3589 'The gates of hell....' Church of Christ....

October 29, 1945: Book 46

The quintessence of Christ's teaching is the commandment of love for God and one's neighbour. Hence, wherever this is taught and practiced, there is true Christianity, there is the church of Christ, which has its foundation in its firm faith in Him and which therefore will continue when all else comes to an end. His church comprises believers who live according to His commandment of love and who are therefore permeated by His spirit which manifests itself openly or in secret, depending on what is best for the individual soul. And Jesus Christ guaranteed that this church will last forever with the Words 'The gates of hell shall not prevail against it....' At the same time His Words indicated that it will be attacked by the forces of hell.... And His Word is truth and will come to pass at the end of the time granted by God for the souls' redemption. Then the church of Christ will be assailed by forces which are hostile to God, yet it will remain victorious and be recognised as everlasting by its followers, by the community of believers who practise true Christianity, abide by the teachings of Christ and live a life of love.

However, this church of Christ will be small, only a small group will belong to it and yet, it will be represented all over the world.... truly lovingly active people and therefore true Christians will live all over the world. Their love will gain them wisdom, and thus they will also be profoundly devout and acknowledge the God of love Who embodied Himself on earth in Jesus Christ and consciously strive towards Him. They were all promised by God that He would remain with them until the end, He promised them His spirit because they belong in truth to His church which He Himself founded. And thus He will protect them until the end from spiritual and earthly ruin, because they live according to Christ's teaching.... with love for God and their neighbour.... and belong to those who will be shielded from death, who will be taken by God into the kingdom of peace before the immense destruction takes place.... The small group constituting His church will be the foundation again on the new earth, Christ's teaching will be proclaimed once more, love will be cultivated and the people of the new earth will live in deep faith, for God's love had revealed itself to them, He Himself will stay in their midst because they fulfil His commandment of love for God and their neighbour.... And thus God's church will continue, it will survive all times because it will always be followed by people whose faith in the Redeemer of the world fills them with love and whose activity consists of a constant service in love.... because nothing can cease to exist which originates in God, which accepts love as its basic principle and therefore is divine....

Amen

This proclamation is used in the following themebook:

Themebook	Title	Download
19	The Church of Christ	ePub   PDF   Kindle

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