Peace and grace in the love of our Lord Jesus Christ.
Revelation 14:14-20 is about the harvest on earth. It can be divided as follows:
We must experience the winnowing to enter the harvest of wheat up to the barn of the heavenly kingdom as follows:
We must endure to face the winnowing. That is why we need the extra power from heaven. We need Christmas. Before we are winnowed, Jesus has been winnowed first, and He passes the test. Jesus was born to give the extra power for us.
At Christmas, the Word, Holy Spirit, and God's love are brought by Jesus from heaven to the world to give the extra power for us, so we can endure until the finish line, and we become the ripe wheat, namely the heavenly bride who will enter the barn of the heavenly kingdom forever.
The meanings of endurance are as follows:
God blesses us.
Revelation 14:14-20 is about the harvest on earth. It can be divided as follows:
- Verse 14-16, namely the harvest of wheat on earth to be brought into the barn of the heavenly kingdom.
- Verse 17-20, namely the harvest of grapes on earth to be thrown into the great winepress of the wrath of God up to eternal judgment and punishment.
We must experience the winnowing to enter the harvest of wheat up to the barn of the heavenly kingdom as follows:
- Luke 22:31-32
22:31. And the Lord said, "Simon, Simon! Indeed, Satan has asked for you, that he may sift you as wheat.
22:32. "But I have prayed for you, that your faith should not fail; and when you have returned to Me, strengthen your brethren."
The winnowing by Satan through the impossible temptations in all things with the power of death. Satan's purpose is making the church of God fall from faith, namely sinning up to the peak. The church experiences the temptation as well as sins up to perdition forever. Such life is empty like the chaff that will be destroyed forever. - Matthew 3:12
3:12. "His winnowing fan is in His hand, and He will thoroughly clean out His threshing floor, and gather His wheat into the barn; but He will burn up the chaff with unquenchable fire."
The winnowing by Jesus through the sprinkle of blood. Jesus' purpose is purifying us, so we can enter the barn of the heavenly kingdom.
We must endure to face the winnowing. That is why we need the extra power from heaven. We need Christmas. Before we are winnowed, Jesus has been winnowed first, and He passes the test. Jesus was born to give the extra power for us.
- Matthew 1:19-20
1:19. Then Joseph her husband, being a just man, and not wanting to make her a public example, was minded to put her away secretly.
1:20. But while he thought about these things, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream, saying, "Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take to you Mary your wife, for that which is conceived in her is of the Holy Spirit.
Joseph was a just man, but he had wanted to put Mary away before he got a dream. Putting Mary away is the same as killing baby Jesus. Jesus is the Holy Spiritwho is born to give the extra power for us. - John 1:1, 14
1:1. In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.
1:14. And the Word became fleshand dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth.
Jesus is also the true teaching Word. Without the power of the Word, our strength is very limited like Joseph. Without the true teaching Word we are just the fleshly men. - John 3:16
3:16. "For God so lovedthe world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.
Jesus is God's lovewho is born as a man.
At Christmas, the Word, Holy Spirit, and God's love are brought by Jesus from heaven to the world to give the extra power for us, so we can endure until the finish line, and we become the ripe wheat, namely the heavenly bride who will enter the barn of the heavenly kingdom forever.
The meanings of endurance are as follows:
- James 1:12
1:12. Blessed is the man who endures temptation; for when he has been approved, he will receive the crown of life which the Lord has promised to those who love Him.
Endurance means that we receive the extra power of God's love, so we are happy in the temptations even the impossible ones.
Being happy means that we do not grumble, but always give thanks to God.
James 5:9
5:9. Do not grumble against one another, brethren, lest you be condemned. Behold, the Judge is standing at the door!
It is dangerous if we grumble or blame at God and others in the temptation, because the Judge is standing at the door. Blaming at others will not finish the problem but increase it. There is no way out; even we experience the punishment by the Judge.
Philippians 4:6-7
4:6. Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God;
4:7. and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.
The right attitude in the temptation is that we are not anxious. We do not grumble and contend, but we always pray and give thanks. We surrender all to God, so we have the peaceful heart and mind. We are full with God's love. We can become silent and calm.
Being silent means that we do the introspection in our life whether it is a test or temptation. Finding sin means that we are in the temptation. Finding no sin means that we are in the test. We do not need to defend ourselves or blame at others, but we keep being silent.
Being calm means that we can pray and surrender to God.
If we become silent and calm, we will meet Jesus as the High Priest. He is standing at the door, and He is able to open all of closed doors. There is God's love in our heart, so we experience peace and happiness. - Romans 5:3-5
5:3. And not only that, but we also glory in tribulations, knowing that tribulation produces perseverance;
5:4. and perseverance, character; and character, hope.
5:5. Now hope does not disappoint, because the love of God has been poured out in our hearts by the Holy Spirit who was given to us.
Holy Spirit gives the extra power, so we are not disappointed and desperate as well as do not leave God no matter the thing that is happening to us. We keep trusting and hoping God.
Jeremiah 17:5-6
17:5. Thus says the LORD: "Cursed is the man who trusts in man And makes flesh his strength, Whose heart departs from the LORD.
17:6. For he shall be like a shrub in the desert, And shall not see when good comes, But shall inhabit the parched places in the wilderness, In a salt land which is not inhabited.
If we trust in men, cleverness, riches, and strength, we will surely become disappointed and desperate. We do not experience the satisfaction but spiritually wither like in the wilderness. We do not experience the goodness, but the good thing becomes bad, moreover the bad thing will be broken. One who trusts in men will be cursed. He lives in the atmosphere of tears and toil up to perdition forever.
Jeremiah 17:7-8
17:7. "Blessed is the man who trusts in the LORD, And whose hope is the LORD.
17:8. For he shall be like a tree planted by the waters, Which spreads out its roots by the river, And will not fear when heat comes; But its leaf will be green, And will not be anxious in the year of drought, Nor will cease from yielding fruit.
If we endure and only trust in the Lord or keep believing in Him, we will be blessed. We are set free from curse. We do not experience the spiritual dryness. We are not disappointed and desperate, but we always give thanks to God. We also experience the increasing coolness and happiness of God until we bear the fruits; even we can be sent or used to become His witness. We just believe in and hope God, so we bear the fruits for Him and others, not for us only. - James 5:7-8,10-11
5:7. Therefore be patient, brethren, until the coming of the Lord. See how the farmer waits for the precious fruit of the earth, waiting patiently for it until it receives the early and latter rain.
5:8. You also be patient. Establish your hearts, for the coming of the Lord is at hand.
5:10. My brethren, take the prophets, who spoke in the name of the Lord, as an example of suffering and patience.
5:11. Indeed we count them blessed who endure. You have heard of the perseverance of Job and seen the end intended by the Lord--that the Lord is very compassionate and merciful.
We receive the extra power of the true teaching Word, because Jesus is the Word who has become flesh. Jesus was born and He was laid in a manger. The manger is the place where sheep can eat. The extra power of the Word makes us have patience and perseverance to face anything until the finish line when Jesus comes a second time.
Acts 2:41-42
2:41. Then those who gladly received his word were baptized; and that day about three thousand souls were added to them.
2:42. And they continued steadfastly in the apostles' doctrine and fellowship, in the breaking of bread, and in prayers.
The perseverance refers to the one in committing the three kinds of main service to God in the sheepfold. It is started from the true water and Holy Spirit baptisms. The true baptism is written in the Bible and we are baptized as Jesus is
The true water baptism means that one who has died to sin or repented must be buried in the water with Jesus and come out or rise from water with Him to receive new life or heavenly one (the heavens are opened). We live in the anointing of Holy Spirit, namely life in righteousness.
If the water baptism is true, the result will be true too. We have a good conscience and obedient heart. A good conscience will bring us to the Holy Place, namely the perseverance in committing the three kinds of main service to God. If we have a good conscience, we will easily become the sheep that are shepherded well and correctly.
The true shepherding is the place for the shepherd, not others, to give the true food for his sheep, not others. In the perseverance in committing the three kinds of main service to God, we have fellowship with the Trinity of God as follows:- The Golden Candlestick refers to the perseverance in committing the General Service. We have fellowship with Holy Spirit God.
- The Table of Showbread refers to the perseverance in committing the Bible Study Service with Holy Communion. We have fellowship with the Son of God.
- The Golden Altar of Incense refers to the perseverance in committing the Prayer Service. We have fellowship with Father God.
The patience can be divided as follows:- Being patient in suffering. It means that we willingly suffer for God's will, not sin. For example, we suffer to minister to God.
- Being patient in waiting the time of God by not looking for other way which is outside the word. We must keep being in God's will.
God is still busy with our spirituality when He has not helped us yet, so we will receive the physical and spiritual helpings someday. Do not be envious to the wicked men whose life is good, because they are left by God to receive the eternal punishment.
Job 1:1-3
1:1. There was a man in the land of Uz, whose name was Job; and that man was blameless and upright, and one who feared God and shunned evil.
1:2 And seven sons and three daughters were born to him.
1:3 Also, his possessions were seven thousand sheep, three thousand camels, five hundred yoke of oxen, five hundred female donkeys, and a very large household, so that this man was the greatest of all the people of the East.
Job 32:1-2
32:1. So these three men ceased answering Job, because he was righteous in his own eyes.
32:2. Then the wrath of Elihu, the son of Barachel the Buzite, of the family of Ram, was aroused against Job; his wrath was aroused because he justified himself rather than God.
Job used the self-truth to cover his mistake by blaming at others. It is the same as rejecting Christ's cross. We can only receive the righteousness of God from the cross, namely confessing sin and repenting. But through the test, Job could have patience and perseverance, so he experienced the purification and renewal from God. Job could confess that he was just dust and ashes.
Job 42:5-6
42:5. "I have heard of You by the hearing of the ear, But now my eye sees You.
42:6. Therefore I abhor myself, And repent in dust and ashes."
'repent in dust and ashes' means that we confess that we are just mortar. We have many sins. We are unworthy and worthless. We have many physical and spiritual weaknesses. We have no pride (the mortar's place is below). But the mortar is in the hand of God.
Genesis 2:7
2:7. And the LORD God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living being.
It is the time of God to help us and breathe Holy Spirit (the breath of life). God will pour out Holy Spirit for all of us.
The usefulnesses of Holy Spirit are as follows:- Holy Spirit is the Spirit of truth. Holy Spirit leads us in the righteousness or God's will. Finding sin, we must confess and leave it. As a result, the blood of Jesus will wash us, so we can live in holiness and righteousness in God. A holy man will be equipped with the ministry and Holy Spirit's gift to be used in the ministry of the building of the perfect body of Christ. We must keep our marriage and children earnestly, because the body of Christ is started from marriage, shepherding, inter-shepherding up to the perfect body of Christ.
Ephesians 4:11-12
4:11. And He Himself gave some to be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, and some pastors and teachers,
4:12. for the equipping of the saints for the work of ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ, - Holy Spirit is the Spirit of comforter who gives us extra powerwhen we face the hatred without a cause and the Antichrist's torment and murder. By the power of Holy Spirit, we keep being faithful and fervent until Jesus comes a second time. We can testify for God because there are still many people who have not been saved and shepherded yet.
John 15:25-27
15:25. "But this happened that the word might be fulfilled which is written in their law, 'They hated Me without a cause.'
15:26. "But when the Helper comes, whom I shall send to you from the Father, the Spirit of truth who proceeds from the Father, He will testify of Me.
15:27. "And you also will bear witness, because you have been with Me from the beginning. - Holy Spirit is the Spirit of glory who changes us from fleshly men (mortar) to the spiritual ones like Jesus. We become the new creation. The dead thing becomes alive.
Genesis 2:7
2:7. And the LORD God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living being.
Ecclesiastes 7:29
7:29. Truly, this only I have found: That God made man upright, But they have sought out many schemes."
The new creation is honest and obedient man who does not seek out many schemes through dishonesty and disobedience. We can be honest about the true teaching (Titus 2:7), so we cannot be defeated by anything. Dishonesty and disobedience or having many schemes refers to mortar that has not been breathed by Jesus. He can do nothing but goes to the ruin and perdition.
But, nothing is impossible in the honesty and obedience. All things can be done by God. Those who endure will receive the crown of life which the Lord has promised. We can become perfect. Our name is written in the Book of Life. We become the heavenly bride who is ready to greet the Lord when He comes a second time. We can enter the barn of the heavenly kingdom forever.
- The Golden Candlestick refers to the perseverance in committing the General Service. We have fellowship with Holy Spirit God.
God blesses us.