Prophesy that many may misconceive the lord saint as the concoction of man

Mission History and News No 20

There are two references made by Lord Bo Tien in his messages in connection with His image

 

If brethren are to understand the saint, they must first understand the Doctrine that the saint expounds. If the Doctrine is understood, that brethren will understand the saint. Whosoever knows (understands) the Doctrine will know (understand) the saint and whosoever knows (understands) the saint will know (understand) the Doctrine. Lord Bo Tien's 1975 Anniversary Message

 

He remarked that His Image was at the Temple 365 days and yet His presence was not being felt at all. "His Doctrine," He said, "is My Image and My Image is My Doctrine. Should this generation fail to fulfill His Mission, His Image would be lifted up to heaven. The next generation of people or perhaps many generations to come would fulfill it. The cycle of this task would go on until a day when it would succeed. Historical version of Bo Tien Chor Choo's 1978 Anniversary Message...

  

In fact, his representatives often refer to the need to go beyond the image and devotion. There is need to know doctrine. The risk is that those who do not do so would be shaken when the medium or close followers of the lord saint erred, were not up to the mark and were not role models.

They may mistake man as saint and saint as man. The day might come when they think the lord saint is not real but the concoction of man.

Even subsequent generations at a temple of the lord saint if not rooted in doctrine may think likewise and may even wonder if the temple has any doctrine. They would then think thus. Lord Bo Tien and his temples have no doctrine.

 

Those who know not doctrine will one day think the lord saint is not there. The lord saint is real only to those who embrace doctrine but a concoction of men to those who do not know the doctrine. Thus it has been prophesied by the warriors / representatives of the lord saint that many may misconceive that the lord saint as the imagery of man.

This is likely even with men who adore the saint and make no effort to understand what He stands for and why He makes himself known to men. When men fail to see the doctrine and that the mission is doctrine and not just to meet social work and personal agenda, then they will be easily misled by leaders who portray the saint in way that make men idolise the saint.

The same applies to any saint or prophet and leaders who are wolves in sheep's clothing will capitalise on their idolatry. They will say that belief in the saint is all that would be needed. All believers will be saved by mere belief alone. With such approach, what can we expect.

In time, many will be turned away and the house of worship will be empty or only filled with remnants of people who idolise their saint or prophet. They too will in time lose their zeal and will soon think that the prophet or saint is not as great as made out to be by their leaders who are in fact acting as defacto false prophets. Worse still they will think that the saint or prophet is no saint but the concoction or over portrayal of men. All these are the result of not knowing the doctrine or teachings the saint stand for. The fault lies in both the leaders and the men under them.

  

In Lord Bo Tien's 1975 Anniversary Message, it is stated thus:-

The Lord Saint said that He descended that night "not to exhibit the qualities, majesty and magnificence of sainthood but to expound the Doctrine and to help beings visible and invisible, here and in other dimensions.

No saint would want men to idolise him. And if men want to idolise a saint, they can do so even without any wooden image or picture of that saint. Many who point fingers at others for idol worship are in fact greater idol worshippers who idolise their saint even without any image of their saint in a church, temple or home.

As Lord Bo Tien said, we need not know how great or powerful He is, but we do need to know what He stands for. We need to know the Doctrine - the values He stands for.

Likewise, no father would like his children to idolise him but to learn from him the values of life that he wants to share with them, so that they, the children, can stand on their feet even if he is not around at times or in time to come. This is just rational thinking or simple logical common sense to be expected of all men.  Idolising someone, be it saint or parents, will serve no long term purpose.

Thus it can be readily understood why the prophesy that many may in time misconceive that the lord saint, or for that matter, any saint or prophet is the concoction of men. This will happen when they lose their zeal, wonder if that saint is real or as great as conceived and feel their fellow men are somehow deceiving them. How long can men idolise another being be it a saint or a man?

The answer or  solution lies in knowing the Word or Doctrine and its practice. He who knows the Word knows God and saints. He who does not, knows not. Fot the latter, the day will come when he will fail God and saints and think God and saints don't exist or don't matter. Then, he will feel empty and be in hell even in the temple or church dedicated by men to God and saints.

For goodness sake, no idol worshipping please. Do not idolise a saint the way men would idolise a film star or singer. That would be crazy, unbecoming, or worse still belittling the saint. Go for the Godly values and doctrine that a saint stands for. That is what a saint expects and that way we will be more blessed.