በኮቪድ-19 እና በዓለም አቀፉ የመላላኪያ አገልግሎት መዛባት ምክንያት ‹ነጻ የታተመ መጽሐፍ አገልግሎታችንን› ለጊዜው አቋርጠናል፡፡
በዚህ ሁኔታ ምክንያት በዚህ ጊዜ መጽሐፎቻችንን ለእናንተ መላክ አንችልም፡፡
ይህ ወረርሽኝ በቅርቡ እንዲያበቃና የፖስታ አገልግሎት እንዲጀምር ጸልዩ፡፡
ይህ ወረርሽኝ በቅርቡ እንዲያበቃና የፖስታ አገልግሎት እንዲጀምር ጸልዩ፡፡
Subject 18 : GENESIS
[Chapter 6-1] You Must Be Saved From Your Sins Even Now (Genesis 6:1-4)
(Genesis 6:1-4)
“Now it came to pass, when men began to multiply on the face of the earth, and daughters were born to them, that the sons of God saw the daughters of men, that they were beautiful; and they took wives for themselves of all whom they chose. And the LORD said, ‘My Spirit shall not strive with man forever, for he is indeed flesh; yet his days shall be one hundred and twenty years.’ There were giants on the earth in those days, and also afterward, when the sons of God came in to the daughters of men and they bore children to them. Those were the mighty men who were of old, men of renown.”
Today’s Scripture reading shows us how God’s people came to be forever separated from the God of Truth. Some people say, “Is it spiritually sinful for the sons of God to marry the daughters of men for their beauty? And why is it such a big issue for a righteous person to marry someone who has as yet not been born again?” We need to know this that a righteous person should never get married with someone who has as yet not been truly born again, for this will bring tragic consequences. Why is this? It’s because the Spirit of the Lord said that He would not strive with man forever on account of the fact that His sons had married the daughters of men. What then did the righteous do before God that they ended up being separated from Him? Let us all ponder on this question carefully from today’s Scripture reading.
That the sons of God saw the beauty of the daughters of men and took them as their wives implies the mistake that is made when the righteous accept the faith of sinners and unite themselves with it. Spiritually speaking, the people of this world can be divided into two types: Those who have become righteous by believing in the God given gospel of the water and the Spirit, and those who have not or refuse to accept this gospel of Truth and therefore still remain sinners. In other words, the “sons of God” here refers to the children of God who have found His grace and received the remission of sins, while the “daughters of men” refer to the sinners who still do not know the love of God. The Bible tells us that because the sons of God were captivated by the beauty of the daughters of men, God judged the world.
What Does the Beauty of the Daughters of Men Mean Then?
It’s absolutely imperative for us to grasp what ‘the beauty of the daughters of men’ means, for only then can we prepare ourselves not to fall into evil and provoke God’s judgment. What does the beauty of the daughters of men mean? The beauty of the daughters of men refers to the physical beauty of human beings, but spiritually speaking, it refers to the false teachings of spiritual harlots.
We need to therefore know that there are many spiritual harlots in this world. The spiritual harlots that the Bible speaks about are those who pretend to be Christ’s brides without believing in the God-given gospel Truth of the water and the Spirit. Such harlots are prevalent especially among the so-called “Evangelicals.” These people commit spiritual fraud to seek their own carnal interests and desires, even as they know that the true gospel is the gospel of the water and the Spirit. They are deceiving countless people by fabricating a false faith based on their fleshly thoughts and pretending to believe in Jesus as their Savior. Their faith is based on a false half-gospel that preaches the blood of the Cross alone rather than on the gospel of the water and the Spirit. When Jesus came to this earth to deliver us from all our sins, He bore all the sins of this world ‘once and for all’ by being baptized by John the Baptist, and then blotted out all our sins by shedding His blood on the Cross. But unfortunately today’s spiritual harlots believe only in Jesus’ blood on the Cross as the only basis of their remission of sins, and they refuse to believe that Jesus bore all the sins of the human race by being baptized by John the Baptist, thereby turning themselves into spiritual charlatans.
Who are these spiritual charlatans in God’s sight? They are those who deceive their own hearts by claiming that they have no sin even as their hearts in fact remain in a sinful state. Because these people believe in and preach a half-gospel rather than believing in the God-given gospel of the water and the Spirit, they have turned into spiritual charlatans. Even now, all such spiritual impostors must cast aside their flawed faith, get to know the gospel Truth of the water and the Spirit, obey and believe in this gospel with all their hearts. Otherwise they will be rebuked by the Lord, who will say to them, “I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness!” (Matthew 7:23). And the Bible also tells us that, “Whoever commits sin also commits lawlessness, and sin is lawlessness” (1 John 3:4). If a Christian really wants to become a sound witness of Jesus, then he must believe in the gospel of the water and the Spirit and preach this gospel all over the world.
That the sons of God here saw the physical beauty of the daughters of men and took them as their wives implies that even some of the born-again people gave up their true faith in the gospel of the water and the Spirit and ultimately chased after the faith that’s placed in the blood of the Cross alone; this false faith which is approved by all worldly people. Just as the sons of God in the age of the Old Testament were destroyed for allowing themselves to be captivated and drawn in by the physical beauty of the daughters of men; so we are witnessing too many people who are following after this false gospel rather than the gospel of the water and the Spirit, who will if they continue to refuse this gospel be cursed in the end. You must realize here that those who judge everything based only on what their physical eyes can see will be destroyed on account of this mistake.
We, who believe in the gospel of the water and the Spirit, are in fact God’s sons. But when the righteous see the daughters of men, even they may be captivated by their beauty and lose their hearts to them without even realizing it. Therefore, all of us who now believe in the gospel of the water and the Spirit should take today’s Scripture reading as a warning, for even the righteous can fall into sin when they see the beauty of the daughters of men. Spiritually speaking, the physical beauty of man refers to the false faith of today’s Christianity.
Physical beauty is not the real beauty. Yet the vast majority of people judge beauty based on physical appearances. They generally prefer someone tall, well structured with good looks. But physical beauty actually accounts for nothing. But despite this, we often fall for it, just as the sons of God in the Old Testament were captivated by the beauty of the daughters of men and took them as their wives to provoke God’s judgment.
Now that we know just how sinful human beings are by nature, we also know that the beauty of the flesh is nothing compared to the beauty of the Spirit. However, when we fail to grasp this fully and allow our spiritual judgment to be clouded, we end up putting more weight on physical attributes, and because of this we will face even more temptation from the beauty of the flesh. Nevertheless, those who believe in the gospel of the water and the Spirit can discern the desires of the flesh from the desires of the Spirit, and they can also follow the right thing by faith. Although the righteous also have carnal desires, but despite this the Holy Spirit dwells in them, and therefore the desires of the flesh cannot become their everything. On the other hand, for those who refuse to believe in the gospel of the water and the Spirit, the lust of their flesh is their everything.
I believe that this present age we are living in is very similar to the days of Noah, just before the arrival of the great flood. Do you have carnal desires in your heart? Because we are still human, we have fleshly desires. However, the righteous who actually know that they have fleshly desires in their hearts are able to follow the desires of the Spirit. In contrast, those who don’t even realize that they have carnal desires in their hearts can easily fall prey into the beauty of man and go spiritually astray. These righteous people are far more worrisome in God’s sight. You should realize here that although you are a righteous person, this can happen to you also, and therefore you must be very careful not to fall into such false beauty. Put differently, only when you recognize that your heart has certain yearnings for the flesh, are you able to resolve yourself to never drift away from your faith in the gospel of the water and the Spirit. When we admit that we ourselves may end up following the things of the flesh at any time, we will be even more careful not to fall into false faith, but rather make up our minds to live the rest of our lives for the gospel of the water and the Spirit.
We Must Not Be Double-Minded before God
It’s written in the Book of James, “Purify your hearts, you double-minded” (James 4:8). This passage teaches us clearly that we the righteous should never be double-minded before God. Serving both God and the world is being double-minded in God’s sight, and none of us should ever do this. All of us must follow God by abiding in His righteousness and live our lives within the confines permitted by Him. If we should, by some chance, fall for the beauty of the women of the world and follow them, we will end up stepping inside the gates of destruction.
We are now living in the age of the electronic era, and so anyone can access the beauty of the world at his fingertips. In time past, it used to take a long time for any knowledge or information to be disseminated. But nowadays, the entire world is wired to the Internet, so anyone with access to the Internet can see and learn in real-time everything that’s going on around the world, from politics to economics, social issues and cultural events.
We are also living in an age that’s obsessed with celebrities. As people value physical beauty above all else, they are willing to do anything to make themselves more attractive. In such an age, even the children of God may be captivated by the physical beauty of worldly people and end up allowing their spiritual lives to go astray. In the days of Noah also, there were many tall and handsome men called the Nephillim. These Nephillim had come into existence as a result of the sons of God taking the women of the world as their wives and departing from God the Father.
Because we are also human, we are also attracted by the beautiful and handsome people of this world. Spiritually speaking, this is likened to the believers in the gospel of the water and the Spirit allowing their hearts to be captivated by the false beauty of today’s Christians who have not received the remission of sins. The righteous also have physical eyes, and so they see everything, hear everything and think about everything. But what sets them apart from everyone else is that they believe in the righteousness of God. We must realize here that although we believe in the gospel of the water and the Spirit, it’s still possible for us to fall for these false prophets. To be more specific, there are many Evangelicals around us, and it is a fatal mistake for the righteous to be deceived by their temptation. That’s because when the righteous fall for their false teachings, they cannot live out their faith anymore. The righteous should be very wary of the Evangelicals in particular, as their gospel has certain aspects to it that are similar to ours. But in reality, our gospel is very different from theirs. Falling into the physical beauty of the women of this world is the same as falling into these false gospels, departing from God even after believing in the gospel of the water and the Spirit. The beauty of this world kills the righteous not with guns and knives. Rather, Christian sinners use devious spiritual means to deceive the righteous, and if the righteous fall into such temptation, they will be fatally wounded and perish.
It’s all the more important for us to be wary of what our eyes see, for when the sons of God take in everything they see with their eyes, the beauty of the world can indeed shake up their hearts. Physically speaking, both man and woman have certain attractiveness that appeals to the opposite sex, and spiritually speaking, so does worldly religion offer something seemingly beautiful to attract the righteous. But if the righteous fall prey for its beauty, they will be visited by destruction as a consequence. Therefore, if you are thinking of joining sinners by any chance, you must now cast aside all such thoughts. These temptations are not far away from us, they are in fact all around us. Therefore, it’s absolutely important for us to examine our hearts every day, reaffirm our faith in the gospel of the water and the Spirit, and remember to thank God that He is in our lives. As the righteous, we must meditate on the Word of God and follow it all the time; we should never fall for the things of this world or allow ourselves to mingle in with the world.
Spiritually speaking, the beauty of the daughters of men refers to the temptation of sin. We have been saved and have become God’s children by understanding, obeying and believing in the gospel of the water and the Spirit, and therefore we now get to abide in God’s Church; but despite this we are still living amid a sinful culture without even realizing it. Unbeknown to us, we may be by some chance captivated by the beauty of the daughters of the world and end up living in sin. We must realize here now that if we the believers in the gospel of the water and the Spirit fall for and into the beauty of those who have as yet not been born again, then God will no longer be with us. Therefore, we the true believers must be most wary of and reject the Evangelicals’ faith because these people are dangerous. This is because, spiritually speaking, those who aspire and hold onto to the Evangelicals’ faith are in fact chasing after the beauty of the daughters of men.
Do you know what kind of age it was just before the arrival of Noah’s flood? It was a very prosperous age like today. And during this period people’s iniquities abounded, and as a result their hearts were hardened by these sins. When we compare it, this period was a prosperous time but only in fleshly terms. Are we not experiencing such an era right now? The whole world is flourishing with material prosperity. But when it comes to the pure spiritual food, many people are looking for it in a trash cans. When we examine all Evangelicals’ claims, we can clearly see that there is not much spiritual teachings that can be cherished. Their teachings which stem from their own human thoughts are nothing more than garbage, yet so many sinners are rummaging through these trash cans trying desperately to find spiritual food, but all in vain.
This present age can be described as the age of the three S’s. It’s an age when Sports, Screen and Sex dominate the cultural scene. These hedonistic industries are well developed. The pursuit of carnal pleasures is a booming industry not only in industrialized countries but also in less developed countries. Everyone all over the world is a prisoner to hedonism. So the question is, was the world corrupt like this just before the arrival of Noah’s flood?
This present world is reserved to be judged but this time with fire (2 Peter 3:7). God said that He would judge this present world—that is, the second world—with fire and burn it all up completely. When we look at this world, we see that everyone is seeking only sexual pleasures drawn by the beauty of the daughters of men, and even some sons of God are falling into depravity that are attracted to their beauty. We are living in an age when the sons of God are being converted by the women of the world, and not the other way around. The end of the world is therefore very near. Being aware of such risks we must at least live by trusting in the righteousness of God. Being vigilant, we must be wide awake in Christ, pray to Him, and keep our hearts in Him until the day the Lord returns to this earth. In other words, no righteous man’s heart should ever be drawn by the beauty of those who have as yet not been born again by following them.
We must keep our hearts in a more diligent state than anything else, for the heart is the fountain of life (Proverbs 4:23). Even though we are weak, we are still God’s children. We should never allow ourselves to be captivated by the beauty of those who have as yet not been born again. Our bothers and sisters, including the servants of God, should never follow the iniquities of this world. If any born-again person follows sinners like this, he will surely perish. God will render His judgment even on the righteous if they wander off. Even if you have as yet not gone astray, always remember that the risk is great for you to fall into these sins, and therefore you must devote all your energy into keeping your heart. With the imminent return of our Lord, you should be wary of not falling into the sins sought out by those who have as yet not been born again.
I therefore encourage our younger brothers and sisters who believe in the gospel of the water and the Spirit to only consider getting married in Christ when the time arrives and not before. So, if you are still single you should wait until God gives you a saintly spouse in the Church, and then live by your faith in the righteousness of God. If you should become impatient and as a result fall for the beauty of someone who has as yet not been born again, then you will face a great deal of struggles, only to end up betraying the Lord and leaving the Church. In these days when the end of the world is so very near, you should never allow yourself to become such a person and to forsake your right faith. Following the fame of this world or its power is likened to following the beauty of the daughters of this world. We should never give into temptation to follow the wealth of this world, its riches, its fame or its power. We believe in the gospel of the water and the Spirit, and even if our faith is as small as a mustard seed, we must all keep our hearts and faith in our lives.
Let Us Prepare for the Lord’s Day by Being Saved First
This present age is the last age for this world. Although we do not know exactly how much longer this age will continue, we know that it won’t last long. Living in such a time, everyone is pursuing sinful pleasures even more and doing everything and anything to prosper more in fleshly terms. People today are far more attached to their present reality than their futures, just like fish in a dry pond gasping for its last breath. This shows us that the people of this world are perishing in both body and spirit. Indeed, today’s people are living in an era that’s filled with sin, an age when destruction is near. As we are living in such an age, therefore God is teaching us what kind of faith we must prepare for.
Church attendance is declining rapidly around the world because the world offers so many things to enjoy. In the past, when TVs and radios were hard to come by, people had to attend church to hear about what was going on in the world and gain new knowledge. As a result, many people attended church to listen to their pastors. There were many church attendees in those days, as they could find access to new knowledge and information only in church, so much so that they thought an ignorant person could become a learned man just by attending church.
But now is the age of information. As the Internet becomes more and more widely accessible, anyone with access to the Internet can easily find the information he is looking for by a few clicks. Furthermore, TVs and radios also play a large role in disseminating this information. When you watch the news, you can hear about what’s going on in practically every country in the world. So, as people are living in such a flood of information today, they see no need to attend church as before. Even when they attend church, as far as knowledge is concerned, there is even less to attain than in this world.
Every true church must preach the pure Word of God just as it is, but so many churches in this world preach only that Jesus shed His blood on the Cross to make atonement for our sins, rather than preaching the gospel of the water and the Spirit. And when pastors give a sermon, they constantly teach their congregations to offer prayers of repentance. That’s why so many Christians have stopped coming to church, thinking that there is nothing more to listen to and learn.
That churches all over the world are closing down is the proof that the end of this world is very close. The fact that iniquities abound in this world is another sign indicating the impending end of this world. It’s because wickedness was so prevalent in the days of Noah that God judged the world at that time. Having commanded Noah to build an Ark, and once the Ark was completed, God judged all who had disobeyed Him. As the world has now become full of wickedness, this present age is likened to Noah’s days. This age is certainly not any less wicked than the days of Noah. In fact, iniquities abound even more now than before, and it’s all too obvious that much like the days of Noah, God’s judgment is imminent in this present age.
It’s written in today’s Scripture reading that during the days of Noah, “The LORD saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth and that every intent of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually” (Genesis 6:5). The world was so full of wickedness in the days of Noah that every intent of the thoughts of man was evil. Think about today’s people then. Just how evil are their thoughts and acts? Let me give you an example. Yesterday I saw in the news that a married couple, who were barely making ends meet as street vendors, were murdered. I was horrified to hear the motive behind their murder. The perpetrator, a street vendor himself had sold his street booth to this murdered couple for a premium price of $10,000. But when the couple began their business there, they realized that it was not a good place for business. Realizing that they had been deceived, they went to the previous owner and demanded to know why he had sold them such a poor booth for such a high premium. So the previous owner got very angry and beat them to death with a hammer.
How much money could the couple have made as street vendors? Even if they worked the whole day, they’d be lucky if they could make $50, and yet the previous owner had not only defrauded them, but he had even murdered them. I couldn’t believe how he could have done such a terrible thing to such a poor couple. This shows just how cruel and wicked this world is nowadays. People are so evil that they are willing to kill to ensure their own survival. In the past, neighbors were so kind and helpful to each other that they used to be better than distant relatives, but in these days, it’s hard to see such friendly neighbors.
Rivers are so polluted nowadays that many fish die and get washed up downstream. Every river has a natural mechanism to cope with pollution by filtering the pollutants out with its sand, weeds, and microscopic life forms, and so to a certain extent, even downstream can maintain a form of habitable condition. But there is a limit to such a self-filtering mechanism, and therefore when too much contaminants flows from all the tributaries, the river downstream turns into a river of death and all its fish and organisms are killed.
The same is true for human beings. In traditional society, there were social norms providing a moral and ethical compass, and as these norms to some extent filtered out people’s wickedness, it was not so intolerable. However, as industrialization and urbanization progress, social norms brake down and traditional values became obsolete, flooding the world with so much wickedness, that it becomes impossible for people to restrain themselves from committing so many sins.
Just how full of wickedness is this present world? We live in a time when we are afraid of adolescents more than anyone else. In the past, when kids went astray, even strangers could rebuke them, and the kids listened politely to their elders as well. But nowadays, when adults see teenagers doing something bad, they just pass by pretending not to have seen anything. If they should intervene, they will likely get beaten or face something even worse.
You and I are now living in such a world. Yet despite this, we are still living out our faith, and this is made possible only because of Jesus. When the world is filled with so much wickedness like this, how could we remain clean? We are leading our lives of faith not because our character is impeccable, but because we have faith in the gospel of the water and the Spirit because we have our Lord Jesus in our hearts. That’s why we are able to lead an upright life of faith; otherwise, we would be no different from anyone else in this world. If we had neither Jesus nor God’s Church, then we would have committed even more despicable sins than the people of this world. Whether young or old, everyone living in this world is bound to be tainted by its wickedness. Even though people pretend to be innocent on the outside, they are in fact all being tainted by the world, whether they realize this or not. In contrast, we are living a spiritual life of faith, and this is all thanks to Christ Jesus.
Then What Should We Do While Living in This World Which Is Full of Wickedness?
As the end of the world gets closer, you and I must prepare for the return of the Lord by faith. In other words, we must actively carry out our gospel ministry to save every soul from sin. We must preach the gospel of the water and the Spirit all the more vigorously, and we must help and prepare everyone to be saved by faith. As this world is destined to continue on its corrupt path, we must prepare our faith even more.
We cannot change this world. Swept up in crass materialism and hedonism, this world has become full of wickedness, and no one can change its prevailing wind. The only thing that we can do is preach the gospel of the water and the Spirit to everyone, so that many souls can meet the Lord and receive the remission of their sins. Before the Lord returns to this earth as the Judge, everyone must at least be saved by believing in the God-given gospel of the water and the Spirit.
Our responsibility in this age as the redeemed people of God is to preach the gospel of the water and the Spirit to everyone all over the world. It is absolutely indispensable for all of us to preach the gospel of the water and the Spirit to the people of the world. And the people of this world must prepare the faith of salvation. They must listen to the gospel of the water and the Spirit obey and believe in it, and thereby receive the remission of sins in their lives before they see the Lord face to face. Anyone who does not prepare his salvation will for sure be destroyed. Just as fish in a dry pond suffocate to death, unless we prepare the faith of our salvation while living in this sinful world, our souls cannot help but be cast into hell. Therefore, you must keep your faith in the gospel of the water and the Spirit, the true gospel that has brought the remission of sins to you.
All of us can prepare this true faith. Before the return of our Lord and destruction comes to the world, there is something that each of us must infallibly do above all else. That is cleansing our souls by believing wholeheartedly in the remission of sins that our Lord has given to us freely, and thereby preparing ourselves to enter the Kingdom of the Lord when the destruction of this world arrives. If you fail to prepare your salvation, you will also be destroyed along with the world. Before God, everyone must prepare their faith that brings the remission of sins for his own soul’s sake, so that all may enter Heaven by faith. God wants you, your family, and all those around you to receive the remission of sins. God wants no one to be destroyed. He wants everyone to be saved. And God’s Church can at least do this one thing.
Our responsibility is not too onerous: All that we have to do is just preach the gospel of the water and the Spirit to those who have as yet not been born again. Whether or not they believe in the gospel of the water and the Spirit with their hearts is up to them. When the gospel of the water and the Spirit is preached, everyone should accept it by faith right away, but the problem is that people in this age are so steeped in wickedness that many of them refuse to accept the gospel of the remission of sins even when it is preached to them. Even when it comes to Christians, most of them nowadays do not believe that the end times are near, and so they would rather try to find rest in this world in its complacency than listen to the gospel of the water and the Spirit. Such people have no future, but only destruction awaits them.
Today’s science and technology is extremely advanced. It has advanced so much that any further progress seems unlikely. It is then all the more clear that the end of the world is imminent. As the loss of identification and credit cards are becoming more and more common, identity-theft is also turning into a widespread problem. Eventually, some scientists will announce that they have developed a technology to solve all such problems just by imprinting a mark on one’s body. This mark is the very mark of 666 described in the Book of Revelation.
These days we have all kinds of bills and taxes to pay, from income tax to property tax, health insurance premiums, telephone bills, hydro bills, electricity bills, and the list goes on and on. There are so many bills that for someone slow, it’s a constant struggle to remember to pay all these bills on time. The only way to get rid of such inconveniences is to introduce a universal mark to everyone. This is none other than “the Mark of the Beast” written about in Revelation. Time will come without fail when this prophecy will materialize. It is said that such advanced technology has already been developed for actual implementation. If this is true, then receiving a mark on your forehead or right hand is not just an imaginary scenario, but it has already turned into a reality.
Before such a time arrives, when everyone is forced to receive the Mark of the Beast, all who have not still received the remission of sins must realize how Jesus has become their Savior, and believe in Him as soon as possible. Only then can they enter the Kingdom of the Lord, live out their faith, and be protected by God. I ask you all to believe that the days of this world are numbered, and to prepare your faith accordingly. All who believe in the Word of God must prepare for the end times, hang onto the Word of God, and follow this Word. God has commanded us all to prepare for this day. And this day is indeed nearing us right before our very eyes.
What I am saying here is not the same as what some doomsday prophets used to say about the end of the world, particularly common at the turn of the century with the advent of a new millennium. These people claimed that Jesus was about to return even though His time had not yet come. This was nothing more than a trick of Satan controlling such misguided groups from behind the scenes to plant doubt in people’s hearts, so that they would not believe in the Word of God even when the end times have in fact arrived. It’s quite obvious that once people in this world are fooled by doomsdays prophets, they would be weary of anyone else warning them about the end of the world. So Satan had lied to and deceived the whole world in order to ensure that people would not believe that the Judge is about to make His appearance. Yet even so, many people are still afraid that they would perish along with the destruction of the world. That is why everyone must believe in the gospel of the water and the Spirit and receive the true remission of sins into their hearts.
This present age is just like the days of Noah. When Noah was 500 years old, God told him that He would judge the world with water. As Noah believed in this Word of God, he spent a hundred years building this ark, and when the ark was completed—that is, when Noah turned 600—God’s judgment descended upon the world. God had actually judged the first world in this way.
How many people were saved from this destruction then? Only eight souls were saved. Although there probably were not that many people living in the world back then when compared with today, but nevertheless there still were a lot of people. So we see, excepting for Noah and his family, everyone living at that time perished.
When the time comes for our Lord to return to this earth, unheard of natural disasters will first of all become rampant in this world. The Book of Revelation says that a third of the human race will perish from environmental pollution and natural disasters: “So the seven angels who had the seven trumpets prepared themselves to sound. 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. Then the second angel sounded: And something like a great mountain burning with fire was thrown into the sea, and a third of the sea became blood. And a third of the living creatures in the sea died, and a third of the ships were destroyed. 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. The name of the star is Wormwood. A third of the waters became wormwood, and many men died from the water, because it was made bitter” (Revelation 8:6-11). When the end times eventually arrive, nation will rise against nation, parents and children will deliver one another to death, the stars in the heavens will fall, and amid all this, unimaginable natural disasters will strike this world. The Bible says that such signs of the end times will appear both in the heavens and on the earth.
Before the end of this world arrives, while you are still alive, you must receive the remission of your sins by believing in the gospel of the water and the Spirit, the gospel that enables you to come into the presence of God. It is not so difficult for you to believe in the gospel of the water and the Spirit with your heart and prepare this faith that saves you from sin. All that you have to do is just receive the remission of sins by wholeheartedly believing in the God-given gospel Word of the water and the Spirit.
It was by God’s commandment that Noah had built the ark. From the moment he received this commandment, Noah started to build an ark; he had spent a hundred years building the ark, and simultaneously preached to the people of that time to come into the ark and be saved. He had shouted out to them, “God will wipe out everyone from the face of the earth with water. Come into this ark as soon as possible!”
Just like Noah, we are also preaching the gospel of the water and the Spirit to today’s people as commanded by God and leading them into His Church. There is nothing else that we can do now other than that. The Word of God explains clearly how Jesus has blotted out each and every sin with the gospel of the water and the Spirit, and therefore all who hear the Word of God must confirm this Truth through the Scriptures with their own eyes and believe in it with their hearts. This means that there is nothing else you can do for your salvation but believe in God’s Word now and prepare your faith to enter His Kingdom. Despite professing to believe in Jesus, nearly all of today’s Christians have not received the remission of sins into their hearts and are still placed under the curses of the judgment, and the only thing they can do for their deliverance is to admit their sins as soon as possible and submit themselves to God’s gospel. Such faith is what it means to believe in God’s true salvation before His presence. The people of faith believe in the gospel of the water and the Spirit, and they are waiting for the day they will enter Heaven.
The gospel of the water and the Spirit is the real Truth of salvation, but it’s difficult for most people to completely understand the Truth by hearing it just once. After all, they keep on sinning time after time as long as they are living in this world, and so it might be hard for them to understand that everyone who believes in the gospel of the water and the Spirit is sinless on account of this faith. However, all who believe in the gospel of the water and the Spirit believe in the Word of God, and therefore they can understand why they should live by faith.
My fellow believers, it is absolutely imperative that we preach the gospel of the water and the Spirit to everyone living in this world. All sinners in this world have fear in their hearts. Their hearts are afraid because they know that they must be cast into the lake of fire and brimstones for their sins, which the Lord has prepared for every sinner. We ought to have compassion on these people and preach the Word of God to them, so that they may be ready for the end times. When we preach the gospel of the water and the Spirit to them, it’s true that those who are full of their own merits are unlikely to accept this gospel into their hearts; however, those who know that they are wretched people destined to hell before God will surely accept this gospel into their hearts and reach their salvation. Moreover, even if people don’t like to listen to the gospel at first, if they keep hearing it, then at least some of them will come to believe in it with their hearts. In short, we should not only be grateful to God for the gospel of the water and the Spirit that has saved us, but we should also show our gratitude by preaching this true gospel to everyone else, so that others may also be saved.
By believing in the gospel of the water and the Spirit, we must prepare our faith to enter Heaven. All who still have not received the remission of sins must believe in the gospel of the water and the Spirit even at this very moment to be saved and prepare for the imminent judgment. Can you receive the remission of sins just by offering prayers of repentance? Can you be remitted from all your sins just by making a lot of offerings to your church? Is the remission of sins received if you fast and pray a lot? No, all these things are completely ineffectual beliefs that cannot save you. What you need is the faith that has the power to save you—that is, you must believe in the gospel of the water and the Spirit, the Word of God written in the Bible, and only then can you receive the remission of sins and make the Kingdom of Heaven yours. On the other hand however, if you were to refuse to believe in the gospel of the water and the Spirit with your heart, then you will surely be cast into hell just as it is written in the Word of God.
With the end times close at hand, what is it that you should believe? What should you believe in this age and time, and for whom will you live your life for? This present age is so full of wickedness that even those who believe in the gospel of the water and the Spirit may be swept up by its sinful currents. Given the fact that the whole world is being pulled into darkness, is there any guarantee that you would somehow not be also dragged into the darkness of sin along with it? No, if you let your guard over your heart down ever so slightly, your life will end up being buried in the lusts of the flesh. Like dye, sin makes an inroad into everyone’s heart and mind gradually but surely. This means that even though we are righteous people, if we fail to preach the gospel of the water and the Spirit, then our lives will end up being stained by sin.
All of us must realize here that you and I, and everyone in this world are living in a world of impending destruction. Our duty in this present age is preaching the gospel of the water and the Spirit to every sinful soul by any and all means. That is why we are so focused on our literature ministry to spread the gospel both on and off-line. People can receive the remission of sins only if we preach the gospel of the water and the Spirit through our books. Many churches nowadays have gone astray that all they can do is to demand money from its members, insisting on tithing and in return, offering them church offices all to trap them.
Given the fact the world we are now living in has turned into a place where no one can be trusted, all of us should believe in Jesus Christ alone, our Savior who came by the gospel of the water and the Spirit. Therefore, it’s those who have the Truth that must look for sinners and go to them personally, and preach the gospel of the water and the Spirit. Jesus always was on the lookout for sinners, spoke the Truth of salvation to them, and embraced and healed them all, from lepers to the lame, tax collectors and harlots, thieves and the adulterous alike. In like manner we must also look for sinners and go to them. Time has long passed when we could just sit and wait for the lost souls to come to us. Some people live in such remote villages that they have no church to attend, and because of this I have been traveling to these places along with our brothers and sisters, visiting each and every home to preach the gospel to them, share our books with them, and lead them to receive the remission of sins. If we are willing to do this, then should we not also preach the gospel of the water and the Spirit to our own families, and taking it a step further, preach this gospel to everyone all over this world?
Although many people are looking for the light, the vast majority of them cannot find it. Where is this light then? The light of Truth is found in the Word of God, in the gospel of the water and the Spirit. As the whole world is surrounded in darkness, we must illuminate it with this light. How can we go to Heaven just by ourselves and leaving everyone else to be condemned to hell? We must save all who have as yet not received the remission of sins.
The Bible says, “It is appointed for men to die once, but after this the judgment” (Hebrews 9:27). Once in a while I get a chance to visit a crematorium, and see a human body reduced into a handful of dust to be scattered over a river or a mountain, it dawns on me time after time just how empty life is. Life is such that when death comes, all the beauty of the body, all its happiness and sadness, disappear without a trace.
However, when the last day comes, God will resurrect the dead. Having raised them, He will then judge them all from His white throne. He will cast into hell all who had not prepared themselves for eternal life by believing in the gospel of the water and the Spirit. There is not a drop of water in hell; there is no place that’s cool. You won’t find anyone to help you there. Neither kindness nor beauty is found anywhere in hell, but only everlasting suffering of fire and brimstones. So before we find ourselves being cast into this place, all of us must prepare our faith to enter Heaven.
Regardless of whether you are a Christian or not, you must prepare yourself for these end times. And whoever believes in the gospel of the water and the Spirit must preach this gospel to each and every lost soul, so that all may receive the remission of sins. This means that through those of us who have received the remission of sins first, all who still have not received this remission of sins must listen to the gospel of the water and the Spirit to receive it, and prepare themselves for the end times. All the lost souls must be ready to accept the Lord’s gospel and receive the remission of their sins. Only then can they enter the Kingdom of Heaven together with us.
What then is required from us in this age and time? We must have faith in the gospel of the water and the Spirit that blotted out all our sins, and preach this gospel to everyone so that all may reach true salvation and be ready for the judgment day. So let us all believe in the God-given gospel of the water and the Spirit, and by this faith preach the gospel of true salvation all over the world so that everyone can be ready for the last day.
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