The Fundamental Separation and Transcendental Restoration of Human Spiritual History: Eschatological Soteriology and Epistemological Unification of Religions in the Bible, Buddhist Sutras, and Gyeogamyurok

1. Introduction: The Phenomenological Trajectory of Religious Conflicts and Etymological Analysis of Pluralism

Throughout human history, religion has served as the ultimate pathway for seeking the fundamental meaning of human existence and connecting with a transcendental reality. Paradoxically, however, the most horrific conflicts and intellectual animosities in history have been rooted in religious exclusivity and the clash of dogmas. Despite the fundamental premise that the absolute being—God—is one, why do thousands of religious sects exist on Earth, and why do they repeat bloody wars? This question remains one of the most critical phenomenological challenges for the history of the human spirit. To analyze this phenomenon of distorted division in depth, it is necessary to compare the linguistic-philosophical definitions embedded in the Eastern Hanja term Jonggyo (宗教) and the Western English term religion.

In the Eastern tradition, the word Jonggyo (宗教) is composed of ‘supreme/ancestral (宗)’ and ‘teaching (教)’. Here, ‘宗’ represents the roof or hall of a shrine hosting heavenly revelations, meaning it is not human-made knowledge but the ‘highest and most fundamental teaching’ descending from the ultimate cosmic source and essence. In other words, Jonggyo signifies the single, original truth bestowed upon humanity by the primeval Being. Conversely, the Western term religion is derived from the Latin etymology re-ligare, a compound of ‘again (re)’ and ‘to bind/connect (ligare)’. This implies that a perfect spiritual connection that originally existed between the Creator and humanity was completely severed by a historical event, and religion represents the entire spiritual and cognitive process of ‘reconnecting’ or ‘re-binding’ them. The comparison of these two concepts provides a profound, multi-dimensional insight: although the supreme teaching descending from heaven was originally one, the severing of the connection between God and man led to a state of spiritual blindness. In this state, humanity began to misinterpret and subjectively distort the remaining fragments of spirituality, giving rise to thousands of pluralistic religious sects and chronic conflict.

Acts 17:24-29 clearly defines the nature of the ultimate Creator, who is the supreme essence of humanity and can put an end to this pluralistic distortion. The thesis proclaimed by the Apostle Paul at the Areopagus in Athens declares that the Creator of the universe and all things in it does not dwell in temples made by human hands, nor is He served by human hands as though He needed anything. Furthermore, the Creator made ‘of one blood’ every nation of mankind to dwell on all the face of the earth, giving life, breath, and all things to humanity. Paul defines humanity as the ‘offspring’ of this God, indicating that we are organic brothers and sisters who originated from a single divine source. Therefore, religious conflicts are a tragedy born of spiritual ignorance, failing to realize that our fundamental root is one. The true purpose of religion lies in the ‘reconnection’ (re-ligare) of these severed souls back to the original Creator.

2. The Divine and the Cosmic Alienation of Humanity: Carnalization in Genesis 6:3 and Reconnection in Revelation 21:3

To trace the fundamental cause of spiritual ignorance and division soteriologically, we must analyze the great cosmic double-axis running through Genesis 2:7, Genesis 6:3, and Revelation 21:3. In Genesis 2:7, Yahweh God formed man of the dust of the ground and breathed into his nostrils the ‘breath of life’ (生氣, Ruach), whereby man became a ‘living soul/spirit’ (生靈, Nephesh Chayyah), an organic spiritual entity capable of direct communication with the Creator. However, when human corruption and wickedness filled the earth, a cataclysmic divine declaration was made in Genesis 6:3: ‘My Spirit shall not abide in man forever, for he is flesh’.

This declaration marks the most significant spiritual separation between the Creator and His creation in cosmic history. The holy Spirit of God departed, leaving humanity in a state of ‘dead spirit’ (사령), degraded to the status of animalistic ‘flesh’ governed by survival instincts and material limitations. Separation from God is alienation from the source of life, rendering humanity spiritually blind, unable to know where they come from or where they are going. This is the exact spiritual mechanism taught by Jesus Christ in John 5:25: ‘Very truly, I tell you, a time is coming and has now come when the dead will hear the voice of the Son of God and those who hear will live’. The ‘dead’ here are not physical corpses in a cemetery, but the entirety of humanity living in a state of a ‘dead spirit’ (saryeong) because the Spirit of God has departed. When they hear and obey the voice of the Son of God—the revealed word of truth—they experience spiritual regeneration, waking from a dead spirit to a living spirit.

The final restoration that terminates this long history of alienation and completes the archetype of human spiritual history is declared in Revelation 21:3: ‘Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and He will dwell with them, and they shall be His people, and God Himself will be with them and be their God.’ This declaration symbolizes the ultimate ‘reconnection’ (re-ligare), where the Spirit of God, who departed in Genesis 6 due to sin, returns to dwell permanently within the purified human tabernacle after a long history of salvation. Through this, humanity, which had been bound to the chains of eternal suffering and death as a dead spirit, fully restores its status as a living spirit, achieving true salvation through the union of the divine and the human.

3. Spiritual Warfare Against the Demon King and the Pluralistic Textual Structure of Liberation: Synthesis of Salvation, Nirvana, and Hae-won

The three representative spiritual texts of humanity—the Bible (Christianity), the Buddhist Sutras (Buddhism), and the Gyeogamyurok (Eastern prophetic text)—were written in different eras and cultural contexts, yet they share a striking structural consistency. They all define the root of evil binding humanity as the ‘demon king (魔王) or dragon (龍)’ and assert that complete liberation from this bondage is achieved by winning an eschatological war against this transcendental evil.

Category	The Bible	Buddhist Sutras	Gyeogamyurok
Ultimate Goal	Salvation (구원)	Liberation / Nirvana (해탈)	Hae-won (해원 – Resolution of Grievances)
Adversary	Dragon, Ancient Serpent, Satan, Devil	Mara Papiyas (마왕 파순)	Sodu-mu-jok (소두무족), Evil spirits
Mechanism of Bondage	Law of Sin and Death, Carnalized ‘Dead Spirit’	Karmic cycle of Samsara, Ignorance (Avidya)	Tribulations of Cosmic Cycles (겁액), Pain of Death
Instrument of Liberation	The Word of Testimony and the Blood of the Lamb	Transmutation of Consciousness to Wisdom (Asraya-parivrtti)	Sampung-ji-gok (삼풍지곡) and the War of Truth
Final Victor	The Overcomer (이기는 자)	Maitreya Buddha	Sipseungja (십승자 – The Ten-fold Victor)

In the Christian Bible, salvation focuses on the cosmic war against the ‘Dragon’ that deceived humanity and bound them to the chains of sin and death. Revelation 12:9 declares, ‘The great dragon was hurled down—that ancient serpent called the devil, or Satan, who leads the whole world astray.’ Biblical salvation is the process of truth warfare wherein the prophesied savior, the ‘Overcomer,’ defeats the dragon’s forces, abolishes evil’s dominion, and establishes the Kingdom of God on Earth.

In Buddhism, liberation (Moksha/Nirvana) is the act of rescuing sentient beings, who suffer endlessly in the cycle of birth, old age, sickness, and death (Samsara), from the delusions of the Demon King Mara Papiyas. Shakyamuni’s conquest of Mara (Hwangma-seongdo) under the Bodhi tree was a cognitive war to completely transmute the defiled eight consciousnesses into pristine wisdom, restoring the original Buddha-nature. Buddhist liberation is the shattering of subject-object discrimination and the delusions of attachment, anger, and ignorance created by Mara, achieving the state of non-arising (Anutpada / 무생).

Gyeogamyurok explains this through the concept of Hae-won (解冤, Resolution of Grievances), which is rooted in Eastern cosmology. The accumulated sorrow, death, disease, and deep-seated grievances throughout human history are seen as originating from humanity being trampled by evil spirits after disconnecting from the Divine. Gyeogamyurok prophesies that at the end of the age, the ‘Sipseungja’ (십승자, Ten-fold Victor) will appear with the spiritual grain of ‘Sampung-ji-gok’ (삼풍지곡) to defeat the hypocritical evil forces represented by ‘Sodu-mu-jok’ (소두무족, snake/dragon spirits), thereby resolving all cosmic grievances (Hae-won) and leading humanity to an immortal realm of rebirth. These three texts demonstrate that the spiritual bondage of humanity stems from the same dark dominion, and the eternal termination of this dominion is the prerequisite for true religious unification and salvation.

4. Comparing the Eschatological Paths of Eastern and Western Prophecies: The Three-Stage Process of Apostasy, Destruction, and Victory

The appearance of the messianic savior who will end the spiritual dark ages and achieve true religious unification is foretold across the Book of Revelation, Buddhist Sutras (such as the Janavasabha Sutta), and the Gyeogamyurok. This eschatological journey does not mean simple physical destruction, but rather a structured three-stage process: Apostasy (배도), Destruction (멸망), and the final Victory (이김).

4.1. The Soteriological Narrative of the Book of Revelation

Revelation details the drama of apostasy and destruction starting within God’s own temple.

The Stage of Apostasy (배도): In Revelation 1–3, the seven messengers (the seven stars) of the golden lampstand tabernacle prepare the way, but they break their covenant with the Creator by abandoning their first love, eating food sacrificed to idols, and tolerating the Nicolaitans.
The Stage of Destruction (멸망): To judge this apostate tabernacle, the beast with seven heads and ten horns (the destroyer) from the sea invades in Revelation 13, conquering the saints, forcing them to receive the mark on their right hand or forehead, and completely trampling the holy place.
The Stage of Victory (이김): In Revelation 12, a male child destined to rule the nations with an iron scepter, along with his brothers, defeats the dragon’s forces with the word of their testimony, refusing to love their lives even unto death. The victory of this ‘Overcomer’ casts down the dragon, paving the way for the creation of the New Heaven and New Earth (Shinchonji) in Revelation 21, where God’s tabernacle dwells permanently with humanity.

4.2. The Decadence of Dharma and Maitreya’s Descent in Buddhist Prophecies

Mahayana and esoteric Buddhist texts systematically describe the decline of the Dharma and the advent of the savior Buddha.

The Eight Buddhas Appearing in the World (八佛出現於世): In the final era of chaos, eight enlightened spiritual leaders (Pal-bul-chul-hyeon-eo-se) appear to prepare the path of ultimate truth.
The Three Decisive Laws of Dharma (第一~三種法): This refers to the three stages of the decline of Buddhist truth. The 1st law is the Era of True Dharma (Saddharma), where the truth is purely preserved. The 2nd law is the Semblance Dharma (Saddharma-pratirupaka), where temples and rituals become magnificent but the spiritual essence is distorted (Apostasy). The 3rd law is the Latter Dharma (Saddharma-vipralopa), where Mara’s delusion covers the world and the true teachings are destroyed (Destruction). This perfectly maps onto the covenant-breaking and destruction sequence in Revelation.
The Amrita Gate (甘露門) and Maitreya: When humanity is trapped in the Latter Dharma era, suffering from the cycle of death, the future savior Maitreya Buddha appears, opening the ‘Amrita Gate’ (甘露門, Nectar Gate) to end death and lead sentient beings to perfect liberation.

4.3. The Symbolic Correspondence in Gyeogamyurok

Gyeogamyurok uses symbolic Eastern terminology to mirror the eschatological timelines of the Bible and Buddhist texts.

Sa-dap-chil-du (寺沓七斗): Sa-dap (寺沓) refers to a spiritual temple or tabernacle, while Chil-du (七斗) represents the seven stars (the Big Dipper). This maps onto the Golden Lampstand Tabernacle and the seven stars of Revelation 1.
Pal-in-deung-cheon-ak-hwa (八人登天惡化): The holy spirit descends upon the tabernacle of Sa-dap-chil-du, enabling eight leaders (the Holy Spirit, Christ’s spirit, and the seven messengers) to reach a heavenly state (Deung-cheon). However, they become blinded by wealth and fame, turning evil and hypocritical (Ak-hwa-wi-seon). This triggers a spiritual drought (‘clouds without rain’ / 비운우심령변화) where their spirits are destroyed.
The War with Sodu-mu-jok and the Sipseungja (십승자): The forces of evil, represented as ‘Sodu-mu-jok’ (snakes/dragons), invade the apostate tabernacle of Sa-dap-chil-du. In this war of truth, the one who overcomes the beast and the dragon emerges as the ‘Sipseungja’ (the Ten-fold Victor), who distributes ‘Sampung-ji-gok’ (the three-fold grain of truth) to save the righteous.

System	The Book of Revelation	Buddhist Sutras & End-time Prophecies	Gyeogamyurok Prophecy
Covenant Temple	Lampstand Tabernacle & Seven Messengers	Pal-bul-chul-hyeon-eo-se (Eight Buddhas)	Sa-dap-chil-du (Temple of Seven Stars)
Apostasy	Seven Messengers’ Fall; Nicolaitan Heresy	2nd Dharma (Semblance Dharma Decay)	Pal-in-deung-cheon-ak-hwa-wi-seon
Destruction	Invasion of the Beast of Rev 13	3rd Dharma (Latter Dharma / Complete Decay)	Sodu-mu-jok invasion; Spiritual Drought
The Holy War	Battle with the Dragon (Rev 12)	Conquest of Mara (Hwangma-seongdo)	War of Truth with Sodu-mu-jok
Final Savior	The Overcomer (He who wins)	Maitreya Buddha	Sipseungja (Ten-fold Victor)

5. Epistemological Transmutation of Consciousness (轉識得智) through Neuroscience and Quantum Ontology

The eschatological defeat of darkness and the advent of the savior, as testified by these prophecies, are not mere myths. They align with the discoveries of modern cognitive science, Yogacara Buddhist epistemology, and quantum mechanics, which together provide an academic foundation for this transformation.

5.1. Gerald Edelman’s Neuroscience of Consciousness and Higher-Order Consciousness

Nobel Laureate Gerald Edelman approached the nature of consciousness as ‘Second Nature’. His theory of Neural Darwinism (Neuronal Group Selection) is based on three tenets:

Developmental Selection: During embryogenesis, genetic and cellular interactions selectively wire the brain, resulting in highly variable neuroanatomy.
Experiential Selection: Repertoires of wired circuits are selectively strengthened or weakened during the animal’s interactions with the environment.
Reentry: This is the continuous, recursive, bidirectional signaling between parallel brain maps over massive reciprocal connections, synchronizing neural activity in space and time.

Edelman distinguishes between ‘Primary Consciousness’ and ‘Higher-Order Consciousness’. Primary consciousness is a state of being aware of things in the world—of having mental images in the ‘remembered present’—which humans share with other animals. Higher-order consciousness involves the capacity to be conscious of being conscious, allowing humans to construct semantic and symbolic representations of past and future, and to reflect on the self.

Through Edelman’s brain-based epistemology, the theological fall of humanity (losing the divine Spirit and becoming mere ‘flesh’) can be understood as an cognitive regression: humanity became locked into a primal state of survival-driven primary consciousness, losing the spiritual higher-order consciousness that connects them to the universal source.

5.2. Yogacara Buddhist Epistemology and Asraya-parivrtti (轉識得智)

Yogacara Buddhism developed a systematic framework to purify this distorted cognitive structure. Codified by Vasubandhu in works like the Vijnaptimatra-vimsika and Trimsika-vijnaptimatra, and compiled by Xuanzang in the Cheng Weishilun, the core principle is ‘Vijnapti-matra’ (Mind-Only): external objects (visaya) do not exist independently of consciousness; rather, the phenomenal world is a projection of the mind.

Yogacara maps human cognitive architecture through eight consciousnesses: the five sensory consciousnesses, the 6th mental consciousness, the 7th Manas (which constantly generates the illusion of an independent self, leading to dualistic conflict), and the 8th Alayavijnana (storehouse consciousness). The Alayavijnana stores all karmic ‘seeds’ (bijas) and acts as the spiritual continuum that persists during the intermediate state (Antarabhava / Bardo / 중음신) after death, carrying karmic imprints to the next birth.

Soteriologically, liberation is achieved through Asraya-parivrtti (transmutation of the basis / 전식득지), converting the defiled eight consciousnesses into the four pristine wisdoms:

The 5 Sensory Consciousnesses -> Krtyanusthana-jnana (成所作智): The wisdom of action, manifesting supernatural actions to benefit and guide sentient beings.
The 6th Mental Consciousness -> Pratyaveksana-jnana (妙觀察智): The wisdom of marvelous observation, perceiving the specific and general characteristics of all dharmas to teach the truth flawlessly.
The 7th Manas Consciousness -> Samata-jnana (平等性智): The wisdom of equality, dissolving the illusion of self and other to view all existence as equal and unified in Buddha-nature, generating universal compassion.
The 8th Alayavijnana Consciousness -> Adarsa-jnana (大圓鏡智): The Great Perfect Mirror Wisdom, wherein all karmic imprints and illusions are purified, reflecting the cosmos as it truly is, without distortion.

5.3. Quantum Physics, Wavefunction Collapse, and the Participatory Universe

This transformation of consciousness aligns with quantum physics. Classical physics assumed a deterministic, mind-independent universe, but quantum mechanics revealed that physical reality cannot be defined without the act of observation.

Wavefunction Collapse and the von Neumann-Wigner Interpretation: Mathematically, a quantum state evolves deterministically according to the Schrödinger equation as a linear superposition: ∣ψ⟩=i∑ci∣ai⟩Upon measurement, it collapses into a single eigenstate ∣ak⟩ with a probability of ∣ck∣2:∣ψ⟩→∣ak⟩(Probability=∣ck∣2) John von Neumann and Eugene Wigner proposed that because physical measuring devices are themselves composed of quantum particles, the causal chain of measurement must culminate in the subjective perception or consciousness of a conscious observer to trigger wavefunction collapse.
The Participatory Universe: John Archibald Wheeler introduced the concept of the “Participatory Universe” and “It from bit,” asserting that physical entities are information-theoretic in origin and that reality is co-created by the observer. This matches the non-local interconnectedness of quantum entanglement and the concept of existential unity (Wahdat al-Wujud).
The Collapse of Reality: When the observer is trapped in a primal, self-centered consciousness, the physical universe collapses into a reality of conflict and death (Samsara). However, when the observer achieves the purified state of Adarsa-jnana (Mirror Wisdom), the wavefunction collapses into the New Heaven and New Earth (Shinchonji) or the Pure Land—a reality where sin and death are no more.

6. The Advent of the Prophesied Savior and Practical Strategies for the Unification of Religions

The practical path to ending religious conflict and unifying humanity under a single truth lies in the advent of the prophesied savior (the Overcomer/Maitreya/Sipseungja) and the dissemination of his revealed word. This process is accomplished in three stages:

6.1. Stage 1: Exposing the Source of Cosmic Bondage and Dissolving Religious Dogmas

True unification begins by exposing and defeating the ‘Dragon’ (the source of deception and religious division). The prophesied savior uses the revealed word of truth to dismantle the false doctrines and spiritual authority of the deceiver, liberating believers from exclusive and dogmatic structures.

6.2. Stage 2: Restoring the Breath of Life and Achieving Cognitive Transmutation

The savior distributes the water of life, the Amrita, and the spiritual grain of ‘Sampung-ji-gok’. By hearing this truth, humanity is regenerated from ‘dead spirits’ into ‘living spirits’. In neuroscientific terms, this expands human consciousness from animalistic primary consciousness to higher-order spiritual consciousness. In Yogacara terms, it purifies the Alayavijnana, transmuting the defiled consciousnesses into Samata-jnana (Equality Wisdom) and Adarsa-jnana (Mirror Wisdom), enabling humanity to perceive our shared origin.

6.3. Stage 3: Establishing the Divine Tabernacle and the Physical Manifestation of Eternal Life

When the human tabernacle is purified by truth, the union of God and humanity (Revelation 21:3) is fulfilled. This is not merely a change in perspective, but a physical reality: the purified consciousness of the observer collapses the quantum wavefunction of the universe into a physical paradise free from decay, disease, and death. In this state, the need for religion (re-ligare, the act of reconnecting) is completed, and only the supreme ancestral teaching (Jonggyo) remains.

7. Conclusion: Academic Recommendations for Transcendental Unity and Universal Truth

This study provides a comprehensive answer to the questions: “Why do religions fight? Why are there thousands of religions? And is religious unification possible?” The root cause of religious conflict and division is humanity’s spiritual separation from the Creator, which left them in a state of ‘dead spirit’ and trapped within the cognitive limitations of the brain.

Ending this division requires aligning with the prophesied savior who undergoes the eschatological journey of apostasy, destruction, and victory. His revealed truth restores humanity to ‘living spirits’, restores higher-order spiritual consciousness, and transmutes the eight consciousnesses into pristine wisdom.

When evaluated through modern cognitive science and quantum mechanics, this prophetic path is not a myth. It represents the physical collapse of the quantum wavefunction into a state of divine-human union. Humanity must now look beyond sectarian divisions and align with the supreme teaching (Jonggyo) to realize this unified era.

Appendix: Timeline of Biblical Consciousness and Eschatological States

Eschatological Epoch	Key Figures & Events	Nature of Consciousness	Post-Mortem Existential State
Creation	Adam (Gen 2:7)	*Living Spirit (Nephesh Chayyah):* Direct communication with the divine source	Eternal life; biological death did not exist in this state
The Fall	Adam’s Disobedience	*Dead Spirit (Saryeong):* Connection severed; fallen into mortality	Temporary, dim intermediate state (Sheol/Hades/Bardo)
First Coming	Temple Worshipers (John 5:25)	Actively Dead Spirit: Physically alive but spiritually dead	Regenerated into a Living Spirit upon hearing and believing the Logos
Second Coming	Babylon’s Deception (Rev 18)	Demonic-bonded Consciousness: Spiritually degraded; aligned with lower entities	Sent to the post-mortem holding state awaiting cosmic judgment
Final Judgment	Great White Throne (Rev 20-21)	Eternal Separation: The divide between living and dead spirits	Living Spirit: Eternal, deathless life in the New Jerusalem Dead Spirit: Annihilation in the Lake of Fire (Second Death)