Great Construction

The Last Judgment

     Most members of the general public, and Christians in particular, probably want to know when and in what form the last judgment spoken of by Jesus Christ, will take place. I declare that the time of the last judgment is approaching, and here would like to give readers some idea of what it is about. This is not something I have made up; I have learned it from spiritual inspiration, so I hope it is read as one form of reference.
     First of all, a decision has to be made about whether or not the last judgment is real. It is hardly likely that Christ, who is counted as one of the greatest sages of the human race and who founded a religion followed by millions of people the world over, would predict something that could not happen. If the last judgment were not true, he would merely be a liar. This is hardly the case, so even those of us who are not Christians are firmly convinced of the reality of the last judgment.
     I am also firmly convinced that the sentence by the founder of Omoto in their sacred oracles, “What God has said is not off even by the breadth of a hair” is a prophecy that applies to the last judgment. The following lines from the same oracles mention good and evil. “Pull evil out by the roots and make the world of good!” “The world of evil is finished!” “The world of evil will be stopped at ninety-nine percent completion and with the administration of one percent will be changed to the world of good!” “The time for the world to change is upon us!” These references are nothing but descriptions of the last judgment or what we refer to as the turning from the age of night to the daylight age.
     The Omoto oracles also say “This world is coming to a great pass, so be sure to polish your souls” which is a warning that a clouded body and spirit will not be allowed to cross serenely through the transition from night to day. When these lines from the Omoto oracles are examined on the basis of the last judgment mentioned in the Bible, we can conclude that a great crisis is coming and that we must purify ourselves in order to survive. Evil will collapse and be forever done away with. This being the case, we must cleanse our spirits with the right faith and overcome the crisis successfully.
      However, there are those who might say: “What a stupid suggestion. ‘Divine beings’ are simply human inventions and do not really exist.” Those who only look to the physical aspects of the world may find these concepts hard to believe, but when the last judgment comes, it will be too late to seek help from God. It is as clear as looking at fire that there is no escape no matter how much people may make a fuss and protest.
     The great love of God wants to save as many individuals as possible, so my followers and I, as manifestations of divine will, repeatedly give warning at every opportunity. The following from the Omoto oracles, “To save humanity, God has warned people through these oracles many times, but if ignored like singing birds, when the time comes and people try to say they’re sorry, God will not take care of them. Consider it the bed you made and prepare to die,” I think illustrates this well. In this regard let me summarize the account of the flood and Noah.
     Many centuries ago when humanity had fallen to a low state of depravity and violence in a nation in the West, there were a pair of brothers named Noah. In terms we would use today, the elder brother was divinely possessed, and this is what was revealed to him. Very soon there will be a great flood. Warn the people of the world of this as much as possible. So, these brothers worked very earnestly to warn the populace, but nobody believed them. It took several years, and finally they assembled six persons who believed. God then ordered them to build an ark, a ship of great proportions with a covering. Just as the ark was being completed, long rains started. Some theories say the rains lasted one hundred days, others say forty days, but there is no doubt a heavy downpour continued for some time. The water gradually began to cover the earth, burying all houses, only to leave the tops of high mountains. People fought, attempted to make their own arks, or looked to reach the summits of mountains, but unexpectedly ferocious beasts and poisonous serpents, as with human beings, sought to save themselves, and climbed the mountains or tried to climb aboard the Noah family ark. Because the beasts and serpents were hungry, they killed and ate all human beings. Since there was a covering on Noah’s ark, those who tried to escape to it could not stay on, and only the eight persons inside were saved. These eight people are the ancestors of humanity.
     The Old Testament mentions that what was to be John’s baptism, or cleansing, would be by water, and that of Christ, cleansing by fire. If Noah’s flood is the cleansing of John by water, then I interpret the coming last judgment to be Christ’s cleansing by fire. Because water stands for the physical and fire, the spiritual, the method we use to purify the spirit with the spirit, Johrei, is the true cleansing by fire. Because spirit reflects on to substance, the effect of cleansing by fire on the physical will start an unprecedented change. This change will mean danger for the evil ones only; for the good, there will be no danger at all.
     This essay is offered to those who do not have belief.

Chijōtengoku, Issue 12, page 4, January 20, 1950
    translated by cynndd

　　　　　　　　＊　　　　　　　　　　　　　＊　　　　　　　　　　　　　＊

“Saigo no Shinpan,” first published in Chijōtengoku, Issue 12, page 4, January 20, 1950, and, later while Meishu-sama still alive, in Goshinsho: Shūkyō-hen, (Divine Writings: Volume on Religion), March 25, 1954, page 380, has appeared previously in translation. Citation is given below for reference.

“The Last Judgment,” Foundation of Paradise, 1984, page 423.

“The Last Judgment,” A Hundred Teachings of Meishusama, no date, page 114.