Do we have enough facts to make judgments on someone else? Do we know what they have gone through? Do we know the various causational issues to make an educated judgment?

Not really. Only one person has all of this: The Supreme Being.

Because the Supreme Being is the Source of everything and the Owner of everything, and the Knower of everything, only He has the right of judgment. Only He has an opinion of value.

Therefore, if we are not glorifying the Supreme Being, or passing along His opinions - the teachings of His representatives - then our opinions are no better than dogs barking or cats meowing.

Jesus confirmed this position as he said:

"By myself I can do nothing; I judge only as I hear, and my judgment is just, for I seek not to please myself but Him who sent me." (John 5:30)

Jesus is stating that is judgments are fair because he is working on behalf of the Supreme Being. He is God's representative. His purpose for judging others is not related to the reasons we in the physical world like to judge others.

We like to judge others because we think that we are great. This is self-centeredness. It is pride. It is egotism based upon false identification.

Because we mistakenly identify ourselves as these physical bodies, we think we have some right of judgment. Yet we are not these physical bodies. They are temporary vehicles. And our minds are also temporary. So even if we think we have a sharp mind, the mind will not be sharp for long. At some point, our mind will become forgetful just as our physical body falters and begins to die.

Jesus' statement above also indicates one of the designs of the physical world - that the physical world is designed to teach us through consequences. Whatever we do comes back to us in the form of consequences. This allows us to experience what we do to others. It is the perfect learning tool.

Jesus is explaining this process with regard to judgment. He says, "in the same way you judge others, you will be judged." This is precision consequence learning.

It is so precise that even the measure with which we judge others - "and with the measure you use, it will be measured to you."

How does God judge?

The Supreme Being is the perfect judge. Not only does He see everything and automatically understand the various causational issues. But He imparts fair and merciful judgments upon us in real-time.

Some of His judgments are immediate, while others take place over time, depending upon the circumstance.

The basis of God's judgments is consequences. The Supreme Being wants us to learn and grow from our mistakes. So He combines mercy together with the impartial serving of consequences. Much of this takes place seemingly automatically, but there is tremendous wisdom behind it all.

This is confirmed by Jesus as translated from the NLT version:

"For you will be treated as you treat others." (Matt. 7:2 NLT)

The foundation is that we are here in this world to learn. So what we do while here may come back at us during this lifetime or the next lifetime.

This consequence system, designed by the Supreme Being, is perfect. It is the perfect system because it doesn't require God to intervene and move things around for each situation. The consequences are measured out automatically depending upon our situation and learning opportunities.

Yet some feel that God is not perfect, because if He were, then why is the world so messed up? Why are there so many wars, and people starving and people dying if God were perfect?

Those who make such a judgment of God are judging God without the ability to do so. We don't bother considering that quite possibly the reason why the world is so messed up is that we are messing it up.

Yes, the Supreme Being simply provided us with a world where we could make choices regarding our activities. Here we have the choice to be as mean and greedy as we want or a loving and kind as we want. It is our choice, and the condition of the world reflects this choice.

As such, it is the meanness - the hostility - the greed - of those of us in the physical world that has produced all the hostility, starvation, and wars around the world. These are not coming from God. They are coming from us. These are the consequences of our actions. Our consciousness. Our self-centeredness.

Why do we suffer in this world?

Why, we might ask, are some children born into starvation? What have they done to deserve this?

This same question was asked of Jesus:

As he went along, he saw a man blind from birth. His disciples asked him, “Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?” (John 9:1-2)

Such a question assumes that this man lived before he was born and had the opportunity to sin. Therefore, we know the question assumes the man had a lifetime before this lifetime.

How else could the man's sins have possibly caused him to be blind if he were born blind? This assumption clearly means that Jesus taught that we can live multiple physical lifetimes.

We also know that living multiple lifetimes was also understood by many during Jesus' time. We can see this in the following verses:

Jesus and his disciples left Galilee and went up to the villages near Caesarea Philippi. As they were walking along, he asked them, “Who do people say I am?” “Well,” they replied, “some say John the Baptist, some say Elijah, and others say you are one of the other prophets.” (Mark 8:27-28)

We can understand from these and other verses that at least part of Jesus' teachings was that we each have lived before being born within this physical body. These teachings were neatly removed from the New Testament by the Romans and the sectarian institutions that followed - along with silencing early Christian teachers such as Origen Adamantius from Alexandria. The Romans and the Roman Catholic institution repackaged Jesus' teachings in ways that fit their agenda of controlling the populace.

The reality that cannot be neatly removed is that we are not these physical bodies at all. It is scientifically verifiable. These bodies are constantly changing. The molecules that make up our body now will be recycled for new molecules within five years. So within five years, we will effectively have a completely different body on.

This means we changed bodies - right in this lifetime.

We can also change bodies after this body is dead - if we haven't re-developed our loving relationship with the Supreme Being.

And this is why some children are born into suffering. Because that suffering is a consequence of actions taken in a previous life. Just as Jesus' disciples mentioned, "who sinned, this man or his parents?"

Think about this further. The question is a logical one. The boy's blindness might be a consequence of the parents - something the parents did before the boy was born. Or it might have been a consequence of something the boy did - in his previous lifetime.

Who is suffering?

Suffering in the physical world takes place upon the temporary physical body - not upon the spirit-person within. Yes, it can certainly affect the spirit-person, invoking learning, and understanding produced by previous activities.

But essentially, it is like playing a video game. If a boy's icon gets blown up in the video game does the boy get hurt? No. The boy can just turn off the game and walk away.

In the same way, if our body gets blown up, we simply leave the physical body - and "walk" away. We actually rise up out of the physical body (resurrection) at the time of death.

So the suffering of the physical body is meant as a learning experience. It is like getting into a flight simulator. The flight simulator is not a real plane. It is designed to teach a person how to fly a plane.

In the same way, these physical bodies are designed to teach us - to rehabilitate us.

This is the purpose for consequences, which are borne from the perfect judgments of the Supreme Being. When we treat others poorly we get treated the same in reciprocation - if not immediately, at some point.

This system is meant to teach us so that someday we will learn to love again. And one day desire to re-develop our innate relationship with the Supreme Being.

"I tell you the truth, I have not found anyone in Israel with such great faith...." (Matthew 8:10-12)

When Jesus had entered Capernaum, a centurion came to him, asking for help. "Lord," he said, "my servant lies at home paralyzed, suffering terribly." Jesus said to him, "Shall I come and heal him?" The centurion replied, "Lord, I do not deserve to have you come under my roof. But just say the word, and my servant will be healed. For I myself am a man under authority, with soldiers under me. I tell this one, 'Go,' and he goes; and that one, 'Come,' and he comes. I say to my servant, 'Do this,' and he does it." When Jesus heard this, he was amazed and said to those following him, "Truly I tell you, I have not found anyone in Israel with such great faith. I say to you that many will come from the east and the west, and will take their places at the feast with Abraham, Isaac and Jacob in the kingdom of heaven. But the subjects of the kingdom will be thrown outside, into the darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth." (Matthew 8:10-12)

What did the Centurion mean by 'just say the word'?

Jesus was responded to the statement of a centurion who deferentially communicated to Jesus. The centurion saw Jesus' mission and authority on a much broader basis than simply healing people's bodies.

The centurion said, “just say the word.” What was the "word" that the centurion is referring to - which pleased Jesus?

“Word” here is translated from the Greek word λόγος (logos) - which means "doctrine" or "teaching" in many contexts, but can also be translated to "word" according to Thayer's lexicon. In this case, we can know the centurion is awaiting some form of instruction from Jesus.

Words spoken in praise of or on behalf of God are instructional. These are transcendental words. These are words with higher authority. The reason words that glorify the Supreme Being are powerful is because God’s realm lacks the duality we perceive in the physical world.

A sincere and loving reference to the Supreme Being thus has God’s essence contained within it. A person who is deeply relating with the Supreme Being will transmit powerful messages regarding Him, because of this deep relationship. These were the words spoken by Jesus.

The centurion understood that Jesus’ healing ability was due to the authority of Jesus' words that glorified the Supreme Being. Because of Jesus’ intimate relationship with the Supreme Being, he was able to transmit that authority through his words, spoken in praise of God (i.e. “Hallowed by thy Name”).

Was this about healing?

In distinguishing this ability from others who may be “healing in Jesus’ name,” we again bring to mind another statement from Jesus:

"Many will come to me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and in your name drive out demons and perform many miracles? Then I will tell them plainly, ‘I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers!"( Matthew 7:22)

It is apparent from this that just healing the sick is not the principal element of Jesus' message.

What Jesus is trying to teach is loving service to the Supreme Being. He makes this clear with the statement from Matthew 7:21:

"Not everyone who says to me ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only he who does the will of my Father who is in heaven.”

Many are attracted by Jesus’ acts of healing. But Jesus' statements tell us that the purpose of Jesus' healing was to illustrate the power of faith in the Supreme Being.

Jesus is communicating that we humbly request the Supreme Being to help us come to know Him and love Him. Such a request will be heard by the Supreme Being. If we have faith that the Supreme Being will hear us, the Supreme Being will surely hear us and respond according to the level of our faith. 

Why is faith so important? Because faith is the first step of the journey of a relationship with God. How can we have a relationship with someone we do not trust?

One of the central designs of the physical world is that we cannot see the Supreme Being with these physical eyes. This is to give us the complete freedom to love Him or not. Such freedom is given to us because one cannot truly love under coercion. Freedom is the basis of true love.

This is the meaning of the apple in the analogy of Adam and Eve: By taking the apple from the "tree of knowledge" Adam was expressing his freedom of choice, to either obey God's instructions or not.

What is 'outside?'

Those who choose not to follow God's instructions are choosing to remain outside. But what is "outside?"

“I say to you that many will come from the east and the west, and will take their places at the feast with Abraham, Isaac and Jacob in the kingdom of heaven. But the subjects of the kingdom will be thrown outside, into the darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.”

Here Jesus clarifies that although many will come, expecting to “take their places” in the assembly of heaven, yet many will be tossed “outside.” 

Outside is the physical world, where we live now. Here we live in darkness. How so? The darkness of the physical world is that we cannot, with these physical eyes, see the Supreme Being. And our physical consciousness prevents us from connecting with the Supreme Being. We are in effect, cut off from the spiritual dimension.

The physical world is also a place of suffering. Here people are born in pain, crying (“weeping”). Here we live by struggling, competing, and fighting. The physical world is immersed in wars, starvation, terrorism, thievery, dishonesty, disease, aging, and death.

Despite our hopes and wishes to the contrary, the physical world is not a kind place. It is a place of suffering. And depending upon the environment we are born into, we all experience relative degrees of “weeping and gnashing of teeth” here in this temporary physical world.

The physical world is the world where those who have rejected God go. Those who participate in loving, serving relationships with God - like Abraham, Jacob, and Issac - are sitting at the loving “feast” that exists within the kingdom of God. Those who envy God, however, wanting to be God-like, are the “subjects” who are left outside.

Was Jesus teaching about fanaticism?

Jesus was preaching against the fanatical teachings of the Pharisees and the 'teachers of the law.' He called them hypocrites and abusers of people.

"Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You travel over land and sea to win a single convert, and when you have succeeded, you make them twice as much a child of hell as you are." (Matthew 23:15)

In the centuries following Jesus, some of these sayings were used by the Roman Catholic Church to create fear in the masses, to encourage them to go to church and pay tithes. They were used to control the populace. As such, the Roman Church became very wealthy, and its leaders and organizers became powerful people.

This corruption of power also gave rise to an ongoing culture within this institution that led to the sexual abuse of young followers and nuns. Such is darkness.

Rather, Jesus’ message is quite clear: We will only be happy if we re-develop our loving relationship with the Supreme Being and thus place the focus of our lives upon God.

This and only this will allow us to take our places at the feast in the kingdom of love for the Supreme Being.

“Take heart, son, your sins are forgiven.” (Matthew 9:2)

Jesus stepped into a boat, crossed over and came to his own town. Some men brought to him a paralyzed man, lying on a mat. When Jesus saw their faith, he said to the man, “Take heart, son; your sins are forgiven.” (Matthew 9:1-2)

Why didn't Jesus say "I forgive your sins"?

We must notice, in all accepted Biblical versions, that Jesus does not say, "I forgive your sins." Rather, he says, "your sins are forgiven."

This is being translated from the Greek phrase, Θάρσει τέκνον ἀφέωνταί σοί αἱ ἁμαρτίαι σου. Translated, literally, it means, 'take courage son, your sins are forgiven you."

This is an emphatic, indirect statement. It does not imply Jesus' direct involvement in the action. Otherwise, it would use a possessive, such as "I" or "I have" prior to the action of forgiveness.

This means that Jesus went out of his way to not say that he did it.

Furthermore, when the Pharisees complained:

But I want you to know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins." (Matthew 9:6)

As explained with this verse, here Jesus also does not use the first person to claim his authority to forgive sins. Rather, he refers to a role - "Son of Man" - in the third person.

Why didn't Jesus heal the man right away?

The key element here is that Jesus was not immediately concerned about the paralysis of the man. He was focused upon the spiritual life of the man and those who brought the man over. This why it says, "when Jesus saw their faith."

Furthermore, one might wonder why the sins of a paralyzed person were connected to his healing? Jesus did not say "I've healed your paralysis." Rather, Jesus said, "your sins are forgiven." Why?

Jesus was teaching them that this is because a person’s current physical situation is the result of our past activities. We are each subject to the consequences of our prior activities.

The fact that Jesus taught the law of consequences was also communicated by this question by Jesus' disciples:

“Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?” (John 9:2)

This illustrates that Jesus was teaching the law of consequences. The disciples were questioning whether the child's being born blind was a consequence of his parent's activities or a consequence of the man's prior activities.

This law of 'as you sow, so shall you reap' (Gal 6:7 KJV) is a central component of the living being's learning experience in the physical body.

Each of us can make choices in life. Do we help others? Or do we hurt others? Do we give of ourselves? Or do we take from others? Do we serve God or do we serve ourselves?

What is sin?

There are several Greek words that have been translated to "sin" in the texts of the Bible:
- "paraptoma" to fall.
- "hamartia" to miss the mark.
- "hettema" to diminish.
- "parabasis" to cross the line.
- "amonia" to not abide.
- "parakoe" to refuse to heed.
- "agnoeema" to ignore.
- "skandalizō" to stumble.

In the case of Matthew 9:2, the word "sin" is translated from the Greek word hamartia. This refers to "missing the mark" or "making an error."

Taken as a whole, there are two aspects of sin. The act of sinning is to be acting in a self-centered way: Acting with self-centeredness.

Actions that harm others with self-centered motives are called "sins."

Every action and decision that affects others has a consequence. Our actions and decisions are each stored up until they are expressed as physical responses. Sometimes our actions have immediate consequences. Maybe we will go to jail if we steal, for example. Sometimes our actions have delayed responses.

Some consequences are expressed in our next lifetimes if we do not return to the spiritual realm. They will become part of the next body's DNA and will be expressed as particular diseases or handicaps. In fact, every part of our physical body is a consequence of our past activities - good and bad.

This scenario - and the fact that it was being taught by early followers of Jesus - was confirmed in Galatians 6:7:"

A man reaps what he sows. The one who sows to please his sinful nature, from that nature will reap destruction; for one who sows to please the Spirit, from the Spirit will reap eternal life."

This is why Jesus saw the sins of the paralyzed man as so important, and why forgiving those sins was vital to the man's physical recovery. Out of his mercy upon the man, Jesus wanted to relieve the person of his past transgressions. This allowed the consequences of his actions to be lifted.

The ability to forgive sins comes from the Supreme Being. And should the Supreme Being’s confidential servant and representative request it of God, a person’s sins can be wiped clean. The truly devoted servant of God never claims to be the Supreme Being. The representative of God continually harkens God’s power, and he desires to please the Supreme Being. This was expressed clearly by Jesus:

"By myself I can do nothing; I judge only as I hear, and my judgment is just, for I seek not to please myself but Him who sent me." (John 5:30)

“Once again, the kingdom of heaven is like a net ...” (Matthew 13:47-51)

“Once again, the kingdom of heaven is like a net that was let down into the lake and caught all kinds of fish. When it was full, the fishermen pulled it up on the shore. Then they sat down and collected the good fish in baskets, but threw the bad away. This is how it will be at the end of the age. The angels will come and separate the wicked from the righteous and throw them into the fiery furnace, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth. Have you understood all these things?” (Matthew 13:47-51)

What does the 'net' symbolize in Jesus' analogy?

Here Jesus compares the kingdom of heaven to a net let down to catch fish. Why a net? A net symbolizes the effort that the Supreme Being makes to bring us back to Him. 

In more practical terms, the net descends at the death of the physical body. Every physical body will die. At the time of death the soul, the spirit-person, will leave the physical body and ascend into the realm of the spirit.

It is here that our consciousness and activities during this lifetime are accounted for. This moment, also characterized as "judgment day" is compared by Jesus to the fishermen sorting out the fish.

Notice that the "bad" fish are "thrown away" in Jesus' parable. What does "thrown away" mean? 

Since the fishermen are on the shore, it means the fish are thrown back into the water.

This is particularly important because Jesus then compares the fishermen separating the fish with angels who will separate the "wicked from the righteous."

In this case, Jesus describes how the angels will treat the "wicked." He says they will, "throw them into the fiery furnace, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth."

What does this mean from a practical standpoint?

How will the 'angels come and separate the wicked'?

Once we leave our physical body at the time of death, each of us is sorted according to our consciousness and activities carried out during our lifetimes, just as the fishermen sorted the fish in Jesus' parable: "Then they sat down and collected the good fish in baskets, but threw the bad away."

The concept of the fish being "thrown away" in Jesus' analogy means those fish were thrown back into the water. In the same way, those who have not attempted to develop a more spiritual, loving consciousness, and growing closer to God will need more development. This means we will be tossed back into the physical world to continue learning.

Yes, this physical world is set up for learning. We are each given a physical body that is equipt for experiencing physical pleasure and physical pain. This accompanies a mind that can experience psychological pleasure and psychological pain.

This physical world is designed as a place of consequences. This means consequences that reflect not only what effects we have had on others, (“as you sow, so shall you reap”) but also to our level of learning.

For example, a person may have committed a wrong against someone else and feels very sorry. They regret what they did. Such a person may still suffer consequences for that action. But the consequences will also be relative to the degree of learning they have experienced.

The purpose of consequences is not punitive. It is rehabilitative. A person who has empathy and understands the harm they have done and feels sorry, the consequences will reflect that.

But a person who commits a wrong against someone and does not feel they have done anything wrong will typically receive the brunt of the consequences. That is because they need to not only learn what they did was wrong. They will also need to learn what it was like bearing the brunt of what harm they caused to someone else.

This can also occur to some degree within many legal systems, as judges and juries will also take into account the remorse of the person on trial.

This is similar to the way consequences work on the physical world because this is a place designed by God to help us to grow spiritually - which means learning about love and how to love others. This is preparation for learning to redevelop our loving relationship with God.

If we have utilized our life to grow spiritually, then according to Jesus, we may not be "thrown away" - which means being put back into the physical world to begin another lifetime of learning.

What about the 'gnashing of teeth and weeping'?

What is the physics of this? The body is dead. The teeth are decomposing. How can decomposing teeth gnash? The eyes also decompose so there can be no weeping. 

The only way for this to occur is if the spirit-person is given a new body, complete with teeth that can “gnash” and eyes that can “weep.”

After the death of this body, the self-centered soul will be put back into another physical body in new circumstances. And what might those circumstances be? They will be specifically supplied in the form of a unique physical body and environment - designed precisely to learn certain lessons and face consequences for choices made in a previous lifetime.

This also answers that question posed by many about why there is suffering in the world. Why are some born into situations where they are subject to starvation, war, and rape, while others are born into wealthy families in relatively safe regions? Why are some born into healthy bodies and others born into sick or deformed bodies? Does this mean that God is not fair - they ask?

The Supreme Being is certainly fair. Those who are born into hellish situations are experiencing the consequences of what they inflicted upon others. They are experiencing suffering precisely as they caused others to suffer.

The Supreme Being set up a perfect system. We get put into precisely the situations we created for others when we had a choice. This is the true definition of "reaping what we have sown." This also allows the state of "gnashing of teeth and weeping" that Jesus is describing.

Each of us who occupies a physical body is living in a relative degree of hell, depending upon our consciousness and consequences from past activities. Our body is designed to teach us specific lessons. And whatever our body's physical suffering, it is caused by our previous choices and/or the lessons we need to learn.

But we are always offered a way out of this hellish dimension. This is Jesus' point.

Should we choose to use our lifetimes to re-develop our relationship with the Supreme Being, we will be like the "good fish" of Jesus' parable. 

What does the 'end of the age' mean?

What does Jesus mean by the “end of the age”? Many have speculated a point in time in the future where the world ends and everyone is judged and sent to their respective places. This "apocalypse" scenario has been predicted by preachers and priests for centuries yet the end of the world has not come yet. Were they lying to us?

The problem with this theory is: Where do all the people go who die before this "apocalypse" arrives? To cover this “end of the age” interpretation, ecclesiastical teachers and their institutions have conjured a speculative concept called “purgatory.” This concept assumes that people will just wait in a limbo state after they die, waiting for the “end of the age.”

This would mean, of course, that billions upon billions of people have been waiting in this limbo state for thousands of years (all the way back to the dawning of man?). This ridiculous postulation means that trillions of people are hanging out in this purgatory state, all waiting to be judged and waiting for the "second coming." What are they doing all this time? Is it like a big Cocoon movie or something? Does this really make sense? And where did Jesus (or any prophet) say this?

This concept of purgatory is simply speculation based upon mistranslated and misinterpreted text. The word "age" is translated from the Greek word αἰών (aiōn), which means, according to the lexicon: "period of time, age."

The "age" that Jesus is speaking of is the "age" related to the lifespan of those he is speaking to. What other "age" could he be speaking of? Isn't he speaking personally to people regarding their spiritual welfare? Certainly, Jesus is not a historian, speaking in terms of a certain future event in time, an event that would occur outside the timeframe of those he was speaking to.

Thus, the “end of the age” Jesus spoke of relates to that day each physical body dies. Each of our bodies have an “age” right? And there is a day and time when each body dies, right? At this point, it is the end of our aging, right? So it is merely logical to conclude that the “end of the age” for each of us is the day each of our bodies dies.

The event of bodily death is common to each of us. Every body must die. Therefore, each of us shares a common event: our bodies will die, and they will cease to age, and thus this is the "end of the age."

What takes place upon our leaving the body at the time of death? This has been confirmed among thousands of cases of clinical death: Once a person's body clinically dies, the person floats above the body, watching it as it lies at the deathbed. 

Jesus makes it clear in his statement that we are judged for our lifetimes and the angels will separate the "wicked from the righteous."

The word "righteous" comes from the Greek word δίκαιος (dikaios), which means "observing divine laws" according to the lexicon. The essence of "divine laws" according to Jesus and Moses is to love the Supreme Being with all our hearts and love others.

At the time of our body's death (the "end of the age") we will be able to leave this hellish dimension and return to the spiritual dimension. We will be carried back home by the angels into the loving arms of God, Who has been patiently awaiting our return to Him.

Why has this been misunderstood?

The key reason Jesus' statement has been misinterpreted is because of a lack of understanding regarding our identity. This is the key essence of Jesus' teachings:

"Do not be afraid of those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul." (Matthew 10:27)

“Follow me, and let the dead bury their own dead.” (Matthew 8:22)

"The spirit is willing, but the body is weak." (Matthew 25:42 and Mark 14:39)

"But I will show you whom you should fear: Fear him who, after the killing of the body, has power to throw you into hell. Yes, I tell you, fear him." (Luke 12:5)

Jesus is clear: bodies do not dance on graves, nor do they wait in purgatory. They decompose. This is verified scientifically simply by digging up a buried body. In fact, during the body's lifetime, every molecule in our body is recycled at least every five years (also scientifically established).

This means the body we wear today is a different body we wore five years ago. What is constant? We still exist, yet our body is constantly changing composition. What remains unchanged is the living spirit - the person - the soul - who temporarily occupies the physical body for a temporary period of time (“the age”).

God knows that we will only be happy when we re-establish our loving relationship with Him. The net symbolizes His process of bringing us out of the physical world and bringing those who want to return to Him back home.

The kingdom of heaven is about our relationship with God. The word "kingdom" is translated from the Greek word βασιλεία (basileia), meaning "royal power, kingship, dominion, rule; not to be confused with an actual kingdom but rather the right or authority to rule over a kingdom."

Jesus is not referring to a physical location. He is referring to a particular consciousness. The consciousness of loving and serving the Supreme Being.  

“Let the little children come to me and do not hinder them ...” (Matthew 19:14-15)

“Let the little children come to me and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these.” (Matthew 19:14-15)

Here is the situation:

Then people brought little children to Jesus for him to place his hands on them and pray for them. But the disciples rebuked them. (Matthew 19:13)

The foregoing is also described in Mark:

And he took the children in his arms, placed his hands on them and blessed them. (Mark 10:16)

Why were the children so important to Jesus?

One might ask, what is the big deal about children? Why would the kingdom of heaven belong to “such as these”?

We were each a child at some point. And our bodies remain children for only a few years. Then the body gets older and eventually dies. Can the kingdom of God belong to a body that will someday die?

Actually, Jesus was speaking of children metaphorically. What do children represent?

Little children typically feel humbled in their circumstances (although today this is not always the case), as they look up to the adults around them with awe. This humble consciousness, as Jesus has stated elsewhere, is pleasing to God.

Why is a humble consciousness pleasing to God? Because this is the consciousness that pervades the spiritual world. This is also our original consciousness.

This is also why a humble person and humble activities attract us. Just consider how repulsive a proud, cocky person is to us. This is contrasted with how an honest, humble person is pleasing to us.

Why is humility pleasing to us? Because we are all humble by nature. That is our true consciousness.

Our pride, on the other hand, is the product of self-centeredness. Each of us living in the physical world are here because we became self-centered. We decided we didn't want to love and serve God anymore - we wanted to please ourselves instead.

Why did we get separated from God?

Self-centeredness precipitated our fall from the spiritual world, after we rejected our relationship with the Supreme Being. Self-centeredness covered up our original consciousness, leading to pride, envy, lust and as they progress, anger and violence.

This doesn't mean we can't change. At any time, we can begin the journey back home to our relationship with God. How? It starts with a single step: The determination that we want to return to Him and a request to God to help us do this.

This admission - asking for the Supreme Being to help us - is the beginning of our journey because it assumes we are not in control. We need God. Just as the children Jesus was speaking to needed their parents, we need the Supreme Being. We cannot reach God's kingdom by ourselves.

This first step is also the beginning of change. We begin to change our consciousness from: "I can do anything I want," to "I need God." This requires humility.

Once we ask the Supreme Being to guide us, He will. He will begin to show us the journey home. He will introduce us to His guide, and they together will show us how we can change our consciousness.

Our consciousness must change because we cannot enter into the spiritual world with our current consciousness. Consider a loud, boisterous drunken person coming from a local bar into a quiet concert hall where a solo pianist was playing. 

In the bar, the drunken person might have swaggered around and talked loudly, pushing his way through the crowd. In the concert hall, he'll have to be well-groomed, polite, and quiet. He probably wouldn't even be granted into the concert hall in the first place, but if he did, he would likely disturb the audience and the soloist by talking loudly and disturbing everyone. He would likely get escorted to the door.

In the same way, a proud stubborn person could not remain in the spiritual realm. In the spiritual realm, everyone is humble, loving, and giving.

Imagine such a place! This is precisely what we try to imagine (as in John Lennon's song) this world could be - if we could just get people to be more humble and giving to each other.

However, this is practically impossible, because this physical dimension is the place where those who are not humble dwell. This is the place where those who are only looking out for themselves go. In other words, this is hell.

Is this world not hellish enough?

What about people being raped, murdered, ravaged by diseases, suffering from starvation, dying from pandemic viruses and so many other diseases - is this not hellish enough?

What about those in some parts of the world being jailed or poisoned for disagreeing with a government? Is this not hellish enough?

What about attacks by terrorists? Is this not hellish enough?

Do we not think this is hellish enough because these things only happen to others? Or perhaps because our body feels comfortable for the time being? This is illusion.

What about when our body is lying on its deathbed, writhing in pain? Is this not hellish enough?

Our physical body is dying. Every moment brings our body closer to death. Every body dies at some point.

And eventually, every physical body will be subject to pain and disease.

So what is hell? Hell is being away from God. Hell is that place where those who are self-centered go.

Yes, there might be worse hells than the current body we have on now. But a more hellish condition is only right around the corner. At any time, the body could be subjected to a painful diseased condition. At any time, the physical body could get hit by a car or train or even a building or a tidal wave. Then the pain would come. Then it would be hellish.

Is God punishing us?

The suffering in the world is actually created by us. It is created by our greed and self-centeredness. God simply created a perfect mechanism where what we do to others comes back to us just as we dealt it out. Either in this physical body or our previous one(s), we determined our current situation by how we treated others. Whatever we have subjected to others before is now what our bodies are experiencing (we are reaping what we sowed).

We have to remember, however, that these physical bodies are not us. We are the spiritual individual that is operating the body, just as a driver operates a car. We step into the body and drive it around for a while. Then it dies, and we exit the body.

Is this a virtual reality?

We might also compare the physical world to a video game. In a video game, each person assumes a virtual icon for the duration of the game. We do not become the video game icon. We simply use the icon to travel through the game. During the game, our icon must abide by the rules. Depending upon what we do in the game, our icon might be punched, blown up, or even killed.

But then at some point, the game is over and we can turn off the computer and walk away unscathed.

It is the same with regard to the body. Currently, we are in the illusion that we are these bodies, but they are only virtual machines we are using while we are within the physical world. Whatever suffering the body receives does not happen to us. When the body dies, we, the spiritual individual, step out. This might be compared to waking from a dream.

Why do we take on these physical bodies then? Because we became self-centered and wanted to get away from God. So God built this virtual physical universe where we could focus upon our self-centered desires and pretend to be the center of the universe.

But we aren't the center of the universe, and this physical dimension was also set up to teach us this reality. Every reaction within the physical dimension is set up to teach us that we will be happier when we return to our loving relationship with the Supreme Being.

Are we free?

While the Supreme Being has let us forget Him for a while, He is giving us the freedom to return to Him or not. He is allowing us to forget Him while we are here in the physical world. And He allows us to continue to return after each lifetime.

Yet He loves us and knows we will be happier when we return home to the spiritual world. So He continually sends us subtle messages - many in the form of consequences of our activities: We can either hear these messages or ignore them - that is our freedom.

But as Jesus indicates here with his discussion of children, in order to return home, we have to change our consciousness. We have to change from being proud and self-centered to becoming humble and God-centered.

If God is the center of our lives, we will depend upon Him and take shelter of him just as a child takes shelter of the parents.

And if we depend upon God, just as a child depends upon the parents, He will guide us back home to Him. This is because the Supreme Being loves us and wants the best for us.