The Firstborn of Heaven

Today there are numerous churches throughout the world, and the number of those who believe in God is countless like the sand by the sea. They have their own doctrines and feel proud that they are God’s children and are saved.

Among those numerous people, how many people are the children of God? Not everyone can actually become a child of God even though they claim to be. The one whom God does not acknowledge as His child can never be a child of God. Only the person approved by God can receive the right to enter heaven as a child of God.

“Children of promise” approved by the Holy Spirit

2,000 years ago, God took on flesh and blood just like His children and came to this earth in the position of the “Son.” He was Jesus Christ.

In those days, people failed to recognize Jesus; some rejected Him, while others regarded Him merely as a prophet. However, Peter, one of Jesus’ disciples, confidently confessed his faith before Jesus, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.”­­ Then Jesus blessed Peter and gave him the keys of the kingdom of heaven (Mt 16:13-19).

To those who received God who came to this earth in the flesh, to those who believed in His name, God gave the “right to become children of God” (Jn 1:10-14). And God Himself testifies that we are God’s children.

The Spirit himself testifies with our spirit that we are God’s children. Now if we are children, then we are heirs—heirs of God and co-heirs with Christ, if indeed we share in his sufferings in order that we may also share in his glory. Ro 8:16-17

The Bible tells us that God’s children will surely become His heirs, and that God’s heirs will share in the glory of heaven without fail. God’s children are to receive the heavenly inheritance, so they are all God’s heirs. Since the right to become one’s heir is given to his eldest son, the fact that we are God’s children and His heirs shows that we are the firstborn of heaven (cf. Heb 12:22-24).

Then, what kind of people does God approve as His children and heirs? The Bible calls God’s children “children of promise,­­” and explains that they are like Isaac, who was the heir of Abraham.

Now you, brothers, like Isaac, are children of promise. Gal 4:28

There were three candidates to inherit the estate of Abraham, the forefather of faith. Among them, God acknowledged Isaac, who was chosen as Abraham’s only heir. By taking a look at the process, let’s examine what kind of people are the true children and heirs of God.

A lesson from Abraham’s family

Abraham had no children until he was 85 years old. Before he left the world, he had to decide who would be his heir to inherit his property, but since he had no children, he could not help but be worried and distressed. So, Abraham made up his mind to adopt Eliezer, a faithful servant in his household, as his heir to inherit his estate.

But Abram said, “O Sovereign LORD, what can you give me since I remain childless and the one who will inherit my estate is Eliezer of Damascus?”­­ And Abram said, “You have given me no children; so a servant in my household will be my heir.”­­ Then the word of the LORD came to him: “This man will not be your heir, but a son coming from your own body will be your heir.”­­­­ . . . Ge 15:2-5

God said to Abraham, “This man will not be your heir.” Here, God our Father, the Holy Spirit, disapproves of Eliezer as Abraham’s heir, and testifies, “A son coming from your own body will be your heir,” just as the Spirit Himself testifies that we are God’s children.

Afterwards, Abraham was advised by his wife Sarah to produce a seed through her maidservant Hagar, and he had a son named Ishmael through her.

So Hagar bore Abram a son, and Abram gave the name Ishmael to the son she had borne. Ge 16:15

Since his son was born, he believed that his heir was now decided. At that time, Ishmael was the eldest and only son of Abraham. So, Abraham naturally thought about leaving his property to Ishmael, but that was not the will of God, either. When Abraham was 99 years old, God appeared to him and said again:

God also said to Abraham, “As for Sarai your wife, you are no longer to call her Sarai; her name will be Sarah. I will bless her and will surely give you a son by her. I will bless her so that she will be the mother of nations. . .”­­ Abraham fell facedown; he laughed and said to himself, “Will a son be born to a man a hundred years old? Will Sarah bear a child at the age of ninety?”­­ And Abraham said to God, “If only Ishmael might live under your blessing!”­­ Then God said, “Yes, but your wife Sarah will bear you a son, and you will call him Isaac. I will establish my covenant with him as an everlasting covenant for his descendants after him.”­­ Ge 17:15-19

Abraham was afraid that he had been continuously causing God anxiety due to his own family matter. So he said to God, “If only Ishmael live under your blessing!”­­ but God said no. Eventually, Ishmael was not accepted as Abraham’s heir, either. God rejected Eliezer and Ishmael. However, as for Isaac, even before his birth, God Himself testified that he would become the heir of Abraham.

Abraham’s family is a shadow which shows how we, children of heaven, will be saved. The process of how the heir of Abraham was determined includes the crucial truth for deciding God’s heirs who will inherit the kingdom of God. That was why God personally intervened and distinguished who would be Abraham’s heir and who wouldn’t be.

The Bible says that we are children of promise like Isaac. What condition of faith is required for us to become like Isaac? The most important factor that decided the heir of Abraham was Sarah, the mother of Isaac. Ishmael was also a son of Abraham, but his mother was a slave. God suggested two conditions for being the heir of Abraham: The first condition was that he should come from Abraham’s own body, and the second and final condition was that he should come from Sarah’s body. God did not acknowledge anyone who did not come from the body of Abraham and of Sarah as Abraham’s heir, that is, his firstborn son.

We have God our Mother, who is free (Gal 4:26). No one can be an heir of God except through God the Mother. If one is not an heir of God, it means that he is not a child of God; and if he is not a child of God, he cannot be saved after all. That is why the Bible repeatedly emphasizes that we are children of God our Mother, saying, “Now you, brothers, like Isaac, are children of promise” (Gal 4:28) and “We are not children of the slave woman, but of the free woman”­­ (Gal 4:31).

We are approved as God’s children who will enjoy eternal glory in the everlasting kingdom of heaven. Even God Himself testifies, saying, “You are My children, My heirs.”­­

The blessings promised to the firstborn of heaven who keep the new covenant

We are truly blessed and thankful that we have become the children and heirs of Heavenly Father and Mother. God our Father and Mother have prepared the blessings, which the human mind cannot conceive, for Their loving children, the firstborn of heaven.

Then God said, “Let us make man in our image, in our likeness, and let them rule over the fish of the sea and the birds of the air, over the livestock, over all the earth, and over all the creatures that move along the ground.”­­ Ge 1:26

When God the Creator made man in the beginning, His purpose of creating man was to “let them rule over all the creatures.”­­ This authority to rule, which is given to human beings created in the image of God, is not only over things on the earth, but it also refers to the authority to reign in heaven which God’s people who are saved will enjoy for ever and ever.

No longer will there be any curse. The throne of God and of the Lamb will be in the city, and his servants will serve him. They will see his face, and his name will be on their foreheads. There will be no more night. They will not need the light of a lamp or the light of the sun, for the Lord God will give them light. And they will reign for ever and ever. Rev 22:3-5

The authority to rule over all the creatures, which God promised in Genesis, is the privilege and honor given to God’s children who are to be redeemed from the earth and receive the inheritance of God. Thus, those who will enter the kingdom of God and reign for ever and ever are the firstborn of heaven, “children of promise like Isaac.”­­

Therefore, God’s children like Isaac must have God the Mother, who is free. God created man and woman, saying, “Let us make man in our image, in our likeness.”­­ In this passage also, we can confirm that there must be God the Father and God the Mother as well (Ge 1:26-27).

The Spirit and the bride say, “Come!”­­ And let him who hears say, “Come!”­­ Whoever is thirsty, let him come; and whoever wishes, let him take the free gift of the water of life. Rev 22:17

God the Father and God the Mother have called us to be Their children. In this age of the Holy Spirit, those who receive God the Father and God the Mother, the Spirit and the Bride, are given the right to become children of God.

The kingdom of God is a place where there is eternal life. So, God called His children to receive eternal life first.

“Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise him up at the last day. For my flesh is real food and my blood is real drink.”­­ Jn 6:54-55

God gave His children His flesh and blood through the Passover (cf. Mt 26:17-19, 26-28). In the truth of the new covenant promised through the Passover, we’ve been able to obtain eternal life and to receive Heavenly Mother, the new Jerusalem.

The New Covenant Passover is closely related to Heavenly Mother. Jesus referred to the Passover bread as His flesh, and when God created Eve, Adam testified about Eve, “This is now bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh.” Adam represents Jesus to come again, God our Father who is the Holy Spirit (Ro 5:14). Just as Adam testified about Eve, God our Father has led us to God our Mother, who is life, through the truth of the new covenant. Eventually, every truth of the Bible focuses on Mother.

It is because God our Mother is working behind the scenes that we are qualified to receive the heavenly inheritance as the firstborn of heaven. If we fail to realize Mother and do not receive Her, we will finally lose the right to inherit the kingdom of God like Eliezer and Ishmael. Only those who believe in God the Mother can become the firstborn of heaven. So, in this age, God the Father and God the Mother have come as the Spirit and the Bride and have given us the blood of the covenant—the Passover, the blood of God the Father and God the Mother.

The firstborn of heaven resemble God and do the work of God

Only the children of Zion in the whole universe have the blood of the new covenant. So, no matter how cleverly false prophets and false Christians may disguise themselves in sheep’s clothing, God can easily distinguish who they are. Many people beg God earnestly, saying, “Lord, Lord! We’ve fervently believed in You. So, please let us into heaven,” but God does not acknowledge them as His heirs. God’s children have in themselves the blood of God, the commandments of God, the faith in Jesus’ new name—the name of the Savior whom the Bible testifies about, and the faith in Mother the new Jerusalem. However, they do not have all these things. That is why God tells them, “I never knew you. Away from Me” (Mt 7:21-23).

The devil tries to harm our spiritual DNA, so that our DNA will not match God’s and we will eventually fail to enter the kingdom of heaven. We must not let him do that kind of thing at all. Older people in Korea have the traditional concept that their whole body from head to toe has been inherited from their parents, so they must not put even a single hair on their body in harm’s way. It is the same spiritually. We must not damage anything that has been inherited from Father and Mother. I hope that our family members of Zion will all receive the eternal blessings of heaven as the firstborn of heaven by keeping and preserving the things of Father and Mother till the end.

Children are to resemble their parents. Father and Mother are pleased with the work of saving souls, but if we avoid doing the work or think that it is enough if I myself am saved, regardless of whether others are saved or not, we cannot be called God’s children who resemble God. The Bible says that if we are Abraham’s children, we should do the things Abraham did, and if we are God’s children, we should do the things God did (Jn 8:39). If Father and Mother have worked hard to save souls, we should also live that same kind of life.

We must not neglect the privilege of the firstborn of heaven. Esau, who had despised his birthright, was deprived of all the blessings of the birthright and burst out with a loud and bitter cry. Being at a loss about what to do, he begged his father for even a single blessing, saying, “Do you have only one blessing? Bless me too!”­­ However, all the blessings of the birthright had already been passed on to Jacob. The birthright, which Esau had once sold, never returned to him again (Ge 25:24-34; 27:1-40).

See to it that no one misses the grace of God and that no bitter root grows up to cause trouble and defile many. See that no one is sexually immoral, or is godless like Esau, who for a single meal sold his inheritance rights as the oldest son. Afterward, as you know, when he wanted to inherit this blessing, he was rejected. He could bring about no change of mind, though he sought the blessing with tears. Heb 12:15-17

There must not be anyone who is godless like Esau in the truth. Our inheritance rights as the firstborn of heaven are so precious and valuable that even angels long to look into the truth we have (1 Pe 1:12). Nothing in the human world is worthy to be envied. The only thing that the angels envy is this truth that enables us to become the firstborn of heaven.

As a royal prince takes special classes to learn the qualifications to become a king, so we are now taking classes for the firstborn of heaven. Preaching the gospel is not something that anyone can do, but it is the privilege of the firstborn. God has entrusted this task only to those whom He approves (1 Th 2:4). Keeping God’s commandments, being considerate of our brothers and sisters and loving them, and following the teachings of God exactly—doing all these things is taking the classes for the firstborn. If we disobey even a single command of God, we will end up being like Esau who gave up his birthright. Let us glorify Heavenly Father and Mother by giving infinite thanks to Them for having called us to be the firstborn of heaven and diligently putting into practice the many teachings that God has given us to make us worthy of being the firstborn of heaven.

Mother is with us even at this moment. How blessed and happy we are! Without Mother, we can never become children of promise like Isaac. Without Mother, we would not be able to receive the heavenly inheritance, even though we eagerly desire it, like Ishmael and Eliezer.

Our Mother is the most precious treasure to us. I earnestly hope that you will all enter the eternal kingdom of heaven by following Jerusalem Mother, who is our eternal spiritual home, and obeying Her wherever She leads us, as the firstborn of heaven.