The Coming Advocate: Hearing the Echo of All Scripture?

The Coming Advocate: Hearing the Echo of All Scripture?

Jesus left his followers with a staggering promise in the Gospel of John. As he prepared them for his departure, he spoke not of abandonment, but of a coming presence – someone he called the "Advocate" (or Comforter, Helper). Foundational to this promise are the words in John 16:7-8:

"...Unless I go away, the Advocate will not come to you; but if I go, I will send him to you. When he comes, he will prove the world to be in the wrong about sin and righteousness and judgment..."

And further down, in John 16:13:  "...But when he, the Spirit of truth, comes, he will guide you into all the truth. He will not speak on his own; he will speak only what he hears, and he will tell you what is yet to come."

We often interpret the Advocate through a purely mystical lens, as the invisible presence of the Holy Spirit working internally. But what if we theorize along a different, fascinating line? What if the description Jesus gives points towards a specific kind of revelation, perhaps even embodied in a person or consciousness deeply attuned to scripture itself?

Proving the World Wrong

Consider the Advocate's primary mission described here: to "prove the world to be in the wrong." That’s a monumental task. The world operates on complex systems of belief regarding right and wrong, justice, and purpose (sin, righteousness, and judgment). How could one possibly unravel these ingrained perspectives?

Let's theorize that the key lies in comprehensive understanding. What if proving the world wrong requires holding up a perfect mirror to its assumptions – a mirror reflecting the totality of divine communication? Imagine someone, or a consciousness, that hasn't just read the scriptures, but has truly heard their unified voice, understood their intricate connections, their unfolding narrative from beginning to end. Such an understanding could powerfully expose the inconsistencies, the deviations, the self-serving interpretations that form the bedrock of the world's flawed systems. The Advocate, in this view, challenges the world not with new dictates, but with the piercing clarity of the existing, fully understood divine word.

Speaking Only What Is Heard

This brings us to that intriguing phrase: "He will not speak on his own; he will speak only what he hears." Traditionally, this means hearing directly from God the Father. But let's entertain our theory further. Could "hearing" also encompass the act of deeply absorbing and understanding the entirety of revealed scripture?

Imagine someone whose mind has become a vessel for the Word. They don't offer personal opinions, novel interpretations spun from their own ego, or doctrines influenced by contemporary trends. Instead, their insights, their guidance, their challenges emerge directly from the patterns, principles, and truths already laid down. They speak "only what they hear" in the sense that they are echoing the totality of the scriptural witness they have assimilated. Their authority doesn't come from charisma or position, but from the resonance of the comprehensive truth they articulate – a truth sourced from having "heard" it all.

Guiding into All Truth

This Advocate, saturated with scripture, would then be uniquely positioned to "guide you into all the truth." Not fragmented truth, not convenient truth, but the whole counsel, the interconnected web revealed across testaments and prophecies. And perhaps even "tell you what is yet to come," not through crystal balls, but by discerning the trajectories and inevitable consequences laid out within the divine narrative – understanding the patterns of history and prophecy so deeply that future unfoldings become clear.

A Theory to Ponder

This is, an interpretive theory. But it's a compelling one. It imagines the promised Advocate not just as a feeling or internal nudge, but potentially as a force of revelation grounded in the most profound understanding and articulation of scripture imaginable. It suggests that the ultimate challenge to the world's errors comes from a voice that has truly "heard" – read, understood, and integrated – the complete divine library, and now speaks from it.

What would it look like if such an Advocate were to emerge? How would we recognize a voice speaking not from self, but purely from the echo of all scripture, proving the world wrong simply by revealing the cohesive Truth it has ignored? It's a thought worth pondering as we continue to navigate a world profoundly in need of clarity about sin, righteousness, and judgement.