2.1.3 Two Books of Life

2.1.3 兩本生命冊 

Reference to the End Times Ministry Broadcast: Two Books of Life

Speaker: Teacher Gan

Lord Jesus, we thank and praise you very much! Lord, through the internet, you have once again called together your children. In this end times era, we come to share your message for the end times, so that more children can enter into the position of the bride. We understand clearly our own personal calling. Lord, at this moment, we invite the Trinity to come to our room and move freely in our room, for you are the God beyond time and space. Today, we give all glory and praise to the Lamb who sits on the throne. Lord, in this end times era, you release and reveal such truth to many of your servants, so that your sheep can be fed, so that your sheep can walk with purpose, so that your sheep can understand their destiny and know what it means to be faithful. Lord Jesus, here we are once again calling upon you, to have mercy on your sheep and to feed your sheep. May your Holy Spirit fill this room today, and touch everyone who enters this room, for your truth is light, and when it is opened, it shines into our hearts. May those who have not yet heard this truth be awakened. Lord, we thank you, thank you, thank you. We pray and give thanks in the name of Lord Jesus, Amen!

Thank you very much, Pastor Liu, for giving me the opportunity to share information with everyone in this room. I believe that the connection between us, including Pastor Liu's, is from God, so it is a wonderful connection. Thank God very much. Although we have not known each other for a long time, I feel very close to everyone in the Lord. So I won't say anything unnecessary, let's start today's sharing. The topic we are going to share today is the mysteries of two Books of Life. Some people may have heard of it because some of our truths are posted online. So I will start with a dream of mine many years ago. One night, I had a very special dream, which did not have any scenes, people, heaven or angels. In that dream, I heard a sentence, which was: Not all Christians are the bride of Jesus. This sentence was very special, and I dreamed of it for three consecutive days. On the first day, I didn't take it seriously, and then on the second day, I dreamed of the same words again. On the third day, I dreamed of the same words again. So this caught my attention. I began to think that God must be speaking to me in my dream, otherwise how could I dream of such a sentence? Moreover, God did not say anything more, just this sentence. What made me even more puzzled was that at that time, when I dreamed of this sentence, I had not been opened by the Holy Spirit yet. I was pastoring a church at that time. Moreover, this sentence: Not all Christians are the bride of Jesus Christ, was against my faith background and what I believed in. I couldn't come up with such words myself, because I became a Christian in a Chinese evangelical church in the United States and grew up there. Later, I received God's call and entered an evangelical seminary in the United States for training. After that, I came to Canada to pastor a church. Therefore, the theological training and equipment I received, including my background growing up in my mother church, all believed that after Christians believed in and were baptized in Jesus, they became the bride of Jesus Christ. In the future, we will be kings together with Jesus Christ in heaven. This is our hope, and we believe that we will all be the bride of Jesus Christ and be kings together.

This is what I was taught at that church and also at those theological colleges. Moreover, I myself did disciple training, Sunday school, and even preached Sunday messages all based on this teaching. In order to be saved, we have many identities - we are friends of Jesus Christ, we are his disciples, his workers, and also his bride who will enter the Lamb's wedding banquet in the future. I have always taught this way, that after you believe in the Lord, baptism means becoming the bride of Jesus Christ. So when this sentence suddenly appeared in my dream, it caused a huge conflict in my entire thinking and faith. I couldn't explain it, I didn't understand how this was possible. It was completely opposite to what I believed and taught. But God told me this way in the dream, which made me very confused. I couldn't overcome or understand it with my own knowledge, power, or wisdom. So at this point, we know that we need the revelation of the Holy Spirit. God is very faithful, he started this dream and used it to begin his work in me. God is very wonderful. After I had the dream, within three months, God used three different brothers and sisters, two of whom I didn't even know, to help me understand that this is a truth for the end times.

In many churches and among many preachers and sharers today, we often hear the term "the bride of Christ." However, we rarely take the time to think about what exactly that means. What does the Bible teach about the bride, what are its requirements, and what is God's will regarding it? What is the bride's position in the eyes of God? We seldom delve into these questions and truly reflect on them, study them, pray about them, and seek answers. Of course, the most important thing is not human analysis, but the revelation of the Holy Spirit. In the three months after my dream, God began to reveal to me the truth of this end-time, which is what we will mainly be discussing today. In the book of Revelation, there are actually two different Books of Life recorded, and the difference between these two Books of Life is what we will be focusing on. Rabbi talked about the difference between the inside and outside of the New Jerusalem. We are familiar with one Book of Life, the Lamb's Book of Life, which is recorded in the Bible. However, there is another Book of Life that we do not know about, but is hidden in the Bible. When we read it, we may overlook it. If it were not for the revelation of the Holy Spirit, we would not be able to see it, just as the two disciples on the road to Emmaus were talking to Jesus, but they could not recognize Him or see clearly that the person speaking to them was Jesus. Why? Their eyes had not been opened. Therefore, we need the Holy Spirit to open our eyes, and suddenly many truths in the Bible can be illuminated, and we can see what these two Books of Life are about. To put it simply, one Book of Life talks about the difference between heaven and hell, how those who believe in Jesus will enter heaven, while those who do not will enter the lake of fire. The Bible is very clear about this in Revelation chapters 20, 13, 14, and 15. The other Book of Life is called the Lamb's Book of Life, which records the difference between those inside and outside the city. How do we know that these two Books of Life are not the same? We can examine the Bible.

Let the Bible speak for itself, so those who have the Bible can turn to Revelation chapter 21 and chapter 22. We can ask our coworkers to help write these verses above. Let's compare two verses, Revelation 21:8 and Revelation 22:15. In Revelation 21:8, we see it speaks of the second death, which refers to those who do not believe in Christ. What does verse 8 say? "But the cowardly, the unbelieving, the vile, the murderers, the sexually immoral, those who practice magic arts, the idolaters and all liars--they will be consigned to the fiery lake of burning sulfur. This is the second death." It is clear that those who do not believe in Christ will experience the second death. The second death is the death of the soul, which is eternal separation from God. We are all familiar with this verse. Now, in Revelation 22:15, we see that the issue is brought up again in the last chapter, verse 15. In Revelation 22:15, it talks about the outside of the city, which is outside the new Jerusalem. "Outside are the dogs, those who practice magic arts, the sexually immoral, the murderers, the idolaters and everyone who loves and practices falsehood." So where is their destination? Their destination is outside the holy city. When you put these two passages of scripture together, you'll notice that they talk about similar content, but the endings are vastly different. You put these two passages of scripture side by side, what content do both passages have? They both talk about murder, sexual immorality, magic arts, idolatry, and lying, but their endings are so different. One is the second death, which is the eternal death of the soul, and the other is outside the holy city. When you see these two passages of scripture, you'll notice that there must be a mystery in between that needs to be opened by the Holy Spirit. Why do some people go to hell for murder while others go outside the city? So these two passages of scripture are telling us one of the mysteries, what mystery? It's the difference between the Book of Life and the Lamb's Book of Life. As for the first kind of people, in chapter 21, verse 8, it says that they are not recorded in the Book of Life, and their end is complete spiritual death. However, in chapter 22, verse 15, it talks about those who are not recorded in the Lamb's Book of Life, and they cannot enter the New Jerusalem. So the Book of Life records who is saved and who is not saved. It's easy to be saved by believing in Jesus, right? We believe in Jesus by faith and we don't have to pay any price, nobody pays money, nobody puts in any effort, nobody pays any life cost, we don't even shed a drop of blood. We only respond to God's love with sincerity and accept it, and by confessing with our mouth and believing in our heart, we can be saved and recorded in the Book of Life. Of course, the premise is that you do not leave or abandon God during your life. As for the second kind of people, the Lamb's Book of Life is not discussing the issue of salvation. So today we are going to discuss the Lamb's Book of Life in the context of the bride of Jesus Christ, and we are not discussing the issue of salvation. I believe that 99% of the people in our room today are saved Christians. I make this assumption because what we need to discuss today is the issue of victory. The Lamb's Book of Life records those who are victorious. After we are saved, God also expects us to be victorious. If you can be victorious, then you can be recorded in the Lamb's Book of Life and enter the Holy City, the New Jerusalem. If you are only saved, but not victorious, then you are outside the city of the New Jerusalem. Revelation 21:27 is very clear. It says, "But nothing unclean will ever enter it, nor anyone who does what is detestable or false, but only those who are written in the Lamb's Book of Life." What city is it talking about? It is the New Jerusalem city. Only those whose names are written in the Lamb's Book of Life can enter, and no one else. This statement is very clear: impurity refers to the dogs mentioned in Chapter 22 that we just read. The term "dogs" has several meanings, one of which refers to being unholy and unclean. In Jewish culture, when someone is insulted as a "dog," they are referring to a non-Jew. Jews use the term "dogs" to describe non-Jews because they believe that non-Jews do not follow the law and are unclean, indicating spiritual impurity. Therefore, here it means impure, and the "dogs" used in Chapter 22, verse 15, have the same meaning. Revelation 21:27 also states, "But nothing unclean will ever enter it, nor anyone who does what is detestable or false, but only those who are written in the Lamb's Book of Life." The Bible is a wonderful book that works in secret, which means that we need to pray and rely on the guidance of the Holy Spirit to understand the conditions of the Lamb's Book of Life and the requirements for being the bride. These are all revealed to us, but we can only understand them with the guidance of the Holy Spirit. This is not achieved through theology or experience, but through the guidance of the Holy Spirit. I have read Revelation many times before, and I don't know how many times I've taken theology classes, but if you don't have the guidance of the Holy Spirit, you won't understand it. In verse 22:14, it says the same thing: "Blessed are those who wash their robes, so that they may have the right to the tree of life and that they may enter the city by the gates." It tells us the same thing here, that only those who are purified and have the authority to enter the city can approach the tree of life. So people outside the city cannot access the tree of life, only those inside the city have the authority to do so. The Bible records this, otherwise, you can only stay outside the city and have no authority to enter. Entering the city requires God to give us special authority. Therefore, the mystery of the Lamb's Book of Life revealed by God is about the issue of victory, that is, how Christians can overcome after believing in Christ. Revelation 21:7 also speaks about victory, "The one who conquers will have this heritage, and I will be his God and he will be my son." Actually, the truth spoken of in the Bible is consistent. When you connect the pieces together, you will suddenly understand. Here it talks about inheriting God's inheritance, and if you understand this truth, I have a sharing on "Spiritual Age" which talks about our spiritual life and age. It is not the age of when you became a Christian or your physical age, but rather the age of your spiritual maturity. When you mature to the point of being a son, it is at the age of eighteen. When your spiritual life matures into adulthood, you can then inherit God's inheritance. In Galatians, it talks about when we are slaves, we are under the control of our master, but when we mature spiritually, God will give us spiritual inheritance in eternity. So, here it talks about inheriting those inheritances as the identity of being a son. If we have time, we can share this point later. Therefore, being saved as a Christian is not enough. We know this, but what is the goal of being saved? Often, we do not make it clear. We know that we need to come to change our lives, to pursue God, and to be obedient, which is not wrong. Actually, the Bible gives us a clear goal. The clear goal is to overcome and become the bride of Jesus Christ. You must grow up and become a mature adult in the spirit in order to obtain the inheritance of Jesus Christ, to rule with Jesus, and to qualify to be called the bride of Jesus Christ. Only the bride of Jesus Christ can enter the holy city of New Jerusalem. Therefore, being saved and being victorious have a huge difference. Being saved is about salvation, which we talked about earlier. We did not pay any cost, shed any blood, pay any money, sweat or suffer. What we did was accept Jesus' invitation, believe in Him, and we are saved. But being victorious requires a very high cost. Being victorious not only requires us to overcome ourselves on earth, but we often talk about dealing with our old selves in church, which is a basic lesson. What else do we need? To enter destiny, we must faithfully follow it in order to meet the requirements of the bride and triumph over all the environment and trials. Later, we will come back to share this point in more detail. First, we need to know that victory requires a high price, while salvation only requires faith and sincere belief. To achieve victory, we must conquer ourselves, deal with our old selves, enter destiny, and triumph over the environment. We will later see the conditions of the bride as recorded in the Bible. The Bible describes the New Jerusalem city, both inside and outside, and while it only gives us a little information, we need to understand it because it is God's revelation to us. In Revelation 21:1, the angel asks the apostle John for whom the Holy City, the New Jerusalem, is prepared. The answer is that the entire city is prepared for the bride of Christ to await her husband. In Revelation 22:1-5, there is a detailed account of the inside of the city. The city has the throne of God and the Lamb inside it. A river of life flows from the throne of God, crystal clear, and there is a tree of life on the banks of the river bearing twelve kinds of fruit. The people in the city serve God, and they have an inheritance in eternity. They can all face God face-to-face, and they have the name of God and the new name of God on their foreheads. In Revelation 3, it is written that those who are victorious will have the name of God, the name of the city of God, and the new name of Jesus recorded. In the city, they will reign as kings with God forever. The bride of Christ will reign with God and have an inheritance. You can see a huge difference between the city and the countryside. The city is such a desirable place, while the countryside is different. Although there isn't much description of the countryside, we know there is a big difference. So which do you want? Do you want to be satisfied with just being saved outside the city in eternity, or do you want to enter the holy city and become a bride and a queen? First of all, God desires that everyone becomes the bride of Jesus Christ, just as He desires that everyone is saved. God also desires that all of us are predestined to become the bride of Jesus Christ. God not only redeems our souls, but also prepares the bride of Jesus on earth. Furthermore, God hopes that each of us can enter the holy city of the New Jerusalem to become a queen, to enjoy all His riches and glory, and to obtain eternal inheritance. This is God's heart. So if you don't pay the price, if you don't overcome, if you don't become the bride of Jesus, if you don't become a queen, you can't blame God. This is the price we have to pay ourselves. God has already finished His work, and we have to overcome on earth, of course with the help of the Holy Spirit. Turning to Revelation chapter 17, it talks about the most basic condition of becoming the bride of Jesus Christ. This verse is very important, please circle it if you are meditating on and thinking about a few verses for the first time. Revelation 17:14 talks about "they", referring to the antichrist and his helpers who fight against the Lamb, who is Jesus Christ. The Lamb will overcome them because He is the Lord of lords and the King of kings. Those who are with the Lamb, in other words, those who are called and chosen and faithful, will fight with the Lamb and also overcome. This is the most basic condition for becoming the bride. You need to first understand what it means to be called, what it means to be chosen, and then understand what it means to be faithful. You must hold on to faithfulness and overcome in all circumstances, in all difficulties, in life, in order to become the bride of Jesus Christ. This difference is determined by the circumstances of our earthly life and the efforts and costs we pay in Jesus Christ in this life. It is like the case of the Apostle Paul and the thief who was crucified with Jesus and believed in Him. Both of these lives entered heaven, right? Heaven is a vast place, but are their positions the same in heaven? Is their relationship with God the same? Are their inheritances the same in eternity? Are their rewards the same? Definitely not the same, otherwise God would be unfair, right? Therefore, the positions, rewards, and crowns of each one in heaven must be different. So, brothers and sisters, when you hear this, you must be thinking in your heart, "Am I the bride of Jesus Christ? Is my name written in the Lamb's Book of Life? How can I be sure my name is written in the Lamb's Book of Life? How can I enter the holy city, the new Jerusalem, in eternity? I want to live in the city, it's so good, with the light of God, the tree of life, serving in the inheritance, facing God face to face, and being a king." In fact, the Bible provides a clear description of how we can enter the holy city, the new Jerusalem, and how to prepare ourselves to become the bride of Jesus. The Bible has clear records, let's go through them one by one.

Firstly, the Bible records that the conditions for the bride are the same as those recorded in the Lamb's Book of Life. Revelation 21:17 tells us that only those whose names are recorded in the Lamb's Book of Life can enter the city.

Secondly, we need to cleanse our garments. What are these garments? They represent our lives, and we need to clothe ourselves with Jesus Christ. We will talk in more detail about the Lamb's wedding in our next lesson and discuss clothing issues further. When Jesus Christ comes again, Revelation 19:8 tells us that His bride is clothed in fine linen, bright and clean. In verse 7, it says that the Lamb's wedding has come, and the bride has made herself ready. They all wear bright and clean fine linen, which represents the righteousness of the saints. This garment often symbolizes our spiritual identity and the deeds we do in love, the righteous deeds that come out of love. These are the most basic conditions and requirements for a Christian's life, as well as for the bride. We need to live a holy life and deal with our old self and flesh, living a life that pleases God. Moreover, our good deeds are generated from love and are consistent with faith. So when we look back to Revelation 22:15, which talks about those outside the city, we might wonder why some people who have been saved still remain outside the city and cannot overcome. Here, it mentions "dogs, sorcerers, sexually immoral, murderers, idolaters, and whoever loves and practices a lie." You may ask why there are still dogs or murderers and idolaters in heaven? Therefore, it tells us that after we believe in Jesus and are saved, we may still have impurities and uncleanness since we did not pay the price and did not rely on the Holy Spirit to deal with our old selves. We also may not have understood our destiny. Therefore, the "dogs" or "unclean" people are a summary of many areas in our lives where we have not yet overcome. God calls the bride, calls every Christian, to live a victorious life in our current environment and in our current spiritual state. Only when we have overcome every area can we be qualified to be the bride.

What is murder, and why do some people say it still exists in heaven? Here, murder may not necessarily mean physically killing someone with a knife or a gun. According to the Bible, hating someone is also considered murder. We often refuse to forgive those who have hurt us and hold onto grudges, even expressing hatred towards those who cannot forgive. In God's eyes, hating someone and murder are equivalent. Many people may have been saved but are still unwilling to confront their deep wounds and hurts. They may have trouble forgiving their parents, for instance. I have helped a sister who was abandoned by her parents and left to become an orphan since childhood. Despite her many years of faith, she still cannot forgive her parents from the depths of her heart. In God's eyes, this is a serious matter. If we cannot forgive, how can we enter the Holy City of New Jerusalem? As husband and wife, can we truly forgive each other and wholeheartedly forgive those who have hurt us, no matter how great the harm may have been? God forgives us, and the Bible tells us that if we do not forgive others, God will not forgive us either. Moreover, we should genuinely bless them. If you aspire to be the bride of Jesus Christ, you must forgive and pardon those who have hurt you just as Jesus forgave us. There can be no excuses. Some people worship idols. Of course, we do not worship images made of gold, silver, wood, or stone today, and many Christians do not worship idols. However, we often worship invisible idols. What is an idol? It refers to the order of our lives and what is most important to us. What God values the most is when we put Him first. This is why God says that we should love Him more than we love our parents, children, relatives, etc. God is a jealous God, so let us put God first in our lives and establish the order of our lives. Although we may have been saved on earth and not worshiped idols made of gold, silver, wood, or stone, we may have made work or our families into our idols. We may have sacrificed God's calling and mission for the sake of work or loved our children more than we love God. We have seen many such cases. We are more concerned with meeting the needs of our children than obeying God's commandments. We may love beauty, fame, reputation, and even sports, and our selfishness may cause us to love ourselves more than God. In any aspect of life, when we love anything more than God, it becomes an idol in God's eyes. Therefore, God said that if we love our parents, children, spouses, siblings, or anyone or anything more than Him, we are not worthy to enter His kingdom. Even if we are saved, we are not worthy to enter the holy city, New Jerusalem, if we are not victorious. So God must be the first priority in our Christian lives. We must obey God more than anyone or anything else. Therefore, as the bride of Christ, we must learn to focus on Jesus Christ while on earth and not be double-minded. It is like being engaged to a man on earth; you must focus on preparing yourself to marry him and not be with other men. If you are not faithful, how can he be willing to marry you? It is the same in the spiritual realm; we are the bride of Jesus Christ, preparing for the wedding banquet of the Lamb in heaven. During this preparation, we must focus and not be involved in unfaithful behavior. We must focus on loving God and preparing ourselves, not having divided hearts for Jesus Christ. Isn't James warning us not to expect anything from God if we have double-mindedness? Therefore, we need to repent and overcome many things in our church life today.

What is immorality? The Bible talks about spiritual immorality. When we see a woman having lustful thoughts, in God's eyes, it is also a form of spiritual immorality. Jesus said that if you love this world and love money more than you love God, it is also immorality. Unfortunately, many Christians today, after being saved, still like to grab onto the world with one hand and God with the other. They worship Mammon and God at the same time, and on Sundays they go to church and on Mondays they go to work. They enjoy the world's corruption while still seeking spiritual blessings from God. They are like the Israelites in the Old Testament, whom God described in the book of Ezekiel as two sisters, one from the northern kingdom of Israel and the other from the southern kingdom of Judah, who were both immoral. Judah was even more shameless than Israel. They loved the world and relied on other kings and idols more than they relied on God. They mistakenly believed that because they had a grand temple, sacrifices, and worship, and observed festivals, God would not destroy them. Didn't God make a covenant with David? Didn't God have grace? So, they still worshiped idols, and then continued to offer sacrifices without knowing the truth. They used God's grace and covenant to threaten God's fairness and justice, and despised God without fearing(or revering) Him. The outcome was very tragic. Today, many people are repeating the same mistakes as the Israelites, using God's grace and covenant, especially the Gospel of Grace, to threaten God's fairness and justice, and provoke God. The outcome will also be very tragic. The whole country was destroyed by Babylon and taken into slavery. Today's prosperity gospel and the Gospel of Grace is widely spread in God's house. This is a sign and a symbol of the end times. Therefore, many times today, we need to be able to overcome not only physically attending church, but also being single-minded in our hearts. God spoke to the Old Testament Israel and Judah, saying that those who love God should be single-minded. This is the characteristic of the bride, to love God with single-mindedness. In Singapore, there is a pastor who preaches the Gospel of Grace and tells people that once they have believed in the Lord, they no longer need to repent and confess their sins. They can smoke if they want to because it is their freedom, and it is the grace that God has given them. This deliberately ignores or even belittles the needs of repentance and confession of sin, which avoids the lesson of carrying their own Cross, for example, you don't need to pay the price to deal with your old self, let alone talk about victory. You can see the confusion of truth and the spiritual immorality of the church in this final generation. In God's eyes, it is all spiritual immorality. We have indeed accepted the gospel and accepted Jesus Christ as our Savior, but are we truly devoted to loving God today? Is our life in line with the standards of the bride? We need to ask God to help us.

Speaking of witchcraft, what is witchcraft? Simply put, it is controlling and manipulating others to achieve our own goals, using improper methods to cross the boundaries of authority, without operating within the principle of love. In the coming weeks, I will share more details about witchcraft. Because witchcraft is an evil spirit. Living and operating through witchcraft is not in love at all. Witchcraft and love are completely opposite, and we need to understand the characteristics and operating methods of witchcraft in order to truly operate in love. Otherwise, many of our patterns of life, speech, emotions, and attitudes are often rooted in witchcraft, not in love. This is another topic, and we will share more about it in a few weeks. So when it comes to practicing witchcraft, those who do so are not truly walking in love and cannot enter the holy city of the New Jerusalem.

The last one is about fabricating lies with our tongue, speaking falsehoods that defile our speech. In order to become the bride of Jesus Christ and enter the holy city of New Jerusalem, we need to deal with our tongue, which must be clean. This is recorded many times in the Bible, from Proverbs to the book of James, to Jesus' teachings, which are very clear. We cannot have lies or falsehoods in our mouths because what we think in our hearts, we will speak. So the book of James tells us that a person who does not stumble in what he says is a perfect man. Therefore, as children of God and Christians, if we want to become the bride, we must practice controlling our tongues. Now we can understand why some people who believe in Jesus still commit murder, adultery, witchcraft, and have lies in their mouths. It's because their lives are not yet victorious, clean, and pure. They may have been saved but they have not yet overcome. Therefore, they will be outside the city in the future. So, no matter how long a person has believed in the Lord, whether they have been a Christian since childhood, or whether they are a pastor, deacon, elder, or even have multiple theological degrees or prestigious titles, it does not matter. God does not look at these titles or positions. He looks at whether our lives are clean and whether we meet the standard of the bride of Jesus Christ. Therefore, our degrees, gifts, titles, and how many people we have led to Christ are not the standard or condition for being the bride. Jesus Christ said that not everyone who calls Him "Lord" will enter the kingdom of heaven, and even our ministry's effectiveness is not relevant. It is the relationship of our life and the price we paid in our life. It's not about how many people we have pastored, how many books we have written, or how many people we have led to Christ. These are all important, but they are not the standard and condition for being the bride. The first standard is those whose names are being recorded in the Lamb's Book of Life, and the second standard is what we just discussed, which is the cleansing of our lives and the dealing with impurities, including hatred, sorcery, adultery, idol worship, lack of devotion to God, and lying tongues.

The third criterion is found in Revelation 20:4, which speaks of the first resurrection of those who rise again with Jesus Christ at His second coming. Here, it is said that the souls of those who were beheaded for the sake of God's word are martyrs. They will reign with Jesus Christ for a thousand years, which is the first resurrection, because there are three groups of people who will be resurrected in the first resurrection, which will be discussed later. The martyrs become the bride directly. Therefore, you know why the martyrs have such great glory. Revelation 6 tells us that the martyrs worship God at the altar before His throne. So you see that the relationship between the martyrs and God in heaven is very, very close. So you will understand why the believers of the early church understood this truth. They glorified martyrdom and knew that martyrdom is an extremely glorious thing because it makes one the bride of Jesus directly. The bride of Jesus is a collective term, as it was in the Old Testament, where many people became the bride of Jesus Christ. If you reach this standard, whether in the New or Old Testament, you become the bride of Jesus Christ. Therefore, seeing why most of the prophets in the Old Testament were martyred, killed like their ancestors, right? Because they preached God's word and were killed by kings. Jesus Christ also said this, right? He spoke of the Israelites killing God's prophets like their ancestors. So in the Old Testament, the prophets who were martyred also became the bride of Jesus Christ directly. In the Old Testament, if you reach the standard of the bride, you also become the bride of Jesus Christ, which is an extremely glorious thing. So in this last age, a wave of martyrdom will sweep the entire world once again. However, martyrdom must be chosen by God. It doesn't count if someone seeks trouble and provokes danger. Some people ask if suddenly dying in a car accident while traveling counts as martyrdom. Of course not. This is an accident and not martyrdom. Martyrdom is for the sake of God's truth, not submitting to it. You dare to confess yourself as a Christian in front of people, under a gun, or a knife, for God's truth and the gospel, not surrendering or giving up your faith or denying the name of Jesus for a comfortable life. This is called martyrdom. Today, there are many people around me whom God speaks to in their dreams and selects as martyrs, so martyrs are chosen by God. Beforehand, God tells us and gives us such an inspiration. Perhaps in the future, we will be martyrs for the Lord, and God will also prepare us with such faith and courage. Martyrs become the bride of Jesus Christ. So if you have a dream, a vision, or a prophet or hear the prompting of the Holy Spirit telling you that you will be a martyr in the future, do not be afraid, God will give you faith. Moreover, the glory of martyrs is great, very great. I saw Pastor Sa Zu specifically talked about martyrs in a sermon before. He said that when the bullet enters our body, before we feel the pain, our spirit is taken away by God. When the knife falls on our neck, before we feel the pain in the next millisecond, our spirit is taken away by God. You see, God also uses different servants to tell us, to prepare many martyrs, and to give us confidence and courage.

The fourth condition for the bride is also mentioned in Revelation 20:4, which states that those who did not worship the beast or its image and did not receive its mark on their foreheads or hands, will be resurrected and reign with Jesus Christ during the first resurrection. When will the mark of the beast appear? It will only appear during the last three and a half years of our end times, when the worship of the beast will also occur. Therefore, during the end times, there will be a group of Christians who will endure the great tribulation of the last three and a half years. However, they will remain faithful to the truth and will not receive the mark of the beast or worship its image. They will survive the tribulation and be lifted to meet the Lord. These are the ones who will become the victorious bride of Jesus Christ. Another scripture that emphasizes the necessity of being a victorious Christian for the bride is Revelation 17:14. As we read earlier, it speaks of those who are called, chosen, and faithful, and who will fight alongside the Lamb. They will descend with Jesus Christ onto the earth and rule as kings. Therefore, this passage emphasizes that before we can be victorious, we must first understand God's personal calling and election for us. We must understand our individual destiny and calling. This is why in Matthew 22:1-14, Jesus speaks of the wedding feast in the kingdom of heaven. He tells a parable about how those who are called and invited to the feast all make excuses when God's servants go to invite them. Oh, I want to have business, oh, I want to have livestock to sell. There are many excuses, but in the end, they cannot come to the banquet of God. So God commanded his servants to go out to the streets and invite anyone who is willing to come to the banquet, to come and enjoy the feast. This passage, if we interpret it historically, is first speaking to the Jews. God originally chose the Jews as his people, to be the bride of Jesus Christ, and as guests. However, many Jews rejected God's invitation and refused to accept Jesus. They were not concerned about the things of God, but rather about their own affairs. They rejected their own position in heaven, so when they were on earth, they could not enter the appointed place. The Jews at the time understood this parable very well. In Matthew 22:15, when the Pharisees heard it, they conspired to trap Jesus. Why did they want to trap Jesus? Because they heard something they did not want to hear, they knew that they were the ones rejected by God. They rejected God's call and still considered themselves righteous. Therefore, when they understood that Jesus was referring to them, their reaction was to harm Jesus. Here, the concept of being called is discussed, which refers to salvation. We all start with salvation, and everyone is saved. After we are saved, we will be chosen, which means God gives us this destiny. After each person is saved, during the process of salvation, we begin to discover our own destiny. What is my destiny? This is something we need to continue to discover in the process of believing in the Lord, and God will also tell us. This requires a period of time. Like Paul, he also took almost three and a half years to begin to understand. After being enlightened, he went into seclusion for three and a half years, right? He quietly approached God and was eventually called by God to become an apostle to the Gentiles. This is Paul's destiny. Moses also spent forty years, right? He fled to the wilderness, spent forty years in the wilderness after fleeing from Egypt, and then God gave him a destiny, which was to lead the Israelites out of Egypt. You need to spend some time and continue to ask God what He wants you to do on earth. We must continue to ask God to understand what destiny is. Destiny is something that God has already created in us in the spirit before creation. This is mentioned in the book of Hebrews, right? God created us on earth, in the body of Jesus Christ, and what I specifically need to be responsible for is my position, which is my destiny, and you must know it. So, you may need to look back to see it clearly. Only when you see the destinies of the great people in history can you see it clearly. When you see the destiny of Billy Graham, it is clear that he was to preach the Gospel and go to the whole world to preach the Gospel, right? When you talk about the destiny of Cai Shujuan after her experience in the darkroom, her destiny is very clear, which is to testify to God's victory over her illness. Everyone's destiny is different. You need to first understand your own destiny, and once you understand it, you need to respond in order for it to count. If you understand but don't respond, it doesn't count. You need to respond by saying, "Okay, God, I accept this destiny." Only when you understand your destiny can you talk about loyalty. If you don't understand your destiny, you can never talk about loyalty. Today, many people, after they believe in God, don't know their destiny, so they go everywhere to serve, attend meetings, and run around. Today, a famous speaker came, and they go to meet him. Another famous speaker comes, and they go to ask him to lay hands on them. This is not bad, but you can't do this for a long time. If you have believed in God for ten or twenty years and you are still doing these things, then you have a problem. When you first believed, you were enthusiastic, and that can be understood. You need to understand the position that God has given you. If God calls you to sweep the toilet in the church or community, are you willing to respond? You can say, "God, I am humble, and I am willing to respond." Loyalty is not easy. Sweeping the toilet for a day, two days, a week, or a year may seem doable, but can you be loyal for thirty or fifty years of toilet cleaning? That is the challenge, and that is what you need to be loyal to in your called position and work. If you are called to be a missionary, you must be faithful. If you are called to be a worshipper, you must be faithful. If you are called to be an intercessor, you must be faithful. And if you are called to be a pastor, you must also be faithful. In whatever position you find yourself, you must first understand and then be faithful. Just like John Mulinde, who led the Ugandan revival, he was one of the main pastors who led the revival. When he was young, probably in his twenties, Uganda was still in a very dark period. In the 1990s, Uganda was listed by the United Nations as the most hopeless and desperate country. More than 40% of the population had AIDS, there were wars, murders, witchcraft, and the economy was the worst in Africa. It was a hopeless country. But God called John Mulinde to lead the country through a spiritual revival, and eventually the country's economy turned around. God gave John a dream and told him what He wanted him to do. At that time, he was very young, in his twenties, and he was also a pastor, but he was very young. God gave him this call, and he was very humble and unsure of himself. He thought, "Who am I, a relatively unknown pastor, to come and turn around this country, which is so dark, with witchcraft, rebellious factions, and a country in chaos, and lead a revival?" So he went to see a spiritual elder, another pastor, and shared with him about God's calling and election. God told him what He wanted him to do and asked him to pray about it. This spiritual elder, this pastor, was very experienced and respected in the local area at that time. After listening to John's sharing, he remained silent, and John was confused as to why he wasn't saying anything. The next day, he told John Mulinde that God had called him three years ago with the same calling as John Mulinde, to lead the spiritual revival of the country and to lead the nation into its destiny and spiritual transformation. However, he had refused the call. So, he realized that people could refuse God's call. God does not force people, and if someone refuses, God's work will not be hindered or stopped. God will call someone else to rise up. Therefore, it was crucial for John Mulinde to respond to God's call when he was young. Although he did not see hope at that time and felt very young and weak, he responded. God would, of course, help him. He experienced a lot of sufferings and illnesses, but he became one of the main leaders of the Ugandan revival. He led the entire country of Uganda to turn around. You can see how even AIDS was miraculously healed in this country. You can see from his testimonies how the rebels were gradually driven out, the economy was gradually turned around, and how Christian ministers gradually reclaimed important leadership positions and ministerial positions. Even the president of this country became a believer, and in the stadium, he declared that Uganda belonged to God. You can see how God turned this country around, and this is destiny. So later, God used John Mulinde even more greatly, and this pastor entered Taiwan, many countries, and entered into spiritual warfare, turning nations and leading spiritual revival. This is destiny. And you must be faithful to your calling, no matter how small it may seem. Not everyone can be like John Mulinde, and we understand that. Some people have a small role to play in God's plan. Your calling may be in writing, taking care of children, welcoming newcomers, or offering prayer and support. As Paul said, if you remain faithful, you will receive a crown. The size of your earthly job is not directly related to your victory. So, we need to know our position on earth that God has given us, so we don't run around aimlessly. It's not like being at church today and serving in children's ministry, worship singing, evangelism, preaching, and doing everything equals doing nothing. If you don't know what God's command is for you on earth, you'll just be running around. It's like being in the military. If you send your son to the military for three years, and he comes back, you ask him what kind of soldier he was. Was he in the Air Force? Navy? Army? Your son said he didn't know, but anyway, I spent three years in the army. Oh, wait a minute, what did you do in the army? Everything. I spent some time in the missile unit, dug some landmines, and built some bridges. It might sound confusing to you, but when you join the army, you are assigned to a specific military occupation. For example, if you join the navy, you will be assigned to a position either on the ship or at the base. If you are on a ship, you will have a specific job, such as loading ammunition, operating the boiler, or handling information. Everyone in the military has a specific position. It's impossible to be just a random person on the battlefield without any assigned duties. As believers in Jesus Christ, we are also soldiers. You must have a position in the army of God. You cannot be without a position once you have joined the army. It's impossible for someone to arrive on the battlefield not knowing what to do. Therefore, as the bride of Christ and His elite troops, you must know your position in the body of Christ in the kingdom of God. Only when you know your position can you talk about loyalty and stand your ground. Otherwise, it's impossible. Therefore, we need to pray. As I mentioned earlier, it takes time. For example, Paul went through three and a half years of training, and Moses went through forty years. Of course, today we cannot experience forty years, but we must ask God. Many people will ask God what their destiny is, what is the trust that God has given me on this earth? We must be faithful, we must hold fast. It is very, very important. Everyone must ask. We have talked about several conditions. We must wear the bright white garment of righteousness. We must not worship the beast or accept the mark of the beast. This is very important in our end times. To be victorious in our lives, to be victorious in our environment, to enter into our destiny, to understand the calling that God has given us, and then we must prepare ourselves to become the bride of Jesus. Let's look at the scriptures in Revelation chapters 2 and 3 that talk about the seven churches. The seven churches have a very rich spiritual content. One of the spiritual contents is about the victory of the bride. You must look at it as a whole. Of course, these seven churches can represent seven types of churches. Some people say they represent seven historical periods of churches. There are many interpretations, and I say amen to all of them. Because its content is very rich. One of the spiritual contents is about victory. Because you see, one characteristic of the seven churches is that Jesus talks about victory in all of them, and tells you what will be given to you when you are victorious. So in this sense, Jesus Christ is speaking to His bride, We must be determined to become the bride of Jesus Christ. We must be victorious in all the environments and trials of these seven churches. Only then can we be called victorious. Therefore, being a bride is not easy. Being a bride is not easy. You see, all seven churches talk about victory. The Church in Ephesus must be victorious in the coldness of love. We must restore our first love. After we have believed in the Lord for a long time, we lose our love and become religious, indifferent to God and people. This is what we must be victorious over. We must restore our first love. What each church must overcome to be victorious varies. To be faithful until death, one must overcome both suffering and persecution, whether it be the suffering of illness or family hardships, as God's plan for each person is different. Therefore, in the face of suffering and persecution, we must be faithful until death and overcome them. The church in Pergamum must overcome Satan, which refers to the infiltration of secularism, the teaching of the false prophet Balaam, and the teachings of the Nicolaitans, all of which require repentance. We need to overcome the infiltration and teachings of secularism because today, the infiltration of the world into the church is very severe, and the church and the world are not very different, especially in North America. The church in Thyatira must overcome the spirit of Jezebel. Jezebel's spirit refers to the spirit of false prophets and witchcraft. We must overcome witchcraft and sorcery, which are practiced outside the city. The main challenge is the power of false prophets and witchcraft. The church in Sardis must overcome laziness and lack of vigilance. The church of Sardis is characterized by having a reputation without substance. Many Christians are known but lack substance and do not shine. They do not act as salt and light and are unwilling to pay the price. We must overcome laziness and be vigilant. The church in Philadelphia must overcome the environment and endure. Jesus tells them that if they overcome, they will be pillars in the temple of God and kings and will not have their crown taken away. Therefore, we must endure and persevere and hold onto the destiny God has given us, especially in this end time. The church in Laodicea is the characteristic church of the end times. Its characteristic is the spirit of religious fundamentalism, which we must overcome. The important point is that we have everything - we have a church, we have money, we have many believers, and we are materially rich. We are proud. But God says that we have nothing in the spirit, and this is religious fundamentalism. In the end times, we must overcome religious and secular fundamentalism. As brides facing the challenges of these seven churches, we must all overcome them. So as brides, we must pay a price, and it must exceed the victory over our old self that we usually talk about in church. Looking at the information inside and outside of the city of New Jerusalem and understanding the information of the Book of Life and the Lamb's Book of Life, we will suddenly realize many mysteries in the Bible when we look back at some of the scriptures. When we look back at the ten virgins, the parables of talents, the actions of love, and the preparation of life, we will understand why these lives need to be prepared, and why our ministry and righteous deeds need to be prepared. Therefore, talking about the ten virgins, Jesus spoke about preparation in the three parables he gave in Matthew 25 after he spoke about the end-time information. Many people did not read the context carefully and missed this point. By the way, I would like to advertise that I come to the YY room to study Matthew's Gospel on the second and fourth Thursdays of each month. In chapter 24 of Matthew, it talks about the end times. From verse 36 onwards, it constantly speaks of two things, vigilance and preparation. Jesus talked about these two things after he finished speaking about the signs of the end times and the great tribulation, and the coming of the Son of Man. Check out this section from verse 36 to 51. After Jesus finished speaking, he wanted to tell his disciples and the people of the world a message with four words: "Be vigilant and prepared." You can circle those words to remember them. The three parables that Jesus spoke - the parable of the ten virgins, the parable of the talents, and the parable of the sheep and goats - were not directed towards those who didn't believe in him, but towards his disciples and those who were close to him. The parable of the ten virgins speaks about being prepared for eternal life, which is symbolized by the oil. The parable of the talents teaches us how to use the gifts that God has given us to serve him. The parable of the sheep and goats reminds us to live out our faith by showing love and doing good works. In Revelation, it speaks about the righteous acts of the saints, which is represented by the white linen that they wear. It is not enough to just say that we love God and want to serve him; we must also show it through our actions in our daily lives. These actions don't have to be grand gestures or donations of huge sums of money, but rather doing what we can with what God has given us. This is called righteous acts. Recently, a brother in our community who used to not believe in God made mistakes and committed sins, which led to a lawsuit that he ultimately lost. He became a believer because of this incident, but he still had to bear the consequences of his crime and was sent to prison. He came to know the church and Jesus Christ during the trial, and I cared for him for a while. Later, he was sentenced to prison, and God gave me two dreams to visit him. In the dreams, I saw myself going to the prison to visit him, and I understood that God wanted me to see him. This is like the parable of the sheep and the goats that Jesus spoke about. When I was in prison, you visited me and gave me food and drink. These are the things that we should be willing to do, and I drove for two hours and went through many paperwork to visit him. This was God's calling for me, and I responded quickly because the approval process would take one or two months, and I had to prepare myself to visit him. This is an act of love that is unconditional, not expecting anything in return. It is a way of sharing the love of Jesus Christ, which is unconditional, like how God loves us. These are the things that we should prepare for on earth. In the third analogy, if we look at it from the perspective of vigilance and preparation, it is about the preparation of life, the anointing of the Holy Spirit, and the preparation of service using the gifts of grace. It is the preparation of righteous deeds. When we are truly in Jesus Christ, we must have unconditional love and go out to prepare ourselves to be the bride. In Matthew 11:12, it says, "From the days of John the Baptist until now, the kingdom of heaven has been subjected to violence, and violent people have been raiding it." I used to have trouble understanding this verse. How could the kingdom of heaven be subject to violence? I never thought that believing in Jesus Christ required any effort. I thought that God had done everything for us, and all we needed to do was believe. I didn't know what I needed to do, and I was confused. Later, when God revealed the information about the Book of Life, the Lamb's Book of Life, and the City, I understood that we were entering the Holy City, the New Jerusalem. From the days of John the Baptist until now, which includes the Old Testament to the time of Jesus, and even in eternity, it is the same. Salvation does not require any cost, including the Israelites becoming God's chosen people. What price did they pay? They didn't pay anything. God chose them, and they became His chosen people, but they still had to overcome. In the Old Testament, God established a covenant with them through the law. In their era, victory also required paying a high price. If you want to enter the kingdom of heaven, the holy city of the new Jerusalem, you need to strive and pay the price. Those who pay the price will be the victorious ones who can enter. So, my brothers and sisters, when you hear this message today, I don't know how God is speaking to you. Are you satisfied with just being saved, or do you want to live a victorious life and aspire to become the bride of Jesus Christ? Do you want to participate in the Marriage Supper of the Lamb and reign with Jesus? If you have this desire, then today, you need to respond to God. Maybe you don't know your destiny yet or feel that you have a lot to repent and overcome. But it's okay because God has predetermined that we will all become the bride of Christ. God has not destined anyone to be outside the city. He desires that all His children, including those who are not saved, can become the bride of Jesus. Because God created the entire universe and humanity to prepare for this. It's just that because of disobedience, hard hearts, love of the world, and laziness, we cannot attain the victorious position. Therefore, my brothers and sisters, if you hear this message today and are touched and moved by the Holy Spirit, and you are willing to make a commitment to God, even though you may not fully understand, you may have much to repent and not know your destiny. Today, you need to come before God and make this prayer, "God, I come before you today and make a commitment to become the bride of Jesus Christ. I ask the Holy Spirit to help me from today."

Let's pray together, you can join me.

Prayer: Dear Jesus Christ, today I heard the truth, and when the truth is revealed, it shines bright. I understand the difference between the Book of Life and the Lamb's Book of Life, I understand the difference between being inside or outside the city, and I understand the difference between being saved and being victorious. Today, I aspire to be the bride of Jesus Christ. I understand the standards and requirements of being a bride, and although I have weaknesses and shortcomings in my life, you do not look at these things, but you look at my heart before you. I want to aspire to be your bride. I ask the triune God, the Holy Father, the Holy Son, and the Holy Spirit to speak to me again today and to help me live a victorious life. If there is still hatred and unforgiveness in my life today, please help me deal with it. If I still love the world and not love God wholeheartedly, I want to repent and love God wholeheartedly. If there are impure thoughts in me, please come and purify me. If I am still practicing witchcraft and cannot overcome my tongue, please come and forgive me and help me deal with it. I ask the Holy Spirit to guide me step by step into the destiny that you have called me to fulfill in this generation, and to make it clear to me the responsibilities that you have entrusted to me, so that I can faithfully keep them. I also ask for your help in this final era, to be able to refuse the mark of the beast and to reject worshiping the beast image. Whether I have to go through the great tribulation of three years or not, please help me to be faithful. In Jesus Christ's name, amen.