Last time, we shared about the secrets of the kingdom of heaven.
Why are the prophetic books so difficult to understand? Through the Scriptures, we confirmed that prophetic books are written in parables (Hosea 12:10), and that they were written in parables to hide the secrets of the kingdom of heaven from the enemy, the devil.
However, when the prophecy is fulfilled, the hidden parables of prophecy are no longer parables; their true meaning and reality are revealed through the true pastor. We call this the revealed word (Amos 3:7; Isaiah 29:9-13,18; Matthew 13:13-17).
This was precisely how God’s revelation (the word testifying to the fulfillment of Old Testament prophecies) was testified through Jesus at his first coming (John 3:31-33; John 8:44-45).
We call this revelation from heaven, truth, or the gospel.
There is a season when this revealed word falls like rain from heaven (Deuteronomy 32:2). It is when the words of prophecy are fulfilled. That season was Jesus’ first coming, and although he gave them words of life like refreshing rain, they neither listened to nor saw those words, acting like the deaf and the blind.
Bound to their own denominations, they abandoned Jesus’ words and remained tied to human teachings and traditions (Matthew 13:13-17; Mark 7:6-9). This, too, was prophesied and came to pass according to the prophecy.
Furthermore, because they had never heard this new teaching of Jesus before (Mark 1:27; Acts 17:19), they ultimately persecuted and killed Jesus and his disciples (John 15:18-16:4).
Though both claimed to be believers of God, the difference between Jesus and his disciples versus those who persecuted and killed them comes down to the SEED.
That seed is the beginning of all creation, the source of life, and the word of God (John 1:1-4; Luke 8:11). Depending on this seed, one can become either a child of God or a child of Satan.
While both children possess the exact same Bible, the children of God are those who receive the revealed word (truth) given from heaven, whereas the children of Satan are those who receive the seed of lies-interpreting the same Bible in their own way (Proverbs 30:6; John 8:44-45).
God’s children hunger and thirst for the truth and search for God’s word through the Bible. Then, at the appointed time to receive the truth (Habakkuk 2:3), they do not harden their hearts, but hear the word with a good and noble heart.
They engrave that word on their hearts and overcome with endurance, no matter what persecution, difficulty, or suffering comes their way. They testify to God’s word engraved on their hearts-the fruit of their lips-and put into practice love-the fruit of their actions (evangelism that saves lives).
In the Bible, this is expressed as being born again of an imperishable seed to love sincerely (1 Peter 1:22-23), those given birth through the word of truth to become the first fruits (James 1:18), or being born again of water and the Spirit (John 3:3-6).
Only these people are God’s true children who can call God their Father.
However, the children of the devil take the exact same Bible and receive the seed of lies from false pastors who sit in their respective denominations and churches like kings, interpreting the Scriptures as if they are the masters (Matthew 23:2; 2 Thessalonians 2:4).
These people are already full; they have no hunger or thirst for the truth of God’s word (John 8:37). They do not understand the parables of prophecy and have no interest in the reality of how prophecy is fulfilled.
Therefore, their faith consists of mere words. Though they say with their lips that they believe in the Lord, but inside them, there is neither faith nor love (John 14:29).
Outwardly, they look holy and clean, but inside, they are like tombs for dead souls (Matthew 23:27). The fruit of their mouth is packaged with love, forgiveness, and blessing to sound sweet, but inside, like the venom of a serpent, it puts souls to sleep and brings them to death (Matthew 23:33).
Though they call God their Father, their father is the devil, the father of lies, and they are the devil’s children who have received the devil’s seed-lies, human teachings, and traditions (John 8:44).
We call today the end times, and many believers speak of Jesus’ second coming.
If this is the end times, the time of the Second Coming (Daniel 12:4), do I possess the knowledge of the true meaning and reality of the prophecies (the truth)? Or am I practicing a sleeping, blind faith built on lies that add to or subtract from the prophecy (Revelation 22:18-19)? Do I have a faith acknowledged by the Lord (John 14:29; Luke 18:8)? Or am I living out a faith centered on my own desires? We must truly reflect on this before the word of God. Now is the time to choose between life and death (Deuteronomy 30:19).
May the Lord be with you as you meditate on the topic today (Matthew 13:24-30, 37-43). Next month, we will share about the Tree of Life and the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil based on the Bible.
Soo Oh is with the Zion Christian Mission Center, the theology arm of Shincheonji Church of Jesus and it offers a full theology course for free. You can sign up here to download the ZCMC SPS (Self-Paced Study) app and start your journey today.