[Chapter 7-2] Let Us Have Faith That Battles (Revelation 7:1-17)
(Revelation 7:1-17)
Christians
of today must know the truth of the Bible correctly. In particular,
through the Word of Revelation, we must have a proper understanding of
the rapture of the saints and live with proper faith.
First
of all, we must realize that the rapture will happen at the midpoint of
the Great Tribulation, slightly past the first three and a half years
of the seven-year period. The churches and the saints must therefore
have a battling faith in the end times, to fulfill the will of God to
deliver mankind from sin and give eternal life as He has planned in
Jesus Christ.
God
permitted the activities of the Antichrist to fulfill this will of His.
The period during which the Antichrist will be active is the first
three and a half years of the seven-year period of the Great
Tribulation. God allowed the Antichrist to vigorously pursue his ends
during this period. Why? Because to fulfill His great purposes planned
for us, God must bind Satan in the bottomless pit, and to do so the Lord
Himself must return to this earth in person. This is why our God
permitted the Antichrist to powerfully carry out his activities during
the first three and a half years of the seven-year period of the Great
Tribulation.
God
gave everyone His Word of deliverance from sin and of eternal life, and
to fulfill this Word He planned the Great Tribulation. In the main
passage, it is written, “I saw four angels standing at the four corners
of the earth, holding the four winds of the earth, that the wind should
not blow on the earth, on the sea, or on any tree.” God has also planned
to deliver 144,000 of the people of Israel from their destruction, for
He had promised to Abraham that He would be his God and the God of his
descendants. To fulfill this promise, God will bestow His grace of
salvation on Israel and deliver 144,000 of Abraham’s descendants in the
end times.
To
give the saints His Millennial Kingdom and the eternal New Heaven and
Earth, God will certainly permit the Great Tribulation to come to this
earth. After allowing the era of the Antichrist during the Great
Tribulation, God will then seize Satan and shut him up in the bottomless
pit. The reason why God allows the appearance of the Antichrist and the
Great Tribulation is to fulfill His promise of saving Israel and to
bestow His grace of giving eternal life to the Gentiles, who will be
clothed in white through the Great Tribulation.
As
such, the Great Tribulation and the reign of the Antichrist are the
stages that we must infallibly go through. We must realize that all
these things that God has allowed are a part of His plan to save all of
us and clothe us in His grace of eternal life in the Kingdom of Christ.
We must therefore clearly discern exactly in what era we are now living,
and ask ourselves what kind of faith we must have to live on. Our
faith, in short, must be clear and certain.
We
believe in the Word of God. And we also believe that this Word will all
be fulfilled, both physically and spiritually. Today’s era is an era
that is running toward the end times. When the Antichrist and his many
followers emerge in the end times, we must fight against them to defend
our faith, even at the cost of giving up our own lives in martyrdom.
This era is fast approaching us. If we believe in the Word, we must
fight against the Antichrist, the great enemy, and his followers. This
is the faith that battles.
Battle
means to fight. But by fighting, I do not mean physical violence,
hitting and smashing. Rather, battle here means to defend faith without
capitulating under the Antichrist, the servant of Satan who will stand
against the gospel of salvation that the Lord has given us, and who will
persecute the believers. Those who are martyred in the end times are
the ones who have the testimony of Jesus and who have kept the Word of
God. What they testify is Jesus who came through the gospel of the water
and the Spirit.
To
battle is to defend the faith in the gospel of the water and the
Spirit. To defend this gospel, those who were born again by believing in
the gospel of the water and the Spirit given by the Lord must unite
with the other born-again saints in the born-again churches of God. And
we must be resolved to bravely enter the battle with an unbending
determination to spread our faith to others and save their souls. To be
completely battle-ready means to defend our faith and to also save other
souls; this faith of the church is the road to victory that pleases
God. The servants of God and His saints must always keep their battling
faith.
How
is today’s era, in which we must live with battle-ready minds and
faith? The present era is clearly going through many changes. Many
“theories” on the rapture and the second coming of Christ have appeared
and disappeared, and along with them people’s faith have also been
changing accordingly.
Before
a new theory of rapture was advocated in the early 1800s, everyone
believed in and preached the doctrine of post-tribulation rapture, which
argues that Christ will return after the saints go through all of the
Great Tribulation, and that their rapture and resurrection will happen
at this time of Christ’s return. But the theory of pre-tribulation
rapture, which gradually gained its currency in the early 1800s,
completely overturned the theory of post-tribulation rapture.
The
theory of pre-tribulation rapture argues that the believers in Jesus
will be lifted up to heaven before the seven-year period of the Great
Tribulation begins. Although this theory was initially rejected by many,
now virtually everyone has ended up believing in the theory of
pre-tribulation rapture, with only a few exceptions. But the theory of
pre-tribulation rapture not only does not fit with the Word of God at
all, but it even renders God’s Word and His plan meaningless. Yet in the
thoughts and the minds of those who are ignorant of the Bible, this
theory of pre-tribulation rapture has already been firmly planted.
The
apostles of the old times divided God’s eras into two eras. These were
the first era of salvation by faith in Jesus Christ, and the second era
of the Great Tribulation that follows the passing of the first era.
Today’s scholars say that while they understand the first era of
salvation by faith in Jesus, the second era of the Great Tribulation,
the era of the return of Christ and the rapture of the saints, is too
difficult to comprehend.
Most
Christians who believe in the theory of pre-tribulation rapture in
their ignorance of the times cannot but have wrong faith. Pretentiously
predicting their own day and time of Christ’s return, or letting their
faith stagnate idly thinking that they will be raptured before the Great
Tribulation—these are all the result of believing in this theory of
pre-tribulation rapture. So many Christians have fallen into spiritual
indolence, thinking to themselves, “Who cares if the world faces
hardship? I’ll be raptured long before the Great Tribulation comes, and
so everything is just fine.” All this confusion has been brought by
their lack of the exact, biblically sound knowledge of the rapture.
Scofield
advocated the theory of pre-tribulation rapture, and the results was
that the minds of those who believed in this theory have ended up
drifting in the direction of their own comforts, thinking, “We’ll be
raptured before the Great Tribulation comes to this earth, and so let’s
just try to live as comfortably as possible for now.” Their faith has
thus become idle.
But
what does the Bible say about the Great Tribulation and the rapture?
The Bible speaks of mid-tribulation rapture. It tells us that both the
Gentiles and the Israelites who believe in the gospel of the water and
the Spirit given by Jesus will also suffer persecutions from the
Antichrist as they go through the first three and a half years of the
Great Tribulation during the era of the pale horse.
It
tells us that after the first three and a half years of the Great
Tribulation, the Antichrist will kill the saints—that is, the saints
will be martyred. It tells us also that all the saints, both those who
were martyred and those who were not, will be resurrected into glorious
bodies, and simultaneous to their resurrection, they will be lifted to
the air in rapture. When the saints are raptured in the middle of the
Great Tribulation, this world will come to its end with the pouring of
the plagues of the seven bowls. The Lord will then return to this earth
to judge Satan, the Antichrist, and his followers.
Revelation
13 tells us that those whose names are not written in the Book of Life
will all surrender to the Antichrist and his idols. Only those whose
names are written in the Book of Life, in other words, will not yield to
the Antichrist and his followers. Those whose names are not written in
the Book of Life by refusing to believe in the gospel of the water and
the Spirit in their hearts will all end up worshipping and surrendering
to Satan and his idols.
This
is why the Bible tells us that the saints will remain on the earth
during the Great Tribulation, and that slightly past the midpoint of the
Tribulation, they will all be lifted up to the air with their rapture.
Those who surrender to Satan and receive the mark of the Antichrist
during the seven-year period of the Great Tribulation will all be cast
out into the lake of fire and brimstone, but those whose names are
written in the Book of Life and who did not surrender to the idol will
be raptured in the middle of the Great Tribulation.
The
true rapture will happen slightly past the midpoint of the seven-year
period of the Great Tribulation. Detailed biblical cross-references for
the time of rapture will be addressed in this book's second volume to
follow. Yet there are plenty of people who, scheduling the rapture too
soon, speak of pre-tribulation rapture, or otherwise schedule it too
loosely and speak of post-tribulation rapture. Scholars talk of the
theory of pre-tribulation rapture even when they themselves are not
convinced of its merit, and yet many churchgoers hold fast onto this
theory and believe in it. Some people even donate all their possessions
to their churches, or wait in fanaticism for the arbitrarily determined
date of the supposed return of Christ.
A
while ago, members of a certain denomination once picked a date and
believed that Christ will return on this date of their choosing. So they
all climbed up a mountain, tied their bodies together with ropes, and
waited for their rapture into the mid night. Time went by, but no matter
how eagerly they waited, Jesus did not return. So they finally gave up,
freed themselves of the ropes, and climbed down the mountain in shame.
This kind of fiasco, unfortunately, has now become quite common in the
Christian world. Such absurd events are not limited to only Korea, but
they frequently occur all around the world, in Europe, America, Asia,
everywhere.
What
we must know precisely, therefore, is that God will expressly allow the
Great Tribulation even to His saints of faith. This is God’s plan. The
reason why God permits the Great Tribulation to the saints is to fulfill
all His promises—to throw, through the Tribulation, Satan into the
eternal fire, to change this earth into a new world by establishing the
Kingdom of Christ for a thousand years, where the saints will reign with
Him, and to grant the New Heaven and Earth to the believers in Jesus.
This is the will of God that has allowed the Great Tribulation to come
to us on purpose.
The
seven-year period of the Great Tribulation has not begun yet. If we
assume that the natural disasters that we have suffered so far can be
compared to the run-of-the-mill fires that the firefighters can easily
extinguish, the disasters that await the world in the Great Tribulation
are extraordinary, comparable to the fire that would burn down a third
of the world’s forests.
To
not be shaken and to persevere when such disasters and plagues strike
the world, the servants and saints of God must all have faith that
battles. Because we will remain on this earth until the middle of the
Great Tribulation, we must live the end times with the kind of faith
that never surrenders to the Antichrist and his followers. With the
determined heart of a solider entering a battle, you must preach the
gospel of the water and the Spirit all over the world to save one more
soul, including your own family.
The
world will not always be this peaceful. But even when confusion reigns
the world and hardship abounds in our lives, we must always live in
faithfulness, believing that God will protect us until the very last
day. The religions of the world and Satan deceive people with all kinds
of coaxing words, stealing from them and ultimately plunging their souls
into hell.
Even
as now, countless people and those who belong to big denominations
believe in Scofield’s theory of pre-tribulation rapture, leading many
others astray to their wrong faith. Those who believe that they will be
raptured before the Great Tribulation see no need to prepare their faith
to persevere through the Great Tribulation. They think all that they
have to do is just be faithful in their present lives and simply be
lifted up to the air when the Lord calls. But the rapture of the saints
will in fact happen past the first three and a half years of the Great
Tribulation, and so they must prepare their faith for the Tribulation
regardless of when Christ makes His return. We must believe that God
will save the people of Israel and many of the Gentiles during the
seven-year period of the Great Tribulation.
Verse
14 tells us, “These are the ones who come out of the great tribulation,
and washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb.”
This refers to martyrdom. Martyrdom means dying for the righteous work
according to one’s faith. The most correct faith for the saints who have
been delivered from sin is to believe in the gospel, that the Lord has
made all our sins disappear, and to keep this faith. But Satan always
tries to tear down the saints’ faith. We must therefore wage a war of
faith against Satan.
If
we surrender to Satan in this fight, we will be thrown into hell along
with the Devil as his servants, but if we fight and defend our faith
even at the cost of our own lives, we will be martyred and enter the
Kingdom of God by this faith of martyrdom. Because we are waging this
war of faith to defend our faith, our death will be righteous and
glorious.
We
must, therefore, have the faith that fights for the righteous works. We
must believe that we are engaged in a battle for the sake of others to
save their souls, and we must defend our faith until the end and triumph
in this war to send these souls to Heaven. Until we receive the crown
of victory, we must overcome Satan in our battle against him with the
sword of the Word of our Lord.
People
are born once and they die once. No matter how much progress medical
sciences have made, everyone eventually dies. Whether people die at the
age of 10 or 80, they will all face the judgment of sin from God. Those
who die without having believed in the gospel of the water and the
Spirit given by the Lord while on this earth will meet their judgement
and be condemned to be cast out into the eternal fire. Though all their
sins were washed away by the water and the blood of Jesus, making them
as white as snow, because their sin of not believing in this truth was
not forgiven, these unbelievers will be judged for all the sins that
they committed before God and men while on this earth and pay their
price.
To
avoid being condemned to the fire of hell before God, we must believe
in the gospel of the water and the Spirit given by Jesus that redeems us
of all our sins. The gospel of the water and the Spirit that atones us
for all our sins is different from the gospel that believes only in the
blood of the Cross. I have always preached the gospel of the water and
the Spirit, whether in ordinary times or otherwise. Only by believing in
the gospel of the water and the Spirit can we receive the Holy Spirit
and be bestowed with the blessing of becoming God’s children. When we
believe in Jesus, we must stay away from and not believe in the false
gospel made of only the blood of the Cross.
The
Old Testament speaks of the true gospel by the laying on of hands and
the laver. In the New Testament, the Word of God tells us that our sins
were passed onto Jesus all at once through the baptism that Christ
received. The laver of the Old Testament and the baptism of the New
Testament both refer to the same faith in the gospel of the water and
the Spirit that has saved us from all our sins—through the baptism of
Jesus that handed over all our sins onto Him, His death on the Cross,
and His resurrection. No one can be saved but by this gospel of the
water and the Spirit.
We
must continue to live by our faith in the gospel of the water and the
Spirit until we reach the middle of the Great Tribulation. We must
discern this age, and live these last few remaining days as God wants us
to, preaching the Kingdom of God and bringing good news to all. The
Lord told us that many people would be saved even during these last
days.
Few
plants can survive in a desert, as there is no water, but only sand and
burning sunlight. But even in this desolated desert filled by only hot
and dry dust and sand, when rain brings water, plants can sprout,
flower, and bear fruits in just a week. All that the desert lacks is
water; the seeds buried underneath the sand, though unable to sprout
yet, are not dead but still alive, waiting for rain. And when moisture
makes its way to these dry seeds, they sprout immediately. The seeds
sprout in a day, grow the next day, and flower and bear fruit in the
third day. And in their last day these plants drop their seeds on the
ground, and the hardened seeds once again hide beneath the sand.
Just
as plants in a desert that seems impossible to sustain not even a
single tiller or sprout can still manage to grow when water is supplied,
we believe that in the end times, there will also be souls around the
desert-like world that will sprout, blossom, and bear fruits if they
come into even the slightest contact with the water of the gospel of the
water and the Spirit. We believe that when the plagues of the seven
trumpets actually materialize, many who heard of the Great Tribulation
before through the Word will realize the gospel planted in them, keep
it, and in no time grow the faith of martyrdom.
As
such, when you and I are martyred to defend our faith, there will be
many other people of faith, rising like the desert plants that instantly
grow even on dry grounds, who will join us in our martyrdom for
refusing to receive the mark and worship the idol. This gospel of the
water and the Spirit that we are spreading now will enable many people
to grow their faith in a short period of time to embrace martyrdom, and
turn them into the workers of God who will fight on.
From
children to the elderly, we are all soldiers in the army of the Lord.
Always preparing our hearts for battle, we must live with the right
faith, undeceived by any lies, as the people of Christ. To those of us
who win the battle, God will give us the crown of victory and
unspeakable rewards. We must therefore live our lives serving the
righteous works of God, with the faith that fights against Satan, all
his lies, and all the evilness of the world.
God Will Give Us Bold Faith in the Time of Tribulation
When
the era of the pale horse arrives, God will give us its signs. Verse 1
says, “After these things I saw four angels standing at the four corners
of the earth, holding the four winds of the earth, that the wind should
not blow on the earth, on the sea, or on any tree.” The wind here
refers to the wind of tribulation that God will raise. Revelation 7:1-8
tells us that to save the people of Israel, God will seal them and thus
hold the wind for a short while. But when the time comes—that is, when
the era of the black horse, the era of famine among the seven eras of
God, passes—God will open the era of the pale horse. The four winds of
the earth will then be raised, bringing the wind of tribulation to the
world.
When
it is time to open the era of the pale horse, the fearful wind of
tribulation will begin to blow, and many Israelites will be killed, and
many Gentiles, including us, will also be killed. When this era of the
pale horse comes, the era of tribulation will infallibly begin.
Because
now is the era of the black horse, the wind of famine is blowing around
the world. When this era is over, the era of the pale horse will begin,
raising the wind of tribulation. The wind of tribulation marks the
full-scale beginning of the seven-year period of the Great Tribulation.
When God brings the Great Tribulation to this world for the first time
since His creation of the universe and the beginning of human
history—that is, when the wind of tribulation blows with the opening of
the era of the pale horse—everything will end, and everything will also
be renewed and start again.
We
must realize that when the era of the pale horse comes, the era of
tribulation also opens. As the rulers around the world unite, certain
politicians will seize absolute power, and those who do not obey their
command and rules will be thrown into tribulations and death. People
will find it very hard to live through the era of the pale horse as they
will be facing great difficulties from the natural disasters unleashed
by the plagues of the seven trumpets, but compounding this hardship will
be the political circumstances of the time that will also be very
threatening. But even in this situation, God will continue to work among
the people, leading a countless number of the Gentiles to their
salvation.
When
the wind of tribulation blows in the era of the pale horse, hope can be
found in only one place. As the Word tells us, that “salvation belongs
to our God who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb,” this only hope is
found in our God the Father and Jesus Christ. When the fearful wind of
tribulation is raised, the Antichrist will emerge on this earth, uniting
not only the political sphere of the world but also all social spheres,
from economy to culture to religion, in global integration. Tribulation
means going through terrifying persecution. This is the wind that will
be raised. And all these things will happen all of a sudden.
The
wind of economic integration is blowing throughout today’s world. There
is a strong movement toward free trade, eliminating tariff walls among
the member countries of various trade organizations. Under a
protectionist trading system, it used to be difficult for the products
of one country to maintain their price-competitiveness in another
country, because tariffs imposed during the export and import processes
would raise their prices higher, regardless of how low the initial
prices of the exports might have been.
But
such tariff walls are falling down. A good example can be found in
Europe, where tariffs have been phased out. Among the member countries
of the European Union (EU), for instance, there is no tariff anymore.
This is the beginning of a greater integration to come, indicating the
rise of political and cultural unity. This is an amazing development.
Without tariffs, a country can sell its products in any other country.
This is a groundbreaking transformation of the global economic
environment. If the EU successfully completes its economic integration,
global economic integration will also accelerate even more.
Recently,
Korea, China, and Japan reached an agreement to provide emergency loans
to each other in the event of a future financial crisis in Asia, like
the one that engulfed the region in 1997. In the Asian crisis of 1997,
financial support was provided by the United States. But with this
agreement, the three countries involved have pledged to provide
financial support to each other if a signatory country faces a currency
or economic crisis. This means forming an economic alliance. Just as the
European countries have eliminated tariffs and pursued economic
integration through the EU to seek greater prosperity for its member
countries, the three countries of the Far East are also pooling their
resources together. Such integration of individual countries and its
organizational development will eventually lead to political
integration.
Economic
integration through tariff removal means de facto integration of
individual countries into a supranational entity. When natural disasters
of the seven plagues strike and chaos runs rampant throughout the
world, the representatives of such international organizations and
institutions will unite to select an absolute leader. They will try, in
other words, to bring order to the chaotic world by organizing the world
into a single political entity and raising a ruler with absolute power.
The
wind of tribulation will blow in the midst of this process. Instead of
respecting individual rights, trampling on the rights of the few for the
sake of the greater majority will become not only acceptable, but
expected. This wind will blow when the era of the pale horse comes. The
groundwork for such events is laid during the era of the black horse,
and their actual realization will come in the era of the pale horse.
When
Korea was struck by the financial crisis of 1997 and subjected under
the tutelage of the International Monetary Fund (IMF), it was engulfed
in devastating economic calamities. Real estate prices plunged, people
lost their jobs over night, and the middle class was pushed out into the
streets. Such economic catastrophes have become so common throughout
the world that hardly a day goes by without hearing about yet another
financial crisis in yet another country. This wind is the wind of
famine. We are in this era of famine, the kind of era when your life
becomes worthless if you have no money. In the near future, this wind of
famine will shortly be followed by the full-blown wind of tribulation.
God
held the winds of the four corners of the earth for a while and sealed
144,000 among the people of Israel. After preventing any harm to them,
He then released the wind of tribulation. When this wind of tribulation
leaves the hands of the angels, the wind of the Great Tribulation will
blow. The wind of tribulation will unite the world, which, with the rise
of the Antichrist, will wholly become Satan’s dominion, and go through
the seven-year period of great natural disasters from the plagues of the
seven trumpets. These plagues of the seven trumpets will then be
followed by the plagues of the seven bowls.
During
this era of the Antichrist’s tyrannical rule and of the disappeared
freedom of faith, famine and starvation will reach the worst level,
forcing people to survive only on government-distributed food. Everyone
in the world will face this era. The Word of Revelation 7 provides us
with an overall picture of such things to come.
What
else awaits us in this era? The era of the pale horse will also be
marked by the countless martyrdom of both the Israelites and the
Gentiles. When the Great Tribulation comes, there is only hope left.
Verse 10 tells us, “and crying out with a loud voice, saying, ‘Salvation
belongs to our God who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb!’” Our
salvation, in other words, is found only in our God who sits on the
throne, and in the Lamb. As we can see from chapter 4, which tells us
that a throne was prepared for Jesus Christ, the One who sits on the
throne is Jesus Christ, not as a weak, but as the Son of God, the
Almighty God, and the Judge of all. God the Father still sits on His
throne. So when we speak of the Triune God, God the Father, the Son, and
the Holy Spirit are all the same God. Our actual salvation thus belongs
to our God and the Lamb—Jesus Christ, in short.
Where
could we find hope when the fearful Tribulation comes? When the
Antichrist rises during the Great Tribulation, he will make an image
after himself, and threaten to kill all who refuse to worship the image,
as well as all who do not receive the mark of his name on their hands
or foreheads (Revelation 13).
In
terms of the environment, the natural conditions will also reach the
worst level possible, as fire and hail rain from the sky, earthquakes
strike, and other plagues follow. No place in this earth will remain
untouched by the plagues. In this worst environmental situation, where
the earth splits open with quakes, the sun, the moon, and the stars lose
their light, and the seas and rivers die from the plagues, the
political situation of the time will also be the worst of its kind. The
Antichrist will reign with the most tyrannical rule possible, as he
assumes absolute power and subjugates all other leaders of the world
under his domination.
Why Does the Antichrist Emerge?
Because
Satan will briefly give his power to the Antichrist in an attempt to
fulfill his last wish—that is, to satisfy his desire to be called as God
by the people to be raised above the true God. But Satan himself knows
that this wish will not be fulfilled. Yet for the last time, he will
still try to be glorified through mankind, killing all those who do not
obey him. Such is the worst of all woes that will befall on the saints.
At this time, the saints will have no other choice but to die, because
the only One in whom they can trust and place their hope is the God of
our salvation, Jesus Christ our God, who has saved us through the gospel
of the water and the Spirit. We can rely only on this God, and only by
believing in Him can we be delivered from death in the midst of these
horrible plagues and tribulations.
In
these last days, our only hope belongs to “our God who sits on the
throne and to the Lamb of God.” By believing in our God, the saints will
be martyred, and by their faith in Him, they will be delivered from the
terrifying plagues and death. Revelation 7 thus provides us with the
contours of all that will happen during the seven-year period of the
Great Tribulation.
Let’s
continue with the events that the wind of tribulation will bring.
Verses 9-10 tell us, “After these things I looked, and behold, a great
multitude which no one could number, of all nations, tribes, peoples,
and tongues, standing before the throne and before the Lamb, clothed
with white robes, with palm branches in their hands, and crying out with
a loud voice, saying, ‘Salvation belongs to our God who sits on the
throne, and to the Lamb!’” When asked who this multitude of all tribes
and tongues clothed in white and praising the Lord were, one of the 24
elders answered, “These are the ones who come out of the great
tribulation, and washed their robes and made them white in the blood of
the Lamb.”
This
tells us that a countless number of people will be saved in the midst
of the Great Tribulation, when innumerable martyrs will rise from the
people of all nations, tribes, and tongues. There will be, in other
words, a flood of those who believe in God as their only Savior from all
the tribulations and plagues of the time. It means, in short, that
salvation is found only in the God of Trinity.
Because
God gave us the gospel of the water and the Spirit that has saved us
from our sins, and because we believe in this gospel, when the
Antichrist appears and demands us with threats to surrender to him and
call him as God, we will not yield to him. Moreover, even if some of us
were to surrender to the Antichrist, there would be no guarantee for
their survival, for they will have to go through the disastrous plagues
and the last-ditch fanaticism of Satan. Nothing is guaranteed at this
time.
We
thus have no other choice but to believe in God who has saved us. We
will boldly embrace our martyrdom by believing in God, who will give us
His Millennial Kingdom and the New Heaven and Earth, for He will raise
us again from the dead, rapture us, and give us all the glory and
blessing of the New Heaven and Earth. This is why there will be so many
people who are clothed in white robes washed in the blood of the Lamb.
There
will truly be many martyrs who die for their faith in God. The saints
and all those who are martyred during this time, from every nation of
the world, will give up their lives for their faith in God. Those who
believe in the gospel of the water and the Spirit that we are now
preaching will embrace their martyrdom by believing in God, that He will
deliver them from all the horrors of the tribulations and plagues of
the time. Only God can deliver us from these terrifying plagues.
I
am telling you all the significant events that will happen during the
seven-year period of the Great Tribulation. When the wind of tribulation
blows in this world, there will be no hope left on this earth. The
world as we now know will no longer exist, with heaven and earth
disappearing as a scroll is rolled up.
God
will then create a new earth on this earth, have the martyrs of faith
reign over it for a thousand years, and when this millennium is over,
move them to His eternal Kingdom. There is only our God who has
delivered us from our sins, who will save us from the death and
destruction of the Great Tribulation, and who can give us hope. When the
time of martyrdom comes, you and I, as well as the people all over the
world who heard and believed in the gospel, will be bravely martyred for
believing in God who has saved us from our sins. We will embrace our
martyrdom with our bold faith and in hope. The One who will deliver us
from the terrifying plagues and tribulations is our God who sits on the
throne.
As
such, we cannot be martyred without believing that God who has saved us
from our sins is also God who will deliver us from these terrifying
plagues. The martyrs of this time are those whose names are written in
the Book of Life of the Lamb. But no one whose name is not found in the
Book of Life will be able to be martyred.
This
gospel will infallibly be preached throughout the whole world, and
everyone around the world will surely hear and know it. Because we are
ceaselessly spreading this gospel now, the gospel of the water and the
Spirit is being testified throughout the world. There are many souls in
this world who, when the Great Tribulation comes, will place their hope
only in the Lamb, believe in God even at the risk of their own lives,
and be able to embrace their martyrdom. And the gospel of the water and
the Spirit, which enables its believers’ names to be written in the Book
of Life, will continue to be preached.
Those
who believe in the gospel of the water and the Spirit will be martyred
in the end times. Revelation 13:8 tells us, “All who dwell on the earth
will worship him, whose names have not been written in the Book of Life
of the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world.” It is the absolute
truth that everyone whose name is not written in the Book of Life will
surrender to the Beast, without any exception.
Only
Jesus Christ and God His Father can deliver us from the Great
Tribulation of the last days. The Holy Spirit now dwells in our hearts. I
believe that we are saved by God, and even if we are put to death for
His sake, God will raise us from the dead again, lift us up to the air
with rapture, renew every and all things on the earth, and allow us to
live in His Millennial Kingdom.
This
era of the pale horse ravaged by such wind of tribulation is fast
approaching us. The era of the black horse is running fast. When it runs
its course, the pale horse will appear. From then on, the whole world
will enter into the seven-year period of the Great Tribulation. Lasting
no more and no less than seven years, this period of the Great
Tribulation will certainly be fulfilled, for it is God’s plan.
Let’s
assume for a moment that the Great Tribulation has indeed begun. Trees
and grass around us and throughout the world are burning, the sky is
filled by smoke, the sun is hidden behind thick smog clouds leaving the
world in darkness even during daytime, people are dying everywhere, and
we even hear the voice of people who are pursuing us. Whom would we
trust? Would you trust in God, who has saved us from all our sins, and
who has promised to make the martyrs who did not surrender to the
Antichrist live again, to return to this earth again to resurrect and
rapture us, and to take us to His New Heaven and Earth, or would you
rather not trust in Him? Of course we would trust in God! God alone is
our only hope! Neither adulation of the Antichrist nor reliance on
ourselves can deliver us; nor would hiding in caves, nor even leaving
the earth and escaping to a space station—nothing, but nothing will ever
deliver us but God!
When
comets hit this planet, all the debris will fall on the earth,
destroying the whole planet. Everything that God first created will be
destroyed. True hope will then spring up in our hearts. Whom can we
place our hope in such a desperate situation? God is the only One whom
we can look toward and seek help from, no one but God has saved us!
Because
we have been saved by believing in the Word of the gospel of the water
and the Spirit, we thank and praise God for this salvation. But when the
Great Tribulation comes, we will thank and praise God with everything
we have for also delivering us from the terrifying plagues and death.
Only God can deliver us from the hands of the Antichrist. There is no
one else but God. Because we place our faith and hope in this God, and
because we believe and hope that God will resurrect us and allow us to
live in the Millennial Kingdom and the New Heaven and Earth in eternal
happiness, we can withstand and overcome all the tribulations to come.
The
time will come when the Antichrist will drag us before his image,
demanding, “Bow before this image, and call me God. Jesus is not God. I
am God, and I am the one who will save you.” When the Antichrist thus
demands us to worship him, we may be terrified, but none of us who have
been born again can ever bow before his image. Why? Because after
forcing us to take his mark, the Antichrist will make us into his
slaves, use us to kill people, and in the end kill us also.
The
time will come when this Antichrist will stand to declare himself as
God. It is not too distant of a future when the Antichrist will build
huge images after himself, demand everyone throughout the world to call
him God, and build choirs to sing praises to him. If peace exists in
this time and the natural environment is healthy and beautiful, one may
even think that a new world has opened. But with the forest burnt down,
the sun disappeared and the earth in darkness, people screaming as they
die, and garbage and half-burnt corpses littering the streets, none of
us can ever obey the Antichrist’s command to bow before his image and
call him as our God. Every born-again believer will know at this time,
that he is the Antichrist prophesized by the Word of God.
The
Holy Spirit also teaches us. He gives us hearts that never surrender.
He gives us bold hearts, the kind that says, “Kill me if you must, but
if I die the Lord will avenge my death on you, and He will resurrect me
for sure!” We believe that just as our Lord rose from the dead in three
days, we, too, will also be brought alive again. And the Lord will
rapture us without fail.
The Righteous Will Never Surrender to the Antichrist
Those
who heard this Word of promise, that God will destroy the first world
and build the Millennial Kingdom in its place to let the righteous reign
in it for a thousand years, and are born again by believing in it will
never surrender to the Antichrist, for as the Holy Spirit dwells in
their hearts, they will know everything. But those who have no Holy
Spirit will beg for their lives and surrender to Satan, fearing that
their lives would be lost if they refuse to follow the dominant flow of
what might first seem like a whole new world. When everyone thus fears
death and becomes a slave to it, only the born-again will be free from
this fear of death and boldly embrace their martyrdom, in an act as
bright as the rising sun.
The
born-again can do so because they have the hope that they will be
resurrected into new bodies. This is why those dwelt by the Holy Spirit
will not only have no fear of death, but they will actually stand
against the Antichrist and throw him off his balance with the bold words
flowing from the Holy Spirit. They may be timid now, but those who are
sealed by the Holy Spirit by believing in the gospel of the water and
the Spirit will, through the Holy Spirit, speak the words that their
enemies cannot answer at all. We believe in this Word of God.
The
Antichrist will be upset as the saints declare to him, “How dare you
call yourself God! You were driven out of heaven, and soon you’ll be
driven off the earth also! Your days are numbered now!” Not just a few,
but a countless multitude from all the nations of the world will rise
and stand against the Antichrist. The Antichrist will then kill them
all. At this time, the saints will never be servile even as they are put
to death. As the Word of God tells us, that “Salvation belongs to our
God who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb!,” we will die in hope and
great conviction of our faith flowing from the Holy Spirit.
As
the Book of Acts bears witness, when Stephen was stoned to death, he
looked up to heaven and saw in a vision the throne of God, and Jesus
standing at His right hand waiting to receive him. Even as he was dying,
Stephen prayed for the forgiveness of those who were stoning him, just
as Jesus asked for the forgiveness of the people who crucified Him.
Just
like Stephen, the martyred saints of the end times, being full of the
Holy Spirit, will not waver but be bold. Though they may now seem timid
and their faith weak, all those who hear this Word now will have the
faith of boldness when this time comes.
Do
not fear. There is nothing to fear, for all these things, from the rise
of the Antichrist to the wind of tribulation, will happen only by the
permission of God and within His plan as manifested in Revelation 6.
Martyrdom
does not come by our own strength of the flesh. Martyrdom is possible
only by the power of the Holy Spirit and our faith in the truth. We can
be martyred, in other words, by believing in God, in His Word of
promise, and in the fact that the Almighty God is our God.
You
must realize now that the martyrdom that God has permitted us within
the seven eras of His plan is the providence of God. Let us not think of
our martyrdom, a part of God’s plan for us, at our own whims, but
instead believe it in our hearts according to the Will of God. Let us
believe in the Word of God, that when the time comes for our martyrdom,
God will give us more than enough strength to face it.
In
every world there is an absolute ruler. The born-again are ruled by
God, while those who have not been born again are ruled by the spirit of
Satan. When the end times come, the born-again, being ruled by God,
will receive the strength from Him to bear with all trials and
tribulations. In contrast, those who are ruled by Satan will have no
choice but to follow his will, whether they want to or not, for they are
under the dominion of Satan.
But
whose power really is greater? Whether we are blessed or cursed is
determined by whose power is greater between God and Satan. Who is
ultimately saved in the end times is decided by whom we believe and
follow, in whose words we trust. Those who have believed in God and His
Word will be protected, blessed, and given eternal life by His almighty
power and authority forever. But those who heard the words of Satan and
surrendered to him will be thrown into hell along with him, who is
powerless to deliver them from hell. This is why God gave His Word
through Revelation 1-7.
From
chapter 8 and on, Revelation records in detail what will happen during
the era of the pale horse. First of all, the plagues of the seven
trumpets will descend on the earth. Of these seven plagues, let’s turn
to the first plague found in verse 7: “The first angel sounded: And hail
and fire followed, mingled with blood, and they were thrown to the
earth. And a third of the trees were burned up, and all green grass was
burned up.” With the plague of the first trumpet, hail and fire mingled
with blood will rain on the earth. This will not be the first time that
fire would rain down on the earth, since the planet earth has been hit
by meteors or comets on several occasions already.
So
far, none of them has been catastrophic enough to bring devastation to
the whole world, but when the era of the pale horse comes, the
full-blown wind of tribulation will rage through the earth. When this
wind rises as a tornado and sweeps away the nature, fire will rain on
this earth and burn down a third of the trees and all grass, and
everyone will rush out to put out the raging fire.
The
Word of God tells us that after the forests of the world are burnt down
by the first plague, a great mountain burning with fire will fall into
the sea—most likely to be a comet. This is elaborated further with the
third plague: “Then the third angel sounded: And a great star fell from
heaven, burning like a torch, and it fell on a third of the rivers and
on the springs of water.” A comet, in other words, will collide with the
earth. As in the movie Deep Impact, where a comet falls into the sea
and raises huge tidal waves, the third plague will bring a similar
disaster. The plague may not be as catastrophic as in this movie, but
the meteors striking various places of the earth will bring significant
damages to the planet earth. The tidal waves will kill off a third of
the living creatures in the sea and destroy a third of the ships.
When
such wind of tribulation begins to blow, we will recognize the arrival
of the era of the pale horse. In the future, when you see breaking news
flashing across your TV telling you that fire is raining from the sky
and that a third of the world’s forests are burned up in smoke, you
should realize that what was due has finally come. When governments
mobilize everyone from kids to the elderly to put out the fire, you
should most certainly recognize that the beginning of the end has come
at last.
For
those of us who believe in the gospel of the water and the Spirit now,
the hope of salvation that will deliver us from these terrifying plagues
is found only in the Almighty God. When the Antichrist kills us, we
will be martyred since we have no earthly power to match him, but we
will nevertheless be martyred in great joy. The Almighty God will
resurrect those of us who embrace martyrdom in the midst of this
horrendous Tribulation in faith, and the Lord will become our Shepherd
and lead us to the river of the water of life.
Having
built the Kingdom of God, where we will never again suffer from fire,
nor from thirst, nor from the harms of the sun, God will take us there.
The Word tells us that God will live with us in this Kingdom, comfort
us, wipe away our tears, and allow us to live in glory forever, so that
we may never suffer again.
Stand Firm on the Word of Promise
When
I dwell on the Bible, my heart gets filled by the Holy Spirit in hope,
and I realize that God alone can deliver us from these terrifying
plagues. “Come, Lord Jesus!” I believe in our Lord. I believe that He
will deliver me from the horrible Tribulation, just as He has delivered
me from all my sins. I believe that He will deliver my fellow saints as
well. I believe that my salvation, even before the advent of the last
days, belongs to our God who sits on the throne and to the Lamb, and I
believe that your salvation, too, is found in God.
The
world will soon be filled by plagues and disasters as the Great
Tribulation arrives. But regardless how difficult this world turns, I
believe that our God will deliver us from the tribulations and plagues
of the time and the persecution of our enemies, for God has delivered us
from all our sins, given us the right to become His children, and made
us so.
Those
who are not born again are far more wretched than us. How miserable
would it be to have no God to place absolute trust, when everything is
burning down and chaos runs rampant? Some people will no doubt hold
desperately on to their own religion, whether be it Buddhism or Islam,
but they will find no hope in them. Only despair and frustration will
await them. There will be many people who end up facing their demise in
such desperation. We, too, will face the same chaos and the same
difficulties as these people. But our hearts are different from theirs.
We who are preparing our faith now are different from the rest, for God
has made us sinless through the gospel of the water and the Spirit.
John
1:12 tells us, “But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right
to become children of God, to those who believe in His name.” God has
sealed us, in other words, with the right to become His children,
telling us, “You are My children.” He has given us this great and
glorious right. We are God’s children. When we believe in the gospel of
the water and the Spirit, is there any sin still left in our hearts? Of
course not! Of all things, have we not become the children of God? Of
course we have! If the children of God lack the knowledge of the
Scripture and have many shortcomings, does this then mean that God would
not protect them as their Father? Of course not! Just as parents devote
more attention and care on their children who lack knowledge, God gives
more strength and more protection to those of us who are weak.
When
chaos runs rampant with the arrival of the time of the Antichrist, God
will keep His children strong through the Holy Spirit, and give them
faith, hope, and boldness. Because He will give us boldness, we will
have no fear. There is nothing to fear except fear itself rising in our
hearts. People can avoid what happens around them by escaping from it,
but fear in their hearts cannot be shaken off no matter where they turn.
Neither by hiding in bedrooms, nor in basements, nor in bomb shelters
can they run away from this fear that grapples their hearts.
The
hearts of the saints, in contrast, have no fear but only boldness, and
they can thus face their martyrdom with courage, saying to themselves,
“What was due has finally come. It’s time for the Lord’s return! He’ll
soon take us away!” This is when the rapture will happen—not in just a
normal day like today, but when a third of the world is burning up in
smoke. But before the Tribulation gets even worse, God will lift up the
saints to the air.
Do
you now believe that God has indeed set seven eras for you? Revelation 6
tells us that He did. As He has set, God will bring everything to bear
on the saints exactly as is written. As such, those who have been atoned
for their sins are greatly blessed, but those who have hesitated and
not believed in the gospel are ill-fated, to end up in hell. God tells
us that horrendous plagues will come in the future, and when these
plagues are over, those who are not born again will be thrown into the
lake of eternal fire and brimstone. This is why God has given us a
peaceful world now, and why He has entrusted us with His gospel in such a
peaceful time.
God
came to this earth about 2000 years ago in the flesh of a man. For our
sake, He received baptism to take upon all our sins and died on the
Cross, delivering us from all the sins of the world. As our Savior, He
saved us. He bestowed us with His blessing that has allowed us to be
saved by believing in God and His salvation. This is the grace of God.
This is the gospel that has delivered us from all our sins and the
judgement of God, by sending God’s only begotten Son to us, passing all
our sins onto Him, and judging His own Son in our place. By believing in
this now, we become clothed in God’s grace and receive eternal life
from Him. Because we believe in this, we have become God’s children, and
because we have now become God’s children, He will call us up and
protect us when the Tribulation of the last days turns into its most
severe stage.
At
this time, the children of God and the children of Satan will be
clearly distinguished from each other. Their unmistakable differences
will stand out obviously. This will be elaborated further with a more
detailed discussion later on. What you must remember for now is that
when the Great Tribulation comes to us and we are martyred, we will be
resurrected and lifted up before God. It does not matter whether one
believes in it or not; this will happen regardless, for God said that He
will raise the winds and so bring all these things to pass.
Verse
1 tells us, “After these things I saw four angels standing at the four
corners of the earth, holding the four winds of the earth, that the wind
should not blow on the earth, on the sea, or on any tree.” God is
withholding these winds so that they would not blow now. Put
differently, this means that when God permits, these winds will blow
from the four corners of the earth. When allowed by God, the angels of
God will release these winds and usher in the era of the pale horse.
When the wind of the Great Tribulation thus begins to blow, bringing
natural disasters and wars to everywhere in the world, everyone will be
right in the middle of the whole calamities. But thus far, God has
withheld these winds steady.
Countries
around the world are investing heavily in arms production. Time may
come when the great powers might have to devote as much as 30 percent of
their GNP on military spending. Even as now, huge amounts of resources
are being channeled to military spending in an effort to develop massive
amounts of new, more deadly weapons, i.e., weapons of mass destruction.
Whenever the economy recovers, its surpluses are spent in expanding
military expenditure.
The
United States, for instance, is now pushing to develop a missile
defense system dubbed as the “Star War Plan.” When this system is fully
developed, war will be fought not only on the earth, but in space as
well, with armed satellites shooting down air-born ballistic missiles
with its own missiles outside the atmosphere. Air war will take on a
whole new meaning then. Thus the question now being raised is who will
be the first to develop extra-atmospheric weapons and dominate the space
for military use.
Looking
at such developments, we can feel that when God allows, and when the
terrifying plagues descend on the earth, the prophesized ruler with
absolute power will soon emerge.
All
these things, however, can happen only when God permits them. No matter
how difficult the world turns, we believe that God will become our
Shepherd, guide us to the living fountains of water, and wipe away all
tears from our eyes. This is why the saved are so abundantly blessed.
When
you believe in Jesus, you cannot believe in Him in whatever way that
you might feel like. The true faith is the faith of those who believe in
the Word of God.
Revelation
7:14 tells us, “And I said to him, ‘Sir, you know.’ So he said to me,
‘These are the ones who come out of the great tribulation, and washed
their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb.’” By “washed
their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb,” it means that
they were martyred for their faith in the Lord. Be careful in
interpreting this verse; this does not refer to being saved by believing
only in the blood of the Cross.
Rather,
what you must realize is that those whose hearts are not dwelt by the
Holy Spirit are not the children of God, and that those who do not
believe in the gospel of the water and the Spirit are the ones who do
not believe in the gospel at all. Only those who believe in the gospel
of the water and the Spirit can embrace their martyrdom, overcome the
Tribulation, and thus give great glory to the Lord.
Because
we believe in God, when the time of great hardship and suffering comes,
we will not lose our faith, nor surrender to Satan, but boldly embrace
our martyrdom with the strength received from God. We will then be
resurrected by the Lord and protected by Him. The Lamb will become our
Shepherd and wipe away all tears from our eyes, and we will neither
hunger anymore, nor thirst, nor be harmed from heat, nor suffer from
anything else at all. Why? Because God will eliminate suffering forever,
as we would have already gone through the Great Tribulation. This is
how wonderful God’s world called Heaven is. Because it is such a
wonderful place, people call it Paradise or Heaven, as the epitome of
all that is good.
Paradise
is a place of endless joy. In Buddhism, paradise is reserved for only
those who have become a god, a Buddha. But is there really anyone who
can turn into a Buddha, anyone who can become a god? Of course not!
Siddhartha himself said on his deathbed, “Become a god; only by becoming
a god can you escape from all the horrors of the world.” But it is
simply impossible for anyone to escape from sin and overcome its fatal
horrors on his/her own. Siddhartha himself failed to escape, and so has
everyone else. As the Word tells us, “Nor is there salvation in any
other, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which
we must be saved” (Acts 4:12). Our salvation is given only by God, Jesus
Christ who created the universe and us. This truth, that Jesus Christ
is the Savior who will also deliver us from the terrifying plagues, is
what God is teaching us through the Holy Spirit.
Heaven
is the most wonderful place. Do you want to live happily forever in
honor and glory? Do you want to be recognized as precious and live in
eternal happiness? Do you want to live in perfection and abundance, and
lack nothing? The place that God will call us to live is such a place.
It is Heaven. It lacks nothing, and no shortage can ever be found. You
will never be ill again, nor be harmed from heat, nor shed any more
tears.
When
Jesus was crucified, He told the robber who was crucified at His side,
“today you will be with Me in Paradise.” “Paradise” literally means a
garden of joy. It is a place where one can delight in all joy and
happiness. What makes us happy and rejoice on this earth are all
overflowing in this place, where God will call us to live in. Believe in
it, and make this Heaven, this Paradise, this Kingdom of God yours. The
Kingdom of God is perfect and good, for no imperfection of the kingdoms
of this earth can ever be found in it.
Because
God is almighty, He will give us this Kingdom. Because our Lord is the
Almighty God, He will deliver His people and make them never again shed
any more tear, nor suffer from anything. He will lead us to the
fountains of living water. He will guide us to live in the midst of
eternal life, eternal happiness, and eternal joy. All these things are
possible, I believe, because His power is almighty.
If
God who has saved us were powerless, then we would also be powerless.
But God who has delivered us has the absolute, almighty power. He has
made us sinless with His absolute power, and thus we are called His
saints.
It
does not matter what kind of life we have on this earth. Because we are
God’s children and have the power of the King of kings, even if our
lives are worse off than those who are not born again for now, when the
era of the pale horse comes and the Lord returns, He will surely call us
up and let us live in His Paradise. We will lack nothing and reign with
absolute power, where even the angels will be our servants. The saints
will forever live in all splendor and glory.
The
saints will never die again forever. This is what all religions dream
of—to live eternally, to reign, and to enter Heaven. This blessing is
not just for me, but God has equally bestowed it on you as well.
When
the time comes, I believe, God will raise the wind of tribulations, and
when this wind of tribulations blows, He will strengthen us to stand
against the Devil, and ultimately take us away. And I also believe that
He will let us live forever in happiness.
Did
God not promise us all these things? Of course He has! He told us, “Let
not your heart be troubled; you believe in God, believe also in Me. In
My Father's house are many mansions; if it were not so, I would have
told you. I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a
place for you, I will come again and receive you to Myself; that where I
am, there you may be also” (John 14:1-3). This is what our Lord has
promised us. All the Word of God in Revelation 20-22 is His Word of
promise for us.
Halleluiah! I give all my thanks to God.
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