Peace and grace in the love of our Lord Jesus Christ.
In the arrangement of the Tabernacle, Revelation 22 refers to the two cherubim on the mercy seat.
The first cherub refers to God the Father.
The second cherub refers to Holy Spirit God.
The other thing on the mercy seat is the seven sprinklings of blood. It refers to the redemption by Jesus, the Son of God.
The three things on the mercy seat protect and take care of the church of God up to entering the New Jerusalem.
It is the same as the three things that we must pay attention to for enteringthe New Jerusalemas follows:
ad. 3.
Revelation 22:2
22:2. In the middle of its street, and on either side of the river, was the tree of life, which bore twelve fruits, each tree yielding its fruit every month. The leaves of the tree were for the healing of the nations.
Bearing fruit means that it can be eaten to grow spirituality. It refers to the true teaching Word or Logos or God the Father.
John 1:1
1:1. In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.
So, the tree of life that always yields the fruits is the true teaching Word that is able to grow the spirituality of the church of God, so it can have the roots, bud, and fruits up to the one of perfection.
That is why the church of God must enjoy the true teaching Word. It means hearing and obeying the Word, so we experience the spiritual growthas follows:
God blesses us.
In the arrangement of the Tabernacle, Revelation 22 refers to the two cherubim on the mercy seat.
The first cherub refers to God the Father.
The second cherub refers to Holy Spirit God.
The other thing on the mercy seat is the seven sprinklings of blood. It refers to the redemption by Jesus, the Son of God.
The three things on the mercy seat protect and take care of the church of God up to entering the New Jerusalem.
It is the same as the three things that we must pay attention to for enteringthe New Jerusalemas follows:
- The Book of Life.
The name must be written in the Book of Life. It means experiencing the redemption by the blood of Jesus, the Son of God. It is the same as experiencing the sprinkle of blood, so we experience the shekinah glory of the New Jerusalem. - A pure river of water of life proceeding from the throne of God. It refers to the power of Holy Spirit that brings the church of God from the cursed world to the throne of the New Jerusalem.
- The tree of life.
ad. 3.
Revelation 22:2
22:2. In the middle of its street, and on either side of the river, was the tree of life, which bore twelve fruits, each tree yielding its fruit every month. The leaves of the tree were for the healing of the nations.
Bearing fruit means that it can be eaten to grow spirituality. It refers to the true teaching Word or Logos or God the Father.
John 1:1
1:1. In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.
So, the tree of life that always yields the fruits is the true teaching Word that is able to grow the spirituality of the church of God, so it can have the roots, bud, and fruits up to the one of perfection.
That is why the church of God must enjoy the true teaching Word. It means hearing and obeying the Word, so we experience the spiritual growthas follows:
- Having the roots.
2 Timothy 4:2
4:2. Preach the word! Be ready in season and out of season. Convince, rebuke, exhort, with all longsuffering and teaching.
The teaching Word consists of the parts as follows:- Convincing the hidden sin in the congregation, so they can realize, regret, and confess their sin to God and others. As a result, they experience the redemption by the blood of Jesus up to there is no remnant of their sin as if they had never sinned.
- Rebukinghardly, so we repent. We stop sinning. We do not repeat the sins that have been forgiven, but we return to God
- Exhorting.
Psalm 73:24
73:24. You will guide me with Your counsel, And afterward receive me to glory.
The exhortation of the Word is the same as the guidance of the hand of God and the lifting for the church of God to live in righteousness. It means having the root of righteousness.
Proverbs 12:12
12:12. The wicked covet the catch of evil men, But the root of the righteous yields fruit.
As a result, we can bud. - Convincing the hidden sin in the congregation, so they can realize, regret, and confess their sin to God and others. As a result, they experience the redemption by the blood of Jesus up to there is no remnant of their sin as if they had never sinned.
- Budding. It means as follows:
- Being saved. We are not punished but set free from the death or perdition.
Proverbs 10:2
10:2. Treasures of wickedness profit nothing, But righteousness delivers from death.
Do not change the righteousness with the thing in the world! It will make us lose salvation. - Being blessed up to descendants as well as becoming the blessing for others.
Psalm 37:25-26
37:25. I have been young, and now am old; Yet I have not seen the righteousforsaken, Nor his descendants begging bread.
37:26. He is ever merciful, and lends; And his descendants are blessed.
We can glorify God, and we will be glorified by Him.
- Being saved. We are not punished but set free from the death or perdition.
- Blooming.
Proverbs 12:26
12:26. The righteous should choose his friends carefully, For the way of the wicked leads them astray.
The righteous can be shepherded well and correctly. He is always in the sheepfold or the Holy Place, namely the perseverance in committing the three kinds of main service to God.
Psalm 1:1-5
1:1. Blessed is the man Who walks not in the counsel of the ungodly, Nor stands in the path of sinners, Nor sits in the seat of the scornful;
1:2. But his delight is in the law of the LORD, And in His law he meditates day and night.
1:3. He shall be like a tree Planted by the rivers of water, That brings forth its fruit in its season, Whose leaf also shall not wither; And whatever he does shall prosper.
1:4. The ungodly are not so, But are like the chaff which the wind drives away.
1:5. Therefore the ungodly shall not stand in the judgment, Nor sinners in the congregation of the righteous.
Jeremiah 17:7-8
17:7. "Blessed is the man who trusts in the LORD, And whose hope is the LORD.
17:8. For he shall be like a tree planted by the waters, Which spreads out its roots by the river, And will not fear when heat comes; But its leaf will be green, And will not be anxious in the year of drought, Nor will cease from yielding fruit.
The righteous who is shepherded is like a tree planted by the rivers of water whose roots absorbthe living water as follows:- The true teaching Word, in the perseverance of committing bible study service and holy communion--the Table of Showbread.
- Holy Spirit, in the perseverance in committing general service--the Golden Candlestick.
- God's love, in the perseverance in committing prayer service--the Golden Altar of Incense.
The facts are as follows:- Being stable in righteousness.
Proverbs 12:3
12:3. A man is not established by wickedness, But the root of the righteous cannot be moved.
We cannot be made fall into sins and the peak, but keep living in righteousness. We cannot be deceived by the false teaching, but hold fast the true teaching Word. We do not get disappointed and desperate as well as leave God in facing the impossible problem, but keep giving thanks and doing the introspection in our life. We just believe in and hope to God. - Experiencing the purification up to the depths of the heart. The heart is the store of sins
Hebrews 4:12-13
4:12. For the word of God is living and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the division of soul and spirit, and of joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.
4:13. And there is no creature hidden from His sight, but all things are naked and open to the eyes of Him to whom we must give account.
We experience the purification as follows:- The purification of the root of the desire of uncleanness, namely the sin of eating-drinking and marrying-giving in marriage, so our heart and mind become holy.
- The purification of the root of bitterness, namely envy and hatred, so our heart and mind become peaceful. All things become easy and light.
- The purification of the root of wickedness, namely the love of money.
1 Timothy 6:10
6:10. For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil, for which some have strayed from the faith in their greediness, and pierced themselves through with many sorrows.
Consequently, one cannot love God and others. He cannot give for God's working and others who are in need.
The fact found in it is becoming greedy and stingy.
Stinginess means that one cannot give.
Greediness means that one steals the possession of God, namely the tithe and special offering, and the one of others. He also looks for money by legalizing all ways.
Acts 20:28, 32-33, 35
20:28. "Therefore take heed to yourselves and to all the flock, among which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers, to shepherd the church of God which He purchased with His own blood.
20:32. "So now, brethren, I commend you to God and to the word of His grace, which is able to build you up and give you an inheritance among all those who are sanctified.
20:33. "I have coveted no one's silver or gold or apparel.
20:35. "I have shown you in every way, by laboring like this, that you must support the weak. And remember the words of the Lord Jesus, that He said, 'It is more blessed to give than to receive.'"
We are purified until we feel more blessed to give than to receive. We can return the possession of God. We can give for God's working and others who are in need.
1 Chronicles 29:17-18
29:17. "I know also, my God, that You test the heart and have pleasure in uprightness. As for me, in the uprightness of my heart I have willingly offered all these things; and now with joy I have seen Your people, who are present here to offer willingly to You.
29:18. "O LORD God of Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, our fathers, keep this forever in the intent of the thoughts of the heart of Your people, and fix their heart toward You.
Our heart always has the yearning to give for God such as time, mind, power, and money until we give our whole life to Him.
Ephesians 4:11-12
4:11. And He Himself gave some to be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, and some pastors and teachers,
4:12. for the equipping of the saints for the work of ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ,
We are equipped with the ministry and Holy Spirit--the tunic of many colors--to be used in the ministry of the building of the body of Christ. It starts from marriage, shepherding, inter shepherding until the Israelites and Gentiles become one perfect body of Christ. We must minister to God faithfully and fervently until the finish line--'its leaf will be green, And will not be anxious in the year of drought'.
Psalm 1:3
1:3. He shall be like a tree Planted by the rivers of water, That brings forth its fruit in its season, Whose leaf also shall not wither; And whatever he does shall prosper.
Jeremiah 17:8
17:8. For he shall be like a tree planted by the waters, Which spreads out its roots by the river, And will not fear when heat comes; But its leaf will be green, And will not be anxious in the year of drought, Nor will cease from yielding fruit.
We keep sprouting beautifully. In the year of drought the flower is more beautiful. We shall not wither. We do not wither spiritually, but we are always fresh and satisfied. The physical thing will never dry too.
We do not worry in the year of drought because God is able to take care of us in the midst of the difficulties of the world.
1 Peter 5:7
5:7. casting all your care upon Him, for He cares for you.
We will never stop yielding the fruits. - The purification of the root of the desire of uncleanness, namely the sin of eating-drinking and marrying-giving in marriage, so our heart and mind become holy.
- The true teaching Word, in the perseverance of committing bible study service and holy communion--the Table of Showbread.
- Yielding the fruits.
Keeping yielding the fruits means keeping experiencing the renewal of life.
The teaching Word is sharper than any two-edged sword. The first sharp edge sanctifies us, and the second one changes us. The true teaching Word is able to change us from the fleshly men to the spiritual ones like Jesus. Changing means yielding the fruits as follows:- The fruit of lips.
Hebrews 13:15
13:15. Therefore by Him let us continually offer the sacrifice of praise to God, that is, the fruit of our lips, giving thanks to His name.
We produce good and true words. - The good deeds.
Hebrews 13:16
13:16. But do not forget to do good and to share, for with such sacrifices God is well pleased.
We give for others who are in need. - Obedience.
Hebrews 13:17
13:17. Obey those who rule over you, and be submissive, for they watch out for your souls, as those who must give account. Let them do so with joy and not with grief, for that would be unprofitable for you.
It is the same as having the fruit of the love or the one of God's bride.
If we obey our parents, shepherd--the spiritual parent--, and God--the heavenly parent--, all things will be successful.
The example is Joseph. He is the image of a fruitful bough or the fruit of the bride or the church of the bride.
Genesis 49:22-26
49:22. "Joseph is a fruitful bough, A fruitful bough by a well; His branches run over the wall.
49:23. The archers have bitterly grieved him, Shot at him and hated him.
49:24. But his bow remained in strength, And the arms of his hands were made strong By the hands of the Mighty God of Jacob (From there is the Shepherd, the Stone of Israel),
49:25. By the God of your father who will help you, And by the Almighty who will bless you With blessings of heaven above, Blessings of the deep that lies beneath, Blessings of the breasts and of the womb.
49:26. The blessings of your father Have excelled the blessings of my ancestors, Up to the utmost bound of the everlasting hills. They shall be on the head of Joseph, And on the crown of the head of him who was separate from his brothers.
Genesis 37:12-13
37:12. Then his brothers went to feed their father's flock in Shechem.
37:13. And Israel said to Joseph, "Are not your brothers feeding the flock in Shechem? Come, I will send you to them." So he said to him, "Here I am."
Joseph was honest and obedient, but he must experience the sprinkle of blood. His tunic was taken. He was cast into the pit. He was sold and slandered even put into jail. It is the test of obedience.
Genesis 39:20-23
39:20. Then Joseph's master took him and put him into the prison, a place where the king's prisoners were confined. And he was there in the prison.
39:21. But the LORD was with Joseph and showed him mercy, and He gave him favor in the sight of the keeper of the prison.
39:22. And the keeper of the prison committed to Joseph's hand all the prisoners who were in the prison; whatever they did there, it was his doing.
39:23. The keeper of the prison did not look into anything that was under Joseph's authority, because the LORD was with him; and whatever he did, the LORD made it prosper.
Being honest and obedient is the same as stretching out our hands to God. We worship Him, and He will stretch out His merciful hand to us.
Psalm 17:7-8
17:7. Show Your marvelous lovingkindness by Your right hand, O You who save those who trust in You From those who rise up against them.
17:8. Keep me as the apple of Your eye; Hide me under the shadow of Your wings,
God protects and takes care of us like His own eye, so nothing can touch us.
- The fruit of lips.
God blesses us.