The bible says that those who will go to the kingdom of heaven are called the living. Then who are the living? Everyone on this earth will feel offended if they are called the dead because people always tend to think that they are alive and living. But in the eyes of God it is a little bit different.
Matthew 22:32 I am the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob’? He is not the God of the dead but of the living.
These are the words of Christ given to teach about one characteristic of God’s people. The most important trait of the people of God is that they should be living. Literally, it does not make sense because everyone on this earth is living and Christ gave this teaching to the people who were living on this earth. In the time of Moses, numerous people were LIVING on this earth, but only the Jews were chosen as God’s people, the living. In the time of Jesus too, even though people were LIVING like sands on the sea, only few were chosen as his people, the living. Therefore, we must understand the meaning of “living” in the perspective of God. Then who are living in the eyes of God? The one who has life is the living. But in this case it cannot mean the physical life because people were chosen as God’s people not simply because they have breath of life in their nostrils. We can confirm this through the teaching of Jesus too.
Matthew 8:21 Another disciple said to him, “Lord, first let me go and bury my father.” But Jesus told him, “Follow me and let the dead bury their own dead.”
How can the dead bury a dead person? They cannot rise from their tombs and bury the dead one and go back to their own tomb. For this reason we must understand the meaning of dead differently. In that story the father of the disciple was dead in the literal sense, but the dead who would bury him was not dead in the physical sense. In another version of Bible it is translated like this: “Let the spiritually dead bury their own dead.” (NLT) So the dead mean people who are spiritually dead even though they are physically alive. Therefore, God’s people are those who are living spiritually. Not just because he lives a physical life on this earth, he is not considered “living” in the eyes of God; rather, he is considered as “dead” by God. Then who are the “spiritually living”?
John 6:53 Jesus said to them, “I tell you the truth, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you have no life in you.”
What do you call a person who “has no life in him”? A dead person, right. Through this Jesus says that a person who did not eat his flesh and drink his blood is spiritually dead, even though he might be physically living. And He continues to say:
John 6:54 Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise him up at the last day.”
Then who are the living who can be considered as God’s people who will be raised into eternal life at the last day? They are the ones who ate Christ’s flesh and blood. Through these words Christ teaches us who are the true living and who are the dead. To be living in the eyes of God, the person must eat Christ’s flesh and blood through the Passover. (Mt 26:26) Christ said that the bread of the Passover is his flesh and the wine of the Passover his blood. Therefore, through the Passover bread and wine we can take part in the Christ’s flesh and blood, and we can be considered as “living” in the eyes of God. And those who did not keep the Passover are called “spiritually dead.”
Even though all the people of the world were in the land of death without the promise of eternal life, the Second Coming Christ, Christ Ahnsahnghong brought us the new covenant of the Passover and gave us the chance to belong to the LIVING by eating his flesh and blood through the Passover. Seek God Ahnsahnghong and Heavenly Mother Jerusalem and Keep the Passover, then you will be considered as living by God. Thanks to Father and Mother for allowing us to participate in the Passover and giving us eternal life in heaven! God is truly the God of the LIVING!
