Peace and grace in the love of our Lord Jesus Christ.
Revelation 8:1-5
8:1 When He opened the seventh seal, there was silence in heaven for about half an hour.
8:2 And I saw the seven angels who stand before God, and to them were given seven trumpets.
8:3 Then another angel, having a golden censer, came and stood at the altar. He was given much incense, that he should offer it with the prayers of all the saints upon the golden altar which was before the throne.
8:4 And the smoke of the incense, with the prayers of the saints, ascended before God from the angel's hand.
8:5 Then the angel took the censer, filled it with fire from the altar, and threw it to the earth. And there were noises, thunderings, lightnings, and an earthquake.
This is about the opening of the seventh seal as well as the seventh judgment. It consists of two parts as follows.
ad. 2. The atmosphere of shakings.
The shakings have been written by Haggai the prophet.
Haggai 2:6-7,21-22
2:6 "For thus says the LORD of hosts: 'Once more (it is a little while)I will shake heaven and earth, the sea and dry land;
2:7 'and I will shake all nations, and they shall come to the Desire of All Nations, and I will fill this templewith glory,' says the LORD of hosts.
2:21 "Speak to Zerubbabel, governor of Judah, saying: 'I will shake heaven and earth.
2:22 I will overthrow the throne of kingdoms; I will destroy the strength of the Gentile kingdoms. I will overthrow the chariots And those who ride in them; The horses and their riders shall come down, Every one by the sword of his brother.
He wrote about the shakings in the world twice. It means as follows.
Why does God let the shakings happen?
1Peter 1 :18-19
1:18 knowing that you were not redeemed with corruptible things, like silver or gold, from your aimless conduct received by tradition from your fathers,
1:19 but with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot.
The spiritual meanings of the gold and silver are as follows.
God blesses you.
Revelation 8:1-5
8:1 When He opened the seventh seal, there was silence in heaven for about half an hour.
8:2 And I saw the seven angels who stand before God, and to them were given seven trumpets.
8:3 Then another angel, having a golden censer, came and stood at the altar. He was given much incense, that he should offer it with the prayers of all the saints upon the golden altar which was before the throne.
8:4 And the smoke of the incense, with the prayers of the saints, ascended before God from the angel's hand.
8:5 Then the angel took the censer, filled it with fire from the altar, and threw it to the earth. And there were noises, thunderings, lightnings, and an earthquake.
This is about the opening of the seventh seal as well as the seventh judgment. It consists of two parts as follows.
- [Revelation 8:1-4] The atmosphere of silence for about half an hour in heaven.
- [Revelation 8:5] The atmosphere of shakings in the world which increase up to the destruction and perdition in the hell forever.
ad. 2. The atmosphere of shakings.
The shakings have been written by Haggai the prophet.
Haggai 2:6-7,21-22
2:6 "For thus says the LORD of hosts: 'Once more (it is a little while)I will shake heaven and earth, the sea and dry land;
2:7 'and I will shake all nations, and they shall come to the Desire of All Nations, and I will fill this templewith glory,' says the LORD of hosts.
2:21 "Speak to Zerubbabel, governor of Judah, saying: 'I will shake heaven and earth.
2:22 I will overthrow the throne of kingdoms; I will destroy the strength of the Gentile kingdoms. I will overthrow the chariots And those who ride in them; The horses and their riders shall come down, Every one by the sword of his brother.
He wrote about the shakings in the world twice. It means as follows.
- The shakings in the world in all aspects will happen for sure.
- Such shakings will happen greatly.
Why does God let the shakings happen?
- To make separation between ones who are not shaken and the others who are shaken. Those who are not shaken will endure and inherit the heavenly kingdom which is not shaken, but the others who are shaken will perish in the hell.
- To make us enter the edifying of the spiritual house of God or the ministry of the edifying of the body of Christ.
- To make Christians or the servants of God who are like the gold and silver as His forever.
Haggai 2:8
2:8 'The silver is Mine, and the gold is Mine,' says the LORD of hosts.
1Peter 1 :18-19
1:18 knowing that you were not redeemed with corruptible things, like silver or gold, from your aimless conduct received by tradition from your fathers,
1:19 but with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot.
The spiritual meanings of the gold and silver are as follows.
- The servants of God who experience the redemption or deliverance from sins by the precious blood of Jesus.
How great a man in the world is, because of his intelligence, riches, and high position, he is not precious before God when he is sinful or enjoyable in his sins. His life is so cheap before God like the rotten dog and swine which will be destroyed forever.
The only way to deliver us from sins up to the peak is through the redemption by the blood of Jesus.
The process is through confessing sins honestly to God (vertical line) and other people (horizontal line). As a result, the blood of Jesus will forgive and cover all of our sins as if we had never done such sins. Satan and our conscience cannot accuse us. Do not repeat the sins after being forgiven. We must live in righteousness. It is the same as being saved. The righteousness and salvation are so precious and expensive before God. They cost the expensive blood of Jesus or more than all riches in the world.
The blood of Jesus is the same as the blood of the Lamb. It refers to the shepherding.
After being redeemed by the blood of Jesus, living in righteousness, and being the instruments of righteousness, we must be shepherded well and correctly. We always dwell in the shepherding pen or persevere in the three main services to God as follows.- Perseverance in doing the General Service to have the fellowship with Holy Spirit God with His gifts.
- Perseverance in doing the Bible Study Service to have the fellowship with the Son of God in the teaching Word and the sacrifice of Christ.
- Perseverance in doing the Prayer Service to get the fellowship with Father God in his love.
Thus, the shepherding is the place where we can affirm the righteousness, salvation, and the blessings of God until someday we become as righteous as Jesus is and nothing can charge against it. - Perseverance in doing the General Service to have the fellowship with Holy Spirit God with His gifts.
- The servants of God who get the continuous sanctification until being as holy as Jesus.
2 Timothy 2:20-21
2:20 But in a great house there are not only vessels of gold and silver, but also of wood and clay, some for honor and some for dishonor.
2:21 Therefore if anyone cleanses himself from the latter, he will be a vessel for honor, sanctified and useful for the Master, prepared for every good work.
By what can we be sanctified?
Malachi 3:1-3
3:1 "Behold, I send My messenger, And he will prepare the way before Me. And the Lord, whom you seek, Will suddenly come to His temple, Even the Messenger of the covenant, In whom you delight. Behold, He is coming," Says the LORD of hosts.
3:2 "But who can endure the day of His coming? And who can stand when He appears? For He is like a refiner's fireAnd like launderer's soap.
3:3 He will sit as a refiner and a purifier of silver; He will purify the sons of Levi, And purge them as gold and silver, That they may offer to the LORD An offering in righteousness.- By the launderer's soap.
It cleanses the clothes of ministry from the outward spots.
The cleansing must be done repetitively to remove the spots. - By the refiner's fire. It sanctifies the rust or inward sins.
Rejecting the fire of the repeated Word of God, one will be sanctified by the fire of chastening or total test. This is the last way of God.
What must be sanctified?- The heart and mind or the inward man.
2 Timothy 2:22
2:22 Flee also youthful lusts; but pursue righteousness, faith, love, peacewith those who call on the Lord out of a pure heart.
It means the sanctification from the youthful lustsor the young lions in the vineyard as follows.- The sanctification from the evil lusts or the will of money.
For example, a rich young man was bound by the money until he got disappointed and left Jesus forever.
The facts found in the will of money are looking for money in illegal ways, unfaithfulness or leaving the service and ministry only to look for money, or serving and ministering to God only to look for physical blessings such as money, marriage partner, and position, as well as being stingy and greedy. Being stingy means that one cannot give and being greedy means that one steals the possession of God and others. - The sanctification from the unclean lustsor the sins concerning eating-drinking such as smoking, getting drunk, and drugs abuse as well as the ones concerning marrying-being given in marriage or the fornication between a man and a woman who are not a legal spouse; between a man and another man; between a woman and another woman; between a man and animal, wrong marriage, mixed-marriage, divorce-remarrying, and free sex.
- The sanctification from the evil lusts or the will of money.
- The lion bites two legs and a piece of an ear.
Amos 3:12
3:12 Thus says the LORD: "As a shepherd takes from the mouth of a lion Two legs or a piece of an ear, So shall the children of Israel be taken out Who dwell in Samaria--In the corner of a bed and on the edge of a couch!
The lion bites the ear. It means that one hears the false teachings which are not in line with the Bible and gossips which are not true. Consequently, his faith becomes weak. He becomes doubtful. His life will not be stable. He will not get anything. He is empty. His life fails and sinks.
The lion also bites the two legs that refer to the standpoint to the true teaching Word. It means that one is not firm anymore. He leaves the true teaching to follow the doctrines of Satan or the false teachings which are contradictory to the Bible. Consequently, his life journey is not good. He falls in sins up to the peak, becomes unfaithful in the service and ministry, and leaves them.
2 Timothy 2:23-25
2:23 But avoid foolish and ignorant disputes, knowing that they generate strife.
2:24 And a servant of the Lord must not quarrel but be gentle to all, able to teach, patient,
2:25 in humility correcting those who are in opposition, if God perhaps will grant them repentance, so that they may know the truth,
The young lion also refers to the quarrel. The source is the jealousy. It happens because of despising the blessings, employment, and grace of God. The quarrel also happens because of the self-truth, namely being false, one does not confess the sins, but blames others, God, and the true teaching Word.
A servant of God cannot quarrel. One who likes quarrelling cannot become the servant of God.
In the shepherding, we are sanctified intensively in our inward and outward man, so we are used in the ministry for the edifying of the body of Christ and we can be as holy as Jesus is.
- By the launderer's soap.
- The signet ring.
Haggai 2:23
2:23 'In that day,' says the LORD of hosts, 'I will take you, Zerubbabel My servant, the son of Shealtiel,' says the LORD, 'and will make you like a signet ring; for I have chosen you,' says the LORD of hosts."
A ring has no end. It refers to the love of God.
The signet is the same as the stamp.
Song of Solomon 8:5-6
8:5 A RELATIVE Who is this coming up from the wilderness, Leaning upon her beloved? I awakened you under the apple tree. There your mother brought you forth; There she who bore you brought you forth.
8:6 THE SHULAMITE TO HER BELOVED Set me as a seal upon your heart, As a seal upon your arm; Forlove is as strong as death, Jealousy as cruel as the grave; Its flames are flames of fire, A most vehement flame.
As for God, the signet ring refers to the love which is as strong as death. It means the love of Jesus on the cross or the lovingkindness which cannot be moved.
As for us, the signet ring means loving or prioritizing God more than anything and sacrificing all things for Him. We become the servants of God who fully rely on His lovingkindness. We lean on Jesus' bosom like a baby in the embrace of God's hands.
Our position and the results are as follows.- We are like a baby in the embrace of God's hands who only cries and remembers God. As a result, God also remembers, pays attention to, cares, and struggles for us, the powerless baby.
Isaiah 49:14-15
49:14 But Zion said, "The LORD has forsaken me, And my Lord has forgotten me."
49:15 "Can a woman forget her nursing child, And not have compassion on the son of her womb? Surely they may forget, Yet I will not forget you.
Psalm 136:1,4
136:1 Oh, give thanks to the LORD, for He is good! For His mercy endures forever.
136:4 To Him who alone does great wonders, For His mercy endures forever;
He alone stretches His loving hands to us to embrace us and do the great wonders, namely protecting and preserving us in the midst of the difficulties and disasters in the world until the antichrist reigns over the world. It continues until we get the everlasting life. He alone also stretches His loving hands to do the great wonders, namely all things we cannot do or think. - Genesis 30:14-15,22
30:14 Now Reuben went in the days of wheat harvest and found mandrakes in the field, and brought them to his mother Leah. Then Rachel said to Leah, "Please give me some of your son's mandrakes."
30:15 But she said to her, "Is it a small matter that you have taken away my husband? Would you take away my son's mandrakes also?" And Rachel said, "Therefore he will lie with you tonight for your son's mandrakes."
30:22 Then God remembered Rachel, and God listened to her and opened her womb.
The womb of Rachel was closed. It refers to the closed doors in the world. Nevertheless, there were the mandrakes or the love.
Our life is like Rachel, who was remembered by God because of having the mandrakes or love. Rachel refers to the servants of God who get the sanctification from the fleshly desires for she willingly did not sleep with her husband because of her love to God or the mandrakes. She loved God more than anything, so she always remembered Him. As a result, God remembered her and opened the door of her womb. The doors in the world will be opened for us. God is able to remove the impossibilities and give us glory and heavenly joy instead of reproaches.
Luke 23:41-43
23:41 "And we indeed justly, for we receive the due reward of our deeds; but this Man has done nothing wrong."
23:42 Then he said to Jesus, "Lord, remember me when You come into Your kingdom."
23:43 And Jesus said to him, "Assuredly, I say to you, today you will be with Me in Paradise."
It continues until the door of paradise or the heavenly kingdom is opened.
Let us honestly confess our sins to God and others. We surrender to God, so He alone stretches His hands to open the door of heaven for us. We are as perfect as Jesus is when He comes a second time. We are worthy to welcome His second coming on the glorious clouds. We are with Him in the everlasting heavenly kingdom.
- We are like a baby in the embrace of God's hands who only cries and remembers God. As a result, God also remembers, pays attention to, cares, and struggles for us, the powerless baby.
God blesses you.