Peace and grace in the love of our Lord Jesus Christ.
Revelation 5:15:1 And I saw in the right handof Him who sat on the throne a scroll written inside and on the back, sealed with seven seals.The scroll in the right hand of God who sits on the throne of Heaven is the Holy Bible that we have in this world through His revelation to His servants.
There are two conditions of the scroll as follows.
- It is written inside and on the back. It refers to inward and outward sanctification or the sanctification of our body, soul, and spirit.
- It is sealed with seven seals, meaning its secret is not revealed. John the apostle cried because there was no revelation of the Word.
Proverbs 29:1829:18 Where there isno revelation, the people cast off restraint; But happy ishe who keeps the law.If there is no revelation of the Word of God, the pastor and the congregation will cast off restraint.
Exodus 32:2532:25 Now when Moses saw that the people wereunrestrained (for Aaron had not restrained them, to theirshame among their enemies),Being unrestrained equals to the horse that comes out of the stall. It means as follows.
- The fleshly men that only follow the fleshly desire and lust. Why does that happen? Aaron represents the servant of God without the revelation of the Word, so he cannot shepherd the congregation and they only follow the fleshly desire and lust.
- The fleshly men do not want to be within the shepherding pen or to persevere in the ministry and eat the shepherding Word.
The condition of the fleshly men are as the unrestrained horse. They will not be allowed to enter the eternal Kingdom of Heaven or the last shepherding pen. Therefore, let us always be within the shepherding pen. The task of a pastor is to feed the congregation and look for the revelation of the Word. The task of the sheep is only to eat the Word.
There are four appearances of the fleshly men as follows.
- As the horses.
Isaiah 31:1
31:1 Woe to those who go down to Egypt for help,Andrely on horses,Who trust in chariots because they aremany,And in horsemen because they are very strong,But who do not look to the Holy One of Israel,Nor seek the Lord!
The horses refer to the strength of the flesh, meaning as follows.
- Prioritizing richness, smartness, and power so ones do not prioritize God and have no relation with Him. They do not want to minister or worship God. They will worship the gold calf and their life will be cursed.
Jeremiah 17:5
17:5 Thus says the Lord:"Cursed isthe man who trusts in manAnd makes flesh his strength,Whose heart departs from the Lord.
- The fleshly men that do not want to be shepherded, either the pastor or the congregation. They want to follow the freedom of the flesh, so they become as the wild donkey that will be destroyed.
Matthew 9:36
9:36 But when He saw the multitudes, He was moved with compassion for them, because they were weary and scattered, like sheep having no shepherd.
The consequence is being tired and weary. They have no peace or calmness. They will be scattered, meaning there is none who is responsible for the salvation of their life.
- As the goats.
The goats refer to being egoistic or selfish. The practices are as follows.
- Being on the left while the sheep are on the right, meaning being unwilling to be shepherded. They have no relation with Jesus as the Great Shepherd who sits on the right side of the throne of Father God.
Matthew 25:32-33
25:32 All the nations will be gathered before Him, and He will separate them one from another, as a shepherd divides hissheep from the goats.
25:33 And He will set the sheep on His right hand, but the goats on the left.
- Being unwilling to give and visit.
Matthew 25:41-45
25:41 "Then He will also say to those on the left hand, 'Depart from Me, you cursed, into the everlasting fire prepared for the devil and his angels:
25:42 for I was hungry and you gave Me no food; I was thirsty and you gave Me no drink;
25:43 I was a stranger and you did not take Me in, naked and you did not clothe Me, sick and in prison and you did not visit Me.'
25:44 "Then they also will answer Him, saying, 'Lord, when did we see You hungry or thirsty or a stranger or naked or sick or in prison, and did not minister to You?'
25:45 Then He will answer them, saying, 'Assuredly, I say to you, inasmuch as you did not do itto one of the least of these, you did not do itto Me.'
In each blessing that we receive, there is the blessing of the others that we must give to them.
- Fouling the true teaching Word with wrong attitudes or marriage.
Ezekiel 34:17-19
34:17'And as foryou, O My flock, thus says the Lord God: "Behold, I shall judge between sheep and sheep, between rams and goats.
34:18 Is ittoo little for you to have eaten up the good pasture, that you must tread down with your feet the residue of your pasture--and to have drunk of the clear waters, that you must foul the residue with your feet?
34:19 And as forMy flock, they eat what you have trampled with your feet, and they drink what you have fouled with your feet."
It equals to becoming the stumbling stone up to the millstone that will be cast in the lake of fire and brimstone. Becoming the stumbling stone equals to easily stumbling.
Actually, our task is becoming the witness of God so the one who has not believed Jesus may believe Him and being saved (the witness of the gospel Word). We also testify so the one who has believed Jesus can be sanctified up to perfection (the witness of the teaching Word).
- As the swine.
2 Peter 2:22
2:22 But it has happened to them according to the true proverb: "A dog returns to his own vomit," and, "a sow, having washed, to her wallowing in the mire."
The swine that has been washed always returns to her wallowing in the mire. It refers to the the wild fleshly man who has wild fleshly desire and does not want to be shepherded.
There are 2000 swine which is drowned in the sea and die. The figure 2000 refers to the Holy Place or the shepherding pen. We just need to choose to become the sheep in the pen and persevere in three main services, or to become the swine that follow the wildness of the fleshly desire so they are drowned in the sea and die.
The swine that has been washed always returns to her wallowhing in the mire. It also refers to the fleshly man that is bound by sins, falling in sins up to the peak of sins, that is sins concerning eating-drinking (smoking, getting drunk, consuming drugs) and marrying-being given in marriage (sexuality sin with all its varieties, having affair with the other man/ woman, wrong marriage, mix marriage, marrying-divorcing).
- As the dog.
2 Peter 2:22
2:22 But it has happened to them according to the true proverb: "A dog returns to his own vomit," and, "a sow, having washed, to her wallowing in the mire."
The dog refers to man which has wild and dry tongue, that is saying lie, gossip, slander, even blaspheming God. Whether we are in good or bad condition, we must watch our mouth.
James 3:7-8
3:7 For every kind of beast and bird, of reptile and creature of the sea, is tamed and has been tamed by mankind.
3:8 But no man can tame the tongue. It isan unruly evil, full of deadly poison.
The dog that licks its vomit refers to saying lie, unclean words, or insult.
The dog that licks the blood of Naboth (right person) refers to slandering, meaning saying right the wrong thing or saying wrong the right thing.
The dog that licks the sores of Lazarus refers to saying gossips, blaspheming or threatening the others.
If there are four appearances of the fleshly men as above, one will be cursed and destroyed.
John 10:11
10:11 "I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd gives His life for the sheep.God does not want us as His creature to live in curse and perdition. Jesus must die on the cross to help the lost sheep from the Israelites.
John 19:33-3419:33 But when they came to Jesus and saw that He was already dead, they did not break His legs. 19:34 But one of the soldiers pierced His side with a spear, and immediately blood and water came out. Actually Jesus has died with four main wounds to save the Israelites. The fifth wound is the biggest and deepest one. It is to save the Gentiles. Therefore, the Gentiles must accept the sign of blood and water. The blood means repentance. We stop sinning to return to God. We die to sins, especially from the sins of saying lie and hating the others. The water refers to water baptism.
Romans 6:46:4 Therefore we were buried with Him through baptism into death, that just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life.The true water baptism means that one who has died to sins must be buried in water together with Jesus, to be raised with Him in new life or Heavenly one, that is living in righteousness.
Galatians 3:7,13-143:7 Therefore know that onlythose who are of faith are sons of Abraham.3:13 Christ has redeemed us from the curse of the law, having become a curse for us (for it is written, "Cursed iseveryone who hangs on a tree"), 3:14 that the blessing of Abraham might come upon the Gentiles in Christ Jesus, that we might receive the promise of the Spirit through faith.Thus, we will receive the blessing of Abraham, that is physical blessing up to our descendants, and spiritual blessing that is Holy Spirit.
Acts 10:44-4510:44 While Peter was still speaking these words, the Holy Spirit fell upon all those who heard the word. 10:45 And those of the circumcision who believed were astonished, as many as came with Peter, because the gift of the Holy Spirit had been poured out on the Gentiles also.Romans 15:1615:16 that I might be a minister of Jesus Christ to the Gentiles, ministering the gospel of God, that the offering of the Gentiles might be acceptable, sanctified by the Holy Spirit.Holy Spirit sanctifies and burns our life to become the sheep of God. We become the offering which has a sweet-smelling aroma before God. Our deeds and our words become good and right. Thus, everything will be good.
1 Peter 3:10-113:10 For "He who would love life And see good days, Let him refrain his tongue from evil, And his lips from speaking deceit.3:11 Let him turn away from evil and do good;Let him seek peace and pursue it.Our character is renewed to become obedient until the flesh does not sound anymore. Thus, Holy Spirit is able to care our life in the midst of difficulties in this world up to the days of antichrist.
1 Kings 17:17,2317:17 Now it happened after these things thatthe son of the woman who owned the house became sick. And his sickness was so serious that there was no breath left in him. 17:23 And Elijah took the child and brought him down from the upper room into the house, and gave him to his mother. And Elijah said, "See, your son lives!"Holy Spirit is able to recover the broken marriage.
Zechariah 4:6-94:6 So he answered and said to me: "This isthe word of the Lord to Zerubbabel: 'Not by might nor by power, but by My Spirit,' Says the Lord of hosts.4:7 'Who areyou, O great mountain?Before Zerubbabel you shall becomea plain!And he shall bring forth the capstoneWith shouts of "Grace, grace to it!"'"4:8 Moreover the word of the Lord came to me, saying:4:9 "The hands of ZerubbabelHave laid the foundation of this temple; His hands shall also finish it.Then you will knowThat the Lord of hosts has sent Me to you.Holy Spirit is able to make the great mountain as a plain. All impossible problems will be solved. There is beautiful and successful future. Holy Spirit uses us in the ministry of building the perfect body of Christ.
God blesses us.