Having said the last, the cultist studied the listeners with a beaming smile on his face.
– Therefore, a doctrine that contains the message that in the end a grandiose tragic event for all mankind must happen is questionable as to its veracity. Or… the prediction of this apocalypse, or, as they say in the common people, the end of the world, was inserted there… or rather, it was inserted by those who, holding in their hands the "reins" of controlling human souls, are trying to realize it with ц spruce of universal terror. Or maybe it is even cooler. Imagine how this prediction is understood by artificial intelligence. If it finds it acceptable, justified by its creator, it will try to realize it while creating the conditions under which it is supposed to happen.
The theologian, to allow time to savor what he had heard, holding his hands behind his back, walked around the pulpit and returned to his seat.
– Let's go one step further. One more excerpt from the Gospel, the details of which indicate the scope of Jesus' organizational activities and show another angle of the lone preacher. I apologize, I'm being a little ironic with the word "lonely." Look: many followers gathered around Christ, from whom he first chose 12 of his closest disciples – apostles (Lk. 6:13-16), then 70 more (Lk. 10:1-17), already less close, who are also called apostles, some of them, however, soon departed from Christ (Jn. 6:66). Apostle Paul reports that at the time of Christ's death on the cross and resurrection He had more than 500 followers (1 Corinthians 15:6). And according to some researchers' estimates, it took at least 2 thousand people to capture and hold the Jerusalem temple. It is kind of necessary to clarify what the Jerusalem temple was then. According to Jewish sources, trade was never conducted in the temple itself. According to Christian sources, trade was conducted there. What does that mean? Trade was conducted on the principle of a fair, but not in the temple itself, but on the territories nearby. The then Consumer Protection Agency in the person of the high priest gave permission for this. The reason is not difficult to understand: all the income from the rent of the place went to God's work, as he called it. That is, to him and… you know, nothing is new under the moon. Accordingly, there were premises on that territory, though temporary, or maybe rented, in which, for example, goods were stored. Since the fair was not held in one day. The essence of Christ's actions: to use this desecration of God's house and to show the discontent of the people at the same time. It is roughly like the Bolsheviks seized banks and factories. People need money for revolution. Let's remember Kamo and Joseph Vissarionovich. About desecration of the house of God, to which Jesus appealed, the question is in the same concept – God is God's and Caesar is Caesar's. Caesar was the ruler of the empire of Rome. And when Jesus was asked if he could pay tribute to Rome, he answered in this style. And there you can understand as you want. That is, as if the temple – the place of God, should live on donations, as, say, a party on membership fees. But even then and in the modern world everything is leveled when the power begins to burn palms. The official evangelical historiography tells us the following: Jesus' teachings were supported by various miracles, he was glorified as a prophet and healer of incurable diseases. He raised the dead, tamed a storm, turned water into wine, fed 5,000 people with five loaves of bread, and much more. Remember what I said about coming to power and then banning the methods by which one came to power. What's my point? About miracles. Remember what I said about the warning about miracles by the Second Coming. How any messiah can be turned into a false messiah… That is, miracles are only licensed by the power. Power over the souls of men. From the Gospel of John we learn: Jesus was in Jerusalem four times for the annual Passover celebration. Hence we conclude that Christ's public ministry lasted approximately three and a half years. True, it is not known exactly whether he went there every year in succession. The events of the last days of Jesus Christ's earthly life, which brought him physical and spiritual suffering, are referred to the Passion (suffering) of Christ. The Church remembers them in the last days before Easter, during Holy Week. A special place among the Passion of Christ is occupied by the events that took place after the Last Supper: arrest, trial, scourging and execution. The Crucifixion is the climax of the Passion of Christ.
The customary survey of the audience followed, exhaling, announcing the next topic:
– So, next is the judgment. The Jewish chief priests, having condemned Jesus Christ to death at the Sanhedrin, could not carry out the sentence themselves without the approval of the Roman governor. According to some scholars, the Sanhedrin recognized Jesus as a false prophet based on the words of Deuteronomy: "…but the prophet who dares to speak in my name what I have not commanded him to speak, and who speaks in the name of other gods, such a prophet you shall put to death" (Deuteronomy 18:20-22). Here, too, in this part of the scripture, the same insurance against the encroachment of authority is played out. The options are provided in advance to refute and, if necessary, to defame, as we see, even to kill anyone who would encroach on the established clan of power. After unsuccessful attempts by the chief priests to accuse Jesus of formally violating Jewish law, Jesus was handed over to the Roman procurator of Judea, Pontius Pilate (26-36). At the trial, the procurator asked: "Are you the King of the Jews?" This question was due to the fact that claiming authority as King of the Jews, according to Roman law, was considered a dangerous offense against the Roman Empire. The answer to this question was Christ's words, "You say that I am a king. For this cause I was born, and for this cause I came into the world, that I should bear witness to the truth" (John 18:29-38). Pilate, finding no guilt in Jesus, was inclined to let him go and said to the chief priests, "I find no guilt in this man" (Luke 23:4). Pontius Pilate's decision caused an uproar among the Jewish crowd, directed by the elders and chief priests. In an effort to prevent a riot, Pilate addressed the crowd with a proposal to release Christ, following the long-standing custom of releasing one of the criminals at Passover. But the crowd shouted: "Let him be crucified" (Matthew 27:22). As a final attempt to spare Jesus from death, Pilate had him beaten in front of the crowd, hoping that the discontented would be satisfied with the sight of a bloody condemned man. But the Jews declared that Jesus must die, because he had made himself the Son of God. Pilate, when he heard this word, was more afraid. Pilate went into the Praetorium again and said to Jesus, "Where are you from? But Jesus gave him no answer. Pilate said to Him, "Do you not answer me? Do you not know that I have the power to crucify You and the power to release You? Jesus answered, "You would have no authority over me, unless it had been given to you from above; therefore it is more sinful for him who delivered me to you. From that time Pilate sought to release Him. But the Jews cried out, "If you let Him go, you are no friend of Caesar; anyone who makes himself king is an adversary of Caesar" (John 19:7-12). I would like to focus your attention on the phrase, "…therefore it is more sinful on him who delivered me to you." Does this phrase seem ambiguous to you? It clearly carries the connotation of blasphemy, complaint, and offense. The phrase is preceded by the definition, "You would have no authority over me if it had not been given to you from above. That is, here he speaks of God's authority. For he was clearly not speaking of Pilate's superiors, much less of those who betrayed him in fact, if such was the case. Believe me, it is debatable. What we learn next: fearing the people (the Gospel account says so, though he feared more denunciation to Rome from the religious oligarchs), Pilate passed the death sentence – sentenced Jesus to crucifixion, and he himself "washed his hands before the people, and said, I am innocent of the blood of this Righteous One" (clearly he would not use the phrase "this Righteous One," but we'll keep quiet and move on). To which the people exclaimed: "His blood is upon us and upon our children" (Matthew 27:24-25). According to the sentence of Pontius Pilate – Jesus was crucified outside the walls of Jerusalem on Mount Golgotha, where he, according to the Gospel story, carried his cross himself. Two robbers were crucified with him. In spite of his death pains, Christ uttered several phrases on the cross. Let me draw your attention to some of them. For example, to His mother He said: "Woman, behold, your son" (John 19:26); to His disciple: "Behold, your mother!" (Jn. 19:27); most interesting, perhaps, in terms of mystery: "It is accomplished!" (Jn. 19:30) Mysterious and interesting – before his death. Because afterward he, according to the scripture… And let me quote the original a little bit here.
