Subject 6 : Heretics
[6-7] How Does God Save Heretics? (1 Kings 19:1-21)
“And Ahab told Jezebel all that Elijah had done, also how he had executed all the prophets with the sword. Then Jezebel sent a messenger to Elijah, saying, ‘So let the gods do to me, and more also, if I do not make your life as the life of one of them by tomorrow about this time.’ And when he saw that, he arose and ran for his life, and went to Beersheba, which belongs to Judah, and left his servant there. But he himself went a day’s journey into the wilderness, and came and sat down under a broom tree. And he prayed that he might die, and said, ‘It is enough! Now, LORD, take my life, for I am no better than my fathers!’ Then as he lay and slept under a broom tree, suddenly an angel touched him, and said to him, ‘Arise and eat.’ Then he looked, and there by his head was a cake baked on coals, and a jar of water. So he ate and drank, and lay down again. And the angel of the LORD came back the second time, and touched him, and said, “Arise and eat, because the journey is too great for you.” So he arose, and ate and drank; and he went in the strength of that food forty days and forty nights as far as Horeb, the mountain of God. And there he went into a cave, and spent the night in that place; and behold, the word of the LORD came to him, and He said to him, ‘What are you doing here, Elijah?’ So he said, ‘I have been very zealous for the LORD God of hosts; for the children of Israel have forsaken Your covenant, torn down Your altars, and killed Your prophets with the sword. I alone am left; and they seek to take my life.’ Then He said, ‘Go out, and stand on the mountain before the LORD.’ And behold, the LORD passed by, and a great and strong wind tore into the mountains and broke the rocks in pieces before the LORD, but the LORD was not in the wind; and after the wind an earthquake, but the LORD was not in the earthquake; and after the earthquake a fire, but the LORD was not in the fire; and after the fire a still small voice. So it was, when Elijah heard it, that he wrapped his face in his mantle and went out and stood in the entrance of the cave. Suddenly a voice came to him, and said, ‘What are you doing here, Elijah?’ And he said, ‘I have been very zealous for the LORD God of hosts; because the children of Israel have forsaken Your covenant, torn down Your altars, and killed Your prophets with the sword. I alone am left; and they seek to take my life.’ Then the LORD said to him: ‘Go, return on your way to the Wilderness of Damascus; and when you arrive, anoint Hazael as king over Syria. Also you shall anoint Jehu the son of Nimshi as king over Israel. And Elisha the son of Shaphat of Abel Meholah you shall anoint as prophet in your place. It shall be that whoever escapes the sword of Hazael, Jehu will kill; and whoever escapes the sword of Jehu, Elisha will kill. Yet I have reserved seven thousand in Israel, all whose knees have not bowed to Baal, and every mouth that has not kissed him.’ So he departed from there, and found Elisha the son of Shaphat, who was plowing with twelve yoke of oxen before him, and he was with the twelfth. Then Elijah passed by him and threw his mantle on him. And he left the oxen and ran after Elijah, and said, ‘Please let me kiss my father and my mother, and then I will follow you.’ And he said to him, ‘Go back again, for what have I done to you?’ So Elisha turned back from him, and took a yoke of oxen and slaughtered them and boiled their flesh, using the oxen’s equipment, and gave it to the people, and they ate. Then he arose and followed Elijah, and became his servant.”
Elijah (“My God is Jehovah”): A prophet of Israel, born around 9th century BC in Tishbe, Gilead. His ministry left a profound impact not only in his days, but also in the age of the New Testament.
I. The Life and Ministry of Elijah
A. Elijah’s Early Ministry: Elijah was a witness of faith who believed in Jehovah God. During the early reign of King Ahab, when Elijah began ministering actively, Baal worship was widespread under the influence of Queen Jezebel (1 Kings 16:29-33). So the Prophet Elijah declared to King Ahab that Israel would suffer from a severe draught (1 Kings 17:1). This reflected God’s will to make the people of Israel return to Him realizing that Baal, the god of prosperity and rain, was a useless idol.
After prophesying this draught, Elijah hid by a brook, and he lived there eating the food brought by ravens. The draught lasted for three years and six months (1 Kings 18:1). When even the Brook Cherith dried up, God ordered Elijah to go to Zarephath. In Zarephath Elijah performed two miracles, one of which was making a widower’s bin of flour and jar of oil always full, and the other was reviving the widower’s dead son (1 Kings 17:7-24).
While the northern kingdom of Israel was suffering under the long-lasting famine, Elijah appeared before Obadiah, an official in charge of King Ahab’s house, and told him to go to Ahab and let the king know that he was there. Elijah then proposed King Ahab to hold a match before the people of Israel between himself and a total of 850 prophets of Baal and Asherah, and settle who was the real God. King Ahab accepted his proposal. Elijah then told Baal’s prophets, who were God’s enemies, to pray to their god first. But their prayers were in vain. The idol Baal that they believed in was incapable of answering their request, for this idol was nothing more than an illusion created within the frame of the human mind.
Then it was Elijah’s turn, and so he prayed to the Jehovah God that he believed in, asking Him to send fire from the heavens, burn the sacrifice and wood placed on the stone altar, and consume even the water that was poured on the altar (1 Kings 18:20-38). God answered his prayer with fire and power. On account of this event, the people of Israel woke up from their deep spiritual sleep and returned to Jehovah God. Elijah then ordered the people of Israel to take all the prophets of Baal to the Brook Kishon and execute them (1 Kings 18:39-40). Now that idolaters were destroyed, Elijah told King Ahab that rain would come, and then seven times he prayed earnestly to God to bring down rain. When the rain finally came, Elijah ran in joy from Mountain Carmel to King Ahab’s palace, about 27 km away, and outran Ahab’s chariot.
B. Elijah’s Latter Ministry: Upon hearing the news that all the prophets of Baal and Asherah were killed on Mountain Carmel, Jezebel was enraged and threatened to kill Elijah (1 Kings 19:2-3). Afraid that he might be killed by Jezebel, Elijah ran to the south, and asked God to take away his life (1 Kings 19:3-4). However, an angel brought food to Elijah, and strengthened by this food, he walked all the way to Mountain Horeb without resting, where Moses had received the Law centuries ago (1 Kings 19:5-8). Inside a cave in Mountain Horeb, Elijah complained about the Israelites’ disinterest and indifference to Jehovah, and he made it known to God that his life was now threatened (1 Kings 19:9-10). After this, amid “a still small voice,” he experienced the presence of Jehovah God (1 Kings 19:11-13).
In this still small voice, Jehovah God entrusted Elijah with three tasks. These were anointing Hazael as the king of Syria, anointing Jehu as the king of the northern kingdom of Israel, and anointing Elisha as God’s prophet (1 Kings 19:15-16). As soon as Elijah came down from the mountain, he anointed Elisha as a prophet (1 Kings 19:19-21). But the remaining two tasks were carried out later on by Elisha (2 Kings 8:7-15; 9:1-10).
II. The Importance of the Ministry of Elijah
A. In the Old Testament: Elijah, one of the greatest prophets of the Old Testament, was active mostly in the northern kingdom of Israel, trying to awaken its people to realize that only Jehovah God was the true living God, and to also restore their spiritual faith to worship and praise only this God. The Prophet Malachi mentioned Elijah’s spiritual ministry for the end times, and Jesus Himself testified that this Elijah was John the Baptist. So considering this, we should all remember that his ministry was an indispensable part to the work of salvation. The Prophet Malachi spoke about the role of Elijah for the end times. He prophesied that before the coming of the dreadful day of Jehovah, Elijah would come to this earth once again, and he would work to turn the hearts of the children to God the Father (Malachi 4:5-6).
B. During the Interim Period between the Old and New Testaments: To complement the mysterious ascension of Elijah and the promise of his return, “The Wisdom of Ben Sirach” (48:10), one of the Apocrypha, writes that Elijah would carry out the task of pacifying the wrath of God and reuniting the twelve tribes of Israel. And in “1 Enoch,” it is written that Elijah would become the High Priest to preach the Second Coming of the Messiah, who would bring peace and salvation in the last age.
C. In the New Testament: The Jewish people were still burning with high expectations for the return of Elijah and his apocalyptic ministry. Therefore, according to Matthew (27:47, 49) and Mark (15:35-36), the Jews interpreted Jesus’ agonizing cry of suffering on the Cross as a voice calling for Elijah. Some Jews identified John the Baptist, who had shouted out in the wilderness to repent, as Elijah, and some other Jews equated Jesus to Elijah (Matthew 16:14; Mark 6:15). Although John the Baptist himself declined such an honor, Jesus Himself testified that Elijah to come was none other than John the Baptist. We the believers in the gospel of the water and the Spirit are now spreading this fact far and wide, so that everyone may know it (Matthew 11:14, 17:10-13).
According to the accounts of the events that took place on the mountain of transfiguration, which are written in all the Synoptic Gospels, Jesus spoke to Moses and Elijah about his impending death in Jerusalem. In other words, the Lord talked with Elijah and Moses about the suffering and death of the Cross that He was about to face (Luke 9:30-31).
We can see that the ministry of Elijah, who had tried hard to turn around the depraved hearts of the people of Israel, was completed with the ministry of John the Baptist in New Testament times. After baptizing Jesus Christ to pass all the sins of the world onto Him once and for all, John the Baptist completed his work as a messenger of God and returned to Him (Matthew 3:13-17; 11:14; 17:12; Mark 9:12). As we know and believe in the ministry that Jesus Christ fulfilled to save all sinners, and the ministry of John the Baptist who baptized Jesus, we are all immensely thankful to God.
Quoting the Old Testament, the Apostle Paul testified that in this age also, there still are 7,000 servants of God who have not knelt to Baal (Romans 11:4; 1 Kings 19:18). We should remember that this passage refers to the servants of God who believe in the gospel of the water and the Spirit and who are now preaching it in this age and time. The Old and New Testaments both testify that John the Baptist fulfilled the same ministry as that of Elijah. The Truth of the baptism Jesus received from John the Baptist is the completion of salvation fulfilled by the righteousness of God. And the gospel Truth of the water and the Spirit is now being fulfilled in people’s hearts through God’s servants. You need to grasp here that today’s servants of God who believe in the gospel of the water and the Spirit are also carrying out the same ministry that John the Baptist had carried out.
We may think that it would have been more glorious if Elijah had not fled but embraced his martyrdom when Jezebel, King Ahab’s wife, tried to kill him after he destroyed 850 prophets serving Baal and Asherah. This, however, is not a spiritual thought from God, but our own carnal thought. Even though God knew Elijah’s weaknesses and insufficiencies, He was still pleased to use him as His servant. Unlike our fleshly thought, God wanted to use Elijah on this earth for much longer. By using Elijah in Old Testament times and John the Baptist in New Testament times, God fulfilled His will through His grand plan that was designed to turn the people of Israel and the entire human race back to God.
Jesus Bore Witness to John the Baptist in Matthew Chapter 11, saying, “He Is Elijah Who Is to Come”
The Bible says that John the Baptist was the last servant of God in the age of the Old Testament, and he was to turn many people back into the arms of God. So it was because of John the Baptist’s ministry that now, in this age of the New Testament, a way was opened for the believers in the gospel of the water and the Spirit to return to Jesus Christ and receive the remission of their sins. In New Testament times, John the Baptist fulfilled by himself the same ministry as Elijah’s ministry in Old Testament times. If Elijah had ministered to the people of Israel in Old Testament times to return to God, then in New Testament times, it was John the Baptist who ministered to the entire human race to return to God and be saved. As the representative of mankind who turned the entire human race back to Jesus Christ, John the Baptist passed all our sins of the world to Jesus Christ through His baptism, thus making it possible for His believers to give thanks and glory to God.
Put differently, John the Baptist is an indispensable servant of God for all Christians to realize the relationship between the gospel Truth of the water and the Spirit and the baptism Jesus received from John the Baptist. The baptism that John the Baptist gave to Jesus in the Jordan River was the critical event that passed all of our sins to Jesus once and for all. A landmark event occurred in the Jordan River, in other words, in which Jesus Christ accepted all the sins of mankind once and for all through the baptism given by John the Baptist. That’s why Jesus was crucified to shed His blood to death and rose from the dead again, and that’s why from then on, anyone who ate the flesh of Jesus and drank His blood by faith could be forever saved from all his sins. This is how Jesus Christ was able to save the entire human race through the gospel of the water and the Spirit. By baptizing Jesus Christ, John the Baptist had fulfilled the ministry of passing all the sins of this world to Jesus once and for all.
The baptism that John the Baptist gave to Jesus fulfilled God’s plan of salvation for mankind. Because God loved the spiritual people of Israel—that is, those who looked for God—and had pity on them, He was waiting for them to return to His arms forever. Likewise, in the age of the New Testament also, God wants everyone to become sinless by believing in the gospel of the water and the Spirit, rather than remaining sinful only to be condemned. Rather than living in confusion, God wants us to believe in the gospel of the water and the Spirit and to live a truthful and upright life. And God doesn’t want anyone to be cursed for his sins. He rather wants to bestow His great blessings on everyone in this world.
Since the people of Israel had turned into an idolatrous nation from the days of King Solomon, their suffering and curses were more than justified. Yet even so, God still sent His servants to them and admonished them endlessly to return back to His arms, so that He may clothe them in His love and salvation. Fundamentally speaking, the Israelites were a chosen people, who should have actually received blessings rather than curses from God, but because they did not believe in the words of His servants, they were suffering in the bondage of Satan. That’s why God’s servants had shouted out to them, “Throw away your idols and return to God! You will then receive eternal life!”
Elijah was God’s treasured servant who single-handedly confronted 850 pagan prophets serving the idols of Baal and Asherah all by himself, and showed who was the real God. After fighting this spiritual war, Elijah needed some rest. But at that time, Elijah heard the venomous words of Jezebel: “I will take your life by this time tomorrow.” Elijah became afraid after hearing this. Having fought a great battle, he wanted to rest his exhausted body, but after receiving such a threat, he now entrusted his body and heart to God. He prayed under a broom tree, saying, “Lord, I would rather have You take away my life than let me be killed by Jezebel.”
God then sent an angel to Elijah and gave him bread and water to eat and drink, and when Elijah still could not get up, God touched him through His angel and admonished him to eat the bread and find the strength. So he once again ate the bread and drank the water, and with this God-given strength, he reached Mountain Horeb in 40 days and 40 nights. At last, he arrived at a cave in Mountain Horeb, and there he heard God’s commandment.
How Does God Work?
God spoke to Elijah lying in the cave, “What are you doing here?” So Elijah said, “I have been very zealous for the LORD God of hosts; for the children of Israel have forsaken Your covenant, torn down Your altars, and killed Your prophets with the sword. I alone am left; and they seek to take my life.” God then said to him, “Go and stand outside the cave.” Then “a great and strong wind tore into the mountains and broke the rocks in pieces before the Lord, but the Lord was not in the wind; and after the wind an earthquake, but the Lord was not in the earthquake; and after the earthquake a fire, but the Lord was not in the fire; and after the fire a still small voice.” Here, we have to pay particular attention to the phrase, “after the fire a still small voice.”
Last night, I played soccer with my coworkers at Inje. Pastor Sang-chan Lee played very well in that game. He hung around the goal post and scored so many easy goals that all our coworkers were commenting about how smartly he was playing. But while playing, they heard some strange, splitting noise quite a few times. As they found out later, it was the sound of breaking roots, coming from a big Korean white pine tree that was about to fall. But they didn’t know this at the time, and so they were all concentrated on the game and chasing the ball across the field. All of a sudden, the pine tree on the other side of the stream fell with a thundering sound and crashed onto the fence of the soccer field. I saw this from far away, but the top portion of the pine tree broke apart when it hit the fence and fell over the very place where Pastor Lee had stood only a few seconds ago after scoring a goal. The tree fell with such a thundering force that it broke the fence like a twig and kicked up a gale wind. If Pastor Lee were struck by the falling tree at that time, it would have crushed every bone in his body.
It is written in today’s Scripture passage that a gale wind also arose before Elijah, but no doubt it was of a far greater force, since it tore into the mountains and shattered the rocks. However, Jehovah was not in this wind, and even when the wind was followed by an earthquake and a fire, Jehovah was neither in the earthquake nor in the fire. But after the fire, there was a still, small voice. This gentle voice came to Elijah and asked him, “What are you doing here?” Elijah then answered as the following: “I have been very zealous for the LORD God of hosts; for the children of Israel have forsaken Your covenant, torn down Your altars, and killed Your prophets with the sword. I alone am left; and they seek to take my life” (1 Kings 19:14).
God asked Elijah no less than twice, “What are you doing here?” He then said to him, “Go, return to Damascus, and when you arrive, anoint Hazael as king over Syria, and anoint Jehu the son of Nimshi as king over Israel.” This means that King Ahab was to be deposed, as God had now told Elijah to anoint Jehu to be king of Israel even though King Ahab was still alive. God also told Elijah to anoint Elisha the son of Shaphat as his successor.
So Elijah continued to carry out the work of God. After Elijah was taken up to Heaven in a chariot of fire, Elisha succeeded him to carry out God’s work. However, this Elijah appeared again in the age of the New Testament as John the Baptist. Of course, this does not mean that Elijah came in the same body as his past one, nor does it mean that the same soul was reincarnated to return again. Rather, it means that John the Baptist came to open the age of the New Testament as the man responsible for carrying out the same ministry of Elijah.
God was neither in the mighty wind nor in the fire, but far from it, He revealed Himself in a still small voice, and it was from this gentle voice that He told Elijah what to do. What we can see clearly here is that God did not manifest Himself in a rushing mighty wind. Although today’s Christians all believe in God, they long for mystical spiritual experiences like a burning fire, thinking that this is how the Holy Spirit works. However, when God comes into our hearts, He does not come by such a fire, nor by forceful tremors, nor by mighty winds.
This Amazing Word of God Enables Us to Discern the Work of Satan Unfolding in Today’s Christianity
Many Christians think that when the Holy Spirit descends on them, He makes them tremble all over their bodies, fall backwards to become unconscious, see strange illusions, and spew out weird words from their mouths. They think that these are the works of the Holy Spirit—that is, they think they are prophesying, speaking in tongues, and seeing visions. However, Jehovah God did not dwell in such works. On the contrary, He indwelt in a still small voice. We must realize what the Word of God is saying to us.
People receive the remission of their sins and the gift of the Holy Spirit only when we explain God’s Word to them in detail and preach it through the gospel of the water and the Spirit. It was while we preached the Word of God in detail that He descended and worked there to blot out people’s sins, came into their hearts, and made them God’s children. That is how God’s work unfolds. Indeed, God works in the minds of people when we give a detailed account of the Scriptures. Take a look at Acts 8:26-40. Philip the Deacon met a eunuch from Ethiopia, and explained the Scripture passage he was reading in his chariot. Philip gave a detailed account of the Scripture passage until the eunuch reached an understanding on the gospel of the water and the Spirit, and as a result, he came to have faith in the baptism of Jesus. As such, we have to explain the Word of God to the confused souls in great detail.
A misperception common to many of today’s Christian believers is the notion that God descends amid fire, startling tremors, a rushing mighty wind, or mysterious dreams and visions, but that is not actually true. God always speaks to us and works in our lives through His fine and detailed Word. It is through His Word that God has revealed Himself to us, and so when today’s self-claimed servants of God raise all kinds of ruckus and rackets to speak in tongues or prophesy, that is not God’s work. I once read someone claiming in his book that when he experienced the presence of the Holy Spirit, his whole body trembled and shivered all over. But even if this person’s body did in fact shake, by no means does this indicate that his spirit was truly born again by believing in the gospel of the water and the Spirit. After all, I had also seen visions of Jesus even while my eyes were wide open. But all this was nothing more than a demonic work. That’s because there still was sin in my heart, for I did not know the gospel of the water and the Spirit. As such, God works among us when we preach the Word of God in detail for people to receive the remission of their sins. In other words, it is through His written Word of Truth that God works to bring the remission of our sins to us.
So in today’s Christian communities around the world, particularly in churches affiliated with the Pentecostals, the widespread practices of speaking in tongues, prophesying, and exposing someone else’s sins under the so-called gift of discernment are all works of demons. That is not how God works. He works with His fine and detailed Word, making us realize and believe in His grace through the Word.
What Does “God’s Still Small Voice” Mean?
When our Lord saves souls, does He work in the middle of fire, an earthquake, or a rushing mighty wind? No, of course not. God works in our hearts through His detailed Word. God wrote in His Word in detail that our Lord Jesus has saved us from all the sins of the world by coming to this earth, taking upon our sins by being baptized by John the Baptist, dying on the Cross, and rising from the dead again. It is with this Word that God works in every soul. Likewise, we are also preaching the Word of God silently and calmly through our literature ministry. So as a result, many people have now realized that God speaks concretely to their knowledge, thoughts, and hearts; that He actually comes looking for them through His detailed Word; and that He works in their lives flawlessly through this pure Word.
When it comes to preaching the gospel of the water and the Spirit to everyone all over the world in this age, God has instructed us to teach it step by step in detail through our literature or the mouths of His servants, so that people may be able to understand it. Only when we preach the gospel in such a great detail can they be freed from the trap of heretics, receive the remission of their sins, and reach their salvation. That is how God works. God watches over His servants, encourages them to preach His concrete Word in detail, and save souls moaning under sin through these servants.
God wants us to save Christians throughout the whole world trapped in heresy from their sins. How then can we achieve this work? All that we have to do is just preach the concrete gospel Word of the water and the Spirit. God wants us to save people from sin by teaching them the gospel of the water and the Spirit step by step based on the written Word of God. Even now, God is working continuously for the salvation of souls through His servants who believe in the gospel of the water and the Spirit. Take a look at today’s Scripture passage again. Didn’t God hold and use Elijah? God fulfills His work through His servants. It is through His servants that God carries out His work. It’s also through His servants that God speaks about how the history of the world will unfold.
The Lord God ordered Elijah to anoint Hazael as king over Syria, Jehu as king over Israel, and Elisha as a prophet in his place. In Israel during the age of the Old Testament, when a king was raised, oil was brought in a horn and this oil was then poured on the head of the new king. Prophets and High Priests were also anointed when they were installed.
“Christ” in the name Jesus Christ means “anointed.” So the name Jesus Christi means that that the Lord Jesus is the Savior whose offices include King, Prophet, and the High Priest. In other words, Jesus Christ was entrusted with three offices by God. The name “Jesus” means the Savior, and the name “Christ” means that He was entrusted with three offices by God, and therefore the name “Jesus Christ” means that He is the Savior who has saved you and me from all our sins by fulfilling these three offices while on this earth.
In the days of Elijah’s ministry, Ahab was the king of the northern kingdom, Israel. But God deposed him from his throne. And He said, “Kill him. Let the dogs lick the blood of his dead body. Let the birds peck on his flesh.” Just like the Lord had cursed, Ahab was shot by an arrow in the battlefield and died from this wound, and dogs licked up his blood (1 Kings 21:19; 22:38). It was all because Ahab had walked in the way of Jeroboam and worshiped idols before God. The same thing happened to Jezebel’s body as well; when she fell from the balcony, dogs came and licked her blood, and birds ate her flesh. Her body was shattered completely, and according to God’s Word of prophecy, dogs devoured her dead body (1 Kings 21:23). God had brought down His wrath on them. This woman Jezebel might have seemed like a powerful woman, but she was completely cursed by God. He cursed King Jeroboam, King Baasha, and everyone else who walked in the way of Jeroboam. Those who followed the sins of Jeroboam, God let their bodies also be torn apart and eaten by dogs. The people of Israel may have committed such sins out of their ignorance, but the leaders of the nation should have known better; so God killed mercilessly all the leaders who led His people to the way of idolatry.
God Is Still Working through His Servants
God works through His servants. Through them, He works to spread the gospel of the water and the Spirit all over the world. Although God loves everyone in the whole world, many Christians are actually trapped in heresy, even as they profess to believe in God. Through whom does God then turn these people around back into His arms? He does this work through His laborers and servants. All the saints abiding in His Church and serving the gospel now are God’s servants.
Like this, it is through His servants that God works, and it is through them that He fulfills His will. Why does God then work through His servants? That’s because they know what God wants to accomplish and obey this will. In other words, it’s because they obey the will of God that they are called God’s servants, and it’s because they are working in obedience to this will that God ultimately wants to work thorough these servants of His. Through you and me, who abide in the Church, God is working to spread the gospel throughout the whole world. Even at this very moment, God is carrying out the work of salvation all over the world. With a very quiet and detailed voice, with the Word of the gospel Truth of the water and the Spirit, God is turning people all over the world back into His arms. He is working tirelessly so that everyone would return to Him and receive His blessings. The very fact that we are now engaged in our literature ministry is the proof that you and I are being used as God’s instruments for this work.
God told Elijah to anoint Elisha as a prophet to succeed him. With this, Elijah was not forsaken by God, but rather he was made to complete all his duties. Later on, God eventually lifted him up in a chariot of fire. Like Enoch, Elijah went to God without tasting death. This is a shadow of rapture. It shows us that when the Lord returns, those among the living who have been born again by believing in the gospel of the water and the Spirit will be raptured like this.
You and I are now preaching the gospel of the water and the Spirit to the entire world. Just how many heretics are there among today’s Christians? What is it that these Christians now believe in? Do they not believe in golden calves, having replaced Jesus Christ with them? Ultimately, the purpose for which today’s pastors are ministering is to exploit their congregation for money. Invoking the name of Jesus Christ, they are squeezing money out of their congregation by emphasizing material blessings and physical health. None other than this is the evidence of the fact they have replaced God with golden calves and are worshiping them instead.
What about laypeople then? What do they ask the Lord when they come to church? They, too, mostly ask for the things of the flesh. For instance, they pray for their sons and daughters to do well in their college entrance exams and gain admission to their preferred schools. Together with their leaders, they are really following only the things of the flesh. In other words, rather than praying about how they and their children can be completely remitted from their hearts’ sins, and how they can carry out God’s work, they pray about how their children can gain college admission, how they can become rich, how their businesses can succeed, how their flesh can prosper, and how they can live an affluent life in the present world. These are the very evidences proving that these Christians are now worshiping golden calves before God.
Jeroboam replaced God with golden calves and worshiped them as his gods. If he had recognized and worshiped Jehovah as the only God, lived by faith despite his insufficiencies, and tried to follow the Lord, then God would have made Israel the most powerful nation in the whole world and blessed its people abundantly. But because Jeroboam replaced God with golden calves and worshiped them, God was provoked to anger. Likewise, for today’s Christian leaders and believers all over the world, golden calves have now become their gods and are being worshiped as such. What they demand from God are carnal things. It’s because Christians today are serving golden calves as their gods just like the people of Israel that God is so angry, and they will all be destroyed as a result. They have fallen into heresy today. Pastors worshiping the god of mammon have led their congregation to believe in golden calves as their Savior, instead of Jesus. They believe in Jesus merely as one of many gods, and their ultimate goal is to ensure worldly success by believing in Jesus. Today, material blessings are what virtually all Christians want from God.
Golden Calves Are Not Your Gods
How can golden calves be your gods? It’s because you are serving golden calves as your gods that they’ve become your gods. Indeed, when we examine what today’s Christians are praying for in their churches, we see that most are actually serving golden calves. They write all kinds of requests on their offering envelopes, from asking for the success of their new businesses to their children’s college admission and their health, and when these envelopes are submitted to the pulpit, the pastor calls them out one by one. So in the end, they don’t really believe in Jesus as their God, but they believe in golden calves, in material prosperity, as their gods. Rather than worshiping God, they worship mammon as their god.
That is why they’ve become heretics. And that is why they are collective heretics. I am writing to warn heretics in this age. I will tell them why so many people in today’s Christian communities have become collective heretics, and why this has happened. My point is not that just a handful of today’s Christians are heretics, but virtually all of them are heretics. So I shout out to them: “You have turned into collective heretics because you are worshiping golden calves instead of God. Even though you say that you believe in Jesus as your Savior, you believe in Him only in words. Haven’t you made up fallacious Christian doctrines all on your own, and don’t you now believe in golden calves? You believe in golden calves, but have your sins disappeared? Have you really become God’s people?” Even though these nominal Christians have not become God’s people, they seek only the prosperity of their flesh, and that is why they have in the end turned into heretics worshiping idols before God.
To save these heretics from the sin of worshiping golden calves, we must pray for them and bear witness to them. Regardless of how they react, whether they get angry with me or not, I will do what I am supposed to do. We must testify to them and explain why they are heretics. This is all to save them from the sin of worshiping golden calves. That is why I am preaching the gospel of the water and the Spirit to Christians all over the world. If we are indeed God’s servants, then we must save all these Christians trapped in collective heresy from their sins. The people of Israel and its entire nation all worshiped idols. They served golden calves instead of Jehovah God. In the northern kingdom of Israel, all its ten tribes bowed down before golden calves, burnt incense to them, and sacrificed burnt offerings to them. Were they really worshiping Jehovah God as their only God?
How was it possible for them to serve idols? This happened because while their eyes could not see Jehovah God, they could see the visible golden claves with their naked eyes. Put differently, because what their eyes saw were these golden calves, they found them far easier to believe. The same thing is happing to today’s Christians as well. They worship golden calves because rather than hearing the gospel and following the invisible God, they keep hearing more about and seeing others who supposedly became rich from believing in Jesus, whose children gained admission to a good college, and whose businesses prospered. All that they keep hearing and seeing are some elders who, upon assuming their eldership, were supposedly blessed so much by God that they became spectacularly successful.
Like this, for today’s Christians, what their eyes can see are golden calves and the gift of healing. In other words, they follow golden calves promising to bring them visible prosperity more than they follow God. But golden calves are not divine beings. They are no gods. Yet despite this, Christianity today has also come to worship golden calves. Far from believing in the gospel of the water and the Spirit, Christians today are also slaves to materialism. They are serving mammon as their god.
Christianity Today Has Indeed Turned into a Heresy Before God
What evidence is there to prove that today’s Christians are not heretics before God? Heretics are those Christians who neither follow nor serve the gospel of the water and the Spirit, which is God’s Truth, but far from it, are actually worshiping golden calves as their gods against the will of God. Even for the born-again who now believe in the gospel of the water and the Spirit, if they ignore the Lord’s will to spread the gospel all over the world and live only for their own flesh, then they are also heretics before God. Simply put, any Christian who worships idols is a heretic. Many people think that only peculiar cults are heretical, but in reality, there are many heretics even in the so-called orthodox Christian denominations. Those who are yet to believe in Jesus as their Savior are simply non-Christians, not heretics before God. However, among those professing to believe in Jesus, there are many heretics.
When you look at the world with this realization, you’ll be able to see that it is indeed filled with too many heretics. I wonder what people would say after reading this book. Perhaps some people would get so angry that they might grab stones and throw them at me. But I am not afraid of them at all. Regardless of how people may respond, if they realize their heresy from reading this book, then they can turn around, believe in the gospel of the water and the Spirit, and return to God. If not, then they are free to attack me all that they want and vent their anger at me for calling them heretics. That’s not what matters; what matters is whether or not they can provide any evidence to prove me wrong, whether they can show me the proof that they have indeed served God, not golden calves. It is with this disposition of the heart that I am writing this book.
My fellow believers, our God works through the Word of the water and the Spirit, amid a still, little voice. Some Christians claim that while in a revival meeting, they felt tremors all over and saw people speaking in tongues and falling backwards in ecstasy, and all kinds of seemingly miraculous things happened, but these things are not God’s work. Some pastors claim that while in their room, they felt a strange presence, and all of sudden their bodies vibrated all over and their noses smelt a refreshing aroma, but nor are these works from the Holy Spirit. They are the Devil’s works. When these people have not even received the remission of their sins by believing in the gospel of the water and the Spirit, how could anything happening to them constitute God’s work? Put differently, the Holy Spirit never works among sinners. It’s not the Holy Spirit’s work, but it is the Devil’s work. The work of the Holy Spirit arises when one believes in the gospel Word of the water and the Spirit, the detailed Word of God.
Some may ask, “What then do the events of Pentecost mean? When the Holy Spirit descended on the Apostles and disciples of the Early Church on the Day of Pentecost, what seemed like tongues of fire had set on each of them, and their mouths had opened to speak in various tongues.” This means that because the Apostles and saints of the Early Church were already holy people who believed in the gospel of the water and the Spirit, God had given them power to preach the gospel. By no means does this account mean that the power of the Holy Spirit descended even on those who were not yet born again. Therefore, if any Christian screams all of a sudden and trembles all over, then what’s happening to him is clearly Satan’s work. Such things are not God’s works.
People must return to the gospel of the water and the Spirit by faith and affirm their salvation with the concrete, detailed Word of God. God’s work is achieved when the gospel of the water and the Spirit works in human hearts in detail. It’s not God’s work when Christians worship golden calves. That is no work of God. Yet Christianity today has reduced itself to a superstitious level, with its adherents claiming that they’ve become rich and prosperous from believing in Jesus, received the gift of healing, and have been instantly healed from tuberculosis when a certain charismatic pastor laid his hands on them just once. Some people testify that they were born with deformed legs, but when some pastor laid his hands on their heads, their legs were all healed and they can now walk normally. But such things are the Devil’s works. Is anyone’s deformed leg really healed with the laying on of hands? No, of course not.
Do you know a man named Uri Geller? He became famous for claiming that he could bend spoons and keys by using his supernatural power. But James Randi, a former magician, offered one million dollars to anyone who could perform a scientifically proven supernatural act, and he proposed Geller to test his claim on TV. By exposing Uri Geller’s tricks, James Randi earned his nickname as “the psychic hunter.” Traveling around the world, he held daring events called “One-million Dollar Challenge,” and while there were countless people who rose to his challenge, to this day, no one has yet passed even the first stage of testing. To all those claiming to possess paranormal power, he shouted out boldly: “If you really possess supernatural power, perform it in front of me. Come to a public forum and exercise your power. If you really have such supernatural power, then I will give you one million dollars. I will give you enough money for you to live comfortably for the rest of your life. So let’s make a bet. Let’s see if you really are a psychic or a fake. Pastors are welcome too. Was anyone really healed with the laying on of your hands? Was a deformed leg really straightened out? If you really have this kind of power, then I will give you a million dollars.”
But among charismatic pastors in Korea, there was no one who rose to his challenge, not to mention anyone who succeeded. Because Randi himself was a magician, he knew very well that all such supernatural claims were nothing more than tricks. Some pastor in Korea once claimed that he could raise a dead person back to life by laying his hands on him. However, when James Randi came to Korea and challenged all such people claiming to hold supernatural power to step forward at his televised event for “One-million Dollar Challenge,” none of these pastors in Korea who were boasting their gift of healing made an appearance. This is the proof that all such claims were nothing more than lies and deceptions.
Of course, there could be miracles from God. For those who believe in the gospel of the water and the Spirit, there are cases when the Lord heals their illnesses if they trust in the Lord and pray earnestly to Him to heal their illnesses. But the Lord heals them very quietly, not by raising all kinds of empty commotions. God never works like this.
In the history of Christianity around the world, God’s servants in the Early Church did carry out the ministry of healing. However, they did this only to preach the gospel of the water and the Spirit. Think about it yourself. We can see in the Book of Acts that various supernatural works such as tremors and speaking in tongues were accompanied with the ministries of the Apostles. But we have to understand the historical background to that age. In those days, because the Israel was ruled by Rome, many Israelites were living scattered all over the world. But they had to visit Jerusalem according to the Law. Yet due to their long residence abroad, many of them could not communicate with each other. They had lost their mother tongue and the faith inherited form their ancestors.
Of course, there also were many Gentiles living in Jerusalem. The Gentiles at that time did not know the sacrifice of the Day of Atonement, far less Jesus. They knew nothing about Jesus. For all these people, both the Jews abroad and the Gentiles residing in Israel, to believe that Jesus was the Son of God and their Savior, they needed signs, and therefore God had given His servants the power to perform signs and miracles and preach Jesus through them. You also have to pay attention to the fact that the tongues spoken by the Apostles in Acts chapter two were clearly “the languages of various legions” that could be understood rationally. And their contents were all equal: The gospel of the water and the Spirit. That’s why people who heard the Apostles speaking in tongues said, “We hear them speaking in our own tongues the wonderful works of God.” That’s why, at that time, God had given His servants supernatural power, so that they would preach the gospel of the water and the Spirit (Acts 2:28-35).
However, once the Word of God holding the gospel of the water and the Spirit was completed to perfection from Genesis to the Book of Revelation, God has made us spread the gospel through His concrete Word, and He no longer performs signs and miracles. If such miracles and wonders were still needed even in this present age, then we should all try to practice them. But to be saved, one must know the Truth of the water and the Spirit. And to enable everyone to know this Truth of the water and the Spirit, we must preach it in detail based on the concrete Word. If we were to speak in tongues all of a sudden while preaching the gospel of the water and the Spirit, could anyone really understand what this gospel is? If we just say to them, “Believe in Jesus unconditionally,” could anyone be saved just by believing like this? Is this how one is saved from his sins?
That is why I am saying that the history of Christianity all over the world has been marked by collective heresy. I know a few things about the history of Christianity in this world. When I hear a certain pastor preach, I can tell what Christian ideology he believes in. So I know almost all pastors have not been born again yet. These so-called pastors today are fake ministers and heretics, who neither know the gospel of the water and the Spirit nor believe in it. These people are bona fide heretics.
We must save heretics in Christian communities. We must fulfill this task. To do so, we must pray to God. We must ask Him in our prayer, “Lord! Please save all the heretics in Christian communities around the world!” There isn’t much that we can do for non-Christians at this point. Our priority should be on Christians who are bound to hell despite believing in Jesus Christ. We must lead these Christian sinners first, and make them realize the gospel Truth of the water and the Spirit. That’s because it’s in this gospel Truth that the work of God and His will are all contained, and it’s here that God’s salvation of mankind is found.
God spoke in a still little voice, He manifested His will to His servants, He worked through them, and He also had them labor for Him. Like this, through His servants, God is speaking in detail to Christians all over the world with the concrete gospel Word of the water and the Spirit: “How did Jesus accept people’s sins? Jesus Christ accepted the sins of the world by being baptized by John the Baptist. And Jesus carried the sins of the world to the Cross, shed His blood to death, rose from the dead again, and has thereby saved you. He has saved you and me through the water, and the blood, and the Spirit.” It’s by speaking this Truth in great detail that God is saving sinners.
We know that we must participate in God’s work of salvation by placing our faith in the gospel of the water and the Spirit, and that we must also fulfill our duty to spread the gospel. Let us therefore all labor diligently, so that everyone all over the world would be saved from sin, and Christians trapped in heresy would also receive true salvation. We must pray to God to save Christians throughout the entire world. And we must preach the gospel of the water and the Spirit by faith. All Christians must believe in this gospel of the water and the Spirit. Only then can they avoid turning into heretics before God.
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