“Jesus saith unto him, I AN the way, the truth, and the life: NO MAN cometh unto the Father, BUT BY ME” (John 14:6).
This monk certainly knows the impact of Jesus’ words now, but it is too late. The only thing he prays now is: “I pray thee therefore, father, that thou wouldest send him to my father’s house: For I have five brethren; that he may testify unto them, lest they also come into this place of torment” (Luke 16:27-28).
Jesus’s words are correct, but you don’t understand them.
People think of following Jesus or Buddha as following a person down a path to a destination. It doesn’t work that way.
Spiritual growth expands your soul. When Jesus went through His Dark Night of the Soul experience in the wilderness, He stated, “My Father and I are One.” When Buddha achieved the same state,he said, “I am One with Everything. “
Read John 14. Jesus speaks of God being in Him and He in God. The further down the same scripture, He says, “ If I am in you (this is communion) then my Father that is in me is also in you.”
Use the model of Russian Nesting Dolls where God is the big outer doll and we are the little doll in the middle. You can not become “One” with the big outer doll without going through all the other dolls between you and God.
Jesus is my Savior and I experience Him daily. That being said, my Father’s mansion has many rooms. I will not ever debate which teacher is at which level as we exist in all of them.
If you hold this concept. It changes the understanding of the New Testament teachings to a personal application and experience.
The New Testament is very accurate. Problem is. Most say “Jesus is my Savior” and treat Jesus like a lifeguard that rescues you when you are drowning (dying). Jesus was a rabbi, a teacher. He was/is teaching us how to grow spiritually.
Problem is, people don’t follow His teachings and grow spiritually. In John 14 Jesus also says, “The things that I do and even more, you too shall do in my name.” The problem is that people don’t follow His teachings and learn the “Way” to become One with Him and Our Father.
Incidentally, the “being raised up” which many think of as the rapture is also this same expansion of the soul as it is raised to a higher operating frequency allowing perception directly with consciousness beyond the physical body.