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True Religion and False Religion
[/FONT][FONT=굴림]Main references: Rom 8:1-11 (Jn 3:3-8, Mal 2:1-8)[/FONT]
[FONT=굴림]What is true religion, and what is false religion?
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True religion is a teaching that comes from the true God of heaven, and false religion is an arbitrary teaching (religion) or a teaching that does not come from God but from other gods. All religious people claim they believe in God, say that the word they learn and teach is the words of revelation that came from God, and believe their religion is the best. Then shouldn’t we ask ourselves: is the god (spirit) I believe in and follow the true God, and is the teaching that comes from it the revelation from the true God? Or is it a revelation from a false god? Is it based on one’s own arbitrary judgment? Is that religion a religion confined to a country or a culture? Is it merely superstition? [/FONT][FONT=굴림]A man is like the building of a spirit (1 Cor 3:9) and a field that receives the seed of the spirit (refer to Lk 8:15). Because the Word is like the spirit (refer to Jn 10:35), when moral instructions enter a person, that person will believe and follow those words and become a servant of that spirit.
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A religion cannot be considered a true religion solely by having a lot of people (congregation members) or because it is called a religion of tradition. It can only be a true religion if it has the true God and His revealed word. True religion includes the Creator and the things (contents) He created since the time of their creation, the four seasons and the number of years that passed, history and genealogy, and enduring prophecies and their fulfillments. Let us examine what is the religion of the true God and what is a false religion.
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Many believers worship and fall for the god of their own religions, and they refuse to believe or even hear about other religions. However, the words, “The dead were judged according to what they had done as recorded in the books,” (Rv 20:12) must be fulfilled at the time of judgment. [/FONT][FONT=굴림]
Let us examine the meaning of religion ([FONT=맑은 고딕]宗敎[/FONT]: highest “jong”, to teach “gyo”) by looking at its root Chinese characters. If we analyze the Chinese character for religion ([FONT=맑은 고딕]宗敎[/FONT]) by its parts, it is composed of“宀(“Bu” meaning what is above the head and“Myeon” meaning House. 宀 symbolizes “heaven”), [FONT=맑은 고딕]示[/FONT](“Si” meaning to see), [FONT=맑은 고딕]孝[/FONT](“Hyo” meaning filial duty), [SUB]1) [/SUB]攵(=攴: “Bok” meaning hitting or whipping [FONT=바탕]→[/FONT] teach by whipping).” Therefore, in the East, the word “religion” means “the highest teaching”, which is “to teach the will of heaven and filial duty by seeing and hearing the things of heaven”. In the West, the origin of the word “religion” is the Latin word “religare”. This means to reconnect the broken lifeline. What we have examined thus far shows why religion is taught.
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Many religious people claim that they believe in God and that they teach with the things belonging to God. However, their religions’ names, scriptures, deeds (deeds according to the religious standards), and rituals are all different from each other. According to God’s promise, a priest, who is a pastor that leads service, is one who walks with God. From his mouth comes truth through the Word of God, and from his mouth people must seek the truth. He must become the messenger of God. This is the covenant made between God and the priest (the pastor), as written in Malachi 2.
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The testimony of a religion must be based on the Five Ws and One H (who, what, when, where, why, and how), and its genealogy, generations, and flow must make sense. Also, the prophecies that have enduredfrom long ago and their fulfillment must continue on to this day, and there must be evidence of the prophecies’ physical fulfillment. God’s promised pastorswho appear in each era are the pastors whom God promised beforehand in the previous eras.
Therefore, there must be things promised (prophecies) regarding the promised pastors, and they are those who appear according to the promises and who perform the works that had been promised. [/FONT][FONT=굴림]For example, Jesus at the First Coming was born to a virgin and God was with this child (Is 7:14 à Mt 1:18-25). He was born in Bethlehem (Mi 5:2 à Mt 2:1-6), and he also entered Jerusalem riding on a colt and proclaimed peace (Zec 9:9-10 à Lk 19:33-42) according to the promises of the Old Testament. Jesus fulfilled every promise of the Old Testament (Jn 19:30). This is how one can be acknowledged as the promised pastor.
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A promised pastor had already been determined in the Scripture (the Bible) to appear in the kingdom that is created today, at the end of age. Because this pastor comes according to the promises of the Scripture and fulfills what had been promised, he is the pastor promised by God and is acknowledged as the pastor whom God sent.[/FONT][FONT=굴림]The content of Scripture is recorded in four major parts: history, moral teaching, prophecy, and fulfillment. When the prophecies fulfill, three events occur: the events of betrayal, destruction, and salvation. The three entities who fulfill these events (betrayer, destroyer, and savior) appear and do the work which had been recorded with what they would do. Therefore, the believers are able to recognize each of the entities by seeing the work that they do.
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Though a pastor may claim his own religion and scripture to be true, if he does not know the meaning of that scripture and does not act according to it, he cannot be the messenger who speaks on behalf of God, nor can he be the messenger who walks with Him. If the name, scripture, and actions of a denomination are only made up arbitrarily and are not from God (ex: commentaries), and if a pastor belonging to that denomination is teaching falsehood given by the spirit of Satan, committing to ceremonies, custom, and actions not commanded by heaven, he becomes God’s adversary and enemy.
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Various religions claim to believe in God, but they all differ from each other because the gods they believe in are not the same. And the reason why religious conflicts cause approximately 80% of the world’s wars is that those religions are not God’s religion. God is the Creator of heaven and earth and He loves His creation. He commanded the people He created to be fruitful and to increase in number. He also told them to forgive, love, and bless one another. In other words, God did not tell them to fight, kill, and curse each other. Thus, the reason religions fight, kill, and curse is that their gods are different. [/FONT][FONT=굴림]Many false religious groups were established from mistaking religions created by people, states, superstition, arbitrary thoughts, and cultural traditions for the true religion. Even a child knows that religions today are corrupt. If the people of a religion truly believe in righteousness, truth, perfection, and God, they must throw away their corrupt religion before the true God and become one within God.
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Denominations, religions, pastors, and scriptures exist for the people who believe—not for the sake of the pastors, their scriptures, and the denominations themselves. A true pastor must be with God, act in righteousness and justice, and master the Scripture so that all people can seek the truth from his mouth. He must become amessenger of God who speaks on behalf of Him by preaching the revelation (refer to Mal 2:7). If a pastor has not mastered the Scripture, if God is not with him, and if the pastor does not have the revelation (the revealed word) or the truth, he is not the true pastor. The religion of such a person is only a religion belonging to that person—it is only an arbitrary religion that he uses as the means of his livelihood.
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If a pastor does not love God, thecongregation members, the neighbors, and the Word, he is a false pastor of Satan. A true pastor must walk with God and speak the Word of God. He must master the Bible, feed his congregation members with food that endures to eternal life, bring righteous judgment with the white stone of judgment, and rule over all nations with the iron scepter. He must also bring cessation of all wars in the world and achieve peace that can be left as a legacy to the future generations. He must forgive, love, and make the world into a world of peace where God reigns.
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A true pastor must love even his enemy, instead of taking revenge on his enemy. A true pastor must love the world created by the true God. He must turn the world into a world of splendid paradise, and heal all nations. He must make God known to all people through prayer and revelation. He must return all creation and people to their original image and likeness, and guide them to become the people of heaven who forever give thanks and glory to God.[/FONT]
