The NUMBER of the BEAST, 666, and IDOLATRY
Even though the grave of theology and doctrine was marked by a tombstone several hundred years ago, what is the difference between cling to doctrines that are already dead and praying for blessings and idol worship? I remember once seeing a picture of a little child sucking on his dead mother’s nipple and crying, and that thought won’t leave my mind. Whenever I thought of it, it reminded me of Christians who were obsessed with doctrines. Probably, this is the most suitable expression to explain the Christianity which clings to doctrine. Modern Christianity is fallen into the idol of dead doctrines.
As Christian faith is truly so simple, it is a religion which practices with only love, the commandment of God. It is a religion that holds on to only one thing, love, and applies it to reach its destination, but modern Christianity has lost the original purpose of Christianity and it tainted with idolatry without even seriously realizing it. Since the incident of the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil, man lost the Holy Spirit, the essence of life, as a result of sin and thus became transformed into the flesh (Ge 6:3). Because of that, the relationship with God began to be severed. In order to restore the broken relationship with God, man must return to the original state of Adam before the fall. Accordingly, the purpose of Christianity is not worldly faith for God’s blessing such as eternal life, happiness and comport, etc. which people wish to enjoy but returning to original Adam before the fall i.e. returning to God’s image and this is the finality and core of salvation. In order to do so, people must be spiritual, thus the Bible pursues the spirit and focuses entirely on spirituality. When Christianity is not spiritual, no matter how beautiful its ethics, morality, norms, and doctrines are, no matter how zealous it is, it loses its function as a religion and is only mass-produced as a dead religion.
Today, despite the remarkable development of theology, faith is stagnating and regressing in confusion day by day and it is going too far away from the ultimate goal of Christian faith due to the heavy contamination by secularization. Although scientific civilization, humanism, market economy logic, mammonism, etc. have been expected, believers are undergoing great chaos and confusion because they do not know exactly what to accept, what to deny, what is the right behavior, etc. Everything that is said in church is right and correct, and we should live that way. However, when you decide to live that way and go out into the world, you find yourself in a world where the structure of the world is completely different form your faith. Accordingly, I can never survive if I do not have my own way which is different from the true way that the church has presented. As a result, the conscience becomes more cunning day by day in a dual structure and the mind becomes hardened.
Christians must live only by faith. Faith must be built on 100 % pure truth, but cunning destroys the integrity of that faith, turning a person into a spiritual cripple who can no longer live a life of faith. Like this, the differentiation of two things such as faith is one thing and living is another is thoroughly classified and drifts, which shows the clear evidence that the truth has been developed and built by human reason. In such a state, even if the continuous, powerful work of the Holy Spirit occurs, just as the work of the Holy Spirit in Korea up to now ended in a faith for blessing, the same vicious cycle will continue no matter where in the world the work of the Holy Spirit occurs again. The reason is that Christianity grew through a theology which relies on human reason rather than the Holy Spirit. Like this, every way depending on only human reason excluding God is the number of beast, 666, and this is called idolatry. Now, I would like to consider the true meanings of ‘666’ and ‘idolatry’ as mentioned in the Bible.
1. The Number of the Beast, 666, is Formed by Human Reason.
● What is the Number of the Beast, 666?
“He also forced everyone, small and great, rich and poor, free and slave, to receive
A mark on his right hand or on his forehead, so that no one could buy or sell
Unless he had the mark, which is the name of the beast or the number of his name.
This calls for wisdom. If anyone has insight, let him calculate the number of the beast,
For it is man’s number. His number is 666.” (Rev 13:16-18)
According to the above passage, all the people in the world, whether they are small or great, poor or servants of God, all of them have already received the mark of the beast. Indeed, I would like to deduce from a Biblical perspective what the number of the beast 666 means. The meaning of a beast is mentioned in many places in the Bible, but it is most accurately summarized in Proverbs 30:2-4 and Psalm 49:12. Beast symbolizes people, and among people, those who do not know God and those who are honored but do not realize it are defined as the beasts that perish.
People mean to know God not by rational knowledge but by understanding, believing and reviving with the heart. The true duty of man is to fear God only, that is, it is to live in accordance with love. It is to clearly understand and realize, in one’s heart, that this is the true purpose of his existence in this world. Faith is the center of a person’s life. Since the spirit, which is capable of knowing God, has been revived, it is so delicate and sensitive that when he disobeys, the spirit aches with remorse and cannot endure it. This person fears this inner pain more than any suffering in the world. However, if such a person falls into corruption, he may fall even more deeply than any people of the world, due to the work of devil.
Beasts mean that firstly, they do not know God at all and do not feel the necessity to know God. For them, only money, honor, power, children, parents, siblings, friends, relatives, etc. are their God.
Secondly, they know God but they understand and know God by rational knowledge. For example, Nicodemus, a Jewish scholar of the law, was a very devout man and he had reason to know God but the function of his spirit of knowing God was not revived. Most of Christians and theologians belong to this category. This is the reason why the Bible says that one must be born again of water and the Spirit (Jn 3:5).
Beasts and man are different from the creation. On the same sixth day, God first created livestock and animals and later created man from the dust in God’s image and likeness and breathed life into his nostrils and finally man became life (a living spirit). Both man and beasts are the creation of God but the difference is determined by the fact that whether they received God’s breath of life (the Holy Spirit) or not.
In other words, although the outward appearance may be that of a person, it is only when God’s breath, that is, the Holy Spirit, is present that they truly live. However, when the Holy Spirit is not present, he is reduced to an animal because he does not have a spirit that knows and acknowledges God. Just as dry bones rise up by breath of life in the Book of Ezekiel Chapter 37, man is actually resurrected from the dead life when he receives breath of life from God. Strictly speaking, a Christian cannot be a true Christian until he is born again. This is because he knows and understands God by head knowledge (reason) but he does not surely feel God by his spirit. Like this, anyone who does not surely feel God by his spirit cannot have faith which accepts the belief that the Bible demands. In other words, he cannot acknowledge the Lord, which means he cannot accept the things of the Spirit of God (1Co 2:14). Therefore, the Bible records that no one can say, “Jesus is Lord,” except by the Holy Spirit (1Co 12:3) because there should be the Spirit of God in order to know the thoughts of God. (1Co 2:11) Accordingly, all human beings are noble, but those who do not know God are ignorant, corrupted and have lost the spirit of God, so they are called foolish animals. (Ps 73:22) God has always been open to humans through all things (Ac 17:27, Ro 1:19), so that they can know God, but God left them alone because they, who had been reduced to beasts, loved darkness rather than light in their hearts and did not want to have God. (Ro 1:28)
The Bible defines that having life means that humans have received the Holy Spirit, which enables them to realize that they are God’s creation. Through the Spirit, humans understand that their true existence as human beings is to fear God and keep His commandments, which is their proper duty. (Ecc 12:13) Without true consciousness of life i.e. without spirit of seeking and knowing God, the life of man by living only soul (reason) is 666, the life of the beast and the Bible defines that this life is alive but dead (1Ti 5:6). In other words, the world of reason alone without the spirit of God, that is, the world of human soul is the world of the beasts and it is called 666. (For the purpose of explanation, it is inevitable to use the words of soul, reason, spirit, etc. I hope to mention about spirit, soul, and flesh if they are allowed.)
To receive a mark on the forehead is to receive human rational education without the spirit, and this means receiving the seal of 666, bowing down to the beast and serving idols. Specially, looking at Korean education system, what does this 666 curriculum symbolize: 6-year of primary education; 6-year of middle (3-year) and high school (3-year); 4-year of college, and 2-year of graduate school, for a total of 6 years of education? Is this a coincidence or is it inevitable? As the case of the seal of 666 represents symbolism, it exited in the past, exists in the present and will exist in the future. Who can escape from this?
In the world, only those who completed the courses of 666 and received a mark (school diploma) are eligible for finding employment; and those who did not learn are deprived of an opportunity of employment and live a difficult life because do not have a mark (school diploma). Therefore, people of the world put their heart and soul into getting the mark as if their head would burst. A diploma, the mark, is the basis (resume) for evaluating a person. Human beings sell their skills to workplaces with the mark and the workplaces buy individual’s skills and capabilities. Like this, human beings live their lives by trading things with one another. In today’s world structure, human beings are manipulated under the influence of reason. In other words, the Bible says that all the people of the world, small or great, bow down to beasts and do idol worship after receiving the mark of 666. The way to escape from this is to live according to the guidance of the Holy Spirit through the fullness of the Holy Spirit as the declaration of Apostle Paul. This is the one and only way to throw idol worship away.
He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says.
What is reason?
What is the number of the beast, 666, i.e., reason which governs all human life after the fall of Adam? After the incidents of the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil, human communication with God was cut off and from then on, human beings lived their lives as beasts with only their soul and body, excluding the spirit that could know God. This is as if when the husband was alive, everything, including decision-making rights, economic rights, property rights, etc., was controlled by the husband, but after the death of the husband, all of the husband’s authority was transferred to the woman, and she was left to lead her life alone. Before the fall of Adam, the essence of all life was governed by the spirit, but after the fall, the soul (the flesh) without a spirit transfers the sovereignty and decision-making power of all life which is the sovereignty of the spirit, to the soul, i.e., reason. And reason alone judges and executes all matters, and processes the ability to discern truth from falsehood, good from evil, and handles everything.
Reason is called the soul and this soul is placed in the highest, most supreme position of human being and dominates the human mind and everything, and is vast and extensive. In philosophy, it is generally said that human beings live their lives through the complex interaction of intellect, emotion, and will within the human mind. (In psychology, the three psychological elements of a person are intelligence, emotion, and will. Although this is also a fictional term that is not found in the Bible, it is used out of necessity to aid understanding.) Reason and intellect have a close interrelationship that cannot be separated, and knowledge belonging to ‘intellect’ mobilizes all information it knows and conveys it to reason. Then, only when the cooperation of emotion and will is obtained, reason is recognized as faith and it will have confidence. Reason is supported by this close complex interaction of intellect, emotion and will, and has the ability to judge things as well as the ability to discern truth from falsehood, good from evil, and so on.
After the fall of Adam, human beings have enjoyed human history and civilization under the influence of this reason. In other words, by imagining, reasoning, and engaging in intuition and speculation, all philosophy, academia, science, culture, religion and art have been adorned and developed using only the tool of reason. Whether human beings like it or not, they were educated and grew up under this influence, and thus societies and nations were formed to live together. In addition, they have created common sense that everyone recognized based on the ideology of society and the country or the world’s trends. And based on its universality and validity, they have created norms and laws to live their lives. As a result of relying on reason and living only within reason, the human spirit became corrupted into the flesh, and humans who became corrupted into the flesh built the Tower of Babel in order to survive. Even though they were cut off from communication with God, they tried to make the top of the castle reach the sky, completely forgetting the purpose and duty of their creation, and aiming to live like God. They sought glory and attempted to create an idea for a better life and a path to humanity’s salvation, all excluding God. They sought answers, solely through reason about how to live well.
That is what philosophy aims at. It is believed that philosophy was an act of seeking answers to the question of how to live well like the purpose of Plato’s philosophy and it is thought that beyond the emotional world composed of various beings that are born, perish, and inherit, the human soul, through the immortal true cause, the ideal, is good and beautiful, and furthermore, it has the power to make the world good and beautiful as well. What Aristotle sought was also the exploration of the true cause, Eros. In this way, reason relies entirely on knowledge, and through knowledge it tries to move and rule the world by itself, by the power of humans alone without God. However, the ideology of communism, which divided the world in two, has definitively proven to us today, a century later, that it was a fiction, and it suggests many important things. Like this, the higher levels of knowledge attained through reason possess a certain outward beauty. That beauty lies in living as a human being, being respected and treated well while loving one’s neighbors. The way to realize this is through equality and to maintain equality, justice must be implemented. To ensure that this is not neglected, it was bound together with the concept of justice. In other words, it was created to ensure that equality is always maintained smoothly by not tolerating injustice, being grateful, and interfering.
Thus, the ideal of the upper echelons of knowledge is humanism. It is an ideal is to transcend discrimination based on race, country, etc., centering on humans and to pursue the well-being and happiness of humanity by allowing all humans to respect each other equally. This is humanitarianism and generally the ultimate point of all philosophies. Just as theology has many different views, but its ultimate goal is heaven, philosophy also has many completely different perspectives, yet the ultimate point of all philosophy is humanism. Humanism is a religion created and established by humans themselves without God and it is a faith that humans uphold. The trends of the world don the mask of human-centeredness, human respect, known as humanism and replace religion. Religious leaders, who have been also captivated by the beauty, have unconsciously colluded with it without realizing it. All humanity and the world are under this influence and are thoroughly dominated by it. All humanity and the world are under this influence and thoroughly dominated by it. Humanism may seem truly beautiful, noble, and true; however, what we must be cautious of is the belief that humans can exist without God, and humans sit on God’s throne. The cradle of philosophy emerged from the celebration of human equality and freedom. From a broader perspective, humans have used the tools of philosophy or religion to exclude God while striving to fulfill their fundamental needs (the desire for happiness, which is ultimately a longing for God). The ultimate goal of that desire is freedom, and they have been working to attain it.
The current worldview of materialism is mammonism, where the goal is centered on money, and the reason is the ultimate conviction that money guarantees my freedom (happiness). Now, knowledge in the world has failed to maintain its rightful place and has degenerated into a means of mere survival. Like this, all theories of philosophy may seem plausible, but in practice, they are impossible; therefore, the Apostle Paul declared that the true nature of philosophy was falsehood and deception. The reason for this is that it is unlawful because it is a feast that only humans have, without the permission and presence of the owner, the Creator. The problem is that Christianity has accepted the influence of this philosophy. That is theology.
●Theology is formed by reason, which is the number of the beast, 666.
The early Christian church was unable to organizationally systematize the reality of Christianity throughout its faith, including knowledge and belief in God, etc. This became possible only being influenced by Greek philosophy, and most Christians would agree that theology based on a philosophical way of thinking contributed to precisely defining the essence of the Gospel, thereby helping people to have faith. However, this represents a significant misunderstanding. As a result, negative consequences of Christianity emerged, which led to a complete distortion of Christianity today. The reason is that the essence of philosophy is reason. Reason, in turn, produces more reason. Theology, influenced by philosophy, is also based on reason, so it can only be conveyed to reason and understood, but it can never be fully transmitted to the spirit. The spirit is transmitted through the spirit, i.e., only the Holy Spirit can communicate with and reach the spirit within humans.
The Christian method of argumentation taught in the Bible is accomplished solely through the power and work of the Holy Spirit (the preaching of the preacher under the influence of the Holy Spirit). It is the Holy Spirit who comes to teach and bring to remembrance. However, a human without spirit is like an orphan without parents, relying solely on reason to perceive, express, and act. Therefore, theology imitates the methods of philosophy to think, speculate, study and explore recognition, existence and value. Philosophy is keenly aware that knowledge cannot be attained through reason alone, so it seeks another method, namely intuition.
Intuition is broadly classified into two types. One type is the intuition that animals possess (an instinctive reflex action of immediacy), while the other is the intuition that humans use in place of spirit, which is at the peak of reason. Intuition has been used in philosophy, but it is not an exaggeration to say that the development and formation of Eastern religions (Confucianism, Buddhism, especially Zen Buddhism) have all been influenced by this intuition. In China, Taoism and Mahayana Buddhism have already fused to give rise to Zen Buddhism, a meditative Buddhism. Zen Buddhism refrained from metaphysics and theory and thoroughly preferred intuition based on experience. Taoism also utilizes the intuition inherent in humans to gain insight into things through meditation. This habit of pagan religions is also abused within Christianity in attempts to achieve communication with the spirit by mistaking intuition, which is the function of reason, for spirit.
The difference between the work of the Holy Spirit and intuition which is the work of reason is as thin as a sheet of paper. The Holy Spirit works in our hearts only through inspiration (impression). Inspiration, or impression, is a complete belief that comes about through the teachings and thoughts of the Holy Spirit that are so certain, accurate, and instantaneous that only you know, and at the same time, peace and tranquility come together. This is inspiration and it should never be confused with intuition. In most faiths guided by the Holy Spirit, the peace of Christ in our hearts can be said to be the response of the Lord and the Rhema, the voice of the Lord. (For now, it may be sufficient for ordinary laypersons to understand this much, as it should not pose a significant issue for their faith. However, if you are a pastor, you must know more deeply to be able to manage the church spiritually. I hope to mention it little by little as the Lord allows.) The reason why Korean Christianity believes that intuition, which is a function of reason, is the work of the Holy Spirit and acts upon it, only to end up in failure and great confusion, lies in the spiritual ignorance of church leaders and the excessive use of intuition.
1) The Greatest Weakness of Reason
The greatest weakness of reason is that the illusion that it stands alone, completely unaware of the existence of the spirit manipulating it from behind. The spirit has both the attributes of the Holy Spirit, which is the Spirit of God, and the attributes of Satan. The attributes of the Holy Spirit is love. (1Co 13:4-7) In other words, patience, kindness, not being envious, not boasting, not being proud, not behaving rudely, not seeking one’s own benefit, not being easily angered, not holding onto wrongs, not rejoicing in evil, but rejoicing with the truth; enduring all things, believing all things, hoping all things, and persevering all things. Through these, God has revealed Himself to us. This love is called perfect love, and it is the image of God. On the other hand, the attributes of Satan reflect the attributes of the flesh, which include sexual immorality, impurity, lust, idolatry, sorcery, enmity, strife, jealousy, anger, factions, division, heresy, envy, drunkenness, debauchery, and the like. (Gal 5:19) Like this, God and Satan are clearly distinguished, but reason is completely unaware of the existence of spirit and mistakenly believes that everything is solely based on its own judgment.
Before the fall of Adam, humans were directly controlled by the Spirit of God (God), but after the fall of Adam, they came under the control of Satan, rather than the Spirit of God. Just as a puppet on a stage is made to walk, cry, laugh, and dance by a person who manipulates it without knowing anything, and just as Eve was deceived by the snake, philosophers themselves may believe that their thoughts, reasoning, and intuition are their own, but the one who imparts wisdom to them is Satan. Accordingly, Intuition can be used cautiously when love is perfected and one is fully filled with the Holy Spirit, but otherwise, it is advised not to use it, as it may be influenced by one’s own imagination or the manipulation of other spirits. Like this, no matter how plausible and similar it may seem on the outside, reason is still just reason. The essence of reason on its own is arrogance. This is because reason, lacking the true owner, the Spirit, believes itself to be the master and the entirety of the universe and the world. In other words, it believes that it alone is the only one in all of heaven and earth. Accordingly, as knowledge accumulates in reason, it manifests as arrogance. On the other hand, as knowledge accumulates in the spirit, it manifests as humility. This foolishness stems from theology’s failure to understand the essence of reason, which is fundamental to philosophy. It arises from the tendency of human beings to abandon the proper way and resort to schemes instead.
Theologians claim that theology is also inspired by the Holy Spirit. However, the reason that theology is formed not by the Holy Spirit but by reason is as follows:
(1) If Christian theology is based on the Holy Spirit, then logic cannot emerged from it. In other words, theology cannot be formed. Instead, the church is formed based on the apostolic era as a model. When the work of the Holy Spirit occurred in the 60s and 70s, the more powerful the churches were by the Holy Spirit, the more churches were formed naturally based on the apostolic era as a model, although they were by no means perfect. Calling for a return to the apostolic era is a utopian model of the method of faith that all believers long for and theology also wants to return to the apostolic era. Despite such hope, the longing for the apostolic era remains merely an idealistic notion. What is the reason for this? As mentioned previously, theology borrowed the tools of philosophy to proclaim the gospel, and as a result, quantitative expansion occurred but there was no effectiveness in the qualitative spiritual aspect at all. In fact, this was where the root of problem began. The reason is that spirit and reason have fundamentally different systems, so they cannot align. Theology is conveyed through reason to perception, while the spirit reaches the human spirit by the power of the Holy Spirit. Accordingly, in theology based on reason, if the theory is incorrect, it says ‘I must have misunderstood’ and returns to the original position of reason, thus denying the spirit. Because the spirit and reason have fundamentally different systems, they can never align. Therefore, faith based on theology can never fully return to the apostolic faith.
God demands that God should not be established by human reason as the theology of today. The reason is that, if needed, God will work at any time, showing and revealing Himself through His power. He even demanded people to decide not to study what to say. (Lk 21:14) What is the reason for this? God wanted to reveal Himself to all people, saying, ‘Do not use your own wisdom; please be quiet and stay still. I will show you My wisdom, so recognize that it is your God who gives wisdom.’ Were the apostles, the main characters in the Book of Acts, people who studied theology? Were they really as systematically refined and armed with detailed doctrines as today’s theologians? Or were they people who, in their ignorance, knew nothing but relied solely on the guidance and power of the Holy Spirit and testified only of Jesus? Perhaps, if today’s theologians were to work alongside the apostles for just one day, they would likely look at the apostles and immediately judge, “They are misguided shamans.” However, the apostles made up for their ignorance with wisdom and knowledge by receiving the power of the Holy Spirit, and they preached the gospel with the supply of wisdom and knowledge. Apostle Paul also boasted about his knowledge. However, the knowledge was considered absolutely unnecessary and even regarded it as harmful to the gospel, and was thrown away like dirt. (Php 3:7-8) And he declared countless times that he worked only through the power of the Holy Spirit.
It is the same in this era. How, then, should preaching be done? How can I stand before an audience without preparation? Just stand there without preparation, thinking about being humiliated with saying, “Ah! I am going to die again today” and “Okay, let me die”. Do not rely on knowledge, but leave it to the Holy Spirit to work through you as a medium. This may seem like an impossible and incredibly difficult task, but when people determine to obey the strong biblical demand not to worry about what to say, the work of the Holy Spirit occurs. Only then, the hope of returning to the days of the apostles is opened. In order for the power of the Holy Spirit to work in this way, like the apostles who survived each day by begging only from God without any worldly wisdom or knowledge, it is not necessary to have theological knowledge, but we must pray without ceasing to be clothed with its power.
(2) The Bible teaches that one should move towards the Holy Spirit, which is the fulfillment of love, rather than just knowledge of theology. As mentioned previously, philosophy places reason in the highest position and it is knowledge to activate the reason. Knowledge is like a walking stick to a blind man. If reason is not united with knowledge, its function is paralyzed and it cannot play any role. Accordingly, while theology, which adopts the methods of philosophy, also places reason in the highest position, Christianity is a religion of the Holy Spirit, where the Holy Spirit is the highest good. Theology emphasizes the necessity of knowledge, asserting that a proper knowledge of theology forms the conditions for establishing a correct relationship with God, thereby enabling a true and authentic faith. However, this assertion itself serves as evidence that theology is fundamentally rooted in humanistic thought driven by reason. Because a proper relationship with God is naturally recognized when love (the Holy Spirit) is perfected, just as we see face to face, rather than being understood through knowledge. (1Co 13:12)
The transformation of Saul, a fervent follower of Judaism established over a period of about 1,500 years since Moses, into Paul was the result of the momentary power of the Holy Spirit on the road to Damascus, not due to knowledge. This means that the knowledge of Judaism, a law-based religion established over a period of 1,500 years, was shattered in an instant by the power of the Holy Spirit.
In this way, the world of the Holy Spirit, which is the Kingdom of God, is a world that cannot be explained by science or logic. It is a world that transcends time and space where the Holy Spirit comes and instantly imparts a multitude of knowledge to our hearts. This world can only be understood through the work of the Holy Spirit. Love is the perfection of knowledge. Love is the essence of truth, the beginning and the end; it is, in fact, God Himself. Although there are differences depending on the duties, Christian faith must live with the goal of reaching love no matter what they do every day and every moment in the world. This is a life that fears God. The Bible declares that no one can reach or come to perfect love without the help of the Holy Spirit, and promises that love will be completely reached and completed only through the Holy Spirit, who is Jesus Christ. Therefore, all theological opinions, ideas, and doctrines that cannot be reached through love are irrelevant and meaningless to faith. Instead, it only adds to confusion and acts as a hindrance to faith. From this perspective, what is the true position of theology?
(3) Theology has no fruit of faith by the Holy Spirit. Christianity has spent almost 2,000 years, without missing a single day, discussing love, sacrifice, the cross, faith, etc. with its true and excellent theological knowledge, striving tirelessly to reach and approach love. However, today, the fruits of Christianity are completely at odds with love.
Let’s take a look at the current global situation happening in today’s modern world. Among countries, the powerful countries holding hegemony, especially the Christian countries, prioritize their national interests over truth and principles, showing disregard for such matters. They are nothing more than a single hungry beast. Before the desires of those beasts, the truth and words behind the heartfelt efforts of theology become all useless, collapsing and being swept away. Therefore, faith based on reason is like a sandcastle, while only the spirit influenced by the Holy Spirit in a person’s heart can become the solid rock. How much effort and labor has theology invested, and how much blood has been shed in order to lead to faith? However, in the face of the trends of the world such as money and fame, we had to endlessly watch the contradiction of how those refined ladies suddenly turned into prostitutes. Theology should now be reconsidered as nominalism. Still, it is too late. The world situation may be excused by saying, ‘It’s politics, so politicians do it, and we had no choice,’ but those countries are democratic countries. Democracy is driven by public opinion, and it is the people who move the public opinion. The people go to church almost every Sunday, listening to well-crafted sermons by their pastors based on doctrine, giving glory to God, singing hymns, and contributing tithes and offerings. Because the majority of the people are Christians, it is called a Christian country. Ultimately, it is the pastors who can influence a Christian country, so what role has theology played in producing such fruits? Now, theology is like a swimmer who has been in the water for 2,000 years but has not demonstrated any swimming skills, only performing warm-up exercises. As stated above, the results of fruitless theology serve as clear evidence that theology has been formed by reason rather than by the Holy Spirit, and this is precisely because it has been shaped by the number of the beast, 666.
2) It is not that reason is entirely bad.
It is not the case that reason is absolutely and unconditionally bad. What has been mentioned negatively so far refers to cases where reason acted alone. Just as God said in Genesis that it was not good for man to be alone, it is also not good for the spirit or reason to act separately and independently. Especially, I have seen many cases in charismatic churches where people said that they were guided by the Holy Spirit, but the Spirit acted alone without the intervention of reason, resulting in actions that were done blindly and unconditionally, without wisdom or virtue. Even if it is truly the guidance of the Holy Spirit, one should first adopt a virtuous attitude through the consensus of reason, and quickly reach an appropriate agreement to carry out that guidance.
For example, if a person was taking a shower and received an urgent phone call, and he was so rushed that he tried to go out wearing only shoes, thus his wife quickly prepared appropriate clothes for him before he left. In the same way, the spirit can be made complete when reason is present. Therefore, the relationship between spirit and flesh is expressed as that of a husband and wife, with Adam symbolizing the spirit and Eve symbolizing the soul (reason) in the Bible. The symbolism of prohibiting solitude emphasizes that as long as spirit and reason exist in the world, neither should act independently - whether as spirit or as reason. Instead, reason should unconditionally obey the spirit, playing the role of a wise wife who supports her husband in determining how to conduct himself. This is how a beautiful Christian faith can be realized.
2. Idolatry
What is Idolatry?
Idolatry can be divided into physical idolatry and spiritual idolatry. While physical idolatry refers to worshiping certain images or foreign gods, spiritual idolatry can be defined as Christians, who should only live by faith, abandon their faith and live according to easily worldly methods. It can also be defined as loving something more than God through one’s entire life (whether material or spiritual).
In faith, not believing in God means to live according to the world, which essentially means serving the devil (Satan). Additionally, not practicing God’s commandment of love or being unable to do so means being under the dominion of the devil as servant of devil, which is a simple logic that means one is engaging in idolatry by serving the devil. Faith requires a decisive commitment at every moment, often involving difficult and uncompromising choices about whether to act or not. Indecision in faith leads to a neutral faith, which essentially signifies idolatry. From this perspective, modern Christianity is engaging in complete idolatry. I would like to shed light on the incident of the golden calf, a representative example of the Old Testament, as physical idolatry.
1) The golden calf idol represents doctrine today.
Aaron answered them, “Take off the gold earrings that your wives,
Your sons and your daughters are wearing, and bring them to me.”
So all the people took off their earrings and brought them to Aaron.
He took what they handed him and made it into
An idol cast in the shape of a calf, fashioning it with a tool.
Then they said, “These are your gods,
O Israel, who brought you up out of Egypt.” (Ex 32:2-4)
First, looking at the incident of making the golden calf being an idol, when Moses came down from the mountain later than expected and there was no news of the one who had led them out of Egypt, the people of Israel demanded of Aaron, ‘Make us a god who will lead us.’ Aaron instructed the people to take off the gold earrings from their wives and children, and with those gold earrings, he made a figure of the calf. This is the incident of the golden calf idol that occurred while Moses was leading the Israelites out of Egypt. (Ex 32:1-8) If we look at this incident spiritually, we realize that the people are none other than current Christians who abandon God’s commandment of love given by God and are instead following a faith shaped by theology.
The Biblical Symbolism of the Golden Calf: It means ‘to quickly depart from the path commanded to them for the sake of serving themselves. When the Israelites’ made the golden calf through Aaron and worshiped it in a depraved manner, God rebuked Moses, saying. ‘They have quickly departed from the path I commanded them and have cast a calf for themselves...’ Like this, the biblical symbolism of the golden calf signifies the purpose of making the golden calf-‘quickly depart from the path I commanded them for the sake of serving themselves.’ It symbolizes a faith that abandon God’s commandments in favor of personal gain. (Ex 32:8)
The definition of a molded idol is ‘a teacher of falsehood’.
Or an image, a teacher of falsehood? (Hab 2:18)
The Israelites’ worship of the golden calf idol molded by Aaron signifies that they created a false teacher for themselves regardless of God, and followed false teachings.
The Biblical Symbolism of the Gold Ring: It signifies ‘the wise rebuke of an attentive ear’. The Bible says that like an earring of gold or an ornament of fine gold is a wise man’s rebuke to a listening ear. (Pr 25:12) Wearing a gold ring in the ear signifies that one is listening well to the life-giving words of God. However, removing the gold ring (Ex 32:2) and using it to create another form, such as the golden calf, indicates a reinterpretation of God’s words for personal benefit, thereby showing a lack of true attentiveness to them. In other words, reason takes the place of the spirit, and treats what they have planned and imagined as if it were real, believing it with faith. This refers to believers who, instead of waiting for the guidance of the Holy Spirit and listening to God’s voice, follow their own will and vaguely practice faith to their own benefit.
This aligns with the reason why the King Saul was abandoned. King Saul said that he could not wait for Samuel, a man of God, and he himself made a bunt offering because of he was afraid of the people. (1Sa 13:8-9) Saul, whose names means ‘hope’, did not seek God’s will or grace (Holy Spirit) due to his lust and desires, and instead of patiently waiting for an answer (revelation, guidance of the Holy Spirit) to come, he interpreted faith and did according to his own wishes. As a result of acting irrationally without waiting for God’s will through such grace and response, King Saul was abandoned by God. In the New Testament, even if many say, ‘Did we not prophesy in your name, and in your name drive out demons and perform many miracles?’, if they do not act according to the will of the Lord, it is the same reason the Lord says, ‘I never knew you.’ (Mt 7:22-23) In other words, when one does not act according to the Lord’s will but instead creates thoughts based on human intentions and knowledge, saying this or that will happen, it is like how the craftsman colors and beautifies an idol. When actions are carried out according to such made-up images, it is called idol worship.
The only way to know God’s will is through the Spirit, but humans who lack the Spirit cannot know God’s will, nor can they obey it. Accordingly, they can only follow the desires of reason, and by using reason alone to shape their views, they create idols and worship them. In other words, idol worship in the New Testament refers to serving the commandments of people, that is, doctrines. The general principle of God’s word is the commandment of love, but abandoning this love and prioritizing human commandments (doctrines) over it refers more precisely to all faith that is not guided by the Holy Spirit. It is the same idolatry when the people of Israel worshiped the golden calf, saying, “This is the god who brought us out of Egypt,” or when people teach that we can be saved and go to heaven through knowledge of theology created by human reason, imagination, and logic rather than the guidance of the Holy Spirit.
The characters that appear here may seem like small, insignificant individuals when viewed with physical eyes, but when seen spiritually, they represent elements at work within a single person’s soul. This soul declares itself to be a nation. (1Pe 2:9) The kingdom of God is an event that occurs in my heart and is a subjective event unknown to anyone except those who receives it. The nation within the mind is divided into three groups: king, officials, and people, etc. and humans naturally live their lives through these complex processes without even realizing it.
The king symbolizes Jesus Christ as the Holy Spirit, in the position of judgment, condemnation, authority, and command. The minister represents reason, assisting the king in these matters with knowledge and information, while the people generally symbolize instincts driven by emotions and sensations, representing lustful instinct. For example, I picked up a wallet on the street right now. When I opened the wallet, I found checks and cash, totaling about 2 million won. At that moment, our hearts began to perceive the subtle and complex situations of each person’s activities. The people who discovered it first said, “Hey! It’s money. Who lost it? It’s my money, so I will take and use it!” and they got excited right away. However, at that moment, the king commands from his place of conscience, “I must quickly find the owner and return it.” The minister conveys knowledge to the king or the people through the activity of gathering information. The people say, “Look at how difficult my situation is right now! It is money that God gave me” and interpret and demand things that are beneficial to him.
The minister conveys this by aligning with either the king or the people, according to the training of faith through reason. Reason, captivated by desire, aligns with the people’s demands, responding with excitement and kicking the king aside while acting together with the crowd. However, on the king’s side, reason says, “No! Just think about it: how much pain with the person who lost this money feel? And after you spend it, how will you reconcile with your conscience? And how can you insist that this money was given by God? When God gives money, it is given justly. Don’t make lies.” Continuing to scold and admonish, reason supports the king by calming the people’s demands and disturbances on behalf of the king’s conscience. While the people continue to demand to spend the money, like sifting the wheat, until the owner is found, once the money is return, the noisy crowed that caused so much conflict suddenly goes quiet. God, who is King at the center of my soul, comforts me with peace and tranquility, saying, “Well done, my servant!”
The above analogy may be somewhat exaggerated, but it generally reflects the psychological processes that occur within us. In the incident of the golden calf, the protagonist Moses symbolizes a legal conscience based on the Ten Commandments, where conscience acts as a king who holds the authority to govern, educate, judge, decide, and carry out actions for that individual. This symbolically depicts the incident where the servant Aaron, who is reason, and the people, obsessed with their desires, conspire together to act according to their own interests, ignoring the decisions of the conscience which is the king.
As modern Christians, there will be no one who engages in idolatry toward any created images other than God. However, spiritually speaking, all Christians are engaging in idolatry in this way and are violating the Ten Commandments, yet they are completely unaware of or unconscious of this fact through literal interpretation. It is like when a parent tells a young child to be careful not to catch a cold; the child imagines that a cold is just like the beggar who came to his house for dinner the night before, thinking he only needs to avoid the people who like the beggar. So he plays and plays to his heart’s content all day long only avoiding those kinds of people, and comes home without a care. In the evening, the young child suffers from a cold despite his efforts. When the cold gets better after a few days, his parents explain that colds are caused by very small, invisible viruses. This time, he begs his parents to buy him a microscope. He says that he will wear it on his forehead and find all the viruses and kill them.
Today’s Christianity has such foolish and reckless faith. This young child will laugh and feel shy about his silly behavior as he grows up. However, what exactly is the behavior of Christianity that has grown for 2,000 years? For those 2,000 years, the Christianity received basic education through the law, which served as a tutor from Moses for 1,500 years, but spiritually, it seems to be completely blind and cannot discern or grasp the very essence of truth. The cause lies in the corruption of the heart due to idolatry, and the Bible has already declared “They are always learning but never able to acknowledge the truth.” (2Ti 3:7) This is why, even after 2,000 years, it remains only in written form. In this way, humans have strayed from the commandment of love, which is the essence of Christianity, and only imagine, think, have faith for their own benefit and convenience.
2) Acting according to the desires of the flesh is idolatry.
As mentioned previously, spiritual idolatry refers to loving something more than God. The standard by which Christians can verify whether they are engaging in idolatry is the two commandments spoken by Jesus: First, ‘You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind.’ Second, ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ (Mt 22:37-40) I can know whether I am truly practicing my faith by examining my relationship with God, which should be vertical, and by using the two commandments as a standard and mirror: whether I value and love my neighbor as myself. By constantly testing, seeking, measuring, and reflecting on myself against the two commandments, I can preserve and manage the beauty of my faith.
If I am keeping the first commandment well but have no desire to love my neighbor or forgive them, it means I am not truly fulfilling the first commandment. Similarly, if I seem to be keeping the second commandment but am not fulfilling the first, it also indicates that I am not truly keeping the second commandment. The first commandment cannot be separate from the second commandment. If so, then this is a red light indicating that the foundation is flawed. The two commandments are interconnected by love and establish a delicate relationship with each other.
Like the stunt of a tightrope walker suspended in the air, it is the relationship between a rope and a metal pole, which is a tool for maintaining balance. Just as a tightrope walker must properly use a metal pole to maintain balance and move forward, failing to keep even one of the two commandments means that neither commandment is truly being observed. There must be a reason for failing to keep these commandments, and the reason is all due to idolatry. While idolatry in the Old Testament is about serving foreign gods, idolatry in the New Testament is a factor and cause that prevents believers from receiving the Holy Spirit in their hearts, and it is universally called sin, evil, lawlessness and injustice. While sins and evils committed out of ignorance may vary depending on the level of faith, sins and evils committed knowingly are not tolerated among Christians. The first commandment is intended to establish a standard for all creatures to fear God 100% unconditionally, and this is the duty of humans. (Ecc 12:13) To fear God is to hate evil. (Pr 8:13) In other words, loving God means hating evil, keeping love which is the commandment, and serving love. The fear of God applies to all human beings. I cannot excuse myself by saying that I did not know God, because the church has had countless evangelism up until now, and even if I had not received evangelism, God has made it possible for anyone who desires to know Him to do so by revealing Himself through all creation.
Modern humans tend to believe only what has been proven by science. Just as animals act only by instinct, humans rely on their five senses to gradually discover and taste the things created by God, thinking that what they have found is something remarkable. However, what has already been discovered and proven by science is only the mystery that has been shrouded in mystery since ancient times, and has been gradually revealed little by little according to faith. The one who made and created all of this is God, not human science. Today, as the reality of science is revealed, the mysteries of God’s wisdom and omnipotence are ever-increasing.
For example, a grandfather made items needed for everyday life and stored them in a warehouse. When his grandson discovers this warehouse and sees the items were prepared for use, he is amazed. Will we praise the person who discovered the warehouse, or will we thank and praise the grandfather who made and prepared the items? We should not confuse faith with science here. As science advances and mysteries are revealed, we should be amazed by God’s omniscience and omnipotence, and consider who the Creator is. Instead, people tend to give glory to the scientists who made these discoveries. In this way, they give God’s glory to mere humans and animals (Ro 1:23), and since they did not think it worthwhile to retain the knowledge of God, God gave them over to a depraved mind. The consequences are doing things like wickedness, evil, greed, depravity, envy, murder, strife, deceit, malice, gossips, slanders, God-haters, insult, arrogance, boasting, plotting evil, disobedience to parents, foolishness, betrayal, heartlessness, mercilessness, etc. (Ro 1:29) This is the consequence of not fearing God. If Christians discover even one of these symptoms in their life, they will soon realize that tracing their actions back lead to the conclusion that they have not truly feared God. To reiterate, this means that they have not fully adhered to the first and second commandments. What prevents a person from fearing God is the nature of the flesh, and it is impossible to keep the two commandments through faith in the law.
The Nature of the Flesh
After the fall of Adam, when humanity became flesh, God declared that His spirit would no longer dwell with humans. The reason for this separation is none other than the nature of the flesh.
The acts of the sinful nature are obvious: sexual immorality, impurity and debauchery;
Idolatry and witchcraft; hatred, discord, jealousy, fits of rage, selfish ambition, dissensions, factions and envy; drunkenness, orgies, and the like. (Gal 5:19-21)
This nature prevents a person from fearing God and also serves as a reason why believers today do not receive the fullness of the Holy Spirit. The nature of the flesh always seeks to act on its desires in our hearts whenever and wherever the opportunity arises. It is transmitted to reason and demands reason (soul) to comply unconditionally until its will is accomplished and its desires are satisfied, like sifting the wheat. (Lk 22:31) It is the flesh that delivers and demands this, but the reality is the spirit of the world, the power of death, which dominates our flesh without our awareness. It acts through the elements of the nature of the flesh to satisfy and fulfill human weakness, such as the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the boastful pride of life. Having the power of death does not lead humans to life, but only leads them to death, which destroys them. This is leading them to the opposite side of God, so Jesus called the world a false father. That is why the Bible warns people to always be alert.
Among Christian terms, there is no term as seemingly ambiguous as “being awake”. It is only used as a modifier following, “Be faithful in faith, and its true meaning is difficult to interpret and apply. In simple terms, it can be understood as being in a state where the command center during a war has accurately grasped the enemy’s movements, thus completing both defense and attack. Being “awake” refers to being in a state where one accurately understands the number of tanks, the strength of infantry, the caliber and placement of artillery, who the enemy commander is, and so on, effectively grasping all relevant details in a standoff situation. In this way, being “awake” in faith means, first, being fully aware of the specific sins one has fallen into when unable to keep the first and second commandments, and second, constantly managing and observing the movements of the flesh.
Faith is like a lifelong state of war, thus it is always a series of fierce battles. Most of the time, the fight is not an external fight, but rather an internal fight in my heart against the lusts of the flesh such as disbelief, sin, and injustice. Faith can be formed only by winning this fight. The Bible refers to such struggles as a good fight, and the more spiritual a person is, the more skillfully he handles it. If you do not know the enemy (the devil), you will be used by it, and will always be defeated and as a result, you will become a slave to that enemy. The symbol of the Israelites being taken to Babylon spiritually contains these meanings.
Like this, if a Christian is even a little careless in his faith life, he is bound to fall because of the nature of the flesh, and that carelessness leads directly to death. Therefore, the Apostle Paul teaches us to be cautious, saying that if you think you stand, you may fall. In particular, as one’s faith deepens with age, it is common to see believers losing their freshness, and fading purity and truth without even realizing it. This means that people whose faith has been disarmed by the devil due to carelessness are not awake and are sleeping in their faith. People of such type often transform new believers, who are eager to embrace their first love in faith, into their own likeness. When they see someone who is zealous, they become envious and say, as if it were their trademark, ‘I used to be even more devoted than you. I worked harder at everything, yet it didn’t lead to anything significant, thereby creating even more children of the devil.
This is because they have fallen into a state of the flesh and, therefore, they cannot naturally express the voice of the Spirit (God). Just as a frog cannot produce the beautiful song of a nightingale and a bullfrog cannot emit the true sound of a bull, a believer’s mouth can simultaneously produce sweet praise for God and bitter words that tear Him down. When they see anyone surpassing them, they cannot stand it and gradually knock down new believers who are just beginning with the first love and place new believers under their control to serve them. If something gets out of hand, they are mercilessly open the barrage of slander and criticize the new believer and the believer facing such condemnation may be tempted to switch churches or even leave the church altogether. Alternatively, he seeks out those who are rivals to those who tested him and complains of injustice with tears in order to gain sympathy. Since the protector is concerned with his rival, he has open heart to sympathy, listens to the new believer unconditionally, and separates him from the person who has hurt the heart of the new believer. He engages in envy and jealousy, etc., connecting with all sorts of physical matters and attributes. Furthermore, he attempts to win over those in higher positions to his side, ultimately leading to factions within the church, which causes the church to become a den of robbers who buy and sell pigeons and exchanges money, rather than a temple where people serve and worship God and pursue the Spirit.
Faith in the law based on reason is bound to face this result, and this is a fact that has been proven throughout the history of the world, if not the history of Christianity. Everything created by humans will ultimately converge in one direction no matter how good systems, norms, and environments may be although there is some time difference. In all human history and especially in spiritual churches rather than physical churches, they tend to be even more smelly, rotten, and dirty. This is due to the intensified workings of the nature of the flesh mentioned above, that is, the work of Satan, which aims to bring about downfall through the actions of the adversary. Satan’s purpose is to destroy and kill the world using weapons of the attributes mentioned above.
The desires of the flesh are used as a tool to subdue the saints in order to achieve the father’s objectives, and the subdued saints are used as his own tools. Therefore, every human being is a creature that inevitably becomes a servant of the conqueror. (2Pe 2:19) The devil bases his activities in the hearts of worldly people and saints; and the father is called Satan or the devil. (Jn 8:44, Rev 12:9) His essential identity is that there is no truth within him, and he opposes the truth with the weapon of fleshly desires. When it comes to the truth, he behaves like Cain, indiscriminately committing murder and destruction, acting as if he were a creator and lying in order to build his own kingdom. This is the world in which we live, and he currently dominates it. Therefore, a world completely under the control of this devil cannot receive the Holy Spirit. (Jn 14:17)
Reason, human soul, has grown and developed from these attributes, so no matter how beautiful it may seem, it is still flesh and death. This is why we are told to be born again of water and the Spirit. Reason (spirit) that has not been reborn is contaminated and cannot serve God. Also, the faith in the law is no exception. While being zealous in faith and practicing the law may lead to godliness, ultimately, a law without the Spirit will eventually return to its true nature, which is the flesh. Acting according to the desires of the flesh like this is called idolatry. This is because we are being manipulated by Satan, the opposite of God’s attribute of love (1Co 13), and are doing Satan’s will, so we are bowing down to and worshipping Satan. What is the way to overcome such desires of the flesh?
As it is said, “For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life (Jn 17:3),” (Jn 3:16) Jesus Christ came to this earth to prevent people from perishing due to these sins. In other words, the purpose of Jesus coming to this earth is to help believers - who, without the Holy Spirit, can recognize sin but lack the ability to overcome it - by empowering them through God’s strength to fight against sin and the desires of the flesh, which are the forces of evil, in order to preserve the saints from sin.
Just as the Apostle Paul cries out, “Oh, wretched man that I am,” he expresses the struggle between the spirit and flesh longing to follow the Spirit but feeling utterly unable to do so, succumbing to weakness and yielding to the flesh. The only way to overcome this struggle is through the Holy Spirit; therefore, Jesus commanded His disciples to receive the Comforter, the Holy Spirit, and His power before ascending. (Lk 24:49) This is because that the power is the only way to win against the forces of evil and the power of death that dominate this world. Therefore, as mentioned above, Jesus does not tolerate sin and evil among Christians. The reason is because they already knew the Holy Spirit. The Bible declares that those who have been partakers of the Holy Spirit have tasted the good word of God and the power of the age to come, and then have fallen away, cannot be renewed and repented. (Heb 6:4-6) It also declares that there is no longer a sacrifice for sin for those who willfully sin after receiving knowledge of the truth, and that they should expect judgment with a fearful heart. (Heb 10:26-27) Furthermore, there is no forgiveness of sins for rebellion, slander and blasphemy against the Holy Spirit. The reason that the sins and evils of Christians are not tolerated and treated with severity is that one can fully overcome and avoid these pitfalls with a little caution.
Modern Christianity is like a lazy young man. There were parents who had a child so lazy that they were always worried day and night. One day, the parents had to leave for a long trip for business and prepared enough side dishes and rice for their child to eat for several days, placing them in refrigerator and electric rice cooker, respectively. They even set the table next to the child’s bed for him to eat with just a spoon. When they returned home several days later, they found that their child had starved to death.
It may seem like an exaggerated metaphor, but this is the reality of Christianity. Like a child who died because the food was all ready but he was too lazy to even lift a spoon, any Christians can ask, seek, and knock on God to receive the ability and wisdom to overcome sin and evil, but they are dying in their sins due to laziness. That is why the Bible declares that lazy people are sinners. (Pr 26:15)
The Holy Spirit helps humans who have fallen into the flesh to form the image of God without any shortcomings, and is a complete and perfect guide who guides them into the truth. Only through the guidance and power of the Holy Spirit, the way has opened for humans to return to the state of Adam before the fall, and this is something that all of human beings can benefit equally as long as they believe.
3. Christianity that has flown into the Idol of material prosperity
We often see that the believers who struggled for their faith in the 1960s and the 1970s are living stable and comfortable lives. They believe that their current comfort is a rightful reward for the hardships they endured during that time. And they proudly testify to the saga of their faith, protect the church with that joy, and have a sense of superiority. Of course, this is never all wrong. However, their testimony of faith is a factor that sickens today’s Korean Christianity and the world’s Christianity with idolatry and incurs the wrath of God.
In terms of way of life, the concepts of Christians and worldly people have opposite structural methods, but they cannot help but be social animals that meet and live in harmony with one another for the same purpose of life. In this way, first of all, worldly people think that they must kill others to survive, while Christian people must sacrifice and endure suffering without ever voicing their pain. Worldly people live by deceiving and stealing from others, while Christians must give to others when asked. This illustrates the fundamentally different ways of living.
Strictly speaking, we are not the owners of this world, but rather guests and the true owners of this world are worldly people. We are merely travelers on a journey to our true homeland. If such travelers have the right mindset, what reason would there be for them to settle down on a piece of land in a foreign place, set up home, pass on an inheritance to their children (Ps 17:14) and live with carefree joy? It is true that eating well and living comfortable in the world means receiving blessings from God and living well, but if you are truly faithful, you must return those blessings and change them back to spirituality for the sake of mature faith.
Mature faith is not about being unable to enjoy wealth, material possessions, honor, etc., but about willingly giving up the right to enjoy them. It is not because they have become fools, but because they are wise and discerning that they have chosen it for themselves. (I will dare to speak within the words declared by the Apostle Paul and wisdom understood by Solomon.) The wealth, honor, etc. of the world are as harmful as the venom of a deadly snake that kills when bitten, and they are utterly useless for serving and believing in Christ. If you are bitten by that poison, it always tempts you to rely on yourself rather than God, and it makes you cross-eyed so that you turn your eyes to the world rather than God, so if you let your guard down even a little, your legs will be pointing toward the world (humanism) before you know it. If you want to always think only of God and walk with Him, you must stay away from this poison and rejoice in weakness, insults, poverty, persecutions, and difficulties, just as Apostle Paul declared to the Corinthian church the way to make God’s power dwell. (2Co 12:10) This is because it becomes the perfect shield that leads us to God and the driving force that directs us towards Him.
Who would desire such a life? However, this method is like taking the best and fastest train that leads believers from the world to God’s side. In such a situation, my eyes, my lips, and everything about me will find and desperately seek God, and I will encounter my own broken and urgent state. The servant of the Lord must truly rejoice in his weakness and must love poverty, persecution and loneliness. Although this situation is frightening and unpleasant, and the burdens feel overwhelming, if I endure just a little longer, the door to the essence of Christianity –heaven- will open before me. I will see everything anew and recognize myself as a protagonist in the beautiful realm of joy that is heaven. This is the world of heaven, the Kingdom of God, as introduced in the Bible.
Prosperity faith is sweet and convincing, but it hinders entry into heaven by holding one back, and the true identity of prosperity faith is idolatry. Prosperity faith is like a rotten and polluted oasis to travelers passing through the desert. Those who came first tempt those who have just arrived, saying, “This is the end of the world and the place you have hoped for, so don’t think of going anywhere anymore and let’s settle here.” It is like amputating all their legs not to go any further. This prevents us from seeing the reality of Christian faith and makes us settle for realistic blessings, thus it is called idolatry.
The foundation of prosperity faith is extracted from the Old Testament. God educates young believers to recognize the existence of God (omniscience and omnipotence as power) by allowing them to experience blessings and punishments of this human world, enabling them to see and feel His love directly. In the Old Testament era, God always taught the Israelites through this method, and the earthly material blessings He used were employed as tools for faith education to help them know God and guide them to the truth. To put it simply, it was about teaching young Jewish believers right or wrong through rewards and punishments. However, the Israelites, who were not particularly sharp, received many disciplines until the time of John the Baptist. They certainly recognized and were aware of God’s existence, but they only knew Him as terrifying God and did not learn about His perfect love.
Applying the methods of faith training used for young believers among the Israelites in the Old Testament to spiritually mature Christians in the New Testament era reflects a misunderstanding of Christianity. Yet, there are still those who cling to and encourage a faith based on material blessings, remaining at an immature level. Now, God is being portrayed solely as the one who openly blesses us, and there has even been an equation established in Christian faith that material blessings are a measure of a person’s faith. Encouraging prosperity faith in this way prevents believers from having proper relationship with God and hinders them from reaching true knowledge of God. I hope you will take a closer look at whether the concept of the Beatitudes that Jesus Christ spoke of was the concept of blessings in this life. If someone claims that his faith is spiritual yet desires earthly blessings that are typically associated with the faith in the law, he is misunderstanding Christian faith.
The blessing of Christianity is to pour the Holy Spirit, the spiritual grace, into the soul.
Everything that humans feel, whether happy or unhappy, occurs within the heart, that is, it happens through the action of the mind. Foreign religions also emphasize this. Moreover, what is Christianity, the best religion, doing now by seeking prosperity faith? The blessing that Jesus spoke of, that is, the blessing of Christianity is the blessing of grace that allows us to feel and sense peace and tranquility in our hearts in each situation and circumstance. He mentions that he will pour the spiritual blessing of the Holy Spirit into our hearts, saying, “Ask, seek, and knock, and the Holy Spirit will be given to you.” (Lk 11:9-13) Like this, the concept of blessing that Christ spoke of and apostles mentioned is not earthly material blessings, but refers to receiving the spiritual blessing of the Holy Spirit. Legalistic believers may protest and dismiss such things as no blessings, but the Bible (the New Testament) is focused entirely on spiritual blessings.
Why do people in the world love romance so much? From a third-party perspective, romance does not yield money or fame, but young lovers are willing to risk everything. They would gladly abandon honor, wealth, and even their parents and siblings. They declare that they would die for love. Didn’t they become so obsessed with something that they even created the famous saying that love is the seed of tear? What is the reason that they are so infatuated and addicted to the fever of romance? This is because all the beautiful and sad aspects of the human world are contained within romance, and it represents a world that cannot be exchanged for happiness. If humans love and desire romance so much, then how much more must humans have longed for a world filled with the Holy Spirit, to the point of calling it heaven? We must understand that the heaven introduced by Jesus is the pinnacle of joy in human life that cannot be compared to any human language and that no longer needs any modifiers.
The greatest blessing that a believer receives in this life is being filled with the Holy Spirit. This means that heaven is directly realized in my heart, creating a paradise on earth where I live in constant communication with God. When we experience such a world, we are always satisfied with everything in the truth, happy with everything, and what is so proud and great, and all things are beautiful in a gentle and noble way, and everything is precious, and we are grateful with tears of emotion and joy, and our days are filled with gratitude, joy, and praise for the one true God. We study and seek ways to please Him, and it is really painful and unpleasant not to be able to do so, and it is connected to loving our neighbor. The more clearly we meet, see, hear God and walk with God even in objects and moving actions, the more mysterious and beautiful the world becomes. The material wealth and fame of this world have nothing to do with me. Wealth and honor are worldly things, thus they may show power and influence in this life, but in heaven they are worth no more than the weeds growing along the roadside. Without understanding this, one should never carelessly claim to be a servant of the Holy Spirit.
Heaven is described as having 12 gemstones and each gemstone holds its own symbolic meaning. (Rev 21:19-20) This world is a secret known only to those who received the Holy Spirit, and it is a spiritual realm cannot be expressed or explained by human concepts or language. Therefore, Jesus testified about the world through parables, using gemstones as symbols. He taught to rejoice in suffering and to forsake earthly blessings, but as a result of distorting His teaching, Christianity has been transformed into a foreign religion. All church members attend church to receive blessings. I attend church because I believe that God is still worthy of being used and has the ability to bless me. If their wishes are not fulfilled even after waiting, they conclude that there is no God, give up their faith, and leave without mercy. The reason and cause of this situation is that, along with the movement of the Holy Spirit, Christianity began to establish itself as a religion focused on receiving blessings, which is rooted in the instinct deep within human nature to pray to God for blessings and desire to receive them. These instincts lead to countless idolatry. We must understand that prosperity faith in Christianity is making God very sad and miserable.
For example, a capable man is trying to marry a woman. The man loves this woman truly, but she doesn’t love him at all. Her only purpose for marriage is the man’s money, and her mind is always focused on finding a reason to extract money from him. One day, the man lost consciousness in a traffic accident and was taken to the emergency room. The fiancée, who rushed after receiving a call, grabbed the unconscious man’s shoulders and shook him, asking “You’re still going to keep your promise, right? Why are you unlucky enough to get hurt now? Even if you get into a traffic accident, you should fulfill our promise first, and then get hurt.’ This might sound overly exaggerated and unrealistic, but open your spiritual eyes and listen carefully to the cries of God. Also, feel that tears of blood are flowing from God’s eyes. The faith we practice now is making God miserable, yet the believers are only focused on their own blessings and well-being.
God said, ‘When did I promise you such things? I spoke of spiritual blessings, not temporal blessings. Temporal blessings were like treats for Judaism and very young children, meant to teach them. Yet the grown-up children, instead of helping the parents, are just whining for treats every day like younger siblings.’ Like a parent with a rebellious child, God’s heart deeply bruised and filled with sorrow. In modern times, material blessings were given in response to the needs of missions in various Western countries for evangelism, but those material blessings have been misused, leading to the secularization of Christianity. The material blessings brought comfort, and that comfort was the factor that gave birth to laziness, which led to the desire to serve God easily and produced humanism.
Humanism brought about the downfall of Christianity by replacing theocentrism (guidance following the will of the Holy Spirit). In the future, the work of Holy Spirit that occurred in Korea will surely occur again in various countries in Southeast Asia. At that time, we must guide and lead them using the lessons learned from the failure of Korean Christianity, which was prosperity faith. Korean Christianity boasts 12 million believers in terms of quantity. But how many of them are really worthy? Everything was broken and ruined. In particular, God said that he had prepared 7,000 hidden righteous people who did not bow down to the god Baal, and there will be those people somewhere in this generation as well. If your hearts are burning within you by this message, then you are the ones. Let them rise up and preach this gospel. Just being able to see and hear it is a blessing. Those who hear but do not convey the message are only living for themselves, and this is an act of betrayal against the way of the cross.
Now, each Christian must choose between following the Lord and carrying out his mission or following abundance and struggling to indulge in worldly comforts. There is no such thing as dual faith in Christianity. It may seem extreme, but God wants our faith to be either cold or hot. Humans tend to prefer neutrality and are inclined to settle for convenience, so God requires certainty in our relationship with faith. As this decision is one that must be made with one’s life on the line, from the beginning, God has been calling us lay down our lives to hear this answer.
Christianity must abandon the idol of prosperity and return to its original form, which is the Holy Spirit (love). In other words, under the guidance of the Holy Spirit, people must tear down the idols they have created in their imagination, thinking that they are God, without knowing God’s will. Just as in the Old Testament, they made a golden calf and placed it on the throne of God and worshiped it obscenely as if it were God, now they worship idols by creating an image called theology, which is a human commandment created by humans. Idolatry is the act of violating the Second Commandment, which states, “You shall not make for yourself a carved image or any likeness of anything that is in heaven above, or on the earth beneath, or in the water under the earth.” Idolatry is a vain and foolish act, for idols hold no power, help, or life; it is merely an action that destroys pure faith. In order for Christianity to make a leap into a mature spiritual faith, the first step must be the dismantling of the idol of a theology that is blindly devoted like God. It must return to the original essence of Christianity, which is the Holy Spirit (love).
For Spiritual Faith, We must Return to the Church.
The guidance of the Holy Spirit is very dangerous outside of the church. The guidance of the Holy Spirit bears fruit and yields results only within the church. Therefore, we must no longer wander, but return to the church and prepare for spiritual faith guided by the Holy Spirit, which is the true form of Christianity. If I truly want to receive the guidance of the Holy Spirit, I should not worry about whether I like the church or not, but I must first raise a shepherd through prayer so that I can open my spiritual eyes and become spiritually armed. Only then, I can live by the spiritual words that come out of his mouth. It does not matter whether it is a church with Holy Spirit or without the Holy Spirit. Even if it is spiritually ruined, in order to rebuild the church, you must start by removing each brick one by one with your own hands.
The church is like our parents. Whether our parents have fulfilled their role or not, they just remain as our parents and the same applies to the church. Therefore, we should not carelessly move the church. The church is like a military assignment, where soldiers are given their posts and must serve there. Similarly, we must serve the church in that place, and in doing so, we are being faithful and reverent to God, just as soldiers are loyal to their country. (This will be further discussed in ecclesiology, as permitted.)
Especially, those who have been appointed must share in joys and sorrows of the church. In order to grow spiritually, they must pray intercessory prayers for the shepherd with all their heart, as much as they desire to grow spiritually. If you want to experience significant spiritual growth, you must commit to extensive prayer, even to the point of giving your life in prayer. Through such prayer, the shepherd will be spiritually revitalized and active in proportion to the amount of prayer. Therefore, spiritual life is absolutely impossible alone and it must be done together with the church. The cause of the failure of the Korean Holy Spirit movement was altarism, which started with desire to lead a spiritual life alone and left the church, and was also due to the spiritual ignorance of church pastors. Now, the church does not require sudden changes, but must take time and grow in spiritual faith little by little.
As discussed above, the number of the beast, 666, refers to everything formed by human reason. After the fall of Adam, communication with God was severed, and humans, excluded from the spirit that enables them to know God, began to live solely by their reason. Thus, everything formed solely by reason is considered the number of the beast, 666. Therefore, theology introduced philosophical methods based on reason into Christianity can also be regarded as the number of the beast, 666.
Christianity is a religion that only has the commandment of love and practices it. However, people have cast aside this commandment of love and allowed human doctrines to take its place, and they said, ‘This is your god who led you out of the land of Egypt.’ (Ex 32:4) They create their own images to serve, treating these doctrines as if they were God, and engaging in obscene idolatry. Now, the only way for Christianity to survive is to cast off idolatry and receive the guidance of the Holy Spirit through being filled with the Holy Spirit. In order to do so, theologians and pastors must first abandon the theology (doctrine) based on the number of the beast, 666, and the idol of prosperity, receive the guidance of the Holy Spirit, and convert to spiritual faith.
Servants living in this era must understand why I am trying to deny theology. This is not a decision based on my own personal knowledge or perspective. Even now, Jesus Christ, who still claims me, has earnestly pleaded with wailing tears, ‘Please do not make the merit of My cross be in vain, but deliver it correctly.’ Because of this, I have taken it as my mission and, I am dedicating myself with my life to sharing it. Now, Christianity is true Christianity, and can be said to be true Christians only when they practice the faith that begins ‘after that time’, that is, the faith guided by the Holy Spirit, according to the covenanted prophecy ‘after that time’ recorded in the Bible. (Refer to the section ‘What Kind of Religion is Christianity?’) The number 144,000 in the Book of Revelation has symbolic meaning, but I sincerely hope that all pastors of this era will quickly grow spiritually and join the ranks of the 144,000.
O Creator of all things! Only You alone deserve to receive glory forever and ever.
O Creation! Praise the Creator God. Hallelujah! Hallelujah! Hallelujah!
I send greetings to the 12 million Korean Christians and all Christians around the world, and I have written about what the number of the beast, 666, and idolatry are according to the Lord’s word. I pray that you receive abundant grace in the name of Jesus Christ. Furthermore, these prophecies are God’s messages to the pastors, elders, deaconesses, deacons, and laypersons of this age, thus I deliver them as they are. Hallelujah!
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The time of tribulation for this country will pass, and it will experience the tribulation over a period ranging from as little as 4 years to as much as 40 years. At this time, they will encounter massacre in the ranks of death according to the significance of each person’s sin. Just as those hired pastors have poured out the blood of the saints’ souls, through the retribution of the bloodshed by the hired pastors, the gospel will bloom anew on this earth.
Pastor
Christianity collapsed due to the idolatry of its doctrines, and as a result, God’s children became alienated from God and became like strangers. The existing famous pastors who have ascended to the throne of God and lead believers into obscene paths in the name of God must now step down. They are those who slept with God’s beloved brides and sold God’s beloved children to Satan for a cheap bargain.
From now on, the punishments from God that will be given to those pastors (leaders in religious world) who are living on this earth are as follows: As they have blasphemed the Holy Spirit without reason, so they will be killed without reason; as they have sought gain, they must pay the price of life; as much as they gained power and honor by revealing their position as a pastor, they will be anxious to hide the fact that they are a pastor; as they have persecuted, so they will be persecuted; as they have brutally trampled others, so they be trampled in the same way until they die; those who chased after others will be in a hurry to run away; those who extort will lose everything; as much as they indulged in pleasure, they will struggle with anxiety, worry, and pain; as much as they were full, they will die of hunger and famine; as much as they forced others for offering, their bodies will be sold for money; as much as they enjoyed using my name, they will flee because of my name; as much as they exploited the saints like slaves or servants, they will be dragged into forced labor and die there; as much as they deceived the flock with sweet words, they will be deceived and dragged away to die; as much as they enjoyed honor and power, they will die to reveal the power of evil like Haman; renowned pastors, doctors, and professors will become the primary targets because of their fame; those who turn a deaf ear to the voice of the Holy Spirit and speak their own words will be forced to deny Me (the Lord) with their own mouths, and they will die a lifetime of torment in their conscience; those who run away will be chased and killed; the crosses and church buildings that stood tall in so many churches and cathedrals will be burnt and trampled, and they will turn into eyesores, like flattened graves.
Elder
Woe will come to the elders of this land, who, by the blessings I gave, controlled church, loved to be treated well and sat at the head of the table. On that day, the unpaid wages will cry out, and the hands that should have helped the saints, but were unable to do so because of greed and selfishness, will gather the blood pouring out from their hearts in anguish. The prayers of despair and regret will be ignored, like sounds striking the empty air.
Deaconess
On that day, woe will come to the deaconesses of this land, for it is because of the hands stained by the sin of laziness in prayer. It is because of the hands that loved to be honored and were preoccupied with pointing fingers. The death and recklessness of the pastor were due to the deaconesses’ laziness, and their lips, pursing their own gain, tore the church apart. The fruit of the church will be betrayal and apostasy. On that day, the saints will cut off righteousness from one another, and each will take the lead in informing and killing one another. Justice, mercy and faithfulness will flee into the darkness and hide tightly. For their own benefit, they will even kill members of their own family. On that day, can 600,000 out of 12 million Christians in this country be saved? The same number of the Israelites who came out of Egypt will be saved. But they are young children, not the older generation. The Immanuel Gospel will be spread throughout the world by young children who are not contaminated by these doctrines.
Layperson
Now, stop the loud prayers that cry out day and night to fill your own belies of greed and lust. Stop now the unjust prayers mixed with the stubbornness and whining of the hired shepherds who have set prosperity as the only standard of their faith and the rebellious people who have maximized it and made it the standard for judging good and evil, which have continued to this day. God will soon judge each one according to his deeds.
I, Jehovah God, am a jealous God. How long will my people continue to commit adultery with idols, provoking my jealousy? Will you just watch my jealousy? Quickly teach my people what idolatry is, so that my wrath may cease. From now on, I will no longer sit idly by and watch over these people.
Hallelujah! To God alone be the glory, forever and ever. Amen.