Title: The Church God Protects
Revelation (52) The Church God Protects (Revelation 12:1-6)
"The Most Glorious Church"
The text depicts several symbolic beings, including a woman (v. 1), a child (v. 2), and a great red dragon (v. 3), shown by the 7th angel at the sound of the trumpet. Look at verse 1 of the text. “A great sign appeared in heaven, and there was a woman clothed with the sun, and the moon was under her feet, and on her head was a crown of twelve stars.” The ‘one woman’ in this verse symbolizes ‘the church of the end times’.
The woman is expressed as ‘a woman clothed with the sun’ in the text, but the previous Korean version of the Bible was expressed as ‘a woman clothed with the sun’. With that expression, an eschatological cult leader preached this. "Everyone! The woman in this verse symbolizes the church in the end times, and even if the church becomes as miserable as the woman harmed by Satan’s attacks, the church will regain power and glory.” What an absurd interpretation of the Bible?
The expression ‘women clothed with the sun’ in the previous Bible does not mean ‘wound woman’ but ‘a woman clothed with the sun’. Without knowing the original meaning, he saw only Korean expressions and preached, “The church will become like a woman who has been damaged, but it will restore its glory and authority.” No matter how you interpret it, it is a good word, so should it be accepted as grace?
The cult leader always said this wherever he went. "Everyone! Only the Bible! Comments are useless to read because they are human books. You don’t even need to look at the godly books.” Did he really mean to only exalt the Bible? no. They make such claims in order to make them blind only to their own words and interpretations by pretending to exalt the Bible and covering their eyes and ears from seeing anything else. If necessary, you should also look at the commentaries and devotional books. Extensive reading can significantly reduce your chances of falling prey to the greatest enemies of truth: extremism and error.
The saying that this woman is wearing the sun, the moon is under her feet, and twelve crowns on her head is a good indication of the glory of the church. What is a church? The church is a comforting haven for those who weep in pain. In addition, the church is the best place to practice the humility that makes it natural for a wonderful wife to roll up her arms and wash the dishes, and it is a place of joy that makes a great history of reconciliation by reaching out to the enemy for forgiveness, and opens a warm heavenly festival to the underprivileged.
There is no place in the world so beautiful and glorious as the church. When the Lord went to heaven, he left the church on this earth as a symbol of heaven. The church is often called the temple of the body of the Lord. The church is the place that pleases the Lord the most, and the first mission to make the church a place that pleases the Lord is the saints.
< The Church God Protects >
Resolve to work harder for the church. If you dedicate yourself saying, “You may die for this work,” then the work becomes meaningful and valuable. If you shed blood, sweat, and tears for such a thing, what happiness would you have? You must have such a heart, passion, and love for the church. If there is no happiness in the church life, the biggest reason is probably that you do not have the desire to dedicate yourself. There are few ways to be exempt from devotion and to obtain the fruit of happiness.
Why does the church go through labor pains? This is because Satan and the devil are the main targets of attack (verse 4). Satan attacks the church and its leaders, making them shameful, seeing the shameful appearance, shakes the hearts of ordinary people and makes them criticize the church. The church's double-attack and hardship in the end times is exacerbated. But God will not only let the church go helpless, but will surely protect it (verse 6).
Always think about what you will do for the church. Just as a mature child takes good care of its mother, the saints must have that kind of heart toward the church. There is this famous saying. “Those who do not have the church as their mother cannot have God as their father.” If you truly believe in and regard God as your Father, serve the Church like a mother. When you have such a heart, God's hand protecting the church will always protect the souls who serve the church.