Title: Maranatha/Rev 22:10-21
Content Sometimes, without any contact, they just pass by unexpectedly and visit the families of the alumni. In this case, most of the members are very happy and thank you so much for coming to pray and ask them to come in. And they say that they try to serve anything, and next time, make sure to contact them in advance and if you come, they will prepare a little and serve you more.
However, there are some families who do not like it very much, even if they visit us from time to time. In most cases, the family eventually has religious problems or lacks interest in the church. In some cases, there are painful memories of going to the house of the butler and being kicked out by the butler's distrustful husband. In some cases, they experience unkindness and run away from the house with unreasonable regret.
There's never been a worse time than an unwelcome guest. There will also be nothing more painful than having to go to a place that no one welcomes and does not like. It was Jesus who personally suffered that suffering. It is presumed that not many people were waiting for Jesus yesterday or today, and there were not many people who looked forward to and longed for Jesus' coming.
The people of the Roman Empire were gluttonous and indulged in idolatry, luxury, corruption, and self-indulgence. The Hebrews, who were the people of the prophets, had become enslaved to that Roman colony, and they were living days with no hope and no tomorrow. They were living the days of sighing and lamentation, just like the days when their ancestors were slaves in Egypt 2,000 years ago.
The Messiah taught by the prophets was no longer real, and no one realized that the Son of Mary, born in Bethlehem and raised in Nazareth, was the Messiah, the only begotten Son of God who saved Israel. The only people who could see the glory of the only begotten Son on that first Christmas night were a few shepherds in the empty fields, the three wise men who had seen the stars from the East and sought after them, Joseph and Mary, and the animals of the stall.
No one longed for the coming of Jesus, and even when He performed His teachings and miracles to people, there were not many people who accepted Him. Jesus' life was a life of being completely ignored by people, and he was a lonely and lonely man who had nowhere to lay his head throughout his life.
Our Lord will come - is Maran Atta. The faith of this 'Maran Atta' became the driving force for the early church to overcome the great persecution of the Roman Empire and the persistent persecution of the Jews. The early church members believed that the second coming of Jesus was imminent. I firmly believed that Jesus would come again soon, tomorrow. That is why he was able to endure the harsh persecution, torture, and tribulation.
This belief is 'Maran Atta'. In the Greek tense, the future tense of will. The meaning of these words is that our Lord will surely come again, and it is a future tense containing the will of 'tomorrow... no today... no sooner'.
He was thrown into the arena by hungry beasts, his body was torn to pieces, and he was burned alive. The flames of the burning became the sunlight that illuminates the city of Rome, and he believed while watching his wife and children being tortured and dying in chains. The reason that he was able to be martyred without renunciation on the path of righteousness was because of this maran'ata's faith that the Lord would come again soon to save us.
However, in the midst of repeated persecution, the Second Coming of the Lord did not happen soon, and as the number of martyrs increased, the book of Revelation had to come to an end. So, this 'maran ata', that is, the belief that 'our Lord will surely come again' has now been turned into a prayer of lamentation. It is the tense of the origin form called 'maranatha'. The Revised Version of the Bible we read accurately translates this meaning. Amen 'Come, Lord Jesus...'
You should know that the process of changing 'Maran Ata' in 'I believe the Lord is coming' to 'Maranatha' in 'Come Lord' is filled with bitter tears and hardships that break the body. This 'maranatha' is the prayer that we cried out while weeping and crying, 'Come, Lord...' at the moment of death.
We must remember these hours of tears until Maranatha becomes Maranatha. The prayers of persecution, hardship, adversity, tears, outcries, hunger, sickness, and death were the prayers of this Maranatha-Come, Lord!
Day and night, with tears in my eyes, I only look forward to the coming of my Lord.
Jesus said "Don't come again" when he left. Oh Lord, will you always come?
In a lonely and lonely empty field, only a dim lamp is lit
I look forward to your coming. Oh Lord, will you always come?
Even if there are only strange clouds floating in the distant sky, is my lord coming?
I hold my head and look far away Oh Lord, will you always come?
If you hold my merciful hand, take off your crown, and sing a hymn
I want to go there where you are, oh Lord, will you always come?
The church that will be the bride is dressed in white and waiting for the oil to be prepared.
Jesus said to come like a thief, O Lord, will you always come?
Lord, who waited for a thousand years like a day, because I can't see my soul suffer
Jesus, who is waiting for this hour too, O Lord, come at this hour...
The modern and future meaning of Advent lies in longing for and waiting for the Lord to come again. The faith of this Maranatha is the faith of the hope of our saints during Advent, and the theology of hope for a dark reality and a corrupt and sinful world. At the same time, it is a major proposition of the church's work and history that our church must accomplish today, which gives hope and courage to those who have no one to wait for and who have no hope or hope.
On that first night of Noel, no one was welcomed, and he spent his whole life of rejection, intrigue and betrayal, and lived in alienation and loneliness. It is said that it must be the faith of Advent.
A similar syndrome was the Superman Syndrome. Superman and his friends... Superwoman, Aquaman, Batman, and the Eagle Eagles are people who have the ability to do the impossible things that we people cannot solve. There is a phenomenon in which you fall into the illusion of being Superman when you wait or when it doesn't work out.
When young children think their parents are Superman and realize they are not, when they reach puberty, they become disappointed, rebellious and derailed by their parents. You may get hit or do something big. All of this is called Superman Syndrome.
We Christians are also people who have fallen into Superman Syndrome. But the Superman we hope and hope for is not Superman, but our Lord Jesus Christ, who will come soon. The foolish people of the world are in the illusion of waiting for Superman, but we Christians should be full of fantasies, prayers and passion waiting for our Lord. Because our Lord is clearly a super Lord to us Christians.
If the Lord comes... If our Lord comes... If our Lord comes, all our worries, troubles, hardships, prayers, and tasks will be resolved at once, and our Christian faith will be Because you will see the big conclusion.
And many antichrists who slandered our faith and persecuted our faith will be destroyed, and all the living and the dead will be judged before the majestic Lord. What kind of attitude of faith should we maintain in the face of this stark reality of the future? I would like to mention two attitudes of faith in this Advent.
1. In the midst of longing for the day when the Lord will return, make the decision to participate in salvation without shame.
let's make it new
There seems to be a shameful salvation and a proud salvation. There can be a poor salvation without the crown of righteousness or life without reward and without praise. If anyone believes in the name of Jesus, repents and lives by faith, relying on the power of the cross, he will be saved, but a believer who has no fruit of evangelism, no sign of service, and no evidence of loyalty will probably find a shameful savior on the day the Lord returns. there will be no choice but to be
Among the gospel hymns sung by young children, there is a song like this. "The next time I see Jesus, what will I say? Then there should be no shame..." These lyrics point to the first decision of our Advent faith today like a sharpened sword.
Everyone, we believers, believe that on the day the Lord comes - whether today or tomorrow - we will all be saved and brought into the kingdom of God, and we will all be brought into the realm of salvation.
But some will receive the glorious salvation of receiving the Lord's praise and reward, while others will be saved only by themselves... and there will be no poor salvation. There is no such person in our church, and there seem to be some such members in other places.
He said he lived a life of faith, but he could not evangelize even a single person. He lived his whole life eating and wearing clothes and being kind to him. For the Lord's work, he lived like a stingy scoot, and he was busy and busy with the work of the world and his body. There are no believers in our church who made a lot of fuss and suddenly turned away from being busy.
Today, while waiting for the Lord to come again on Advent, if there is anything we need to make a new resolution and make a decision, it is the decision to have faith without shame when we stand before the Lord, and to be born again with new faith and obey the word and will of the Lord again. work.