Monday, April 19, 2010

Real Jesus, Knowing the real Jesus

I have been pointed to this particular website that alleges that mainstream Christianity distorts Jesus' person, message, and life. I disagree. This website should have a response.


What if the image of Jesus that you have been given was completely out of touch with reality? 

Yes

Would you want to know the real Jesus?

Yes

Have you considered that for almost 2,000 years mainstream Christianity has carefully crafted the image of Jesus that has been given to the public? 

Yes, I've considered that. It's not true.

Have you considered that this image might have been crafted for a specific purpose, a purpose that might be in complete opposition to Jesus' purpose for coming to Earth? 

Watch how the article spins against the Bible.

Consider the characteristics of the mainstream image of Jesus:

Are these really what the Bible says about Jesus?
  • Jesus is portrayed as being remote, distant, far away in some heaven where most people cannot reach him. In fact, access to Jesus is controlled by the official church.
  • Jesus is residing in a remote heaven, and he apparently has had nothing to say to humankind for 2,000 years—no new revelation has been forthcoming (or at least hasn't been accepted by any mainstream church).
  • Jesus is portrayed as being perfect, which actually means that he is pictured as a non-entity with no personality or human characteristics.

The writer of Hebrews disagrees.

 14Therefore, since we have a great high priest who has gone through the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold firmly to the faith we profess. 15For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are—yet was without sin. 16Let us then approach the throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need. - Hebrews 4:14-16
5For there is one God and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus, 6who gave himself as a ransom for all men—the testimony given in its proper time. - 1 Timothy 2:5-6

We can go to Jesus without going through anyone else. These verses destroys those contentions. I'm not saying that people don't teach these things but it's not Biblical.
What is the main message spoken between the lines of this official image? It is that Jesus is not accessible to you and that he is nothing like you. Yet the real message is that YOU can never be like Jesus!!!

No we can't be like Jesus. Jesus is God. Yet Jesus is like us. He knows because he experienced human existence

16For surely it is not angels he helps, but Abraham's descendants. 17For this reason he had to be made like his brothers in every way, in order that he might become a merciful and faithful high priest in service to God, and that he might make atonement for[a]the sins of the people. 18Because he himself suffered when he was tempted, he is able to help those who are being tempted. - Hebrews 2:16-18

This is peculiar because Jesus went out of his way to portray himself as a human being like us, generally calling himself the "son of man" to establish a connection between himself and all people.

Jesus is a human being but He is also God-made-flesh. "Son of Man" is not a reference to His humanity but to his deity. See the Book of Daniel to see what the term meant to the Jews who heard it in the first century and where it came from.

He also said that "The kingdom of God is within you," meaning that we do not need an external church and its hierarchy in order to establish a personal connection to Christ.


This not right. The Kingdom of God is not in the hearts and mind of anyone but those who are living for God. This is quoting Luke 17:21 out of context.  The NIV reads:


 20Once, having been asked by the Pharisees when the kingdom of God would come, Jesus replied, "The kingdom of God does not come with your careful observation, 21nor will people say, 'Here it is,' or 'There it is,' because the kingdom of God is within[a] you."
 22Then he said to his disciples, "The time is coming when you will long to see one of the days of the Son of Man, but you will not see it.
Footnotes:
  1. Luke 17:21 Or among

The New American Standard Bible says:

 20Now having been questioned by the Pharisees (A)as to when the kingdom of God was coming, He answered them and said, "The kingdom of God is not coming with (B)signs to be observed;
 21nor will (C)they say, 'Look, here it is!' or, 'There it is!' For behold, the kingdom of God is in your midst."
Second Coming Foretold
 22And He said to the disciples, "(D)The days will come when you will long to see one of the days of the Son of Man, and you will not see it.
The text says that the Kingdom is among us but it does say that we don't need a church to get to God. We can go to God through Jesus. The point of the church is not to be our mediator with God. 

And most importantly, he said that we can do the works that he did, even greater works.

Jesus did say that we can do what he did  and greater but he did not say that we could do it apart from Him.


For those who are willing to question the official image, the conclusion is clear. The official image is meant to make you dependent upon an outer church and its human hierarchy, preventing you from discovering Christ within yourself. 

Christ is not within you by default.  You can only come to Jesus if you are drawn by the Father. (John 6:44)

The reality of what Jesus taught and did is that he came to Earth as an example, not as an exception. 

The Bible tells us that all have sinned and fallen short of God's standards, but Jesus. He was without sin. 

Jesus does not want to be elevated to some superior status that sets him apart from us. He wants us to see him as an example who came to show us that we have the same potential that he demonstrated.

Jesus claimed to be God and said

 23But he continued, "You are from below; I am from above. You are of this world; I am not of this world. 24I told you that you would die in your sins; if you do not believe that I am the one I claim to be, you will indeed die in your sins."- John 8:23-24

You can't get higher than that.

The real message of the real Jesus is that we too have the potential – an inherent potential given to us by God, a potential that no power on Earth can take away from us (unless we let them) – to manifest the Christ consciousness. WE TOO CAN BECOME THE CHRIST! 

Okay here is the heresy. There is only one Christ. One Lord.  One Messiah. One Annointed One. Not me. Not you. Only Jesus of Nazareth. It is only By him we are saved!

Through the Christ consciousness we then become the open doors for the power of God, as Jesus demonstrated. We too can become sons and daughters of God, letting God work through us and bringing his kingdom into manifestation on Earth.
As Jesus said, "The kingdom of God is at hand!" Let us simply walk away from the official fraudulent image of Jesus and embrace him as our brother, teacher an wayshower. Let us take back our power to be who we really are and become instruments for bringing a better society into manifestation, a society built on the reality of Christ rather than the many illusions of anti-christ.

These are the words of the Anti-christ. Jesus DID NOT teach this. What did Jesus say?

 16"For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. 17For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him. - John 3:16-17



Real Jesus, Knowing the real Jesus
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