Title: Joseph, the Fulfiller
2023 Summer Conference was held in Yeoju with the theme “Let Us Understand God’s Redemptive Administration for Abraham and Be Blessed with Him!, from July 31 to August 3. The biggest feature of this was that it was held for the first time in three years because of Covid situation, and due to the current situation of the church, it was held simultaneously in Seoul and Yeoju. So, it became the most comfortable summer retreat.
During the 3 years of Covid, everything stopped. The seminar stopped, and we couldn’t do anything. However, since nothing could be done, small churches and non-self-supporting churches began to close their doors. So, the Singapore church asked if they would be able to continue operating the church if they sent a certain amount of support every month, and the amount of the support was not large. Some churches said they could operate for about USD 5 a month.
The Singapore church set up and carry out a mission strategy called TDB. In 2020, about 1,000 saints worldwide were listening to and studying the history of redemption, and in 2023, that number increased to 150,000. And in 2024, they are modestly expecting 350,000 saints.
Another keyword settled in the mind though this summer retreat was transfiguration. If we believe that transfiguration will happen in future after our lifetime, our faith becomes loose. The founding pastor also emphasized transfiguration in our lifetime.
Raising the next generation is also an important mission. This is because the belief in the history of redemption must be passed on to the next generation. That is why the founding pastor emphasized construction of the seminary. He has talked about the establishment of seminaries to elders in Korea, the United States, Singapore and Indonesia.
By the way, education of the next generation is difficult to happen in our time. It is said that education has a program for next 100 years. You cannot get the fruits right away. So, I wondered if there was a conflict of interest between the education of the next generation and the transfiguration of my lifetime…
There are two endings in the end : a personal end and universal end. We might say that universal end is a time of transfiguration and we were taught that those who do not live to the day of universal end face a personal end. If you look from 3rd person’s view, there will be two ends, but from the 1st person view, there is only one end for us.
Only those who have faith in transfiguration will be transfigured. So, what happened to those who have faith in transfiguration when they face a personal end? Of course, we can say that they are going to resurrect. But I want you to think more deeply about this looking at what happened to Joseph.
When Abraham ratified the covenant of the torch with God, God told him that his descendants would return to this land (the land of Canaan) in the fourth generation. And with Abraham-Isaac-Jacob-Joseph, Joseph becomes the 4th generation. And as we read today, when Joseph was about to die, he asks his descendants to take his bones and bury them in the land of Canaan (Gen 50:24-25). And Exodus records the scene where Moses remembers the request and carried out Joseph’s bones, and Jos 24:32 records the history of Joseph’s bones being finally buried in Shechem.
In the chapter of faith (Hebrews 11) when talking about Joseph’s faith, it does not refer to the scene where his bones were buried in Shechem but the scene where he told his descendants to take his bones and go out. Outwardly, the incident of Joseph’s bones being buried in the land of Shechem/Canaan is the fulfilment of the covenant of the torch, but inwardly, Joseph’s faith is the fulfilment of the covenant of the torch. If we apply this to transfiguration, it is obvious that outwardly the universal end is a time of transfiguration, but inwardly it is today’s faith that determines our transfiguration.
Did Joseph enter the land of Canaan alive or dead? Is Abraham dead of alive? Outwardly, he is dead. However, the Bible says that God is not the God of the dead, but of the living, and that Abraham is alive.
Physically speaking, Joseph bones went into Canaan. However, spiritually speaking, in God’s eyes, he had already entered Canaan before he died (Gen 15:15).
What kind of faith was Joseph’s faith? Heb 11:22 records that Joseph spoke about the Exodus by faith. The Exodus takes place about 400 years after Joseph’s death. It’s something that hasn’t happened yet. But Joseph is already in Exodus. Joseph has already experienced the exodus, and moving further, Joseph has already come out Egypt and entered Canaan.
From a spiritual point of view, doesn’t it mean entry into heaven and transfigure? In that sense, Joseph is a figure who was transfigured by faith. How is that possible?
Jude 1:14 recorded that Enoch, the representative of transfiguration, had already experienced and met the Second Coming, and warned people about it. The Second Coming is still not complete, so how is this possible? It’s possible if Enoch had a faith for the second coming. Likewise, Joseph had already entered Canaan by faith because he had a faith of entering in the land of Canaan alive. If so, please believe that we too can be transfigured by faith before the universal end.
That is why we must absolutely believe in ‘the transfiguration in our lifetime; and never forget it. However, even so, you should not be negligent in training the next generation and passing on the seed of the Word to your descendants.
Brothers and sisters, once again today, shake off the dust that has piled up on your hope and faith for transfiguration, and believe more strongly in the transfiguration in our lifetime. I pray in the name of the Lord that all of you will enter Canaan with living faith like Joseph.
The Lord's Covenant Church Malaysia 