According to the bible, the most important characteristic of the saints of God in the last days is obeying the commands of God. For this reason, knowing the commands of God is critical for the salvation.
Today there are so many churches teaching different doctrines. How can we know which is true and not true? Let us find answer for the question.
Revelation 14:1 Then I looked, and there before me was the Lamb, standing on Mount Zion, and with him 144,000 who had his name and his Father’s name written on their foreheads. 2 And I heard a sound from heaven like the roar of rushing waters and like a loud peal of thunder. The sound I heard was like that of harpists playing their harps. 3 And they sang a new song before the throne and before the four living creatures and the elders. No one could learn the song except the 144,000 who had been redeemed from the earth. 4 These are those who did not defile themselves with women, for they remained virgins. They follow the Lamb wherever he goes.
Among many features of the 144000, the most important one is following the Lamb or the Christ wherever he is leading them to. This means that as sheep of God they listen to and obey the voice of God completely. In other words, they keep the commands of God with a complete obedience.
Revelation 14:12 This calls for patient endurance on the part of the people of God who keep his commands and remain faithful to Jesus.
Here we can see again that the people of God follow the commands of God with adding to or subtracting from the words of God.
Then how can we find out the true words or the commands of God among so many different teachings of the different people? The bible teaches us that we must go to Zion in the last days to learn the true words of God.
Micah 4:1 In the last days the mountain of the Lord’s temple will be established as the highest of the mountains; it will be exalted above the hills, and peoples will stream to it. 2 Many nations will come and say, “Come, let us go up to the mountain of the Lord, to the temple of the God of Jacob. He will teach us his ways, so that we may walk in his paths.” The law will go out from Zion, the word of the Lord from Jerusalem.
In this prophecy, God teaches us that we must go to Zion and Jerusalem for the law and the words of God in the last days, the time frame we are living in. Then why are the commands of God coming from Zion? What is Zion?
Isaiah 33:20 Look on Zion, the city of our festivals; your eyes will see Jerusalem, a peaceful abode, a tent that will not be moved; its stakes will never be pulled up, nor any of its ropes broken. 21 There the Lord will be our Mighty One. It will be like a place of broad rivers and streams. No galley with oars will ride them, no mighty ship will sail them. 22 For the Lord is our judge, the Lord is our lawgiver, the Lord is our king; it is he who will save us.
In the Book of Psalm 132, God teaches that Zion is the dwelling of God chosen by God to be his dwelling forevermore. Since God is in Zion, we can be taught by God when we go to Zion. And in Zion, we can see Jerusalem, the source of the words of God in the last days.
Then what is Zion? It is the place chosen by God to keep the festivals of God such as Sabbath, Passover, Feast of Weeks, and Tabernacles, etc.. When we go to Zion, we can meet God and receive the true teachings God grants to his people. Now, come to Zion and obey the commands of God by keeping the festivals of God. And then we can receive abundant blessings God allows through the festivals.
It is agreed by most people, whether they are believers or not, that the bible is the best-selling book ever written in the world. Why is the bible so popular among people? It is because the bible contains the many prophecies about the world and human beings in it.
God’s Plan for the End of the Age
The End of Age Hidden in the Creation of the World
The bible is the book of prophecies. Also, as we can see through the prophecies of Daniel and Revelation, those prophecies have come true. And that is why we should believe the words of God in the bible. God teaches us that all the words in the bible are prophecies of God.
Isaiah 46:10 I make known the end from the beginning, from ancient times, what is still to come. I say, ‘My purpose will stand, and I will do all that I please.’
The Plan of God and the Plan of Man
This means that God already planned the end of the world even when he created this world. And he recorded his plan in the bible in the form of prophecies. Some might say that we can make a plan and make it come true. Then are we God too? There is essential differences between the plan of God and that of man. The plan of man can change as time goes by. But the plan of God never changes. I will be surely done as he has planned without any fail.
Isaiah 14:24 The Lord Almighty has sworn, “Surely, as I have planned, so it will be, and as I have purposed, so it will happen.
When we look back on the prophecies of the bible, we can confirm that the word of God are absolute prophecies that are being fulfilled at God’s appointed time. God make it sure that he would fulfill everything according to the words of God in the bible.
Matthew 5:18 “Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them. 18 For truly I tell you, until heaven and earth disappear, not the smallest letter, not the least stroke of a pen, will by any means disappear from the Law until everything is accomplished.
God’s Intention Contained in the Prophecies
Discerning God and Idols Through the Prophecies
There are a couple of things that God intends to achieve Through the fulfillment of the prophecies of the bible. First, God wants us to distinguish what is true and what is false. Today, people believe in so many different things. It is mainly because they do not know how to distinguish truth from falsehood.
God gave us the prophecies that we may know the true God through the prophecies and their fulfillment.
Isaiah 41:21 “Present your case,” says the Lord. “Set forth your arguments,” says Jacob’s King. “Tell us, you idols, what is going to happen. Tell us what the former things were, so that we may consider them and know their final outcome. Or declare to us the things to come, tell us what the future holds, so we may know that you are gods. Do something, whether good or bad, so that we will be dismayed and filled with fear. But you are less than nothing and your works are utterly worthless; whoever chooses you is detestable.
As we can see through the examples of mediums, spiritists, sorcerers, etc. in the bible, there are many people who claim to believe in gods and tell prophecies given by those gods. However, the difference between those gods and God the Almighty is that the words of God are absolute and be fulfilled surely at God’s appointed time. The words of the prophets of the idols are not. God is giving the signs and prophecies that we recognize who the true God is.
Faith in God Through the Prophecies
Second, God gives us prophecies that we may have faith in God. Some people think that God performs miraculous things and tells prophecies to reveal the power and authority of God. However, this is not the essential reason for prophecies. What God really wants to teach us through the prophecies is our faith to God.
God wants us to have absolute faith in God. To instill the faith in us God chose prophecies and the words of God.
John 14:29 I have told you now before it happens, so that when it does happen you will believe.
The glory of God and the salvation of God is in the words. God created the heavens and earth through His Word and the same Word of God accomplishes the last purpose of God, salvation of souls. Therefore, without absolute faith in the words of God, we cannot be saved. That is why to give us complete faith in the words God gave us prophecies. We can trust the words of God and obey them when we see the prophecies and the fulfillment.
Conclusion
Now has come the end of the six thousand years of God’s salvation work. God has appeared as the Spirit and the Bride and seeking those who have faith in the words of God. We should diligently study the words of God in the bible that we can have firm faith in the Spirit and the Bride who fulfilled all the prophecies of the bible.
The bible teaches about the salvation in many ways. And the most common way used to express salvation is the parable of living water. Just as water is an essential thing in physical life, God teaches us that we must drink the spiritual water to have a spiritual life, eternal life. Then what is the spiritual water we must take in and what is the source of the spiritual water? Let us find out God the Mother, the source of living water.
Drink living water
Spiritual Water, Words of God
First, let us think about the spiritual water itself? What is the water spiritually that we must drink to have eternal life? Without water there would be famine and thirst leading us to death in the end. In the same way, the lack of spiritual water also causes the spiritual famine and thirst which lead us to spiritual doom.
Amos 8:11 “The days are coming,” declares the Sovereign Lord, “when I will send a famine through the land—not a famine of food or a thirst for water, but a famine of hearing the words of the Lord. 12 People will stagger from sea to sea and wander from north to east, searching for the word of the Lord, but they will not find it. 13 “In that day “the lovely young women and strong young men will faint because of thirst. 14 Those who swear by the sin of Samaria—who say, ‘As surely as your god lives, Dan,’ or, ‘As surely as the god of Beersheba lives’— they will fall, never to rise again.”
According to this prophecy, God gives us a warning about a time coming when there would be famine all throughout the land because of the lack of water. And also He says many will die due to this famine and thirst. And He says that the cause of this spiritual famine is the lack of “the words of God”. At that time people wander about to search for the words of God. But they would not be able to find them.
The Reason For the Lack Of the Words Of God
The Lack Of Understanding
Then what causes the lack of the words of God? As the bible says the words of God is always with us. The bible which contains words of God is called an all-time bestseller. Most people, whether he believes God or not, know the existence of the bible. And many have quite good knowledge of the bible. Even though the words of God are around us all the time, why is there a lack of the words of God? We can understand the cause by several things? The first thing that causes the famine is the lack of the knowledge of the words of God.
Jeremiah 5:4 I thought, “These are only the poor; they are foolish, for they do not know the way of the Lord, the requirements of their God. 5 So I will go to the leaders and speak to them; surely they know the way of the Lord, the requirements of their God.”
God says that both people and religious leaders are all foolish, which means that have no wisdom and knowledge. Then what is the knowledge they are lacking? They do not know “the way of the Lord, the requirements of their God”. In other words they do not know the words of God. Even though the words of God is around them, God’s people have no understanding of the words of God. Therefore, the words of God they have around them have no use for their salvation.
The Rejection Of the Words of God
The second reason for the famine is the rejection of the words of God. Even though God gave them the words of God, people do not accept the words of God. And they do not follow and obey the words of God.
Hosea 8:12 Even if I wrote 10,000 laws for Ephraim, he would treat them as if they were for some stranger.
God gave many words to God’s people so that they would receive salvation. However, people did not accept and obey the words. They rejected the words of God and they lost their chances for salvation.
Hosea 4:6 my people are destroyed from lack of knowledge. “Because you have rejected knowledge, I also reject you as my priests; because you have ignored the law of your God, I also will ignore your children.
Because of these things, the words of God they have are no use to them. Even though people read the words of God in the bible, they don’t understand. In another case, they simply ignore and reject the words of God as something useless. In either way, the words of God is meaningless to them since they cannot receive salvation.
Lessons We Must Learn
Then what about us? Are we better than the Israelites? Not at all. In our time, we can see the same things. Even though there are many teachers of laws, they don’t have understanding on the words of God. Since the religious leaders have no understanding, nor are the people who they teach. Therefore, everyone in our time is in famine and thirst for the words of God. What they are drinking is not the living water. Rather, they are drinking salt water causing more thirst. Everybody tries to teach them with some words, but those words have nothing to do with the teachings of God.
Jeremiah lamented that everyone worshiped God with his or her opinions.
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.
In those days, God’s people did not the way of God and the requirements of God. They were worshiping God in whatever way they desired. They deserted God and the words of God. Because of these sins of people, God deserted them and they got destroyed. We are practicing the same thing now. Everybody has different opinions of God. Each worships God in their own way. The truth has disappeared. Through this we can clearly say that we also are living in the age of spiritual famine.
Mother, the source of living water
The Source of Living Water
In this state of spiritual famine and thirst, the very first thing we must do is to find the source of the living water. God divided salvation into three different ages and in each age he allowed His people a well of living water from which they could draw out the water of salvation? Then what was the source of living water in each age? Let us first look at the age of Father.
Jeremiah 2:13 “My people have committed two sins: They have forsaken me, the spring of living water, and have dug their own cisterns, broken cisterns that cannot hold water.
In the age of Father, the source of living water was God the Father Jehovah. Rather than listening and obeying to the words of God from Father Jehovah, however, God’s people tried to establish their own doctrine which could not give salvation. It was the same with the age of the Son. In the sage of the Son, God the Son Jesus was the source of living water.
John 7:37 On the last and greatest day of the festival, Jesus stood and said in a loud voice, “Let anyone who is thirsty come to me and drink. 38 Whoever believes in me, as Scripture has said, rivers of living water will flow from within them.
To drink from the well of living water, God’s people must come to Jesus. However, they rejected him and did not obey his words. Rather, they relied on their own doctrine and tradition deserting the words of God.
Waterfall
The Source of Living Water in the Last Days: Spirit And Bride
How about then in our age? Who is the source of living water? The bible says the living water is coming from the Spirit and the Bride, that is, God the Father and God the Mother.
Revelation 22:17 The Spirit and the bride say, “Come!” And let the one who hears say, “Come!” Let the one who is thirsty come; and let the one who wishes take the free gift of the water of life.
Mother, The Source of Living Water
The bible teaches that in the last day to receive the water of life or the living water of salvation, we must come to the Spirit and the Bride. The Spirit represents God the Father. Then who does the bride signify? If we follow the mated verses, the bride of the Lamb is the Heavenly Jerusalem (Rev 21:9) and the Heavenly Jerusalem is our Mother. (Gal 4:26) In conclusion, the source of the living water in our time is God the Mother. We can confirm this through other prophecies of the bible.
Zechariah 14:8 On that day living water will flow out from Jerusalem, half of it east to the Dead Sea and half of it west to the Mediterranean Sea, in summer and in winter.
Micah 4:1 In the last days the mountain of the Lord’s temple will be established as the highest of the mountains; it will be exalted above the hills, and peoples will stream to it. 2 Many nations will come and say, “Come, let us go up to the mountain of the Lord, to the temple of the God of Jacob. He will teach us his ways, so that we may walk in his paths.” The law will go out from Zion, the word of the Lord from Jerusalem.
Conclusion
Through all these prophecies we can be sure that the true source of living water according to the bible is Heavenly Jerusalem in our time. Therefore, those who want to drink from the well of living water through the true words of God must come to Heavenly Jerusalem.
Drink Living Water from Heavenly Mother
There are many in this world, who desert the source of living water. And they try to establish their own way of salvation with their own doctrine and tradition. However, as God said through Prophet jeremiah, they are only broken cisterns that cannot hold water. Therefore, we must come to Jerusalem Our Mother to receive the living water.
Revelation 7:17 ‘Never again will they hunger; never again will they thirst. The sun will not beat down on them,’ nor any scorching heat. 7 For the Lamb at the center of the throne will be their shepherd; ‘he will lead them to springs of living water.’ ‘And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes.’”
Only those who listen to the words of God coming from Heavenly Jerusalem Our Mother can receive complete salvation.
What if there is no light in the world? It would not be hard to imagine what the life would be like for the living things? They will all be like the blind, feeling the way with their fingers and stumbling and falling down by a small stones sticking out from the ground and being fallen into a prey for wild animals. The life would be unimaginably hard and difficult and almost impossible to live.
Spiritual Darkness
But according to the bible, this is the situation for the people living in the last days. Spiritually the world is in deep darkness with no light from the sun nor the moon or stars. Prophet Zephaniah prophesied about the last day:
Zephaniah 2:14 The great day of the Lord is near—
near and coming quickly.
The cry on the day of the Lord is bitter;
the Mighty Warrior shouts his battle cry.
15 That day will be a day of wrath—
a day of distress and anguish,
a day of trouble and ruin, a day of darkness and gloom, a day of clouds and blackness—
16 a day of trumpet and battle cry
against the fortified cities
and against the corner towers.
17 “I will bring such distress on all people that they will grope about like those who are blind,
because they have sinned against the Lord.
“The great day of the Lord” in the bible is the Day of Judgment which will take place in the last day. The prophet gives many characteristics of this day and one of them is that the day is the day of “darkness, clouds, and blackness.” Since it is dark, people cannot see things clearly and they act like as if they were a blind man.
The Great Day of God’s Wrath by John Martin
And Prophet Joel tells us the reason why the world is in deep darkness in the last days.
Joel 2:31 The sun will be turned to darkness
and the moon to blood
before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the Lord.
Joel let us know the reason why everything would be dark in the last days. He says that the sun and the moon will lose their light and there would no light from the sun or moon. Since there is no light, the world shrouded by a deep darkness. Everything is under the complete darkness. Since they cannot see, people stumbles, falls, are snared, or fallen into a prey for the wild animals.
The Christ Coming on the Clouds of Heaven with Great Glory
In this time of darkness, however, the bible says that God would come and bring salvation to his people by giving them light. Prophet Ezekiel says that in the last day when the world is in complete darkness, God himself would come to save his people from the darkness.
Ezekiel 34:11 “‘For this is what the Sovereign Lord says: I myself will search for my sheep and look after them. 12 As a shepherd looks after his scattered flock when he is with them, so will I look after my sheep. I will rescue them from all the places where they were scattered on a day of clouds and darkness. 13 I will bring them out from the nations and gather them from the countries, and I will bring them into their own land.
This is a prophecy about the last day, the day of clouds and darkness and all God’s people got lost because they cannot see. All the people of God go scattered and they became prey for wild animals. At this moment of spiritual darkness, God said that He himself would come and save them by bringing them back to the Promised Land he prepared for his people. Then who would come and how will he save his people? To understand the salvation of God, first we should know about the one who would come to us to save us. To understand what is going to happen in the last days, let us take a look at some teachings of Jesus Christ he gave us about the last day.
The Day of Darkness when the Sun and Moon lose their lights
Matthew 24:29 “Immediately after the distress of those days
“‘the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light;
the stars will fall from the sky,
and the heavenly bodies will be shaken.’
30 “Then will appear the sign of the Son of Man in heaven. And then all the peoples of the earth will mourn when they see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven, with power and great glory.
This is about the last day when there is no light from the sun or moon, but the world is in deep darkness and God’s people like blind men they would have been scattered and stumbling and falling. In this time of complete darkness, Prophet Ezekiel said that God himself would appear to save his people. But in the Book of Matthew, Jesus said that “the Son of Man” or Christ himself will “come on the clouds of heaven” and will save them. Through these prophecies we can see that in the last day the Christ who would appear a second time or the Second Coming Christ would appear and grant salvation to his people.
Then what does it mean, “coming on the clouds of heaven”? Will he ride on the clouds of heaven and come down to this earth? Many people says this would be the case in the last days that Christ would come down from heaven on physical clouds of the sky with his angels. However, as we have seen many times before, the clouds means flesh. Therefore, coming on the clouds actually meaning coming as man in the flesh. In short, in the last day God himself would come as man in the flesh again like 2000 years ago, and save his people and lead them to the spiritual Promised Land.
The Great Light or Splendor Christ would Bring
The Book of Revelation shows us about the Christ’s Coming and the salvation he brings in the time of darkness. What is the way he grant his salvation to his people?
Revelation 18:1 After this I saw another angel coming down from heaven. He had great authority, and the earth was illuminated by his splendor. 2 With a mighty voice he shouted:
“‘Fallen! Fallen is Babylon the Great!’
She has become a dwelling for demons
and a haunt for every impure spirit,
a haunt for every unclean bird,
a haunt for every unclean and detestable animal.
3 For all the nations have drunk
the maddening wine of her adulteries.
The kings of the earth committed adultery with her,
and the merchants of the earth grew rich from her excessive luxuries.”
Who is the angel with great authority? All the authority, glory, and power was given to Christ and the Christ is the one who is going to come with great power and glory as we have seen in the Book of Matthew. Therefore, this angel with great authority is the Second Coming Christ. When he comes, what does he do? He “illuminates the earth with his splendor (or great light).” How can we guess the earth has been like before his coming? The earth must be in the deep darkness. In this state God’s people were held captive in the Babylon as slaves which is the place of demons and unclean spirit. Simply, we can say this place as spiritual Egypt where God’s people are kept as slaves. They have been working as the slaves of the Babylon because they cannot see or discern what kind of place they are in since there is no light. They are spiritually blind.
The Fall of Babylon the Great by John Martin
However, this time of deep darkness will end when the Second Coming Christ comes with great light and shines his light so that his people can see and distinguish what is good or what is bad. And through this splendor, he gives his people spiritual eyes to see the true identity of the Babylon they are in and lead them out by calling out to them, “Come out of her, my people.” (Revelation 18:4)
The Spiritual Light, the Words of God
Then what is this splendor or light which illuminates the earth and let people see and know the true identity of the Babylon? What is this light that would shine in the last day to give light to the people of God so that they could open their eyes to see their spiritual state? According to the bible, the light means the words of God.
Psalms 119:105 Your word is a lamp for my feet,
a light on my path.
Or in the Book of Proverbs, King Solomon says;
Proverbs 6:23 For this command is a lamp,
this teaching is a light,
and correction and instruction
are the way to life.
In this sense, the sun and moon which would lose its light in the last day, which results in the deep darkness in the world are actually words of God. In the Book of Genesis, God created the Sun and the Moon on the fourth day.
Genesis 1:14 And God said, “Let there be lights in the vault of the sky to separate the day from the night, and let them serve as signs to mark sacred times, and days and years, 15 and let them be lights in the vault of the sky to give light on the earth.” And it was so. 16 God made two great lights—the greater light to govern the day and the lesser light to govern the night. He also made the stars. 17 God set them in the vault of the sky to give light on the earth, 18 to govern the day and the night, and to separate light from darkness. And God saw that it was good. 19 And there was evening, and there was morning—the fourth day.
This is not physical creation creating the sun and moon, but rather as we already know this represents the spiritual creation told in the form of parable. This creation of lights on Day 4 actually represents God’s establishing two words or covenants of God to his people. First, the less light is the moon light which represents the old covenant which was given to the physical Israelites as copy and shadow. And just as the light of moon is just a reflection of the light of sun, this covenant was not reality, but just a shadow to lead us to the reality, the sun light. The greater light or sunlight represent the new covenants which was given to the spiritual Israelites by Jesus Christ.
God’s Creating Sun and Moon by Michelangelo. What is the meaning?
Therefore, the loss of light from the sun and moon actually represents the loss of the true words of God written in the Old and New Testament. Even though Jesus gave the sun light so that God’s people could see the way of the Promised Land clearly through his sacrifice, but ultimately this words of God or sunlight was taken away by the work of Satan after the death of Jesus and Disciples. The world became dark with no light from the sun or moon, hence the name the Dark Age came since it was the age of darkness without the sun or moon.
But the bible says that Christ would appear again in the last days and shine his light again. Then how would he shine his light? By bringing the words of God again and giving us the light of the sun and the light of the moon back to us.
The Second Coming Christ and the Light of Life
According to the these prophecies of the bible, the one who brings and restores all the words of God is the Christ who appears a second time as man in the flesh. Christ Ahnsahnghong came down to this earth and has shone the light of gospel by opening the seven seal of the bible and letting us know the truth words of God. And he restored the new covenant of the Passover and taught us the reality of the flesh and blood of Christ, our Heavenly Mother New Jerusalem, who also came down to this earth to give us the eternal life.
When the world was in darkness, we did not know where to go and that is why we were held as slaves of the Babylon without knowing what kind of place we are staying and what kind of destiny we are facing. But Christ Ahnsahnghong and Heavenly Mother are calling us now, “Come out of her, my people.” Open your eyes now and see yourself what kind of place you are in. Is there truth? Is there the new covenant of the Passover which gives us the forgiveness of sins and eternal life? If not, then what is the place you are staying in? That is the spiritual Babylon where people who have forsaken the words of God are following the commands of man such as Sunday worship, Christmas, Easter. That is the home for demons and a haunt for evil spirit. Come out of her, Brothers and Sisters and Come to Zion without delay.
Autumn is a wonderful season. It gives us many things to ponder about. All the green grasses, plants, and tree which gave the sense of life to us during the spring and summer withers and dies. The grass in the field loses its color and freshness of life and turns to whitish brown, making crumbling noises when stepped on. And the trees shed all the beautiful decorations they had during the summer and only the essence of life is left behind in its most basic form with no flowers, no leaves, no young boughs and soft branches.
It seems to me that ironically this is the very season we can experience life as it is. During the spring and summer, we have been deceived by the outward appearances of things such as leaves, flowers, bees and butterflies and tended to think that these are the signs of life. However, during the autumn we come to realize that they were just a set of decorations which cannot be regarded as the part of the essence of life. The true essence of life appears when the life shed all the redundant parts from itself during the autumn. When the trees shed its leaves and remove its mask, we can see the true reality of life groaning and striving hard to endure the hardships. We can see the life itself, holding on the last breath as long as it can. When the leaves of the grass wither and turn pale white, we can feel the life hidden underneath the crispy demolition of those dried blades.
All Men are like grass that wither and die.
At this moment of the year, we can sense the true life which we also must go through. When our life on this earth is over, we will have to shed also things that is not essential by leaving those things behind. Only the essence of life would be left for us so that we can make a new life after this life is over. While we are living on this earth, however, we do not realize this and by being deceived by the things that are not essential we pay more attention to the outward things, neglecting more important things. At the time of shedding, we come to realize that we have been chasing after the wind, seeking after the meaningless things. Look at the things around us-the grasses, trees, leaves, and even animals and insects. They are teaching us that we will be like them soon. At that time, all the redundant things we have gathered to us to beautify us and to justify us will be taken away from us, and only the essence of life in us would be laid bare.
Psalms 103:15 The life of mortals is like grass,
they flourish like a flower of the field;
16 the wind blows over it and it is gone,
and its place remembers it no more.
Isaiah 40:6 A voice says, “Cry out.”
And I said, “What shall I cry?”
“All people are like grass,
and all their faithfulness is like the flowers of the field.
7 The grass withers and the flowers fall,
because the breath of the Lord blows on them.
Surely the people are grass.
A mountain path in the late Autumn with fallen leaves
The life of men are like grass. It has its own time once, but sooner or later it withers and dies. In this meaningless life, what are we seeking after? Wealth, fame, knowledge, wisdom, popularity, power, beauty…? The time will come when we have to shed all these redundant things and the thing left in us will be the essence or the seed of life that would sprout into a new life. At that moment, what if we do not have this seed of life? We will not be able to enter into the life. Then what is the essence of life that we must have in us so that we can inherit the imperishable life? Just like a tree condenses all the life it had into the form of fruit with seeds in it and so does grass, we should have the seed of life in us.
Isaiah 40:8 The grass withers and the flowers fall,
but the word of our God endures forever.”
Again in the Book of the First Peter, it is written:
1 Peter 1:22 Now that you have purified yourselves by obeying the truth so that you have sincere love for each other, love one another deeply, from the heart. 23 For you have been born again, not of perishable seed, but of imperishable (seed), through the living and enduring word of God. 24 For,
“All people are like grass,
and all their glory is like the flowers of the field;
the grass withers and the flowers fall,
25 but the word of the Lord endures forever.”
And this is the word that was preached to you.
The Essence of Life: Trees and Fruits. During the spring and summer, a tree gives out tender branches and leaves and works so hard to leave the life, the fruits so that the life can endure. In the same way, what is that we should work for to leave life at the end?
The seed we must have inside is the words of God, the gospel which Christ came and preached 2000 years ago. He wanted to plant good seeds in us, which would sprout into eternal life. However, during the Dark Ages the Romans started to change the words of God one by one, taking away from us the essence of life. But according to the prophecy of Hebrews 9:28, Christ appeared to us again for the second time to plant this seed of life in us again. Let us plow the hardened soil of our heart and plant the good seed, waiting for the day it would sprout and bloom into a new life.
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.
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.
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.
