Title Now...?
Contents
♡♥♡ Now... ? / Revelation 22:10-15
*** Introduction
The text contains the seventh and last of the seven blessings of Revelation. Verse 14. “Blessed are those who wash their robes, that they may come to the tree of life, and have authority to enter the city through the gates.” so that they may have the right to the tree of life, and that they may enter into the city through its gates.” The content of this text teaches what believers living in the last days should do. Verse 10. “And he said to me, Do not seal up the words of the prophecy of this book, for the time is near.” If you know the meaning of the text, it will be easier to understand the world today and you will be able to find your own direction as a saint.
Many believers say, “It is very difficult to evangelize.” People pursue pleasure as if possessed by something. The invisible world, the story of the afterlife, which is not yet certain, is regarded as a story of a distant country. It's no different with priests. There are many people who belong to the church and attend services, but still have a greater interest in the world.
At 08:15 on August 6, 1945, at the end of World War II, the B-29 bomber “Enoragei” under the command of Colonel Paul Tibbets of the US Air Force dropped an atomic bomb over Hiroshima. As a result of the atomic bombing on Hiroshima, 78,000 people were killed, 10,000 people went missing, and 37,000 people were injured. An even greater catastrophe is the aftereffects of radiation. Those who survived the atomic bomb also died from the radiation, and thousands of people died over the decades. Of the more than 90,000 buildings, 62,000 were destroyed. At 11:20 on August 9, 1945, a second atomic bomb was dropped on Nagasaki, destroying 45% of the city. The number of victims was 73,000.
The damage caused by the two atomic bombs was unimaginable. In a word, both cities were blown away from the earth. At the moment of the explosion, the heat in the fireball formed above the city reached a whopping 30,000 degrees Celsius, so it must have been so.
Importantly, warnings were given to the citizens of Hiroshima to flee days before this catastrophe arrived. It was the US air squadron that was distributing flyers with warnings. Contents of the warning
“Warning the citizens of Hiroshima! All citizens must evacuate 50 li by 8 a.m. on August 6!”
is that However, it is said that few people believed this warning and fled. It was the people who believed the warning and survived the testimonies.
Even at the time of Noah's flood and when the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah were judged by fire, God warned them. But people's reaction was apathetic. In Genesis 19:14, it says, "Lot went out and told his daughters-in-law, betrothed to them, saying, "The LORD will destroy this city, so get up and leave this place." But the sons-in-law considered it a joke. . The Lord compared what will happen in the last days to this fact. Luke 17:27-29. “Until the day Noah entered the ark, people ate and drank, married and married, and the flood came and destroyed them all, and as it was in the days of Lot, people ate and drank, bought, sold, planted, and built houses. On the day they went out of Sodom, fire and brimstone rained from heaven and destroyed them.”
I don't know if you or I are living at this point in time. As you listen to the words of today's text, I hope you will think deeply about what kind of era we are living in now.
1. Now is the time when the Word is opened.
Let's look at verse 10. “And he said to me, Do not seal up the words of the prophecies of this book. The time is near.” This means that the meaning of the word is open. He has opened it so that anyone can understand it when they read and hear the Word. Why did you open the word like this? The reason is that the time of the final judgment is near. God has opened the way for His elect to hear, read, understand, and gain life. He took care to make final preparations for the elect.
Now, we can read and listen to the Word of God whenever and wherever we want. Scattered here and there are Bible books, sermons, commentaries that are easy to understand, and testimonies from life experiences. He has opened the way to the kingdom of God so much that we can find it even with our eyes closed. This road has been opened by the Lord. This is John 10:9. “I am the door,” he says, “and if anyone enters through me, he will be saved, and will go in and out and find pasture.” However, these opportunities do not last forever. There will come a time when you can't find it even if you search for it. See Amos 8:11.
(Modern Bible) “The Lord God has spoken. Behold, the day is coming! Then I will send a famine in the land. Not hunger for lack of food, not thirst for lack of water, but famine because of not hearing the word of the Lord.”
“The day” here refers to the “day of punishment” performed by Jehovah. In other words, the pain of the day of punishment is that “God takes away the word that reveals Himself.” This pain is spiritual pain. Verse 12 says, “Man staggers from sea to sea, and from north to east, running to and fro to seek the word of the Lord, but will not find it.”
These words were given primarily 400 years after the prophet Malachi, at the end of the Old Testament period. This was a preparation for sending Jesus. But at the end of the world, these times of suffering will come again. Preparation for the Second Coming of Jesus.
Before this time comes, we must prepare now when the Word is open and the way to the kingdom of God is open. What should I prepare? Please listen carefully to the continuation.
2. Now is the time of distinction.
Let's look at verse 11. “Let the one who does iniquity continue to do unrighteousness, and let the unclean continue to be unclean, and the righteous will continue to do righteousness, and the holy one will continue to be holy.” (King James Version) let it be in On the other hand, let the righteous remain in righteousness, and let the holy one remain in holiness.”
What does this mean? It means 'separate' or 'separate'. It also means ‘free choice’ on the two open roads. The way to the world's wealth and glory and pleasure is open, and the way of life to the kingdom of God is also open. All lives can choose between these two paths, and are separated and distinguished by their own choices. God does not interfere with life's choices and says, 'Leave them according to their deeds.' This is because Hell, the kingdom of God and the place of eternal punishment, is not sent by God by force, but is chosen by man according to his own actions. Let's look at verse 12. The Lord said, “Look! I am coming soon, and my reward is with me, to repay each one according to what he has done.”
Now, just because you follow the world's wealth and glory and pleasure, a thunderbolt does not fall right away. Rather, it seems that people who live by worldly methods and tricks do better. ‘Asaph’, who was the chief of praise in David’s time, laments about ‘the suffering of the righteous and the prosperity of the wicked’. Psalm 73:2-5 (Korean King James Version). “But as for me, my feet almost stumbled, and my steps almost slippery, for when I saw the prosperity of the wicked, I envied the fool. For when they die there is no pain, and their strength is strong, and they do not suffer as others do, nor do they suffer calamities like others.” This makes people more courageous in doing evil.
On the other hand, even if you fear God and strive to live according to God's will, and live and serve faithfully, everything will not be successful right away. Rather, it seems that the more you try to live a godly life, the more difficult and more difficult it becomes. So, the saints get discouraged along the way, and they go back to the world. But this makes sense. 2 Timothy 3:12 says, “Everyone who wants to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will suffer persecution.” In Romans 8:17 (King James Version), “Children, then heirs, are heirs of God; As joint heirs with Christ, we must also suffer with him in order that we may be glorified with him.”
The Lord is now about to harvest the wheat. That is the difference between the wheat and the tares. In times like these, if you want to become wheat but act like tares, the result will be misery thrown into the furnace.
3. Now is the time to wash the durumagi.
This is verse 14. “Blessed are those who wash their robes, that they may have authority to go to the tree of life and to enter the city through the gates.” (King James Version) “Blessed are those who do his commandments; so that they may have the right to the tree of life, and that they may enter into the city through its gates.”
“To wash the robe” is “to do the commandments of the Lord.” Let's look at Revelation 19:8. “They gave him permission to put on a bright and clean linen linen, saying, ‘This linen linen is the right conduct of the saints.’” In other words, now is the time for the saints to organize their actions. You need to check and organize your place. It is time to move to the place of grace, the place of life. The reason for doing this is ‘to have the right to the tree of life and to be qualified to enter the kingdom of God’. He said that if you do not prepare like this, you will be outside the city.
It was when John Wesley, the founder of Methodism, was leading a revival meeting. When the service was over, a woman from one of the saints approached me and asked me this question.
“If the pastor is due to die tomorrow at 12:00 pm, what will he do with the rest of the time?”
Then Wesley took out a notebook from his pocket,
“We will do as the original plan is written here.”
Said.
He is confident in his own life. Isn't this the life of someone who is prepared for it? Are you confident with yourself like this?
People who are prepared like this are truly happy people. No matter how much wealth you have, even if you enjoy the wealth and glory of the world, if you are not prepared for eternal life, you are unhappy.
There is a story in Aesop's fables called "The Sharp Tooth Pig".
One spring day, a fox came out of its burrow and walked alone on a path in the woods, heard a sound as if something was going on, and followed the sound to the bottom of a rock. There a wild boar was grinding his teeth against a rock. The wild boar continued to grind its teeth even when the fox came. The fox nagged, “Do you only brush your teeth without playing on such a fine spring day?” The wild boar didn't even listen and kept grinding his teeth until his teeth were shining sharply.
The fox nagged again, “Why are you grinding your teeth without playing?” The wild boar said it was annoying.
“Honey, fox, do you think I’m doing something useless for nothing?”
"It's not useless, but it's ridiculous to sharpen weapons on a peaceful day like this. Wouldn't it be better to put those things off until a later date and take a nap on a quiet day or even have a picnic like me?"
“I mean, you should think about it. So should I grind my teeth when I'm chased by a hunter or fight a lion? Then my life will be the hunter's or the lion's, not mine. It's just that on this quiet day, you need to sharpen your teeth so that you can use it on a dangerous day.
Preparation should be done when you have the time and have the spare time. Let's remember that now is the 'time to open up the Word', 'the time to distinguish', and 'the time to organize actions' So, I pray in the name of the Lord that you will live a life of confidence and courage as a prepared person.