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A Country Which Dreams of Heaven

  • Nation | Philippines
  • Datum | 01. März 2005
ⓒ 2005 WATV
First of all, I give thanks to Father and Mother who allowed me to preach the gospel of God to this island country.
I've heard that Korea is full of fervor for the overseas mission according to the prophecy, “And this gospel of the kingdom will be preached in the whole world as a testimony to all nations, and then the end will come (Mt 24:14)."

This news makes me overwhelmed with the hope that the gospel work will be finished and we will return to our heavenly home soon. What makes me more emotional is the enthusiasm of the brothers and sisters in the Philippines.

The Philippines has 7,107 big and small islands. About 2,700 islands of them have their names, but the remaining about 4,300 islands do not have names. The beaches of islands such as Palawan, Boracay and Cebu are famous as the resorts of dream world-widely. Especially, Boracay is famous as one of the three most beautiful harbours in the world, and it has a beautiful scene, so it is called, 'The Last Paradise in the Earth,' 'Island Closest to Heaven.'

The Philippines is a country where the Christianity is spread more widely than any other Asian countries. 93% of the population is Christians and 85% of them are Catholics. As the qualifiers, 'Paradise,' 'Island Closest to Heaven,' show, the Filipinos seem to believe in God and dream of heaven.

However, the sad fact is that they are not looking at the true God for their eyes are closed by the idols. The luxurious idols which are displayed on the altars in every house remind us of the shrines in Korea, and the drawing of Mary is engraved on every tile wall. Most houses are full of idols; the houses without idols are rather considered as strange. In most of Jeepneies (a car that is made out of old American army's jeeps), buses and taxies, the images of Mary and Santo Nino welcome the passengers.

The Catholic Churches are always crowded with the people who pray in front of the image of Mary and that of Santo Nino; and when Christmas season comes, the whole country is decorated with Christmas trees. Even in large shopping malls, a sermon of a Catholic priest is turned on at about 10:30 a.m., then all the staffs stop working and meditate, crossing themselves. At the scene, I felt as if the shopping mall had been changed into the city Babylon.

However, the children of God, who didn't distinguish the truth from the falsehood, being intoxicated with the wine of Babylon, are now being awakened by the word of the water of life and coming to Zion the city of the truth, one by one.

I would like to introduce a beautiful couple, among many members of the Philippine Zion, who were born as the children of God together.

They haven't been in Zion for long, but their faith and passion for the gospel are very enthusiastic, which is spreading to the brothers and sisters around very quickly.

ⓒ 2005 WATV
When the sister first heard the truth of the new covenant at work, she was very surprised and preached the truth even before she came to Zion. On the Sabbath day, she came to worship God together with her husband and they received the blessing of the forgiveness of sins.

They had attended the Catholic Church like most Filipinos, but they showed the example of obedience by getting rid of all the idols in their house after realizing the word, "Do not make idols or set up an image or a sacred stone for yourselves, and do not place a carved stone in your land to bow down before it (Lev 26:10)."

After the Bible study, he ruminates the words in Tagalog―Filipinos' main languages are Filipino, Tagalog, and English. He reconfirms the truth in his language whenever he studies it, and he is always amazed at the certain truth.

The brother and sister quitted attending their Catholic meeting, but they live a life of faith full of delight, giving thanks and glory to true God. The couple say 8 families are joining that Catholic meeting. It is their goal to lead all the 8 families to God, and they have already led one family of them to Zion the city of the truth, where God dwells.

The one family were the couple who taught the Bible in the Catholic Church, but they heard the new covenant with a humble mind, and received the truth of God, saying, "The Bible testifies to all these. How can we deny it?"

The brother and sister are praying so that the rest seven families may be like the seven priests who heard the words of God which Joshua conveyed and turned around the Jericho city seven times. The couple are also preaching the gospel to all the neighbors in their village just as Jonah walked for 3 days and preached the word of God all day.

They also experienced the promise of God to protect them from the disasters. We believe without doubt that it was the grace of God who was pleased with their faithful deeds.

Last December, thousands of people in the Philippines died and were missed by a typhoon. So many souls disappeared with the wind. Her house was also in a dangerous situation; when a typhoon blew last summer, her house was filled with water as high as a man's height by the overflowing of a small stream beside her house.

ⓒ 2005 WATV
The brother and sister seemed not to have slept, but kept praying. The day after the great typhoon passed, she gave thanks to God, saying that they didn't get any damage but only a little amount of water filled the floor, even though the typhoon was much more powerful than the one last summer. All the members in Philippine Zion who experienced the same thing were amazed by the power of God, and I was moved, seeing the sister who always gives thanks to God.

One day, she seemed to be worried about something, so I asked her the reason. Then she asked me if it was possible to establish Zion in Baguio (a city 6 hours far from Philippine Zion), where her children lived. Then, next day she left for Baguio to lead her children to the truth of the new covenant. Seeing her off, the members in Philippine Zion prayed she would lead all her children into the arms of God.

By the glorious light of heavenly Father and Mother, our brothers and sisters, who have realized the Babylon is a haunt for every evil spirit, are heading toward Zion, the city of the truth.

"Fallen! Fallen is Babylon the Great! She has become a home for demons and a haunt for every evil spirit, a haunt for every unclean and detestable bird. For all the nations have drunk the maddening wine of her adulteries. … another voice from heaven say: "Come out of her, my people, so that you will not share in her sins, so that you will not receive any of her plagues (Rev 18L2-4)" I can see that the prophecy of God is being fulfilled here in Philippine as well.

The members in Philippine Zion are turning around the city Babylon to save a soul who is more precious than the whole world, holding torches and blowing the trumpets of the gospel. We will make the Philippines the true last paradise in the earth, the island closest to heaven and a country which dreams of heaven, looking forward to the seventh day that the Babylon will be destroyed.