"Because of the presence of the Paraclete in the life of the believer, the blessings of the end-times—the eschaton—are already present" - Robert Kysar
"While John uses the concept of the Spirit in a way very similar to other NT writers (e.g., 3:5ff.), he advances the Christian view of the Spirit with the concept of the “Paraclete.” In five passages within the section called the farewell discourses (chaps. 14-16) John sketches a creative and original view of the Spirit. The Paraclete is the successor to Jesus who brings the revelation of the Father found in Christ to the believers, reminds them of all that Jesus said, glorifies Christ, and convicts the world of unbelief (14:15-17; 14:26; 15:26-27; 16:7-11, 12-14). It is in these passages that John relates the Spirit to the Father and to the Son (although not in such a sophisticated sense as the later doctrine of the Trinity) and enlivens the way in which the Spirit may be understood as related to the community of faith amid a world of unbelief.
Because of the presence of the Paraclete in the life of the believer, the blessings of the end-times—the eschaton—are already present. At times John speaks as if that final consummation of history is still a future event conceived in terms typical of apocalyptic though, both Jewish and Christian: The end-time will bring the coming of Christ, the resurrection of the dead, judgment, and eternal life for believers (e.g., 14:3, 18, 28; 6:39-40; 12:48, 25). Yet, at other times, all of these are spoken of as present realities in the lives of the believers (e.g., 3:18; 5:21, 24, 26). Moreover, there is also some evidence for the view that believers upon their death are taken directly to a heavenly home where they dwell immediately with God (14:2-3; 17:2-3). It is clear that John’s eschatology is a complex one that bridges the distinctions of time and strongly affirms the present life of the believer. In this twofold (or threefold) eschatology we see a possible hint at how John has combined in his gospel older traditional views (future eschatology) with his own interpretation of those views (present or realized eschatology).
These six themes do little more than hint at the rich and none-too-simple views of the Fourth Gospel. Perhaps, however, they do whet the appetite of the reader for the whole banquet of thought found in this gospel."
Robert Kysar, John
Augsburg Publishing House, 1986, pages 19-20
"They are going, by the Holy Spirit’s power, to be part of the greatest miracle of all, bringing men to salvation." - J. W. Stallings
"Now this Kundalini is the power which is placed in the sacrum bone (coccyx), nowhere else... And imagine this bone is called sacrum; "sacrum" means "sacred. So they knew there was something in it... This is the primule, is the germinating power within us. Now this fact has been accepted for thousands of years in India and elsewhere. For in the Bible also ... they talk of the Tree of Life. That is the same as this...
Spirit’s power, to bring
humanity to salvation (Click
image for cropped original)
You cannot suddenly start a new idea about something. If it is an evolutionary process, if it is a living process it must have its background, its history, and it must culminate into something fruitful. Like every fruit has a tree behind it... If it is a living fruit it has to come out the tree that have existed for thousands and thousands of years, and out of that this tree has to come. It must have a base and this is traditionally called the kundalini awakening process...
Christ has said very clearly that you have to be born again. I mean the whole message of Christ's life is Realization ... when Christ came on this Earth to show that you have to become the spirit. By His resurrection He showed that, and this is the message of Christ."
The Paraclete Shri Mataji
October 23, 1980—Hampstead, UK
"According to the Zohar – an early Kabbalistic text – the resurrection will take place forty years after the arrival of Mashiach. However, certain righteous individuals will arise with the coming of Mashiach...
There is a small bone in the body called the Luz bone (some identify this bone as the coccyx) from which the body will be rebuilt at the time of resurrection. Our daily prayers are replete with requests for the resurrection and there are many customs connected with it."
Nissan Dovid Dubov, What is the Jewish Belief About Moshiach?
"Jesus solemnly assures the disciples that they will, in the future, perform even greater miracles than He. By this He means to say that through the power of the Holy Spirit, they will bring about the greatest miracle of all – the salvation of lost souls. He promises them that whatever they ask for, in connection with their ministry of bringing the miracle of salvation to lost men, will be granted them.
The theme of this section is reassurance and encouragement. Jesus gives the disciples three basic reasons they should cease being troubled in their spirits. First, He tells them that, although He is going away, He will return for them so that they may ultimately join Him where He is going (vv. 1-3). Second, He tells them that, though He is going away, He will be the only means by which men may come to God and go to Heaven (vv. 4-11). Third, He tells them that, though He is going away, their ministries are not finished. In fact, the best is still ahead. They are going, by the Holy Spirit’s power, to be part of the greatest miracle of all, bringing men to salvation (vv. 12-14)."
J. W. Stallings, Bible Commentary: The Gospel of John,
Randall House Publications, 1989, page 205
"1. The Paraclete enacts the friendship motif of speaking openly and plainly. The Paraclete is portrayed in the role of Jesus’ defense counsel, testifying on Jesus’ behalf. Testifying, bearing witness, is an important act of plain speaking for the community, and the Paraclete’s role as witness is a clear example of how the Paraclete enacts friendship.
2. Importantly, the Paraclete’s witness provides a model for the community’s own witness. Through the model and presence of the Paraclete, the community will also testify, speaking boldly and plainly as friends of Jesus."
David Fleer & Dave Bland, Preaching John's Gospel: The World It Imagines
Chalice Press (May 30, 2008), page 67
THE APOCALYPSE OF THE SPIRIT-PARACLETE
Fulfillment of the promised divine eschatological instruction
"It's better to tell you after Realization that I am the Holy Ghost – no doubt. I am the one about which Christ has talked."The Paraclete Shri Mataji
"Jesus therefore predicts that God will later send a human being to Earth to take up the role defined by John .i.e. to be a prophet who hears God’s words and repeats his message to man."
M. Bucaille, The Bible, the Qur'an, and Science
"And when Jesus foreannounced another Comforter, He must have intended a Person as distinct and helpful as He had been."
F. B. Meyer, Love to the Utmost
"The Paraclete has a twofold function: to communicate Christ to believers and, to put the world on trial"
Robert Kysar, John The Meverick Gospel
"But She—the Spirit, the Paraclete...—will teach you everything."
Danny Mahar, Aramaic Made EZ)
"Grammatical nonsense but evidence of the theological desire to defeminize the Divine."
Lucy Reid, She Changes Everything
"The functions of the Paraclete spelled out in verses 13-15... are all acts of open and bold speaking in the highest degree."
David Fleer, Preaching John's Gospel: The World It Imagines
"The reaction of the world to the Paraclete will be much the same as the world’s reaction was to Jesus."
Berard L. Marthaler, The Creed: The Apostolic Faith in Contemporary Theology
Bultmann calls the "coming of the Redeemer an 'eschatological event,' 'the turning-point of the ages."
G. Ladd, A Theology of the New Testament
"The Paraclete equated with the Holy Spirit, is the only mediator of the word of the exalted Christ."
(M.E. Boring) Benny Thettayil, In Spirit and Truth
"The divine Paraclete, and no lessor agency, must show the world how wrong it was about him who was in the right."
Daniel B. Stevick , Jesus and His Own: A Commentary on John 13-17
Stephen Smalley asserts that "the Spirit-Paraclete ... in John’s Gospel is understood as personal, indeed, as a person."
Marianne Meye Thompson, The God of the Gospel of John
"The Messiah will come and the great age of salvation will dawn (for the pious)"
Eric Eve, The Jewish context of Jesus' Miracles
"The remembrance is to relive and re-enact the Christ event, to bring about new eschatological decision in time and space."
Daniel Rathnakara Sadananda, The Johannine Exegesis of God
"The Spirit acts in such an international situation as the revealer of 'judgment' on the powers that rule the world."
Michael Welker, God the Spirit
The Paraclete's "appearance means that sin, righteousness, and judgment will be revealed."
Georg Strecker, Theology of the New Testament
"While the Spirit-Paraclete is the true broker, the brokers they rely on are impostors."
T. G. Brown, Spirit in the writings of John
"The pneumatological activity ... of the Paraclete ... may most helpfully be considered in terms of the salvific working of the hidden Spirit."
Michael Welker, The work of the Spirit
"The pneuma is the peculiar power by which the word becomes the words of eternal life."
Robert Kysar, Voyages with John: Charting the Fourth Gospel
"The gift of peace, therefore, is intimately associated with the gift of the Spirit-Paraclete"
Francis J. Moloney, The Gospel of John
"This utopian hope, even when modestly expressed, links Jesus and the prophets to a much wider history of human longing."
Harvey Cox, The Future of Faith
"Because of the presence of the Paraclete in the life of the believer, the blessings of the end-times—the eschaton—are already present"
Robert Kysar, John
"They are going, by the Holy Spirit’s power, to be part of the greatest miracle of all, bringing men to salvation."
Robert E. Picirilli, The Randall House Bible Commentary
"The Kingdom of God stands as a comprehensive term for all that the messianic salvation included... is something to be sought here and now (Mt. 6:33) and to be received as children receive a gift (Mk. 10:15 = Lk. 18:16-17)."
G. Ladd, A Theology of the New Testament
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