In our life of faith, we are carrying out many commandments and teachings God has given us. It’s because we believe that every path God leads us on is a path of blessing for us.

In the Bible, there are things God commands us to do and there are also things God tells us not to do. When God commands us to do something, we must do it, and when God tells us not to do something, we must not do it. This is the way for us to be blessed, right? We may not fully understand it now, but if we follow God obediently, we can receive all the blessings God has prepared for us. Let’s examine the will of God again through the Bible.

So that in the end it might go well with you

When God commands something, those who follow that command will certainly be blessed. With our three-dimensional physical eyes, we often fail to see the spiritual world. However, God sees everything; He manages and controls the worlds of four, five, and higher dimensions.

The Bible is a collection of teachings God, who sees the end from the beginning, has given us (Isa 46:10). If we have faith, we must follow what God commands us, believing it is a path of blessing God has prepared for us, no matter how trivial it may seem.

Dt 8:1–3, 11–16 Be careful to follow every command I am giving you today, so that you may live and increase and may enter and possess the land that the Lord promised on oath to your forefathers. Remember how the Lord your God led you all the way in the desert these forty years, to humble you and to test you in order to know what was in your heart, whether or not you would keep his commands. He humbled you, causing you to hunger and then feeding you with manna, which neither you nor your fathers had known, to teach you that man does not live on bread alone but on every word that comes from the mouth of the Lord . . . Be careful that you do not forget the Lord your God, failing to observe his commands, his laws and his decrees that I am giving you this day . . . the Lord your God, who brought you out of Egypt, out of the land of slavery. He led you through the vast and dreadful desert, that thirsty and waterless land, with its venomous snakes and scorpions. He brought you water out of hard rock. He gave you manna to eat in the desert, something your fathers had never known, to humble and to test you so that in the end it might go well with you.

As the Israelites walked through the desert, God put them in many difficult situations first and then He gave them what they wanted. This is repeatedly mentioned in the Bible. In that process there were certainly some factors where they were likely to have their own thoughts such as: ‘That path seems easier than this path,’ ‘This seems more reasonable than that.’ However, they went the way God told them to, and they came to realize God had led them that way so that in the end it might go well with them.

God has told us to remember what happened to them in the desert. Those who obeyed God’s word, believing it would bring blessings, entered the promised land of Canaan, but those who were stubborn and disobeyed God’s word died in the desert. Their 40-year desert journey shows all this history. Obeying God’s word means taking the path of blessing and following it. Our obedience reflects our commitment to following the path of blessing in the end.

It is not God’s ultimate will for us to suffer. Through the process, God sees our heart—our faith—and blesses us in the end. God could have led the Israelites by another way so they could have plenty of water and food, instead of leading them around by the way of the wilderness. Although we may not fully understand why God leads us on such difficult paths, why hardships sometimes befall us, we will each receive a crown at the end of our journey; God is preparing for us the crown of glory that will never fade away (1 Pe 5:4).

All these blessings will come upon you if you obey God

Suppose there is an athlete who will compete in the Olympics. What if the trainer lets him eat to his heart’s content and just rest comfortably every day? Will he be able to win a medal he wants at the Olympic Games? He may feel comfortable and less tired right now, but he will only end up in tears, pain, and frustration. That’s why sometimes his coach or parents train him very hard. It’s because they want to lead him on the path that brings him joy and glory in the end.

We need to correctly understand the will of God, who wants us to be blessed in the end, and follow Heavenly Father and Mother wherever They lead us, in full assurance of faith, so we can enter the eternal Kingdom of Heaven. As the children of heaven, let us put all of God’s laws, decrees, and regulations into practice, not just looking at what is right in front of us, but putting our hope in the upcoming Kingdom of Heaven.

Dt 28:1–10 If you fully obey the Lord your God and carefully follow all his commands I give you today, the Lord your God will set you high above all the nations on earth. All these blessings will come upon you and accompany you if you obey the Lord your God . . . You will be blessed when you come in and blessed when you go out. The Lord will grant that the enemies who rise up against you will be defeated before you. They will come at you from one direction but flee from you in seven. The Lord will send a blessing on your barns and on everything you put your hand to. The Lord your God will bless you in the land he is giving you. The Lord will establish you as his holy people, as he promised you on oath, if you keep the commands of the Lord your God and walk in his ways. Then all the peoples on earth will see that you are called by the name of the Lord, and they will fear you.

All of God’s blessings will come upon us if we obey God. We can even receive the blessing of being at the top, never at the bottom (Dt 28:13).

where we can be blessed in the end. What if we add our own thoughts such as, ‘This would be better than that’? It means that we have already lost a certain portion of the blessings God has prepared for us. We, the people of Zion, should do whatever God says.

Blessings in God’s commands

Many people from each country are seeking God and returning to Zion now. They pour out questions like, “Why does this church worship on Saturday?” “Why do women in this church wear veils during worship?” “Why doesn’t this church have a cross?”

The answer to all of these questions is a blessing. Every command of God contains His blessing. God has established His laws, decrees, and regulations to give people blessings. God has prepared blessings for those who are baptized, for those who keep the Sabbath and the annual feasts, and also for those who preach the gospel. God pours out great blessings from heaven on those who do whatever He says, not matter how small it may seem.

Mal 3:7–12 “. . . Bring the whole tithe into the storehouse, that there may be food in my house. Test me in this,” says the Lord Almighty, “and see if I will not throw open the floodgates of heaven and pour out so much blessing that you will not have room enough for it. I will prevent pests from devouring your crops, and the vines in your fields will not cast their fruit,” says the Lord Almighty. “Then all the nations will call you blessed, for yours will be a delightful land,” says the Lord Almighty.

God has promised blessings in the law of tithes and offerings as well. The reason God has commanded us to keep His laws, decrees, and regulations is to give us blessings in the end, not to bother or trouble us. We must always remember that God has given us His commands to bless us.

Ex 20:8–11 “Remember the Sabbath day by keeping it holy. Six days you shall labor and do all your work, but the seventh day is a Sabbath to the Lord your God. On it you shall not do any work, neither you, nor your son or daughter, nor your manservant or maidservant, nor your animals, nor the alien within your gates. For in six days the Lord made the heavens and the earth, the sea, and all that is in them, but he rested on the seventh day. Therefore the Lord blessed the Sabbath day and made it holy.”

God has also given us the command to keep the Sabbath day holy. It is because He wants human beings, the angels who have been cast down to this earth as a result of committing sin in heaven, to repent and receive heavenly blessings by keeping the Sabbath day which He blessed.

God’s promised blessings in the New Covenant and Zion

The reason Heavenly Father came to this earth was also to give us blessings. He came the first time to give His children, who were destined for eternal death because of their sins, the blessings of the forgiveness of sins and eternal life through the truth of the New Covenant, and He came to this earth in the flesh again for the same purpose—to teach people the way to receive blessings, by restoring all His laws, decrees, and regulations that were perverted and destroyed.

God has said He will bless those who keep the New Covenant. Let’s confirm it, too.

Jer 31:31–34 “The time is coming,” declares the Lord, “when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah. It will not be like the covenant I made with their forefathers when I took them by the hand to lead them out of Egypt, because they broke my covenant, though I was a husband to them,” declares the Lord. “This is the covenant I will make with the house of Israel after that time,” declares the Lord. “I will put my law in their minds and write it on their hearts. I will be their God, and they will be my people. No longer will a man teach his neighbor, or a man his brother, saying, ‘Know the Lord,’ because they will all know me, from the least of them to the greatest,” declares the Lord. “For I will forgive their wickedness and will remember their sins no more.”

To those in the New Covenant, God has given this precious promise that He will be their God and make them His people and that He will forgive their sins. Let’s see what other blessing in addition to the forgiveness of sins God has promised to those who dwell in Zion.

Ps 133:1–3 How good and pleasant it is when brothers live together in unity! It is like precious oil poured on the head, running down on the beard, running down on Aaron’s beard, down upon the collar of his robes. It is as if the dew of Hermon were falling on Mount Zion. For there the Lord bestows his blessing, even life forevermore.

God gives the blessing of eternal life in Zion. Blessed are all who obey God’s word—those who dwell in Zion, those who keep the new covenant, those who keep the Sabbath, etc. We must not forget this fact. God gives us the blessing of eternal life when we obey His command, “Come to Zion.” He grants us the blessing of entering eternal rest as the holy people of heaven when we obey His command, “Remember the Sabbath day by keeping it holy.” We can also confirm this fact in the Bible.

We must not drift away from God’s word or take it lightly. Disobeying God’s word is no different than rejecting God’s blessings. God’s word is not something we can either obey or disobey. All the blessings God gives us through His word are necessary for us to go to the Kingdom of Heaven.

In Genesis, we see that when Jacob returned home, he wrestled with God for a blessing all night long at the Jabbok river, despite the excruciating pain of his hip being wrenched out of its socket. So, God gave him a new name “Israel,” meaning “one who has wrestled with God and prevailed.” God gave the name to Jacob as he did not miss His blessing even in his affliction (Ge 32:22–32).

Think again about why Jacob tried so hard to receive God’s blessing even amidst suffering. We must keep in mind that every word of God contains God’s will for us to be blessed in the end. Only those who obey God’s word fully can go back to their eternal heavenly home.

Eternal blessings through preaching

God has commanded us, “Be my witnesses in Samaria, and to the ends of the earth,” “Preach the Word.” Let’s see what kind of blessing God has promised to those who preach the gospel.

Da 12:1–3 “At that time Michael, the great prince who protects your people, will arise. There will be a time of distress such as has not happened from the beginning of nations until then. But at that time your people—everyone whose name is found written in the book—will be delivered. Multitudes who sleep in the dust of the earth will awake: some to everlasting life, others to shame and everlasting contempt. Those who are wise will shine like the brightness of the heavens, and those who lead many to righteousness, like the stars for ever and ever.”

As stated above, those who lead many to righteousness will shine like the stars for ever and ever. To give us this great blessing, God has entrusted us with the task of preaching the gospel (1 Th 2:4). Do you think God has entrusted this task to us, worthless beings, because He cannot do it Himself? By His word, God can gather His children around the world to Zion all at once. However, God has entrusted this task to us, because He wants us to be blessed.

We have come to know that God’s word always brings blessings. To give us blessings, He came to this earth and established the New Covenant 2,000 years ago. However, Satan the devil changed God’s set times and laws to take away God’s blessings from us. To open the blessed path for us by restoring the law of the New Covenant, God came to this earth again, didn’t He? We have received God in Zion. We believe in Heavenly Father Ahnsahnghong and Heavenly Mother the New Jerusalem—the Spirit and the Bride, who have come to this earth according to the testimonies of the Bible and of the prophets, and follow the path They lead us on.

Just as the Israelites walked their journey in the wilderness, we are now walking our journey of faith in the spiritual desert. God said He led them all the way in the desert to test them in order to know what was in their hearts. God does not always give us happiness and comfort, but sometimes He leads us to a thirsty and waterless land and gives us circumstances where we lack many things we need. However, we will come to realize that God has led us all the way so that we can be blessed in the end.

God’s redeemed children follow God wherever He goes (Rev 14:4). The reason they can follow God wherever He leads them is because they believe that every word of God guides them on the path of blessing. There is no reason to question God’s word. Obedience to God’s word always leads to blessings. I earnestly ask you, our members in Zion, to engrave this fact deep in your hearts again and always put God’s word into practice, so you can all enter the eternal Kingdom of Heaven.