There is a distinction between spiritual infancy and spiritual maturity – infants consume milk (basic teachings), the mature consume solid food (deeper teachings on righteousness). In every era, there has been a place of infancy and a place of maturity, the mature receiving and keeping God’s promises while the infants disobey. During Jesus’ first coming, the disciples reached maturity for that era though still infants on the larger scale of God’s plan. We are now in the era of the second coming where the full revelation of God’s plan can be known, the final place of maturity. The elementary teachings focused on history, moral lessons, repentance, faith, baptisms, laying on hands, resurrection and judgment – this was milk. Solid food is the deeper teaching on prophecy and fulfillment happening now, the secrets of the kingdom. Traditional churches represent the place of infancy still teaching only the elementary things, the mature have come out to the place teaching the fulfillment. We must be the land that drinks the rain (word) and produces a useful crop, not thorns and thistles, to receive God’s blessing in this era. The main point is discerning infancy from maturity, ensuring we are in the place of maturity being taught the fulfillment.

 

Study Guide SCJ Bible Study

We should give God the glory at all times and in all circumstances.

Paul’s important point for us to remember is this:

Be content and give thanks to God, regardless of the circumstances you face. Amen.

Some of us may be experiencing tough situations, whether in finances, relationships with family, friends, or loved ones, work, or various other areas. However, those who truly have the word can find contentment in any situation, and nothing will be able to shake them.

Contentment is a sign of a person’s maturity. It’s the ability to understand circumstances, see the real context, and not be easily shaken. As we grow, certain things that used to shake us as children no longer affect us. Conversely, some things that didn’t bother us as children, due to lack of understanding, should now concern us.

My hope is that as we discuss today’s topic, which relates to maturity, we will understand the importance of achieving spiritual maturity and contentment. This comes from understanding what God is doing and being excited about His plan.

The Elementary Teaching and the Place of Maturity

Heb 5:12-14, Heb 6:1-8

As we examine today’s content, it’s crucial to discern what we’re receiving, where it’s coming from, and the level of the word we’re receiving.

Not all words are at the same level. Some are at a basic level, important for people to understand as they form the foundation. Other things are very deep. Understanding the difference between these can help us discern the source of what we’re receiving.

As we go through this today, remember that my goal, my heart, and my desire is to be at the place that God and heaven consider mature, not what the world deems mature. The place that sees the full fulfilment of God’s plan.

Let that be our heart. Our main reference verses will be Hebrews 5:12-14 and Hebrews 6:1-8. Hebrews 5:12-14 should instantly ring a bell. It discusses the difference between one who is an infant and one who is mature spiritually.

Remember?

Regarding Hebrews 6:1-8, here’s a summary: It talks about the elementary teachings and how we should move beyond focusing solely on them. It also discusses what’s important for someone who has reached a place of maturity to do. These will be our main topics today.

Our hope is to become mature at the place of perfection. When I say perfection, I mean the place where completion exists. The place of completion. So completion and perfection are synonyms.

Keep that in mind.

God’s Plan

Today, we will focus our lesson on God’s plan. We’ll explore where God’s plan reaches its completion and how it is comprehended. Additionally, we’ll examine the way God’s plan unfolds.

Furthermore, we’ll discuss what God usually does with His plan.

God’s plan stands forever and often upsets the devil. It foils the plans of nations and thwarts the purposes of peoples. If someone is not aligned with God’s plan, their plans will be foiled. No one wants their plans to be foiled by God, so our plans must be aligned with His.

We might have thought our plans were aligned with God’s before, but now we understand His plan in more detail. God’s plan is to come back to earth and restore. Does it matter where you work for God’s will to come down? Work at a place that allows you to care for your family and commit time to God. God’s plan isn’t foiled by whether you live in Atlanta or Seattle.

We used to stress about these decisions, wondering where God wants us to be. But remember, “In his heart, a man plans his course, but the Lord determines his steps.”

Let’s align our plans with God’s. He brought us here for a reason, not by accident. If God brought you here, He wants you to finish and reach the end point. Don’t worry about worldly things. Like Paul in Philippians 4, we can learn to be content in every situation, knowing God has our back.

Our goal is to understand and keep God’s law today. That’s His plan for us. Keep in mind the things we’re understanding more deeply and run for these things. Don’t be dismayed by little worldly distractions that take us away from what God is doing.

Can we overcome the world? Our plans are aligned with God so they’re not foiled, because He will foil plans that aren’t aligned with His.

1.- Infant versus Maturity

We want our plans to be aligned. So how do we understand how our plans can be aligned with God?

These verses should be familiar, as we’ve examined them many times before. Now, let’s understand them at an intermediate level, grasping God’s logic prepared since time immemorial.

Class, consider this: Is someone who’s been a believer for 6 months an infant or mature? They’re an infant, but it depends on what they’ve been studying. Time isn’t the determining factor of spiritual maturity.

What does verse 12 say? “Though by this time.” This means the people Paul is addressing should be mature by now. But what do they still need? Milk. They still require milk.

So, time isn’t a good measure of maturity. In Babylon, people often looked up to long-time Christians. Yes, these individuals deserve acknowledgement because being a Christian isn’t easy, especially when the world pulls us in the opposite direction. However, we need to view things from Scripture and God’s perspective. Through Apostle Paul, God and Jesus tell us that time isn’t the standard.

Time isn’t the standard of maturity.

Someone who’s been consuming the open word for seven months is more mature than a pastor who only teaches the sealed word for 50 years. Let’s repeat that: Seven months of the open word has catapulted your spiritual maturity. It’s not even close anymore.

Not even close. Just ask someone this simple question: What is the fire Jesus mentioned in Luke 12:49? They might guess it’s passion in one’s heart, the Holy Spirit, or faith. They’re using their own thoughts.

Yes, it’s not close. I hope you’ve realized that.

This isn’t to make people arrogant. I could pop that bubble quickly if needed. Keep that head humble.

We need to understand the time we’re living in and realize that being a believer for a long time isn’t the standard of maturity. The standard is the type of food being eaten.

The standard of maturity is the type of food being eaten.

Of course, we’re not talking about steak and collard greens, although delicious. We mean spiritual food.

That’s what the writer of Hebrews is trying to help us understand by rebuking us: “Though by this time you ought to be teachers.” He mentions infants and the mature.

Let’s examine infants in more detail, as it’s important for today’s Bible study. When thinking about a physical infant, remember Romans 1:20: God teaches us about spiritual things using physical things.

 

Characteristics of infants: 

1. Cry, complain
2. Dependant
3. Vulnerable.
4. Can’t walk and talk. 
5. Selfish
6. Sleeping
7. They put everything in their mouth
8. They can’t discern

Babies, when they’re newborns, aren’t able to focus on other babies. It’s not until they reach about 18 months to two years old that they start to interact with other infants. A young baby might offer a toy to another, but right after birth, they’re entirely self-centered.

This selfishness isn’t negative; it’s a necessity. Babies need a great deal of care and attention to develop properly.

Infants are extremely vulnerable. They cry and fuss frequently, and they spend a lot of time sleeping. In fact, they’re often asleep.

However, in the earliest days, new parents might wish their babies slept more. These newborns are often awake at 4 a.m., crying. But generally, babies do sleep frequently.

Another important characteristic of babies is their behavior when placed on the ground. What do they typically do?

They put everything in their mouth. This means they can’t discern between what’s edible and what’s not. They lack the ability to discern.

Naturally, we should consider these traits from a spiritual perspective. We should think about individuals in the Bible who, despite being physically mature, displayed these spiritual characteristics.

We’ll discuss some of these examples today.

 

Mature

1. Get to work
2. Independent
3. Can fight
4. Walk and Talk
5. Selfless
6. Awake
7. They can discern

A mature individual is the opposite of an immature one. Instead of complaining, a mature person gets to work immediately.

Maturity involves independence, while still relying on God. This doesn’t mean complete self-sufficiency, but rather the ability to reason and think independently. A mature person can defend themselves, communicate effectively, and function autonomously.

Typically, mature individuals are selfless, always considering others. They are awake and alert to their surroundings.

Importantly, they possess the ability to discern. This is the spiritual state we should strive for. Amen.

We must remain vigilant and alert to prevent Satan from ensnaring us.

Consider which prey a lion would target for its meal. It would choose the easy target, not the one capable of wielding a sword and fleeing. Satan, like a predator, first pursues the weak and vulnerable. Only after conquering the weak will he attempt to overcome the mature. Satan’s primary target is the infant who lacks discernment.

As 1 Peter 5:8 states, Satan roams like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour. However, a mature individual can take up the sword and fight, as described in Ephesians 6:10-17.

We can apply this concept to the entire biblical timeline, understanding the spiritual distinction between infants and the mature on an era scale.

I hope that as we consider this, we can comprehend God’s heart, why He asked certain people to perform specific tasks, and what He’s asking of people today.

2.- Place of Maturity

I will now draw a timeline. You may need to turn your notes horizontally to accommodate this timeline.

We’ll label it “the place of maturity” and explore what this place represents. There’s a specific way I want us to think about this concept.

When we zoom in on a particular era, we can identify a place of infancy and a place of maturity within that specific time period.

However, when we zoom out, the timeline shifts slightly, revealing a final place of maturity.

Today, we’ll examine the logic of those who were spiritually infants and those who were spiritually mature for their era. Then, we’ll zoom out to see how they fit into the complete timeline.

ADAM – The ability to discern | Disobedience

Let’s zoom in to the time of Adam, approximately 6000 years ago. God gave Adam the breath of life, and man became a living being. This signifies that Adam had been leveled up to maturity.

Upon reaching maturity, God bestowed upon Adam the crucial ability to discern. As Genesis 2:17 states, God asked him to discern between two trees.

The importance of discernment became clear. However, how well did Adam perform this task? Not well, which is why we find ourselves here today.

Satan’s ultimate goal is to destroy the mature, although he targets infants. By eliminating the mature, he affects everyone.

How did Satan accomplish this? He approached Eve, the infant, and subsequently ensnared them both. They ate from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, disobeying God.

This disobedience demonstrates that their maturity vanished, and they lost the ability to discern. Adam lost his maturity status, resulting in their expulsion from the place of maturity, unable to reenter. This is truly sad.

Remember: achieving maturity doesn’t guarantee permanence. Satan’s task is to destroy those who have reached maturity. No one is safe until everything is fulfilled. We must fight.

Even evangelists are not exempt from Satan’s sniping. We’ve just been doing this longer – that’s the only difference.

Recall Jesus’ words: “The last will be first, and the first will be last.” Someone studying for two months can surpass someone with five years of study. So, no one should get a big head.

Pop that head right away. Satan has overcome far greater individuals than us. Let’s strive to overcome and discern.

NOAH – Infancy died | Ark, a place of maturity

God had a plan after the first place was destroyed. He needed a new place, so He appointed someone new: Noah. God promised Noah that He would send a flood, and Noah, known as a righteous preacher, spread the word to many people, saying, “Everyone, come and get on the ark because a flood is coming.”

Noah became mature and called out to others to become mature too. However, in this era, only seven additional people reached the place of maturity, making eight in total. Everyone else remained in infancy and died in the flood.

You might think, “It’s important to receive solid food, but if I go back to Babylon, it’s okay because God loves me, and things will be fine.” This is a strange thought now, isn’t it? It doesn’t make much sense. Someone could have said, “Our job is to not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, Noah. So go away. We’re okay. We’re fine.”

But Noah would respond, “God told me that a flood is coming. Get on the ark. That’s what we need to do today.” Those who were not focused on what God was asking them to do in their time died, even if they proclaimed with their mouth, “I love God.” Death still came all the same.

After Noah’s time, there’s one more important point to make about the place of maturity: Salvation comes from the place of maturity. The ark was that salvation at that time. Remember, salvation is a destination.

ABRAHAM – Act | Promise

After Noah’s time, the next significant person God worked with was Abraham.

God came to Abraham and gave him a promise. What was that promise? God likes giving promises, doesn’t He? It’s part of God’s plan.

There’s always a promise involved in God’s plan. 

God promised Abraham that he would be the father of many nations.

When Abraham heard God’s plan, His promise in Genesis 12 and 15, he believed in God’s plan and began to act accordingly. Now, did Abraham fully understand everything that God was going to do? Did he understand how God’s plan would play out?

When God gives His promise, how much detail does He initially provide?

It’s on a need-to-know basis. Just enough for someone to understand what God intends to do, but He often does not elaborate on who, what, when, where, why, and how.

“Abraham, your descendants will be slaves in a land not their own.” Which land, God? “Not your concern.”

Abraham didn’t ask that question, but that would probably be the answer if he did. “They will be enslaved 400 years.” 400 years, God?

“When will this start?” Not your concern. “How will they come out from this place where they will be enslaved?”

Not your concern. “You will go and die at a good old age in the place I promise.” That’s how God does it.

Need-to-know. So, God’s plan that He tells to the prophets, like in Amos 3:7 and Hosea 12:10, is only in part. Keep that term in mind.

In part. It’s partial understanding. Also, Daniel 12:7-10 is another great verse about this.

When Daniel asked God, “God, what is the end of all of these things?” God said, “Go on your way.” Instead of explaining it, He said, “Go on your way, for these words are closed up and sealed until the time of the end.”

So, though someone might be mature for their era, when you zoom out, they’re infants. Whoa! When you zoom in, in their era, they look mature because God gave His promise to them.

MOISES – Covenant Law | Keep my promise

Let’s continue. After Abraham, God approached Moses and gave him the covenant law, which contained instructions for the people to follow. The most important instruction, found in Exodus 20:3, was to have no other gods. We can also think of it as keeping God’s promise.

There’s a difference between those determined to keep God’s promise and those who only see present circumstances. Philippians 4 teaches that contentment means looking beyond current situations to God’s promise. Those who only focus on current circumstances are considered infants in God’s eyes, and unfortunately, death awaits them.

Let’s examine Numbers 13 to understand the difference between mature individuals who keep God’s promise and those who don’t. We’re learning about past events to apply them to our lives, not just for head knowledge.

Numbers 13 is titled “Exploring Canaan.” Twelve spies, one from each of the 12 tribes of Israel, including Joshua and Caleb, were sent to survey Canaan. Canaan was Noah’s grandson, son of Ham, whom God had cursed. Ham and Canaan’s descendants became the seven “Ith” tribes that often caused problems for the Israelites.

Moses instructed the spies to report on the land, its people, resources, and cities. When they returned, 10 spies gave a negative report, focusing on the powerful inhabitants and fortified cities. However, Caleb silenced the people and said, “We should go up and take possession of the land, for we can certainly do it.”

The 10 spies who gave a bad report spread fear among the people, causing them to lament and wish to return to Egypt. They grumbled and complained against God like infants. As a result, in Numbers 14, God declared they would not enter the promised land and would die in the desert.

God promised the land to Abraham and began fulfilling it through Moses, whose job was to lead the people out of Egypt. Between Egypt and the promised land was the desert, full of challenges and trials. The people focused on the desert instead of the promised land, which should have been their focus.

The desert represents a place without water or life, which we understand spiritually. The immature grumbled and complained, dying in the desert without receiving God’s promise. Only the mature, Joshua and Caleb, who had seen Egypt’s horrors, entered the promised land. Everyone else who entered was either born in the desert or under 20 years old.

Even Moses and Aaron died in the desert. Moses gave in to anger, and Aaron died after losing his sons and position. We must keep these lessons in mind as we consider our own spiritual journey.

JESUS’ FIRST COMING – From Infancy to a Destination 

We understand that the Israelites did not uphold the covenant during the first coming because they worshipped other gods, violating God’s primary covenant, which stated that there should be no other gods. They broke that covenant. We have discussed this many times, and it is indeed very sad.

When someone breaks God’s covenant, they revert to infancy. They regress or go backward. Unfortunately, this is what happened to the people of Israel. They returned to infancy. In infancy, they would go from sea to sea, searching for the truth, the word of God, but they would not find it. Remember Amos 8:10-12? They went from sea to sea, seeking the word of God everywhere, but they could not find it. So God had to appoint someone who was the most mature of the mature to lead people into the place of maturity, a destination, to call people out of the place that had kept them bound in infancy. The first to reach maturity at the first coming were the 12 disciples.

They were the first to attain maturity. Now, were the 12 disciples prominent figures in the world? They were just ordinary men, fishermen, tax collectors, considered lowly in the eyes of the world, not individuals of great stature. And we know that God often begins His work in a small way. This is another encouraging verse for us.

Wow, amazing. How does God like to work? So that no one gets a big head, God chooses the lowly things of this world.

He chooses the ones that the world does not look highly upon, so that when they do amazing things through God, it is God who receives the glory. And he uses the lowly things to shame the wise, to shame the strong by the world’s standards. And he nullifies the things that are with the things that are not yet.

When God worked through his son Jesus, he chose someone who was not born in a palace but a manger, who did not grow up in Jerusalem, a big town, but Nazareth, a town no one really liked. Jesus was a carpenter’s son, and he spent time with tax collectors and fishermen. That’s who God used to shame the wise. And he leveled up so many people to spiritual maturity.

One who hears my word will come out of their graves. They will cross over from death to life. Amazing.

But even the people who come here, when you zoom out on the macro scale, are still infants. They are mature for their era, but at the scale of God, they are still infants. But here’s what I mean.

Now In Part, then Fully Known, We should love in the meantime

Paul makes a very important point about the duality of being mature for the era but still an infant on a broader scale. 

Remember, besides Jesus, no one in this entire timeline understands God’s end goal or endgame. These people did not have that information.

They only knew what was important for their specific era. But in terms of the grander scale of everything God was doing, they did not have access to such things. So, what did Paul say here?

Verse 8, love never fails. Because when we don’t know fully, we should love in the meantime. But where there are prophecies, they will cease. 

When do prophecies cease? When they are fulfilled.

There are tongues, they will be stilled. Where there is knowledge, it will pass away.

The things people think are deep will blow away. Why?

For we know in part, but when perfection comes, the imperfect will disappear.

Do we know more today than the disciples did during the first coming? Yes, we do.

We know way more. In fact, the disciples hoped the time we are living in now would happen in their lifetimes.

Jesus, when will you come again?

He didn’t directly say it wouldn’t be in their era, but he said a time is coming. And later on, of course, they realized it was not going to happen in their timeline. But they only knew in part.

They knew about the prophecies of the second coming, but they didn’t know the details of how it would take place.

So, on the larger scale, they were infants, but this is not a bad infant. Please don’t get me wrong.

Because for their time, they were the mature ones. They had reached maturity at the first coming, but in God’s bigger scale, they were still infants because they only knew this much.

They didn’t know everything. But guess what they’re doing now? Oh my goodness, it’s finally happening.

God’s plan is playing out, guys. Look, people are learning about the open word. Wow, that person, I didn’t think they would study so well, but they’re studying.

That’s amazing. You can do this, guys. Come on.

Take over the world. Bring the world back to God. We handed you the baton.

Now run. Because they only knew in part. But now when things are taking place, when perfection comes, it is now possible to be matured on God’s broader scale. I’m sure you know where we’re going. I’m sure you’re picking up what I’m putting down.

Perfection, completion, fulfillment. Same meaning. Completion, fulfillment.

JESUS’ SECOND COMING | Rev 1:1-3

When the time comes, it will be possible to be fully known. And has that time come? Yes.

Amen. The time has come. The time is now.

For everything to be fully known. But in order to reach the place of maturity for our time, we cannot remain in the places where we were before. Instead, we must come out.

“Come out of her, my people, so that you will not share in her sins and receive any of her plagues.” (Revelation 18:4) Who is “her”? Unfortunately, the place that had become Babylon.

The traditional churches became Babylon. Why? We’ll explore that in the next teachings.

Confusion is all over the place. This person believes this, that person believes that. No one knows what to believe anymore.

“I believe this,” or “I follow that teaching.” When we should be united as one, as believers of God. That’s where we should be. But unfortunately, we’re more focused on adding and subtracting from the book of Revelation. (Revelation 22:18-19)

And those who add and subtract will receive plagues and lose their share in the tree of life. We cannot remain in such a place, a place that only focuses on history and moral teachings.

Only focuses on the past, what God did in the past. You’re unable to discern the time or the era they are living in. And instead, they persecute what God is doing today. So they look to the past and persecute what God is doing now.

And the big secrets, like we talked about, they aren’t really aware of them. Ask someone in Babylon, “What is the tree of the knowledge of good and evil?” Oh, man.

Ask five people, and you’ll receive five different answers. “What was the fruit of the tree of knowledge of good and evil?” Ask five people, five different answers. “What is the tree of life?”

Ask five people, receive five different answers. No one is united. “What is the fruit of the tree of life that God did not allow Adam and Eve to eat?” But you now know what it means.

And you learned it here. So where does that mean you’re coming to? Slowly but surely, every lesson after this. Yes, the tree of life. But the place of maturity.

The place of maturity. Amen. The final place.

Because Jesus’ second coming is when things complete. So when you zoom out now, everyone, zoom out on the timeline.

This was the last 2,000 years in the timeline from Jesus’ Second Coming to His First Coming.

The last 2,000 years. And every time before that, 4,000 years up to Adam.

All of this, from Adam’s era until the second coming (our time), were elementary teachings.

Mount Zion, the New Heaven and New Earth, is the place of maturity in our time.

But now, we are able to know fully God’s plan. We can know all 6,000 years, really 7,000 years, of God’s plan.

We can see the end goal. Which means you are more blessed than Peter, James, and John, who saw amazing things.

You’re more blessed than Paul, who could only see in part and prophesy in part.

You’re more blessed than Daniel, because many of the things Daniel saw were for the second coming.

You’re more blessed than Moses. You’re certainly more blessed than even Adam, because you can see God’s plan.

You can see it. So I need everyone here to be determined that they will see this to the end. I want to see God’s plan in its completion.

I don’t want to be someone who missed God’s plan because of circumstances of the world, and my own thoughts, fears, and condition in the world.

Who was only able to look at physical things, circumstances, and not the reality of God’s promise.

Don’t be the person who falls short because they lost sight of God and what God is doing. We’re going to close out with one final verse.

And I know we’ve gone long. These verses are very important, and I want us to really understand them deeply.

Elementary teachings

That sounds pretty familiar. Everything the writer of Hebrews, Paul, just said about not laying again the foundation—the basics, the elementary teachings. And he named several things.

What did he name? Repentance from acts that lead to death, faith in God, instructions about baptisms, laying on of hands, resurrection of the dead, and eternal judgment. All of these things are what? Elementary teachings—the basics.

But what have we come to realize about the traditional churches today? All that they talk about is it—these things right here:

1. Repentance
2. Faith
3. Baptism
4. Laying on of hands
5. Resurrection
6. Eternal Judgment

Paul told us these are the basics. So, for the last 2,000 years, it has been elementary teachings—the basics, rinse and repeat.

These things are important to understand, do not get me wrong. But they’re the foundation. Once someone has mastered these things, they should move on to the teachings about righteousness, prophecy, and fulfilment. These things are not deep.

I used to be at a place that really focused on the laying on of hands and thought this was the most mature thing you can do—basics. There are some places that only focus on eternal judgment: “Do this or you go to hell. Don’t go to hell. Okay, I’m doing the things I need to do. I don’t want to go to hell. What’s next? Don’t go to hell.”

“What did Jesus mean by this statement?” “It’s okay, you don’t have to know that. Just believe in him and don’t go to hell.” “But I’d like to understand what Jesus said. I think he means this when he said this.”

“That’s your first mistake—thinking.”

Exactly, right. So, when someone realizes this and decides to come out of elementary teachings and sees and hears the teachings about righteousness, the consequences are different.

Our last verses for today…

Enlightened by the power of the coming age → Fulfillment

This is a solemn warning for everyone here. Listen closely to what I’m about to say. Can everyone look closely for a second?

Paul mentioned something very important here. He talked about the consequences for those who, though they have been enlightened and have received the power of the coming age, go back and come to repentance. What does it mean to be enlightened?

And what is the coming age? And what is the power of the coming age? 

You know the answer, everyone. What is it? The open word.

But what is the open word really? It represents the conclusion of God’s plan.

The power of the coming age is fulfillment. Because it is God and Jesus who do it. And only God and Jesus have this power to fulfill.

So when they are working here, and someone decides to go back to the basics after receiving the open word, that’s foolish.

The person only does that because pride has taken hold of them. And when pride takes a hold of someone, it does not let go. So be very careful as we get closer and closer to Revelation.

And don’t harden your hearts to what God is fulfilling. But may your heart always be open. And may your heart be soft.

Remember what Apostle Paul said in Hebrews 6:7-8. Land that drinks in the rain, what is the land? The person. What is the rain? The word.

Land that drinks in the rain, often falling on it, and produces a crop useful to those for whom it was farmed receives the blessing of God. But land that produces thorns and thistles is worthless and is in danger of being cursed.

Paul is not talking about physical farming. He’s talking about people. So let’s be the land that drinks in the rain.

Am I in this kind of place that only teaches the basics, man’s traditions, and commentaries? Or have I matured to the place that is teaching prophecy and fulfillment? Which place am I at now?

And do I have feet in both places? Because I can’t do that either. That means I haven’t fully come out yet.

So please consider those things.

Memorization

Instructor Review

SUMMARY

We’ve learned about the elementary teaching and the place of maturity so far.

The elementary teaching represents the place of infancy, while the place of maturity signifies spiritual growth. We talked about the characteristics of infants versus the mature. However, we know that according to Romans 1:20, God uses physical things figuratively to explain spiritual concepts. Throughout every era, when we zoom in, there has been a place of maturity and a place of infancy. It was people’s responsibility to flee from the place of infancy to the place of maturity.

During Noah’s time, the ark was the place of maturity, and those who did not board the ark perished. During the Exodus, the promised land represented the place of maturity, while the desert symbolized the place of infancy. Many people died in the desert, failing to reach the promised land.

At the time of Jesus’ first coming, the Pharisees and Sadducees were in the place of infancy, while Jesus and the twelve disciples embodied true maturity. In our current era, the same logic applies.

Babylon represents the place of infancy, focusing solely on the basics mentioned in Hebrews 6:1-3: repentance, faith, baptism, laying of hands, resurrection, and eternal judgment. These are the milk doctrines. We must come out of that place and enter the place where the power of the coming age’s fulfillment is being testified.

Many are fleeing from the place of infancy and coming to this place of maturity, where the secrets of the kingdom of heaven are open and understood. It is possible to discern where that place of maturity is now.

So let’s proceed.

Review with the Evangelist

Review

Today we learned about the intermediate level, the elementary teaching, and the place of maturity. Amen. We also learned about the standard of maturity. The standard of maturity is not a person’s age or how long they have been a believer. Rather, it is the type of food, referring to self-fulfillment. 

We learned where the place of elementary teaching and the place of mature teaching are located. The elementary teachings are found in history, and moral teachings that are fulfilled. In other words, the elementary teachings are basically all from the time of Adam until the fulfillment of Revelation. All of that is elementary teaching. The mature teaching is the fulfillment of the prophecy of Revelation. 

The place where elementary teachings are taught and the place where mature teachings are taught are two different places. The place of elementary teaching now is Babylon or traditional churches. The place of maturity is Mount Zion. The way we know the difference is that one talks more about past events, adding or subtracting from Revelation, while the other talks about events happening now, not adding or subtracting but actually mastering.

The place where elementary teachings are taught is the traditional churches today. We call them elementary because they do not know the realities of Revelation. They cannot testify to the who, what, when, where, why, and how of all the prophesied events that happened in Revelation. The place of mature teaching today knows the reality of Revelation. In short, it is the 12 tribes, New Heaven, New Earth, Mount Zion.

Just as in the earthly world you learn basic math in elementary school but advanced calculus in college, these two places – elementary and mature teachings – are different. To receive the mature teachings, the solid food, we must go through the one who overcomes and can give testimony. New John, the overcomer, has witnessed everything at the source. The only way the open word is conveyed at the time of the second coming is from God to Jesus to the mighty angel, and the mighty angel gives the open word to New John. This is the sole path to eating and receiving the mature teachings.

God brings us to the place of mature teaching because He wants us to consume solid food and grow up spiritually. Should we stay in traditional churches offering only elementary teachings? Or should we become sheep-like believers living according to God’s will? God’s plan and schedule take priority over our own. We have learned this. So we must eat more solid, mature food in its proper place.

Let’s Us Discern