Tag: Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil

  • 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.

  • God’s Promise in the Passover: Eternal Life

    God’s Promise in the Passover: Eternal Life

    Passover and Eternal Life

    The Passover of the new covenant contains many promises of God. First, it promises the forgiveness of the sins people committed in heaven as angels as I have shown in the previous article, titled “God’s promise in the Passover: Forgiveness of sins”.

    Today, we are going to another important promise of God contained in the Passover, that is, the promise of “eternal life”.

    Christ Coming for Eternal Life

    According to the bible Christ came down to this earth to free us from the slavery of sin and death and to give us eternal life in heaven. This is the essence of the teachings of God in the bible. Then how does God grant eternal life to his people?

    CANAAN AND PASSOVER

    Passover and Freedom from Slavery

    The answer can be found in the Old Testament through the work of God’s salvation for the physical Jews in the time of Moses. In those days, God’s people were under the slavery of Egypt going through many hardships and sufferings. They constantly prayed to God for the freedom. And God listened to their prayers and he sent his Prophet Moses to lead his people from the slavery.

    Exodus 7:4 4 he will not listen to you. Then I will lay my hand on Egypt and with mighty acts of judgment I will bring out my divisions, my people the Israelites. 5 And the Egyptians will know that I am the Lord when I stretch out my hand against Egypt and bring the Israelites out of it.

    According to these words of God, God sent Egyptians ten plagues and finally the people of Israel could be set free from the slavery. Before the last and greatest plague, that is, the plague of the first-borns, God commanded the Israelites to keep the Passover so that they could be saved from the last disaster. God promised that the blood of the Passover Lamb would be the sign between God and his people so that they would be recognized as people who belonged to God. Through this blood of the Passover Lamb they could be protected from the plague and finally receive the freedom from the slavery.

    The Jews: Inward and Outward

    The bible teaches that the work of Moses and the Israel people were given as copy and shadow to teach us what is going to be done in the last days for God’s people who are under the spiritual slavery of sin and death.

    Hebrews 10:1 The law is only a shadow of the good things that are coming—not the realities themselves.

    According to the bible, all the people on earth are the people of God or Israelites in the spiritual sense.

    Romans 2:28 A person is not a Jew who is one only outwardly, nor is circumcision merely outward and physical. 29 No, a person is a Jew who is one inwardly; and circumcision is circumcision of the heart, by the Spirit, not by the written code.

    Spiritual Slavery of Sin and Death

    In this sense, all the people are the Jews, that is, God’s people. They once lived in heaven as angels in the presence of God as Job and King Solomon testifies. (Proverbs 8:30) However, because of their sins of rebellion against God in heaven, they were driven out and cast down to this earth which is a spiritual prison. And they are living in this prison as slaves of sin and death.

    Jesus teaches us that we all are under the slavery of sin and death through the sins.

    John 8:32 Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.” 33 They answered him, “We are Abraham’s descendants and have never been slaves of anyone. How can you say that we shall be set free?” 34 Jesus replied, “Very truly I tell you, everyone who sins is a slave to sin.

    All Men Are Sinners

    The bible teaches us that we all are sinners (Psalms 14:3), and because of the sins the wages of sins—death—came to all men. (Romans 5:12) In short, we are all under the slavery of sin and death.

    As Paul says, we all want to do what is righteous but because of the sin living in us we cannot do what we intend to do. All men are living as slaves to sin and destined to go through the agony of death.

    Romans 7:21 So I find this law at work: Although I want to do good, evil is right there with me. 22 For in my inner being I delight in God’s law; 23 but I see another law at work in me, waging war against the law of my mind and making me a prisoner of the law of sin at work within me. 24 What a wretched man I am! Who will rescue me from this body that is subject to death? 25 Thanks be to God, who delivers me through Jesus Christ our Lord!

    Freedom From Sin and Death Through the Passover

    Then how can we set free from this spiritual slavery of sin and death? The bible shows us the answer through the work and life of Moses and the Israelites. The Israel people who were living as slaves of Egypt could be set free by keeping the Passover.

    Likewise, the freedom from the spiritual slavery of sin and death is also in keeping the Passover. As we have already seen in the verse above (John 8:32), Jesus said that we can be set free through “the truth”. Also in another verse Jesus teaches that the Son would set them free. (John 8:36) Therefore, we can conclude that we can be set free from the slavery of sin and death through the truth or the words of God which comes from the Son that is Jesus himself. Then what was teaching of Jesus given to us for the freedom from the sin?

    Passover, Truth of Spiritual Freedom

    Freedom From Sins Through the Passover

    Jesus teaches that we can be set free from the slavery of sins and death through the Passover, the new covenant. On the night of the Passover, while eating the Passover Supper, Jesus sealed the Passover with a promise, that is, the promise of the forgiveness of sins.

    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.

    Through this promise of Jesus, we can understand that the truth that gives us freedom is the Passover. Through the Passover we can be set free from the slavery of sins through the forgiveness promised in the Passover.

    Freedom From Death Through the Passover

    Since our sins are cancelled through the Passover, naturally the sentence of death caused by sins would be removed from us too through the Passover. Jesus taught about this freedom from death through the Passover in the Book of John.

    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.

    Jesus teaches us that we can receive the eternal life or the freedom from death by eating his flesh and blood.. Then what was the way we could eat his flesh and blood? It is through the Passover. The Passover bread signifies his flesh or body and the Passover wine his blood.

    Conclusion

    Now we can know how to be set free from the slavery of sin and death. It is through the Passover. Through the Promise of God sealed in the Passover, we can receive the forgiveness of sins and be set free from the slavery of sins and death.

    In the next article, I would like to talk about another promise of God in the Passover, the inheritance of Canaan, or the Kingdom of Heaven. I hope that everybody realize the blessings contained in the Passover and keep it so that we can receive the promise of God through the Passover.

  • Interpretation of the Bible: How or Who?

    Interpretation of the Bible: How or Who?

    If we look around us today, there are so many different churches and different doctrines. Each church interprets the bible in their own way and those interpretations are different from church to church. What is worse is that each member-even in the same church-has a different understanding of the bible according to their own interpretation.

    Christ said that we have to know the truth to be saved. However, today the concept of the truth is decentralized and deconstructed and people acts as if they were happy with many different understandings of the bible. Even people in the academic world encourage the environment of the diversities in understanding and interpretation.

    Once Jeremiah lamented of idolatries of the Israelites each of whom followed different idols according to their own understanding of God and the bible.

    Jeremiah 2:28 Where then are the gods you made for yourselves? Let them come if they can save you when you are in trouble! For you, Judah, have as many gods as you have towns.

    This can be said to our situation too where each person and each church and each community have their own interpretation of the bible and each of them have their own God and Christ according to their understanding of the bible. In the realm of humanities as scholastic field, this might be recommendable and it cannot cause that serious problems. However, this can cause a lot of confusion and hinder the understanding of the truth the bible wants to show us.

    The Essence of the Bible

    The most essential teaching of the bible is that there is the God in the spiritual world and God wants to teach us the truth that can give us salvation. The concept of the truth is most important in reading the bible.

    John 8:31 To the Jews who had believed him, Jesus said, “If you hold to my teaching, you are really my disciples. 32 Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.”

    Jesus Christ teaches us that the Truth can set us free from sin and death. Therefore, in reading the bible, what we have to care about most is “finding the truth”. Then, among so many interpretations of the bible, how can we find the truth?

    Not How, But Who

    To find the truth what we have to remember is the way we can find the truth. Many people think that they can know the truth if they know how to interpret the bible. For this reason, they have tried to find the right way to interpret the bible. Some people used a logical way of thinking to interpret the bible. Some people used an allegorical method, or story-telling, historical fact, numerical analysis, etc.

    With these methods, they could produce plausible interpretations of what they read, which seems to make sense in certain aspects. But none of them could find “the voice of the seven thunders,” or the perfect words of God (the truth). Each interpretation had its own limits in so much as that they had their own merits.

    Then why could they not find the truth? Were they lacking in wisdom, knowledge, acuity in thinking, or logical power? All these things might have had some impact in the failure of finding the truth. But what is more important is the more fundamental matter in the interpretation of the bible. That is, the correct interpretation of the bible does not depend on the methods of the interpretation, but the person who interprets the bible.

    Interpretation of the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil

    The interpretation of the bible.
    God said, “Do not eat”, and the Serpent said, “You can eat.” Then how can we know the truth in this situation?

    Let me give you one example. In the Garden of Eden, there was a tree, called “The Tree of the knowledge of good and evil”. For this tree, two different interpretations were given to Adam and Eve. One was the truth that could give them life, but the other was falsehood which could mislead them and destroy them. The one interpretation was given like this:

    Genesis 2:16 And the Lord God commanded the man, “You are free to eat from any tree in the garden; 17 but you must not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, for when you eat from it you will certainly die.

    And the other interpretation of the tree was written in this way:

    Genesis 3:4 “You will not certainly die,” the serpent said to the woman. 5 “For God knows that when you eat from it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.”

    The Bible Truth Lies in the Interpreter

    The first interpretation of the tree was from God who planted the tree in the garden and his message was very clear and simple. However, the second interpretation was from the serpent or Satan. And the interpretation is completely opposite of the first interpretation with more rhetorical aspects in it to make his message more plausible. And since the second interpretation was more “pleasing” to the ear and seems to be more “desirable”, they followed the second interpretation only to be destined to die.

    Then what made the first interpretation true and the second one false? It did not depend on the manner and figures of the speech; nor did it in knowledge, wisdom, logical acuity, etc. The truth lay on the person who made the comment. The comment of God was the truth and the comment of the serpent was false. Therefore, in finding the truth what we have to do is to find the right person who has the authority to interpret the bible.

    Sealing of the Bible

    The bible prophesies that the words of God in the bible would be sealed up and there would be no one who can interpret the bible.

    Revelation 5:1 Then I saw in the right hand of him who sat on the throne a scroll with writing on both sides and sealed with seven seals. 2 And I saw a mighty angel proclaiming in a loud voice, “Who is worthy to break the seals and open the scroll?” 3 But no one in heaven or on earth or under the earth could open the scroll or even look inside it. 4 I wept and wept because no one was found who was worthy to open the scroll or look inside. 5 Then one of the elders said to me, “Do not weep! See, the Lion of the tribe of Judah, the Root of David, has triumphed. He is able to open the scroll and its seven seals.”

    According to the first verse above, the bible says that the book of God would be sealed with seven seals. “Seven” in the bible means “perfection” or “completion”. In this sense, we can know the bible is completely sealed up in the last days. The truth Jesus taught in his first coming came to be hidden and sealed completely and no one would be able to know the meaning of the bible. The bible says no one—angels above, men on the earth—can understand the bible and no one can give true interpretation of the bible. No human being with his knowledge or wisdom can open the bible; nor can they see the message in it.

    The Root of David

    Since this is what would happen in the last days, it is natural to say that we cannot interpret the bible through our wisdom or knowledge. If then, how come there are so many people who says that they can interpret the bible? According to the bible, however, there is one who can open the seals of the bible and see what is written in the bible: the Root of David. Therefore, to find the truth in the last days, we have to know who the Root of David is and meet him to receive his teaching.

    Except for the interpretation of the Root of David, all other interpretations—however they might look logical, sensible, plausible—are just false ones which have nothing to do with the truth. As I said before, the manner of interpretation does not matter. What matters is the one who has authority to interpret the bible, in this case, the Root of David. Without knowing and receiving the Root of David, we would never be able to find the truth.

    Conclusion

    Today, there are so many people who interpret the bible with knowledge and wisdom. They put their whole life to seek the truth in the bible. What they don’t realize is that they are following the wrong direction out of ignorance and misunderstanding of the prophecies of the bible. The only way to know the truth in the bible is through the Root of David who would appear as legitimate interpreter of the bible in the last days. Therefore, the question we should ask to find the truth is “Who is the Root of the David?” It is not “How should we interpret the bible?” Then who is the Root of David?

    Revelation 22:16 “I, Jesus, have sent my angel to give you[a] this testimony for the churches. I am the Root and the Offspring of David, and the bright Morning Star.”

    According to the bible, the Root of David is the second coming Christ who would come in the last days. It means Christ himself is the only one who has authority to open the seals and give the correct interpretation of the bible. When someone says that he can interpret the bible, we should ask him first, “Are you the Root of David?” And we have to have spiritual eyes to distinguish the truth from the falsehood.

    Christ Ahnsahnghong the Root of David

    Christ Ahnsahnghong came as the Root of David and opened the seven seals of the bible. To find more about the prophecies of the Root of David, please visit the links below. And you will come to understand that Christ Ahnsahnghong is the Root of David the bible testifies about.

    I hope you would meet the Root of David and find the truth that gives life for your soul.

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