{"id":17042,"date":"2025-06-11T15:08:40","date_gmt":"2025-06-11T06:08:40","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/myuchisoto.org\/en\/?post_type=manga&p=17042"},"modified":"2025-06-12T14:24:10","modified_gmt":"2025-06-12T05:24:10","slug":"my-uchi-soto-lesson-10-manga","status":"publish","type":"manga","link":"https:\/\/myuchisoto.org\/en\/manga\/my-uchi-soto-lesson-10-manga\/","title":{"rendered":"Part 10: Our Heavenly Furusato (Homeland)"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Doc: <\/strong>Hey guys! Well, this is our last time. Are you ready?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What does \u201chome\u201d (uchi<\/em>) mean to you?<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Iino:<\/strong> A place where I can relax.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

G\u014d:<\/strong> The place I\u2019ll always return to.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Yoshiya:<\/strong> The place where I sleep!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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What would a perfect home (uchi<\/em>) be like?<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Iino:<\/strong> Safe and secure.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

G\u014d:<\/strong> A happy couple with a happy family.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Yoshiya: <\/strong>The best sleeping environment? Just joking! But I guess… a place where I can recharge my batteries.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Doc:<\/strong> Thanks, that all sounds great. Some of your answers go quite deep! Now, do you all remember our very first study? We started by thinking about the \u201chouse of the Lord\u201d. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Doc:<\/strong> That\u2019s the place where God is. Everything began with the idea of this ultimate \u201cinner (uchi<\/em>) fellowship\u201d. Today is our last Bible study. And so I want to come full circle, and think about this idea of home (uchi<\/em>) again. That\u2019s because the Bible says that in the future, a day is coming when heaven will come down to a renewed earth and God and human beings will live together. Everyone who believes in Jesus can live in this \u201cnew heaven and new earth\u201d. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Alright, first let\u2019s review! I\u2019ve prepared a summary of our previous studies, so please would you read them out in turn, beginning with you, Iino?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Iino: <\/strong>Okay. 1. <\/strong>We all long for a perfect place of safety and complete acceptance. Jesus Christ is the one who can bring us to his Father\u2019s house (uchi<\/em>) \u2013 the place of ultimate security and acceptance.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

G\u014d: 2.<\/strong> God exists eternally as three Persons in the ultimate uchi<\/em> fellowship of love, and of his free, overflowing goodness, he desires to share this love with his creatures.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Yoshiya:<\/strong> 3. <\/strong>The whole created universe was made \u201cvery good\u201d as a place for God to live with human beings created as his image. Humans enjoyed uchi<\/em> fellowship with God in paradise.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Iino: 4.<\/strong> The first humans disobeyed God, preferring to be outside (soto<\/em>) God\u2019s loving authority. As a result, they were banished outside (soto<\/em>) paradise.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

G\u014d: 5.<\/strong> God chose not to treat sinful humans as we deserve. Instead, he gave gracious promises, committing himself to defeating sin and death, that we might return to him (uchi<\/em>).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Yoshiya: 6.<\/strong> God fulfilled his promise in time, as the eternal Son of God left the uchi<\/em> fellowship of heaven to enter our soto<\/em> world as the God-man Jesus Christ.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Iino:<\/strong> 7.<\/strong> Sinful human beings rejected Jesus, and cast him out (soto<\/em>) of God\u2019s holy city to die on a cross. But the Bible says this was in fact a victory. By dying for sinners, Jesus invites us to come home (uchi<\/em>) and promises we will never be cast out (soto<\/em>) again.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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G\u014d:<\/strong> 8. <\/strong>Jesus rose triumphant from death. Now, he pours out the gift of his Holy Spirit \u2013 God himself \u2013 to live inside (uchi<\/em>) believers, transforming us into temples\/dwellings of God.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Yoshiya: 9.<\/strong> Believers come together to form a composite temple of God\u2019s Spirit \u2013 the Church. In the church, we share a foretaste of uchi<\/em> fellowship, and share the good news outside (soto<\/em>).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Doc: <\/strong>Thank you. Not a bad summary, if I do say so myself! Haha! The \u201cinner (uchi<\/em>) fellowship\u201d between God and his people can already be experienced today in the church, to some extent. But it is still just a \u201cforetaste\u201d. In the future, this fellowship will be complete and we will be able to enjoy it to the full. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Let\u2019s look at how the Bible describes this future. The last book of the Bible is called The Revelation to John. This is where we find the Bible\u2019s description of a vision of the \u201clast days\u201d. Iino, may I ask you to read it?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and the sea was no more. And I saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, \u201cBehold, the dwelling place of God is with man. He will dwell with them, and they will be his people, and God himself will be with them as their God. He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away.\u201d<\/p>\nNew Testament, Revelation 21:1-4<\/cite><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

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Doc: <\/strong>Thanks. The \u201csea\u201d here is a metaphor for human rebellion against God, or what we have called in these studies soto<\/em>. And the \u201choly city, new Jerusalem\u201d is a metaphor for the whole church or the people of God who believe in Jesus. Revelation is a book full of symbols, so we need to be careful not to interpret it all literally. As I said before, the church is where we enjoy a foretaste of uchi<\/em> fellowship now.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

How would you describe the ultimate uchi<\/em> fellowship that God will create for his people?<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
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G\u014d:<\/strong> God and his people are living together.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Yoshiya:<\/strong> Nothing bad is left. Like it says: \u201cdeath shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Iino: <\/strong>I like it when it says that God \u201cwill wipe away every tear from their eyes\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cDwelling place\u201d in verse 3 is literally \u201ctabernacle\u201d. Do you remember where we have seen this concept before in our studies? What does it mean?<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Iino: <\/strong>I remember! It\u2019s the bit about how God the Son came and lived in a tent, isn\u2019t it? <\/p>\n\n\n\n

G\u014d: <\/strong>Wow \u2013 you do have a good memory! The tabernacle was a place where God and his people could meet, right?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Yoshiya:<\/strong> So when it says that the <\/em>\u201cdwelling place [or tabernacle] of God is with man\u201d, does it mean exactly that: \u201cHe will dwell with them, and they will be his people\u201d?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Doc: <\/strong>That\u2019s right. They become \u201cGod\u2019s people\u201d. It\u2019s all about belonging<\/em>. The people belong to God. They are his possession: a people special to him, a people who can live with him forever.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What do you find particularly attractive about this description?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Iino:<\/strong> It\u2019s so cool that there\u2019s absolutely nothing bad. A world without tests and entrance exams… I want to go!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Yoshiya:<\/strong> It\u2019s more than that! A place with no sin \u2013 where you can\u2019t<\/em> sin \u2013 sounds so attractive to me. It\u2019s so wonderful I can\u2019t even really imagine it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Doc: <\/strong>For sure. Still, I want you to remember that there are also some people who are excluded from this everlasting and ultimate uchi<\/em> fellowship. They\u2019re on the outside (soto<\/em>). G\u014d, can you read the next part of the Bible passage that follows on from what Iino read?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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And he who was seated on the throne said, \u201cBehold, I am making all things new.\u201d Also he said, \u201cWrite this down, for these words are trustworthy and true.\u201d And he said to me, \u201cIt is done! I am the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end. To the thirsty I will give from the spring of the water of life without payment. The one who conquers will have this heritage, and I will be his God and he will be my son. <\/sup><\/strong>But as for the cowardly, the faithless, the detestable, as for murderers, the sexually immoral, sorcerers, idolaters, and all liars, their portion will be in the lake that burns with fire and sulfur, which is the second death.\u201d<\/p>\nNew Testament, Revelation 21:5-8<\/cite><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

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Doc: <\/strong>The person \u201cseated on the throne\u201d is Jesus Christ. And when it says \u201cAlpha and Omega\u201d, these are the first and last letters of the Greek alphabet. The New Testament of the Bible was originally written in Greek. When Jesus says \u201cI am the Alpha and the Omega\u201d, he means that he\u2019s just that: the beginning and the end.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Iino: <\/strong>But Doc, what does it mean that Jesus is \u201cthe beginning and the end\u201d?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Doc:<\/strong> Good question! This expression emphasizes that Jesus is God. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Doc:<\/strong> Because Jesus created all things, he\u2019s the \u201cbeginning\u201d, and because everything exists for him, he\u2019s the \u201cend\u201d in the sense of the final destination of creation. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

But we shouldn\u2019t misunderstand these verses that G\u014d read for us. The Bible does not say that \u201cgood\u201d people will be welcomed into uchi<\/em> fellowship <\/em>and \u201cbad\u201d people will be cast outside. It might look like<\/em> that\u2019s what it says at first glance, but remember, according to the Bible, we are all sinners. There are no exceptions. To \u201cconquer\u201d in this context means to believe in Jesus as our Savior and keep trusting him until the end. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Doc:<\/strong> He is our only hope, and the only way to enjoy uchi<\/em> fellowship with God. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Right, time for our final questions:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Bible describes believers in Jesus as \u201ccitizens of heaven\u201d (Philippians 3:20). That points to a true home for believers which is not of this world. Would you like to belong there?<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
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G\u014d & Yoshiya (together):<\/strong> Yes!<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Doc: <\/strong>That was a quick response! But I guess it makes sense. That\u2019s why you guys are Christians: because you want to be in your true home, right? To put it another way, God\u2019s house is open to anyone like you who really desires to be there.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

We must believe in Jesus and repent of our sin to enter God\u2019s house (uchi<\/em>). Will you?<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
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Doc: <\/strong>Iino, if you don\u2019t mind, I\u2019d be glad to hear what your thoughts are about this last question. No pressure, of course.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Iino:<\/strong> Well, actually…<\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/div>\n\n\n\n
The ESV Bible<\/em>. Crossway, 2001, www.esv.org\/.<\/h5>\n","protected":false},"featured_media":0,"template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false},"class_list":["post-17042","manga","type-manga","status-publish","hentry"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/myuchisoto.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/manga\/17042","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/myuchisoto.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/manga"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/myuchisoto.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/manga"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/myuchisoto.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=17042"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}