Bible Study Service in Malang, April 07, 2022 (Thursday Evening)

Peace and grace in the love of our Lord Jesus Christ.

Revelation 16:1-21 is about the seven plagues of the bowls or the last punishment of God.

Romans 13:10-12
13:10. Love does no harm to a neighbor; therefore love is the fulfillment of the law.
13:11. And do this, knowing the time, that now it is high time to awake out of sleep; for now our salvation is nearer than when we first believed.
13:12. The night is far spent, the day is at hand. Therefore let us cast off the works of darkness, and let us put on the armor of light.

Now, the night is far spent (the last days). It means as follows:

1. The seven plagues or the seven wraths of God are too close.
   
2. Jesus' second coming on the glorious clouds is too close.
   

Thus, now is the time to watch and live in the shadow of His love. It is the same as living according to the Word of God or His command, namely the true teaching Word.

John 14:15
14:15. "If you love Me, keep My commandments.

In the arrangement of the Tabernacle, Revelation 16:1-21 refers to the two tablets of stone (the perfect love of God). So, the fleshly men who reject God's love will experience the seven plagues of God.

1 Corinthians 2:14
2:14. But the natural man does not receive the things of the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him; nor can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned.

The fleshly or natural man just lives for the peak of sin, namely the sins of eating-drinking and marrying-giving in marriage. He cannot be controlled by the true teaching Word and Holy Spirit, so he lives as the beast and without God's love. The fleshly man does not understand the spiritual things, namely the Word, Holy Spirit, and God's love, so he never experiences the renewal of life from the fleshly man to the spiritual one. He keeps becoming the fleshly man who must receive the great and the last wrath of God up to perdition forever. The seven punishments mean being perfect in perdition.

Revelation 16:3-10
16:3. Then the second angel poured out his bowl on the sea, and it became bloodas of a dead man; and every living creature in the sea died.
16:4. Then the third angel poured out his bowl on the rivers and springs of water, and they became blood.
16:5. And I heard the angel of the waters saying: "You are righteous, O Lord, The One who is and who was and who is to be, Because You have judged these things.
16:6. For they have shed the blood of saints and prophets, And You have given them blood to drink. For it is their just due."
16:7. And I heard another from the altar saying, "Even so, Lord God Almighty, true and righteous are Your judgments."
16:8. Then the fourth angel poured out his bowl on the sun, and power was given to him to scorch men with fire.
16:9. And men were scorched with great heat, and they blasphemed the name of God who has power over these plagues; and they did not repent and give Him glory.
16:10. Then the fifth angel poured out his bowl on the throne of the beast, and his kingdom became full of darkness; and they gnawed their tongues because of the pain.

It is the group of God's wrath to the source of human's life as follows:

1. The sea or (the water) becomes blood.
   
2. The sun (the light) becomes dark.
   

That is why we must experience the renewal of life from the fleshly men to the spiritual ones like Jesus. We do not depend on the worldly things that will be destroyed. The spiritual man depends on the spiritual things, namely the Word, Holy Spirit, and God's love.

Verse 3= the sea becomes blood as of a dead man. It refers to the death or eternal perdition. The water which became blood could not return to the water. It refers to the eternal perdition.
In Egypt, the matter of the water's becoming blood happened twice. First, the water became blood as the sign of the deputation of Moses (Exodus 4:1-9).

Exodus 4:9,1
4:9. "And it shall be, if they do not believe even these two signs, or listen to your voice, that you shall take water from the river and pour it on the dry land. And the water which you take from the river will become blood on the dry land."
4:1. Then Moses answered and said, "But suppose they will not believe me or listen to my voice; suppose they say, 'The LORD has not appeared to you.' "

Moses--the image of us--tended to use logic too much, not the faith. Such life complicated the way to do God's will as well as be sent by God. Moses answered and said, "But suppose they will not believe me." For us now in the midst of the difficulties of the world (the Antichrist), it is the same as saying: "How about the money", "How much is my salary?"

Exodus 3:4
3:4. So when the LORD saw that he turned aside to look, God called to him from the midst of the bush and said, "Moses, Moses!" And he said, "Here I am."

When Moses was sent by God at the first time, he said, "Here I am." But in the next time Moses used his logic.
"Here I am" means that we must do God's will in the deputation or ministry although people say that there is a better one. Obedience is the beginning of success. The will of God indeed contradicts the logic.

Exodus 4:2
4:2. So the LORD said to him, "What is that in your hand?" He said, "A rod."

Actually, it is simple when we want to obey and follow the way of God. God starts with the thing that is in our hand, not the certificate but a rod/the cross must be in our hand. Outside the cross, all things will be in vain up to perdition forever. If we have done God's will, He will give His messenger who ever met Him the three signs as follows:

1. A rod that became a serpent. It refers to the sign of repentance(the Altar of Burnt Offering), namely the working of the cross of God that forgives our sin. Do not sin anymore after being forgiven! We must repent. The repentance is a miracle.
   Exodus 4:3-5
   4:3. And He said, "Cast it on the ground." So he cast it on the ground, and it became a serpent; and Moses fled from it.
   :4. Then the LORD said to Moses, "Reach out your hand and take it by the tail" (and he reached out his hand and caught it, and it became a rod in his hand),
   4:5. "that they may believe that the LORD God of their fathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, has appeared to you."
   
   A rod must be in the hand. It means that the true teaching and repentance must be owned and done well as well as become the life experience of the messenger of God.
   Casting a rod, it became a serpent. It means that if we cast the cross, we will become the same as Satan who is unable to repent anymore.
   Taking a serpent by the tail, it became a rod. It means that we still have a chance to repent as well as return to God and the true teaching Word.
   
   
2. The hand which was leprous refers to the sign of water baptism (the Brazen Laver).
   Exodus 4:6-8
   4:6. Furthermore the LORD said to him, "Now put your hand in your bosom." And he put his hand in his bosom, and when he took it out, behold, his hand was leprous, like snow.
   4:7. And He said, "Put your hand in your bosom again." So he put his hand in his bosom again, and drew it out of his bosom, and behold, it was restored like his other flesh.
   4:8. "Then it will be, if they do not believe you, nor heed the message of the first sign, that they may believe the message of the latter sign.
   
   The leprosy refers to the self-truth. The hand which was leprous was put in bosom, and it was restored. It means that the water baptism or being reborn can restore and purify our conscience from the self-truth. By the truth of the Word of God whose secret is revealed, our self-truth is shown, so we realize (the hand which was put in bosom held the chest), regret, and confess sin to God and others. As a result, the blood of Jesus purifies us from all sins. We can repent and live in righteousness.
   
   
3. The water that became blood refers to the Door of Tabernacle, namely the fullness of Holy Spirit. We need to experience the anointing and fullness of Holy Spirit, so we can become obedient.
   Exodus 4:8-9
   4:8. "Then it will be, if they do not believe you, nor heed the message of the first sign, that they may believe the message of the latter sign.
   4:9. "And it shall be, if they do not believe even these two signs, or listen to your voice, that you shall take water from the river and pour it on the dry land. And the water which you take from the river will become blood on the dry land."
   
   The water was poured on the dry land. The dry land refers to one who hardens his heart and becomes disobedient, so the water becomes blood. It means that the true teaching Word has become the punishment. Previously, the Word brings us to repent, be reborn, and live in righteousness. But if one hardens his heart, so he does not repent and he is neither reborn nor obedient (without Holy Spirit), the Word will become the punishment like Satan's experience.
   
   Mathew 12:33-37
   12:33. "Either make the tree good and its fruit good, or else make the tree bad and its fruit bad; for a tree is known by its fruit.
   12:34. "Brood of vipers! How can you, being evil, speak good things? For out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks.
   12:35. "A good man out of the good treasure of his heart brings forth good things, and an evil man out of the evil treasure brings forth evil things.
   12:36. "But I say to you that for every idle wordmen may speak, they will give account of it in the day of judgment.
   12:37. "For by your words you will be justified, and by your words you will be condemned."
   
   The dry land, namely the spiritual dryness, the hardness of heart, and being filled with the self-truth, can be detected from the dry words. The words are the abundance of the heart and the fruit of life. The heart which is hard and filled with the self-truth will result in vain words, namely gossip, evil speaking, and blasphemy until one blasphemes God and the true teaching Word.
   
   Romans 10:8-10
   10:8. But what does it say? "The word is near you, in your mouth and in your heart" (that is, the word of faith which we preach):
   10:9. that if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved.
   10:10. For with the heart one believes unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.
   
   Let our heart be filled by the faith or the true teaching Word, so we can be saved through our mouth. By mouth we can confess that Jesus is the Savior, and we can confess our sin, so we can be saved and set free from the punishment.
   
   John 12:47-48
   12:47. "And if anyone hears My words and does not believe, I do not judge him; for I did not come to judge the world but to save the world.
   12:48. "He who rejects Me, and does not receive My words, has that which judges him--the word that I have spoken will judge him in the last day.
   
   If we reject the Word and the deputation of God, we will experience the punishment of the Word and the deputation that we reject.
   

The third sign of a messenger of God is the same as the first plague in Egypt, namely the water that became blood (the second incident of the water's becoming blood). It is also the same as the punishment of the second bowl on the last days before Jesus comes a second time.

Exodus 7:14
7:14. So the LORD said to Moses: "Pharaoh's heart is hard; he refuses to let the people go.

Revelation 16:3
16:3. Then the second angel poured out his bowl on the sea, and it became blood as of a dead man; and every living creature in the sea died.

The sea (many waters) refers to the worldly company, and it produces the salty salt. Now it is the time for us to be taken from the worldly company to be exiled or shepherded, so we become the salty salt up to the salt of the world. Thus, we will not experience the last punishment of God, namely the second bowl.

Matthew 5:13
5:13. "You are the salt of the earth; but if the salt loses its flavor, how shall it be seasoned? It is then good for nothing but to be thrown out and trampled underfoot by men.

Before the sea becomes blood (the second bowl) let us use the chance, so the sea becomes the salty salt, and we can escape from the upcoming wrath of God. The salty salt is small, cheap, and simple, but it is very useful and needed by men. The salt of the world and the light of the world are the perfect church of God like Jesus.

Revelation 17:1-2,5,15
17:1. Then one of the seven angels who had the seven bowls came and talked with me, saying to me, "Come, I will show you the judgment of the great harlot who sits on many waters,
17:2. "with whom the kings of the earth committed fornication, and the inhabitants of the earth were made drunk with the wine of her fornication."
17:5. And on her forehead a name was written: MYSTERY, BABYLON THE GREAT, THE MOTHER OF HARLOTS AND OF THE ABOMINATIONS OF THE EARTH.
17:15. Then he said to me, "The waters which you saw, where the harlot sits, are peoples, multitudes, nations, and tongues.

Who is the sea? It is The Gentiles whom Babylon (the wicked and unclean spirits) sits and controls. They are only used in the building of Babylon to be destroyed forever.

The process of making the salty salt is as follows:

1. A small part of the sea water must be flowed into the embankment.
   A part of the Gentiles is called and chosen by God to receive the three signs, namely believing in Jesus, repenting, being baptized in the water (new birth), and experiencing Holy Spirit baptism. It means that we enter the Court of Tabernacle. Living in righteousness and obedience is the same as being saved. We will not be punished by God, but we are blessed and become the blessing for others.
   
   
2. The sea water in the embankment must be blocked, so it does not return into the sea.
   Being blocked means being shepherdedwell and truly in the Holy Place of Tabernacle. We become the branch that abides in the true vine. It means that we are shepherded by Jesus or the true teaching Word. We are always in the sheepfold or the perseverance in the three kinds of main service to God, namely the General Service (the Golden Candlestick), the Bible Study Service and Holy Communion (the Table of Showbread), and the Prayer Service (the Golden Altar of Incense).
   
   In the sheepfold, we are blocked, so our body, soul, and spirit are purified from the sins of Babylon as follows:
   
   
   • Stinginess and greediness.
     Stinginess means that one cannot give.
     Greediness means that one steals the possession of God, others, and government. It must be purified.
     
     
   • The Sins of eating-drinking and marrying-giving in marriage may not exist anymore.
     
   • The little foxes that spoil the vines must be removed.
     The little foxes refer to the small sins that we are often not realized, namely grumble, gossip, and envy.
     The little foxes that spoil the vines refer to the small sins that destroy the happiness in the marriage and shepherding.
     
     
   Song of Solomon 2:15
   2:15. HER BROTHERS Catch us the foxes, The little foxes that spoil the vines, For our vines have tender grapes.
   
   Further, the flesh must also be repressed, so it does not become wild. The wild flesh is like a man of the Gadarenes who dwelt among the tombs. The wild flesh is the same as becoming crazy and running everywhere. On the contrary, one who can sit is one who is in his right mind.
   
   Mark 5:1-5
   5:1. Then they came to the other side of the sea, to the country of the Gadarenes.
   5:2. And when He had come out of the boat, immediately there met Him out of the tombs a man with an unclean spirit,
   5:3. who had his dwelling among the tombs; and no one could bind him, not even with chains,
   5:4. because he had often been bound with shackles and chains. And the chains had been pulled apart by him, and the shackles broken in pieces; neither could anyone tame him.
   5:5. And always, night and day, he was in the mountains and in the tombs, crying out and cutting himself with stones.
   
   The wild flesh likes the tombs or the place of the extension of the hand of death that makes us experience the spiritual dryness and death like discotheque and gambling. The spiritual tomb is the church, fellowship, or organization that is without the true teaching Word. It just depends on prosperity and entertainment but without purification, so it becomes the fellowship of men with unclean spirit. The congregation is in spiritual dryness.
   
   All things without the true teaching Word will become the same as a man with an unclean spirit who liked crying out (the words that harm others) and cutting himself with stones (husband does not love his wife but does bitterly toward her, wife does not submit to her husband but demands him). The Word is preached so hard to rebuke us, so our life becomes sweet.
   
   2 Peter 1:10-11
   1:10. Therefore, brethren, be even more diligent to make your call and election sure, for if you do these things you will never stumble;
   1:11. for so an entrance will be supplied to you abundantly into the everlasting kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.
   
   If we have been shepherded well and truly, we will receive the result. We will never stumble, but we can minister to God until the finish line. We receive an entrance into the heavenly kingdom. One who is in his right man can sit. It means that he experiences peace and quietness, so all things become easy and light. He is also full because he is taken care of by God. If a man (father, husband) sits on the grass, his wife and child will follow. God becomes the Shepherd, so we shall not want. We keep being quiet until the sea water becomes salt.
   
   
3. The salt must be boiled, dried in the sun, and dried. It means that we must experience the sprinkle of blood(the Most Holy Place of Tabernacle).
   In the past time, Aaron entered the Most Holy Place to sprinkle the blood. Suffering in the flesh without any sin for Jesus must be followed with the worship, so we become strong.
   
   1 Peter 4:12-14
   4:12. Beloved, do not think it strange concerning the fiery trial which is to try you, as though some strange thing happened to you;
   4:13. but rejoice to the extent that you partake of Christ's sufferings, that when His glory is revealed, you may also be glad with exceeding joy.
   4:14. If you are reproached for the name of Christ, blessed are you, for the Spirit of glory and of God rests upon you. On their part He is blasphemed, but on your part He is glorified.
   
   We must experience the sprinkle of blood to receive the Shekinah Glory or the Spirit of glory. The bigger the cross, the greater the anointing, glory, and blessing are. The real glory of God is the renewal of life from the fleshly men to the spiritual ones like Jesus.
   
   Ephesians 4:24-25
   4:24. and that you put on the new man which was created according to God, in true righteousness and holiness.
   4:25. Therefore, putting away lying, "Let each one of you speak truth with his neighbor," for we are members of one another.
   
   The beginning of the new man is in there is no more lie. Lie is the automatic sin because of the interest or fear of something. It must be purified. Lie and gossip are the tasteless words or the salt that loses its flavor that will be trampled by the Antichrist for three and a half years. The salty salt refers to the honest man. The sea water must follow the process to become the salty salt.
   

The characteristics of the salt are as follows:

• Being cheap but it is needed by anyone. Being cheap means that one does not show himself, but God's mercy.
  
• Obedience, namely we follow wherever God sends us. We just follow God's will, and He will work the rest for us.
  
• Willingly being dissolved to give the good taste. It means that we do not become selfish but become the blessing for others. Jesus becomes obedient to the point of death on the cross for our need, so we must become obedient until the flesh does not speak anymore.
  Honesty and obedience are the same as becoming the house of prayer. We just totally trust and commit ourselves to God's mercy. We stretch out the hand of faith to God, and He stretches out His mercy to us.
  

The faith and mercy will result in the miracle.

The results are as follows:

1. John 21:3-7
   21:3. Simon Peter said to them, "I am going fishing." They said to him, "We are going with you also." They went out and immediately got into the boat, and that night they caught nothing.
   21:4. But when the morning had now come, Jesus stood on the shore; yet the disciples did not know that it was Jesus.
   21:5. Then Jesus said to them, "Children, have you any food?" They answered Him, "No."
   21:6. And He said to them, "Cast the net on the right side of the boat, and you will find some." So they cast, and now they were not able to draw it in because of the multitude of fish.
   21:7. Therefore that disciple whom Jesus loved said to Peter, "It is the Lord!" Now when Simon Peter heard that it was the Lord, he put on his outer garment (for he had removed it), and plunged into the sea.
   
   There is miracle from no fish to many fish. Peter and his friends experienced the power of creation, namely God creates something that does not exist yet, and the impossible thing becomes possible. A man or husband or shepherd who often relies on his own strength and experience must be changed. We just rely on faith and God's mercy. Honesty and obedience are the same as stretching out our hands to God, so the miracle happens. God will take care of us in the midst of the difficulties on the last days and evacuate us when the Antichrist reigns over the world. The sinner who is naked can be changed to be sent by God in the ministry for the building of the perfect body of Christ.
   
   
2. Mark 5:25-29
   5:25. Now a certain woman had a flow of blood for twelve years,
   5:26. and had suffered many things from many physicians. She had spent all that she had and was no better, but rather grew worse.
   5:27. When she heard about Jesus, she came behind Him in the crowd and touched His garment.
   5:28. For she said, "If only I may touch His clothes, I shall be made well."
   5:29. Immediately the fountain of her blood was dried up, and she felt in her body that she was healed of the affliction.
   
   A woman who had a flow of blood for twelve years refers to cleavage, decay, the condition that grows worse, up to impossibility. The weakness of a woman is hoping physicians or someone else. Honesty and obedience are the same as stretching out the hand of faith to Jesus, so the miracle happens. The impossible thing becomes possible. All cleavages can be put back together; even we become one body of Christ. The decay is changed to produce fragrance. It means that we become the witness to glorify God.
   
   
3. 1 Peter 5:5-6
   5:5. Likewise you younger people, submit yourselves to your elders. Yes, all of you be submissive to one another, and be clothed with humility, for "God resists the proud, But gives grace to the humble."
   5:6. Therefore humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God, that He may exalt you in due time,
   
   The youth often relies on his own power, so it is hard to be obedient and submissive. Consequently he experiences the total failure up to destruction. Let us return to stretching the hand of faith to God. God will exalt us in due time. Failure becomes success and beauty in due time.
   
   We are purified and changed continuously up to perfection, so we can greet Jesus when He comes a second time on the glorious clouds. We can enter the marriage supper of the Lamb of God, the One-Thousand-Year Kingdom of Peace, and the New Jerusalem forever.
   The miracle will surely happen in the midst of us according to our faith.
   

God blesses us.