The Gospel of Revolution

As he spoke, Fagin pulled a thick notebook, as thick as a large dictionary, from a leather bag beside him. It was a simple notebook with a white cover, on which was written in red pen, "Bible Notes."

Several people gathered around. Fagin opened the title page, and a line immediately caught their eyes. "I have not come to bring peace to the earth, but war..."

Several people know that this is a passage from the Gospel of Matthew in the Bible. Father Torres's placement of this verse here is clearly significant.

Turning the page further, there was a preface-like text, written in very messy handwriting, showing that Father Torres was very excited when he wrote it.

"Just now, while I was praying, a spark of thought suddenly appeared. It seemed to be just a flash, but it illuminated me instantly. No, it was not a spark, but a lightning bolt in the darkest night, powerful enough to split heaven and earth. It was even a miracle, just like when God said, 'Let there be light.'"

For many years, I studied the Bible and the works of theologians in the monastery, gradually distancing myself from this beautiful world created by God. I grew increasingly alienated from this world, and not only did I not care, I even thought that the further I distanced myself from people and the world, the closer I was to God. Looking back now, I am completely bewildered! I was filled with the stench of self-righteousness and arrogant conceit.

Inspired by that light, I suddenly realized that there is actually no separation between the Bible and the world. The Bible is the word of God, and the world, isn't it also God's creation? Just as reading an author's autobiography is a quick way to understand them, does that mean we no longer need to read their other works? If a reader claims to know everything about an author simply by reading their autobiography, what arrogance that is! And how can we say that reading the Bible allows us to completely disregard the entire world—God's most important creation? Therefore, those who think they can close their eyes to the whole world just by holding a Bible in their hands have all committed the sin of arrogance.

We should not only read the Bible, but also look at the world.

So I shared my thoughts with the abbot. But he told me, "Young man, your thoughts are dangerous. You've already stepped into the realm of heresy. Satan has entered your heart and corrupted you. Quickly abandon those outdated ideas and return to orthodoxy!"

At that moment, a verse from the Bible suddenly came to mind: 'Woe to you scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you are like whitewashed tombs, outwardly beautiful but inwardly full of dead men's bones and all uncleanliness. So you also outwardly appear righteous to others, but inwardly are full of hypocrisy and lawlessness.'

The word 'Pharisee' comes from Old Hebrew, and we know it means 'separation,' referring to those who separated themselves from the world in order to maintain so-called purity. They lived strictly according to the Law of Moses, considering themselves pious, yet they were rebuked by Jesus. Why is that? Some people have told me that the Pharisees' starting point was good—to strictly observe God's law and maintain the purity of their hearts—but later they strayed from the right path, becoming complacent, arrogant, and hypocritical.

But did the Pharisees truly only stray from the right path later? No, the seeds of arrogance and hypocrisy were sown the moment this sect emerged, the moment they intended to separate themselves from the world God had created. For if mere separation could align with God's will, why did Jesus come to earth? Couldn't he have simply walked into the desert and never returned? Why did he bear the cross for sinners? Doesn't this demonstrate that God's will is not to separate from the world? Therefore, the Pharisees' arrow was already off course when it was first released; initially only slightly off, but the further it flew, the more pronounced and extensive the deviation became.

So I told the abbot that I wanted to leave the monastery and travel the world. The abbot was furious that I hadn't heeded his advice, but that didn't stop me from leaving...

During my travels throughout France, I noticed that France is increasingly splitting into two worlds. One is the world of the poor, who live in hunger, cold, and exhaustion, almost in hell, devoid of joy and happiness. No, not almost in hell, but hell is right here on earth. It is said that Dante once saw the gates of hell with a terrible inscription, "You who enter, cast aside all hope." Hunger and cold, suffering, are not actually the greatest calamities for the poor; their greatest calamity is that they cannot see any hope. Yes, hell is not far away, not underground; it is right here on earth.

What was Jesus' first miracle? It was at the wedding banquet in Cana in Galilee. The host had run out of wine. If there was no wine to drink at the wedding, then the people were naturally poor. Historians say that the area around Lake Gennesaret was inhabited by extremely poor people, people who were unimaginably poor.

Then Jesus said to the servants, "Fill the jars with water," and they filled them to the brim. Then Jesus said, "Now draw some out and take it to the master of the banquet." So they took it to him. When the master of the banquet tasted the water that had turned into wine, he did not know where it came from, but the servant who had drawn the water knew. So the master of the banquet called the bridegroom and said to him, "Everyone sets out the best wine first, and only after the guests have had their fill, does the next best wine come out. But you have saved the best wine until now."

At that time, Jesus' time had not yet come. But he performed this miracle ahead of time. Why? Was it not because of God's love? Whoever loves others will surely love their joy. This is the meaning of the first miracle Jesus performed when he came into the world, and it is also the true meaning of Jesus' redemption—to bring joy to more people. This is true redemption.

The other world was that of nobles and high priests. Extravagant and licentious, they lived sinful lives, like those of Sodom and Gomorrah, by exploiting the poor.

Then I saw God's redemption and punishment—that was revolution.

Revolution is salvation, salvation for those trapped in hell, just as Jesus always mingled with the poorest. I realize that the history of the poor has a mysterious, spiritual meaning. The cry of the poor in our time is the voice of God that Moses heard in the burning bush. The poor burst onto the stage of history, declaring that poverty is not the will of heaven, but the will of man, a consequence of the oppressive social structure that should be changed, can be changed, and is being changed by the poor themselves. And this is liberation, or rather, salvation.

Revolution is also a punishment. Those who betrayed the masses, those who trampled on those who should have been brothers and sisters, killed them, ate their flesh, and drank their blood, were punished by God in this revolution, just as God stretched out His hand to strike Sodom and Gomorrah in the past.

I gradually came to understand the meaning of revolution. Then I thought of this verse from the Bible:

"I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heavens and the first earth had passed away, and the sea was no more." This is a line from Book of Revelation describing the new world after the end of the world. I had never understood it before. But at this moment, I finally understood God's meaning. Revolution is full of suffering, just like the end times described in Book of Revelation, but this is only the end of the old world. The old world—that sinful world—will be smashed to pieces by the hammer of revolution, and after the revolution, a completely new world will be presented before us.

In this world, heaven and earth are new, and the sea of classes that separates people will surely cease to exist.

'I also saw the Holy City, the New Jerusalem, coming down from God out of heaven, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband.' 'Then I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, "Behold, God's dwelling place is now among the people, and he will dwell with them, and they will be his people; and God himself will be with them and be their God."'

Yes, heaven, the true heaven, is not in the ethereal sky; it is on earth. Stop wasting your energy searching for God's veil in the sky; God's veil is not in heaven, it is on earth. As long as we destroy that old world in our revolution, heaven will appear on earth, and God will dwell with us. At that time, "God will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and there will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away." My friend, heaven is on earth. Revolution is the only way to bring heaven down; revolution is salvation!

"No wonder Jesus said, 'It is easier for a rich man to enter Paradise than for a camel to go through the eye of a needle.' No wonder in the beginning, when Jesus was still alive, his followers renounced all their personal possessions. No wonder the Rome and the Jews wanted to kill Jesus," the Butcher said.

"But Jesus cannot be killed. He rose again after three days. Because revolution cannot be killed either. As long as there are people in the world who need redemption, revolution will continue to rise again. This is the meaning of Jesus' resurrection, this is the true gospel," Fagin said. "I think if Jesus were still alive today, at the dawn of this new century, he would certainly be a revolutionary fighter. A fighter who spreads the gospel of revolution in the new century and fights for it!"

"Amen!" they all said in unison.