Tag: Garden Of Eden

  • Return to God

    Return to God

    Return to God

    Just as Moses said in the Book of Psalm, our life on this earth is but trouble and sorrow and it quickly pass, and we fly away to death in the end. (Psalm 90:9) Then why are we living the life of hardships and troubles on this earth?

    The Parable of Garden of Eden

    God teaches us the reason through the parable of the Garden of Eden. In the Garden of Eden lived Adam and Eve. Their life was prosperous, and everything was provided to them, even eternal life by eating from the tree of life. However, one day, eating from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, they were driven out of the Garden of Eden. Since they disobeyed the words of God and ate from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, they were cast out from the paradise to the cursed land which produced thorns and thistles instead of the tree of life.

    This story of the Garden of Eden is a parable given to us to teach us about our origin and our life on this earth. We were once in the Garden of Eden (the Heavenly Kingdom) with God and other angels, but due to our disobedience we were sent down to this earth, the land of sufferings. We broke the heavenly law, and practiced lawlessness or committed sins. And because of the lawlessness and sins, we were separated from God. Because we were sent away from God and His blessings, we are in the agony of death on this earth.

    Separation From God Due to our Sins

    Isaiah 59:1 Surely the arm of the Lord is not too short to save, nor his ear too dull to hear. 2 But your iniquities have separated you from your God; your sins have hidden his face from you, so that he will not hear.

    Then how can we restore to the Garden of Eden our Home and live in joy and happiness with God again? Is there any way we can go back to the paradise again? The bible teaches we can go back to the Garden of Eden and eat from the tree of life again. To return to God, the very first thing that we need is to receive the forgiveness for our sins we committed in heaven. Since we were sent out due to our sins, it is natural that we should receive the forgiveness of our sins to go back to God and heaven.

    The Forgiveness of Sins Through the Passover

    Then how can we receive the forgiveness of sins to return to God? 2000 years ago, Jesus Christ taught us the way to receive the forgiveness of sins and return to God. On the night of the Passover, Jesus took bread and wine, which represents his flesh and blood, and gave to the disciples, teaching them that they could receive the forgiveness of sins through the Passover.

    Matthew 26:26 While they were eating, Jesus took bread, and when he had given thanks, he broke it and gave it to his disciples, saying, “Take and eat; this is my body.” 27 Then he took a cup, and when he had given thanks, he gave it to them, saying, “Drink from it, all of you. 28 This is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins.

    Returning To God through the Passover

    By giving us the new covenant, Jesus opened the way to the Garden of Eden again that we may return to God. When we keep the new covenant Passover, we can return to God and be with God, receiving all the blessings we received from God in heaven again.

    John 6:53 Jesus said to them, “Very truly I tell you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you have no life in you. 54 Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise them up at the last day. 55 For my flesh is real food and my blood is real drink. 56 Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood remains in me, and I in them.

    Hezekiah’s Passover

    Once we got separated from God because of our sins, but now we can be with God by keeping the Passover. Therefore, we can be sure that we can go back to God by keeping the Passover. We can confirm this this the bible. In the time of King Hezekiah, the king realized the importance of the Passover and sent his message all over the land, inviting them to keep the Passover. And this was his message to the people.

    2 Chronicles 30:6 At the king’s command, couriers went throughout Israel and Judah with letters from the king and from his officials, which read: “People of Israel, return to the Lord, the God of Abraham, Isaac and Israel, that he may return to you who are left, who have escaped from the hand of the kings of Assyria. 7 Do not be like your parents and your fellow Israelites, who were unfaithful to the Lord, the God of their ancestors, so that he made them an object of horror, as you see. 8 Do not be stiff-necked, as your ancestors were; submit to the Lord. Come to his sanctuary, which he has consecrated forever. Serve the Lord your God, so that his fierce anger will turn away from you. 9 If you return to the Lord, then your fellow Israelites and your children will be shown compassion by their captors and will return to this land, for the Lord your God is gracious and compassionate. He will not turn his face from you if you return to him.”

    Again and again he earnestly entreated the people of Israel to return to God by keeping the Passover. This message clearly teaches us that the Passover is the way to return to God and receive His blessing.

    The Results of Obedience and Disobedience

    Then what will happen if we do not keep the Passover and return to God? In the story above, despite the message from the king, many people did not listen to him. In those days, the nation of Israel was divided in two kingdoms: southern Judah and northern Israel. The people of Judah obeyed to the message of the king and kept the Passover, but the people of Israel not. Later the two nations had to face completely different consequences due to their action.

    The kingdom of Israel got destroyed by the Assyrian army, but the kingdom of Judah was saved out from the war against Assyria. And God teaches the reason for those results.

    2 Kings 18:12 This happened because they had not obeyed the Lord their God, but had violated his covenant—all that Moses the servant of the Lord commanded. They neither listened to the commands nor carried them out.

    God teaches that the nation of Israel was conquered by the army because they did not obey the command of God and keep the Passover. On the contrary, the land of Judah was protected from the disasters because they obeyed the command of God.

    Conclusion

    This lesson was given to us as examples. We are living on this earth, going through many sufferings and in the end to death. It is all because of our sins we committed against God in heaven by disobeying his commands. Now God came down to this earth and opened the way to the heaven again by giving the forgiveness of our sins through His own flesh and blood.

    We should not be like the people of Israel who ridiculed and scorned the message of God to their own destruction. Rather, we should obey the words of God and keep the Passover like the people of Judah.

    Christ Ahnsahnghong and God the Mother came down to this earth and opened the way to return to God by restoring the new covenant Passover which Jesus established 2000 years ago. And they are inviting us to return to them and to receive the water of life by keeping the Passover. Now we should not practice lawlessness again and disobey the words of God. We must return to the Spirit and the bride with a mind of humility and keep the Passover. And then they will forgive our sins and take us back to the eternal Garden of Eden.

  • [WMSCOG] The Tree Of Life And Ten Commandments

    In Genesis, God created the Garden of Eden and planted the Tree of Life in the middle and He gave free access to the tree to Adam and Eve so that they could eat from the tree and have eternal life. But when they ate from the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil, disobeying the words of God, they could not eat from the Tree of Life and they could not live forever. This is how death enter into the human being.

    The Tree of Life

    Genesis 3:22   And the Lord God said, “The man has now become like one of us, knowing good and evil.He must not be allowed to reach out his hand and take also from the tree of life and eat, and live forever.” 23 So the Lord God banished him from the Garden of Eden to work the ground from which he had been taken. 24 After he drove the man out, he placed on the east side of the Garden of Eden cherubim and a flaming sword flashing back and forth to guard the way to the tree of life.

    Because of their sin, Adam and Eve was driven out from the Garden and they were not allowed to eat from the Tree of Life. To stop the sinner from eating the tree of life, God place angels and a flaming sword to guard the way. After this they were destined to die since they could not eat from the tree of life. And the bible says that this story is not just a story of Adam and Eve, but it tells what happened to all human beings on this earth who were destined to die just like Adam and Eve. Therefore, if we could eat somehow from the tree of life, we can live forever. Then how can we find the tree of life and how can we disarm the angels and flaming sword to enter into the garden to eat from the tree of life?

    First, we must understand that this story of the Garden of Eden is just a parable. No where on this earth can we find a actual place which is called the Garden of Eden. Therefore, first we must understand this figuratively. Then in reality what is the tree of life that we must eat to live forever? It is the words of God, the Ten Commandments. God gave the Ten Commandments as the reality of the tree of life so that people can eat and live forever.

    Tree of life
    Moses’ Ten Commandments

    The Reality of the Tree of Life

    Jesus said that the true bread is the words of God.

    Matthew 4:4   Jesus answered, “It is written: ‘Man does not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God.’”

    God gave his words so that people could eat and they could live forever when they kept the words.

    Ezekiel 20:11   I gave them my decrees and made known to them my laws, by which the person who obeys them will live.

    We can confirm this through the sanctuary in the Old Testament. God gave the Israelites the Ten Commandments or the words of God so that people who obeyed them could live by them. And He commanded Moses to put the two stone tablets of the Ten Commandments in the Most Holy Place of the Temple in the Ark of the Covenant under the Wings of the two cherubim.

    Exodus 25:17   “Make an atonement cover of pure gold—two and a half cubits long and a cubit and a half wide. 18 And make two cherubim out of hammered gold at the ends of the cover. 19 Make one cherub on one end and the second cherub on the other; make the cherubim of one piece with the cover, at the two ends. 20 The cherubim are to have their wings spread upward, overshadowing the cover with them. The cherubim are to face each other, looking toward the cover. 21 Place the cover on top of the ark and put in the ark the tablets of the covenant law that I will give you. 22 There, above the cover between the two cherubim that are over the ark of the covenant law, I will meet with you and give you all my commands for the Israelites.

    God commanded Moses to make an atonement cover to put on the ark of the covenant which contained the Ten Commandments. And he said he would sit enthroned on the cover between the cherubim and that is why this cover was once called “a mercy seat” or “the throne of God.” Moses made this atonement cover in accordance with the commands of God and put the ark and cover in the Most Holy Place with the two stone tablets in the ark of covenant.

    Then why did God command Moses to make a two cherubim on either side of the atonement cover? What were the cherubim doing? God gave the Ten Commandments as the reality of the tree of life so that people could eat and live forever. But not everybody could enter into the Most Holy Place behind the curtain and get near to the tree of life, the Ten Commandments. If sinners tried to enter into the Most Holy Place and eat from the words of God, they could be killed as we can see in many places in the bible. (1 Samuel 6:19, 2 Samuel 6:6)

    Leviticus 10:1   Aaron’s sons Nadab and Abihu took their censers, put fire in them and added incense; and they offered unauthorized fire before the Lord, contrary to his command. 2 So fire came out from the presence of the Lord and consumed them, and they died before the Lord.

    When the two sons of Aaron the high priest tried to enter into the Most Holy Place which was contrary to the command of God, they were immediately put to death by fire. Why did this happen? It was because the two cherubim and the flaming sword was guarding the way to the ark of the covenant in the Most Holy Place. Through this God was teaching us that the reality of the tree of life is actually the Ten Commandments and the cherubim on the ark of the covenant was the same cherubim guarding the way of the tree of life in the garden of Eden. Therefore, we can confirm that the Ten Commandments or the words of God was given as the tree of life so that we can eat and live forever.

    Tree of Life
    Why did God command Moses to fashion Cherubim on either end of the atonement cover?

    How To Eat From The Tree of Life

    However, the tree of life was guarded by cherubim and a flaming sword and a sinner could be put to death if he tried to enter into the garden to eat from the tree. Therefore, the tree of life was useless to them since they could not eat from it. In the same way, the Ten Commandments was given as tree of life, but it is useless to a sinner because he could be killed as soon as he tries to enter the Most Holy Place. Then why did God give something that is meaningless to a sinner? Did the work of God for the salvation fail because no sinner can eat from the tree of life and everybody is a sinner and nobody can eat from the tree of life? In conclusion, the work of God is not meaningless. Every single thing in God is important and given to us for our salvation. If then, how can we enter into the Most Holy Place and receive eternal life promised in the Ten Commandments? The answer is the law of God given along with the Ten Commandments. A sinner cannot enter into the Most Holy Place to eat from the tree of life, but when the sinner was forgiven of his sins, then he could enter and eat from the tree of life.

    When Aaron’s two sons tried to enter into the Most Holy Place by their own opinions, they got killed, but God allowed the access to the inner room when a priest was purified of their sins through the blood of animals on the Day of Atonement.

    Leviticus 16:1   The Lord spoke to Moses after the death of the two sons of Aaron who died when they approached the Lord. 2 The Lord said to Moses: “Tell your brother Aaron that he is not to come whenever he chooses into the Most Holy Place behind the curtain in front of the atonement cover on the ark, or else he will die. For I will appear in the cloud over the atonement cover. …3 “This is how Aaron is to enter the Most Holy Place: He must first bring a young bull for a sin offering[a] and a ram for a burnt offering. ….6 “Aaron is to offer the bull for his own sin offering to make atonement for himself and his household. …..11 “Aaron shall bring the bull for his own sin offering to make atonement for himself and his household, and he is to slaughter the bull for his own sin offering. 12 He is to take a censer full of burning coals from the altar before the Lord and two handfuls of finely ground fragrant incense and take them behind the curtain. 13 He is to put the incense on the fire before the Lord, and the smoke of the incense will conceal the atonement cover above the tablets of the covenant law, so that he will not die.

    God allowed a sinner to enter into the Most Holy Place to eat from the tree of life only when his sins were forgiven through the blood of animals. And also God said not to enter whenever he wanted to enter, but he must enter according to the laws and regulations of God. When God gave the Ten Commandments, God also gave them a guideline to let them know how and when to enter into the Most Holy Place to eat from the tree of life.

    Deuteronomy 31:24   After Moses finished writing in a book the words of this law from beginning to end, 25 he gave this command to the Levites who carried the ark of the covenant of the Lord: 26 “Take this Book of the Law and place it beside the ark of the covenant of the Lord your God.

    Right next to the ark which had the Ten Commandments or the tree of life was placed the Book of the Law. What was this book of the law and why was it place along with the ark? It was because this Book of Law was given to teach them how to enter into the Most Holy Place and eat from the Tree of Life so that they could live forever. Then what was recorded in the book? What was the law given along with the Ten Commandments?

    Exodus 34:27   27 Then the Lord said to Moses, “Write down these words, for in accordance with these words I have made a covenant with you and with Israel.” 28 Moses was there with the Lord forty days and forty nights without eating bread or drinking water. And he wrote on the tablets the words of the covenant—the Ten Commandments.

    The covenant or the Ten Commandments was given according to “these words.” Then what are these words? If we read some verses right before verse 27, we can see the festivals of God. From verse 18 of the same chapter up to verse 26 God is speaking about the festivals such as Unleavened Bread, the Feast of Weeks, and the Feast of Tabernacles. And he said in accordance with the law of feasts, he made the covenant with his people and as the sign of covenant he gave the two stone tablets. Therefore, the law which was given along with the Ten Commandments or the tree of life was actually festivals of God. In the Old Testament all the festivals of God was kept with animal sacrifices by shedding the blood of animals for the purification of sins. In short, a sinner cannot enter into the Most Holy Place for the tree of life, but when the sinner was forgiven of his sins through the blood of animals according to the regulations of the festivals, they could enter and eat from the tree of life.

    Spiritual Fulfillment

    It is the same with us who are living in the New Testament. We also can enter into the Most Holy Place and eat from the tree of life through the blood of Christ who is the reality of the animal sacrifice.

    Heb 10:19   Therefore, brothers and sisters, since we have confidence to enter the Most Holy Place by the blood of Jesus, 20 by a new and living way opened for us through the curtain, that is, his body

    Through the sacrifice of Christ our sins can be purified and we can enter into the inner room and eat from the tree of life. Then how and when can we be purified of our sins? Through God’s appointed times, the Festivals of God. Once the festivals of God was abolished by the work of Satan and no sinner could eat from the tree of life, but now Christ Ahnsahnghong brought back all the festivals of God and opened the way to the Most Holy Place through his blood. And he also let us know the true reality of the Most Holy Place and the ark of covenant, that is, Our Mother who is the true source of water of life. We must come to Zion, the city of festivals and keep all the festivals and then we can eat from the tree of life. The World Mission Society Church of God is the only place which was established by Christ Ahnsahnghong. Come to Zion and Father and Mother will forgive our sins and give us eternal life. Amen.

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