A Stumbling Block to Jews and Foolishness to Gentiles

At the time of the early Church, there was a stumbling block to Jews. Every day they gathered together to plot how to stop the crowd of people who were doing what was a stumbling block to them, how to slander and hinder them from attracting people's attention. What was the stumbling block to the Jews?the thing that they hated the most? It was the preaching of Jesus Christ. God is light, so darkness hates the light (Jn 1:1-14). It is because darkness retreats even when a tiny bit of light shines. What Satan hates the most is revealing God, our Savior in each age: Jehovah in the age of the Father, Jesus Christ in the age of the Son, and the Spirit and the Bride?our Heavenly Father and Jerusalem our Heavenly Mother?in the age of the Holy Spirit. The preaching of Christ is a stumbling block and foolishness to people in the world, but it is most pleasing to God. We, who are children of light, should shine the light of the glory of Jerusalem on the whole world, so that we can defeat darkness and lead all people into life. The world does not know God through its wisdom The preaching of God who has come in the fl esh is a stumbling block to Jews who claim to believe in God, and foolishness to Gentiles who do not know God. However, God's point of view is completely different. The Bible says that God is pleased through the foolishness of what is preached to save those who believe. 1 Co 1:21-24 『For since in the wisdom of God the world through its wisdom did not know him, God was pleased through the foolishness of what was preached to save those who believe. Jews demand miraculous signs and Greeks look for wisdom, but we preach Christ crucified: a stumbling block to Jews and foolishness to Gentiles, but to those whom God has called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God.』 When Christ came to this earth as the Savior in the age of the Son, people in those days did not have the wisdom to recognize Him. To the Jews, Jesus was a stone that caused them to stumble, and all the disciples who preached Jesus were also an annoyance to them. The name of God whom they believed in was Jehovah, so when God came to this earth in the flesh in the name of Jesus, they had a strong antipathy towards Jesus, saying, ‘How can you, a mere man, claim to be God?" Jesus was a man just like one of them in their eyes, but the disciples preached that He was God, and it seemed so foolish even to Gentiles who did not believe. However, as more and more people paid attention to the teachings of Jesus, who was completely different from the Jewish high priests who were authoritative and hypocritical, they came to feel the voice of God. The Jews, who felt a sense of crisis, plotted how to remove Jesus and His followers, how to make people have a bad impression about them. So, they produced false witnesses and spread false rumors to oppose Christ, and slandered the saints of the early Church, calling them the "followers of the Nazarene sect" (Mt 26:59-61; 28:11-15; Ac 24:1-5). Jn 10:30-33 『"I and the Father are one." Again the Jews picked up stones to stone him, but Jesus said to them, "I have shown you many great miracles from the Father. For which of these do you stone me?" "We are not stoning you for any of these," replied the Jews, "but for blasphemy, because you, a mere man, claim to be God."』 The Jews picked up stones to stone God just because He referred to Himself as God. How deplorable and lamentable it is! God can come to this earth in the flesh anytime. The Bible clearly shows that God appeared as a man in the days of Abraham (Genesis 18), and it was also prophesied in many places of the Bible that God would be born in the flesh. However, to those who neglected the prophecies, Christ appeared to be a mere man, the son of a humble carpenter. He seemed to have no power and did not live a rich and dignified life, but instead He kept company with the poor and lowly people, the so-called sinners, taking pity on them. This prevented them from recognizing Jesus as God. Finally, they went to Pilate, the governor, and strongly asked him to have Jesus crucified. Pilate was afraid of an uproar, and said in front of the crowd, "I am innocent of this man's blood. It is your responsibility." Then all the people answered, "Let his blood be on us and on our children!" They were so confident in opposing Jesus. But where are they now? Preaching the gospel of Christ is a stumbling block to Christians and foolishness to people of the world, but we are doing this great work in this age. As the Jewish people in those days did not have the knowledge of God, so do people today. We are preaching Christ like the disciples who received Jesus Christ 2,000 years ago, and the so-called Christians today are slandering the truth just like the Jews who rejected Jesus 2,000 years ago. If we preach the gospel, each individual soul realizes the truth correctly and comes to know God the Father and God the Mother. That is why Satan hates it so much. However, God has prepared the kingdom of heaven which is beautiful and glorious beyond all human imagination, for the heavenly children who make every effort to display the glory of God, their Savior. 1 Co 2:8-10 『None of the rulers of this age understood it, for if they had, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory. However, as it is written: "No eye has seen, no ear has heard, no mind has conceived what God has prepared for those who love him"?but God has revealed it to us by his Spirit. The Spirit searches all things, even the deep things of God.』 Spiritual things are spiritually discerned The preaching of God who came in the flesh was a stumbling block to Jews and foolishness to Gentiles. It was because they looked at Him from a physical point of view. From a spiritual point of view, it is really great and amazing. Since we are doing this great task, our God is preparing us for the glorious times we will enjoy in the eternal kingdom of heaven. God has promised to let us eat and drink at His table in the kingdom of heaven and put each of us into a position which even angels envy. When we go back to heaven by keeping our faith firm and working hard to save souls, God will then give us everything we want. This work we are doing is never in vain (1 Co 15:58). So, thinking about the glory of heaven which Father and Mother will bestow on us, let us put value in the heavenly things and live in hope. 1 Co 2:13-14 『This is what we speak, not in words taught us by human wisdom but in words taught by the Spirit, expressing spiritual truths in spiritual words. The man without the Spirit does not accept the things that come from the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him, and he cannot understand them, because they are spiritually discerned.』 Since the Jews looked at spiritual things from a low, physical point of view, they were never able to see the divine nature of God. So, when Jesus testified about Himself 2,000 years ago, even His relatives attempted to restrain Him, saying He was out of His mind. Jesus had brothers and sisters, and the whole town knew that He was born by His mother Mary. So, when Jesus referred to Himself as God who came down from heaven, they could not understand it. However, the Bible clearly prophesied that God the Almighty would be born as a baby through the body of a virgin (Isa 7:14; 9:6). As we can confirm the existence of microorganisms when we look through a microscope, so we can understand spiritual things when we discern spiritually. Since people look at spiritual things with their physical eyes, they do not believe in God the Mother no matter how many times we show them the Biblical verses that testify to Mother. They make their own thoughts higher than God's words. Still, they claim to believe in God. So the Bible says that they claim to know God but by their actions they deny Him (Tit 1:16). Since it is written like that in the Bible, it is not worth rediscussing. Those controlled by the sinful nature cannot understand why Father and Mother have come to this earth in the flesh, and why we put our whole heart into preaching the gospel to Samaria and to the ends of the earth. They value physical things, but we pursue the incomparable value of the heavenly kingdom. Jesus says that the kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field. If one finds the treasure, he will not foolishly just pass it by. We should make every effort to obtain it. In ancient times, Galileo Galilei was brought to the Inquisition, being accused of spreading heretical theories. Standing before the Inquisition, he said that the earth moves, and the judges forced him to recant his beliefs, saying he was crazy. Now the Vatican has acknowledged its mistake in condemning Galileo. It is because the heliocentric theory has been proven true, thanks to scientific advances. In those days, however, no one could prove it. Heavenly Mother viewed through the Bible As for the invisible world, we can judge whether or not it exists through a microscope or any other equipment. It is the same for the invisible world; we can see and discern the spiritual world through the Bible. Not through the Bible which is a microscope given by God, how can we find Father and confirm the existence of Mother? Without the prophecies of the Bible, how can we interpret this present time? We have to understand God the Father and God the Mother through the Bible, and we should also find the will of God in the Bible. It is the Bible that proves all things. As the Bible tells us that spiritual things are spiritually discerned, let us confirm the value of the Bible further. People in the world put so much value on earthly things, but we find the greatest value in heavenly things. That is why their thoughts are different than ours. So, Jesus always reminded us of the value of the heavenly kingdom, and the forefathers of faith also asked us to set our hearts on things in heaven. 2 Pe 1:19-21 『And we have the word of the prophets made more certain, and you will do well to pay attention to it, as to a light shining in a dark place, until the day dawns and the morning star rises in your hearts. Above all, you must understand that no prophecy of Scripture came about by the prophet's own interpretation. For prophecy never had its origin in the will of man, but men spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit.』 Whatever God says can never fail; it will surely come to pass (Isa 14:24-27; 46:11; 45:23). The words of the Bible are not stories men have made up, but they are the words of God, which are still being fulfilled according to God's purpose and plan for our salvation. Even though people in the world do not acknowledge us, we don't need to be influenced by that. Our salvation depends on God. No matter how much people try to slander and hinder us, our God continues to carry out the work of redemption. The Bible says that the Spirit and the Bride, Heavenly Father and Mother, will appear in the last days and call all people to receive the water of life, and that Jerusalem will be called The Throne of the LORD and all nations will gather in Jerusalem at that time (Rev 22:17; Jer 3:17). This is a prophecy about God the Mother that men spoke from God and wrote as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit. Gal 4:26-31 『But the Jerusalem that is above is free, and she is our mother. For it is written: "Be glad, O barren woman, who bears no children; break forth and cry aloud, you who have no labor pains; because more are the children of the desolate woman than of her who has a husband." Now you, brothers, like Isaac, are children of promise. At that time the son born in the ordinary way persecuted the son born by the power of the Spirit. It is the same now. But what does the Scripture say? "Get rid of the slave woman and her son, for the slave woman's son will never share in the inheritance with the free woman's son." Therefore, brothers, we are not children of the slave woman, but of the free woman.』 "The Jerusalem that is above (in heaven) is free, and she is our mother." Apostle Paul also received these words from God and wrote them as he was moved by the Holy Spirit. The Bible shows that we are children of Jerusalem Mother, the free woman, and that we, like Isaac, are children of promise. At that time the one born according to the flesh persecuted the one born according to the Spirit. It is the same now. People are continuously persecuting God's people, who are preaching Christ, because it is a stumbling block and foolishness to them. Can a man hide the sky with his hands? Nevertheless, they try to stop the gospel of God from being preached to the whole world. However, no matter what they do, the great plan of salvation set by our Father and Mother who manage the universe is carried out as prearranged. At the time of the early Church, God added to the Church of God daily those who were being saved, even in persecution and hindrance from people (Ac 2:47). A pleasing thing to God God says that not everyone who says to Him, "Lord, Lord!" will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only he who does the will of the Heavenly Father (Mt 7:21). God our Father said, "Peter followed Jesus, Joshua followed Moses, Elisha followed Elijah, and I follow Mother." We should understand why Father said that, and according to the will of Father we have to believe in God our Mother correctly, so we can all attain eternal salvation in the kingdom of heaven. Our faith comes from God. The Bible says that men moved by the Holy Spirit received prophecies from God and wrote them. All the Bibles in the original language or any other languages describe that "the Jerusalem that is above is free, and she is our mother." If our Heavenly Mother did not exist, how would these words be written in the Bible? How would the Bride, who gives the water of life together with the Spirit who is God our Father, be described in the Bible? Testifying to the Savior who has come in the flesh?this is a stumbling block to Jews and foolishness to Gentiles. However, God says that there are people who are longing and waiting for the good news throughout the world in the last days?at the end of the gospel age, and that once they hear the news, they will all fly along to Jerusalem our Heavenly Mother like clouds, like doves to their nests. The preaching of Christ is a stumbling block to Jews and foolishness to Gentiles, but it is a beautiful and pleasing thing to God. So God encourages His children who testify to Christ, saying, "You who bring good tidings to Jerusalem, lift up your voice with a shout, lift it up," and, "How beautiful on the mountains are the feet of those who bring good news" (Isa 40:9; 52:7). God's sheep listen to His voice and follow Him (Jn 10:27). When we absolutely trust and follow all the teachings in the 66 books of the Bible, the voice of God, we will attain the eternal kingdom of heaven. Believing this firmly and putting it into practice, let us quickly proclaim the glory of Heavenly Father and Mother throughout the whole world, as "children of light" and "children of promise."