The gospel of Jesus christ Through John

 

 

 

 

The gospel of Jesus christ

Through John

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Head

John placed a lot of emphasis on “the identity of who Jesus is,” and devoted a lot of time to the resurrection, the baptism of the Holy Spirit, the second coming of Christ, and spiritual warfare. The “Bible written by John” is five books: the Gospel of John, 1 John, 2 John, 3 John, and Revelation.

The Gospel of John has two missions at the same time. They preach the gospel to the Jews, and at the same time they preach the gospel to the Gentiles. Jesus delivers the message to the Jews that he is the coming Messiah, or Christ, and at the same time to the Gentiles, he delivers the message of his divinity that although Jesus was the Son of God, the resurrected Christ becomes God.

John described Jesus Christ as the light of the world, as someone who demonstrates the power of God, as someone who fulfills the law, and as someone who gives life through resurrection. John makes us realize the meaning of the resurrection "to the spiritual state of Jesus' disciples and to the disciples who were under the law." And Jesus personally showed his disciples his resurrected body and gave them the Holy Spirit, allowing them to believe in the present resurrection. Furthermore, the saints who read John's writings today are also informed of the present resurrection.

The saints of resurrection become one with God, and the meaning of unity is expressed as loving brothers. Brotherly love is ultimately about saving a dead spirit. Jesus Christ gave his disciples this mission and told them to spread the gospel to the ends of the world. “The core content of the gospel” is the death and resurrection of the cross. Saints also believe that they “died on the cross in union with Jesus and were resurrected in union with Christ in the present.”

In particular, through the Book of Revelation, John expressed the characteristics of the seven churches during the church era as the church of today. John also explained the second coming of Christ and the millennium, which is the second coming and the kingdom of God that takes place in the hearts of believers. It tells us that spiritual warfare is not a fight against Satan, but a fight against one's physical self and false prophets. As for the appearance of the Antichrist in the end times, he is a picture of his fleshly self.

The reason the Bible is distorted is because it is read and interpreted through human eyes. So, the Bible is distorted and creates false prophets. However, when we look at the Bible from God's perspective, Christ becomes present in the Word.

2024. 4

 

Index

 

Part 1. Identity of Jesus Christ/1

 

Ⅰ. The one who works in the word

1. Light of the world/

2. Words of eternal life/

3. Truth and freedom/

4. The Good Shepherd/

5. The way, the truth, and the life/

6. Parable of the Sheeppen

 

Ⅱ. One who demonstrates the power of God/

1. Son’s authority/

2. God saves the king’s son’s subjects/

3. Healing the sick/

4. The miracle of five loaves and two fish/

5. Healing a man born blind/

6. Raising Lazarus from the dead/

7. Walking on the sea/

 

Ⅲ. The one who fulfills the law/

1. Testimony of John the Baptist/

2. Cana Wedding Feast/

Ⅳ. The one who gives resurrection life/

1. He who comes from heaven/

2. I am the resurrection and the life/

3. Bread of Life/

4. Conversation with Nicode/

5. Conversation with the Samaritan woman/

 

Part 2. The spiritual condition of Jesus' family and disciples and the cleaning of the temple/

 

Ⅰ. Spiritual condition of Jesus' family and disciples

1. The brothers in the flesh do not believe that Jesus is the Christ/

2. Two disciples/

3. Judas betrays Jesus/

4. Peter’s denial of Jesus/

5. Thomas’ doubts/

 

Ⅱ. temple cleaning

1. Foretells the corruption of the temple and the collapse of the stone temple

2. Foreshadowing the death and resurrection of Jesus on the cross

 

Ⅲ. The spiritual condition of those under the law

1. Appearance of a person under the law/

2. The woman who committed adultery/

3. Meaning of keeping the commandments/

4. Sinners and righteous people/

 

Part 3. Jesus’ death and resurrection on the cross/

 

Ⅰ. Jesus' death on the cross

1. The meaning of atonement death/

2. Pouring perfume on Jesus’ feet/

3. Passion and Cross/

 

Ⅱ. resurrection of christ

1. Resurrection/

2. Showing the disciples his resurrected body/

3. The current resurrection taking place in the saints/

4. What is the resurrection body/

 

Part 4. Ascension and Baptism of the Holy Spirit/

 

Ⅰ. ascension

1. Ascension of Christ/

2. Ascension of John/

 

Ⅱ. baptism

1. Water, Spirit and blood/

2. Water baptism/

3. Meaning of blood/

3. Baptism of the Holy Spirit/

 

Ⅲ. becoming one

1. Gethsemane Prayer/

2. Vine and branches/

3. Washing the disciple’s feet/

4. Brotherly love/

5. Keeping the commandments/

 

Part 5. Spreading the gospel and consoling believers/

 

Ⅰ. spread the gospel

1. Feed my sheep/

2. Appearance of the seven churches/

3. The appearance of the Antichrist/

4. War against false prophets/

 

Ⅱ. The comfort of the saints/

1. Overcoming the world/

2. War with the fleshly self/

3. Comforter/

4. Millennium/

Ⅲ. The Second Coming and Judgment of Christ

1. Second Coming for those in Christ/

2. Judgment of those outside of Christ/  

Part 1. Identity of Jesus Christ

 

Ⅰ. The one who works in the word

1. The light of the world

John 1:4-13『In him was life; and the life was the light of men. And the light shines in darkness; and the darkness comprehended it not. There was a man sent from God, whose name was John. The same came for a witness, to bear witness of the Light, that all men through him might believe. He was not that Light, but he was sent to bear witness of that Light. That was the true Light, which lighteth every man that cometh into the world. He was in the world, and the world was made by him, and the world knew him not. He came to his own, and he received him not. But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name: Which were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man , but of God.』

The reactions of people in this world to “Jesus who came to this earth in human flesh” were clearly divided. Jesus is the Son of God and Jesus is the Lord of life who gave the light of hope to those who were in the despair of death. While there are those who believe and accept this, there are those who say, “The light shines in the darkness, but the darkness does not understand it.” As it is said, there were people who did not know who Jesus was and who did not want to believe the words of Jesus.

God chose and sent one person in advance for “those who do not recognize or understand the light and savior Jesus Christ.” He had them proclaim about the light and savior who would come in the future. John, who was in charge of this work, "realized the purpose of God sending him in this world, namely, that he is not the light, but that he came to testify about the light, with a clear awareness of himself, his mission, and faithfully carried out the tasks entrusted to him." went out

『He is not the light, but the one who came to testify about the light.』 “John the Baptist, who introduces himself like this,” says that he will follow Jesus and live as a witness of Jesus, He makes “many people who want to be the light and be noticed by John” once again think about what kind of attitude followers of Christ should live.

He is the Creator, Jesus Christ, who existed as the Word in the beginning and now came to the earth in person in human form. Although there were many people who did not accept Him, the Bible says that those who believed that Jesus Christ, the Son of God, was the Savior (redemption: death on the cross) were given the privilege of becoming children of God (resurrection life).

“Man, whose relationship with God was severed due to sin,” now believes that through Jesus Christ’s death on the cross, he has been united with Christ and has been resurrected in the present. So, believers in present-day resurrection call God their Father, and God has granted them the privilege of living as His children.

When people do not know about God, and when they do not accept God and His Son, Jesus Christ, they think of themselves as the most important and live their lives with goals set for what is beneficial to them. Even though they were at the center of the world and were bound by the bonds of self-centeredness, they believed that “this kind of life” was the most important and meaningful life for them, and they lived it.

However, when they realize how dirty and ugly they are sinners living, how many things they cannot do with their own strength, and how weak and shabby they thought they were, they realize that they are truly weak and shabby. They finally realize that they cannot save themselves, and that their weaknesses and problems can be solved with outside help. And they realized that the only one who could solve all their problems and save them was Jesus Christ, the Son of God, full of grace and truth, and they repented to God and prayed to Jesus Christ. Together with this, the body of sin dies and is reborn into a new life of resurrection.

 

2. Words of eternal life

John 6:61-64 『When Jesus knew in himself that his disciples murmured at it, he said unto them, Doth this offend you? What and if ye shall see the Son of man ascend up where he was before? It is the spirit that quickeneth; the flesh profiteth nothing: the words that I speak unto you, they are spirit, and they are life. But there are some of you that believe not. For Jesus knew from the beginning who they were that believed not, and who should betray him.』

『It is the spirit that quickeneth; the flesh profiteth nothing: the words that I speak unto you, they are spirit, and they are life.』"The one who gives life to dead spirits" is the Holy Spirit, and the object of salvation is the dead spirit. In order for a dead spirit to come back to life, the “body of sin” (old man) that imprisons the spirit must die. The Bible expresses the state of spiritual death as a person imprisoned or blind. So, Jesus comes to free those who are imprisoned, open the eyes of the blind, heal those who are possessed by demons, and lead those who are in darkness to light. Those who are united with Jesus Christ will receive this grace. In order to be united with Jesus Christ, the old self must die along with Jesus.

God sends the Son to this world to bear the sins of mankind, and in Isaiah 53:6, humans say, “All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way; and the LORD hath laid on him the iniquity of us all.” So, God says in John 12:39-40, “Therefore they could not believe, because that Esaias said again, He hath blinded their eyes, and hardened their heart; That they should not see with their eyes, nor understand with their heart, and be converted, and I should heal them.”

Romans 6:6-7 Knowing this, that our old man is crucified with him, that the body of sin might be destroyed, that henceforth we should not serve sin. For he that is dead is freed from sin.』

The old man refers to the old temple in the hearts of believers. The old temple (old man) must die on the cross with Jesus for the saints to be justified (resurrection: new temple). When a believer dies on the cross with Jesus, the believer's sins are forgiven through the blood of Jesus. Blood solves human sin. However, the old man (body of sin) cannot be resolved through blood; it must die with Jesus on the cross. That is why God resurrects the spiritually dead.

Jesus' death on the cross means shedding blood and burning flesh. Repentance is realizing that sinners deserve to die like this. Repentance is not just confessing the sins of the world, but turning to death on the cross. I am not saved if I repent and believe, but since I am worthy of death, if I die with Jesus on the cross and remain in Jesus, I will be saved through resurrection life. People may say, “Why is salvation so complicated? You just have to believe.” However, if the sinner does not come to the word of the cross, he becomes his own faith. The sinner must enter into the faith of Jesus, not into his own faith. The faith of Jesus is 『the faith that God resurrected Jesus who died on the cross』. He must give up himself and enter into Jesus.

 

3. Freedom of truth

John 8:31-32 『Then said Jesus to those Jews who believed on him, If ye continue in my word, then are ye my disciples indeed; And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.』

Jesus said, “Then said Jesus again unto them, I go my way, and ye shall seek me, and shall die in your sins: whither I go, ye cannot come.” About these words of Jesus, 『Then said the Jews, Will he kill himself? Because he saith, Whither I go, ye cannot come. Jesus is talking about hanging on the cross in advance, but the Jews think that Jesus is committing suicide.

『And he said unto them, Ye are from beneath; I am from above: ye are of this world; “I am not of this world. I said therefore unto you, that ye shall die in your sins: for if ye believe not that I am he, ye shall die in your sins.” “What Jesus says repeatedly” is “ “The Jews will die in their sins.” A human being in sin will surely die. So, Romans 6:23 says, “The wages of sin is death.”

Sin is the greed of wanting to be like God. These words, 『if ye believe not that I am he, ye shall die in your sins』, mean that if you believe in Jesus, who came as the Son of God, you will live. The reason why Jesus repeats several times in his words, “Humans must die in sin,” is because all humans are beings who have left God.

Jesus said. 『And he that sent me is with me: the Father hath not left me alone; for I do always those things that please him.』 Jesus says, “He is with God the Father who sent him.” But the reason is, “Jesus always does what pleases God.” Then, what pleases God is reviving a dead spirit. Jesus said in John 6:63, “t is the spirit that quickeneth; He said, “the flesh profiteth nothing:”

Most Christianity today is not based on the Word of God, but rather distorts it and makes it false for convenience. Many pastors in the church today are spreading false gospels such as, “If you just believe in Jesus, you will be saved,” and, “If believers pray for acceptance, they will be saved.” This is becoming the Christianity they want. The reason this happened was because we were not reborn into resurrection life. They learn and experience with knowledge and think that they have become Christians, but if they die on the cross and are not reborn through resurrection life, they become false Christians. Believers should not be deceived by the Christianity created by people.

With “Christianity adapted to the kingdom of the world,” believers cannot be reborn into resurrection life. A believer cannot be born again through “Christianity, which says that baptism washes away sins.” Romans 6:4 clearly states, “Therefore we are buried with him by baptism into death: that like as Christ was raised up from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life.” There is, In 1 Peter 3:21, “The like figure whereunto even baptism doth also now save us (not the putting away of the filth of the flesh, but the answer of a good conscience toward God,) by the resurrection of Jesus Christ:” It is being said.

Baptism is union with the death of Jesus on the cross. When believers pass water baptism (death to sin) and fire baptism (death to soul), God baptizes them with the Holy Spirit. The baptism of the Holy Spirit is resurrection life. It is said that if a sinner confesses his sins and asks for forgiveness, all can be forgiven through the blood of Jesus, but Romans 6:7 says, “For the dead have been set free from sin and have been justified.” The Bible is not distorted, but false prophets are distorting the Bible. “Those who have not been reborn with resurrection life” are speaking distortedly. So the blind are leading the blind.

If a believer does not die on the cross with Jesus, he cannot be said to be in Christ. A believer may know that he is in Christ, but if he does not abide in the Word, he will not be able to say that he is in Christ. Only the new person (resurrected life) who sheds the old carnal self and receives a spiritual body from heaven will become a true Christian. Otherwise, believers could be said to be false Christians.

 

4. The Good Shepherd

John 10:1-5 『Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that entereth not by the door into the sheepfold, but climbeth up some other way, the same is a thief and a robber. But he that entereth in by the door is the shepherd of the sheep. To him the porter openeth; and the sheep hear his voice: and he calleth his own sheep by name, and leadeth them out. And when he putteth forth his own sheep, he goeth before them, and the sheep follow him: for they know his voice. And a stranger will they not follow, but will flee from him: for they know not the voice of strangers.』

In Chapter 9 of the Gospel of John, Jesus said that the Pharisees were blind who could not see the kingdom of God. They claim to know and practice God's law better than anyone else, but in reality, they are spiritually blind. They were caught up in the “false justification of observing the Sabbath” and missed the true spirit of the Sabbath, which is God’s love and mercy. Therefore, their observance of the law was not a tool of righteousness to build people up, but rather a tool of violence that mercilessly stabs people.

In Chapter 10 of the Gospel of John, it is against this backdrop that Jesus explains to the Pharisees. 『You say you are foolish leaders of the people, but in reality, you are no less than thieves and robbers. Because you have not entered through the gate of life.’ Jesus is criticizing the Pharisees in a very strong tone. Jesus said, “The sheep hear the voice of the shepherd, and they know that voice and follow it.”

This expression reminds us of the relationship between the blind man and Jesus in Chapter 9. The Pharisees and Jews were more outraged by the fact that the person who cured him had committed an unlawful act than by the fact that the man who had been blind since birth had opened his eyes. And they ended up excommunicating the blind man. They were not shepherds of the blind. However, the blind man immediately recognized Jesus who healed him. Then, he confessed his faith in Jesus on the spot, and he became a disciple of Jesus. The true shepherd of the blind was Jesus. However, even after hearing this story, the Pharisees did not realize what they had done. Next, Jesus said:

『This parable spake Jesus unto them: but they understood not what things they were which he spake unto them. Then said Jesus unto them again, Verily, verily, I say unto you, I am the door of the sheep. All that ever came before me are thieves and robbers: but the sheep did not hear them. I am the door: by me if any man enters in, he shall be saved, and shall go in and out, and find pasture.』 Jesus said it was the sheep gate. Jesus said, “The shepherd of the sheep enters by the door.” In light of these words, Jesus asked the Pharisees, “Do you really want to become shepherds of Israel? Then come to me. Accept the salvation I offer and learn from Me.』

Jesus is telling “those who claim to be the leaders of Israel” what true leadership is. The difference between a good shepherd and a hired hand is clear. To a hired worker, the sheep are not his own. He herds sheep and receives wages. A hired shepherd is not someone who risks his life to protect his sheep when a wolf comes, but instead abandons his sheep and runs away to survive. However, the good shepherd is willing to lay down his life for his sheep. A hired hand needs sheep for his wages, but a true shepherd knows that he must be there for his sheep. Between the true shepherd and the sheep, there is the death and resurrection of the cross. This speaks of the spiritual unity between the shepherd and the sheep.

 

5. The Way, the Truth and the Life

John 14:6-7 『Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me. If ye had known me, ye should have known my Father also: and from henceforth ye know him, and have seen him.』

After Jesus had his last meal with his disciples, he told them that he was leaving this world and going to God. Jesus, who was well aware of the disciples' anxious hearts, comforted them and said, "Do not let your hearts be troubled. You believe in God; believe also in me."

『In my Father's house are many mansions: if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you unto myself; that where I am, there ye may be also.』 This abode refers to the spirit body (resurrection). These are the clothes of Christ worn by those who have been born again.

Jesus says that the disciples know the path he is taking because he has been through hardships and sorrows with his disciples for the past three years, showing and teaching them many things. “You know where I am going and the way.” However, Thomas, who had many doubts among the disciples, answered, “We do not know where Jesus is going or his destination, so how can we know the way he is going?”

In response to Thomas’s response, the Lord said, “Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.” There is no other “way to God” than the cross. That is. It means that one who is united with the cross receives the resurrection of life and goes to his Father.

『Philip saith unto him, Lord, shew us the Father, and it sufficeth us.』 Then, 『Jesus saith unto him, Have I been so long time with you, and yet hast thou not known me, Philip? he hath seen me hath seen the Father; and how sayest thou then, Shew us the Father? Believest thou not that I am in the Father, and the Father in me? the words that I speak unto you I speak not of myself: but the Father that dwelleth in me, he doeth the works.』

In Christ, God and the saints become one. By being united through the present death of the cross and the present resurrection, believers become one with God in Christ. So, “Jesus is before Philip” means that He is united with God, that is, by the power of the Holy Spirit, “Jesus is in God and God is in Jesus.” God, Jesus, and the disciples, including Philip, become one in the Holy Spirit. This is the Trinity.

Philippians 2:6 says, “Who, being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God:” means that God the Father and Jesus Christ the Son are one in the Holy Spirit. Jesus also said, “Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that believeth on me, the works that I do shall he do also; and greater works than these shall he do; Because I go unto my Father.” God, Jesus Christ, and his disciples become one in the Holy Spirit. This means that “those who are in Jesus Christ” do what Jesus does and do even greater things. Jesus works through those who believe in Him. That is why he shares resurrection life with the people of the world through his disciples.

 

Ⅱ. One who demonstrates the power of God

1. Son's authority

John 5:22-29『For the Father judges no man, but hath committed all judgment unto the Son: That all men should honor the Son, even as they honor the Father. He that honoreth not the Son honoreth not the Father which hath sent him. Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that heareth my word, and believeth on him that sent me, hath everlasting life, and shall not come into condemnation; but he is passed from death unto life. Verily, verily, I say unto you, The hour is coming, and now is, when the dead shall hear the voice of the Son of God: and they that shall hear live. For as the Father hath life in himself; so hath he given to the Son to have life in himself; And hath given him authority to execute judgment also, because he is the Son of man. Marvel not at this: for the hour is coming, in the which all that are in the graves shall hear his voice, and he shall come forth; they that have done good, unto the resurrection of life; and they that have done evil, unto the resurrection of damnation.』

The authority that God gave to the Son is the authority to judge. And God also gave the Son “the authority to pass from death to resurrection life to those who believe in him.” Those who die with Jesus on the cross and believe that he was resurrected in the present go from death to the resurrection of life, but those who do not believe go to the resurrection of judgment.

Because Jesus died on the cross, God (Christ) forgives all sins to those who are united with the cross. However, today's believers believe that only past sins have been forgiven, and that present and future must continue to repent and be forgiven through the blood of Jesus. Resurrection also means believing that the body comes back to life after it dies. These believers are still no different from Jews through the eyes of the flesh.

In John 6:28-29, it is explained that “God’s work is to believe in the One whom God has sent.” Although God is not involved in the affairs of the world, God has been working on the work of salvation since before the creation of the world. Before Jesus Christ comes, it is through the promise of his seed, and after Jesus Christ comes, dies on the cross, is resurrected, and ascends to heaven, it is to believe in what Jesus accomplished on the cross and in his resurrection to eternal life.

About halfway through the Feast of Tabernacles, we see Jesus counterattacking the “Jews who ridicule and distrust the authority and identity of Jesus.” “The reason they do not believe in Jesus” is recorded in John 5:18. The reason why the conflict with the Jews deepened was because he healed the sick on the Sabbath and blasphemed God by considering him equal to his father. In this way, “Jews who were both surprised and prejudiced by Jesus’ words and ministry” ask questions in a sarcastic manner.

『How knoweth this man letters, having never learned?.』 Jesus responded. 『My doctrine is not mine, but his that sent me.』Jesus did not try to demonstrate his own power through his own teachings. He revealed the God who sent him. 『He that speaketh of himself seeketh his own glory: but he that seeketh his glory that sent him, the same is true, and no unrighteousness is in him.』

After chapter 5, a deep rift was gradually deepening between the Jews and Jesus. It is said that Jesus healed the sick on the Sabbath, and because of this, Jesus did not keep the law. He even introduced himself by saying that it was God who sent him. In the eyes of the Jews, the crime of blasphemy was aggravated. In the eyes of the Jews, they believed that Jesus should be punished because “he did not keep the Sabbath and even blasphemed.”

In response to this, Jesus said to the Jews, “Moses therefore gave unto you circumcision; (not because it is of Moses, but of the fathers;) and ye on the Sabbath day circumcise a man.』

Jews circumcise a male child on the eighth day after he is born. It did not matter whether the eighth day was a weekday or the Sabbath. They even break the Sabbath by cutting off small parts of the boy with a knife. Through this, the Jews proclaim that they are God's saved people, a set apart people.

“The point of what Jesus is saying” is that even on the Sabbath, on the 8th day after birth, Jewish boys cut off small parts of their bodies with a knife and proclaim themselves saved people, rejoicing together, and a man who had been lying sick for 38 years by the pool of Bethesda was healed. He said, “I picked up my seat and walked away, but you can’t rejoice with me?” Rather, Jesus scolded the Jews by saying, “Are you trying to kill me by accusing me of being a transgressor just because I was healed on the Sabbath?” And he said, “Do not judge by appearances, but judge righteously.”

There has never been a time in human history when God's will was fully realized, or only a very small number of people knew about it. This phenomenon is not because God hid Himself. God has revealed himself to all mankind at every moment. In Deuteronomy 7:9, 『Know therefore that the LORD thy God, he is God, the faithful God, which keepeth covenant and mercy with them that love him and keep his commandments to a thousand generations;』

Despite the fact that people have been judged by God for the sins they committed without properly knowing God, all mankind, including the Jews, still repeat the mistake of not properly knowing God. The situation at the time also showed a deep gap between Jesus and the large crowd around him. At the time of Jesus, Jewish religious leaders were planning to kill him. Also, at that time, the people who followed Jesus talked about Jesus' origin and growth background, and said that Jesus could not be the Christ.

Despite the Jewish leaders' intention to kill Jesus, the Jews see the "Jewish leaders remaining silent" and are suspicious of the authorities who did not arrest Jesus through public power. The residents of Jerusalem at the time knew where Jesus physically came from. However, I could not reach a deep encounter with Jesus. Rather, their superficial knowledge of Jesus was acting as a factor that hindered their essential knowledge of Jesus.

In front of religious leaders and crowds who are silent and misunderstand, Jesus' attitude teaches and speaks in the same context since creation. While Jesus acknowledges that he is from Nazareth in Galilee and is the son of a poor carpenter, we see him leading the religious leaders and crowds with a more important essence. Jesus' words criticize the spiritual ignorance of the Jews. He says that if the Jews knew God as true and as the one who gives correct revelation, he could not have been ignorant of himself. Jesus is the revelation of God, and although God can be seen through Jesus, the Jews who boasted about being the chosen people did not actually know God properly.

Today, even believers in the church do not know Jesus very well. Some people do business using the name of Jesus, while others think that Jesus, who came to the world, is God and worships him as a god. It looks like the Three Gods Thought. They do not understand Jesus’ work on the cross. However, Christ was resurrected and returned to the place of God. Christ returns and enters the hearts of believers and establishes the kingdom of God in them. If believers do not believe in Him, He will return and judge the White Throne on those who do not believe.

 

2. Curing the king’s son’s subjects

John 4:46-48 『So Jesus came again into Cana of Galilee, where he made the water wine. And there was a certain nobleman, whose son was sick at Capernaum. When he heard that Jesus was come out of Judaea into Galilee, he went unto him, and thought him that he would come down, and heal his son: for he was at the point of death. Then said Jesus to him, Except ye see signs and wonders, ye will not believe.』

This happened during the journey of Jesus and his group back to Galilee, and is the second of the seven signs told in the Gospel of John. It is the story of Jesus curing the son of a king's official.

It is said that when Jesus' group arrived in Galilee, the people of Galilee accepted Jesus. It is said that the reason they accepted Jesus was because they saw all that Jesus did in Jerusalem. The news of Jesus' first miracle of changing water into wine at the wedding feast in Cana of Galilee must have been spread through word of mouth in the Galilee region. People may have had doubts about “this news that cannot be believed unless you have witnessed it.” However, when Jesus went up to Jerusalem for the Passover celebration, the Jews witnessed a young man in the Jerusalem temple scolding the merchants lined up in front of the temple and overturning their tables.

Whenever the Jews went to Jerusalem to purchase sacrifices for the Passover event, they did not like the behavior of those who made profit, but they secretly applauded this courageous act of a young man. When they learned that the young man was Jesus, who performed the miracle at the Cana wedding feast, they must have been curious about Jesus' identity, and later they attended a meeting where Jesus stayed in Jerusalem and preached his words. Upon hearing the news that the young man Jesus had arrived in Galilee, the people of Galilee came out and welcomed Jesus. After receiving a warm welcome, Jesus left there and arrived at Cana of Galilee.

The son of a royal official residing in Capernaum, about 30 km away from Cana, fell ill. The king's servant went to various places to treat his son, but his son's illness continued to worsen. Meanwhile, I heard a rumor that a man named Jesus had turned water into wine in Cana. Also, I heard that Jesus had visited Capernaum where he lived. At that time, he was wondering if that was the case, but the news coming from Jerusalem after Passover gave him a glimmer of hope.

I received news that Jesus had arrived in Cana. As soon as he heard this news, he himself rushed to Cana, without ordering his servants to do so. When he arrived in Cana, he went to see Jesus and begged Jesus to “come down and heal my son.” But surprisingly, Jesus' answer was cold. 『Then said Jesus unto him, Except ye see signs and wonders, ye will not believe..』 When the king's servant heard this, he hesitated at first. He didn't give up. 『Lord, please come down before my child dies.』 The title “Lord” does not mean that Jesus is recognized as the Messiah, but is an honorific title that honors the other person.

“The king’s servant, who was the highest-ranking person at the time,” was clinging to a rural youth, saying, “My child is dying. Please come down and fix him.” In response, Jesus said to him, “Go, your son is alive.” The Greek word 『zao』, interpreted as 『alive』, means the recovery of a sick person. In response to Jesus' response, the king's servant decided to believe Jesus' words without further pestering. He hurried down towards his house. At that time, he saw the servants who were supposed to be in his house coming up in a hurry.

The servants who were running hurriedly gasped when they met their master and said, “Master, your son has come back to life.” When the king heard this good news, he asked the servants: “When did my son begin to feel low?” The servants answered, “Yesterday at seven o’clock the temperature went away.” The king’s official responded that this coincided with the time when Jesus said, “Your son is alive.” He realized. Afterwards, the king's subjects, as well as the entire household, testified that they began to believe in Jesus. So the father knew that it was at the same hour, in the which Jesus said unto him, Thy son liveth: and himself believed, and his whole house his.

Jesus teaches us “what should be the cornerstone of faith.” Jesus came down to Capernaum, and in response to his father's plea to save his son, Jesus went down with the king's official and was able to heal the son's illness right before his eyes. However, Jesus did not do that. It was not because the distance from Cana to Capernaum was too far or because it was inconvenient to go down, but to instill strong faith in the king's subjects. What Jesus was saying was that if they came to believe in Jesus through the miracle that unfolded before their eyes, this faith would not last long.

Many people try to believe only what they see. However, Jesus says that we should not believe only what we see. He says that “faith that relies only on what is seen” is prone to its roots being shaken. So, despite the king's servant's plea, Jesus said, "Then said Jesus unto him, Except ye see signs and wonders, ye will not believe." Jesus did not go down with the king's servant, but left on the spot. By saying, “Your son has been born,” God strengthened his faith.

When the king's servant believed Jesus' words, a miracle occurred in which his dying son came back to life at a house in Capernaum, 30 km away. As a result, he witnessed a miracle performed by Jesus, but the miracle was a result of his believing the words of Jesus. In other words, the king's servant did not believe that Jesus had raised his son, but rather believed Jesus' words themselves and experienced the miracle of his son being revived, and through this, he and his entire family believed.

The king's subject clung to "Jesus, a young man who was insignificant compared to his social status," not as a subject of the king, but as a father who loved his son. If human love for children is like this, how could God, the Father of the saints, turn a blind eye to the saints’ petitions and prayers? However, God wants to give the best to His saints.

“What God wants to give” is resurrection life. Even though Jesus says he will give people resurrection life, church people think of physical resurrection, and because they think that way, they believe that resurrection takes place after the body dies. No matter how much God tries to give resurrection life, the life of heaven, people cannot receive resurrection life because they think of resurrection through their physical eyes.

 

3. Healing the sick

John 5:1-9 『After this there was a feast of the Jews; and Jesus went up to Jerusalem. Now there is at Jerusalem by the sheep market a pool, which is called in the Hebrew tongue Bethesda, having five porches. In these lay a great multitude of impotent folk, of blind, halt, withered, waiting for the moving of the water. For an angel went down at a certain season into the pool, and troubled the water: whosoever then first after the troubling of the water he stepped in he was made whole of whatsoever disease he had. And a certain man was there, which had an assurance thirty and eight years. When Jesus saw him lie, and knew that he had been now a long time in that case, he said unto him, Wilt thou be made whole? The impotent man answered him, Sir, I have no man, when the water is troubled, to put me into the pool: but while I am coming, another steppeth down before me. Jesus said unto him, Rise, take up thy bed, and walk. And immediately the man was made whole, and took up his bed, and walked: and on the same day was the sabbath.』

“The purpose of Jesus going up to Jerusalem during the feast” was to show what Israel was like. Jesus went to a pool called Bethesda, which is in Jerusalem by the Sheep Gate. [waiting for the moving of the water. For an angel went down at a certain season into the pool, and troubled the water: whosoever then first after the] This saying shows how serious the superstition was at the time. This is the situation in Israel.

Jesus said, “Israel is the image of the Jews who wandered in the wilderness for 40 years.” The 38-year-old patient said in Deuteronomy 2:14, “And the space in which we came from Kadeshbarnea, until we were come over the brook Zered, was thirty and eight years; It refers to the period of time until all the generation of the men of war were wasted out from among the host, as the LORD sware unto them. The 38-year-old sick man represents “Israel, who abandoned God’s promise at the entrance to Canaan.” All the soldiers died after wandering in the wilderness for 38 years. Since it took about 2 years for Israel to leave Egypt and reach Kadesh Barnea, the period from the Exodus to entering Canaan is said to be 40 years.

Jesus tells Israel that “you have been sick for 38 years.” Just as Israel created a golden calf in front of Mount Sinai, Jesus shows that the Jews believe in idols and superstitions. In “Do you want to be healed?” Jesus said, the word “healed” is the Hebrew word “haya,” which means “alive.” So, it means, “Do you want to live a resurrection life?” Those words say, “You are dead.” The sick man did not ask for help, 『The impotent man answered him, Sir, I have no man, when the water is troubled, to put me into the pool: but while I am coming, another steppeth down before me.』Israel shows that they do not know the Messiah who came to save them, and that they rely on superstition. Their superstitions reflect their belief in the Messiah.

Jesus said to him, Rise, take up thy bed, and walk. And immediately the man was made whole, and took up his bed, and walked: and on the same day was the sabbath.“Your seat (where you sat for 38 years)” represents Israel. In Amos 3:12, “Thus saith the LORD; As the shepherd takes out of the mouth of the lion two legs, or a piece of an ear; so shall the children of Israel be taken out that dwell in Samaria in the corner of a bed, and in Damascus in a couch.』

Prophet Amos speaks of Israel being scattered among the nations and that it will be restored through Christ in the future. So, the bed of 『Four Seats』 is “Israel expressed by the prophet Amos.” It tells us that in the future, Jesus Christ will save Israel from tribulation. However, before the restoration of Israel takes place, it means that Israel will be destroyed and scattered. In 38, a sick man was healed on the Sabbath.

Sabbath is not a concept of rest, but rather means entering into Christ (resurrection life). This means that Jesus will give rest to a man who has been sick for 38 years. Jesus will give rest (resurrection life) not only to Jews, but also to Gentiles. Jesus is the Lord of rest. Those who are not united with Jesus cannot receive resurrection life.

In Mark 1:15, “And saying, The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand: repent ye, and believe the gospel.” The gospel is the death and resurrection of the cross. What is time? It is time to rest. When Jesus died on the cross, the requirements of the law were fulfilled, and God gives rest (resurrection) to those who repent and come into Christ. The 38-year-old sick man represents Israel, but it also refers to all people outside of Christ.

『The Jews therefore said unto him that was cured, It is the sabbath day: it is not lawful for thee to carry thy bed.』 The man who had been sick for 38 years said, 『He answered them, He that made me whole, the same said. unto me, take up thy bed, and walk. Then they asked him, What man is that which said unto thee, Take up thy bed, and walk? And he that was healed wist not who it was: for Jesus had conveyed himself away』

However, although the sick person was healed, Jews and Gentiles still do not know the meaning of rest. Two days later, Jesus met the sick man. And Jesus warned us not to sin again. A 38-year-old sick man met Jesus in the temple. Jesus represents the temple (resurrection life). Everyone who enters Christ becomes a participant in resurrection life.

 

4. The miracle of five loaves and two fish

John 6:1-13 『After these things Jesus went over the sea of Galilee, which is the sea of Tiberias. And a great multitude followed him, because they saw his miracles which he did on them that were diseased. And Jesus went up into a mountain, and there he sat with his disciples. And the passover, a feast of the Jews, was nigh.

When Jesus then lifted up his eyes, and saw a great company come unto him, he saith unto Philip, Whence shall we buy bread, that these may eat? And this he said to prove him: for he himself knew what he would do. Philip answered him, Two hundred pennyworth of bread is not sufficient for them, that every one of them may take a little.

One of his disciples his, Andrew, Simon Peter's brother, saith unto him,

There is a lad here, which hath five barley loaves, and two small fishes: but what are they among so many? And Jesus said, Make the men sit down. Now there was much grass in the place. So the men sat down, in number about five thousand. And Jesus took the loaves; and when he had given thanks, he distributed to the disciples, and the disciples to them that were set down; and likewise of the fishes as much as they would. When they were filled, he said unto his disciples, Gather up the fragments that remain, that nothing be lost. Therefore they gathered them together, and filled twelve baskets with the fragments of the five barley loaves, which remained over and above unto them that had eaten.』

This is a story about the miracle of five loaves and two fish. The five loaves are five loaves of bread, and bread is called altos in Greek and nehem (bread: showbread) in Hebrew. There is a table made of gold in front of the ark of God, and the shewbread is placed on it. The bread of the show is bread. The showbread symbolizes the word of God. In Exodus 25:30, 『And thou shalt set upon the table shewbread before me alway.』 12 shewbreads are placed on the bread table, which also symbolizes Israel. The five loaves refer to the Five Books of Moses. In other words, it means the law. So, the five barley loaves held by the child represent the Pentateuch (Law) of Moses. A child refers to a believer under the law who does not know the gospel. So, it is a bread that is completely devoid of resurrection life.

Fish is called ixtus in Greek, and includes the words, “Jesus Christ is my salvation.” The fish represents Jonah's sign. The sign of Jonah represents the resurrection of Jesus Christ three days after his death. “There are two fish” refers to the first man, Adam (death on the cross) and the last man, Adam (resurrection). After eating the five loaves, there were twelve baskets left. The saying, “There are twelve baskets left,” means that Israel (12 tribes) heard the word, but did not know the truth (resurrection life). The twelve in the twelve tribes symbolize the tribes of Israel, but they also symbolize all people in the world. The people of the world do not know about the present resurrection. That is why the disciples must distribute the bread of life (resurrection) from the twelve baskets to the people.

 

5. Healing “a man born blind”

John 9:1-3『And as Jesus passed by, he saw a man which was blind from his birth. And his disciples asked him, saying, Master, who did sin, this man, or his parents, that he was born blind? Jesus answered, Neither hath this man sinned, nor his parents: but that the works of God should be made manifest in him.』

The disciples asked, “Is it because of sin that a man was born blind?” asked Jesus. Here, sin is either the physical body received from one's parents or one's own sin. “One’s sins” are those who are born into this world with their own sins from heaven. It means the original sin committed in the kingdom of God. It is the crime of evil angels not protecting their positions. They wanted to be like God. That is why God imprisoned the sinful spirits in the body. Spirits trapped in the body die because their relationship with God is cut off. So people are born in a soulish state. Since man's spirit died, he became a soul being.

Regarding the reason for becoming blind, Jesus said, 『Neither hath this man sinned, nor his parents:』. 『that the works of God should be made manifest in him.』 What does God do? In John 6:29, 『Jesus answered and said unto them, This is the work of God, that ye believe on him whom he hath sent.』 Here, about believing in the one whom God sent, John 6:39-40 It is explained in the verse: 『And this is the Father's will which hath sent me, that of all which he hath given me I should lose nothing, but should raise it up again at the last day. And this is the will of him that sent me, that every one which seeth the Son, and believeth on him, may have everlasting life: and I will raise him up at the last day.』

Here, the believer must understand the meaning of the word blind. We must discover that behind the literal expressions in the Bible, there is God's hidden intention. On the surface, the law says that if you keep the law well, God will make you righteous. But on the other hand, it tells us that all humans under the law are sinners. So, when sinners discover Christ through the law and come into Christ, they gain resurrection life.

In John 6:48-51, “I am that bread of life.” Your fathers did eat manna in the wilderness, and are dead. This is the bread which cometh down from heaven, that a man may eat thereof, and not die. I am the living bread which came down from heaven: if any man eat of this bread, he shall live for ever: and the bread that I will give is my flesh, which I will give for the life of the world.』

This means that even if the people ate the matna symbolizing the law, they would die. The law given by God in the wilderness era is not a law of salvation, but a law of discipline for sinners. Only the law of the Holy Spirit saves the dead spirit, and this is the baptism of the Holy Spirit that leads to resurrection life.

If one thinks of the worldly stories told in the Bible in a worldly way, believers cannot know the things of heaven. The Bible explains things in heaven by comparing them to things in the world. So, if believers do not understand the things of heaven through parables, earthly things, and heavenly things, they are all blind to the Bible. When Jesus was talking to a rabbi named Nicodemus, he said, “You don’t believe me when I tell you about earthly things, but will you believe me when I tell you about heavenly things?”

“The blind man opens his eyes” means that the believer becomes aware of heavenly matters. So, we understand God’s will and give glory to God. In Matthew 13:34-35, “All these things spake Jesus unto the multitude in parables; and without a parable spark he not unto them: That it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the prophet, saying, I will open my mouth in parables; I will utter things which have been kept secret from the foundation of the world.』

Regarding the blind man opening his eyes, Isaiah 35:5 says, “Then the eyes of the blind shall be opened, and the ears of the deaf shall be unstopped.” The same thing is said in Matthew 11:5 and Luke 4:18. When a blind man opens his eyes, he will know the cause of sin and death, and he will also know the way back to the kingdom of God. It is united with the death of the cross, and it is united with the resurrection.

Opening the eyes of the blind 『To reveal what God is doing』 In other words, “what God is doing” is believing in the one sent by God. The one whom God sent is Jesus Christ. Jesus Christ leads sinners to God. So, sinners realize that they are people who left God because they wanted to be like God, and that in order to return to God, they must repent and die with Jesus. Then, God will give those who repent an eternal body of resurrection, allowing them to return to the kingdom of God.

In order to open the eyes of someone who was born blind, Jesus said in John 9:6-7, “When he had thus spoken, he spat on the ground, and made clay of the spittle, and he anointed the eyes of the blind man with the clay,』

However, the day that opened the eyes of the blind man was the Sabbath. Rest is being released from the state of being bound. So, Christ is the Lord of the Sabbath. Those who enter into Christ are released from Satan, enter into rest, and become one with God. Jesus Christ gives rest to all who are in bondage. Since Jesus is the Lord of the Sabbath, He gives rest on the Sabbath to those who cannot rest. The Pharisees asked Jesus, “Why do you work on the Sabbath?” based on the law. They are asking Jesus questions without even knowing the meaning of the Sabbath. Jesus frees those who were imprisoned on the Sabbath, but the Pharisees say that this should not be done on the Sabbath. The Pharisees are truly blind.

Jesus described the Pharisees as blind in Matthew 23:16-24. They do not understand the essence of the law, but understand the law literally.

Jesus said to the Pharisees, “Blind guide, you strain out the gnats and swallow the camels.” Even today, if believers do not understand the meaning of the law and only talk about what is stipulated in the law, they are blind to the kingdom of God. Those who are bound by the regulations of the law are blind people who have nothing to do with the life of Jesus Christ. Blind people are those who do not know about the kingdom of God.

Similar content appears in Mark 8:22-26. 『And he came to Bethsaida; and they brought a blind man unto him, and thought him to touch him. And he took the blind man by the hand, and led him out of the town; and when he had spit on his eyes, and put his hands upon him, he asked him if he saw ought. And he looked up, and said, I see men as trees, walking. After that he put his hands again upon his eyes, and made him look up: and he was restored, and saw every man clearly. And he sent him away to his house, saying, Neither go into the town, nor tell it to any. in the town.』

“Duflon (τυφλὸν), translated as blind,” comes from the word tupou, which means arrogant. In 1 Timothy 3:6, “Not a novice, lest being lifted up with pride he fell into the condemnation of the devil.” A proud person means someone who is mired in legalism.

 

6. Jesus raises Lazarus from the dead

John 11:17-26 『Then when Jesus came, he found that he had lay in the grave four days already. Now Bethany was nigh unto Jerusalem, about fifteen furlongs off: And many of the Jews came to Martha and Mary, to comfort them concerning their brother. Then Martha, as soon as she heard that Jesus was coming, went and met him: but Mary sat still in the house. Then said Martha unto Jesus, Lord, if thou hadst been here, my brother had not died. But I know, that even now, whatsoever thou wilt ask of God, God will give it thee. Jesus saith unto her, Thy brother shall rise again. Martha saith unto him, I know that he shall rise again in the resurrection at the last day. Jesus said unto her, I am the resurrection, and the life: he that believeth in me, though he were dead, yet shall he live: And whosoever liveth and believeth in me shall never die. Believest thou this?』

It was the body that “Jesus raised Lazarus from the dead.” Since this body is not resurrected, it is destined to die even if it comes back to life. This is a different concept from resurrection. Resurrection is the concept of re-living something spiritual from before. What was before Jesus was heavenly life. Jesus came into the flesh for a while and became a man, but after he took off this flesh, he returned to heavenly life. This means resurrection. It means spiritual resurrection. Therefore, resurrection is the resurrection of the spirit trapped in the dead body of the believer. In John 6:63, “It is the spirit that quickeneth; the flesh profiteth nothing: the words that I speak unto you, they are spirit, and they are life.』

Martha said, “But I know, that even now, whatsoever thou wilt ask of God, God will give it thee.” So, Jesus said, “I will live again,” but Martha was thinking of “living again,” not in the present, but in the future resurrection on the last day after the death of the body. What the Lord wants is present. When it comes to sin, it is difficult to think, “Someday my sins will be forgiven.” It is the forgiveness of past, present, and future sins. It is the forgiveness of all sins.

What Jesus is saying to Martha is, “I am always the resurrection and the life. He who believes in me, although his spirit is dead, will come to life. If his spirit comes to life, he will receive the gift of faith from heaven and never die.” If you look at these words from the perspective of the flesh, it means, “Whoever believes in me will die physically, but will come back to life someday, and whoever believes in me because his body lives will never die.” The sentence structure is very awkward. The words of the Bible speak of the spirit, but false prophets are turning it in the direction of the flesh.

 

7. Walking on the sea

John 6:14-21 『Then those men, when they had seen the miracle that Jesus did, said, This is of a truth that prophet that should come into the world. When Jesus therefore perceived that they would come and take him by force, to make him a king, he departed again into a mountain himself alone. And when even was now come, his disciples went down unto the sea, And entered into a ship, and went over the sea toward Capernaum. And it was now dark, and Jesus did not come to them. And the sea arose by reason of a great wind that blew.

So when they had rowed about five and twenty or thirty furlongs, they saw Jesus walking on the sea, and drawing nigh unto the ship: and they were afraid. But he said unto them, It is I; be not afraid. Then they willingly received him into the ship: and immediately the ship was at the land whither they went.』

『And when even was now come, his disciples went down unto the sea, And he entered into a ship, and went over the sea toward Capernaum. And it was now dark, and Jesus did not come to them. And the sea arose by reason of a great wind that blew.』 The darkness indicates that the disciples still cannot escape the net of the law. “The wind blowing and making waves” indicates that the disciples would break away from the law and be led by the Holy Spirit. The same expression is used in Matthew 14:22-36.

When the disciples saw Jesus walking on the sea, they were astonished and cried out in fear, saying it was a ghost. Peter got out of the boat and walked on the water. The boat symbolizes Christ. The beginning of the ship is Noah's ark. Since the ark is a sign of salvation, it symbolizes Jesus Christ. Here, the sea represents the law. So Jesus, who walked on water, shows that he is above the law.

“Those who saw the sign and followed Jesus” finally experienced an amazing sign. They believed that Jesus was “a prophet like Moses predicted in Deuteronomy 18” and tried to make him their king. They believed that Jesus would bring about political liberation, economic revival, and social justice. They believed that Jesus would make their dreams come true and that he was the answer to their prayers. But Jesus did not respond to their request.

“Jesus, who rules the waves and walks on the water,” did not reject their demands because he was powerless. It is not because He does not want to give humans “freedom as a gift, fill them, and give them liberation.” This is because Jesus’ thoughts and their thoughts were different. “The Jews who followed Jesus and saw numerous signs” simply wanted the power that came from Jesus more than Jesus himself. They believed that if they made him king, their lives would be better, they believed that pain and suffering would disappear, and they believed that any illness would be cured. However, this kind of faith is not a faith that comes from heaven. This kind of belief is nothing more than a blind faith, no different from the idolatrous attitude of pagans who seek to expand their wealth and prosperity and secure an abundant life through Jesus. Today’s belief in blessings and fortunes is of this type.

 

Ⅲ. One who fulfills the law

1. The testimony of John the Baptist

John 1:19-27『And this is the record of John, when the Jews sent priests and Levites from Jerusalem to ask him, Who art thou?

And he confessed, and denied not; but he confessed, I am not the Christ. And they asked him, What then? Art thou Elias? And he said, I am not. Art thou that prophet? And he answered, No. Then they said unto him, Who art thou? that we may give an answer to them that sent us. What say thou of thyself? He said, I am the voice of one crying in the wilderness, Make straight the way of the Lord, as said the prophet Esaias. And they which were sent were of the Pharisees. And they asked him, and told him, Why baptize thou then, if thou be not that Christ, nor Elias, neither that prophet? John answered them, saying, I baptize with water: but there standeth one among you, whom ye know. not; He it is, who coming after me is preferred before me, whose shoe's latchet I am not worthy to loose.』

Regarding John the Baptist, he was recognized to the extent that the Bible testifies that “everyone came to him from Jerusalem, from all Judea, and from all around the Jordan River,” and his reputation was growing, and the number of disciples following him was increasing. . However, John the Baptist knew who he was and what he should do. He was called to prepare for and testify to the coming of Jesus, and lived according to that calling. People wondered whether this man was the Christ whom God would send, The Bible records the scene where they sent priests and Levites to John the Baptist.

And, they asked John the Baptist, “Who are you?” and “Are you the Christ who is to come, spoken of in the Old Testament?” John clearly answered that question, “I am not the Christ.” They asked again. Are you Elijah? Or is it the prophet? John clearly answered no to both questions. They ask again. Then, “What do you say about yourself?” John the Baptist answered. “He said, ‘I am the voice of one crying in the wilderness, ‘Make straight the way of the Lord,’ as the prophet Isaiah said.’” This was his answer to his identity.

He knew that “his role was to prepare the way for Jesus.” He knew that he was not the light, but a witness of that light, and that he was on this earth not to receive attention, but to bring that attention to the Son of God. “Preparing the way for Jesus” is a call to repentance. Heaven (Jesus Christ) has come near, so repent.

When the Jews saw him "proclaiming the imminent kingdom of God and true repentance," people sometimes mistook him for Christ. “His frugal and clean life in the wilderness and his life of letting go of vested interests” contrasted with the luxurious, extravagant, material-loving religious leaders of the time. He called for "true repentance and true conversion, and urged those who only do so in words but whose lives are far from it" to bear fruit worthy of repentance, and further severely rebuked the immoral and corrupt behavior of Herod Antipas, the powerful figure at the time. He even did it.

Then, people became confused between “light and the one who testifies to the light, the one who is to come spoken of in the Old Testament and the one who prepares the way.” People flocked to John the Baptist and tried to follow him. However, he broke that misunderstanding and, while testifying to people about Christ Jesus, he also confessed his own smallness, weakness, and unworthiness. At that time, even the task of untying his shoelaces, which was done by the most insignificant and lowly servant, was beyond his ability, and he testified that the One who would come after him was so great.

When Jesus came to John the Baptist, he confessed, “Behold, the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world.” And, “This is he of whom I said, After me cometh a man which is preferred before me: for he was before me.』 He knew that “Jesus was sent as the Son of God, but that Jesus was the one who existed before him, from eternity.” John said, “Jesus comes after me, but he is the one who came before me.” , He confessed that he is the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world to save mankind from sin.

And again he testifies. God sent me to baptize with water (the problem of sin), and God said to me, “When you see a person on whom the Holy Spirit descends and remains, know that this is the one who baptizes (resurrections) with the Holy Spirit.” And, as I looked, I confess, “The Holy Spirit descended from heaven like a dove and stayed on Jesus.” Therefore, he testifies that “Jesus is the one who baptizes with the Holy Spirit.” Jesus is the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world (death on the cross), the one on whom the Holy Spirit rests, and the one who baptizes with the Holy Spirit (the first of resurrection). He testified about Jesus, and John the Baptist finally confessed that he was the Son of God.

He prepared the way for the Messiah, and when no one knew Him, He prepared the way for Jesus. At a time when no one wanted the Messiah to come like that, everyone hoped that he would see God's salvation and prepared the way for Jesus to come. John the Baptist did not make people look at him, rely on him, and focus on him, but looked at Jesus, the one who would come, as prophesied in the Old Testament, and focused on Christ. He got the Jews to rely on and follow Christ.

John knew who the main character was and what his role was, and so he played his role. Only he wants Jesus to be revealed, and he himself wants to be hidden, God accepted “his life of recognizing and testifying that Jesus is the Son of God and that he is the voice of the wilderness,” and he opened the way for Christ and made his words come true.

 

2. Cana Wedding Feast

『And the third day there was a marriage in Cana of Galilee; and the mother of Jesus was there: And both Jesus was called, and his disciples, to the marriage. And when they wanted wine, the mother of Jesus saith unto him, They have no wine. Jesus saith unto her, Woman, what have I to do with thee? mine hour is not yet come. His mother saith unto the servants, Whatsoever he saith unto you, do it.  And there were set there six waterpots of stone, after the manner of the purifying of the Jews, containing two or three firkins apiece. Jesus saith unto them, Fill the waterpots with water. And they filled them up to the brim. And he saith unto them, Draw out now, and bear unto the governor of the feast. And they bare it.  When the ruler of the feast had tasted the water that was made wine, and knew not whence it was: (but the servants which drew the water knew;) the governor of the feast called the bridegroom, And saith unto him, Every man at the beginning doth set forth good wine; and when men have well drunk, then that which is worse: but thou hast kept the good wine until now.  This beginning of miracles did Jesus in Cana of Galilee, and manifested forth his glory; and his disciples believed on him.  After this he went down to Capernaum, he, and his mother, and his brethren, and his disciples: and they continued there not many days. 』

Many church people think that the power of God was manifest in Jesus' first sign. People tell stories such as Mary's faith and obedience of servants. Making wine from water was Jesus' first sign. The Bible says three things about the wedding feast. The wedding feast of Ghana, the wedding feast given by a king for his son (Matthew 22), and the marriage feast of the Lamb from Revelation. All three wedding feasts focus on the wedding feast of the Lamb. Ghana's wedding feast is a model for explaining the Lamb's wedding feast. The Bible explains: How is the wedding feast prepared? The Bible says: It is not perfect for wine to run out before the wedding party is over. A wedding feast without Jesus Christ is not a full wedding feast. The Bible explains what it takes to be a perfect marriage feast.

Following the Jewish ceremony, there were six water jars at the banquet hall of the wedding feast. The Jews always had to wash their hands with water when they went out and returned home, because the surrounding area is desert. This was the tradition of the elders in the synagogue. Water is the word of God. Wine is also God's word. There is a difference between water and wine. Jesus told them to fill the six jars with water. Water is the word of God without Jesus Christ revealed. That is, the Old Testament law (the law of wrath). Although the gospel has not yet appeared, but when the law (the law of wrath) fills the hearts of men, it becomes an elementary teacher who leads the law to Christ.
John 5: 39-40 speaks of eternal life.『 Search the scriptures; for in them ye think ye have eternal life: and they are they which testify of me.  And ye will not come to me, that ye might have life. 』

The law (the law of wrath) tells us about Jesus Christ. This law leads to Jesus Christ, and people do not find Jesus Christ. There are six water jars. "Water filled the jar" means "people to keep the law perfectly." In other words, if you try to keep the law completely, you will meet Christ. At that time, the Jews, while keeping the law, did not find Jesus Christ. The Jews had to realize that they were sinners when they tried to keep the law. Thus the law leads to Jesus. This means that water has become wine. Water is the Old Testament law, but wine symbolizes the blood of the New Covenant. Luke (22:20) says:『 Likewise also the cup after supper, saying, This cup is the new testament in my blood, which is shed for you. 』

On the last Passover, Jesus said "the new covenant of blood." The new covenant is not the law, but the amazing new covenant of God who is forgiven by Jesus Christ. The law cannot be a perfect wedding feast, but the new covenant of Jesus Christ, is a perfect wedding feast. To enter the marriage feast of the Lamb promised by God, there must be a new covenant with Jesus Christ. The new covenant is as in Romans 6: 3, where the sinner repents and is united with Jesus who died on the cross.

"Woman, my hour is not yet come," refers to the marriage feast without Jesus Christ. It is not a perfect wedding feast, but the Law(the fullness of the water) leads to the realization of sin, and lead to Jesus Christ. The perfect wedding feast (the new covenant), means the symbol of the blood of Jesus Christ. Many people say, "Believe in Jesus Christ, and keep the law with your holy heart, and come to the righteousness of God." Believing in Jesus Christ and keeping the law cannot coexist. Jesus died by law. Those who are united with Jesus on the cross are dead to the law.

『 But the scripture hath concluded all under sin, that the promise by faith of Jesus Christ might be given to them that believe.
But before faith came, we were kept under the law, shut up unto the faith which should afterwards be revealed. 』

(Galatians 3: 22-23) If we do not realize that we are in the net of the law, we are foolish virgins. Ten virgins were holding lanterns for the bridegroom because the bridegroom was coming late, they were dozing. The five foolish girls awoke to the news that the bridegroom was coming, and there was no oil. The foolish virgins said, "Lend me your oil." The wise virgin said, "We also lack oil, go to the seller and buy it." So they went to buy. When they came back, the door was closed. The five foolish virgins asked to open the door, and Jesus answered and said, “Truly, I say to you, I do not know you”.

The foolish five virgins know Jesus, but Jesus does not know the foolish five virgins. In order to enter heaven, it is not that I know Jesus, but that Jesus needs to know me. Although the Israelites offered sacrifices to God in the wilderness for 40 years, God reproved through the prophet Amos, "I never received it."

『 Whosoever therefore shall confess me before men, him will I confess also before my Father which is in heaven. But whosoever shall deny me before men, him will I also deny before my Father which is in heaven. 』 (Matthew 10: 32-33)

 The foolish five virgins recognized Jesus before the people. But Jesus did not know. The reason why Jesus returns to the air is that He comes to take those who wait for him. So Jesus knows who to take. The foolish five virgins are not the ones to be taken. There is no focus on what the foolish virgin is thinking and what Jesus is saying. "Awake" means to remove the cover of the law and to know Jesus Christ. The Bible still points to the Jews under the Law. The Apostle Paul said in Galatians (4: 4).

『 But when the fulness of the time was come, God sent forth his Son, made of a woman, made under the law, 』

The reason Jesus came to the world was to redeem those under the law. The Jews, however, are still under the law and deny what Jesus did. There is no way to be saved, except to repent and free from the net of the law, and be united with Jesus Christ, who died on the cross. Those who die on the cross with Jesus become those who are resurrected with Christ.

 

Ⅳ. The one who gives resurrection life

1. He who comes from heaven

John 3:31-36”He that cometh from above is above all: he that is of the earth is earthly, and speaketh of the earth: he that cometh from heaven is above all. And what he hath seen and heard, that he testifieth; and no man receiveth his testimony. He that hath received his testimony hath set to his seal that God is true. For he whom God hath sent speaketh the words of God: for God giveth not the Spirit by measure unto him. The Father loveth the Son, and hath given all things into his hand.”

The Bible tells us that the “one who comes from heaven” is Jesus, and the “one who is born from the earth” is John the Baptist. 『He himself testified of what he had seen and heard.』He was Jesus. He testifies to what he saw and heard from God. But he says, “He has no one to testify.” God the Father stamps the testimony, saying, “He who receives that testimony is true.”

John was the best spiritual leader of his time. His message became a great resonant of Jewish society, and people deeply engraved the message of. Thousands of people have decided to live a new life after being baptized. However, those who were looking for him were moving to Jesus. John's disciples immediately informed the Master of this. What should I do? But John gives a completely unexpected answer.

『 John answered and said, A man can receive nothing, except it be given him from heaven. Ye yourselves bear me witness, that I said, I am not the Christ, but that I am sent before him.  』

John, the son of the priest, was able to live in peace and respect as much as possible, but he abandoned the road and went to the wilderness. And even in the wilderness, he drew people's respect and popular popularity. However, his purpose was not the respect of the people in front of him or the popularity of the public. John did not fall into his own righteousness of respect or popularity of the people.

He did not act as a Messiah, but a guide to pave the way for Him to come as the Messiah. 『He that hath the bride is the bridegroom: but the friend of the bridegroom, which standeth and heareth him, rejoiceth greatly because of the bridegroom's voice: this my joy therefore is fulfilled. He must increase, but I must decrease. 』 John confesses that he is completely happy for Christ, who is the true protagonist, even if he is not the protagonist, even if he is declining. Because John's purpose was only Jesus Christ, not his own prosperity.

 

2. I am the resurrection and the life

『Jesus said unto her, I am the resurrection, and the life: he that believeth in me, though he were dead, yet shall he live: And whosoever liveth and believeth in me shall never die. Believest thou this? She saith unto him, Yea, Lord: I believe that thou art the Christ, the Son of God, which should come into the world. 』

A man named Lazarus who lived in a poor neighborhood called Bethany died. Then Martha, Lazarus' sister, came to Jesus.

『Jesus saith unto her, Thy brother shall rise again Martha saith unto him, I know that he shall rise again in the resurrection at the last day. 』((John 11: 23-24)

This is not a truth but a doctrine. Doctrine is just knowledge. In Revelation the Lord said to Sarde Church: "that you have a name that you live, but are dead."
 Although we can build biblical knowledge and speak with biblical knowledge, we cannot overcome sin. Jesus said: "If you continue in my word, then you are my disciples indeed, and you shall know the truth "Knowing the truth" means "experience." He who is with God must not be a matter of knowledge of the Bible, but a follower of the Lord. What Martha said is what she knows with knowledge.

『 Thy brother shall rise again 』,『, I know that he shall rise again in the resurrection at the last day. 』 The above two sentences differ in meaning. So Jesus said:『, I am the resurrection, and the life: he that believeth in me, though he were dead,』 People think of this as "someday after they die, they will rise again." Jesus' death is past tense. "though he were dead, shall he live"
This means "before spiritually dead, but alive in Christ." But many are still spiritually dead. So those who are spiritually alive have eternal life.

If we translate it literally, the content becomes strange. This means "when we live spiritually, we have eternal life." If you are not alive spiritually, even if you believe in Jesus, you cannot go to the resurrection of life. Those who read the literal translation think, "He who believes in Jesus someday dies physically and is resurrected again." This does not mean physical death, but spiritual death. If we understand this literally, we said "And whosoever liveth and believeth in me shall never die". The meaning of "whosoever liveth and believeth in" The preceding sentence and the latter sentence are connected. "Those who have believed before have died spiritually, but the Spirit is alive, and because they live and believe spiritually, they live forever." After the spirit comes to life, we receive eternal life.

 『And whosoever liveth and believeth in me shall never die. Believest thou this? She saith unto him, Yea, Lord: I believe that thou art the Christ, the Son of God, which should come into the world. 』((John 11: 26-27)

This confession is known by knowledge of the Bible. This confession is a lack of spiritual fellowship with Jesus. She is telling Jesus what she wants. But the thoughts of Jesus and Martha are different. If we do not go to the resurrection of life in the end times, we will go forth to the resurrection of judgment. Although we lived and died spiritually in this world, we live life spiritually because of Jesus. Everyone is resurrected. Whether you believe in Jesus or not, the end times are resurrected. Those who are in Jesus go forth to the resurrection of life, and those who do not go to the resurrection of judgment.

Today, many churches, like Martha, will have a false idea of the resurrection. "that he shall rise again in the resurrection at the last day." Through these words, many people think that if they believe in Jesus, they will go to the resurrection of life. But if we are not alive spiritually, we cannot go to the resurrection of life. Lazarus died, but Jesus said, "He sleeps." But Jesus' words "dead" means the dead of spirits.

『Verily, verily, I say unto you, The hour is coming, and now is, when the dead shall hear the voice of the Son of God: and they that hear shall live. 』 (John 5: 25) Hearers are those who are spiritually dead. Thus, only those who realize that "I am spiritually dead" repent and live spiritually.『Marvel not at this: for the hour is coming, in the which all that are in the graves shall hear his voice, And shall come forth; they that have done good, unto the resurrection of life; and they that have done evil, unto the resurrection of damnation. 』 (John 5: 28-29)

Those who are now in the grave are sleeping. The time comes when all the wicked will hear Jesus' voice. Then it is late because it leads to the resurrection of judgment. Salvation begins with the realization that I am in darkness. Although we are spiritually dead, we can be saved if the Spirit is raised by Jesus.

Although we believe in the resurrection, we are not saved unless we repent. Jesus asked Martha, "Do you believe in resurrection?" It is not necessary to say, "If you believe in Jesus, you will be resurrected." We must say, "The spirit will rise and the believer will have life." However, Martha said, “I believe that you are the Christ and the Son of God who is coming to the world.” Jesus' conversation with Martha is out of focus. Jesus evangelizes the word of life, and Martha confirms facts about the knowledge of the Bible. If we live spiritually and do not believe, there is no life.
Those without the Holy Spirit will not be saved. Spirit is life.

In John 6:53, “Then Jesus said unto them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Except ye eat the flesh of the Son of man, and drink his blood, ye have no life in you.” , in verse 60, 『Many therefore of his disciples, when they had heard this, said, This is an hard saying; As the people were whispering, Jesus said again in verse 63, “It is the spirit that quickeneth; The flesh profiteth nothing: the words that I speak unto you, they are spirit, and they are life.”

In Matthew 27:52-53, “And the graves were opened; and many bodies of the saints which slept arose, and came out of the graves after his resurrection, and went into the holy city, and appeared unto many.』 Those who were not in Christ and were in hell appear in the resurrection of judgment. Those who are outside of Christ will be judged and resurrected.

“The words spoken by Jesus in John 5:24-25” refer to the present resurrection, and what Martha said refers to “the future resurrection spoken of in 5:28-29.”

If the spirit does not come to life, it will not become the word of life for believers. Only those who repent will have their spirits revived. Yes, He is the present resurrection. The power of God will come to those who repent at this moment. Repentance is not reflecting on sin, but dying to sin and ‘denying oneself’ full of sin. “The time is coming when the dead will hear the voice of the Son of God, and those who hear will live.”

This is rebirth through resurrection life. In other words, rebirth is a present resurrection. Although those who have been born again have a physical body, believers believe that they have been “resurrected with a spiritual body (spiritual body) similar to the resurrection of Jesus.” Those who do not believe in the present resurrection (first resurrection) will eventually be resurrected from the second death (second resurrection). In order to avoid experiencing the second resurrection from the second death, believers must believe in the present resurrection. Only by being united with Jesus Christ who died on the cross (the first death) can one participate in the first resurrection (present resurrection).

 

3. Bread of Life

John 6:32-35 『Then Jesus said unto them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Moses gave you not that bread from heaven; but my Father giveth you the true bread from heaven. For the bread of God is he which cometh down from heaven, and giveth life unto the world. Then they said unto him, Lord, evermore give us this bread. And Jesus said to them, I am the bread of life: he that cometh to me shall never hunger; and he that believeth on me shall never thirst.』

“The people whose hungry stomachs were filled by the miracle of five loaves and two fish” tried to make Jesus king. This is because they thought that if they made Jesus king, he would solve the people's problems of eating and living. Jesus, knowing their hearts, fled the scene. They searched for Jesus and returned by boat to Capernaum. Eating was a serious and real problem for these people, so they approached Jesus cautiously. However, Jesus was fully aware of their realistic problems and their inner intentions.

『Jesus answered them and said, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Ye seek me, not because ye saw the miracles, but because ye did eat of the loaves, and were filled.』Jesus performed many miracles during his public life. It was He raised the dead, healed the sick, and cast out demons. He raised up the lame, fed five thousand hungry people with two fish and five barley loaves, and left behind twelve baskets. He calmed the storm and the wind and walked on the water.

Jesus took pity on “their circumstances and situation” and was filled with compassion. He healed those who were bound in pain, and Jesus performed miracles for them "out of love and compassion to set them free." However, while people see these miracles, if they continue to be caught up in the problems of reality, like people who live only to eat, and do not seek heavenly food for eternal life, they will eventually miss Jesus while looking for the corruptible things of the world.

“The ultimate reason why Jesus performed so many miracles” was to let people know that Jesus was sent by God. Jesus preaches the gospel of resurrection life in the kingdom of God to “those who live in fear and anxiety in their sins without knowing God and the gospel of the kingdom of God,” and to let them know that he came to fulfill the will of God the Father. .

Jesus looked at the people who came to him and realized that they came not because of a sign, but because of the practical problem of eating bread and being full. They came again hoping for signs and miracles and for a solution to their physical food problem, not just once but continuously. Jesus does not ignore the issue of food. The miracle of the five loaves and two fish was to provide food for their bodies. However, no matter how many miracles people experience, if they are only interested in earthly problems and seek to obtain them, they will never know that “Jesus is the Messiah, the one sent by God and the one who gives eternal life.”

Jesus tells us not to seek perishable food for our bodies, but to work for food that will lead to eternal life. 『Labour not for the meat which perisheth, but for that meat which endureth unto everlasting life, which the Son of man shall give unto you: for him hath God the Father sealed..』

At these words, the crowd asks Jesus again. 『he said to him, What shall we do, that we might work the works of God? Jesus answered and said unto them, This is the work of God, that ye believe on him whom he hath sent.』

They ask Jesus, “How can I do God’s work to gain eternal life?” Their question was that they thought that keeping the law of Moses was God's work, so they did not know what else to do other than that. The work of God that the people asked about was expressed in the plural in the Hebrew Bible. “What things must we do to obtain the food for eternal life?” “What many things are needed?” However, Jesus said that it is not food that will rot and disappear, but that “God’s work that brings resurrection and eternal life” is believing in the one sent by God. What people must believe is that “Jesus, the Son of God, is the one who gives heavenly resurrection life.”

We believe that Jesus Christ is the one sent from heaven by God, and that only He can save our dead spirits from sin and reconcile them with God. “Believing” does not simply mean believing in who Jesus is to me; it means becoming one with Jesus and entering into Christ.

The people asked questions again. 『They said therefore unto him, What sign shewest thou then, that we may see, and believe thee? what dost thou work? Our fathers did eat manna in the desert; As it is written, He gave them bread from heaven to eat.』

Their question is, “If Jesus was sent by God, how can we believe in him? What sign will he show us?” “Moses fed countless Israelites by making manna fall for 40 years, but if we are to gain eternal life, how much greater a sign can we see?” They understood that “the miracle of manna also meant that physical food was solved.”

They do not see the God who “bred the Israelites out of Egypt, saved them, protected them, and guided them.” Because they were caught up in the problems of the world. To the people who continue to seek signs like this, Jesus says, “He is the bread of life, the food of the spirit that will never hunger or thirst.”

『And Jesus said unto them, I am the bread of life: he that cometh to me shall never hunger; and he that believeth on me shall never thirst..』 Jesus tells the people, “He is the bread of resurrection life, the true manna sent down from heaven by God the Father, so gain eternal life by believing in Jesus.” Everyone's body rots and is buried in the ground. However, it is God's will for the spirit to be saved and gain eternal life, and this is the purpose of Jesus' coming to this earth. God's will is to believe in His Son and have resurrection and eternal life. He says that believing is the way to gain eternal life. To believe in the Son is to believe in dying with Jesus and being resurrected in the present. Resurrection is the resurrection of a dead spirit.

 

4. Conversation with Nicodemus

(John 3: 1-13) There was a man of the Pharisees, named Nicodemus, a ruler of the Jews: The same came to Jesus by night, and said unto him, Rabbi, we know that thou art a teacher come from God: for no man can do these miracles that thou doest, except God be with him. Jesus answered and said unto him, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God. Nicodemus saith unto him, How can a man be born when he is old? can he enter the second time into his mother's womb, and be born? Jesus answered, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God. That which is born of the flesh is flesh; and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit. Marvel not that I said unto thee, Ye must be born again. The wind bloweth where it listeth, and thou hearest the sound thereof, but canst not tell whence it cometh, and whither it goeth: so is every one that is born of the Spirit. Nicodemus answered and said unto him, How can these things be? Jesus answered and said unto him, Art thou a master of Israel, and knowest not these things?  Verily, verily, I say unto thee, We speak that we do know, and testify that we have seen; and ye receive not our witness. If I have told you earthly things, and ye believe not, how shall ye believe, if I tell you of heavenly things? And no man hath ascended up to heaven, but he that came down from heaven, even the Son of man which is in heaven.

 

 Nicodemus was then a high-ranking rabbi, and Jesus was a young man in his thirties. By the way, he secretly visits Jesus at night and says, "Rabbi." He knew that Jesus came from God, but he thought he was not the Son of God, but a rabbi. But Jesus told Nicodemus, "If he is not born again, he cannot enter the kingdom of God." To be born again is not to be born of physical parents, but from God. Nicodemus could not understand. Being reborn does not mean that the body dies and reincarnates, but that it is reborn even though the body is alive. It's a word I can't understand.

So, most people today think of being reborn as a state of mind. To be born again is not to be born again, but to be born again. In addition to the physical body, there is a spirit body. The apostle Paul wrote in 1 Corinthians 15:44, “It is sown a natural body; it is raised a spiritual body. There is a natural body, and there is a spiritual body. 』The body of the spirit was not born of blood. People don't believe it because it is not visible with the physical eye, but there is a spirit body. Because the newly reborn spirit body is governed by the Holy Spirit, as 1 John 3:9 and 5:18 says, Satan is inaccessible because it is at the right hand of God in Christ.

 It must be remembered that those who are born again are always in Christ. So, believers should not live for a realistic flesh. Satan uses all kinds of methods to constantly block the mind of the flesh and the mind of the spirit. Among them, the most dangerous is probably the media. Satan constantly induces the blood to be bound by the flesh through the media. Those who are born again and born again are compelled to convey this to others. However, today the fake gospel is prevalent. If you just believe in Jesus, you will be saved, or if you accept Jesus, you will enter into those who receive Christ. That doesn't happen unless he deny himself. Where the lineage is made, the kingdom of God does not come true. So, discord between the family arises first.

In Matthew 10:35-39, ``For I am come to set a man at variance against his father his, and the daughter against her mother, and the daughter in law against her mother in law. And a man's foes shall be they of his own household. He that loveth father or mother more than me is not worthy of me: and he that loveth son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me. And he that taketh not his cross his, and followeth after me, is not worthy of me. He that findeth his life his shall lose it: and he that loseth his life for my sake shall find it. 』

“Being reborn” does not mean that the body dies and is reincarnated, but that although the body is alive, one is reborn as a spirit body. This is something I cannot understand. So today, most believers think of rebirth as a state of mind. It means being reborn not with a mind, but with a spiritual body. Man does not have a physical body, but a spiritual body. Apostle Paul says in 1 Corinthians 15:44, “It is sown a natural body; it is raised a spiritual body. There is a natural body, and there is a spiritual body. The spiritual body is not born through blood. People do not believe it because it is not something that can be seen with the physical eyes, but there is a spiritual body.

 

5. Conversation with the Samaritan woman     

John 4:9-14 『Then saith the woman of Samaria unto him, How is it that thou, being a Jew, askest drink of me, which am a woman of Samaria? for the Jews have no dealings with the Samaritans.

Jesus answered and said to her, If thou knewest the gift of God, and who it is that said to thee, Give me to drink; thou wouldest have asked of him, and he would have given thee living water. The woman said to him, Sir, thou hast nothing to draw with, and the well is deep: from whence then hast thou that living water? Art thou greater than our father Jacob, which gave us the well, and drank it himself, and his children his, and his cattle his? Jesus answered and said to her, Whosoever drinketh of this water shall thirst again: But whosoever drinketh of the water that I shall give him shall never thirst; but the water that I shall give him shall be in him a well of water springing up into everlasting life.』

Through the Samaritan woman, it is revealed that there is a wall between Jews and Samaritans. The Samaritan woman had faith in God and a desire for the Messiah. So, Jesus brings up “the story about the Messiah that the Samaritan lover desperately wanted.”

“The living water spoken of by the Samaritan woman” refers to living water obtained from a well. The Samaritan woman's words indicate that there was no spiritual communication with Jesus. However, strictly speaking, this water contains the meaning of the law. Jacob's name is Israel. During the time of Solomon's son, when Southern Judah and Northern Israel were divided, Northern Israel used the name Israel, so it was thought to have the legitimacy of Israel and used the term Jacob's Well.

The Samaritan lover is asking Jesus, “You have no can of water and the well is deep. Do you have more magical powers than Jacob?” The water that Jesus gives is not just for drinking; it becomes spring water and continues to gush out. So, it becomes the water of eternal life that others can drink. When the woman thinks that what Jesus said is nonsensical, she answers Jesus in the same way. I am asking you to at least perform a miracle and create such water.

In John 4:20, a Samaritan woman asks Jesus, “Our fathers worshiped in this mountain; and ye say, that in Jerusalem is the place where men ought to worship,’ she asked. Jesus said, “believe me, the hour cometh, when ye shall neither in this mountain, nor yet at Jerusalem, worship the Father.”

People think that they should go to the temple to worship and praise God. If we think about what Jesus is saying, there is no God on this mountain and there is no God in Jerusalem. "There is God in you, and the time is coming for you to worship God." Without God in you you cannot worship. To worship God, we must go to where God is. You cannot worship where there is no God. That is why Jesus said so. In other words, you are a temple. The word "you" is born again after receiving life from God.

So, that’s what Jesus said. In other words, he said, “You will become a temple.” Jesus was crucified, died, was resurrected, and ascended to heaven, but those who are united with the death of the cross and resurrection are resurrected in the present, a new temple is built in the hearts of the saints, Christ returns into the hearts of the saints, and God He pours out the country. Galatians 2:20 I am crucified with Christ: neverthless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me.

So, even if the saints in Christ are on earth, the time will come when all the saints will become temples and worship God on their own. When believers gather in a community and worship in spirit and truth (truth: Christ, the Word), it becomes true worship. The phrase “in spirit and truth” means “purify your heart.” It is not a meaning, but when the work of the Holy Spirit and the Word of God are clearly revealed and the glory of God is revealed through the Word, that is worship. If you enable us to understand the Word of God through the teachings of the Holy Spirit, you will give glory to God through the results of your understanding.

 

 

 

Part 2. The spiritual condition of Jesus' family and disciples and the cleaning of the temple

 

Ⅰ. Spiritual condition of Jesus' family and disciples

1. The brothers in the flesh do not believe in Jesus as the Christ.

John 7:4-5 『For there is no man that doeseth any thing in secret, and he himself seeketh to be known openly. If thou do these things, shew thyself to the world. For neither did his brethren believe in him..』

Jesus' brothers saw "the reaction of the Galilean people, who had been indifferent toward Jesus," and also saw the changed reaction of the Galilean people when Jesus performed miracles such as the five loaves and two fish. Jesus' brothers may have thought that if Jesus performed the same miracles as in Galilee in Jerusalem, where many people gathered for the Feast of Tabernacles, he would gain considerable fame and power. Of course, they must have already calculated in their heads that if their brother Jesus gained fame and power, they would also benefit greatly.

Jesus' brothers had been together for a long time and had seen and heard Jesus' miracles up close, but this plea was not based on faith. However, the brothers needed a political Messiah who would benefit them, and their ungodly motive was that if Jesus complied with their request, Jerusalem could become a place of good opportunity for them. In response, Jesus said, “I will not go up to this feast yet,” and stayed in Galilee.

What Jesus thinks and what the brothers think are different. The brothers said that if Jesus is the Messiah, it would be good to show it in front of the audience. However, Jesus said it was not my time. The time of Jesus means death on the cross. “The holiday (Feast of Tabernacles) that people look at” is the time to receive forgiveness of sins from God, but the time that Jesus thinks is “the time of the cross that can forgive sins.” However, this time is still far away.

Jesus told his brothers that he was not going up to Jerusalem, stayed in Galilee, and then went up to Jerusalem secretly. What is the reason? The brothers want to reveal to the world that Jesus is the Messiah. However, Jesus quietly meets people in Jerusalem because he knows that his holiday, the Feast of Tabernacles, is his death on the cross.

 

2. Two disciples

There are three stories in the Bible about two disciples. At first, it is a scene where two disciples of John the Baptist follow Jesus.

John 1:37-39 『When the two disciples heard him, they followed Jesus (Ecolydes santo Jesus). But Jesus turned and saw them following him (Deasamenos) and asked them, “What are you seeking?” (Zetete) ) He said to them, “Rabbi, what lodging are you in? (pu meneis)” (Rabbi is translated as “teacher”) Jesus said to them, “Come (erkeste) and see (kai epsesde). Therefore they went and saw where he was, and were together that day.” And it was about ten o'clock."

The two disciples of John the Baptist must have heard a lot about Jesus. So, the two disciples go to Jesus, and they "spend a day with him to see if he is the Messiah they think he is and what he thought."

The second two disciples were John and Peter. John 1:40-42 『Andrew, the brother of Simon Peter, was one of the two who heard John and followed Jesus. He first found his brother Simon (Proton) and said to him, “We have found the Messiah.” (Messiah is translated as Christ) and brought him to Jesus. When Jesus saw him, he said to him, “You are Simon son of John. You will be called Cephas.” (Cephas) (translated as Peter)』

First, John, who became a disciple, visited Simon. We can see that Andrew is Peter's older brother. And we can see that Simon Peter was someone who tried to find the Messiah. This is the moment when Simon becomes Peter. The Bible tells us that he searched for the Messiah and finally met him. Even today, those who seek Christ will meet Jesus. It means that God will meet those who really earnestly seek Christ and who Jesus is.

The third “two disciples”, Jesus appeared to the two disciples on their way down to Emmaus after his resurrection. They did not recognize Jesus. They were completely unaware of the fact that Jesus died on the cross and was resurrected. Of course, later Jesus shows them his resurrected body, helps them understand the Old Testament, and tells them why he died and was resurrected.

This means that the appearance of the twelve disciples is not much different. The fact that they accepted Jesus as good did not have a spiritual meaning, but rather, they thought that Jesus would take his place as the Messiah when he restored Israel.

 

3. 3. Judas betrays Jesus

John 6:70-71 『Jesus answered them, Have not I chosen you twelve, and one of you is a devil? He spake of Judas Iscariot the son of Simon: for he it was that should betray him, being one of the twelve.』

Anyone who is not united with Jesus Christ is a betrayer of Jesus. “Those who religiously believe in Jesus” can become like this. Because they can engage in religious life for their own benefit. The Bible even says that such a person is the devil. This means that one belongs to the devil. Judas Iscariot expected Jesus to overthrow Rome as the Messiah and become the king of the world. So, he expected that if Jesus was sold and brought to court, a revolutionary event would occur on the spot. However, nothing happened and Jesus died helplessly on the cross.

Greed spread like leaven, spreading sin and resulting in death. The root of sin is the desire to become like God. So, it means that anyone who has not died to sin is a child of Satan. Even though believers say they believe in and follow Jesus, anyone who did not die on the cross with Jesus is a child of the devil.

 

4. Peter denies Jesus

John 18:24-27 『Now Annas had sent him bound unto Caiaphas the high priest. And Simon Peter stood and warmed himself. They said therefore unto him, Art not thou also one of his disciples? He denied it, and said, I am not. One of the servants of the high priest, being his kinsman whose ear Peter cut off, saith, Did not I see thee in the garden with him? Peter then denied again: and immediately the cock crew.』

Simon Peter denied being a disciple of Jesus three times. Since Peter is immediately threatened, he wants to get out of the situation. Luke records this in detail. In Luke 22:59-62, “And about the space of one hour after another confidently affirmed, saying, Of a truth this fellow also was with him: for he is a Galilaean. And Peter said, Man, I know not what thou sayest. And immediately, while he yet spake, the cock crew. And the Lord turned, and looked upon Peter. And Peter remembered the word of the Lord, how he had said unto him, Before the cock crow, thou shalt deny me thrice. And Peter went out, and wept bitterly.』

Luke reveals that “Jesus was in the high priest’s court, and during his third denial, a rooster crowed and Jesus and Peter’s eyes met.” The many stories and heart-warming events that Peter had experienced while following Jesus for three years collapsed in an instant. Peter confessed that Jesus was the Son of God and said that He was the Lord, but he collapsed before his fleshly self. Even if we did not think of Jesus as a powerful Messiah like Judas Iscariot, fresh tells us that it makes us deny Jesus in the face of death.

 

5. Thomas’ doubts

Thomas did not believe in the resurrection of Jesus. When Jesus was resurrected and appeared to his disciples, he was alone without Thomas. “When the disciples told him that Jesus was resurrected,” Thomas did not believe them. Of course, the other disciples did not believe in the resurrection of Jesus, but Thomas did not believe it even after hearing what the other disciples said. Even if another disciple had been in the same situation as Thomas, he would not have believed it. Because, when seen with the eyes of the flesh, people with fleshly eyes could not believe in the resurrection of Jesus.

Today, believers misunderstand that “the resurrection of Jesus means that the dead body comes back to life,” but Jesus did not resurrect the dead body, but returned to the body of eternal life in heaven. Originally, it was an eternal body in the sky, but it came to the body for a while, and when that body died, it was resurrected in the form of its original eternal body. So, those who are in Christ also return to their previous spiritual state.

There is a spirit in the human body, and that spirit is the spirit of an angel who sinned in the kingdom of God. The spirit was trapped in a body called dust, but as the physical body dies with Jesus, the trapped spirit comes back to life and is resurrected with Jesus in a spirit body. The body is just like a seed shell. Anyone who believes that the body is resurrected after death is no different from Thomas.

 

Ⅱ. temple cleaning

1. Foreshadowing the corruption and collapse of the temple

John 2:13-14『And the Jews' passover was at hand, and Jesus went up to Jerusalem. And he found in the temple those that sold oxen and sheep and doves, and the changers of money sitting:』

After the miracle of Jesus turning water into wine, he moved from Cana in Galilee to Capernaum, but he did not stay long in Capernaum. As the Passover, one of the three great festivals observed by the Jews, approached, Jesus went south from Galilee to Jerusalem. After stopping the Galilee ministry for a while and arriving in Jerusalem through a difficult journey, Jesus was the first to enter the temple. He saw Jesus when he entered the temple and he saw a wonderful sight. 『And found in the temple those that sold oxen and sheep and doves, and the changers of money sitting:』

The temple in Jerusalem at the time of Jesus was not the temple that Solomon had built. The temple in Jerusalem was built three times. The first is the temple of Solomon, the second is the temple of Zerubbabel, and the third is the temple built by Herod from Idumea (Edom). The temple that existed in Jerusalem at the time of Jesus was Herod's Temple. The temple here does not mean the entire temple. The temple referred to here is called the courtyard of the Gentiles, and it refers to a place where anyone can enter if they wish. If they pass through the beautiful gate, which is the eastern gate that enters inward from the Gentile Court, there is the Court of the Woman, and they have to go through the Nicanor Gate from the Court of the Gentiles before they can tread on the Court of Israel.

The courtyard of Israel is a place that only adult male Israeli men can enter. It is about 68 meters wide and 5.5 meters wide, and there are no doors or walls leading to the next level, but there are stairs as a sign of boundaries. Israeli men can see their offerings to God being sacrificed on the altar. Only after crossing the stairs, which is the boundary line in front of the court of Israel, is the court of the priests, where the altar for offering sacrifices is located. And there was a building in front of the altar, and in that building were the Holy and the Most Holy.

When Jesus referred to the temple, it was a courtyard of the Gentiles in which anyone could be. There was no sacrificial activity taking place here, but why did Jesus express His wrath by making a whip out of cords to drive all sheep and cattle out of the temple, pouring money from the money changers, and overturning the tables? It tells us that the building called the temple is no longer a temple. As they say it is a temple, the building has been reduced to a gathering place for merchants.

Jesus and his disciples were not the only people who came to the temple in Jerusalem to keep the Passover. Many people from outside Israel came to Jerusalem to celebrate the Passover. When they go on a long-distance trip, there must be a lot of things to prepare.

Among the various preparations, it was very difficult to travel a long way with an animal, which is a sacrifice, especially for a sacrifice. It must have been quite natural for them to purchase sacrifices in Jerusalem. In addition to offerings, Roman currency was used in all countries under Roman economic domination.

When they came to Israel, they had to exchange it for Jewish currency rather than Roman currency, but it would have been much easier to purchase sacrifices for the sacrifice. This circumstance led to the natural settlement of the act of currency exchange to purchase sacrifices in the temple of the Gentiles and the buying and selling of animals to be sacrificed.

『Jesus answered and said unto them, Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up. Then said the Jews, Forty and six years was this temple in building, and wilt thou rear it up in three days? But he spake of the temple of his body.”

Today, many people think of a building as a church. The building is not the church, but Christ is the church. The members who have the spirit body of Christ become the church, and the church is formed among the members of the congregation. A church is a place where two or three saints gather. The place isn't important. In the early church, the family played the role of the church.

When two or three saints gather to worship God, it is a time to remember that they have been destroyed before God and have been reborn in Christ. Therefore, worship is to become one with God. Worship is not giving to God, but entering into God with Christ. So they experience being with God all the time.

 

2. Foreshadowing the death and resurrection of Jesus on the cross

Ahead of his crucifixion, Jesus was staying at the house in Bethany where he raised Lazarus from the dead. Now Mary came with her perfume and poured it on Jesus' feet and wiped them with her hair. In John 12:7-8, “Then said Jesus, Let her alone: against the day of my burial hath she kept this.” For the poor always ye have with you; but me ye have not always.』 Mary showed herself preparing for Jesus' death. She became a symbol recorded in the Bible and handed down to generations to come.

In John 6:53, Jesus' death on the cross and resurrection are indirectly revealed. 『Then Jesus said unto them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Except ye eat the flesh of the Son of man, and drink his. blood, ye have no life in you.』The blood of the Son of Man symbolizes Jesus’ death on the cross. Water baptism represents death to sin.

The baptism of fire is death to Ethon. So, “Jesus died on the cross” is death to sin and death to the soul. The flesh of the Son of Man is the spiritual body of the resurrected Christ. “Eating flesh” means becoming one and united. Those who are in Christ also believe that they will be resurrected in the present as a spiritual body.

Even though believers cannot see the resurrection with their physical eyes, believers must look to the resurrection with faith, endure hardships and adversities while living in this world, and devote themselves to evangelism.

 

Ⅲ. The spiritual condition of those under the law

1. Appearance of a person under the law

John 7:19-21『Did not Moses give you the law, and yet none of you keepeth the law? Why go ye about to kill me? The people answered and said, Thou hast a devil: who goeth about to kill thee? Jesus answered and said unto them, I have done one work, and ye all marvel.』

If you are a Jew who received the law, you must keep the law well, but why is the law trying to kill you? Therefore, since you are under the law, it means that you are sinners to God.

The Jewish leaders had intentions to kill Jesus. In front of these religious leaders and groups, Jesus' attitude teaches and speaks in the same context since creation. While Jesus acknowledges that he is from Nazareth in Galilee and is the son of a poor carpenter, we see him leading the religious leaders and crowds with a more important essence. Hen Ergon (ἓν ἔργον) is a ministry. In other words, it means receiving the word from God the Father and passing it on as is. That is God's revelation. But they think Jesus is strange. Jesus' words point out the spiritual ignorance of the Jews.

Jesus says that if the Jews knew “God as true and the giver of correct revelation,” they would not have known the Son of God. Jesus is the revelation of God, and although they can see God through Jesus, if they only knew the physical facts of Jesus, they could not help but rebuke their spiritual ignorance. The Jews, who boasted that they were the chosen people, actually did not know God properly. They did not really know the law, so they should have found Christ in the law, but they were caught up in the legalism that if they just kept the law, they would become God's people. Even today, if believers do not find Christ in the law, they are like the Jews who fell into legalism.

John 7:22-24, 『Moses therefore gave unto you circumcision; (not because it is of Moses, but of the fathers;) and ye on the Sabbath day circumcise a man. If a man on the Sabbath day receive circumcision, that the law of Moses should not be broken; are ye angry at me, because I have made a man every whit whole on the sabbath day? Judge not according to the appearance, but judge righteous judgment.』

Jews circumcise a male child on the eighth day after he is born. It did not matter whether the eighth day was a weekday or the Sabbath. They even break the Sabbath by cutting off small parts of the boy with a knife. Through this, they declare that they are God's saved people, a distinguished chosen people. The point of what Jesus is saying is, “According to the Mosaic Law, on the 8th day after birth, even on the Sabbath, Jewish boys cut off small parts of their bodies with a knife, proclaiming themselves saved people, and rejoicing together, saying that the Son of God was at the pool of Bethesda. “You healed someone who had been sick for 38 years, picked up his bed, and walked away. Can’t you rejoice with him?” Instead, Jesus scolded the Jewish leader by asking, “Are you trying to kill Jesus by accusing him of being a transgressor just because the sick man was healed on the Sabbath?” When it comes to doing things on the Sabbath, it is okay for Moses, but why is it not okay for him, the Son of God?

And he said, “Do not judge by appearances, but judge righteously.” The Jews know Moses as a man of God, but they do not view Jesus as the Son of God. Human ignorance about God accompanies human history. God has revealed himself to all mankind at every moment.

However, the Israelites did not properly recognize God. And they always left God, rebelled, and betrayed Him. Because of the sins they committed without properly knowing God, they were judged by God, but all mankind, including the Jews, still repeats the mistake of not properly knowing God.

Even today, we look at churches that have fallen into legalism. There are numerous examples of believers saying that they believe in Jesus, but also saying that they must be forgiven of their sins every day, that they must tithe thoroughly, that they must observe Sunday, or that the church building is a temple. Those who are under the law are still outside of Christ. They believe in resurrection, but they believe that the body dies and is resurrected, so they are also outside of Christ.

 

2. The adulterous woman

John 8:3-5『And the scribes and Pharisees brought unto him a woman taken in adultery; and when they had set her in the midst of her, They say unto him, Master, this woman was taken in adultery, in the very act. Now Moses in the law commanded us, that such should be stoned: but what sayest thou?

“The purpose of the scribes and Pharisees bringing this question up” was not really to seek an answer to the woman’s fornication problem, but rather a question with the intention of finding fault with Jesus’ answer. If Jesus had mercy on the captured woman and told her to let her go, they would have criticized Jesus for saying that he is the Son of God but not following the law. On the other hand, if Jesus had told them to stone the woman according to the law, they would have criticized him. , Since Israel was under the rule of the Roman Empire at the time, it violated the Roman law that prohibited anyone of any ethnicity from sentencing themselves to death, and this was also an answer that provided an excuse for Jesus to be attacked.

John 8:6-8 『This they said, tempting him, that they might have to accuse him. But Jesus stooped down, and with his finger he wrote on the ground, as though he heard them not. So when they continued asking him, he lifted up himself, and said to them, He that is without sin among you, let him first cast a stone at her. And again he stooped down, and wrote on the ground.』

The Pharisees and scribes came to Jesus "preparing a trap to make Jesus suffer no matter what answer he gave." However, in this difficult situation, Jesus falls down and writes something on the ground. As they continued to press Jesus for an answer, he stood up and said to them, “He who is without sin among you, let him be the first to throw a stone at her.”

In the eyes of the Jewish leaders, “This woman caught in fornication was someone who could be a good bait to catch Jesus,” and she was seen as an impure woman who had committed a sin. However, by saying, “He who is without sin among you, let him first throw a stone at her,” Jesus made people look not at the woman but at “the Pharisees and scribes who were doing it, and the people themselves.” He said, and after a while, they left the place one by one, starting with the adults present.

When they looked at the woman's sin, they thought that she should be stoned to death as the law says, but when they actually heard the words of Jesus and saw their own sin, no one dared to claim that they were righteous for their sin. Well, people had no choice but to leave the place. What Jesus wrote on the ground was “to make the word of God resonate in their hearts.”

“Jesus writing something on the ground” is knocking on their hearts. Even today, if there is someone who believes in another Jesus, this is tantamount to spiritual adultery. The other Jesus is “a group of people doing business using the name of Jesus, worshiping Jesus who died on the cross as God, etc.” Jesus is knocking on the door in the hearts of believers.

John 8:10 『When Jesus had lifted up himself, and saw none but the woman, he said unto her, Woman, where are those thine accusers? hath no man condemned thee?』This contains the meaning, “He who hears the voice of God does not judge others.” Jesus did not come to the world to condemn, but to save humanity from sin. So, Jesus tells the saved people not to fall into sin.

To the “immoral woman whom the world condemned as a sinner,” Jesus forgave her sins without asking her to pay for her sins. An adulterous woman is someone who is caught at the scene of a crime. However, when she said, “Let him who is without sin cast the first stone,” everyone left the place. Although they had not yet been discovered at the crime scene, they were just as much sinners as the woman who committed adultery. Likewise, all humans in this world judge others' sins, but they are all sinners before God.

Humans are like the prodigal son who abandoned the perfect love of God and left his father. Just as the prodigal son abandoned “his father who gave him everything he asked for,” “people who receive God’s perfect love” abandoned God. This is the appearance of the prodigal son and shows the depravity of humans. Until we realize this fallenness, no one will be able to see the love of God. This corruption is based on the sinfulness of greed to become like God.

So, repentance means that a sinner becomes like the prodigal son who becomes dead and returns to his father. It is difficult for a sinner to think that the father will accept everything if the person who left the father returns unconditionally. God tells us to repent, become dead, believe in his resurrection life, and return.

 

 

3. The meaning of keeping the commandments

John 14:15 『If ye love me, keep my commandments.』, Revelation 14:12 『Here is the patience of the saints: here are they that keep the commandments of God, and the faith of Jesus.』 Keeping the commandments, when viewed literally, can be thought of as meaning to thoroughly do what is stipulated in the commandments, but that is not what the Bible says. Exodus 34:1『And the LORD said unto Moses, Hew thee two tables of stone like unto the first: and I will write upon these tables the words that were in the first tables, which thou brakest.』

God made the first stone tablets himself and gave them to Moses, but Moses had to make the second tablets. The Bible teaches us that if a person who sins repents, he or she will receive forgiveness of sins and recover, but the aftereffects will remain. It shows human incompetence.

The first and second stone tablets resemble the first and last man Adam. The first man, Adam, gave the body of sin, and the second man, Adam, gave the body of the spirit. Therefore, the second stone tablet is like a temple built in the saints' hearts. The first stone tablet was broken (dead), and the second stone tablet was engraved (reborn) and placed inside the Ark of the Covenant (in the temple of the saints' hearts). In Psalm 40:8, “I delight to do thy will, O my God: yea, thy law is within my heart.” The second stone tablet is in the heart.

The second tablet is the new law, those who are under the law of Christ. In 1 Corinthians 9:21, 『To them that are without law, as without law, (being not without law to God, but under the law to Christ,) that I might gain them that are without law.』

The first stone tablets were given to the people, and it was revealed through the golden calf incident that “humans are absolutely unable to keep the law.” However, in the midst of this, God’s mercy and mercy overflow. That is the second stone tablet. So, along with the second stone tablet, the name of Jehovah is proclaimed. The first stone tablet is about the first man, Adam, and sin, while the second stone tablet is about the last man, Adam, and grace. The first stone tablet represents death on the cross, and the second stone tablet represents resurrection.

In John 1:17, 『For the law was given by Moses, but grace and truth came by Jesus Christ..』 and in Matthew 9:13, 『But go ye and learn what that means, I will have mercy, and not sacrifice: for I am not come to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance.』

In Matthew 1:23, “Behold, a virgin shall be with child, and shall bring forth a son, and they shall call his name Emmanuel, which being interpreted is, God with us.”

The God who dwells in the hearts of believers is Jehovah. If a believer does not believe in the present resurrection, the establishment of God's kingdom (temple) in the believer's heart, and the second coming of Christ within it, then he does not believe in Jehovah, but in the God he wants.

Therefore, God informs us through the Ten Commandments that “salvation is death and resurrection on the cross.” This does not mean that you should practice these words and keep them, but that you should keep the meaning of these words without losing them. In “keeping the commandments,” the word “keep” means to keep and protect without losing them. This means that we must keep this meaning in our hearts because fake prophets distort the Bible.

 

4. Sinners and righteous people

John 9:35-36『Jesus heard that they had cast him out; and when he had found him, he said unto him, Dost thou believe on the Son of God? He answered and said, Who is he, Lord, that I might believe on him?』

The Son of Man is the Son with whom God is “called the Son of God.” The question, “Do you believe in the Son of Man” means, “Do you believe by entering into the Son of Man?”

John 9:37-41 『And Jesus said unto him, Thou hast both seen him, and it is he that talked with thee. And he said, Lord, I believe. And he worshiped him. And Jesus said, For judgment I am come into this world, that they which see not might see; and that they which see might be made blind. And some of the Pharisees which were with him heard these words, and said unto him, Are we blind also? Jesus said unto them, If ye were blind, ye should have no sin: but now ye say, We see; therefore your sin remains.』

Among the Pharisees, there were those who had an open mind about the kingdom of God. They suddenly said, “Are we blind to heaven?” “The blindness speaking of the Pharisees” is spiritual blindness regarding the kingdom of God. “A blind man opening his eyes” refers to understanding the things of heaven. So they understand God's will and give glory to God.

In Matthew 13:34-35, “All these things spake Jesus unto the multitude in parables; and without a parable spark he not unto them:

That it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the prophet, saying, I will open my mouth in parables; I will utter things which have been kept secret from the foundation of the world. About the blind opening their eyes, in Isaiah 35:5, 『Then the eyes of the blind shall be opened, and the ears of the deaf shall be. “unstopped.”

The same thing is said in Matthew 11:5 and Luke 4:18. When a blind man opens his eyes, he realizes what sin is. There are sins committed in the world, but fundamentally, sin is when you leave God because you want to be like God. This refers to spirits who sinned before the foundation of the world. So, those whose spirits are trapped in the body are those who do not understand the secrets of the kingdom of God, and the Bible calls them blind, and Jesus came to open the eyes of the blind. When trapped spirits open their eyes, they realize that they are spirits who have sinned in the kingdom of God, repent, and enter into Christ, which brings glory to God.

In Matthew 23:16-24, Jesus described the Pharisees as blind. They do not understand the essence of the law and are blind because they understand the law literally. Jesus said to the Pharisees, “Ye blind guides, which strain at a gnat, and swallow a camel.” Even today, if believers do not understand the meaning of the law and only talk about what is stipulated in the law, they are blind to the kingdom of God. Those who are bound by the regulations of the law are blind people who have nothing to do with the life of Jesus Christ. Blind people are those who do not know about the kingdom of God. That is why they are sinners.

"Those who believe that righteousness can be achieved by keeping the law" are those outside of Christ, sinners under the control of Satan, and "those who find Christ in the law, realize that they are sinners who cannot help but die to God, and repent and move forward." "God gives grace. So, when they die in unity on the cross of Jesus and believe in unity in the resurrection of Christ, they also achieve present resurrection.

These words are “Jesus’ words to the Pharisees,” but even among individual believers, there are sinners and righteous people. A sinner has an old temple in his heart that causes him to sin, and within him is his old self. Because the righteous believe in the present resurrection, a new temple is built in their hearts, and a new person exists within it. The old self is called a sinner, and the new self is called a righteous person. In the parable of the sheep and the goats, two cases appear in one person's heart. Those who follow the fleshly mind (physical self) become goats, and those who follow the spiritual mind (spiritual self) become sheep. These two fight in my heart every day. The physical self (old self) is subject to death.

In Romans 8:5-9, “For they that are after the flesh do mind the things of the flesh; but they that are after the Spirit the things of the Spirit.For to be carnally minded is death; but to be spiritually minded is life and peace. Because the carnal mind is enmity against God: for it is not subject to the law of God, neither indeed can be. So then they that are in the flesh cannot please God. But ye are not in the flesh, but in the Spirit, if so be that the Spirit of God dwells in you. Now if any man have not the Spirit of Christ, he is none of his.』

Although this statement refers to two people, it means that there are two hearts in the believer's heart. So, the question is which one to follow. Those who do not believe in the present resurrection have nothing to fight for because the master of their mind is a physical subject. The problem is the heart of those who have received the baptism of the Holy Spirit and believe in present resurrection. “The owner of the heart that believes in the present resurrection” becomes the spiritual subject, but the “physical mind remaining within him” becomes the enemy and attacks. It means discerning spiritually well.

 

Part 3. Jesus' death and resurrection on the cross

 

Ⅰ. Jesus' death on the cross

1. The meaning of atonement death

John 11:50『Nor consider that it is expedient for us, that one man should die for the people, and that the whole nation perish not.』One man dying for the people means redemption. In other words, it is redemption. Redemption means purchasing a slave with money. People are slaves of Satan, but God buys them with the blood of Jesus.

Leviticus 23:26-29『And the LORD spoke to Moses, saying,

Also on the tenth day of this seventh month there shall be a day of atonement: it shall be an holy convocation unto you; and ye shall afflict your souls, and offer an offering made by fire unto the LORD. And ye shall do no work in that same day: for it is a day of atonement, to make an atonement for you before the LORD your God. For whatsoever soul it be that shall not be afflicted in that same day, he shall be cut off from among his people.』

The Day of Atonement means, “Make yourselves suffer.” The people are to remember the suffering and tribulation for “10 days from the Feast of Trumpets.” And, at the end of the 10 days, the Feast of Atonement begins, and five days after the Feast of Atonement, the Feast of Tabernacles begins. The Feast of Trumpets means the end of the harvest. The harvest is completely over for four months from Pentecost, and the people blow trumpets. So this means the end. Today, we must not just keep the Israelite feasts of the Old Testament era, but remember them well. Because we can see that God’s work is accomplished through the seasons. On Passover, Jesus died as a lamb on the cross, was resurrected on First Fruits, and the Holy Spirit descended on Pentecost.

There are five kinds of sacrifices in Leviticus, and in Leviticus 4:20 it says, “And he shall do with the bullock as he did with the bullock for a sin offering, so shall he do with this: and the priest shall make an atonement for them.” , and it shall be forgiven them.』

The Bible explains five kinds of sacrifices, and at the end it says, “After atonement, they will be forgiven.” The word “redemption” in atonement is redeem, and Apostle Paul says in Ephesians 1:7, “In whom we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of his grace;”

It means that there must be redemption to receive forgiveness of sins. Here, redemption is a quote from Leviticus 4:20. Redemption is also used as a replacement or redemption. This means that after purchasing a slave, the slave is freed. It is not first to wash away sins, but to redeem sinners and be set free. The concept of this is Yom Kippur.

In Genesis 6:4, “There were giants in the earth in those days; and also after that, when the sons of God came in unto the daughters of men, and they bare children to them, the same became mighty men which were of old, men of renown.』The noun form of Yom Kippur is pitch.『 The word ‘cover’ is kaffar. In the Old Testament era, there was a bronze altar in the sanctuary yard. When the sinner lays his hands on the lamb, he transfers all his sins to the lamb. This is also the word redeem. So, the dead lamb and the sinner become one. This becomes the atonement that happens to those who repent. Next, wash his hands and feet in the laver basin. After washing his hands, the priest could enter the sanctuary. There is a cover inside the Holy Place, and the Most Holy Place is entered once a year (10th day of the 7th month of the lunar calendar). Inside the Most Holy Place is the Ark of the Covenant, and above it is a cover called the Mercy Seat and the Mercy Seat. (Kophert in Hebrew: meaning covered with grace)

Yom Kippur was “the day to cover the sins of all sinners.” So once a year, the high priest sprinkles blood on the mercy seat, and the blood covers it. For this to happen in the New Testament, God buys sinners with the blood of Jesus. Since Jesus died on the cross (the veil was torn), was resurrected, and went to God on the throne as the high priest, God buys those who repent and turn back from Satan with the price of blood.

 

 

2. Pouring perfume on Jesus’ feet

John 12:1-11 『 Then Jesus six days before the passover came to Bethany, where Lazarus was, which had been dead, whom he raised from the dead.There they made him a supper; and Martha served: but Lazarus was one of them that sat at the table with him.Then she took Mary a pound of ointment of spikenard, very costly, and she anointed the feet of Jesus, and wiped his feet with her hair: and the house was filled with the odour of the ointment.Then saith one of his disciples, Judas Iscariot, Simon's son, which should betray him, Why was not this ointment sold for three hundred pence, and given to the poor? This he said, not that he cared for the poor; but because he was a thief, and he had the bag, and bare what was put therein. Then said Jesus, Let her alone: against the day of my burial hath she kept this. For the poor always ye have with you; but me ye have not always. Much people of the Jews knew therefore that he was there: and they came not for Jesus' sake only, but that they might see Lazarus also, whom he had raised from the dead. But the chief priests consulted that they might put Lazarus also to death; Because that by reason of him many of the Jews went away, and believed on Jesus.』

When Jesus was on earth, he visited Lazarus' house in Bethany, where he was like family. The reason was to say goodbye to his loved ones before he was crucified and died. Bethany was close to Jerusalem, so it was a place where people could be captured and killed by the Jews.

When the Jews and the high priests had already decided to kill Jesus, and an arrest order had already been issued to capture Jesus, Jesus came to meet Lazarus' family. Therefore, the Lazarus family did the best they could to prepare a feast for the Lord. Four characters appear here.

The first is Martha. Martha personally prepared her table and served her, expressing her heart's respect and love. Although she had been rebuked by Jesus for her previous busyness, she did not use that rebuke as an excuse for her discomfort, but she continued steadfastly, following her own gifts. So I served and served Jesus. Her favorite way for Martha to express her love was to work with her hands on her treats.

The second is Lazarus. Lazarus provided an important cause for this feast. He became “the subject of a miracle where he died due to weakness and was brought back to life by Jesus.” He took on the role of interacting closely with people and personally preaching and testifying about Jesus. 『Much people of the Jews therefore knew that he was there: and they came not for Jesus' sake only, but that they might see Lazarus also, whom he had raised from the dead..』Because of Lazarus' testimony and service, he It was used as a tool and channel for the gospel.

The third is Maria. Mary expressed her respect and love for Jesus in a special way, as the most precious thing she had. 『Then took Mary a pound of ointment of spikenard, very costly, and anointed the feet of Jesus, and wiped his feet with her hair: and the house was filled with the odour of the ointment.』 "Believes that Jesus is the Messiah and the one who has been anointed by God.

The fourth is Judas Iscariot. Judas Iscariot criticized Mary's loving actions. 『Then saith one of his disciples his, Judas Iscariot, Simon's son, which should betray him,』Judas Iscariot expressed his dissatisfaction to the people with a wonderful justification and plausible logic. Judas made the atmosphere of his banquet cold by saying things that revealed his true feelings and his greedy inner thoughts. “A person who does not have any love for Jesus” cleverly disguises his or her greed in the name of faith. The actions of Judas, who betrayed his teacher and sold him for 30 pieces of silver, begin by criticizing the actions of Mary, who showed deep love and devotion to Jesus. Judah's fault was not only his greed, but also his hypocritical attitude of calculating everything in money and criticizing the poor.

Jesus said, “Then said Jesus, Let her alone: against the day of my burying hath she kept this.”

Judas only had calculations and greed in front of his eyes, and the “thoughts of the people gathered at the banquet that day” did not extend to the event of Jesus’ atonement on the cross and the funeral. Mary was shown preparing for Jesus' death. She became “a symbol recorded in the Bible and handed down to generations to come.”

 

3. The Passion and Cross of Jesus

John 19:1-3 『Then Pilate therefore took Jesus, and scoured him. And the soldiers platted a crown of thorns, and put it on his head, and they put on him a purple robe, and said, Hail, King of the Jews! and they smote him with their hands.』

There are “misunderstandings of those in power” and “a story about Jewish contradictions toward God.” The first story is Pilate’s misunderstanding. “Pilate, who knew from the words and majesty of Jesus that he was without sin,” felt great fear when the Jews heard him say that he was the Son of God, and even tried to let Jesus go.

He goes back into the pavilion and asks Jesus seriously. “Where are you from?” Jesus did not answer. Pilate said with a nervous heart, 『Then saith Pilate unto him, Speakest thou not unto me? Pilate firmly believed that he could make whatever decision he wanted with the power he had. His position and authority as governor in the colony were the highest and most powerful. However, what Pilate misunderstood was that he did not realize that authority and power came from God. He thought that he had obtained it through his own efforts and abilities, and that he could enjoy and use it as he pleased.

Jesus had no intention of being released through Pilate's mercy. Jesus did not need to answer. However, Jesus clearly tells Pilate where the authority of the powerful comes from. 『Jesus answered, Thou couldest have no power at all against me, except it were given thee from above: therefore he that delivered me unto thee hath the greater sin. .』

The second concerns the contradictions of the Jews. Governor Pilate, who was judging Jesus, persuaded and cajoled the people and presented a plan to somehow release the innocent Jesus, but the Jews were steadfast. 『And from thenceforth Pilate sought to release him: but the Jews cried out, saying, If thou let this man go, thou art not Caesar's friend: whosoever maketh himself a king speaketh against Caesar..』

However, Pilate also did not back down. He handed Jesus over to the soldiers to be flogged and humiliated. He thought that the people's anger would be relieved when they saw "Jesus suffering and being ridiculed through cruel tortures." This is because the Roman soldiers' whipping was a cruel torture that involved the pain of dents and tears in the flesh. However, the people still screamed to crucify Jesus. “Jesus’ crime, as stated by the chief priests who incited the people to kill Jesus, was that he said he was the Son of God.

Pilate had already questioned Jesus and began to fear that what he said might be true. Pilate was truly disgusted by the sight of Christ brought before him, but when he heard that he was the Son of God, he was “stricken with fear that he should not violate the majesty of God revealed in a lowly and wretched man.” . If the fear of God had such a great influence on worldly people like Pilate, then those who say they believe in God today but try to judge God and His work carelessly as if they were playing a joke will be judged more severely than Pilate. will be.

Another contradiction concerns the king of the Jews. Israel, with Abraham as its ancestor, became God's people through God's special calling and covenant. They are the chosen people who serve God as their king, and are a nation and people under God's protection and rule. In other words, God called them out of the world and made them a people who serve God as king. However, they are shouting at Jesus, the Son of God and the King of the Jews, saying, “He is not our king.”

Pilate, a Gentile, calls Jesus “the king of your Jews” and tries his best to persuade him to let go by asking why he is trying to kill your king, but the Jews, God’s people, say, “We have no king but Caesar.” He shouted and told them to destroy Jesus. Pilate tried hard to free Jesus, but the Jews stubbornly refused. And the Jews shouted, “Kill Jesus and destroy him.” This was “a foolish act by the Jews, who served God as king on earth, incited by the high priest.” Israel's eyes were closed. God spoke in advance through the prophet Isaiah.

Jesus carried the cross. And he went to “Golgotha, which means the skull, that is, death.” A criminal who was crucified carried the crossbar. The remaining vertical bars were fixed to the execution ground. “The crossbar of one’s share” is one’s sins, and “carrying one’s share of the crossbar” means carrying one’s sins. Those who were crucified on the left and right of Jesus also took upon themselves their sins and hung on the cross in pain. Life is a procession of prisoners carrying their sins toward death. As he struggles to climb up carrying his share of the rungs, the rung of death awaits him. The pain does not end for a moment and continues.

Pilate wrote, “Jesus of Nazareth is the king of the Jews,” and the Jewish high priests requested that “he should write that he calls himself the king of the Jews.” No one except the king appointed by the Roman emperor could become king, and the emperor never appointed Jesus as king, so Jesus, the king of the Jews, was a traitor. That was the legal logic. However, if the cross of Jesus is a false accusation, a conspiracy, or a political trick, the sin on that cross is not Jesus's. The blame should belong to those who were falsely accused, those who plotted, and those who used political tricks.

“Those who must bear the crossbeam of the cross” must be those who bear that sin. “Putting on others the crossbar that I should have carried” is like piling up one’s own sins. Jesus' gaze rested not on the wolf-like soldier or the wolf-like high priest. “Jesus, who bore other people’s sins as his own,” looks at his mother from his deathbed. “He saith unto his mother, Woman, behold thy son.” Then, he turned his gaze to his beloved disciple. “Behold your mother.” 』The eyes of Jesus, who carried the sins of others as his own, rested on his mother and disciples.

“What Jesus saw in his deathbed” was his love for them. The love of Jesus is death on the cross. That death was a death that atoned for all mankind by the wrath of God. Without that death, there would be no way for all mankind to be saved. There is only God's wrath. This is because all humans are beings who have left God. The cross of Jesus simultaneously shows God's justice (cross) and love (resurrection) for humans. If a believer only thinks about love (resurrection) and not God's justice (the cross), he or she only knows half of the meaning of Jesus' cross. If a believer realizes the justice of God, he cannot help but be united with the death of Jesus.

“Jesus, the Word who became flesh and came to this earth,” was the one who made those words come true until the last moment of his death on the cross. “After this, Jesus knowing that all things were now accomplished, that the scripture might be fulfilled, saith, I thirst,” he said. This is Psalm 69:21, “They gave me also gall for my meat; It was to fulfill the words, “and in my thirst they gave me vinegar to drink.”

Sour wine is like vinegar. “Drinking vinegar instead of water or wine when you are thirsty” is actually more painful, so it is better not to drink it. Although people gave Jesus vinegar and sour wine to make fun of him, Jesus accepted the vinegar and sour wine to fulfill the words of the Bible, said, “It is finished,” and died.

“It is finished” means that what God planned before the creation of the world has been accomplished. Spirits who sinned in the kingdom of God were able to descend to the world from the first Adam and return to the kingdom of God from the last Adam.

Jesus died on the cross as the sinful body of the first man, Adam, and Christ was resurrected as the last Adam. So the first man, Adam, and the Mamak man, Adam, are connected. In John 1:51, 『One of the two which heard John speak, and followed him, was Andrew, Simon Peter's brother.』"The angelic spirit who took on the body of sin in the world with the first man Adam" is Christ, the last Adam. Together with the angels dressed in righteousness, they return to the kingdom of God.

Now, those who enter into Christ can return to the kingdom of God. Inside Christ is inside the ark. For a believer to enter into Christ, he must put off his physical body and put on his spiritual body (the clothes of Christ).

Also, unlike the two criminals hanging on the cross, the legs of Jesus were not broken, and his side was pierced with a spear. This also means, “For these things were done, that the scripture should be fulfilled, A bone of him shall be fulfilled.” As the saying goes, “not be broken.And again another scripture saith, They shall look on him whom they pierced.”, this was the fulfillment of the words of the Old Testament.

However, like this, “the people who became the conduit through which all the words written in the Old Testament were fulfilled” were none other than the Jews, Pilate, and the Roman soldiers who did not believe in Jesus and mocked him. The Jews, Roman soldiers, and Pilate, who mocked and mocked Jesus, were used as channels through which the words of the Bible were fulfilled without their knowledge. If so, then people of faith are also used as channels through which the Word of God is fulfilled.

However, what is really important is “how it is used as a channel to make God’s word come true.” It is not the Jews or the Roman soldiers who became “the channel to fulfill the prophetic words about the miserable situation of Jesus being mocked with sour wine and stabbed with spears,” but to become the channel to fulfill the beautiful, truthful, and hopeful word of God. It's important.

 

Ⅱ. resurrection of christ

1. Resurrection

Are the kingdom of God and the kingdom of heaven (heaven) the same or do they have different meanings?

To this question, most believers say, “It is because when Matthew wrote the Gospel, his subjects were Jews. The theory is that the Jews considered it blasphemous to use the word God, so they called it the kingdom of heaven. 』Some say that the kingdom of God and the kingdom of heaven have the same meaning, with only a different way of expressing them. They speak according to their opinions, but they must say an accurate understanding of the Greek Bible.

In Matthew 3:2, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven (He Basileia ton Uranon “ἡ βασιλεία τῶν οὐρανῶν”) is at hand.” Ton Uranon (τῶν οὐρανῶν) corresponds to heaven. However, 『Ton Uranon (τὸν οὐρανόν heaven)』 is not only used in the Gospel of Matthew, but also in the Gospels of Mark and Luke.

Luke 24:51-53『And it came to pass, while he blessed them, he was parted from them, and carried up into heaven (τῶν οὐρανῶν”). And they worshiped him, and returned to Jerusalem with great joy: And were continually in the temple, praising and blessing God. Amen.

In Mark 16:19, 『So then after the Lord had spoken unto them, he was received up into heaven(τῶν οὐρανῶν), and sat on the right hand of God.』 This is the story of Jesus' ascension to heaven. Jesus was taken up into heaven and sat at the right hand of God.

Looking at this, it is incorrect to say that the kingdom of heaven is only used in the Gospel of Matthew. Also, if a believer says that the kingdom of God and the kingdom of heaven simply mean the same thing, then why does the Bible confusingly use one word and then another instead of using a unified term? That's because there's a reason

In the Greek Bible, "epulanios", used interchangeably with heaven (ton uranon), is translated heaven or heavenly abode.

Ephesians 2:5-6 『Even when we were dead in sins, hath quickened us together with Christ, (by grace ye are saved;) And hath raised us up together, and made us sit together in heavenly places It is said that the saints were also seated in heaven in Christ.

In 1 Corinthians 15:48, “And as we have borne the image of the earthy, we shall also bear the image of the heavenly.”

Ton Uranon and Epulaniois (ἐπουρανίοις: the image of the heavenly) are in the plural form with an article, so they mean the kingdom of God that is present in the hearts of believers.

In the Bible, the Kingdom of God the Father is expressed as “tes basileia to deu” (τῆς βασιλείας τοῦ θεοῦ: Kingdom of God). However, Christ ascended to heaven. In order to explain the kingdom of God and the kingdom of heaven, believers can be understood through the theory of the Trinity.

The Trinity theory should be recognized as 『God the Father, Jesus Christ, and saints by the Holy Spirit』. It must be well understood that the Trinity is not God-centered, but rather a tool to explain the relationship between God and believers. The Bible speaks about the relationship between the kingdom of God and heaven (heaven) at a level that people can understand. Overall, the Kingdom of God or the Kingdom of Heaven (Heaven) is one. However, the Bible explains the relationship between the two according to the level of human understanding.

The first heaven means “the kingdom of God the Father on the throne.” It is the kingdom of God where God the Father is present as the Spirit. No one has seen it. However, believers can know it through Jesus Christ. In 1 Timothy 6:16, “Who only hath immortality, dwelling in the light which no man can approach unto; whom no man hath seen, nor can see: to whom be honor and power everlasting. Amen.

The second heaven is the kingdom of Jesus Christ, the kingdom of the Son who exists in a spirit body. In Colossians 1:12-13, “Giving thanks to the Father, which hath made us meet to be partakers of the inheritance of the saints in light: Who hath delivered us from the power of darkness, and hath translated us into the kingdom of his dear Son: Mark 16:9 says, “Christ sat at the right hand of God.” The second heaven is described as the right hand side of the kingdom of God.

The third heaven is the kingdom of God that is present to believers. Apostle Paul mentions the third heaven in 2 Corinthians 12:2. When believers believe in the present resurrection, a new temple is built in their hearts, and in this new temple, Christ returns as the Holy Spirit and enters, pouring out the kingdom of God. Ephesians 2:6 says, “And hath raised us up together, and made us sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus:” Therefore, the word “in Christ” gives the meaning of the third heaven. This is sometimes called the Garden of Eden, or the new heaven and new earth. To believers, the kingdom of God is one, but it appears to be three.

The First Heaven, Second Heaven, and Third Heaven are connected by the Holy Spirit and operate according to the word of Jehovah God. The kingdom of God is one, but because of the angel who sinned in the kingdom of God, the kingdom of God is visible to the eyes of believers in three forms.

The term 『Christ's hand』 comes from 2 Corinthians 5:17, which means, 『Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; Behold, all things are become new.』This means dying with the cross of Jesus and becoming resurrected with Christ. Also, in Romans 6:4, “Therefore we are buried with him by baptism into death: that like as Christ was raised up from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life.”

The new creation, new life, is resurrection life. People are spiritual beings, but their spirits are trapped in the dust. When the body dies, it goes to dust, but the spirit must return to the kingdom of God. In Ecclesiastes 12:7, “Then shall the dust return to the earth as it was: and the spirit shall return to God who gave it.” The spirit must return to the kingdom of God, but there are some who cannot return. In Ecclesiastes 3:21, “Who knowseth the spirit of man that goeth upward, and the spirit of the beast that goeth downward to the earth?”

Many people may look at this verse and think that animals also have spirits, but those who go up to heaven mean those who are in Christ, and those who go down to earth mean those who are outside of Christ. The word land is Sheol (Hedes). Those who are outside of Christ will be judged by the second death. If a person does not believe that he died with Jesus and was resurrected in the present, he cannot be considered to be in Christ. Because those outside of Christ do not have new life.

Jesus Christ says that he is life that came down from heaven. Regarding the word resurrection, from the perspective of the body, believers believe that the body is resurrected, but from the perspective of the spirit, it is originally the life of heaven, but after being trapped in the earth for a while, the life of heaven is resurrected again. Jesus Christ is the life of heaven, so his body died and he was resurrected as the life of heaven. Nevertheless, if you claim that the body has been resurrected, it is because you see it with the eyes of the body.

Jesus Christ has been knocking on people's doors about heavenly life (resurrection life) since the Old Testament era. Jesus resurrected and appeared to his disciples and two disciples on the road to Emmaus, telling them that the Old Testament was a testimony of Christ. God appeared to Abraham in the flesh, and believers can see his presence in various ways through the Bible. God chose Israel as a model among all people in the world and knocked on the hearts of people to give them heavenly life through the covenant, but there were very few people who realized and opened the door except a few people of faith.

Jesus came to the world in the form of flesh and once again knocked on the inner door of everyone's heart. He told us to repent because heaven (kingdom of heaven: resurrection life) has come near. Jesus said that He is the bread of life that came down from heaven. John 6:48-50 『I am that bread of life. Your fathers did eat manna in the wilderness, and are dead. This is the bread which comes down from heaven, that a man may eat of it, and not die.』

In Matthew 7:7-8, “Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you: For every one that asketh receiveth; and he that seeketh findeth; and to him that knocketh it shall be opened". In Revelation 3:20, “Behold, I stand at the door, and knock: if any man hear my voice, and open the door, I will come in to him, and will sup with him, and he with me.” 』

Jesus says, “The reason the door of the heart cannot be opened is because the field of the heart is hardened.” So, through the parable of the sower, he emphasizes that it must be a good field. This is the secret of heaven. This means that believers should continue to examine through the Bible whether they have a carnal mind or a spiritual mind. There was an incident where Jesus knocked on the doors of people's hearts. It was the case of a woman who committed adultery. Jesus wrote something on the ground and told “those who were trying to stone the woman” to let those who are without sin throw the stones. “Writing on the ground” means the same thing as knocking on the door of the Jewish people’s hearts.

Regarding heavenly life (resurrection life), Jesus said in John 11:25-26, “Jesus said unto her, I am the resurrection, and the life: he that believeth in me, though he were dead, yet shall he live.” :And whosoever liveth and believeth in me shall never die. Believest thou this?』Jesus revealed that he is the resurrection life.

Jesus told the parable of the three loaves. Luke 11:5-9『And he said unto them, Which of you shall have a friend, and shall go unto him at midnight, and say unto him, Friend, lend me three loaves; For a friend of mine in his journey is come to me, and I have nothing to set before him? And he from within shall answer and say, Trouble me not: the door is now shut, and my children are with me in bed; I cannot rise and give them. I say to you, Though he will not rise and give him, because he is his friend, yet because of his importance, he will rise and give him as many as he needs. And I say unto you, Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you.』

Friend means Jesus. The three loaves symbolize resurrection life. Someone asked Jesus Christ to lend him resurrection life. However, a friend lends bread to someone “even though his friend is lying in the bedroom.” “The meaning of lending bread” is to pay it back. “Repaying resurrection life” is when a person who has received resurrection life returns it to others.

In the parable of the ten virgins, the five foolish virgins were unable to enter the wedding banquet gate because they lacked oil. Oil signifies resurrection life. Through the baptism of the Holy Spirit (oil), resurrection life comes into the believer. In the case of the five foolish virgins, there was oil at first, but the oil was used up. This is a belief in resurrection, but it is a belief that the body is resurrected after death. Anyone who thinks about resurrection after the death of the body has no oil.

Jesus died on the cross, entered the hearts of all people with his spirit, and knocked on the door again. In 1 Peter 3:18-19, “For Christ also hath once suffered for sins, the just for the unjust, that he might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh, but quickened by the Spirit: By which also He went and preached unto the spirits in prison.』 Prison means the body. Everyone's spirit is trapped in the dust of the body. So, there must have been someone who heard the voice of Christ. In John 5:25, “Verily, verily, I say unto you, The hour is coming, and now is, when the dead shall hear the voice of the Son of God: and they that shall hear live.”However, the Bible says that if a person does not hear the voice, he is like someone who did not repent during Noah's flood. Judgment awaits them.

In 1 Peter 3:20, “Which sometime were disobedient, when once the longsuffering of God waited in the days of Noah, while the ark was a preparing, wherein few, that is, eight souls were saved by water.” heavenly life. The Bible shows that there are only a very small number of people who accept it. There were two people who entered Canaan during the Exodus: Joshua and Caleb. Of course, children under the age of 19 and new people born in the wilderness also entered Canaan, but only two of the adults who came out of Egypt entered Canaan, and the rest all died in the wilderness. Today, there are very few people who seek present resurrection life.

Even after his ascension to heaven, Christ returns to the hearts of the saints and, through the saints, knocks on the hearts of people. The purpose of knocking on the door is to accept the present resurrection life. If a person repents to God, he or she can receive a present resurrection. Repentance means dying on the cross with Jesus. In the Old Testament era, if a sinner committed a sin according to the law, he or she would enter the sanctuary yard with a sacrificial lamb. The sinner would place his hand on the head of the animal to impute the sin, then kill the lamb, collect the blood, and give it to the priest. The priest sprinkles blood on the altar, and the sinner receives forgiveness from God.

However, the question is “who is the dead victim”? The sinner is considered dead. Therefore, the Bible says, realize that the dead body, the lamb that was burned (baptism by fire) and sprinkled with blood (baptism by water) is the sinner himself. Who is the dead body on the cross?

If a believer does not realize that the body that died on the cross is himself, he has not repented. Repentance begins with the realization that one deserves wrath from God. This is because the desire to become like God has taken root in people’s hearts. So the Bible tells us to die to sin. That sin is the desire to become like God. In Romans 6:7 it is said, “The dead are free from sin.” Even today, God is knocking on the door of people’s hearts. The Bible tells us to die on the cross in the present and receive resurrection life in the present. This is faith.

 

2. Show the disciples his resurrected body.

The resurrected Christ first encounters Mary Magdalene. Mary Magdalene remained at her tomb even after her disciples returned to her home. Chapter 20 verse 17 says, “Jesus saith unto her, Touch me not; for I am not yet ascended to my Father: but go to my brethren, and say unto them, I ascend unto my Father, and your Father; and to my God, and your God.』 Do not hold on to Christ because he has not yet gone to the Father's house. This means that he will be with Mary and her disciples in the world for a while.

On the road to Emmaus, the resurrected Christ met two disciples and spoke with them, but did not show them his resurrected body. And in John 20:19-20, “Then the same day at evening, being the first day of the week, when the doors were shut where the disciples were assembled for fear of the Jews, came Jesus and stood in the midst, and saith unto them, Peace be unto you. And when he had so said, he shewed unto them his hands and his side. Then the disciples were glad, when they saw the LORD..』 When the disciples heard Mary's words, they were not interested in the resurrection, but they were surprised when Jesus appeared to them. They had apparently closed the door, but Jesus broke through the wall and entered the disciples. The resurrected body of Jesus is different from the body of this world.

In John 20:24-25, “But Thomas, one of the twelve, called Didymus, was not with them when Jesus came. The other disciples therefore said unto him, We have seen the LORD. But he said unto them, Except I shall see in his hands the print of the nails, and put my finger into the print of the nails, and thrust my hand into his side, I will not believe.』

Thomas did not believe in the resurrection of Jesus. When Jesus appeared to his disciples, Thomas, who was called Didymus, was not there. Although the other disciples said, “We have seen the Lord,” Thomas could not accept “the words of his companions who said that the dead man who had been crucified and buried in a stone tomb appeared before their eyes.”

Within human experience and knowledge, it was impossible for the dead to come back to life, so Thomas said, “Except I shall see in his hands the print of the nails, and put my finger into the print of the nails, and thrust my hand into his.” side, I will not believe.”

Since the resurrection is a mystery that goes beyond the cognitive systems that humans see and think, anyone other than Thomas would have said this. Resurrection is a mystery. It is the vastness and mystery of God that cannot be known physically or empirically. Those born of water and the Spirit will also experience resurrection. True faith begins when we close the door to experience and knowledge and move toward the mystery of God. When the door is wide open to the mystery of the resurrected God, in resurrection the physical body dies and a spiritual body is born.

In John 20:26-27, “And after eight days again his disciples were within, and Thomas with them: then came Jesus, the doors being shut, and stood in the midst, and said, Peace be unto you. Then saith he to Thomas, Reach hither thy finger, and behold my hands; and reach hither thy hand, and thrust it into my side: and be not faithless, but believing..” However, in Luke 24:38, “And he said unto them, Why are ye troubled? and why do thoughts arise in your hearts?

Looking at this in the Greek Bible, 『αὐτός ψηλαφήσατέ με καὶ ἴδετε ὅτι πνεῦμα σάρκα καὶ ὀστέα οὐκ ἔχει καθὼς ἐμὲ θε ωρεῖτε θεωρεῖτε ἔχοντα』

To translate it again, “He touched me and saw that I was a spirit body, and I have no bones, just as I see you with bones.” What Thomas saw was not the nail marks and wound marks that were present when Jesus was dead, but those marks were transformed. It's a surprise to see him doing it. Likewise, the disciples, like Thomas, must have been surprised and delighted by the sight of such resurrection. The English translation of the Bible is translated “as if Jesus had flesh and bones,” which may create the illusion in believers that he has returned to his former body. However, his resurrected body is a spiritual body (πνεῦμα σάρκα pneuma sarca). And his resurrected body has no bones. In other words, it is not a body like a person needs bones to move in this world.

The physical body of Jesus before his death is the body of a person who must die. The Bible says that the body of a person who must die is the body of sin. Because this is the body of the first man, Adam. Romans 6:6 『Knowing this, that our old man is crucified with him, that the body of sin might be destroyed, that henceforth we should not serve sin..』The body of sin cannot become a holy body. The body of sin must die, and a new life, the spiritual body, is born. New life is resurrection life and comes from heaven through the power of the Holy Spirit. Peter is saying that those who are born from heaven are holy.

 

3. The current resurrection taking place among believers

1 Corinthians 15:51-52, 『Behold, I shew you a mystery; We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed, In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump: for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed.』

It depicts a new temple being built in the hearts of believers in the blink of an eye. The old temple dies and a new temple is built. This is the moment when we change from a physical subject to a spiritual subject. Even when the new temple enters the heart, the destroyed appearance of the old temple remains. Saints must fight against their natural self until the old temple is completely destroyed. It is the same as when the Israelites entered Canaan and fought against the seven nations.

In 2 Peter 3:10, “But the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night; in the which the heavens shall pass away with a great noise, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat, the earth also and the works that are therein shall be burned up.” The day of the Lord does not mean the final judgment, but the day of the saints. It means that a new temple comes into your heart. The day that comes into the hearts of believers comes quickly for some people and late for others.

Christ returns and enters the hearts of those who died on the cross, and the kingdom of God (heaven) comes into existence.

It was translated as “The sky is leaving with a loud sound,” and it appears that it was probably translated with the second coming of Jesus in mind. “Matter being dissolved in hot fire” means that the physical body (old person) dies and thus becomes a new creation.

“Saints living in the present” have their physical bodies (souls) die, are reborn as spiritual bodies from heaven, and receive the Horogos (Christ the Word) (parousian presence). However, the second coming of Christ Then we will meet the Lord in the air (heaven in the soul) (Katabesetaiκαταβήσεται.)

Thessalonians 4:16-18『For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first: Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord. Wherefore comfort one another with these words.』

Because of this Bible verse, there is a lot of misunderstanding among people that believers will be raptured at the second coming of Jesus. That's why they are saying absurd things like the world is coming to an end and they should prepare for the rapture.

 

4. What is the resurrection body?

First, does resurrection mean the physical body received from parents comes back to life, or does resurrection occur spiritually?

Jesus Christ says, “He is the life that came down from heaven.” Regarding the word resurrection, from the perspective of the body, believers believe that the body is resurrected, but from the perspective of the spirit, the spirit is originally the life of heaven, but after being trapped in the earth for a while, the life of heaven is resurrected again. . Jesus Christ is the life of heaven, so his body died and he was resurrected as the life of heaven. Nevertheless, if a believer claims that the dead body has been resurrected, it is because he sees it with the eyes of the body.

In Luke 20:35-36, “But they which shall be accounted worthy to obtain that world, and the resurrection from the dead, neither marry, nor are given in marriage:Neither can they die any more: for they are equal.” unto the angels; and are the children of God, being the children of the resurrection." And, Matthew 22:30 says, “For in the resurrection they neither marry, nor are given in marriage, but are as the angels of God in heaven.” Angels are spirits. So, resurrection means that the dead spirit returns to the spirit of life.

In John 20:24-25, “But Thomas, one of the twelve, called Didymus, was not with them when Jesus came. The other disciples therefore said unto him, We have seen the LORD. But he said unto them, Except I shall see in his hands the print of the nails, and put my finger into the print of the nails, and thrust my hand into his side, I will not believe.』

Thomas did not believe in the resurrection of Jesus. When Jesus appeared to his disciples, Thomas, who was called Didymus, was not there. Although the other disciples said, “We have seen the Lord,” Thomas could not accept “the words of his companions who said that the dead man who had been crucified and buried in a stone tomb appeared before their eyes.”

In John 20:26-27, “And after eight days again his disciples were within, and Thomas with them: then came Jesus, the doors being shut, and stood in the midst, and said, Peace be unto you. Then saith he to Thomas, Reach hither thy finger, and behold my hands; and reach hither thy hand, and thrust it into my side: and be not faithless, but believing..” However, in Luke 24:38, “And he said unto them, Why are ye troubled?” and why do thoughts arise in your hearts?

Looking at this in the Greek Bible, 『αὐτός ψηλαφήσατέ με καὶ ἴδετε ὅτι πνεῦμα σάρκα καὶ ὀστέα οὐκ ἔχει καθὼς ἐμὲ θε ωρεῖτε θεωρεῖτε ἔχοντα』

To translate it again, “He touched me and saw that I was a spirit body, and I have no bones, just as I see you with bones.” What Thomas saw was not the nail marks and wound marks that were present when Jesus was dead, but those marks were transformed. It's a surprise to see him doing it. Likewise, the disciples, like Thomas, must have been surprised and delighted by the sight of such resurrection. The translated Bible is “translated as if Jesus had flesh and bones,” which can create the illusion in believers that “he has returned to his former body.” However, the resurrected body of Jesus is a spiritual body (πνεῦμα σάρκα pneuma sarca). And the resurrected body of Jesus has no bones. In other words, it is not a body like a person needs bones to move in this world.

There is a scene where Jesus brings dead people back to life. Jesus raised Lazarus, the son of the widow of Nain, and the daughter of Jairus, the leader of the synagogue. If resurrection is like a dead person coming back to life, then since they have been resurrected, they must have a body that will never die. However, they are not resurrected bodies. Because Jesus clearly said that He is the first fruit of resurrection.

In 1 Corinthians 15:21-23, “For since by man came death, by man came also the resurrection of the dead.” For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be made alive. But every man in his own order: Christ the firstfruits; afterward they that are Christ's at his coming.』

Therefore, before Jesus was resurrected, no one was resurrected. John 3:13, 『And no man hath ascended up to heaven, but he that came down from heaven, even the Son of man which is in heaven.』 Who is the “one who came down from heaven, the Son of Man”? The phrase “came down from heaven” means that Jesus was born of the Holy Spirit through incarnation. Only Jesus, born of the Holy Spirit, is the first fruit of resurrection.

Apostle Paul says that the resurrected body is a spiritual body. In 1 Corinthians 15:35-38, “But some man will say, How are the dead raised up? and with what body do they come? Thou fool, that which thou sowest is not quickened, except it die: And that which thou sowest, thou sowest not that body that shall be, but bare grain, it may chance of wheat, or of some other grain: But God giveth it a body as it hath pleased him, and to every seed his own body.』

A farmer sows seeds, but he sows the shape of the future. A farmer sows seeds “thinking that the seeds will bear fruit later.” The seed coat dies (disappears), and the germ inside it grows and changes into a different form.

1 Corinthians 15:42-44 『So also is the resurrection of the dead. It is sown in corruption; it is raised in corruption: It is sown in dishonour(Egeiretai); it is raised in glory: it is sown in weakness; it is raised in power: it is sown a natural body; it is raised a spiritual body. There is a natural body, and there is a spiritual body (Soma Pneumaticon). 』

En aftarsiya (ἐν φθορᾷ) means to arise in eternal life, and Egeiretai (ἐγείρεται) means to arise. The spirit arises in eternal life. Soma Pneumaticon is the body of the spirit. Resurrection tells us that it is not the physical body, but the spiritual body.』

1 Corinthians 15:50 Now this I say, brethren, that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God; neither does corruption inherit incorruption.』

In John 6:63, “It is the spirit that quickeneth; the flesh profiteth nothing: the words that I speak unto you, they are spirit, and they are life.』

Galatians 2:20 『I am crucified with Christ: neverthless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me.』

Like this, numerous Bible passages tell us that it is the resurrection of the spirit.

Second, is the resurrection of the saints in Christ a future resurrection that occurs after the death of the body, or is it a present resurrection?

In Romans 6:5, “For if we have been planted together in the likeness of his death, we shall be also in the likeness of his resurrection:” The union with his death occurs first, and then the union with his resurrection occurs. It is.

John 11:23-26 『Jesus saith unto her, Thy brother shall rise again. Martha saith unto him, I know that he shall rise again in the resurrection at the last day. Jesus said unto her, I am the resurrection, and the life: he that believeth in me, though he were dead, yet shall he live: And whosoever he liveth and believeth in me, he shall never die. Believest thou this?』

Martha's brother Lazarus died, and Martha said, "If Jesus had been in Martha's house, he would not have died." In chapter 11, verse 22, Martha answered, “But I know, that even now, whatsoever thou wilt ask of God, God will give it thee.” So, Jesus said, “I will live again,” but Martha was thinking of “living again,” not in the present, but in the future, the last day after the death of the body, and the resurrection. What Jesus wants is present.

In John 11:23-26, Jesus says to Martha, “I am always the resurrection and the life. He who believes in me, though dead in spirit, is alive, and when his spirit is alive, he receives the gift of faith from heaven and lives forever.” He is saying, ‘You will not die.’ If you look at these words from the perspective of the flesh, it means, “Whoever believes in me physically will die, but he will come back to life someday, and whoever believes in me because his flesh lives will never die.” The sentence structure is very awkward. The Bible speaks of the spirit, but most believers think of it as the resurrection of the body.

In 2 Corinthians 5:17, “Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new.』In these words, the saints die with the cross of Jesus and became those who are resurrected with Christ.

John 6:48-50 『I am that bread of life. Your fathers did eat manna in the wilderness, and are dead. This is the bread which comes down from heaven, that a man may eat of it, and not die.』

“The bread that comes down from heaven” means resurrection life, which allows people to eat and not die. What does not die is not physical, but has a spiritual meaning. It means being united with the resurrection of Christ and living eternally as a spiritual body.

 

Part 4. Ascension and Baptism of the Holy Spirit

 

Ⅰ. ascension

1. Ascension of Christ

John 6:62 『What and if ye shall see the Son of man (Androphu) ascend up where he was before?』 Andropou (ἀνθρώπου) is the same word as the Hebrew word adama. Adamah means the first man, Adam.

And Jesus Christ represents the last Adam. The last Adam is the one who came from heaven. This includes the meaning that the first man, Adam, also came from heaven. So, all beings in this world are also from heaven. In Colossians 1:15, “Who is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of every creature:.”

 

“Androphon, who is represented as the Son of Man,” originally came down from heaven, so he ascended into heaven. John 1:51 『And he saith unto him, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Hereafter ye shall see heaven open, and the angels of God ascending and descending upon the Son of man.』The Son of Man refers to Christ. . It means that the angels who sinned come down to this earth with the first man, Adam, and return to the kingdom of God with the last man, Adam.

The word ascension means that Christ returned to his original place. This means that those who are in Christ will return to their original position as angels. In the resurrection debate, Jesus expressed that the state of resurrection is like that of an angel. In Luke 20:36, “Neither can they die any more: for they are equal unto the angels; and are the children of God, being the children of the resurrection.』

In John 14:2-3, 『In my Father's house are many mansions: if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you.

And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you unto myself; that where I am, there ye may be also.』

In the Ascension of Christ, Jesus said that he was going to prepare a place for the saints. Because the angels sinned, God took away their home and imprisoned them in the dust, turning them into humans. But the sinners repented, took off their fleshly bodies, put on their spiritual bodies, and returned to the kingdom of God, so they returned to their original homes.

In 2 Corinthians 5:1-2, “For we know that if our earthly house of this tabernacle were dissolved, we have a building of God, a house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens. For in this we groan, earnestly desiring to be clothed upon with our house which is from heaven:』

In 1 Peter 3:22, “Who is gone into heaven, and is on the right hand of God; angels and authorities and powers being made subject unto him.』Christ ascended to heaven, meaning that he returned to the place of God.

 

 

 

2. Ascension of Elijah (John)

2 Kings 2:11-15 『And it came to pass, as they still went on, and talked, that, behold, there appeared a chariot of fire, and horses of fire, and parted them both asunder; and Elijah went up by a whirlwind into heaven. And Elisha saw it, and he cried, My father, my father, the chariot of Israel, and the horsemen thereof. And he saw him no more: and he took hold of his own clothes, and rented them in two pieces. He took up also the mantle of Elijah that fell from him, and went back, and stood by the bank of Jordan; And he took the mantle of Elijah that fell from him, and smote the waters, and said, Where is the LORD God of Elijah? and when he also had smitten the waters, they parted hither and thither: and Elisha went over. And when the sons of the prophets which were to see at Jericho saw him, they said, The spirit of Elijah didth rest on Elisha. And they came to meet him, and bowed themselves to the ground before him.』

Elijah's ascension can be said to be a type of the resurrected Jesus' ascension to heaven and a foreshadowing of the resurrection and ascension that all redeemed saints will enjoy. “The fiery chariot and the fiery horses separated the two” means that the resurrected Christ and the disciples were divided. This is because the resurrected Christ was wearing a spiritual body, and his disciples were still wearing physical bodies. The baptism of fire and the words of fire correspond to Genesis 3:24, and the cherubim (angels) and the sword of fire correspond to the sword of fire. This means that in order for the disciples to ascend to heaven, their physical bodies must die by being struck by a fiery sword (baptism of fire).

『he took hold of his own clothes, and rent them in two pieces.』Elisha was a disciple of Elijah. So, Elisha dies to his own clothes (his old soul). The baptism of fire is death to the soul (a type of death on the cross). And Elisha picked up “the robe that fell from Elijah’s body (a type of resurrection)” and put it on. This means that we participated in the resurrection of Christ and received a spiritual body of heavenly life. He struck the water with his cloak, and the river parted, and he crossed over. This is because when Joshua led the people into Canaan, he struck the Jordan River and it dried up. It has the same meaning as Jesus being baptized in the Jordan River.

John the Baptist was the one who came as the spirit of Elijah. In Luke 1:17, “And he shall go before him in the spirit and power of Elias, to turn the hearts of the fathers to the children, and the disobedient to the wisdom of the just; to make ready a people prepared for the Lord.』

Elijah was the one prophesied by the prophet Malachi. In Malachi 3:1, Behold, I will send my messenger, and he shall prepare the way before me: and the LORD, whom ye seek, shall suddenly come to his temple, even the messenger of the covenant, whom ye delight in : behold, he shall come, saith the LORD of hosts.』 Elijah came before Jesus and said, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.” He was a person who prepared to spread the gospel of Jesus. He foretells the death and resurrection of the cross.

 

Ⅱ. baptism

1. Water, Spirit, and Blood

1 John 5:6-8 『This is he that came by water and blood, even Jesus Christ; not by water only, but by water and blood. And it is the Spirit that beareth witness, because the Spirit is truth. For there are three that bear record in heaven, the Father, the Word, and the Holy Ghost: and these three are one. And there are three that bear witness in earth, the Spirit, and the water, and the blood: and these three agree in one.』

This is a content explaining “the evidence of faith that Jesus is the Son of God.” Water means law. This is the Christ hidden in the law. Blood represents Jesus who came to this world and died on the cross. Jesus Christ existed within the law, and after John the Baptist, when the age of the law ended, he came directly to this world in the flesh.

The one who testifies is Jesus Christ. Jesus testifies even within the law, before his death on the cross, and after his death on the cross and resurrection. This means that Jesus Christ who is in the law, Jesus Christ who came to the world in the flesh and died on the cross according to the law, and Christ who was resurrected by the Holy Spirit are the ones who bear witness. So, the one who testifies is Jesus Christ.

John 15:26-27 『But when the Comforter is come, whom I will send unto you from the Father, even the Spirit of truth, which proceedeth from the Father, he shall testify of me: And ye also shall bear witness. , because ye have been with me from the beginning.』

When believers talk about the present resurrection, people in the church do not believe it, but the Holy Spirit, who is the truth, testifies. Those who are in Christ are people born of water and the Holy Spirit, and go on to receive the baptism of the Holy Spirit, receive a resurrected body that is heavenly life, and become ministers who spread the word of God. To preach the Word is to preach “the death of the cross and the present resurrection.” However, preaching the word today does not preach the “resurrection after the death of the body” and the second coming of Christ into the heart.

 

2. Water baptism

In John 3:5, “Jesus answered, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God.”

Water means water baptism and death to sin. Because we die to sin, God gives us a good heart. In 1 Peter 3:21, “The like figure whereunto even baptism doth also now save us (not the putting away of the filth of the flesh, but the answer of a good conscience toward God,) by the resurrection of Jesus Christ:”

Baptism is also expressed in Romans 6:3: “Know ye not, that so many of us as were baptized into Jesus Christ were baptized into his death?” Baptism includes water baptism and fire baptism. Water baptism is death to sin, and fire baptism is death to the soul (old self). The old person is not an object of change, but of death. Because it contains the desire(sin) to become like God.

 

3. Meaning of blood

John 6:54-56 『Whoso eateth my flesh, and drinketh my blood, hath eternal life; and I will raise him up at the last day. For my flesh is meat indeed, and my blood is drink indeed. He that eateth my flesh, and drinketh my blood, dwelleth in me, and I in him.』

Blood has the meaning of atonement. To receive forgiveness for their sins, the sinner took the blood of the lamb and sprinkled it on the altar. The blood of Jesus is the blood of redemption shed to save all people in the world. Redemption is the concept of purchasing Satan's slaves by paying a blood price. So, being united with Jesus who died on the cross means drinking blood and drinking wine during the Holy Communion.

And “eating the flesh” means joining with the resurrection, which is heavenly life. As Christ is resurrected, those who are united with Him also bear the fruit of resurrection. It means dying to the flesh that comes from the worldly body and being reborn from heaven. Those who are united with Jesus Christ become one with Him. So, the saints enter into Him, and He also enters into the saints and works.

 

4. Baptism of the Holy Spirit

John 1:33-34『And I knew him not: but he that sent me to baptize with water, the same said unto me, Upon whom thou shalt see the Spirit descending, and remaining on him, the same is he which baptizeth with the Holy Ghost. And I saw, and bare record that this is the Son of God.』

The baptism of the Holy Spirit is when Jesus gives the baptism of the Holy Spirit to those who have been baptized in water and fire. Water baptism is done by human hands. In the church, it is commonly called baptism, and it is a ritual of being immersed in water. Water baptism is an expression of drowning in water. Dead to sin. Water baptism is not a concept of washing away sins, but rather, sins are dead, and sins judged according to the law are no longer established. It tells us that a person who is dead to sin is a being who has left the law.

So, God gives us a baptism of fire with the Holy Spirit. Baptism by fire is the death of the soul (something like clothes) that a person has from birth. The soul is the same concept as the leather garment in Genesis 3:21, and is called the physical body (fresh). In Romans 6:4, “Therefore we are buried with him by baptism into death: that like as Christ was raised up from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life.”

The body of flesh is here expressed as the body of sin. So, “crucifixion” includes water baptism and fire baptism. Dying on the cross with Jesus means atonement (water baptism), but it also means that the sinner himself died (fire baptism). If a believer only believes that his sins are forgiven through the blood of Jesus, he has never been baptized by fire.

A sinner kills a sacrificial lamb and gives its blood to a priest, who sprinkles the blood on the altar and burns its flesh and skin. The blood corresponds to water baptism, and the “burning of the flesh” corresponds to fire baptism.

Water baptism is often compared to Noah's flood, and is God's judgment on those who do not repent of their sins. The baptism of fire is likened to Sodom and Gomorrah, and is God's judgment on the sin of following another flesh. Jude 1:7 『Even as Sodom and Gomorrha, and the cities about them in like manner, giving themselves over to fornication, and going after strange(ἑτέρας) flesh(σαρκὸς), are set forth for an example, suffering the vengeance of eternal fire.』Sarchos, which is otherwise translated as “flesh,” does not mean the body received from parents (soma: shell-like), but rather the body into which the spirit has entered (old man: body of flesh, body of sin).

Sarkos is the spirit entering the body. Following another flesh means following a being other than God in the flesh (a carnal mind that wants to be like God). Gnosticism represents a religion that discovers that there is divinity within humans and seeks to find it.

“Judgment on the Gnostics” is the third judgment on Sodom and Gomorrah mentioned in the Book of Jude. Sodom and Gomorrah were places of severe idolatry. This means spiritual adultery. It is described as an obscene place, which generally refers to idolatry, which is spiritual adultery, and is presumed to be a reference to the fact that there were many sexual relationships with priestesses during idol worship at the time.

 

Ⅲ. becoming one

1. Gethsemane Prayer

John 17:11 『And now I am no more in the world, but these are in the world, and I come to thee. Holy Father, keep through thine own name those whom thou hast given me, that they may be one, as we are.』

Jesus dies on the cross and returns to the original kingdom of God. There are disciples in the world, and we ask you to preserve them in the name of the Father. It is to be kept in the name (Ho Logos) that God possesses. This means that God the Father will protect those who are in Christ. So the saints become one with God, and the saints also become one with each other. This is the Trinity theory.

John 17:14 『I have given them thy word; and the world hath hated them, because they are not of the world, even as I am not of the world.』

Those who live by the word of the Hologos (Christ) (those who believe in the cross and present resurrection) are those who are separated from the world. That's why the world hates them. The world is ruled by Satan. The people of Hologos listen to His words and live according to His words. What Jesus wants is to prevent believers from falling into evil. In order for believers to avoid falling into evil, all they have to do is live according to the words of Hologos. It is united with the death of the cross and the present resurrection.

John 17:16 “They are not of the world, even as I am not of the world.” Those who belong to the world are those who have fallen into evil. The evil of the world is greed, the lover of the flesh, and that is why he loves the world. However, those who do not belong to the world are those who believe that they physically die with Jesus and receive a resurrection body in heaven. Just as Jesus does not belong to the world, Jesus wants his disciples to do the same.

John 17:21 『That they all may be one; as thou, Father, art in me, and I in thee, that they also may be one in us: that the world may believe that thou hast sent me. “Please make it happen.” Just as the Father and the Son become one through the Holy Spirit, it means that the disciples also become one with the Father in Christ.

This is the story of Jesus praying to God for the outcome of his future resurrection as he stays with his disciples ahead of his work on the cross. The content is 『Please make us one』. 『Just as the Father and I are one, so “the disciples and all those who are led by the disciples” to become one with the Father in Christ』 Jesus asked. It is to pray. In Ephesians 5:30-32, “For we are members of his body, of his flesh, and of his bones. For this cause shall a man leave his father and mother, and shall be joined unto his wife, and they two shall be one flesh. This is a great mystery: but I speak concerning Christ and the church.』

Genesis 2:22-24 also says the same thing. 『And the rib, which the LORD God had taken from man, made him a woman, and brought her unto the man. And Adam said, This is now bone of my bones, and flesh of my flesh: she shall be called Woman, because she was taken out of Man. Therefore shall a man leave his father and his mother, and shall cleave unto his wife: and they shall be one flesh.』Originally, just as Adam and Eve were one body, Christ and the church (saints) are one body.

Christ is the one sent from God in the kingdom of God. From Adam came one member, Eve. Because its members came out, it was no longer one body. In other words, they became two bodies, and God said that this man (Christ) would leave his parents (God), that is, go to the member in the world, unite with those members, become one, and bring them to God. This word is explained in Ephesians 5:30-32 through the Apostle Paul.

John 17:22-23 『And the glory which thou gavest me I have given them; that they may be one, even as we are one: I in them, and thou in me, that they may be made perfect in one; and that the world may know that thou hast sent me, and hast loved them, as thou hast loved me.』

Becoming one with God the Father is the path to salvation. To become one, we must become one through Jesus Christ. To come through Jesus Christ, he must believe that he will die with Jesus and participate in the present resurrection together. In other words, a person born from heaven becomes one with God the Father.

John 17:24 『Father, I will that they also, whom thou hast given me, be with me where I am; that they may behold my glory, which thou hast given me: for thou lovedst me before the foundation of the world..』

God first gave birth to Christ and created all things through Christ. God the Creator, who is Christ, came to the world. Because certain events took place in the kingdom of God, “Christ’s coming into the world” was predestined and planned by God before the creation of the world. This is the secret of heaven hidden from the creation of the world.

“The purpose of Jesus Christ coming to this world” can be explained in various ways. First, in Matthew 20:28, “Even as the Son of man came not to be ministered unto, but to minister, and to give his life a ransom for many.” “The debt I have or what I deserve.” Something that someone else does for you. For example, if you cannot pay a debt, and someone else pays it for you, it is called atonement. God pays the price of sinners with the blood of Jesus.

John 17:26 『And I have declared unto them thy name, and will declare it: that the love wherewith thou hast loved me may be in them, and I in them.』

 

2. Vine and branches

John 15:1-2 『I am the true vine, and my Father is the husbandman. Every branch (Me Peron Carpon) in me that beareth (Me Peron Carpon) not fruit he taketh away (Airei): (Auto) and every branch that beareth fruit, he purgeth (Kadayrei) it, that it may bring forth more fruit.』

Ayrei (αἴρει) means to lift. The phrase “remove it” is a translation error. Auto (αὐτό) is the branch. Become every branch in Jesus.

Mepheron Karpon (μὴ φέρον καρπὸν) means “not yet bearing fruit.” In other words, lifting up branches that have not yet produced fruit. Tie the branches to the bracket to lift them. That is why the farmer allows the crops to bear fruit.

Kadairay (καθαίρει) is the practice of removing the insignificant surrounding grapes so that the grapes can grow well. In other words, “the work of thinning grapes to make them abundant” was translated as “cleaning.” This means that even those who are together in Christ are cut off if they bear no fruit, but this is not the case. If there are no fruits, you must manage them well so that they bear fruit.

John 15:3-4 『Now ye are clean through the word(διὰ τὸν λόγον) which I have spoken unto you. Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, except it abide in the vine; no more can ye, except ye abide in me.』

Diaton Logon (διὰ τὸν λόγον) is “those who have built a new temple in their hearts and live by the word of Christ’s resurrection life.” These are those who have already been cleansed. In other words, they are the branches that have had small fruits around them removed so that the resurrection fruits can grow abundantly. So, the message is to abide in Christ, the hologos. As long as the branches are attached to the tree, they bear resurrection fruits.

 

John 15:5-6 『I am the vine, ye are the branches: He that abideth in me, and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit: for without me ye can do nothing.If a man abide not in me, he cast forth as a branch, and is withered; and men gather them, and cast them into the fire, and they are burned.』

If believers are not in Christ, they become branches that cannot remain on the tree. Jesus is the true vine, a true and pure vine, so unless he is attached to Jesus, he cannot bear resurrection fruit, and "God the Father, the farmer, removes all the branches of the vine that do not bear fruit and burns them. It is a warning teaching that “you will judge.”

If believers are not in Christ, they become branches that cannot remain on the tree. “Not being able to do anything” means not knowing about the kingdom of God. You are born of water and the Spirit. It is almost impossible for a branch to fall off the tree, but if it does, it will dry out and burn. The word “dry” means being thrown into the world, and the word “burning” means being subject to the second death.

 

John 15:8 『Herein is my Father glorified, that ye bear much fruit; So shall ye be my disciples.』So, when believers bear the fruit of resurrection life, God will be glorified. For a believer to bear the fruit of resurrection life, Christ becomes the master in the believer's heart.

 

3. Jesus washes the feet of his disciples

John 13:4-5 『He rose from the supper, and laid aside his garments; and he took a towel, and girded himself. After that he pouredeth water into a basson, and began to wash the disciples' feet, and to wipe them with the towel wherewith he was girded.』

Wearing a towel around one's waist is a form of servant. Washing feet does not mean washing away sin. “What Jesus first demonstrated” was for his disciples to do this to each other. Just as the Father and His Son become one, “Jesus and his disciples become one” is expressed through foot washing. That is why the disciples are also told to go out into the world and wash feet.

“The hands of Jesus and the feet of the disciples” become one. Jesus' hands represent power, but the disciples' feet are the feet that work to bring fruit to believers. The power of Jesus goes to the disciples, allowing them to bear fruit of heavenly resurrection life in others.

John 13:6-7 『Then cometh he to Simon Peter: and Peter saith(λέγει) unto him, Lord, dost thou wash my feet? Jesus answered and said unto him, What I do thou knowest(οἶδας) not(οὐκ) now; but thou shalt know hereafter.』

Reggae (λέγει) uses the present tense. This expresses Peter's own thoughts. “You will know later” means that when Jesus dies on the cross and Christ enters the heart, hearing His voice revives the dead spirit. This is loving brothers. οὐκ means negation. Oidas (οἶδας) is knowing a certain fact. This means that you will come to know Jesus when he died on the cross and was resurrected, enters the hearts of believers, and establishes a relationship with him. 

John 13:8 『Peter saith unto him, Thou shalt never wash my feet. Jesus answered him, If I wash thee not, thou hast no part with me.

Peter does not know Jesus’ meaning. Previously, Jesus had said that he would die and be resurrected three days later, but he protested, saying, "You can't do that." “Uk ekeis meros met emu” (οὐκ ἔχεις μέρος μετ’ ἐμοῦ) means “you have no portion with me.” The portion means the kingdom of God. If I refuse to wash your feet, you have nothing of me or of the kingdom of God. “Washing feet” has to do with one’s portion in the kingdom of God. If you are not one with God, you have no share in the kingdom of God.

John 13:9-10 『Simon Peter saith unto him, Lord, not my feet only, but also my hands and my head. Jesus saith to him, He that is washed needeth not save to wash his feet, but is clean every whit: and ye are clean, but not all.』

This is a parable. A person who bathes represents “a person who goes into the water and washes his or her entire body.” Anyone who enters the water means receiving water baptism and symbolizes the person who dies with Jesus. However, because Jesus washes the disciples' feet, they will be united with the death of the cross and receive the fruit of resurrection, but there are some who do not. This is exactly what is being said about Judas Iscariot. Chapter 13 Verse 11 『For he knew who should betray him; therefore said he, Ye are not all clean.』"Jesus said this" probably because he was conscious of Judas Iscariot, who had already begun to be dominated by greed. Jesus is warning Judas Iscariot through these words. Jesus was more heartbroken over the one disciple with whom he was eating, but who was deceived by himself and was on the path to destruction, than over the other disciples who would abandon him and disperse. 

John 13:12 “So after he had washed their feet, and had taken his garments, and was set down again, he said unto them, Know ye what I have done to you?” The words “put on” symbolize putting on the clothes of resurrection again. Ginoskete (γινώσκετε) is knowing through relationship, and is known only through relationship with Christ. This speaks to the importance of servant leadership. “Serving (koionia)” is a humble attitude. The reason is that in order for the disciples to convey resurrection life to their brothers, they need to humble themselves by washing their feet. This is service. Those who cannot pass on the present resurrection life to their brothers are not those who serve, are not humble, and do not love their brothers. It can be said that he is a person who is not one with God. Today, those who misinform believers about “the death of the body and its resurrection” are those who do not love their brothers.

John 13:13-14 『Ye call me Master and Lord: and ye say well; for so I am. If I then, your Lord and Master, have washed your feet; ye also ought to wash one another's feet.』

“Lord and Teacher” means someone who serves and does ministry. The one who washes the feet of the disciples to give them resurrection life is “Serving Jesus.” Many ministers today often act as those who seek to dominate rather than serve. Because they do not know the meaning of Jesus’ service. Since Jesus set an example of service, he tells his disciples to do the same thing. When viewed through the eyes of the body, serving may be thought of as making sacrifices, serving, and making efforts, but when viewed through the eyes of the spirit, it is about passing on the death of the cross and resurrection life.

 

 

 

Part 5. Spreading the Gospel and Comforting the Saints

 

Ⅰ. spread the gospel

1. Feed my sheep

John 21:15 『So when they had dined, Jesus saith to Simon Peter, Simon, son of Jonas, lovest (Agapas) thou me more than these? He saith unto him, Yea, Lord; thou knowest that I love (Philo) thee. He said unto him, Feed my lambs.』

Philo (phileo) is love between friends. Jesus asked with agape (love for values), but Peter answered with phileo. They are out of focus. However, Jesus tells us to feed the lambs. The lamb of Jesus means the sheep that Jesus must take. In the eyes of Jesus, Peter still seemed to be without agape love. So Jesus speaks again.

In chapter 21 verse 16, “He saith to him again the second time, Simon, son of Jonas, lovest thou me? He saith unto him, Yea, Lord; thou knowest that I love thee. He saith unto him, Feed my sheep.』 The same words are repeated here. Even in the second sentence, in Jesus' view, Peter still did not have agape love. So Jesus speaks again.

In chapter 21 verse 17, “He saith unto him the third time, Simon, son of Jonas, lovest thou me? Peter was grieved (Elyupede) because he said unto him the third time, Lovest (Phileo) thou me? And he said unto him, Lord, thou knowest all things; thou knowest (Ginos case) that I love (Philo) thee. Jesus said unto him, Feed my sheep.』

This time, Jesus asked Peter a phileo question. “Do you consider me your friend and love me?” Jesus asked. Ginoscase (γινώσκειςGinosko) is knowing through relationships. Agape refers to the resurrected Jesus' "value as God (death and resurrection on the cross)." Only those who realize its value can know that it works in the hearts of believers. However, if most believers think of Jesus as Philo, they do not know its value.

Peter realized the value of Jesus, but his heart was not ready to accept Him with agape. So, Jesus goes down to Peter's eye level and corrects it with Phileo. However, when Bedorus heard these words from Jesus, he became worried. The Greek word “elupedeh” means to be saddened. The reason is that Peter should have told Jesus the third time that he loved him with agape, but because he could not, Peter was sad about his faith.

The saints must be brought into the state of God and become one. Before the resurrection of Jesus, God came down to the state of humans, but after the resurrection, the saints must be brought up to the state of the resurrected Jesus. However, if a believer still remains stuck in the death of the cross, it will be difficult. “The fundamental purpose of Jesus’ agape” is to revive the dead spirit. This is the death and resurrection of the cross. If believers are not presently united with the death of the cross and not presently united with the resurrection, they do not know the love of Agape and cannot convey Agape love to others.

 

2. Appearance of the seven churches

Revelation 1:1 『The Revelation (Apocalypse) of Jesus Christ, which God gave unto him, to shew unto his servants things (Genesdai) which must shortly come to pass; and he sent and signified it by his angel unto his servant his John:』

This is a revelation about Jesus Christ. This means that “Ho Deos” is the source of the revelation that “Ho Deos” handed over to Jesus Christ. “Ho Deos” wants to show his servants “things that must be done in a short time” to his servant John through his angel, hastily establishing the truth, and through symbols.

“Apocalypse” is the revelation of Jesus Christ and is also the theme of the Book of Revelation. This means “remove the cover.” This means revealing what has been hidden. In other words, the Ark of the Covenant is opened. This shows the hidden stone tablet. This means that because Jesus opened the cover, John realized its meaning. The substance of its meaning is the seven covenants. “What are known as the Ten Commandments” are not the Commandments but the Ten Covenants.

When a believer “knows the seven covenants as ten covenants,” he or she becomes seventy. Ten is said to be a perfect number quantitatively, and seven is said to be a perfect number qualitatively. The ten covenants were given by God to humans, and through this we are to realize the seven covenants. However, the Israelites understood the covenant as a commandment. So, they tried to watch this with their own strength. What he tried to do with his own strength was the tree of knowledge of good and evil.

The Bible is a book about covenant, and both Genesis and Revelation are about covenant. The substance of the covenant is Jesus Christ. This is a secret, but only those who understand by the Holy Spirit will know the secret. Genesdai means to become.

Chapter 1 Verse 2『Who bare(Eiden) record of the word(Ton Logon) of God(Tou Deu), and of the testimony(Ten Marturian) of Jesus Christ, and of all things that he saw.』

This is the revelation that “Ho Theos (the Father) handed over to Jesus Christ.” The handing over procedure is “Ho Theos to Jesus Christ (Theos: Ho Logos),” to the angel, to John, and to the church (servants). The gospel is the testimony of Jesus Christ. “Ton Logon to Deu” is the word of the gospel of God the Father, and “Ten Marturian Jesus Christu” refers to Jesus Christ. “Eiden” means seeing evidence of Jesus Christ.

Chapter 1, Verse 3『Blessed is he that readeth (anaginoscon), and they that hear the words (tus logus) of this prophecy, and keep those things which are written therein: for the time is at hand (kairos enguis) ).』

“Tooth Logos” is the plural Words. “Logos without article” is a talking word. However, when an article is added, it means Christ, the Word, and when it is plural, it becomes the Word of God. "Anaginoskon (ἀναγινώσκων)" is a compound word of ana (from above) and ginoskon (alda: Hebrew yada). Those who know, hear, and keep the Word through their relationship with God are blessed.

Blessing means eternal life and resurrection. This means that “believing in the One whom God has sent, Jesus Christ,” is the blessing of eternal life and resurrection. Here, the blessing is expressed in three ways: “those who read (anaginoscon) the word (tus logus), those who hear, and those who keep what is written in it.” “Reading the Word” means realizing, knowing, and feeling the above things through letters. “He who understands the things above” can spread the word of life (the cross and resurrection) to others.

“Hearing” is a prophetic word. The prophecy is something that will happen soon. The Book of Revelation is a prophetic epistle with an apocalyptic character. So, in the Book of Revelation, apocalyptic expressions, historical facts, and symbolic expressions are mixed.

When I compare this book of Revelation with Genesis (chapters 1-3), other epistles, and the Book of Acts, many similar expressions appear. Believers should think about the Book of Revelation based on “the perspective of the law and the gospel, the concept and understanding of the temple, and how the old and the new change.” For example, when the Bible expresses the temple, it is expressed as the temple in Jerusalem, Jesus Christ, and the temple in the hearts of the saints. The fundamental will of God is to establish the kingdom of God in the heart. These expressions are also symbolic. There are many people who see the Book of Revelation as a contrast between the kingdom of God and the world, but that is not the point.

“Blessed is he who keeps what is written in it” (ἐν αὐτῇ γεγραμμένα), “what is written” means what is engraved in the hearts of the saints. The saints are to keep what is engraved (New Temple: Resurrection) carefully. .

Kairos is God's time and means the time when God's kingdom is realized. This is the same context as Jesus saying that the kingdom of God has come near. So, Jesus wants the kingdom of God to come into the hearts of all people living on this earth through Jesus Christ. The “object of spiritual warfare” is the other me (old temple) in my heart. So, the words “denying myself” are a fight between me (the new self) who conforms to the Word of God and me (the old self) who tries to follow the flesh.

Romans 8:5 “For they that are after the flesh do mind the things of the flesh; but they that are after the Spirit the things of the Spirit.”

Chapter 1 Verse 4 『John to the seven churches which are in Asia: Grace be unto you, and peace, from him which is, and which was, and which is to come (orchomenos); and from the seven Spirits (Pneumaton) which are before his throne.』

Asia means morning. In other words, it represents a new era. Ecclesia (brought out by force) is today called the church. These are people who have been called out of the world. The church is the Xdosed ones. Moses comes out of Pharaoh's palace, and saints come out of the world. Today, the gathering of believers is called a church community. This means that the gathering of saints who have become a church established in the heart can be called a church community, but if there are no true saints, it cannot be considered a church community, and it becomes like a club meeting.

The church is likened to a woman. In Matthew 25, the church is five chaste virgins waiting for the Bridegroom. The groom is the man (jackal: remember the covenant) who has the seed (tzera). The seed is the seed of the word of the covenant, meaning Christ. Christ proclaims this through the Word, through John, to the seven churches in Asia.

The meaning of the seven churches refers to saints who have a covenant. In Genesis chapter 1, the seventh day is represented by the seven churches in Revelation. This covenant is an expression of God's love that the last Adam will save "those who came into the world from the first Adam."

『He who exists now, who existed before, and who is about to come. God is the God who currently exists, exists incompletely, and is still coming. Erkomenos (ἐρχόμενος) means “to come.” It is not the future, it is coming now.

In Exodus 3:14, “And God said unto Moses, I AM THAT I AM: and he said, Thus shalt thou say unto the children of Israel, I AM hath sent me unto you.”

The expression “I AM (Hayah Aser Haya)” becomes eimi (existence) in Greek. “Haya Asher Haya” is the God of heaven and the God of beings who came down from heaven to earth. “Haya” is the present, incomplete, and still working God. God is not bound by tense. This means that he is the God of the living.

『the seven Spirits which are before his throne』 Regarding the throne, in Matthew 5:34, 『But I say unto you, Swear not at all; neither by heaven; for it is God's throne: 』Heaven is the throne of Hotheos. Since heaven is used in the singular, the throne is in the temple. In Revelation 4:5, “And out of the throne proceeded lightnings and thunderings and voices: and there were seven lamps of fire burning before the throne, which are the seven Spirits of God.” The seven lamps (lampstand) are the seven spirits. . The throne is behind the seven lampstands, so it is in the Holy of Holies. It is the same concept as the temple in the hearts of believers or the Holy of Holies of the tabernacle.

『Seven (Hephtha) Spirits (Pneumaton)』 were called seven lampstands. The seven are the covenant, and the spirit is the word. This refers to the words of the covenant. God speaks of salvation through seven, but untruthful people are distorting God's will through their flesh. So, God continues to speak of seven (covenant) in the Book of Revelation. From the words of God's covenant, grace and peace are given. This means that if a believer does not have the words of the covenant and lives by the law, there will be no grace and peace. The “fulfiller of the covenant” is Jesus Christ, and the saints who enter into Christ also become the fulfillers of the covenant. Fulfillment of the covenant means, “By participating in the death of Jesus on the cross and the resurrection of Christ, saints also bear the fruit of present resurrection.”

“The gospel to the church” means “let a new temple be built in the hearts of the saints.” On the surface, it means writing a letter to the seven churches in the world, and further spreading this gospel to all the churches symbolized by the seven churches, but ultimately, the message is for believers to spread the gospel of the kingdom of God in the hearts of others. will be. As believers preach the death and resurrection of the cross, other believers also undergo a present resurrection, a new temple is built, and Christ returns and enters and lives spiritually with Him.

 

3. The Appearance of the Antichrist

1 John 2:18 『Little children, it is the last time: and as ye have heard that antichrist shall come, even now there are many antichrists; whereby we know that it is the last time.』

“Those who can fall victim to the Antichrist” are not those who have been born again, but those who lead a childlike religious life. Antichrist here means “those who hinder the gospel.” Legalists, humanists, and gnostics are the antichrists. In the Bible, it is said that “the son of perdition will appear at the end of time,” but the Antichrist here is “not the son of perdition.” So, since it was said to be the Antichrist at the time of translation, Escate (ἐσχάτη) was translated as the end times. “Escate” means a time when there is no hope. They go to church, but because they live a religious life like the antichrist, they have become persecutors of Jesus.

Chapter 2 Verse 19 『They went out from us, but they were not of us; for if they had been of us, they would no doubt have continued with us: but they went out, that they might be made manifest that they were not all of us.』

“Going out of us” means that they are understood as having gone out of the church, but they are still in the church, but not a community of faith. If we are of the same faith community, it means that we become “those who dwell with us.” To abide with us is to abide in Christ. These days, things like this are happening in many churches. Although they are in the same church, those who are in Christ and those who are outside of Christ mix with each other, making it seem like a community of faith. “Phanerdosin (φανερωθῶσιν)” means that they appear not to be in Christ. So, believers can know what kind of religious life those in Christ live.

Christ is the one anointed by God. Those who are in Christ are also anointed. Jesus, who came to this world, was anointed as king, prophet, and priest. However, the resurrected Jesus becomes the one who anoints those who are born again. The baptism of the Holy Spirit falls under this category. So, those who are not in Christ are not anointed. The baptism of the Holy Spirit is the grace of God given by the Lord to those who are born again. The baptism of the Holy Spirit is a special grace that God gives to believers to make them servants of God.

So, those who receive the baptism of the Holy Spirit become royal priests. Jesus told his disciples that when they received the Holy Spirit, he would "preach the gospel to Samaria and to the ends of the earth." Anyone who does not receive the baptism of the Holy Spirit is not in Christ, the truth, and therefore becomes a false prophet.

False prophets do not speak of the death of the cross and the present resurrection. They teach that although the death of the cross forgave only past sins, "present and future sins must again be forgiven by the blood of Jesus." “Resurrection also takes place when the body dies,” they teach believers. This is a false gospel.

Chapter 2 Verses 22-23 『Who is a liar but he that denieth that Jesus is the Christ? He is antichrist, that denieth the Father and the Son. Whosoever denieth the Son, the same hath not the Father: he that acknowledgeth the Son hath the Father also.』

This does not refer to people outside the church, but to those who lie within the church. John is pointing out that “people who have not even received the baptism of the Holy Spirit” act as if they are anointed. These people misunderstand the belief in the Trinity.

Most churches today speak of God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit. This is a false belief in the Trinity. The Trinity means “the oneness of God the Father, the Son Jesus Christ, and the saints through the Holy Spirit.” However, we are talking about the Trinity, excluding the saints. Rather, it results in dividing God into three parts and makes them confused about God.

Most churches today explain that in the kingdom of God, God the Father, God the Son (Creator), and God the Holy Spirit each exist as persons and are one with each other. Therefore, false pastors explain with the logic that God is three, yet one. This is theology. However, believers must realize that “Jehovah God is one, and that the Father, His Son, and the saints are one through the operation of the Holy Spirit.”

Regarding false prophets and false teachers, Paul, Peter, James, and Jude also point out this. In particular, in the case of Judah, it was said that the false prophets' wrong actions were "like those who were trapped in darkness because they could not maintain their position in the kingdom of God, like Balaam," and "like those who were at the time of the judgment of Sodom and Gomorrah."

Peter also expressed it as “an angel who sinned and was imprisoned in hell” and “like one who was destroyed during Noah’s flood.” To this extent, false prophets, especially hired pastors today who preach distorted words of the Bible, are antichrists.

 

 

4. War against false prophets

1 John 4:1 『Beloved, believe not every spirit, but try (Dokimazete) the spirits whether they are of God: because many false prophets are gone out into the world.』

Agapetoi (Ἀγαπητοί) means ‘those who are loved by God’, and ‘Dokimazete (δοκιμάζετε) to discern’ means to thoroughly examine and judge well. “Many false prophets emerged” means “those who spread false gospels based on humanism, legalism, and gnosticism entered the church.” The target of believers' spiritual warfare is not Satan, but the false prophets under Satan. We must judge their spirit.

Chapter 4, Verses 2-3『Hereby know(Ginoskedeh) ye the Spirit of God: Every spirit that confesseth that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh is of God: And every spirit that confesseth not that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh (Sarki) is not of God: and this is that spirit of antichrist, whereof ye have heard that it should come; and even now already is it in the world.』

“Ginoskete (γινώσκετε)” means to know (Hebrew: yada), and to become one through the Holy Spirit. It means that the hearts of believers work through the inspiration of the Holy Spirit. “Sarki (σαρκὶflesh)” means incarnation. Incarnation means Emmanuel. This means that the incarnation should not be thought of as God, but as the human Christ. It is the presence of God in the flesh. A born again saint is also incarnated in Christ, and Christ has entered into the saint. “(The coming of Jesus Christ in the flesh)” There are some manuscripts that omit this part. Of course, even if it is missing, you can tell from the context that it is an extension of the previous part.

“Those who do not believe in the Emmanuel faith” are the same as not believing in the saint’s Emmanuel. This means “not believing that a temple is built in the hearts of believers in Christ and that Christ returns and enters that temple.” It means that those who do not believe it are false prophets.

Chapter 1 Verses 5-6 『They are of the world: therefore speak they of the world, and the world heareth them. We are of God: he that knoweth God heareth us; he that is not of God heareth not us. Hereby know we the spirit of truth, and the spirit of error.』

“Worldly words” mean ups and downs. Everything that leads to success in the world and material blessings is a faith that provides relief. “Aquei hemon (ἀκούει ἡμῶν)” means “to hear what we have.” “Hemon (ἡμῶν)” is a genitive and the object is missing. It means “listening to our ( ).” ( ) is the Holy Spirit who conveys the truth. If we make a mistake, they may think, “They are not listening to John.”

“Those who are loved by God” become those who live the spirit of brotherhood. “Reviving the dead spirit of a neighbor” is love, and brothers encourage each other to be alive. Those who love one another do this through the power of the Holy Spirit. “Knowing God (γινώσκει)” means becoming one with God and the Holy Spirit. “Agape love, that is, God coming to the world in the flesh and dying on the cross,” is to save the dead spirit. So it becomes the fruit of resurrection.

 

Ⅱ. comfort of saints

1. Overcoming the world

1 John 5:4 『For whatsoever is born of God overcometh the world: and this is the victory that overcometh the world, even our faith. (He pistis hemon)』

“Those born of God” are those who are united in the death and resurrection of the cross and believe that they have been resurrected in the present. This means “one who has been reborn into resurrection life by the Holy Spirit.” “The reason they overcome the world” is because they are free from sin through Christ. 『Hepistis Hemon』 is our faith. It is not our faith, but “his (Christ’s) faith.” “The faith of Christ” means the faith of death on the cross and resurrection. Those who are in Christ have the faith of Christ and thus overcome the world.

Chapter 5 Verses 5-6 『Who is he that overcometh the world, but he that believeth that Jesus is the Son of God? This is he that came by water and blood, even Jesus Christ; not by water only, but by water and blood. And it is the Spirit that beareth witness, because the Spirit is truth.』

This is “content explaining the evidence of faith that Jesus is the Son of God.” “The reason John explains with water, blood, and the Holy Spirit” is to explain the unity of the Father, his Son, and the saints. So, those who become one with God become those who overcome the world. This is because he is not controlled by Satan, is not under the law, and is guided only by the Holy Spirit.

The spiritual battle of believers is to discern the words of false prophets, of which humanism, legalism, and gnosticism are representative examples. A representative example of humanism is the belief in blessings and fortunes. Legalists say, “You still have to keep the feasts, pay tithes, call the church building a temple, keep the feasts, repent every day, and have your sins forgiven through the blood of Jesus.”

Gnostics are those who say that the human body contains the nature of God, that believers must work hard to restore the image of God through religious life, and that believers must work hard to become holy. And they teach that resurrection is the resurrection of a dead body, and therefore do not believe in a present resurrection when believers are alive.

『This is the victory that overcometh the world, even our faith.』This faith is the faith of Christ, the faith of death on the cross and resurrection. Those who overcome the world through present resurrection are saints. By believing that one has been resurrected in the present, it means that one becomes a person who has nothing to do with the world.

 

2. Comforter

John 14:25-26 『These things have I spoken to you, being yet present with you.But the Comforter, which is the Holy Ghost, whom the Father will send in my name, he shall teach you all things, and bring all things to your remembrance, whatsoever I have said unto you.』

Comforter (parakletos παράκλητος) means “mediator, comforter, advocate.” In John 14:16, “And I will pray the Father, and he shall give you another Comforter, that he may abide with you for ever.” The Bible speaks of another Comforter.

Alon (ἄλλον) is a slightly different word, and Paracleton (παράκλητον) means one who helps by the side. There is a Holy Spirit who helps, but it seems as if there is another Holy Spirit. However, there are not two people, but one person. “Another Helper (Alon Paracleton)” means the Holy Spirit, and “the Original Helper” means Christ (the Comforter). In other words, Jesus played a helping role while he was in the world, but after Jesus was resurrected and ascended to heaven, he would send the Holy Spirit as a helper.

Jesus left his disciples. Jesus must be arrested, crucified, put into the tomb, then resurrected and ascended to heaven. After a while, the disciples will no longer be able to be with Jesus as before. The disciples who heard these words were embarrassed, but because Jesus had a body, his activities were limited in time and space. However, Jesus was resurrected, ascended to heaven, and returned to the hearts of the disciples to be with them and help them.

In 1 John 2:1, “My little children, these things I write to you, that ye sin not.” And if any man sin, we have an advocate(paracleton παράκλητον) with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous.』Jesus Christ ascended to heaven and speaks as a mediator to the Father. And, Jesus Christ enters the hearts of the saints and becomes their helper. In this way, the Trinity means that the Father and Christ and the saints become one through the Holy Spirit.

 

3. Millennium

Revelation 20:4 『And I saw thrones, and they sat upon them, and judgment was given unto them: and I saw the souls of them that were beheaded for the witness of Jesus, and for the word of God, and which had not worshiped the beast, neither his image, nor had received his mark upon their foreheads, or in their hands; and they lived(Eze Mountain) and reigned with Christ a thousand years.』

“I saw thrones, and they sat upon them, and judgment was given unto them:” In the Old Testament, kings had the authority to judge, but in the New Testament, saints have the authority to judge. The meaning is that saints are royal priests. In 1 Peter 2:9, “But ye are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a peculiar people; that ye should shew forth the praises of him who hath called you out of darkness into his marvelous light;”

In John 12:47-48, “And if any man hear my words, and believe not, I judge him not: for I came not to judge the world, but to save the world. He that rejecteth me, and receiveth not.” “my words, hath one that judgeth him: the word that I have spoken, the same shall judge him in the last day.”

“The way to rule” is to be beheaded. “Through the testimony of Jesus and the words of the Hologos (Christ), To be beheaded means to have one's head cut off. This means that the saints have become a new group of people who have not received the mark of the beast.

『They lived (Ezesan) and reigned with Christ a thousand years.』"Ejesan" means dying and then living (reborn: born with resurrection life). In other words, only those who died and came back to life through spiritual resurrection become people of the kingdom of God. Souls refer to living beings, and “those who have been beheaded” refer to those whose previous souls have died and who have received a soul (spirit body: resurrection) from heaven and been reborn into resurrection life. They are those who do not worship idols and do not receive the mark of Satan. That is why they are called the millennial kingdom.

Millennial kingdom is another name for heaven. When a saint becomes a citizen of heaven, he or she is in the millennium. There is a tendency to equate the millennium or heaven with the kingdom of God. “Heaven (heavenly kingdom)” in the Gospel of Matthew is the Greek word “he basileia ton uranon” and is the kingdom of God in the hearts of believers. Of course, the kingdom of God is a concept with a comprehensive meaning.

The millennium is when believers establish the kingdom of God while their bodies are still alive. In Matthew 3:2 it says, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand,” and heaven means Jesus Christ. A saint is a person who believes that Jesus Christ died on the cross and was resurrected. A temple (Holy of Holies) is established in the saint's heart, and when Christ enters the saint's heart, heaven becomes heaven. Accordingly, those who do not believe in the present resurrection are “those who do not believe in the second coming of Christ into the hearts of believers,” and they cannot be considered to have come to heaven.

Revelation 20:1-3『And I saw an angel come down from heaven, having the key of the bottomless pit and a great chain in his hand. And he laid hold on the dragon, that old serpent, which is the Devil, and Satan, and bound him a thousand years, And cast him into the bottomless pit, and shut him up, and set a seal upon him, that he should deceive the nations no more, till the thousand years should be fulfilled: and after that he must be loosed a little season.』

God is putting Satan into the abyss for a thousand years. So, Satan becomes inactive. “Satan’s authority to accuse sinners” is suspended for a certain period of time. The concept of a thousand years is the concept of God’s reign. God's kingdom under God's rule on this earth is the thousand-year kingdom. The kingdom of God is not a concept of time and space, but a concept of God's reign, and the millennium refers to the people of the kingdom of God.

Those who do not attain the millennium are spiritually dead. They are those who have not achieved resurrection. In Ephesians 2:2-5, “Wherein in time past ye walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that now works in the children of disobedience: Among whom also we all had our conversation in times past of our flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind; and were by nature the children of wrath, even as others, but God, who is rich in mercy, for his great love. wherewith he loved us, Even when we were dead in sins, hath quickened us together with Christ, (by grace ye are saved;)"

The saints, the church of the millennium, are born from heaven, helped and protected by the Comforter, and freed from Satan's control. However, God briefly restores Satan's right to prosecute. Satan still prosecutes sinners. So, a fierce war breaks out again between prosecutors and lawyers, and the saints, disciples who have been given power by Jesus Christ, also legally fight against Satan and his angels. In the end, the saints in Christ win.

Today, church people think that the millennium means the second coming of Jesus to earth and the kingdom ruled by Jesus. Accordingly, there will be a seven-year great tribulation in the world, and theories such as premillennialism, postmillennialism, and amillennialism emerged. And, based on the words of 1 Thessalonians 4, it is thought that there will be a lifting up so that believers can avoid tribulation. However, believers must realize that the second coming of Christ has already occurred.

When Christ returns, the saints will receive the name 144,000. So, the name of Jehovah is inscribed in the book of life in the hearts of the saints, and the names of the saints in Christ (144,000) are inscribed. This means the millennium. The millennium is not a concept of time and space, but is only a symbolic expression. It means the kingdom ruled by Christ, the kingdom of God in the hearts of believers.

 

Ⅲ. The Second Coming and Judgment of Christ

1. Second Coming for those in Christ

John 14:2-3『In my Father's house are many mansions: if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive (pararempsomai) you unto myself; that where I am, there ye may be also.』

“Preparing a place” refers to Jesus’ death on the cross and resurrection. “Building a house in the kingdom of God” means the presence of the kingdom of God in the hearts of believers. “I come again.” The resurrected Christ enters the hearts of believers. This is the second coming for those who are in Christ. Pararempsomai (παραλήμψομαι) is a compound word of para (beside) and lempsomai (accept).

Chapter 14, Verse 19, 『Yet a little while, and the world sees me no more; But ye see me: because I live, ye shall live also.』Jesus died on the cross and was resurrected, and the resurrected Jesus stayed with his disciples for forty days. “The world will never see me again” refers to Jesus leaving the world and ascending to heaven. And “you will see me.” Christ does not come back to the world, but returns into the hearts of the saints. Those who are not in Christ will not see it, but disciples will see Christ.

Chapter 14, Verse 20, “At that day ye shall know that I am in my Father, and ye in me, and I in you..” clearly expresses the faith of the Trinity. It tells us that the Father, Jesus Christ, and the saints are one through the Holy Spirit. This is because Christ must return into the hearts of believers to become the Trinity. Today, because the Trinity is applied only to God, the result is that the unity with the saints is omitted. These are the words of false prophets.

Galatians 2:20 "I am crucified with Christ: neverthless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me , and gave himself for me." In order for Christ to live in the heart of a believer, Christ must come into the heart. This is the Second Coming to the saints.

 

2. Judgment of those outside of Christ

Those who are in Christ are not judged by God. God gave all authority to judge to Jesus Christ, but it makes no sense for Christ to judge those who are in Christ. So, the White Throne Judgment comes to “those who are outside of Christ.”

Revelation 20:11-12『And I saw a great white throne, and him that sat on it, from whose face the earth and the heaven fled away; and there was found no place for them. And I saw the dead, small and great, standing before God; and the books were opened: and another book was opened, which is the book of life: and the dead were judged out of those things which were written in the books, according to their works.』

This represents the White Throne Judgment. Judgment is done by Christ. Regarding the one who judges, Matthew 16:27-28 says, "For the Son of man shall come in the glory of his Father with his angels; and then he shall reward every man according to his works. Verily I say unto You, There be some standing here, which shall not taste of death, till they see the Son of man coming in his kingdom.”

“Those who are judged before the death of the flesh” are those who believe that they died on the cross with Jesus. They have already been judged by the second death. Through water baptism, they died like Noah's flood, and through fire baptism, they died like Sodom and Gomorrah. So, God resurrected the saints to heavenly life.

In John 5:27-29, “And hath given him authority to execute judgment also, because he is the Son of man. Marvel not at this: for the hour is coming, in the which all that are in the graves shall hear. his voice shall come forth; they that have done good, unto the resurrection of life, and they that have done evil, unto the resurrection of damnation.”

However, for those outside of Christ, the second death awaits them after their bodies die. “Those who are spiritually dead and not in Christ” will be judged by Christ. “According to one’s works, as they are written in the books,” means being judged according to what is written in the law. If you fail to keep even one of the laws and do something wrong, you will be subject to judgment.

There are two types of books. These are books other than the Lamb’s Book of Life. “The dead were judged out of those things which were written in the books, according to their works.” Books are books about actions. The book of life is the book in Christ. However, those who are not in Christ are judged by other books. They are the ones who do not find the book of life in their hearts.

Chapter 20 Verse 13『And the sea gave up the dead which were in it; and death and hell delivered up the dead which were in them: and they were judged every man according to his works.』

It is said that "the sea, symbolizing curse and judgment," gives up the dead. The dead are spiritually dead. The word “delivered” means to be subject to judgment. Those who are not in Christ are judged by the word. Judgment is made through people’s mouths. They are judged according to what they say and what is written in their hearts.

In John 5:29, "And shall come forth; they that have done good, unto the resurrection of life; and they that have done evil, unto the resurrection of damnation.." Good works are those who are in Christ, and evil works are those who are in Christ. A person outside of Christ. Those who are outside of Christ are their own masters.

Chapter 20 Verses 14-15 『And death and hell were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death. And whosoever was not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire.』

He who is in Christ has the book of life within him. Those who do not have the book of life are judged by the law according to their deeds. Those who have the book of life are already thrown into death and the lake of fire. “Being thrown into death” is water baptism, and being thrown into the lake of fire is fire baptism. Baptism means death on the cross (second death). This is the death of the old man. The old self was judged on the cross with Jesus.

“Those who are outside of Christ” go into Hades and face the judgment of the second death. The first death is mentioned in 2 Peter 2:4. It was expressed as 『For if God spared not the angels that sinned, but cast them down to hell, and delivered them into chains of darkness, to be reserved unto judgment;』. Tartaro means that the spirit is trapped in the body. Since all people are born sinners, they are trapped in hell. It means present hell (body). This is a concept that contrasts with heaven. Heaven and hell are not spatial concepts, but represent the spiritual state of humans.

In Revelation 20:6, “Blessed and holy is he that hath part in the first resurrection: on such the second death hath no power, but they shall be priests of God and of Christ, and shall reign with him a thousand years. 』

The first resurrection and the second death are contrasted. Hades means Hades, where those outside Christ receive the second death. The second death is being judged by the fire of the Holy Spirit and the word (nail) of God.

In Revelation 20:15, 『And whosoever was not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire.』 The book of life is in the heart of every person, but when a believer opens the book of life, he names (Jehovah). It has to be discovered. If the sender doesn't find the name, the judgment awaits. The second coming of Christ will happen to those who are in Christ, but for those who are outside of Christ, Christ will return and judge them, although we do not know when.

Church believers think of the second coming of Jesus as taking believers to heaven. When Jesus returns in the sky on a cloud, they are raptured, and those who remain face the seven years of great tribulation. It is believed that after seven years, Jesus will return to earth and the thousand-year kingdom will be established. Everyone proposes theories such as whether the Great Tribulation will occur before or after the Second Coming, or whether it will be a millennium, but these are all meaningless.

For believers, all of this happens in the present. For those who believe in present resurrection, it expresses the second coming of Christ and entering the heart. The words “riding the clouds” indicate the presence of Christ.

Those who are outside of Christ will be judged when their bodies die, but they are currently living in hell (the first death). Because the spirit is trapped in the dust, it is hell. Heaven and hell are things that are currently happening to everyone, and things that extend even after the body dies.

Currently, those who are in Christ become heaven, and those who are outside of Christ become hell. If those who are outside of Christ repent, receive the baptism of fire (the second death), and enter into Christ, they will enter heaven.

Those who do not do so are currently in hell, and even after their physical bodies die, they receive the second death in Hades. In order to receive the second death, the second resurrection takes place, and they are judged by fire.

The first resurrection means putting on Christ. To become a royal priest. In Revelation 20:5-6, “But the rest of the dead lived not again until the thousand years were finished.” This is the first resurrection. Blessed and holy is he that hath part in the first resurrection: on such the second death hath no power, but they shall be priests of God and of Christ, and shall reign with him a thousand years.』

However, the second resurrection is the appearance of those who were in Hades putting on the clothes of the resurrection of judgment in order to be judged. John 5:29『And shall come forth; they that have done good, unto the resurrection of life; and they that have done evil, unto the resurrection of damnation.』