The Spirit of Truth- AhnSahngHong!

In my previous 2 posts I showed a couple verses that testify about our Heavenly Mother Jerusalem, the female image of God.

So far we saw through Genesis that God has a female image and through Revelations that this female image is the Bride of Second Coming Christ who will come down from heaven to give us the water of life (eternal life). Let’s confirm through one more verse as to whom the female image of God is to us.

Galatians 4:26- “But the Jerusalem that is above is free, and she is our mother.”

This verse testifies that the female image of God, the Bride of 2nd Coming Christ is our Heavenly Mother who came in the flesh to give us the water of life.

Through the Bible how we find out how to receive the water of life, eternal life, from our Heavenly Mother? Thanks be to our Heavenly Father Christ Ahnsahnghong and Heavenly Mother Jerusalem for giving us understanding of Their words.

As a continuation of my last post, I would like to speak a little more about our Heavenly Mother who is testified in the Bible.

The verses in my previous post testified that there is a female image of God. In order to understand who she is and why she is so important, lets take a look at Revelations.

Revelations 22:17- “The Spirit and the bride say, "Come!" And let him who hears say, "Come!" Whoever is thirsty, let him come; and whoever wishes, let him take the free gift of the water of life.”

Here the Holy Spirit and the bride are offering the water of life which is eternal life (John 4:14). The only one who can give us eternal life is God Almighty. Then what does this mean?

This verse testifies that the Holy Spirit and the bride are both God since they are giving the water of life.

Why is the bride not the church in this context?

First of all, the church nor the people inside can offer eternal life.

Second, the verse previous to this says “I, Jesus, have sent my angel to give you this testimony for the churches. I am the Root and the Offspring of David, and the bright Morning Star." Jesus is testifying to the church, then this bride CANNOT be the church.

Third, Revelations 21:9- “One of the seven angels who had the seven bowls full of the seven last plagues came and said to me, "Come, I will show you the bride, the wife of the Lamb." And he carried me away in the Spirit to a mountain great and high, and showed me the Holy City, Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God.”http://digg.com/tools/diggthis.js

All of us who believe in God know that God is our Father. No one ever denies the male image of God but have you ever heard of the female image of God. Now I know you’re thinking that God doesn’t have an image male or female but let’s see.

Matthew 6:9- “This, then, is how you should pray: ‘Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name,”

Jesus Christ spoke these words and established this relationship with God, which God is our Father and we are the children. Let’s see another verse that shows from the beginning, before we existed that God was already male and female.

Genesis 1:26- “Then God said, ‘Let us make man in our image, in our likeness,’”

Why is God speaking in plural?

Genesis 1:27- “So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them.”

We were created male and female in God’s image, then what is God’s image? Clearly male and female. If God had no sex and we were created in the image of God, human beings would have no sex, if God were male then we would all be male. However, God’s image can be understood as male and female because we were made in God’s image, male and female.

So we can see that God speaks in the plural form because there is a male image of God which we call Father but there is also a female image of God. Then what do we call the female image of God and why is She important?

In the next post we will go through the Bible to understand who the female image of God is to us and why is it important that we know she exists. Thanks to Christ Ahnsahnghong for revealing this perfect truth to us.http://digg.com/tools/diggthis.js

Many people have used the verse Colossians 2:16 to prove that they do not have to observe any Feasts of God (Sabbath, Passover, Unleavened Bread, etc.). Let’s take a look at this verse to get an idea of why people would think that.

Colossians 2:16- “Therefore do not let anyone judge you by what you eat or drink, or with regard to a religious festival, a New Moon celebration or a Sabbath day. These are a shadow of the things that were to come; the reality, however, is found in Christ.”

Now it is very easy to take this verse and say that we don’t have to keep any of God’s feasts if you don’t understand the context of this verse and also the second sentence of this verse.

At this time, Apostle Paul was speaking to Christians in Colosse. Colosse is located in present day Turkey and at the time, the Christians there were being persecuted because the popular beliefs at this time were influencing Christ’s teachings. Eastern mysticism and asceticism (belief that abstinence from certain physical activities such as eating or drinking will allow some sort of mind-body transformation) were the main philosophies that were intruding on Christ’s teachings.

Apostle Paul was not telling the Church of God in Colosse to stop keeping God’s feasts, he was telling the church not to let other people judge them because they keep God’s feasts.
Let’s confirm through the Bible. We have to see if Paul was really instructing the people not to keep God’s feasts.

Acts 17:2- “As his custom was, Paul went into the synagogue, and on three Sabbath days he reasoned with them from the Scriptures,”

Paul’s custom was to keep the Sabbath, he was in Thessalonica at this time for only three weeks so he was at this synagogue for only three weeks. Let’s see another verse for confirmation.
Acts 18:4- “Every Sabbath he reasoned in the synagogue, trying to persuade Jews and Greeks.”
Clearly keeping the Sabbath was a custom of Apostle Paul. However, was it just Apostle Paul’s custom?

Luke 4:16- “He went to Nazareth, where he had been brought up, and on the Sabbath day he went into the synagogue, as was his custom. And he stood up to read. The scroll of the prophet Isaiah was handed to him.”

Jesus Christ’s very own custom was to keep the Sabbath. Christ came to show us the example of how to worship God (John 13:15). Then we should in fact keep the Sabbath day because it God’s true day of worship.

Jesus kept the Sabbath 2,000 years ago, our Heavenly Father Christ Ahnsahnghong also kept the Sabbath, and now our Heavenly Mother continues to keep the Sabbath as an example for us.

Colossians 2:16 says that these feasts are a shadow of the things to come and that the reality is found in Christ. Jesus Christ kept the Sabbath and our Heavenly Father Christ Ahnsahnghong also kept the Sabbath. Then we must follow Christ who is the reality. Thanks to Christ Ahnsahnghong and Heavenly Mother for showing us all the truth in the Bible and giving us understanding.

As a result of my last post, I noticed many people emailing me saying that Jesus abolished the law and that we don’t have to keep the Sabbath day any more. It is only for Jewish people. If these statements are in fact true, where should we find the evidence? You guessed right, let’s go to the Bible.

Matthew 5:17- “Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them. I tell you the truth, until heaven and earth disappear, not the smallest letter, not the least stroke of a pen, will by any means disappear from the Law until everything is accomplished.”

Clearly Jesus himself says that he didn’t come to abolish anything in the Old Testament until heaven and earth disappear. Obviously the heavens and the earth have not disappeared, then nothing in the Old Testament should be disregarded. However, the key is understanding that Jesus came to fulfill everything in the Old Testament. The Law still exists but Jesus fulfilled it, let’s understand why he did so.

Hebrews 7:11- “If perfection could have been attained through the Levitical priesthood (for on the basis of it the law was given to the people), why was there still a need for another priest to come--one in the order of Melchizedek, not in the order of Aaron? For when there is a change of the priesthood, there must also be a change of the law."

According to the Bible, perfection could not be attained through the Levitical priesthood (Old Testament Law) so another priest had to come in the order of Melchizedek who was Jesus (Hebrews 6:20). Through the Old Testament Law, the people couldn’t attain perfection because of the difficulty of fulfilling all the requirements.

Now that we know Jesus didn’t abolish the Sabbath but actually came to fulfill it and give us a way to attain perfection, let’s see how we are to keep it.

John 4:23- “Yet a time is coming and has now come when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for the are the kind of worshipers the Father seeks. God is spirit, and his worshipers must worship in spirit and in truth.”

Jesus tells us that we should worship God in spirit and in truth, sounds pretty simple right? Then how can we worship God in spirit and in truth? Since Jesus gave us the command, we should see by his example.

Luke 4:16- “He went to Nazareth where he had been brought up, on the Sabbath day he went into the synagogue, as was his custom. And he stood up to read. The scroll of the prophet Isaiah was handed to him. Unrolling it, he fond the place where it is written:”

This verse shows that Jesus’ custom was going to the synagogue (church) on the Sabbath day. Then is order to worship in truth, he worshipped God on the true day of worship, the Sabbath. Then how can we worship in spirit, according to this, all he did was read the Bible. Let’s get more confirmation.

Matthew 4:4- “ Jesus answered, ‘It is written: ‘Man does not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God.’’”

We can see that Jesus compares physical food to the word of God which is spiritual food. God’s word is spirit and by reading and listening to it in church on the Sabbath day, we can worship God in spirit.

I thank our heavenly Father Christ Ahnsahnghong because he established Zion, the Church of God World Mission Society so that we can have a place to worship God in Spirit and Truth. Our Father Christ Ahnsahnghong and Heavenly Mother allow us to come to Zion so we can continue to hear God’s word and grow stronger in faith everyday.http://digg.com/tools/diggthis.js

If I were to ask you what is the day we should worship God, you’d probably say one of two things; Sunday or any day. Hey, why not? I would like to propose a hypothetical question, if God said we should worship him on a Wednesday or Monday, what would you do? Of course we would go if God said. Then let’s confirm through the Bible the day of worship.

Throughout this blog please keep this verse in mind-

Revelations 22:18- "I warn everyone who hears the words of the prophecy of this book: If anyone adds anything to them, God will add to him the plagues described in this book. And if anyone takes words away from this book of prophecy, God will take away from him his share in the tree of life and in the holy city, which are described in this book."

Now let’ see what God said in the beginning.

Genesis 2:2- “By the seventh day God had finished the work he had been doing; so on the seventh day he rested from all his work. And God blessed the seventh day and made it holy, because on it he rested from all the work of creating that he had done.”

On the seventh day, God rested, blessed it and made it holy. God did this because he needs rest, blessings or holiness? Of course not! We are the ones who need all three of these so God made the seventh day for us to receive rest, blessings, and holiness. These things are very important for us and are necessary for us to receive salvation. They are so important that God put the seventh day in the Ten Commandments.

Exodus 20:8- “Remember the Sabbath day by keeping it holy. Six days you shall labor and do all your work, but the seventh day is a Sabbath to the Lord your God. On it you shall not do any work, neither you, nor your son or daughter, nor your manservant or maidservant, nor your animals, nor the alien within your gates. For in six days the Lord made the heavens and the earth, the sea, and all that is in them, but he rested on the seventh day. Therefore the Lord blessed the Sabbath day and made it holy.”

In this verse which is the fourth commandment, God again mentions the seventh day of the week and also says that He rested, blessed it, and made it holy. However, in this verse God calls the seventh day the Sabbath.

Everyone already knows how important the Ten Commandments are and accepts them as a part of basic Christian teachings. If you take a look at the other commandments, they all start with “You shall” but verse eight starts with “Remember”. Even though the Ten Commandments are very important God sets the fourth commandment apart by saying “remember”. God says to remember this day because He doesn’t want us to forget. Then we should see why God didn’t just say “you shall”, in order to do this we must see what day of the week is the Sabbath, the seventh day. Also by understanding what day is seventh day, we can receive rest, blessings, and holiness from God.

Let’s check the dictionary.

Sat·ur·day Pronunciation: \'sa-tər-(ˌ)dā, -dē\ Function: noun Etymology: Middle English saterday, from Old English sæterndæg (akin to OldFrisian sāterdei), from Latin Saturnus Saturn + Old English dæg day Date: before 12th century
: the seventh day of the week
— Sat·ur·days \-dēz, -(ˌ)dāz\ adverb

1Sun·day Pronunciation: \'sən-(ˌ)dā, -dē\ Function: noun Etymology: Middle English, from Old English sunnandæg (akin to Old High German sunnūntag), from sunne sun + dæg day Date: before 12th century
: the first day of the week.

These definitions came from Merriam-Webster’s, you can check for yourself. The only problem is that man made the dictionary, of which there are many versions. This blog is not about the dictionary, but the Bible is the main concern here. Then let’s see according to the Bible what day of the week is the seventh day, Sabbath.

If we think about one of the two most well known Christian holidays, Easter, we know that it is always celebrated on a Sunday. Easter is the celebration of the resurrection of Jesus, so we always celebrate Jesus’ resurrection on Sunday.

Mark 16:9- “Jesus rose early on the first day of the week, he appeared first to Mary Magdalene, out of whom he had driven seven demons.”

This verse is about the Resurrection which we always celebrate on Sunday but this verse says Jesus rose on the first day of the week. We can clearly see that Sunday and the first day of the week are the same. Then if Sunday is the first day, then automatically we know Saturday must be the seventh day, Sabbath. Let’s confirm through one more verse.

Mark 16:1- “When the Sabbath was over, Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James, and Salome bought spices so that they might go to anoint Jesus’ body. Very early on the first day of the week,”

This verse confirms that the Sabbath and Sunday cannot be the same, even in the New Testament God’s Sabbath and Sunday are two different days. Then why do so many people keep Sunday worship?

John 8:47- ”He Who belongs to God hears what God says. The reason you do not hear is that you do not belong to God.”

Some people hear what God says so they belong to God, like those who understand that God’s day of worship is Saturday, Sabbath. Some people continue to keep Sunday because they do not belong to God. What about faith? Won’t we be saved because we believe in Jesus and have faith in him regardless of the day of worship?

Matthew 7:21- “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only he who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. Many will say to me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and in your name drive out demons and perform many miracles?’ Then I will tell them plainly, ‘I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers!’”

Clearly this verse is describing people who believe in Jesus and have the faith to perform all kinds of miracles in his name. On judgment day, however, Jesus will tell them I never knew you, away from me you evildoers. Why? This is because despite their great faith in God, they didn’t do his will which we saw is Saturday, Sabbath. So no matter how much faith we have, we still have to be very careful in doing His will correctly.

I want to give all thanks, honor and praise to our Heavenly Father Christ Ahnsahnghong and Heavenly Mother for restoring this truth to us. Thanks to Christ Ahnsahnghong, we are able to recognize God’s will for our salvation. Also because of Christ Ahnsahnghong, we are able to receive God’s rest, blessing, and holiness on the Sabbath day.

Recently I was thinking about God’s laws in the Bible. There is so much dispute about God’s laws. Some people strictly try to follow the Old Testament Law, others loosely adhere to the New Testament, others say that the Law was abolished and we don’t need to follow them anymore. Actually, very recently our Heavenly Father Ahnsahnghong and Heavenly Mother revealed the purpose of the Law and the importance of keeping it. Thanks to our Heavenly Father Christ Ahnsahnghong, we can see clearly how important God’s Laws are according to the Bible.

Romans 5:12- "Therefore, just as sin entered the world through one man, and death through sin, and in this way death came to all men, because all sinned for before the law was given, sin was in the world."

But sin is not taken into account when there is no law. In the same way Adam sinned, all men have sinned. Adam and Eve disobeyed God and ate from the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil, so we know we committed the same sin. Sin is not taken into account when there is no law. The law reveals our sins.

Romans 7:7- "What shall we say, then? Is the law sin? Certainly not! Indeed I would not have known what sin was except through the law."

The law allows us to fully understand our sins. Why did God make the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil?

Genesis 2:16- "And the Lord God commanded the man, "You are free to eat from any tree in the garden; but you must not eat tree of knowledge of good and evil, for when you eat of it you will surely die.""

Through this law, what was exposed?

Genesis 3:1- "Now the serpent was more crafty than any of the wild animals the Lord God had made. He said to the woman, "Did God really say, 'You must not eat from any tree in the garden'?"

This is when the serpent tempted Eve and caused her to eat from the forbidden tree. When God asked Adam what he had done, he blamed Eve and Eve blamed the serpent. Then who is the one that originated sin? The serpent was exposed through this but let's see the reason for God giving the law.

Hebrews 10:1- "The law is only a shadow of the good things that are
coming--not the realities themselves."

If there is a shadow, there should be a reality. Let's first understand the shadow.

Deuteronomy 19:1- "When the Lord your God has destroyed the nations whose land he is giving you, and when you have driven them out and settled in their towns and houses, then set aside for yourselves three cities centrally located in the land the Lord your God is giving you to possess. Build roads to them and divide into three parts the land the Lord your God is giving you as an inheritance, so that anyone who kills a man may flee there. This is the rule concerning the man who kills another and flees there to save his life--one who kills his neighbor unintentionally, without malice or aforethought....19:11- But if a man hates his neighbor and lies in wait for him, assaults and kills him, and then flees to one of these cities, the elders of his town shall send for him, brings him back from the city, and hand him over to the avenger of blood to die."

This verse is concerning two types of people, unintentional murderers and intentional murderers. This law is a shadow, let's look for the reality.

John 1:17- "For the law came through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ."

In Christ we can find the reality. Then in my next post, we can see the reality of the law through Christ and understand God's true love. Thanks to Heavenly Father Ahnsahnghong and Heavenly Mother for this understanding.