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Pray that this pandemic will end soon and the resumption of the postal service.
Subject 18 : GENESIS
[Chapter 5-2] The Blessed Life Granted to the Righteous (Genesis 5:1-32)
(Genesis 5:1-32)
“This is the book of the genealogy of Adam. In the day that God created man, He made him in the likeness of God. He created them male and female, and blessed them and called them mankind in the day they were created. And Adam lived one hundred and thirty years, and begot a son in his own likeness, after his image, and named him Seth. After he begot Seth, the days of Adam were eight hundred years; and he had sons and daughters. So all the days that Adam lived were nine hundred and thirty years, and then he died. Seth lived one hundred and five years and begot Enosh. After he begot Enosh, Seth lived eight hundred and seven years, and had sons and daughters. So all the days of Seth were nine hundred and twelve years; and he died. Enosh lived ninety years and begot Kenan. After he begot Kenan, Enosh lived eight hundred and fifteen years, and had sons and daughters. So all the days of Enosh were nine hundred and five years; and he died. Kenan lived seventy years, and begot Mahalalel. After he begot Mahalalel, Cai Kenan lived eight hundred and forty years, and had sons and daughters. So all the days of Kenan were nine hundred and ten years; and he died. Mahalalel lived sixty-five years, and begot Jared. After he begot Jared, Mahalalel lived eight hundred and thirty years, and had sons and daughters. So all the days of Mahalalel were eight hundred and ninety-five years; and he died. Jared lived one hundred and sixty-two years, and begot Enoch. After he begot Enoch, Jared lived eight hundred years, and had sons and daughters. So all the days of Jared were nine hundred and sixty-two years; and he died. Enoch lived sixty-five years, and begot Methuselah. After he begot Methuselah, Enoch walked with God three hundred years, and had sons and daughters. So all the days of Enoch were three hundred and sixty-five years. And Enoch walked with God; and he was not, for God took him. Methuselah lived one hundred and eighty-seven years, and begot Lamech. After he begot Lamech, Methuselah lived seven hundred and eighty-two years, and had sons and daughters. So all the days of Methuselah were nine hundred and sixty-nine years; and he died. Lamech lived one hundred and eighty-two years, and had a son. And he called his name Noah saying, “This one will comfort us concerning our work and the toil of our hands, because of the ground which the LORD has cursed.” After he begot Noah, Lamech lived five hundred and ninety-five years, and had sons and daughters. So all the days of Lamech were seven hundred and seventy-seven years; and he died. And Noah was five hundred years old, and Noah begot Shem, Ham, and Japheth.”
All people are creatures created in the likeness of God. When God created man, it was originally His plan to make man as His people. God did not create man because He was bored and wanted something to play with then threw it away. He had a plan and purpose for every person born into this world in order for him to become one of His children. Therefore, we have to receive God into our hearts, recognizing the purpose of His creation, turn ourselves to God, obey His righteousness with faith and then live by faith. We have to believe in the gospel of the water and the Spirit according to God’s will. Also, those who have been born again as God’s children should proclaim the gospel of the water and the Spirit until the Day of the Lord.
After Adam begot Cain and Abel, he begot Seth at the age of 130, and had other children until he died at the age of 930; he fathered children for over 800 years. Adam was the father who started the history of fathering a new life. The life of the righteous is also the life of faith that begets children of God. The reason for our existence is to help others to receive the remission of their sins by continuously spreading the gospel of the water and the Spirit by faith. Just as the ancestors of faith had begotten children until they died, it is proper for the righteous to believe in the righteousness of God and to proclaim the gospel until the day they die. As the Bible says that Adam had children until the age of 930 and died, it means he continued to have children of faith all of his life. This tells us clearly how the life of the righteous should be. We the righteous who have been born again through the gospel of water and the Spirit must live with the purpose to beget children of God and live by faith by relying upon His righteousness.
After Seth begot Enos at the age of 105, he continued to have God’s children for 807 years. At that time, people generally lived over 900 years and had children for about 800, but Enoch’s lifespan was short. Enoch had Methuselah at the age of 65, walked with God for 300 years, and was then he was taken up by God. Enoch’s life of walking with God was a blessed life. God showed His plan to His servants who walked with Him. Enoch’s son, Methuselah, had Lamech and Lamech begot Noah. Through Noah, God destroyed the first Earth. Starting from Enoch, God revealed many things concerning the end of the world through His servants.
The name “Methuselah” means “man of the dart.” Methuselah is Noah’s grandfather and Lamech is Noah’s father. Lamech, Methuselah, and Noah knew that God would judge the world. As we compare their lifetimes, we come to know that Enoch had already been taken up by God when Noah was born, but Lamech and Methuselah received Enoch’s teachings and knew well what God would do in the future. Therefore, grateful for receiving a son of faith in a world which was filled with sin and evil, the child was given the name of “Noah,” meaning “rest.” In other words, they already knew that God would redeem humanity through Noah. We can also know here that God revealed to Enoch that He would destroy the Earth. Enoch knew this, so he taught it to his children that God would destroy the world, while engraving the gospel in their hearts repeatedly. Spiritually awakened people find out through God what He will do in the future. God had His servants do His righteous work by telling them what He will do in the future. Anyway, God started a new world through Noah. Also a history of sustained offspring continued through Noah’s three sons, and the succeeding generation of faith reached Abraham. True belief in the righteousness of God that was established by Abraham has continued and has been passed down to our day and has now reached you and me.
God also revealed to Abraham many things that He would accomplish in the future. We have to know that God reveals His plan to His servants through His Word. Therefore, God has us the righteous to beget His spiritual children until the end of the world. When His plan is about to be accomplished, we like Enoch will be raptured into heaven. Then God will embrace us to His bosom, gather us up into His Kingdom, and allow us to live with Him forever. This is all accomplished through the providence of God.
All people must enter the eternal realm when their lives on this world end. People who accept the love of God’s righteousness that has come by the gospel of the water and the Spirit will go to God’s Kingdom, but those who don’t receive the love of God’s righteousness in their hearts remain as sinners and must therefore enter the eternal fires of Hell because of their sins. Consequently, everyone who lives on this earth must meet Jesus before his life is over. Those who have received the remission of their sins by meeting Jesus through the gospel of the water and the Spirit must have a lot of spiritual children by working for this genuine gospel until the day that the Lord calls them home. We cannot stop having spiritual children saying, “I am not going to have any more spiritual children.” Put simply the righteous who believe in God’s righteousness have to continue having sons and daughters of God until the day they go to His Kingdom. God shows His will to these righteous people, and in the future, He will allow them to live with Him forever.
We the righteous are destined to live a life of believing in and spreading the righteousness of God. There is no other life for the righteous. Whether you live as laymen or God’s workers, you must have God’s children through faith in God’s righteousness. Adam begot children for 800 years. If we the born-again do not constantly beget God’s children by faith and by working for the gospel, our lives are no different than death. If the righteous do not beget children of faith, it means that they have already died spiritually. Saying “I am righteous but will not spread the gospel of the water and the Spirit nor the righteousness of God.” The righteous are those that spread the gospel of the water and the Spirit until the day they go before God and are destined to live eternally with God.
In today’s Scripture passage, the words “lived a long life and died” are mentioned frequently. In Hebrew the words translated as “live” mean “to make a person live” or “to make one live again.” Our ancestors of faith worked righteousness such as reviving the souls of people who were bound by sin until God called them home. This is the typical life of the ancestors of faith who believed in God’s righteousness.
Some Christian leaders are more interested in taking money from the pockets of their congregants in order to build new luxurious chapels than following the will of God. They have no interest in believing in God’s righteousness and begetting His children. However, our ancestors of faith written in Genesis 5 were consistent in giving life to others until the day when God called them home. Genesis 5 is a record of the spiritual lives of those righteous figures. Only the names of the righteous are recorded in the Book of Life. Likewise, only the genealogies of the righteous have been recorded in Genesis chapter 5. You who believe in the gospel of the water and the Spirit are also recorded in the Book of Life and are in the genealogy of the righteous. Therefore, just like our ancestors of faith we live and die. This means that someone receives the remission of sin at a certain age, gives life to people, and saves their souls until the day God calls him home.
But sinners’ names are not recorded in the Book of Life. After Cain slew Abel and God pointed out his sin, Cain said to God, “My punishment is greater than I can bear. Anyone who finds me will kill me.” It can be deduced from this that at the time that Cain spoke these words, Adam had more than just two children. He already had many children and grandchildren. Because of the fact that there were more than just a few people who are not noted in the Bible, means that they were not heirs of the righteousness that can be attained by faith.
So Genesis 5 reveals two kinds of people before God: those who have received the remission of their sins and those who have not. The Bible is the Word of God that speaks of God’s redemption of mankind, of life, and it is the Word that enables people to receive the remission of sin. It is not a history book or a science book. The Bible shows God’s purpose for creating man, the gospel that displays His righteousness and what is false and true belief before Him. It also tells what the proper life of the born-again should be like. The Bible is a record of people who believed in the righteousness of God and received the remission of their sins. Those who have not believed in the righteousness of God to this day have all been destroyed.
The genealogy of the descendants of Adam has continued and come down to this very day through faith in God’s Word. It is a blessing that the genealogy of the descendants of Adam has continued to our very day, thanks to God’s righteousness. God continues to spread His righteousness through our faith. You and I are also Adam’s descendants because we believe in the Truth of the gospel of the water and the Spirit that shows God’s righteousness. However, those who do not believe in God’s righteousness can never become the spiritual descendants of Adam. Adam received the remission of sin by believing in the righteousness of God. Those who do not believe in the righteousness of God can never receive the remission of sin, and therefore are sinners having a heart filled with sin. Sinners’ names are not in the genealogy of Adam.
The Bible says, “Lamech lived one hundred eighty-two years, and had a son. And he called his name Noah, saying, ‘This one will comfort us concerning our work and the toil of our hands, because of the ground which the Lord has cursed’” (Genesis 5:28-29).
Who comforts us we who believe in the gospel of the water and the Spirit? It is Jesus Christ who is the righteousness of God. It is written, “Noah will comfort us.” Noah believed the righteous Word of God, built the ark and saved mankind from total destruction. This passage reveals that in the future, Jesus Christ would save us through the Truth of the gospel of water and the Spirit that contains God’s righteousness. From the days of Enoch, it was prophesied that the judgment and second coming of the Lord was near. “This one will comfort us concerning our work and the toil of our hands” means that Noah’s faith would save mankind. Noah obeyed the righteous Word of God and built the ark. Only eight members of his family boarded the ark, were saved and thus extended new life into the next world. The eight people who were saved from the destruction of the world were the church of God and their leader was Noah. Actually, the righteous who believe in the gospel of the water and the Spirit can meet and receive comfort through God’s Church that carries out His works.
I would like to engrave in your hearts by faith that the righteous should constantly save others. That is really the proper life of the righteous. As you and I believe in the Lord’s righteousness and work for that righteousness, we can have this or that kind of worldly thought. However, we must have faith in the fact that we the born-again have already been destined to live this kind of preacher’s life. We have to preach the gospel of the water and the Spirit immediately from the moment we receive the remission of our sins until the day we die. That is the work that we who believe in God’s righteousness must do, and the work that we are doing now. We must accept the gospel of salvation by having faith in God’s righteousness which He has presented to us and spread the gospel of the water and the Spirit to the whole world until the day we go to Him. The righteous can do no other work. Computers are used for many purposes, but the righteous spread the gospel of the water and the Spirit through computers. They spread this genuine gospel through writing; they use their own money to spread the gospel. Whatever they are doing, they have no other work than to spread the gospel of water and the Spirit. This is the calling of the righteous. That is the destined life of the righteous.
Even though there are many people who claim to be Christians, most of them cannot enter Adam’s genealogy. They try to gather people together for what I don’t know and try to make them their disciples. But the most serious thing is the fact that they still have sin in their hearts. No religion can eliminate sins in peoples’ hearts, and the leaders of these religions have only one desire and that is, to receive huge donations from the pockets of the people. They do not care if they are on Adam’s genealogy of faith or not. But the church of God spreads the gospel of the water and the Spirit that contains God’s righteousness and lets people enter the genealogy of Adam. The righteous value God’s righteousness as they value their very lives.
We have obtained the remission of our sins and a new life by believing in the gospel of the water and the Spirit. Also, our lives have already been decided by God: It has been decided that we will walk with God, spread the gospel throughout our lives, and be taken up by God. Those people in Adam’s genealogy accomplished all of their duties and died. Therefore it is recorded that “someone was born at a certain time, begot his first son at a certain age, and died at a certain age while fathering the children of God.” This is the life of the righteous. The Word of God says thus, and the righteous actually live a life like this in accordance with the Bible.
No matter how someone who has been born again through the gospel of the water and the Spirit intends to try to live another way, there is no other way to live besides that of a life working for this genuine gospel. There is no other life for us than that of saving all of the souls in the world. There is no other life for you and me. The lives of those who have been born again by believing in God’s words have already been ‘for thus’ decided. If someone believes in the gospel of water and the Spirit and says there is another way to live after being born again, the soul of that person is already dead. That means that such a person does not believe in God’s Word, does not receive the guidance of the Spirit and opposes the will of God. It is the life of one who is “dead while he still lives” (1 Timothy 5:6). I want you to keep in mind that it is a dead life if you do not believe in God’s righteousness and do not live a life of working for it by uniting with the church of God. Even if one can lead a magnificent life by earning heaps of money and eating well, it is a dead life. No matter how long a person lives, it is worthless to live that way.
At the moment we are born again through faith in the gospel of the water and the Spirit, our lives have already been decided by God. We have to have faith in the life destined for us and live a life of spreading the gospel of the water and the Spirit to the entire world. There is no other way of life other than this. Therefore, I am also living this way. Among those who have been born again, there are some who ask, “Isn’t it okay to live differently until just before the Lord comes again and then come back and lead this kind of life for a short while?” There is no other path for the righteous, and if anyone says he will find another way of life, this means that he is already dead.
Don’t you all want to do worthwhile work until the day that the Lord calls you home? The most worthwhile work in the lives of the righteous is proclaiming the gospel of the water and the Spirit to the entire world and saving those afflicted by sin. Doing so is a life of walking with God. We have to labor to save other people and go to God, not lead a dead life and die.
Are you living a life of walking with God? Do you believe in the will of God? God has decided our lives ‘for thus.’ There is no other life for us. We must live the life that God has decided for us. We must believe in God’s Word and what He has planned. Only by doing so can we obtain comfort in our hearts. I want to work for the gospel of the water and the Spirit wholeheartedly for the rest of my life and joyfully go to God on the day God calls me home. Even if we intend to try to live another kind of life, we cannot do so because there is no work more noble and worthwhile than spreading the gospel. Where can you find a more noble work than spreading the gospel of the water and the Spirit and saving souls in this world? We should feel anxious to go even one day without spreading the gospel.
We who have been born again should not try to change the destiny that has been decided by God, we have to obey God’s Word by faith. Do you believe that the life of working for the gospel of the water and the Spirit is the life that God has decided for you? Believing ‘thus’ is truly great faith. Jesus told Thomas to put his hand into His side and that “Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed” (John 20:29). Believing in the Word of God is true faith.
God has given us something noble, that is, the gospel of Truth. There is no other meaning to life besides this life of working for the gospel. Therefore, whenever we gather together, we joy in conversation about receiving letters from people in other countries who have read our books and been born again, and news of the spreading of the gospel of the water and the Spirit. We talk about the work we have done for the gospel from each of our own assigned positions. We want to do the works of God more than what we have been doing currently. Until the day the Lord comes, let’s do the work of saving souls more faithfully and go to God. You and I have to continue to live with faith in the gospel of water and the Spirit.
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