Ingliskeelne Urantia raamat on alates 2006. aastast kogu maailmas avalik.
Tõlked: © 2010 Urantia Sihtasutus
THE KINGDOM OF HEAVEN
TAEVARIIK
1955 170:0.1 SATURDAY afternoon, March 11, Jesus preached his last sermon at Pella. This was among the notable addresses of his public ministry, embracing a full and complete discussion of the kingdom of heaven. He was aware of the confusion which existed in the minds of his apostles and disciples regarding the meaning and significance of the terms “kingdom of heaven” and “kingdom of God,” which he used as interchangeable designations of his bestowal mission. Although the very term kingdom of heaven should have been enough to separate what it stood for from all connection with earthly kingdoms and temporal governments, it was not. The idea of a temporal king was too deep-rooted in the Jewish mind thus to be dislodged in a single generation. Therefore Jesus did not at first openly oppose this long-nourished concept of the kingdom.
2010 170:0.1 LAUPÄEVA, 11. märtsi õhtupoolikul pidas Jeesus Pellas oma viimase jutluse. See oli üks tema avaliku jutlustamistegevuse tähelepanuväärsemaid esinemisi, mis hõlmas täielikku ja põhjalikku käsitlust taevariigist. Ta oli teadlik terminite „taevariik” ja „jumalariik” tähenduse ja tähtsuse osas valitsenud segadusest apostlite ja jüngrite meeles, sest ta kasutas neid sõnu oma annetumismissiooni tähistamiseks vaheldumisi. Ehkki terminist taevariik oleks piisanud selle aluseks olnud mõiste eristamiseks maistest kuningriikidest ja ilmalikest valitsustest, ei olnud see siiski piisav. Ilmaliku kuninga idee oli juutide meelde liiga sügavalt juurdunud, et seda üheainsa põlvkonna jooksul sealt välja tõrjuda. Seepärast polnud Jeesus algul sellele kaua mõtteis kantud arusaamale kuningriigist avalikult vastu.
1955 170:0.2 This Sabbath afternoon the Master sought to clarify the teaching about the kingdom of heaven; he discussed the subject from every viewpoint and endeavored to make clear the many different senses in which the term had been used. In this narrative we will amplify the address by adding numerous statements made by Jesus on previous occasions and by including some remarks made only to the apostles during the evening discussions of this same day. We will also make certain comments dealing with the subsequent outworking of the kingdom idea as it is related to the later Christian church.
2010 170:0.2 Tol sabatiõhtupoolikul püüdis Meister õpetust taevariigist selgitada: ta käsitles seda teemat igast vaatepunktist ja proovis avada selle sõna kasutamisel silmas peetud paljusid eri tähendusi. Käesolevas kirjas võimendame seda esinemist, lisades palju väiteid, mis Jeesus oli varem esitanud, ja märkusi, mida ta tegi samal õhtul vaid apostlitele. Lisame ka mõned kommentaarid taevariigi idee järgneva kujunemise kohta seoses hilisema ristiusu kirikuga.
1. CONCEPTS OF THE KINGDOM OF HEAVEN
1. ARUSAAMAD TAEVARIIGIST
1955 170:1.1 In connection with the recital of Jesus’ sermon it should be noted that throughout the Hebrew scriptures there was a dual concept of the kingdom of heaven. The prophets presented the kingdom of God as:
2010 170:1.1 Seoses Jeesuse jutluse edasiandmisega tuleb märkida, et kõikjal heebrea pühakirjades valitses kahene arusaam taevariigist. Prohvetid esitasid jumalariiki järgmiselt:
1955 170:1.3 2. A future hope—when the kingdom would be realized in fullness upon the appearance of the Messiah. This is the kingdom concept which John the Baptist taught.
1955 170:1.5 3. The later Jewish concept of a world-wide and transcendental kingdom of supernatural origin and miraculous inauguration.
1955 170:1.6 4. The Persian teachings portraying the establishment of a divine kingdom as the achievement of the triumph of good over evil at the end of the world.
2010 170:1.6 4. pärsia õpetused, milles jumaliku kuningriigi rajamist kujutati hea lõpliku võidutsemisena kurja üle maailma lõpus.
1955 170:1.7 Just before the advent of Jesus on earth, the Jews combined and confused all of these ideas of the kingdom into their apocalyptic concept of the Messiah’s coming to establish the age of the Jewish triumph, the eternal age of God’s supreme rule on earth, the new world, the era in which all mankind would worship Yahweh. In choosing to utilize this concept of the kingdom of heaven, Jesus elected to appropriate the most vital and culminating heritage of both the Jewish and Persian religions.
2010 170:1.7 Vahetult enne Jeesuse saabumist maa peale ühendasid ja segasid juudid kõik need kuningriigiideed apokalüptiliseks arusaamaks messia tulekust juhatama sisse juutide võiduajastut, Jumala ülima võimu igavest ajastut maa peal, uut maailma, ajajärku, mil kogu inimkond kummardab Jahvet. Selle taevariigi-käsituse valikuga otsustas Jeesus võtta üle nii juudi kui ka pärsia religioonist nende eluliselt tähtsaima ja kulmineeruva pärandi.
1955 170:1.8 The kingdom of heaven, as it has been understood and misunderstood down through the centuries of the Christian era, embraced four distinct groups of ideas:
2010 170:1.8 Taevariik, nii nagu sellest on ristiusu ajajärgul sajandite jooksul aru saadud — ja vääriti aru saadud —, hõlmas nelja eraldiseisvat ideerühma:
1955 170:1.11 3. The personal-experience concept of Jesus—“the kingdom of heaven within you.”
2010 170:1.11 3. Jeesuse isiklikust kogemusest tulenev käsitus — „taevariik teie sees”;
1955 170:1.12 4. The composite and confused concepts which the founders and promulgators of Christianity have sought to impress upon the world.
2010 170:1.12 4. segased ja liitkäsitused, mida ristiusu rajajad ja levitajad on püüdnud maailmale peale suruda.
1955 170:1.13 At different times and in varying circumstances it appears that Jesus may have presented numerous concepts of the “kingdom” in his public teachings, but to his apostles he always taught the kingdom as embracing man’s personal experience in relation to his fellows on earth and to the Father in heaven. Concerning the kingdom, his last word always was, “The kingdom is within you.”
2010 170:1.13 Näib, et Jeesus esitas oma avalikes õpetustes eri aegadel ja eri olukordades taevariigist arvukaid erinevaid käsitusi, ent apostlitele õpetas alati, et taevariik hõlmab inimese isiklikku kogemust seoses tema maiste kaaslaste ja taevase Isaga. Tema viimased sõnad taevariigi kohta olid alati: „Taevariik on teie sees[6].”
1955 170:1.14 Centuries of confusion regarding the meaning of the term “kingdom of heaven” have been due to three factors:
2010 170:1.14 Sajandeid kestnud segadus termini „taevariik” tähenduse suhtes on tulenenud kolmest tegurist:
1955 170:1.15 1. The confusion occasioned by observing the idea of the “kingdom” as it passed through the various progressive phases of its recasting by Jesus and his apostles.
2010 170:1.15 1. segadus, mis tekkis, kui jälgiti, mismoodi Jeesus ja tema apostlid esitasid „taevariigi” ideed oma tegevuse erinevatel arenguetappidel;
1955 170:1.16 2. The confusion which was inevitably associated with the transplantation of early Christianity from a Jewish to a gentile soil.
2010 170:1.16 2. segadus, mis kaasnes paratamatult algristiusu ümberistutamisega juutide pinnasest paganate pinnasesse;
2. JESUS’ CONCEPT OF THE KINGDOM
2. JEESUSE KÄSITUS TAEVARIIGIST
1955 170:2.1 The Master made it clear that the kingdom of heaven must begin with, and be centered in, the dual concept of the truth of the fatherhood of God and the correlated fact of the brotherhood of man. The acceptance of such a teaching, Jesus declared, would liberate man from the age-long bondage of animal fear and at the same time enrich human living with the following endowments of the new life of spiritual liberty:
2010 170:2.1 Meister selgitas, et taevariik peab algama kahesest käsitusest — Jumala isaduse tunnistamisest ja sellega kooskõlas olevast inimestevahelise vendluse faktist — ning koonduma neile. Jeesus kuulutas, et selle õpetuse vastuvõtmine vabastab inimese ajastuid kestnud loomaliku hirmu kütkeist ja rikastab samal ajal inimelu uue, vaimselt vaba elu andidega:
1955 170:2.3 2. The gospel carried a message of new confidence and true consolation for all men, even for the poor.
1955 170:2.4 3. It was in itself a new standard of moral values, a new ethical yardstick wherewith to measure human conduct. It portrayed the ideal of a resultant new order of human society.
1955 170:2.5 4. It taught the pre-eminence of the spiritual compared with the material; it glorified spiritual realities and exalted superhuman ideals.
1955 170:2.8 7. The new gospel affirmed that human salvation is the revelation of a far-reaching divine purpose to be fulfilled and realized in the future destiny of the endless service of the salvaged sons of God.
1955 170:2.9 These teachings cover the expanded idea of the kingdom which was taught by Jesus. This great concept was hardly embraced in the elementary and confused kingdom teachings of John the Baptist.
2010 170:2.9 Need õpetused annavad ülevaate avardatud kuningriigiideedest, mida õpetas Jeesus. Ristija Johannese algelised ja segased õpetused kuningriigist suutsid vaevu seda suurt käsitust hõlmata.
1955 170:2.10 The apostles were unable to grasp the real meaning of the Master’s utterances regarding the kingdom. The subsequent distortion of Jesus’ teachings, as they are recorded in the New Testament, is because the concept of the gospel writers was colored by the belief that Jesus was then absent from the world for only a short time; that he would soon return to establish the kingdom in power and glory—just such an idea as they held while he was with them in the flesh. But Jesus did not connect the establishment of the kingdom with the idea of his return to this world. That centuries have passed with no signs of the appearance of the “New Age” is in no way out of harmony with Jesus’ teaching.
2010 170:2.10 Apostlid ei suutnud mõista Meistri taevariiki puudutavate ütluste täit tähendust. Jeesuse õpetuse hilisemad moonutused, nagu need on kirja pandud uues Testamendis, tulenesid sellest, et evangeeliumikirjutajate arusaamu mõjutas uskumus, et Jeesus lahkus tol ajal maailmast vaid lühikeseks ajaks; ta pidi peagi tagasi tulema, et väes ja hiilguses taevariiki rajada — täpselt nii, nagu nad arvasid ka siis, kui ta inimesena nende keskel elas[16]. Jeesus aga ei seostanud taevariigi rajamist oma tagasitulekuga siia maailma. Asjaolu, et sajandid on möödunud ilma ühegi märgita uuest Ajastust, ei ole Jeesuse õpetusega mingil viisil vastuolus.
1955 170:2.11 The great effort embodied in this sermon was the attempt to translate the concept of the kingdom of heaven into the ideal of the idea of doing the will of God. Long had the Master taught his followers to pray: “Your kingdom come; your will be done”; and at this time he earnestly sought to induce them to abandon the use of the term kingdom of God in favor of the more practical equivalent, the will of God. But he did not succeed.
2010 170:2.11 Selles jutluses tegi Jeesus suure jõupingutuse, muutmaks taevariigi käsitust Jumala tahte täitmise ideed sisaldavaks ideaaliks. Meister oli juba ammu õpetanud oma poolehoidjaid palvetama sõnadega „Sinu riik tulgu, sinu tahtmine sündigu”, nüüd püüdis ta neid tõsiselt ajendada loobuma terminist jumalariik sellega võrdväärse praktilisema mõiste Jumala tahe kasuks[17]. See tal aga ei õnnestunud.
1955 170:2.12 Jesus desired to substitute for the idea of the kingdom, king, and subjects, the concept of the heavenly family, the heavenly Father, and the liberated sons of God engaged in joyful and voluntary service for their fellow men and in the sublime and intelligent worship of God the Father.
2010 170:2.12 Jeesus tahtis asendada idee kuningriigist, kuningatest ja alamatest käsitusega taevasest perest, taevasest Isast ja Jumala vabastatud poegadest, kes rõõmsalt ja vabatahtlikult oma kaasinimesi teenivad ning suursuguselt ja arukalt Jumal-Isa palveldavad.
1955 170:2.13 Up to this time the apostles had acquired a double viewpoint of the kingdom; they regarded it as:
2010 170:2.13 Selleks ajaks oli apostlitel kujunenud kahene vaatepunkt kuningriigile. Nad pidasid seda:
1955 170:2.14 1. A matter of personal experience then present in the hearts of true believers, and
2010 170:2.14 1. tõeliste uskujate südameis leiduvaks isiklikuks kogemuseks;
1955 170:2.15 2. A question of racial or world phenomena; that the kingdom was in the future, something to look forward to.
2010 170:2.15 2. rahvuslikuks või ülemaailmseks nähtuseks: kuningriik seisab ees ja seda tuleb oodata.
1955 170:2.16 They looked upon the coming of the kingdom in the hearts of men as a gradual development, like the leaven in the dough or like the growing of the mustard seed. They believed that the coming of the kingdom in the racial or world sense would be both sudden and spectacular. Jesus never tired of telling them that the kingdom of heaven was their personal experience of realizing the higher qualities of spiritual living; that these realities of the spirit experience are progressively translated to new and higher levels of divine certainty and eternal grandeur.
2010 170:2.16 Kuningriigi saabumist inimsüdameisse pidasid nad järkjärguliseks arenguks nagu taigna kerkimine juuretise toimel või sinepiiva kasvamine[18][19]. Nad uskusid, et kuningriigi saabumine rahvuslikus või ülemaailmses tähenduses oleks ühtaegu äkiline ja vaatemänguline[20]. Jeesus ei väsinud neile kordamast, et taevariik on nende isiklik kogemus, millega nad teostavad vaimse elu kõrgemaid kvaliteete; et need vaimse kogemuse reaalsused teisendatakse jumaliku kindluse ja igavese suurejoonelisuse järjest uuteks ja kõrgemateks tasemeteks.
1955 170:2.17 On this afternoon the Master distinctly taught a new concept of the double nature of the kingdom in that he portrayed the following two phases:
2010 170:2.17 Meister õpetas tol õhtupoolikul selgelt uut arusaama taevariigi kahesest olemusest, sest ta kirjeldas kaht järgnevat etappi:
1955 170:2.18 “First. The kingdom of God in this world, the supreme desire to do the will of God, the unselfish love of man which yields the good fruits of improved ethical and moral conduct.
2010 170:2.18 „Esiteks. Jumalariik selles maailmas, ülim soov täita Jumala tahet, inimese isetu armastus, mis kannab head vilja eetilise ja moraalse käitumise paranemise näol.
1955 170:2.19 “Second. The kingdom of God in heaven, the goal of mortal believers, the estate wherein the love for God is perfected, and wherein the will of God is done more divinely.”
2010 170:2.19 Teiseks. Jumalariik taevas, surelike uskujate siht, seisund, milles armastus Jumala vastu täiustub ja Jumala tahet täidetakse jumalikumalt.”
1955 170:2.20 Jesus taught that, by faith, the believer enters the kingdom now. In the various discourses he taught that two things are essential to faith-entrance into the kingdom:
2010 170:2.20 Jeesus õpetas, et usu abil astub uskuja taevariiki praegu. Oma erinevatel esinemistel õpetas ta, et usu abil taevariiki astumisel on olulised kaks asja:
1955 170:2.21 1. Faith, sincerity. To come as a little child, to receive the bestowal of sonship as a gift; to submit to the doing of the Father’s will without questioning and in the full confidence and genuine trustfulness of the Father’s wisdom; to come into the kingdom free from prejudice and preconception; to be open-minded and teachable like an unspoiled child.
1955 170:2.23 Jesus taught that sin is not the child of a defective nature but rather the offspring of a knowing mind dominated by an unsubmissive will. Regarding sin, he taught that God has forgiven; that we make such forgiveness personally available by the act of forgiving our fellows. When you forgive your brother in the flesh, you thereby create the capacity in your own soul for the reception of the reality of God’s forgiveness of your own misdeeds.
2010 170:2.23 Jeesus õpetas, et patt ei ole puuduliku olemuse laps, vaid pigem alistumatu tahte võimu all oleva teadliku meele tagajärg. Patu kohta õpetas ta, et Jumal on andestanud; et see andestus saab meile isiklikult kättesaadavaks siis, kui me andestame oma kaaslastele. Kui andestate oma lihalikule vennale, loote sellega enese hinges võime võtta vastu Jumala reaalne andeksand oma väärtegude eest.
1955 170:2.24 By the time the Apostle John began to write the story of Jesus’ life and teachings, the early Christians had experienced so much trouble with the kingdom-of-God idea as a breeder of persecution that they had largely abandoned the use of the term. John talks much about the “eternal life.” Jesus often spoke of it as the “kingdom of life.” He also frequently referred to “the kingdom of God within you.” He once spoke of such an experience as “family fellowship with God the Father.” Jesus sought to substitute many terms for the kingdom but always without success. Among others, he used: the family of God, the Father’s will, the friends of God, the fellowship of believers, the brotherhood of man, the Father’s fold, the children of God, the fellowship of the faithful, the Father’s service, and the liberated sons of God.
2010 170:2.24 Selleks ajaks kui apostel Johannes hakkas kirjutama lugu Jeesuse elust ja õpetustest, olid varased kristlased kogenud jumalariigi idee pärast nii palju muret ja tagakiusamist, et nad olid selle termini kasutamisest suures osas loobunud. Johannes rääkis palju „igavesest elust”[23]. Jeesus rääkis sellest sageli kui „eluriigist”. Ta mainis sageli ka „jumalariiki teie sees”[24]. Kord rääkis ta sellest kogemusest kui „perekondlikust suhtest Jumal-Isaga”. Jeesus püüdis asendada terminit „taevariik” paljude muude terminitega, kuid alati edutult. Muuhulgas kasutas ta järgmisi väljendeid: Jumala perekond, Isa tahe, Jumala sõbrad, uskujate vennaskond, inimestevaheline vendlus, Isa aedik, Jumala lapsed, ustavate vennaskond, Isa teenimine ja Jumala vabastatud pojad[25][26][27][28][29][30][31][32][33][34].
1955 170:2.25 But he could not escape the use of the kingdom idea. It was more than fifty years later, not until after the destruction of Jerusalem by the Roman armies, that this concept of the kingdom began to change into the cult of eternal life as its social and institutional aspects were taken over by the rapidly expanding and crystallizing Christian church.
2010 170:2.25 Ent ta ei pääsenud taevariigi idee kasutamisest. Enam kui viiskümmend aastat hiljem, pärast Jeruusalemma hävitamist Rooma vägede poolt, hakkas see arusaam taevariigist muutuma igavese elu kultuseks, kui kiiresti laienev ja kristalliseeruv ristiusu kirik selle sotsiaalsed ja institutsioonilised aspektid üle võttis.
3. IN RELATION TO RIGHTEOUSNESS
3. SUHE ÕIGLASE MEELEGA
1955 170:3.1 Jesus was always trying to impress upon his apostles and disciples that they must acquire, by faith, a righteousness which would exceed the righteousness of slavish works which some of the scribes and Pharisees paraded so vaingloriously before the world.
1955 170:3.2 Though Jesus taught that faith, simple childlike belief, is the key to the door of the kingdom, he also taught that, having entered the door, there are the progressive steps of righteousness which every believing child must ascend in order to grow up to the full stature of the robust sons of God.
1955 170:3.3 It is in the consideration of the technique of receiving God’s forgiveness that the attainment of the righteousness of the kingdom is revealed. Faith is the price you pay for entrance into the family of God; but forgiveness is the act of God which accepts your faith as the price of admission. And the reception of the forgiveness of God by a kingdom believer involves a definite and actual experience and consists in the following four steps, the kingdom steps of inner righteousness:
2010 170:3.3 Taevariigi õiglase meele omandamine ilmneb just Jumala andestuse vastuvõtmises. usk on hind, mida te maksate Jumala perre pääsemise eest, ent andestus on Jumala tegu, mis võtab teie usu sissepääsuhinnana vastu. Ja Jumala andestuse vastuvõtmine taevariigisse uskuja poolt on kindel ja tegelik kogemus, mis koosneb neljast etapist, sisemise õiglustunde taevariigi etappidest:
2010 170:3.5 2. inimene andestab oma kaaslastele vaid siis, kui ta armastab neid nagu iseennast;
1955 170:3.7 4. Moral conduct, true righteousness, becomes, then, the natural result of such love.
2010 170:3.7 4. sellise armastuse loomulikuks tulemuseks saab moraalne käitumine, tõeliselt õiglane meel.
1955 170:3.8 It therefore is evident that the true and inner religion of the kingdom unfailingly and increasingly tends to manifest itself in practical avenues of social service. Jesus taught a living religion that impelled its believers to engage in the doing of loving service. But Jesus did not put ethics in the place of religion. He taught religion as a cause and ethics as a result.
2010 170:3.8 Seega on selge, et tõeline ja sisemine taevariigi religioon kaldub alati ja üha enam avalduma praktilise ühiskonnateenimisena. Jeesus õpetas elavat religiooni, mis sundis temasse uskujaid armastavalt teenima[40]. Ent Jeesus ei asendanud religiooni eetikaga. Ta õpetas religiooni kui põhjust ja eetikat kui tagajärge.
1955 170:3.9 The righteousness of any act must be measured by the motive; the highest forms of good are therefore unconscious. Jesus was never concerned with morals or ethics as such. He was wholly concerned with that inward and spiritual fellowship with God the Father which so certainly and directly manifests itself as outward and loving service for man. He taught that the religion of the kingdom is a genuine personal experience which no man can contain within himself; that the consciousness of being a member of the family of believers leads inevitably to the practice of the precepts of the family conduct, the service of one’s brothers and sisters in the effort to enhance and enlarge the brotherhood.
2010 170:3.9 Iga teo õiglust tuleb mõõta selle motiiviga, seega on headuse kõrgeimad vormid alateadlikud. Jeesust ei huvitanud kunagi kõlblus ega eetika iseenesest. Teda huvitas täielikult ainult see sisemine vaimne osadus Jumal-Isaga, mis avaldub nii kindlalt ja otseselt inimese välises armastavas teenistuses. Ta õpetas, et taevariigi religioon on tõeline isiklik kogemus, mida ükski inimene ei saa endale hoida; teadlik kuulumine uskujate perekonda ajendab paratamatult rakendama praktikas perekonna käitumisnorme, püüdma oma vendi ja õdesid teenides vennaskonda täiustada ja suurendada.
1955 170:3.10 The religion of the kingdom is personal, individual; the fruits, the results, are familial, social. Jesus never failed to exalt the sacredness of the individual as contrasted with the community. But he also recognized that man develops his character by unselfish service; that he unfolds his moral nature in loving relations with his fellows.
2010 170:3.10 Taevariigi religioon on isiklik, individuaalne: selle viljad, tulemused, ilmnevad peres ja ühiskonnas. Jeesus ülendas alati indiviidi pühadust vastandina kogukonna pühadusele. Ent ta tunnistas ka, et inimene arendab isetu teenimisega oma iseloomu, avardab armastavas suhtes kaaslastega oma kõlbelist olemust.
1955 170:3.11 By teaching that the kingdom is within, by exalting the individual, Jesus struck the deathblow of the old society in that he ushered in the new dispensation of true social righteousness. This new order of society the world has little known because it has refused to practice the principles of the gospel of the kingdom of heaven. And when this kingdom of spiritual pre-eminence does come upon the earth, it will not be manifested in mere improved social and material conditions, but rather in the glories of those enhanced and enriched spiritual values which are characteristic of the approaching age of improved human relations and advancing spiritual attainments.
2010 170:3.11 Õpetades, et taevariik on inimese sees, ja ülendades indiviidi, andis Jeesus selles mõttes vanale ühiskonnale surmahoobi, sest juhatas sisse uue usulise elukorralduse, kus valitseb tõeline sotsiaalne õiglus[41]. Seda uut ühiskonnakorda on maailm vähe tundnud, sest see on keeldunud taevariigi evangeeliumi põhimõtteid praktikas rakendamast. Ning kui see vaimse ülekülluse taevariik maa peale saabub, ei avaldu see ainult sotsiaalsete ja aineliste tingimuste paranemises, vaid pigem selle läheneva, täiuslikumate inimsuhete ja kõrgemate vaimsete saavutuste ajastu paremate ja rikkamate sotsiaalsete väärtuste auhiilguses.
4. JESUS’ TEACHING ABOUT THE KINGDOM
4. JEESUSE ÕPETUSED TAEVARIIGIST
1955 170:4.1 Jesus never gave a precise definition of the kingdom. At one time he would discourse on one phase of the kingdom, and at another time he would discuss a different aspect of the brotherhood of God’s reign in the hearts of men. In the course of this Sabbath afternoon’s sermon Jesus noted no less than five phases, or epochs, of the kingdom, and they were:
2010 170:4.1 Jeesus ei andnud kunagi taevariigi täpset määratlust. Kord kõneles ta taevariigi ühest etapist, teinekord käsitles inimsüdames valitseva Jumala uskujate vendluse mõnda teist aspekti. Selle sabatiõhtupooliku jutluse ajal nimetas Jeesus vähemalt viit taevariigi etappi ehk epohhi ja need olid:
1955 170:4.2 1. The personal and inward experience of the spiritual life of the fellowship of the individual believer with God the Father.
2010 170:4.2 1. vaimuelu isiklik ja sisemine kogemus iga üksiku uskuja osadusest Jumal-Isaga;
1955 170:4.3 2. The enlarging brotherhood of gospel believers, the social aspects of the enhanced morals and quickened ethics resulting from the reign of God’s spirit in the hearts of individual believers.
2010 170:4.3 2. evangeeliumisse uskujate vennaskonna laienemine, moraali ja eetika paranemise sotsiaalsed aspektid, mis tulenevad Jumala vaimu valitsemisest iga uskuja südames;
1955 170:4.4 3. The supermortal brotherhood of invisible spiritual beings which prevails on earth and in heaven, the superhuman kingdom of God.
2010 170:4.4 3. nähtamatute vaimolendite surelikeülese vennaskonna laienemine maa peal ja taevas, üleinimlik jumalariik;
1955 170:4.5 4. The prospect of the more perfect fulfillment of the will of God, the advance toward the dawn of a new social order in connection with improved spiritual living—the next age of man.
2010 170:4.5 4. lootus täita täielikumalt Jumala tahet, edasiliikumine uue ühiskonnakorra koidiku poole seoses täiustunud vaimse eluga — inimese järgmise ajastu poole;
1955 170:4.6 5. The kingdom in its fullness, the future spiritual age of light and life on earth.
1955 170:4.7 Wherefore must we always examine the Master’s teaching to ascertain which of these five phases he may have reference to when he makes use of the term kingdom of heaven. By this process of gradually changing man’s will and thus affecting human decisions, Michael and his associates are likewise gradually but certainly changing the entire course of human evolution, social and otherwise.
2010 170:4.7 Seepärast peame alati uurima Meistri õpetust, et määrata kindlaks, missugust neist viiest etapist ta terminit „taevariik” kasutades silmas peab. Inimtahte järkjärgulise muutmise ja seega inimeste otsuste mõjutamise protsessi kaudu muudavad Miikael ja tema kaaslased järk-järgult, kuid kindlalt ka kogu inimarengu kulgu nii sotsiaalses kui ka muus mõttes.
1955 170:4.8 The Master on this occasion placed emphasis on the following five points as representing the cardinal features of the gospel of the kingdom:
2010 170:4.8 Meister rõhutas tol korral viit punkti, mis on taevariigi evangeeliumi põhijooned:
1955 170:4.9 1. The pre-eminence of the individual.
2010 170:4.9 1. üksikisiku väljapaistvus;
1955 170:4.10 2. The will as the determining factor in man’s experience.
2010 170:4.10 2. tahe kui inimkogemust määrav tegur;
1955 170:4.11 3. Spiritual fellowship with God the Father.
2010 170:4.11 3. vaimne osadus Jumal-Isaga;
2010 170:4.12 4. inimese armastavast teenimisest saadav ülim rahuldus;
1955 170:4.13 5. The transcendency of the spiritual over the material in human personality.
2010 170:4.13 5. vaimse üleolek ainelisest isiksuses.
1955 170:4.14 This world has never seriously or sincerely or honestly tried out these dynamic ideas and divine ideals of Jesus’ doctrine of the kingdom of heaven. But you should not become discouraged by the apparently slow progress of the kingdom idea on Urantia. Remember that the order of progressive evolution is subjected to sudden and unexpected periodical changes in both the material and the spiritual worlds. The bestowal of Jesus as an incarnated Son was just such a strange and unexpected event in the spiritual life of the world. Neither make the fatal mistake, in looking for the age manifestation of the kingdom, of failing to effect its establishment within your own souls.
2010 170:4.14 Maailm ei ole kunagi neid Jeesuse taevariigi-õpetuse dünaamilisi ideid ja jumalikke ideaale tõsiselt, siiralt ega ausalt järele proovinud. Ent ärge laske end heidutada taevariigi idee näiliselt aeglasest edenemisest Urantial. Pidage meeles, et nii ainelise kui ka vaimumaailma arengus toimuvad aeg-ajalt äkilised ja ootamatud muutused. Jeesuse annetumine kehastunud pojana oli samasugune iseäralik ja ootamatu sündmus maailma vaimuelus. Ning ärge tehke taevariigi avaldumise ajastut oodates ka seda saatuslikku viga, et jätate selle rajamata omaenda hinges.
1955 170:4.15 Although Jesus referred one phase of the kingdom to the future and did, on numerous occasions, intimate that such an event might appear as a part of a world crisis; and though he did likewise most certainly, on several occasions, definitely promise sometime to return to Urantia, it should be recorded that he never positively linked these two ideas together. He promised a new revelation of the kingdom on earth and at some future time; he also promised sometime to come back to this world in person; but he did not say that these two events were synonymous. From all we know these promises may, or may not, refer to the same event.
2010 170:4.15 Jeesus jättis küll taevariigi ühe etapi tulevikku ja vihjas korduvalt, et see sündmus võib toimuda maailma kriisiolukorras. Ehkki ta tõotas päris selgesti mitmel korral kindlalt, et pöördub kunagi Urantiale tagasi, tuleb märkida, et ta ei ühendanud kunagi päriselt neid kaht ideed. Ta lubas taevariiki kunagi tulevikus uuesti maa peal ilmutada, samuti lubas ta kord sellesse maailma taas isiklikult naasta, ent ta ei öelnud, et need kaks sündmust kokku langevad. Nii palju kui meie teame, võivad need lubadused viidata samale sündmusele, kuid see pole kindel.
1955 170:4.16 His apostles and disciples most certainly linked these two teachings together. When the kingdom failed to materialize as they had expected, recalling the Master’s teaching concerning a future kingdom and remembering his promise to come again, they jumped to the conclusion that these promises referred to an identical event; and therefore they lived in hope of his immediate second coming to establish the kingdom in its fullness and with power and glory. And so have successive believing generations lived on earth entertaining the same inspiring but disappointing hope.
2010 170:4.16 Tema apostlid ja jüngrid sidusid päris kindlasti need kaks õpetust omavahel. Kui taevariik ei teostunud, nagu nad olid lootnud, järeldasid nad kohe, meenutades Meistri õpetust eelseisvast taevariigist ja lubadust taas tulla, et need lubadused viitavad ühele ja samale sündmusele. Seepärast elasid nad lootuses, et ta tuleb peagi teist korda, rajamaks taevariiki kogu selle täiuses, aus ja hiilguses. Ja nii on kõik järgmised uskujate põlvkonnad elanud maa peal sellessamas innustavas, kuid pettumust valmistavas lootuses.
5. LATER IDEAS OF THE KINGDOM
5. HILISEMAD TAEVARIIGI IDEED
1955 170:5.1 Having summarized the teachings of Jesus about the kingdom of heaven, we are permitted to narrate certain later ideas which became attached to the concept of the kingdom and to engage in a prophetic forecast of the kingdom as it may evolve in the age to come.
2010 170:5.1 Teinud kokkuvõtte Jeesuse õpetustest taevariigi kohta, on meil nüüd lubatud jutustada teile mõnest taevariigi käsitusega seonduvast hilisemast ideest ja ennustada prohvetlikult taevariigi arengut eeloleval ajastul.
1955 170:5.3 But the great step which marked the transplantation of the teachings of Jesus from a Jewish to a gentile soil was taken when the Messiah of the kingdom became the Redeemer of the church, a religious and social organization growing out of the activities of Paul and his successors and based on the teachings of Jesus as they were supplemented by the ideas of Philo and the Persian doctrines of good and evil.
2010 170:5.3 Ent suur edusamm, mis tähistas Jeesuse õpetuste ümberistutamist juutlikust pinnasest paganlikku pinnasesse, tehti siis, kui kuningriigi messiast sai Lunastaja kirikule, mis kasvas ühiskondliku ja usuorganisatsioonina välja Pauluse ning tema järeltulijate tegevusest ning põhines Jeesuse õpetustel, mida oli täiendatud Philoni ideedega ja pärsia doktriinidega heast ja kurjast.
1955 170:5.4 The ideas and ideals of Jesus, embodied in the teaching of the gospel of the kingdom, nearly failed of realization as his followers progressively distorted his pronouncements. The Master’s concept of the kingdom was notably modified by two great tendencies:
2010 170:5.4 Taevariigi evangeeliumi õpetuses sisaldunud Jeesuse ideed ja ideaalid jäid peaaegu teostumata, sest ta järgijad moonutasid tema ütlusi üha enam. Meistri taevariigikäsitust muutsid märgatavalt kaks suurt suundumust:
1955 170:5.5 1. The Jewish believers persisted in regarding him as the Messiah. They believed that Jesus would very soon return actually to establish the world-wide and more or less material kingdom.
2010 170:5.5 1. juutidest uskujad pidasid teda endiselt messiaks. Nad uskusid, et Jeesus naaseb üsna pea, et tegelikult rajada ülemaailmne ja enam-vähem aineline kuningriik;
1955 170:5.6 2. The gentile Christians began very early to accept the doctrines of Paul, which led increasingly to the general belief that Jesus was the Redeemer of the children of the church, the new and institutional successor of the earlier concept of the purely spiritual brotherhood of the kingdom.
1955 170:5.7 The church, as a social outgrowth of the kingdom, would have been wholly natural and even desirable. The evil of the church was not its existence, but rather that it almost completely supplanted the Jesus concept of the kingdom. Paul’s institutionalized church became a virtual substitute for the kingdom of heaven which Jesus had proclaimed.
2010 170:5.7 Kirik kui taevariigist välja kasvanud sotsiaalne haru oleks olnud igati loomulik ja isegi soovitatav. Kiriku pahe ei seisnenud mitte selle olemasolus, vaid pigem asjaolus, et see tõrjus Jeesuse taevariigi-kontseptsiooni peaaegu täielikult kõrvale. Pauluse ametlikuks muudetud kirik asendas tegelikult Jeesuse kuulutatud taevariigi[45].
1955 170:5.9 The kingdom of Jesus’ teaching, the spiritual ideal of individual righteousness and the concept of man’s divine fellowship with God, became gradually submerged into the mystic conception of the person of Jesus as the Redeemer-Creator and spiritual head of a socialized religious community. In this way a formal and institutional church became the substitute for the individually spirit-led brotherhood of the kingdom.
2010 170:5.9 Jeesuse õpetuse taevariik, üksikisiku õigluse vaimne ideaal ning inimese ja Jumala jumaliku vendluse käsitus uppusid järk-järgult müstilisse käsitusse Jeesusest kui Lunastajast-Loojast ja ühiskonnastunud religioosse kogukonna vaimsest peast. Nii asendas ametlik ja institutsionaalne kirik individuaalsest vaimust juhitud taevariigi vennaskonna.
1955 170:5.10 The church was an inevitable and useful social result of Jesus’ life and teachings; the tragedy consisted in the fact that this social reaction to the teachings of the kingdom so fully displaced the spiritual concept of the real kingdom as Jesus taught and lived it.
2010 170:5.10 Kirik oli Jeesuse elu ja õpetuste vältimatu ja kasulik ühiskondlik tulemus. Traagiline oli vaid asjaolu, et see sotsiaalne reageering õpetustele taevariigist tõrjus nii täielikult välja vaimse arusaama tõelisest taevariigist, nagu Jeesus seda oli õpetanud ja elanud.
1955 170:5.11 The kingdom, to the Jews, was the Israelite community; to the gentiles it became the Christian church. To Jesus the kingdom was the sum of those individuals who had confessed their faith in the fatherhood of God, thereby declaring their wholehearted dedication to the doing of the will of God, thus becoming members of the spiritual brotherhood of man.
2010 170:5.11 Juutidele oli taevariik iisraellaste kogukond, paganatele sai selleks ristiusu kirik. Jeesuse jaoks oli taevariik nende üksikisikute kogum, kes olid tunnistanud oma usku Jumala isadusse, kuulutades sellega oma pühendumist kogu südamest Jumala tahte täitmisele, ja saanud sel viisil inimeste vaimse vennaskonna liikmeteks.
1955 170:5.12 The Master fully realized that certain social results would appear in the world as a consequence of the spread of the gospel of the kingdom; but he intended that all such desirable social manifestations should appear as unconscious and inevitable outgrowths, or natural fruits, of this inner personal experience of individual believers, this purely spiritual fellowship and communion with the divine spirit which indwells and activates all such believers.
2010 170:5.12 Meister sai täielikult aru, et taevariigi evangeeliumi levikul on maailmas teatavad sotsiaalsed tagajärjed. Ent ta lootis, et kõik need soovitavad sotsiaalsed ilmingud kasvavad alateadlikult ja vältimatult loomulike viljadena välja iga uskuja sisemisest isiklikust kogemusest, sellest puhtvaimsest vendlusest ja osadusest jumaliku vaimuga, mis elab kõigi uskujate sisimas ja ergutab neid.
1955 170:5.13 Jesus foresaw that a social organization, or church, would follow the progress of the true spiritual kingdom, and that is why he never opposed the apostles’ practicing the rite of John’s baptism. He taught that the truth-loving soul, the one who hungers and thirsts for righteousness, for God, is admitted by faith to the spiritual kingdom; at the same time the apostles taught that such a believer is admitted to the social organization of disciples by the outward rite of baptism.
2010 170:5.13 Jeesus nägi ette, et tõelise vaimse taevariigi edenemise tulemusena tekib sotsiaalne organisatsioon ehk kirik, ning seepärast ei olnud ta kunagi vastu, kui apostlid Johannese ristimistalitust läbi viisid. Tema õpetas, et tõde armastav hing, kes januneb õigluse ja Jumala järele, võetakse vaimuriiki vastu tänu usule; apostlid õpetasid samal ajal, et uskuja võetakse jüngrite ühiskondlikku organisatsiooni vastu välise ristimistalituse kaudu[47][48][49].
1955 170:5.14 When Jesus’ immediate followers recognized their partial failure to realize his ideal of the establishment of the kingdom in the hearts of men by the spirit’s domination and guidance of the individual believer, they set about to save his teaching from being wholly lost by substituting for the Master’s ideal of the kingdom the gradual creation of a visible social organization, the Christian church. And when they had accomplished this program of substitution, in order to maintain consistency and to provide for the recognition of the Master’s teaching regarding the fact of the kingdom, they proceeded to set the kingdom off into the future. The church, just as soon as it was well established, began to teach that the kingdom was in reality to appear at the culmination of the Christian age, at the second coming of Christ.
2010 170:5.14 Kui Jeesuse järgijad, kes tegutsesid vahetult pärast teda, mõistsid, et tema ideaali teostamine — rajada taevariik inimeste südameis iga uskuja vaimu valitsuse ja juhtimise all — on neil osaliselt ebaõnnestunud, asusid nad tema õpetust täieliku kadumise eest päästma, asendades Meistri taevariigi ideaali nähtava ühiskondliku organisatsiooni, ristiusukiriku järkjärgulise loomisega. Ning kui nad olid seda teinud, pidid nad lükkama taevariigi edasi tulevikku, säilitamaks järjepidevust ja kandmaks hoolt Meistri õpetuse tunnustamise eest selles osas, mis puudutab taevariiki kui fakti. Niipea kui kirik oli rajatud, hakkas see õpetama, et taevariik saabub reaalselt ristiusuajastu kulminatsiooni, Kristuse teistkordse tuleku ajal.
1955 170:5.15 In this manner the kingdom became the concept of an age, the idea of a future visitation, and the ideal of the final redemption of the saints of the Most High. The early Christians (and all too many of the later ones) generally lost sight of the Father-and-son idea embodied in Jesus’ teaching of the kingdom, while they substituted therefor the well-organized social fellowship of the church. The church thus became in the main a social brotherhood which effectively displaced Jesus’ concept and ideal of a spiritual brotherhood.
2010 170:5.15 Selliselt sai taevariik ajastukäsituseks, kujutluseks tulevasest külastusest ja Kõigekõrgema pühakute lõpliku lunastuse ideaaliks[50]. Varased kristlased (ja liigagi paljud hilisematest) kaotasid üldiselt silmist Jeesuse taevariigi õpetustes sisaldunud Isa ja poja idee, asendades selle kiriku hästiorganiseerunud sotsiaalse vennaskonnaga. Nii sai kirikust sisuliselt sotsiaalne vennaskond, mis tõrjus tegelikult kõrvale Jeesuse käsituse ja ideaali vaimsest vennaskonnast.
1955 170:5.16 Jesus’ ideal concept largely failed, but upon the foundation of the Master’s personal life and teachings, supplemented by the Greek and Persian concepts of eternal life and augmented by Philo’s doctrine of the temporal contrasted with the spiritual, Paul went forth to build up one of the most progressive human societies which has ever existed on Urantia.
2010 170:5.16 Jeesuse ideaal jäi suures osas teostumata, kuid Paulus rajas Meistri isiklikule elule ja õpetustele — täiendades neid kreeka ja pärsia igavese elu käsitustega ning Philoni doktriiniga ilmaliku vastandamisest vaimsele — ühe progressiivseima inimühiskonna, mis Urantial kunagi on eksisteerinud.
1955 170:5.17 The concept of Jesus is still alive in the advanced religions of the world. Paul’s Christian church is the socialized and humanized shadow of what Jesus intended the kingdom of heaven to be—and what it most certainly will yet become. Paul and his successors partly transferred the issues of eternal life from the individual to the church. Christ thus became the head of the church rather than the elder brother of each individual believer in the Father’s family of the kingdom. Paul and his contemporaries applied all of Jesus’ spiritual implications regarding himself and the individual believer to the church as a group of believers; and in doing this, they struck a deathblow to Jesus’ concept of the divine kingdom in the heart of the individual believer.
2010 170:5.17 Jeesuse ideaal elab maailma arenenumates religioonides ikkagi edasi. Pauluse ristiusukirik on ühiskonnastatud ja humaniseeritud vari sellest, millisena Jeesus soovis taevariiki näha — ja missuguseks see päris kindlasti veel saab. Paulus ja tema järeltulijad kandsid osaliselt igavese elu küsimused üksikisikult üle kirikule. Nii sai Kristusest pigem kiriku pea kui üksiku uskuja vanem vend Isa taevariigi-peres[51][52]. Paulus ja tema kaasaegsed kohaldasid kõik Jeesuse vaimsed väited enda ja iga uskuja suhete kohta kirikule kui usklike rühmale, ning seda tehes andsid nad surmahoobi Jeesuse käsitusele jumalikust taevariigist iga uskuja südames.
1955 170:5.18 And so, for centuries, the Christian church has labored under great embarrassment because it dared to lay claim to those mysterious powers and privileges of the kingdom, powers and privileges which can be exercised and experienced only between Jesus and his spiritual believer brothers. And thus it becomes apparent that membership in the church does not necessarily mean fellowship in the kingdom; one is spiritual, the other mainly social.
2010 170:5.18 Nii on ristiusu kirik sajandeid töötanud suures kimbatuses, sest ta söandas omastada need taevariigi saladuslikud jõud ja õigused, mis kehtivad ja on kogetavad ainult Jeesuse ja tema vaimsete uskujatest vendade vahel. Nii selgub, et kirikusse kuulumine ei tarvitse tähendada vendlust taevariigis; üks on vaimne, teine põhiliselt sotsiaalne nähtus.
1955 170:5.19 Sooner or later another and greater John the Baptist is due to arise proclaiming “the kingdom of God is at hand”—meaning a return to the high spiritual concept of Jesus, who proclaimed that the kingdom is the will of his heavenly Father dominant and transcendent in the heart of the believer—and doing all this without in any way referring either to the visible church on earth or to the anticipated second coming of Christ. There must come a revival of the actual teachings of Jesus, such a restatement as will undo the work of his early followers who went about to create a sociophilosophical system of belief regarding the fact of Michael’s sojourn on earth. In a short time the teaching of this story about Jesus nearly supplanted the preaching of Jesus’ gospel of the kingdom. In this way a historical religion displaced that teaching in which Jesus had blended man’s highest moral ideas and spiritual ideals with man’s most sublime hope for the future—eternal life. And that was the gospel of the kingdom.
2010 170:5.19 Varem või hiljem kerkib esile mõni uus ja suurem Ristija Johannes, kes peab tõusma kuulutama, et „jumalariik on lähedal”, mõeldes sellega tagasipöördumist Jeesuse kõrge vaimse käsituse juurde, sest Jeesus kuulutas, et taevariik on tema taevase Isa tahte valitsemine uskuja südames, ja tehes seda kõike, viitamata ei nähtavale maisele kirikule ega Kristuse oodatavale teistkordsele tulekule[53]. Peab tulema Jeesuse tegelike õpetuste taaselustumine, uuestiesitamine, mis muudaks olematuks tema varajaste pooldajate töö, kes hakkasid looma sotsiaal-filosoofilist uskumuste süsteemi Miikaeli maa peal viibimise faktist. See lugu Jeesusest tõrjus lühikese ajaga peaaegu välja Jeesuse jutlused taevariigi evangeeliumist. Niimoodi asendas ajalooline religioon õpetuse, milles Jeesus oli seganud inimese kõrgeimad moraaliideed ja vaimsed ideaalid inimese ülima lootusega tulevikule — igavesele elule. Ning see oli taevariigi evangeelium.
1955 170:5.20 It is just because the gospel of Jesus was so many-sided that within a few centuries students of the records of his teachings became divided up into so many cults and sects. This pitiful subdivision of Christian believers results from failure to discern in the Master’s manifold teachings the divine oneness of his matchless life. But someday the true believers in Jesus will not be thus spiritually divided in their attitude before unbelievers. Always we may have diversity of intellectual comprehension and interpretation, even varying degrees of socialization, but lack of spiritual brotherhood is both inexcusable and reprehensible.
2010 170:5.20 Just sellepärast, et Jeesuse evangeelium oli nii mitmetahuline, jagunesid tema õpetuste ülestähenduste uurijad mõne sajandiga nii paljudeks kultusteks ja sektideks. See kristlaste kahetsusväärne jagunemine tuleneb asjaolust, et Meistri paljudes õpetustes ei suudetud näha tema võrratu elu jumalikku ühtsust. Ent kord pole enam tõelised Jeesusesse uskujad uskmatute seas vaimselt sedavõrd killustatud. Intellektuaalse arusaamise ja tõlgendamise mitmekesisus, isegi ühiskonnastumise erinevad astmed võivad alati alles jääda, kuid vaimse vendluse puudumine on ühtaegu andestamatu ja taunitav.
1955 170:5.21 Mistake not! there is in the teachings of Jesus an eternal nature which will not permit them forever to remain unfruitful in the hearts of thinking men. The kingdom as Jesus conceived it has to a large extent failed on earth; for the time being, an outward church has taken its place; but you should comprehend that this church is only the larval stage of the thwarted spiritual kingdom, which will carry it through this material age and over into a more spiritual dispensation where the Master’s teachings may enjoy a fuller opportunity for development. Thus does the so-called Christian church become the cocoon in which the kingdom of Jesus’ concept now slumbers. The kingdom of the divine brotherhood is still alive and will eventually and certainly come forth from this long submergence, just as surely as the butterfly eventually emerges as the beautiful unfolding of its less attractive creature of metamorphic development.
2010 170:5.21 Ärge saage valesti aru! Jeesuse õpetustes peitub igavene olemus, mis ei lase neil jääda mõtlevate inimeste südames igavesti viljatuteks. Sellisel kujul, nagu Jeesus taevariiki ette kujutas, on see maa peal suures osas läbi kukkunud; praeguseks on see asendunud välise kirikuga; ent te peaksite aru saama, et see kirik on nurjunud vaimse taevariigi vastse-staadium ja ta kannab selle praegusest ainelisest ajastust edasi vaimsemasse usulisse elukorraldusse, kus Meistri õpetustel on täielikumad võimalused arenemiseks. Sel moel saab niinimetatud ristiusu kirikust kookon, milles praegu magab Jeesuse käsitusele vastav taevariik. Jumaliku vendluse taevariik on ikka veel elus ja tõuseb lõpuks kindlasti sellest pikaajalisest surutusest niisama vääramatult kui moonde käigus saab ühest vähemmeeldivast olevusest lõpuks kaunis liblikas.