A Dire Warning

A DIRE WARNING

John 7:25-36

A present day concept that many people have is “God is a loving and good God therefore; everyone who is also good is going to go to heaven.”

“I am a good person; I try to do what is right and good. And since I am one of the good people, I am going to go to heaven.”
That is how people think.

And that is what a lot of people thought here in the passage that was read. Many of them thought they were a good person.

That even included the Jews who opposed Jesus; when it came to righteousness they considered themselves a step ahead of everyone else; they studied the Law and they got upset with anyone they thought was violating the Law; they considered themselves to be faithful to God; they often went to the temple; so individually, they considered themselves to be a “good person.”

Even the regular citizens considered themselves to be “good people.” They kept the Sabbath; they participated in the required feasts; here in this passage they are spending the week in temporary shelters like they were required to do; and in this passage they are in the temple (we might say they were in church) listening to the teachers (vs. 14); so basically, they considered themselves individually to be a good person; just like most people do today.

But I want you to notice vs. 34. Speaking to these “good people”, to these “religious” people Jesus says, “You shall seek Me, and shall not find Me; and where I am, you cannot come.”

This statement caught got their attention! The reason we know it caught their attention is because they repeat it in vs. 36. Look at what they say:

What is this statement that He said, ‘You will seek Me, and will not find Me; and where I am, you cannot come’?”

What does Jesus mean here when He says this? These “good people” wanted to know and it is something we need to know and understand ourselves.

What Is He talking about?

Well, let’s break this passage down to help us understand what Jesus is saying.

If you remember Jesus has come into Jerusalem during the Feast of Booths.
He doesn’t come at the beginning of the Feast because He wanted to avoid the hatred and vicious intention of the Jewish leaders; vs. 1.
He also waits due to a better opportunity to teach; because of the Feast Jerusalem with be teeming with thousands of people who have come for the Feast so He will have a bigger audience when He teaches.

So, when He arrives in Jerusalem He goes to the temple and begins teaching (v. 14).

And in vs. 15 the people “marvel” at what He has to say.

They are amazed; shocked, stunned.

Now, look at vs. 25: Therefore some of the people of Jerusalem were saying, “Is this not the man whom they are seeking to kill? 26 “And look, He is speaking publicly, and they are saying nothing to Him. The rulers do not really know that this is the Christ, do they?

These people don’t know what to think. They are confused. They knew that the Jewish leaders were seeking to kill Jesus and yet, Jesus is speaking publicly and the leaders aren’t saying anything!

Here He is He is teaching about salvation and the Law, and sin and judgment and righteousness and forgiveness and mercy and grace and the kingdom of God.
And He is claiming again to be the Son of God, and the Messiah, and the source of eternal life…and no one is stopping Him!

So the people ask themselves, “Could it be that the rulers know that this Man is really the Christ?”

But wait a minute! The thought of Jesus being the Christ goes away in a hurry. Look at vs. 27: “However, we know where this man is from; but whenever the Christ may come, no one knows where He is from.”

That wasn’t true! “No one knows where He is from!?

Did they not know the scriptures? Micah the prophet said in Micah 5:2 that the Christ would come from Bethlehem. .
And their leaders knew. Remember in Matthew 2 how Herod gathered the chief priests and the scribes and said, “Where is the Messiah to be born?” and they said, “In Bethlehem of Judea just as the prophet has said.”
The Jewish leaders knew that the Messiah was to come from Bethlehem and they also knew He would come from the line of David; and if they really wanted to know about Jesus the records in the temple would show where Jesus was born and that He was born from two Davidic families.
So to say that “No one knows where the Christ is from” is not true.

The truth is, what they say in vs. 27 was simply an excuse for rejecting Jesus.

They did the same thing in chapter 6:42 and they will do same thing here in chapter 7 in vs. 41 and 42; and you read this same thing in Matthew 13.
This was their stock answer for rejecting Jesus: “We know where He is from; we know His family; this is the carpenter’s son; He is from Nazareth and nothing good can come from Nazareth.”

These people didn’t want to accept Jesus because to accept Jesus meant you had to accept His teachings and His claims.

And if you accepted Jesus you had to accept the fact that as “good as you think you are, you are not good enough to save yourself.”
And if you accept Him you had to accept the fact that unless you repent and make some changes in your life you are headed for a divine judgment.
And if you accept Him you had to accept the fact that only when you turn to Him and follow Him can you obtain eternal life (6:40).
Accepting Jesus as Messiah, as the Son of God, could cause them to be rejected by their family, by society, and could even cost them their lives.
And these people are not sure they want to do that.

And this has not changed today. Accepting Jesus, following Jesus requires some sacrifices that many people don’t want to make.

So, to justify their rejection of Jesus they said, “We know where He came from; we know His family; we know His town; therefore He cannot be the Christ!”

That was their safe haven for rejecting Christ.

Now, look at vs. 28: Jesus therefore cried out (loud shout) in the temple, teaching and saying, “You both know Me and know where I am from; and I have not come of Myself, but He who sent Me is true, whom you do not know.

What Jesus is saying here is, “Yes you know me; and yes you know where I am from; but I am not here on my own accord. I am here because I have been sent and you do not know the One who sent Me!

In other words Jesus is saying, “Yes, you are familiar with Me, but you really don’t know Me at all.
And that is true today.

Listen, to know a few minor details about Jesus; to know a few external things, to know a little bit of His history, and to know a few stories about Him is really to know nothing about Him at all.

And we see that in our culture today.
In our culture Jesus is a household word; people put what is supposed to be His picture on the wall; they put His name on the refrigerator; and people see the Christmas story on TV and they know about Easter.
And yet people don’t know what He says, what He teaches; what He condemns, or what He desires.

Today people wear crosses around their neck and claim to know Jesus and yet they have children by a woman they are not married to; and some of the children don’t have the same mother.

And today people claim to know Jesus and yet they are involved in homosexual or immoral activities.
And people today claim to know Jesus and yet they take His name in vain and are frequently involved in coarse jesting.

And look at the end of vs. 28. Jesus says, “He who sent Me is true, whom you do not know.”

This is a supreme indictment against Israel.
They prided themselves on being the people of God who knew God and Jesus says, “You don’t know Him.”

Why don’t people know? Why don’t they know what God is like; what He commands?

Because they don’t know His word.
His word is an expression of His nature and His will and you cannot know Him if you do not know His word.

So, the people claim to know Jesus and Jesus basically says in vs. 29; “If you knew Me (like you claim) you would know that God has sent Me.”

And look at their response; vs. 30.

They were seeking therefore to seize Him; and no man laid his hand on Him, because His hour had not yet come.

Redemption (man’s salvation) was planned by God and executed by God’s sovereignty; when it comes to redemption everything happens according to His purpose, His plan and timing.
That is the reason why these people couldn’t put their hands on Jesus.
They couldn’t act because they were under divine control.

31 But many of the multitude believed in Him; and they were saying, “When the Christ shall come, He will not perform more signs than those which this man has, will He?”

This must have made the Jewish leaders a little more nervous.
Based on His record of doing all of these miracles it may be that some in the crowd are starting to buy into the fact that Jesus might actually be the Messiah

32 The Pharisees heard the multitude muttering these things about Him; and the chief priests and the Pharisees sent officers to seize Him.

And if you want to know what more about these “officers” who were sent to seize Jesus you can look at vs. 45; the officers come back to the chief priests and the Pharisees and they ask, “Why did you not bring Him?”
And the officers answered, “Never has a man spoken the way this man speaks.”

So, the Pharisees see the crowd moving in the direction of believing in Jesus and they send “officers”; or temple police to seize Jesus. And now look at vs. 33:

Jesus therefore said, “For a little while longer I am with you, then I go to Him who sent Me.”

Jesus may have said this to everyone; He may have just said this to the “officers” who were sent to arrest Him; He may have said this to the Pharisees and Jewish leaders; it is hard to know.

But what Jesus is saying is, “It is not going to be long. It is soon going to be over and I am no longer going to be problem for you. I am going to be out of our life.”
“I am going to the One who sent Me.”
“I came down from heaven; I am going back to heaven.”

And this brings us to vs. 34. Jesus says:

“You shall seek Me, and shall not find Me;

What a horrible reality!

What Jesus is saying is, “Because of your rejection there will come a time when you will seek Me; you will want and need what I can give you and do for you; and you will not fine Me.”

“It will be too late!”

And then He says: “ …and where I am, you cannot come.”

Where is He going to be; vs. 33? He is going to be in heaven; He is going to be with the Father.
And they can’t come!

Why? Because they have rejected Him; because they don’t know Him; and because they don’t know God!

What you have here in vs. 33-34 is a warning: A warning about the consequences of rejecting Jesus; a warning about the consequences of riding the fence about Jesus; a warning about being indecisive about Jesus.

And it doesn’t matter who you are: there is no hierarchy between the common people and the rulers; there is no class separation.
Anyone who rejects Christ; who rides the fence out of confusion, who cannot make up their mind about Jesus will be shut out of heaven.

So, here are some additional truths that are learned from this passage;

Hell is itself truth discovered too late.

Hell is suffering for sin.

Hell is eternal regret without remedy.

Hell is everlasting remorse without hope.

Hell is not where Christ is forgotten. It is where Christ is unavailable.

Good people; even religious people go to hell; faithful people go to heaven.

So, here it is again: Vs. 33 “For a little while longer I am with you, then I go to Him who sent Me. 34 “You shall seek Me, and shall not find Me; and where I am, you cannot come.”

But, now the rest of the story: Jesus cries out this dire warning; but then He closes with an invitation. Look at vs. 37: Now on the last day, the great day of the feast, Jesus stood and cried out, saying, “If any man is thirsty, let him come to Me and drink.'”

He says, “If any man is thirsty”; it is open to everyone; if anyone has a thirsty soul; If anyone is longing for hope; longing for peace with God; longing for forgiveness; for salvation.
He says, “Come”; approach Jesus because He is the only source of living water or salvation.
And “Drink”: means to take Him in; make Him your own; embrace Him; leave the sinful life behind and obey Him.

What Do You Say About Him?

WHAT DO YOU SAY ABOUT JESUS?

John 7:14-24

When you study the gospel of John you can’t improve on the subject because every page and virtually every verse is about Jesus!

As a man, Jesus was like any other man from Galilee; He most likely had a Galilean accent and His deity was completely invisible; what was visible was His humanity.
There was no way to see Him any different than you would see any other man; Isaiah 53:2.

What did distinguish Jesus from all others was His claims; His claims were astonishing; they were shocking; they were beyond bold!

Jesus said that He came down from heaven; that He had eternally existed; that He had been sent into the world by the Father.
He claimed to be the Savior of the world and the only Savior of the world.
He claimed to be the one who determined everyone’s eternal salvation.
He claimed to be the source of everlasting life, and the only source.
He claimed to be the only way to God.
He claimed to be One with God; He claimed to have the power to give life and to even raise the dead.
He claimed to have authority over heaven and earth; He claimed to be able to forgive sins legitimately; He claimed to be the light of the world; He claimed to be the resurrection and the life.
He claimed to be the Messiah; the Son of God.

His claims were beyond comprehension; therefore, the Jewish leaders judged Him to be a deceiver and sought to kill Him; 7:1.

But on the other hand, in spite of all of His claims some simply said that he was a “good man” and nothing more; vs. 12.

And if that wasn’t a little disheartening His own brothers did not believe in Him; vs. 5.
It seems that everyone saw Him as a man, but no one really considered Him to be what He claimed to be. (This is true today.)

So, in an effort to try to get them to believe who He is, in vs. 14 in spite of the danger Jesus arrives in Jerusalem during the “Feast of the Booths” and He goes to the temple and He begins to teach; and no doubt He draws a crowd.

And in vs. 15 the Jews, those who opposed Jesus, were “marveling, saying, “How has this man become so learned, having never been educated?”

They knew that, in appearance he was no different than anyone else, they knew that He was a man; but they realize that there is something different about Him, different in the things He taught and in the way He taught.
And so, starting in vs. 16 Jesus answers their question and at the same time He gives us reason to believe His claims; reasons to believe that He is more than just a man, and reasons why our faith in Him is not misplaced.
Just like these Jews we must make up our minds; is He just a man or is He also God?

So, let’s look at what Jesus says starting vs. 16. They ask, “How has this man become so learned, having never been educated?” Now vs. 16:

Jesus therefore answered them, and said, “My teaching is not Mine, but His who sent Me.”

This must have once again infuriated the Jewish leaders because He is once again claiming that God sent Him!

Every day in the temple there were a lot of rabbis teaching there; men who studied at the feet of the most prominent rabbis.

And what they did is, in order to give authority to what they taught, they quoted the rabbis they studied under.

But that is not what Jesus did. He didn’t quote other rabbis.

His teaching, His doctrine, His knowledge was beyond anyone else.
His teaching, His knowledge was on a level of wisdom and understanding without equal!
Officers in vs. 46 said, “Never a man spoke like this.”
The people were dumbfounded; shocked; startled by His flawless instructions.
They were amazed by His clarity; His truthfulness; the reality of what He said.
And they didn’t like it; they didn’t like the way He was influencing the people.

So, how do you discredit Him? They couldn’t attack His teaching!

So, in vs. 15 they attacked His training; His education.
Or, in another instance they attacked His hometown: “Can anything good come out of Nazareth?”; John 1:46.
At one time they even attacked His character: “This man is friends with tax collectors and prostitutes.”
If you can’t discredit the truth, you discredit the truth teller and that is what they did.
And that is often what people do today. (They discredit Jesus: He was homosexual; He had an immoral relationship with one of the ladies; He was crazy)

But regardless of their attacks on His character, His hometown, or His education, they couldn’t discredit HIs teaching because His teaching was not His, it was from God!

And that is reason enough to believe in Him; to believe His claims, and that is reason enough to stay faithful to Him.

Now, look at vs. 17. Look what He says: If any man is willing to do His (God’s) will, he shall know of the teaching, whether it is of God, or whether I speak from Myself.

Do you see why the Jews would not accept the teachings of Jesus; why they refused to accept Him?

And do you know why people today refuse to accept Jesus’ claims of being the Son of God; of being the Messiah, of being the Savior; of having all authority?
It is because they are not “willing to do God’s will.”

If any man is willing to do His (God’s) will….

Today people might be willing to do part of it His will: the part they like; the part that allows them to do what they want; but to “willing do God’s will…?”

Let me ask you, how does anyone know the “will of God?”

The only way that anyone can know the “will of God” is through His word.
But, what if a man doesn’t study the word; or read the word?
Then he cannot know the “will of God” and therefore he will not know if a teaching is from God or from Jesus, or from a man.

Today, there are several teachings on what it takes to be saved; some say they are saved by doing good works; some say by paying penance; some say by saying a prayer; others say by taking communion; and some say that you must be baptized into Christ for the remission of your sins.

Why so many different ideas? Could it be the result of people not being willing to do the will of God? And not studying His word to see what His will is?

And that is why the Jews, and why people today do not believe the claims of Jesus; that is why people refuse to come to Jesus, because they are not “willing to do God’s will.”

And until they have a change of heart there is absolutely nothing you and I can do about it.

Now, look at vs. 18.

“He who speaks from himself seeks his own glory; but He who is seeking the glory of the One who sent Him, He is true, and there is no unrighteousness in Him.

False teachers, charlatans, frauds, fakes, hypocrites, phony messiahs are all in it for personal gain; they do it for money; for power; for prominence.

And when it came to these Jews look at what Jesus says in John 5:44. He says: “How can you believe, when you receive glory from one another, and you do not seek the glory that is from the one and only God?”

The reason these Jewish leaders refused to accept Jesus’ claims, the reason why people today refuse to put their faith in Jesus is because they are not seeking the glory of God. They are seeking their own glory; the glory of one another; they are more interested in the praise of men than the praise of God!

And in order to get the praise of men some preachers will compromise on doctrine and the truth of the scriptures.
Ex. Preacher in Hobbs.

Jesus only sought the glory of God.

And that is the way it should be with every preacher that stands in a pulpit!

Now look at vs. 19. Jesus says, “Did not Moses give you the Law…

Of course Moses gave them the Law. They loved Moses. And they thought they honored the Law!
But look what Jesus says:

…and yet none of you (none of you, none of you) carries out the Law?

“What are you talking about? We keep the Law!”

If you do then “Why do you seek to kill Me?” (they were so self-righteous)

The Law of Moses was never intended to save anyone; it was intended to condemn and drive sinners to an overwhelming fear of divine judgment that would cause them to repent, and cry out to God for mercy and grace.

And, in spite of their best efforts, in spite of our best efforts we violate the Law; we sin; and in order to get forgiveness and to escape the judgment of God; where do we turn to?

Jesus is the only hope that these Jews had; and He is the only hope that we have; and what did they want to do? Kill Him.

How foolish it is to reject Him, to deny Him, to mentally kill Him because there is no other One to turn to.

And now look at vs. 21. Jesus says, “I did one deed, and you all marvel.

He is referring to the healing of the lame man at the pool of Bethesda back in chapter 5.
The man had been lame for 38 years and at Jesus command the man took up his pallet and walked!

But the Jews, those in opposition to Christ, they couldn’t see the good in what Jesus did; they couldn’t be happy for the man who was healed because Jesus healed the man on the Sabbath.

“You better not violate the Sabbath! If you do you will pay the price.”

Now look at vs. 22: “On this account Moses has given you circumcision (not because it is from Moses, but from the fathers), and on the Sabbath you circumcise a man.

Now Vs. 23:

23 “If a man receives circumcision on the Sabbath that the Law of Moses may not be broken,

The Law said circumcision was to be done on the 8^th day. So, if the Sabbath fell on the 8^th day after the baby was born the baby was to be circumcised even if it was the Sabbath; so this is an instance where the two laws came into conflict
So, if necessary the Sabbath could be set aside for something more important, something better, for another level of obedience!

Since that is true, look at what Jesus says next: Are you angry with Me because I made an entire man well on the Sabbath?

Do you know why these Jews rejected Jesus? It wasn’t because He had done something wrong. It wasn’t because He violated the Law.
The rejected Jesus simply because the wanted to.
And that is why people reject Him today.

Vs. 24 “Do not judge according to appearance, but judge with righteous judgment.”

These people were not judging Him based on the good things He did.
They didn’t judge Him based on what He said and taught.
They judged Him on His appearance; there was nothing stately about Him, nothing in His appearance that made Him stand out from others.

I am afraid that I often do that too.

What I need to do is not judge according to an individual’s appearance; but instead judge them the way that Jesus does.

So, the Jews said He was a deceiver; others said He was simply a “good man.” His brothers didn’t believe in Him.

What do you/I say about Him?

If you sincerely believe that He is the Son of God, the Messiah, if you are willing to do what God wants you to do and be baptized into Christ for the forgiveness of you sins…come.

Resurrection Sunday

RESURRECTION SUNDAY

John 20:1-10

Today has been declared by the Christian world to be Easter or Resurrection Sunday or the Paschal.

And it is the day that people who consider themselves to be Christians celebrate the resurrection of Jesus.

You may already know this but the date for Easter is determined every year by a complex set of calculations that take into account the lunar cycle, the date of the Jewish Passover, the Jewish ancient calendar, the Gregorian Calendar, the Julian Calendar, and the vernal equinox or the moment when the sun crosses the celestial equator marking the start of spring in the Northern Hemisphere.

Because of all these different calculations Easter or Resurrection Sunday is referred to as a “movable feast and celebration” and therefore does not have a fixed date like other holidays. It changes from year to year. (Last year it was on April 9; 2022 on April 17).
And, in spite of all the complex calculations, the Eastern Orthodox Churches celebrate Easter on a different day than the Protestant or Catholic Churches; Eastern Orthodox – May 5; so there is no continuity.
And it is primarily celebrated only once a year.

Now, I may be wrong, but I believe that those who determine through their complex calculations what day of the year Easter or Resurrection Sunday is to be celebrated, that they have completely missed the point.

It seems to me that they have gone to all this effort to figure out what day it is to be celebrated; that the exact day is what is important; and they have forgotten WHO is to be celebrated what is really to be celebrated, what is really significant.

What took place on the original Resurrection Sunday is without a doubt the most amazing, the most incredible, astonishing event to ever take place in human history; especially in the history of human redemption.

All four gospel writers, Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John record the events of the original Resurrection Sunday and the fact that they do indicates the importance of what took place that day. (If one says it, it is important; if 2 say it, that is more important, if 3, well you better believe it; if 4, you can most assuredly know it is important).
And even though they were inspired by the Holy Spirit words cannot fully express what took place that day and our limited minds fall way short in comprehending the events that unfolded.

The original Resurrection Sunday is not just a feature of Christianity, it is the main event!

Without the resurrection of Jesus the whole of Christianity crumbles into nothing but a baseless fairy tale and all who name Christ as Lord and Savior are without hope.
Without the resurrection of Jesus the dead will not be raised; your Bible can be recycled into paper bags, and you can turn this building over to the pigeons, and as the apostle Paul says in 1 Cor. 15:19, “If we have hoped in Christ we are of all men most to be pitied.”

The resurrection of Christ is the main event! When God raised Jesus from the dead He simultaneously secured our resurrection to an eternal glory.

Look at this in 1 Peter 1:3:

3 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who according to His great mercy has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, 4 to obtain an inheritance which is imperishable and undefiled and will not fade away, reserved in heaven for you,

The original Resurrection Sunday says, “because Jesus lives, we will live.”

And it is important that we believe this. Remember what the apostle Paul said in Romans 10:9-10?

Paul said, “If you confess Jesus as Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved.”

When God raised Jesus from the dead He “declared Jesus to be His Son” (Romans 1:4), He validated Jesus’ work on the cross and Jesus became the source of eternal salvation for all who obey Him (Heb. 5:8-9), and there is no salvation for anyone who refuses to believe in His resurrection.

Look at this found in 1 Cor. 15 starting in vs. 1. The apostle Paul says: Now I make known to you, brethren, the gospel (good news) which I preached to you, which also you received, in which also you stand (abide; your foundation, don’t move off of it) , 2 by which also you are saved, if you hold fast the word which I preached to you, unless you believed in vain. 3 For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received, that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, 4 and that He was buried, and that He was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures,

If you or I or anyone else fails to stand; if we move off of, if we reject, or refuse to believe, that Jesus was raised from the dead, there will be no salvation.

But God doesn’t want us to do that. God intends for us to stand solidly on the resurrection of Jesus and that is why we do not assemble on Friday, the day He was placed in the tomb, or on Saturday, the day the tomb was sealed, but on Sunday, the first day of the week, the day of His resurrection; Rev. 1:9 John calls it “the Lord’s Day.”

Sunday in not simply the day we “go to church”; it is the day that we come together to remember and celebrate His resurrection.
And that is in part of why we take the Lord’s supper. It reminds us that He died and has been raised from the dead and will someday return; 1 Cor. 11;26.

So we assemble on Sunday to celebrate His resurrection: we talk about it; we sing about it; but what is interesting is no on saw it!

No one saw His resurrection. No one was in the tomb when it happened.

But it’s not something that needed to be seen.

All that needed to be seen is the Person who was dead and who is now alive, and there were many witnesses who saw Him.
Paul says in 1 Cor. 15:5-6 that not only did His disciples see Him after He was raised but over 500 other people saw Him as well.

There is no doubt that, in spite of the best efforts of the Jewish leaders, and the Pharisees, and the Roman governor to keep Jesus in the tomb (Matt. 27:62-66)…

In spite of the fact that the highest human authorities at the time sealed that tomb…
In spite of the fact that a lie was propagated and a bribe was paid to deny it (Matthew 28:11-15)…Jesus was raised from the dead.

Now, as I mentioned before, all 4 gospel writers, Matthew, Mark, Luke and John record the actual history of the resurrection, but none of them try to explain the physiology of it; or the pathology of it.

The body of Jesus was wrapped in linens and spices and lying in the darkness of the tomb; and when life came back into His body what moved first: did His chest begin to rise and fall as He breathed; did His finger twitch; His eye open; did He gasp for a breath?
How did He remove the wrappings?
No one knows and the Bible doesn’t tell us.
But that doesn’t matter.

What we do know is it happened; it was a supernatural miracle like all the other miracles that our Lord performed.

And that is the point; the resurrection happened because God willed it to happen in order to proclaim that Jesus is His Son and to reassure us that because of our faith in Him and obedience to Him we too will someday be raised from the dead ourselves.

The main event is not trying to figure out the date to celebrate His resurrection from all of these complicated calculations.

The main event is that Jesus was raised with power, and declared to be the Son of God, so that just as He lives, we can too!

But then there is another reason why God raised Jesus from the dead. Look at this found in Acts 17.

Here in Acts 17 the apostle Paul is in Athens and he is speaking to some individuals who were very religious, individuals who worshiped gods of all different kinds; vs. 23.
They have even created an altar to an “Unknown God” who they worshiped in ignorance.
And so in vs. 24-29 the apostle explains to them the character and nature of the real one and only Jehovah God.

Now, look at vs. 30. In vs. 30 the apostle Paul calls these individual to repent; to repent of their ignorant, pagan ways.

And look at why they or anyone else should repent; look at vs. 31: … because He (God) has fixed a day in which He will judge the world in righteousness through a Man whom He has appointed, having furnished proof to all men by raising Him from the dead. ”

The resurrection of Jesus calls, pleads for everyone, including those who are “very religious” to repent; to turn away from their ignorance, their worship of false gods, to turn away from their lives of disobedience and sin and seek after God.

Why? Because God has “fixed”, “set, appointed” a day in which He will judge the world in righteousness (It will be a just and righteous judgment unlike what we see sometimes in our culture).
And the proof of that judgment is the resurrection of Jesus.

Every Sunday, every first day of the week is a reminder of the original Resurrection Sunday.

Each Sunday is a day when the faithful assemble and take communion.
And as we participate in the communion it is a reminder to us that He was crucified, laid in a tomb, and was raised to sit at the right hand of God, and each time we take communion we are reminded that He is coming back.
And for salvation sake, we must be ready, washed in His blood, when He does.

Feast of Booths

THE FEAST OF BOOTHS

John 7:1-9

Starting here in John 7 the hostility of the Jews toward Jesus steadily grows. In fact, in vs. 1 John tells us that the Jews were seeking to kill Him and this hostility will eventually lead to Jesus being crucified.

So Jesus is hesitant to go to Jerusalem, not because He is afraid, vs. 6, ‘but because “His time is not yet at hand.”
If you look at the end of vs. 6 what Jesus is saying is, “men work on one time table, but Jesus works on God’s time table.”
God is Sovereign and when it is time, according to God’s schedule and God’s divine purpose, Jesus will go to Jerusalem to be put to death at the hands of the Jews.
And we will see that as we go through the rest of John’s gospel.

But this may seem a little strange but what I would like to do this morning is focus on vs. 2 and the Feast of Booths or the Feast of Tabernacles or the Feast of the Ingathering.

The Jews would refer to it as the “sook kaw.”
And the reason I would like to focus on the Feast of Booths is because the Jews in this passage are in the process of making the same mistake again that their fathers made many years before.
And that many people still make today.
Let me explain.

The Feast of Booths or Feast of Tabernacles is a pilgrimage feast meaning it was required of Jewish males living within a certain distance to travel to Jerusalem to celebrate the feast.

That is why in vs. 10 Jesus’ brothers go and why Jesus goes a little later.

Did you pick up on that: Jesus has brothers!

Why is that significant? Because there is in our society a doctrine that teaches that Mary, Jesus’ mother, was a perpetual virgin.
In other words, she was a virgin before Jesus was born, she was a virgin when He was born, and she was and still is a virgin after He was born.
The fact that Jesus had brothers, and in Matthew 13:56 the fact that Jesus had sisters,, disputes the teaching that Mary was and is a perpetual virgin.
But back to the Feast of Booths.

The Feast of Booths is a fall festival intended to honor God and for celebrating the final harvest of the year; it was celebrated in the 7^th month starting on the 15^th day of the Jewish calendar or for us it would be about mid -September.

Not only was it a celebration of the final harvest of the year but it also commemorated the 40 years that the Jews wandered in the wilderness after the Exodus.

Here is what God says about it in Leviticus 23 starting in vs. 39.

Lev 23:39-44 ‘’On exactly the fifteenth day of the seventh month, when you have gathered in the crops of the land, you shall celebrate the feast of the LORD for seven days, with a rest on the first day and a rest on the eighth day.

So, you have the Sabbath or a day of rest on each end of this celebration with the feasting in between.

40’Now on the first day you shall take for yourselves the foliage of beautiful trees, palm branches and boughs of leafy trees and willows of the brook; and you shall rejoice before the LORD your God for seven days.

Now, vs. 41: ‘You shall thus celebrate it as a feast to the LORD for seven days in the year. It shall be a perpetual statute throughout your generations; you shall celebrate it in the seventh month. 42’You shall live in booths (tabernacles, tents, temporary shelters) for seven days; all the native-born in Israel shall live in booths, 43 so that your generations may know that I had the sons of Israel live in booths when I brought them out from the land of Egypt. I am the LORD your God.’ ”

So, the Feast of Booths was to celebrate God’s blessing them with a good harvest, but it was also a reminder that God had the people live in “booths when God brought them out of Egypt.”

Now, why did God have them “live in booths when He brought them out from the land of Egypt?”

Obviously, God wanted them to remember this because they were to do this every year.
So, here In John 7, 1400 years after the Exodus, they are still commemorating the event!
Why? What is the story behind this?
Let me give you the history of what happened.

When God brought His people out of Egypt it should not have taken anywhere close to 40 years for them to get to the “promised land.”

Less than 2 months after they left Egypt they came into the wilderness of Sinai and camped at the foot of the mountain where they received the Law or 10 Commandments and all the ordinances.
God kept them there for a little over a year, not only to give them the law but to teach them some things.

These people had been living in Egypt for over 400 years and they had been influenced by the Egyptian culture; perhaps picked up on some Egyptian ideas and practices.

But now they are a new nation.
They are no longer governed and ruled by the Egyptians.
They have a new King, One they cannot see; One that is Holy and Righteous.
They are excited but things will be much different now.

So God, through Moses had a lot to convey to the people.

God would establish priesthood, and a religious system; and He would give them a tabernacle where God could be with them.
And God would provide for them, and feed them, and protect them.
And God would teach them to rely on Him; and to trust Him so that when they reached the land that God has promised to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, they would be ready to receive the land by faith.

So, for over a year God, through Moses, taught and prepared these people and finally, on the 20^th day of the 2^nd month (Num. 10:11) and the 2^nd year after they left Egypt they broke camp and set out for Canaan.

And after a period of about 50 days they reached the wilderness of Paran and God instructed Moses to send spies into the land of Canaan to see what it was like.

After about 40 days the spies came back; 2 of the spies said that the land was “truly flowing with milk and honey” and even though the inhabitants of the land were strong they could be defeated; but 10 of the spies gave an evil report and said that they inhabitants were of great stature and could not be defeated; and as a result the vast majority of the people determined in their hearts not to trust God.
And because of their unbelief God sent them back into the wilderness to wander for an additional 38 years.

And that is how the Feast of Booths came to be. The people were to live in booths, small tabernacles, small rudimentary shelters perhaps made of tree branches (Lev. 23), as they wandered in the wilderness.

And the Feast of Booths mentioned here in John 7 was something they did every year to remember those 38 years of wandering in the wilderness.

Now why would God require them to remember those 38 years? Why would He require them to remember all those days and weeks and years of wandering in the wilderness?

What is it that God wants us to learn from this?

First of all, I think God wants them to remember the fact that we bring so much unnecessary hardships, problems, and turmoil into our lives through our simple unwillingness to trust and obey the LORD.

For 40 years these people wandered in some of the most desolate, remote, harshest land in the world; moving from one place to the next.
And during the 40 years that these people became bitter, quarrelsome, and openly rebellious.
And the majority of them died in the wilderness!
And they didn’t have too.
And isn’t this true today?

How much grief, and pain, and turmoil do people, perhaps even some of us, bring into our lives because we refuse to trust in and obey the Lord?

And we don’t have to!

And the grief and pain and turmoil often lasts and lasts for years and years.

For many of these Israelites it lasted for 40 years; but actually for those who were over 20 years old and who refused to trust God, who grumbled against God, who treated God with contempt, it lasted for the rest of their lives because they died in the wilderness; Numbers 14:20-25.

And for those who were younger than 20 years old, and even the few that were faithful to the Lord (Joshua and Caleb and their families) for 40 they still suffered the consequences of those who refused to trust God before God finally led them into the Promised Land; Numbers 14:26-35.

The innocent often suffer for our unbelief.

And the tragedy is they were so close to the Promised land!

The grief, the hardship, the pain, the problems due to our refusal to trust in God and obey Him can and often does last a lifetime…and our refusal can affect our children and their children as well.

And that is what God wanted these people to remember when they celebrated the Feast of Booths.

He didn’t want them to make the same mistake their forefathers did.
And unfortunately that is exactly what they did when they rejected Jesus.
Everything up to this point in John’s gospel, all the miracles, the prophets, God Himself has and is saying that Jesus is the source of eternal life; He is the way and access to the Promised Land…and just like they did at the time of the Exodus some 1400 years earlier they refuse to trust in and obey God.
And just like them, if we do the same our lives will be filled with heartache, pain, and problems and we will die in the wilderness.

And there is another reason why God wanted them to commemorate the Feast of Booths and that was even in their unbelief, God remained faithful.

During that additional 38 years of wandering after the people failed to trust in God, God kept providing the manna for them, and He kept protecting them and responding to them.
And on the negative side, He kept His word to those who rejected Him, they died in the wilderness just as He said.
But then on the positive side, those who trusted Him, just as He promised He eventually took them to the Promised Land.

Look at what the apostle Paul says in 2 Timothy 2:13: If we are faithless, He remains faithful; for He cannot deny Himself.

God doesn’t just act faithful; He is faithful; even when we aren’t.

God will keep His promise! His word is trustworthy! If He says that your unforgiven sins will condemn you to die eternally…you know the will.

If He says that your sins can be forgiven through faith and obedience to Christ, you can go to heaven, they can and you will.

But like these people, if we refuse to trust in God then we too will eventually die in the wilderness.

The tragedy is, we don’t have to.

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True Bread

John 6:30-33

I would like to do a little survey to begin. In our culture and society bread is considered to be a staple. At almost every meal bread is offered.

And it is amazing how many different kinds of bread there are: white bread, whole wheat, sour dough, whole grain, Rye, biscuits, French, Ciabatta, cornbread, matzo, ginger, pita, croissant, bagel; the list of different kinds of breads is almost endless.
With that in mind which do you like best: white or wheat? (Raise Hand)
What about white or cornbread?
Do you like a croissant best or a bagel?
Which is healthier: white or wheat or whole grain?

Now, you are probably wondering what this has to do with our lesson this morning. Well, perhaps more than you might realize.

Let me refresh your memory a little.

Here in John 6 Jesus has performed this massive miracle of feeding the 5000 with 5 loaves and 2 fish.

And afterwards the people who “witnessed the miracle” said “this is of a truth the Prophet who is come into the world.”
And immediately they wanted to make Him king.
They didn’t come to submit to Him; they didn’t recognize Him to be what the miracle confirmed Him to be which is the Messiah and the Son of God (John 20:30-31). Instead they wanted Him to be what they wanted Him to be.

So, Jesus left the crowd behind because He will not obligate Himself to man on man’s terms.

He doesn’t give in to ever changing whims and wishes; He calls on sinners to mourn their sins, to be penitent, and to acknowledge Him as Sovereign Lord.
And He will always withdraw from the superficial crowd.

So, He leaves the crowd behind and in the middle of the night and He walks across the sea of Galilee, and gets in the boat with His disciples.

And immediately the boat is at the shore; and Jesus goes into Capernaum.

When the crowd that Jesus has fed with the loaves and fish realize that Jesus has left they make their way back to Capernaum and they, along with some of the Jews who opposed Jesus (vs. 57), find Him in the synagogue (vs. 59).

And the people come to Him and say, “Rabbi, not Messiah, not Lord, but Rabbi, when did you get here?” (They didn’t learn anything from the miracles)

And Jesus ignores their question and says, “You are not seeking Me because you saw signs. You are not seeking Me because you are interested in salvation and eternal life.”
“You are seeking Me because you ate of the loaves and the fish and you were filled; You are seeking Me because you want breakfast.”

And in vs. 27 Jesus tells them to “Don’t work or strive for food that perishes.”

Jesus isn’t telling them that they shouldn’t eat or work in order to eat; 2 Thess. 3:11.
They need food for their physical body.
But that is all they are interested in!
They have no interest in the “spiritual body.”

So Jesus says in the second half of verse 27: “Work or strive for the food which endures to eternal life.”

“Man shall not live on bread alone.” (Matthew 4:4)
“What good is it if you have all this food to eat; what good is it if you work and work for food, but don’t have eternal life?”
There is something that is more important than having your belly full.

There are several examples in the scriptures where kings held great feasts or banquets and yet no one found salvation because they got their bellies full.

Today, some people will spend a small fortune to eat some exotic food or some delicacy and yet they do absolutely nothing to gain eternal life.

So at the end of vs. 27 Jesus tells them where they can get “this food that endures to eternal life.” Jesus says that He is the One who gives the food that endures to eternal life, for on Him the Father, even God, has set His seal.”

Jesus is the only One who can give them eternal life and God the Father confirms that.

Yes, Jesus could fix them some breakfast; He could feed them again and again and satisfy their hunger; but He has so much more to give; something so much more important to give but they weren’t interested.

And this hasn’t changed.
People today are more interested in having their physical appetites and their material appetites and their sensual appetites satisfied than they are their spiritual.
And If He doesn’t satisfy their physical or material needs when they want it and the way they want it they most often are no longer interested in what He can do for them spiritually.

Now, look at vs. 28. Jesus has told them to “work for the food which endures to eternal life” and they ask, “What shall we do, that we may work the works of God?”

In other words, “What can we do to please God and gain this eternal life?”

These people were Jews and when they are told to “work for the food that endures to eternal life” they have grown up with the idea of “justification by works” all of their life and so they want to know, “What works can we do to gain salvation?”

And that is what so many people today believe. They believe they can do enough of the right things that they can save themselves.

But look at vs. 29: Jesus answered and said to them, “This is the work of God, that you believe in Him whom He has sent.”

Eternal life is not obtained by “works” or by human performance. You cannot do enough or be good enough to earn your salvation.
Salvation or eternal life is obtained only by “faith” in Him.
And the idea of “faith or believing” in the gospel of John is “obedient faith”; John 3:36.

You cannot get eternal life from anyone else or in any other thing.

It is not a matter of “works” or human performance; it is a matter of “faith, believing in Christ and His perfect works.”
And yet these Jews, like many others, think that they can gain it by “works”, by human effort.

Now, Jesus has said in vs. 27 that He is the One who gives the food for eternal life.

And here in vs. 29 Jesus says that if “they want to do the work of God they need to “believe” in Him.”
Now, that is a powerful statement. The Jews know that “eternal life” is in the hands of God.
So, in view of Jesus’ claims they want proof; look at vs. 30:

They said therefore to Him, “What then do You do for a sign, that we may see, and believe You? What work do You perform?

They want Jesus to perform another miracle to prove who He claims to be.
But they don’t want just any miracle. Look at vs. 31.

“Our fathers ate the manna in the wilderness; as it is written, ‘He gave them bread out of heaven to eat.'”

These Jews are throwing down the gauntlet!
“You fed the 5000! That’s no big deal. Moses fed the entire nation of Israel for 40 years! You only fed the crowd for 1 day!”

What they are expecting is a sign greater than Moses! If Jesus is really the Messiah, the Son of God as He claims, if He can give “eternal life” which is possibly the greatest miracle because it involves forgiving sin, He should be able to do something greater than Moses did!

Perhaps feed the entire nation of Israel from now on!

Now, here is where the bread comparison comes in.

In vs. 31 these Jews say that “He gave them bread out of heaven to eat.”

Now, look at Jesus’ response in vs. 32: Jesus therefore said to them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, it is not Moses who has given you the bread out of heaven…

Jesus seems to be flatly rebuking these Jews by reminding them that it was not Moses who gave them the bread out of heaven.
The bread they ate in the wilderness did come from heaven but it wasn’t Moses who gave it to them.
How often do we do this same thing; give man credit for what God has done and at times give God credit for what man has done (the evil).

And notice the second thing that Jesus says here in the second part of this verse. He says that, “the bread the Jews were given by God in the wilderness was not “the true bread of heaven.”

If these Jews want the same bread that God provided in the wilderness they need to understand that there is a lot of difference between the bread the Jews received in the wilderness and the “true bread” that Jesus speaks of here in vs. 32.

For instance, the manna that God provided for them in the wilderness didn’t last.

They had to go every day, day after day except on the Sabbath and get only a “day’s portion” and if they kept any of it overnight it “bred worms”; Ex. 16:20.
And if the “sun grew hot the manna would melt”: Ex. 16:21.
So, it didn’t last.

In comparison the “true bread out of heaven” lasts forever! Remember what Jesus said in vs. 27: it endures to eternal life!

It never molds. It never breeds worms. And it never melts!

And the manna that the Jews received in the wilderness didn’t satisfy their hunger.

They had to eat it every day.
And In Numbers 11:4-6 we are told that the “people of Israel wept again and said, “Who will give us meat to eat? We remember the fish which we used to eat FREE in Egypt, the cucumbers and the melons and the leeks and the onions and the garlic, but now our appetite is gone. There is nothing at all to look at except this manna.”
And in Numbers 21:5 the people of Israel speak to Moses and ask, “Why have you brought us up out of Egypt to die in the wilderness? There is no food and no water, and we loathe this miserable food.”
They eventually hated the “bread out of heaven.”

What about the “true bread out of heaven?” Look at vs. 35: “I am the bread of life; he who comes to Me shall not hunger, and he who believes in Me shall never thirst.

The bread of life satisfies forever man’s hunger and thirst for salvation.

And the people in the wilderness who ate “the bread out of heaven”; they all died; vs. 49. It couldn’t save them.

But the true bread out of heaven? Look at vs. 33: For the bread of God is that which comes down out of heaven, and gives life to the world.”

The manna or bread out of heaven that the Jews ate in the wilderness, it was limited to just the Israelites; I don’t recall that any Egyptians or Canaanites got any of it.
But the “true bread” gives life to the world.

But only to those who eat of it; and truthfully it is not “it”; it is Him. Look at vs. 35:

John 6:35 Jesus said to them, “I am the bread of life; he who comes to Me shall not hunger, and he who believes in Me shall never thirst.

So now, what is your favorite bread?

There are thousands of different breads in the world and you can eat it until you weigh 400 pounds.
But there is only One “true bread” that can give you eternal life. Will you come to Him?
Not like these Jews came; not superficially; but will you come to Him sincerely; willing to obey Him and follow Him?

Bread is a staple in our daily diet, will you make Him a staple in your daily diet and obtain eternal life?

Or will you refuse Him and like the Jews, die in the wilderness?

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One Sided Conversation

ONE SIDED CONVERSATION

1 John 5: 1-12

This morning I want to try something with you that may possibly help you to understand what John is saying in this passage of scripture.

But first, to understand why John wrote, not only this chapter but the whole letter, you have to understand that John is dealing with some false teachings that were circulating in the first century; more specifically the teachings of the Gnostics.

The Gnostics considered themselves to be “in the know”; they thought they were privy to the mysteries of God and they defied and disputed a lot of what the Bible said about Jesus and who He was, and what He came to do.
What they wanted to do is conform Jesus into their way of thinking. They had all their pagan beliefs and when they encountered Christianity as it spread throughout the different regions, instead of turning from those pagan beliefs and following Christ, they tried to fit Jesus into their ideologies.
So, that is why John writes this whole letter, to confirm who Jesus is, and to dispute the false teachings of the Gnostics.

Now here in chapter 5 we have what John says, but what makes this a little difficult to understand is, reading this is much like listening to a one-sided phone conversation.

You only hear one side without knowing what the person on the other end of the phone says; but even though you only hear one side you can pretty well tell what the other person is saying or has said.
For example, if I am talking on the phone and I say, “No, she is not here. She ran into town”, what did the person on the other end of the phone say or ask? (Is Anita home?)
If you hear me say, “I am doing well. Thank you.” What did the person on the other end of the phone say or ask?
You don’t get to hear what they say, but from what I say you can tell what they said!

Well, that is very similar to what we have here in these verses.

All we hear in these verses is John’s side of the conversation; he doesn’t tell us what is being said on the other end of the conversation
But we can tell from what John says the gist of what the false teachers were teaching.
And apparently what they say is not that important; we don’t need to bother ourselves too much with that.
What we need to hear is what John says. So, look at vs. 1.

Whoever believes that Jesus (human-Savior) is the Christ (Messiah) is born of God; and whoever loves the Father loves the child born of Him.

Now, from what John says we get an idea of what the Gnostics were teaching.
Remember, they are trying to conform Jesus to their way of thinking.
But what John says here is what is important.

First, John says, “Whoever believes” – that is a present indicative verb- that means “ongoing action” – it is a present, continuing faith that maintains the “new birth” status.

The concept today that so many have is that a man can have a right relationship with God because he believed years ago even though he has drifted away from that belief and never returned is contradictory to what John says here.
If you do not have a present continuing faith in Jesus (human) as the Messiah you have lost your “new birth” status or your relationship with God.

And look at the second part of the verse: and whoever loves the Father loves the child born of Him.

That is not hard to understand is it?
IF you love God then you will love His children.

Look at vs. 2: By this we know that we love the children of God when we love God and observe His commandments.

And in this context what is God’s commandment? “Love my children.”

Look at vs. 3: For this is the love of God, that we keep His commandments; and His commandments are not burdensome.

You cannot keep His commandments and despise, have animosity toward; be hateful to your brothers.
And commandment keeping should never cause us grief. To do what God says should never be a burden to us.
We do what God commands out of our love for Him.

Again, this is John’s side of the conversation. What were the false teachers saying?

Apparently the Gnostics said they were born of God but they denied Jesus as being a man, they denied Him as the only Savior, they denied Him as being the Messiah, (they wanted to separate Him from the O.T. prophets) and they denied Him as being the Son of God…or deity.

And, they didn’t keep His commandment to love those born of God…and so they were claiming “We are born of God” but John says, “No you’re not!
And if any of us do what they were doing…if we deny who Christ is (that He is the Savior, the Messiah, and the Son of God) and if we don’t love each other and if we don’t keep His commandments, regardless of what we might claim, we aren’t born of God either.

And if you or I say, “I guess I will do what God says but I really don’t want to”…you and I might want to reevaluate our love for God.

Now, look what John says in vs. 4: For whatever (in vs. 1 John says, “whoever.” Here he says “whatever) is born of God overcomes the world; and this is the victory that has overcome the world– our faith. 5 And who is the one who overcomes the world, but he who believes that Jesus is the Son of God?

The world with its lies, and temptations; and its wickedness; and its snares is an obstacle in our way to heaven. (1 John 2:15-17)
But the efforts of the world to keep us from heaven is defeated by our faith…faith in Jesus; faith that He alone is the Savior; faith that He is the Messiah; faith that He is the Son of God.
Any faith that denies any part of this is not adequate for victory.

The victory over the world is not achieved by any other means; not by magical charms, or mystic séances, or by human performance.

That is what the Gnostics taught.
But, what John says is what is important and John says the victory over the world is only won by faith in Jesus, the Son of God.

Vs. 6 This is the one who came by water and blood, Jesus Christ; not with the water only, but with the water and with the blood.

Here in this verse John is dealing with the Cerenthian or Apollonarian Gnostic.

The Cerenthian or Apollonarian Gnostic taught the “adoptionist concept.”
They said that “Jesus was a child born to Joseph and Mary..
There was no miraculous virgin birth.
And Jesus lived for 28 years as an ordinary man working in a carpenters shop.
Then about his 28th year, when he was baptized, the H.S. descended on him and took over his body…and for 3 years the life, mind, and will of Jesus, were suspended; those things were all put in suspended animation.
But then about the time that he is nailed to the cross the Holy Spirit leaves him and Jesus the man comes out of the coma; He doesn’t have the foggiest idea how he got there…he doesn’t know why they are crucifying him.
And so all that died that day on the cross was simply a man named Jesus.
This idea all came about because the Cerenthian Gnostics said that “deity cannot die” so the one who died on the cross could not have been deity.
And today, there are groups who teach this same thing.

Well, in this verse John refutes that thinking. What John is saying is, Jesus Christ was human, He was deity and Messiah before, during and after baptism…and He was human, deity, and Messiah before, during and after the cross.

Jesus and all that He was didn’t just go through baptism.
And the one that believes all the elements of Jesus is the one who has overcome the world; his faith has given him the victory.

Now, how do you know that Jesus is the Savior, the Messiah, and the Son of God? Well, look at vs. 7: And it is the Spirit who bears witness, because the Spirit is the truth.

The Spirit was involved in everything that Jesus did.
The Holy Spirit gave prophecies telling of the coming of Jesus.
Jesus was conceived through the Holy Spirit.
He was protected by the Holy Spirit.
He performed miracles by the Holy Spirit (raised dead by the Holy Spirit).
What He taught came from Holy Spirit…Everything He did the Holy Spirit testified to.

8 For there are three that bear witness, the Spirit and the water and the blood; and the three are in agreement.

The water – His baptism said he was human as well as deity.
Jesus came to fulfill all righteousness…obedient in human form.
Holy Spirit descended and what did God say? (This is my beloved Son in whom I am well pleased).

And the blood or the cross bears witness of who Christ was…a man (he died)…the Messiah (sent from God-sky turned dark at noon day)…Deity…(he rose from the grave. – Romans 1:4)

These three, the Spirit, baptism, and the cross confirm one basic theology…Jesus was deity, human, and the Messiah.

9 If we receive the witness of men, the witness of God is greater; for the witness of God is this, that He has borne witness concerning His Son.

Look at these words of Jesus found in John 5:33-37 “You have sent to John, and he has borne witness to the truth. 34 “But the witness which I receive is not from man, but I say these things that you may be saved. 35 “He (John) was the lamp that was burning and was shining and you were willing to rejoice for a while in his light. 36 “But the witness which I have is greater than that of John; for the works which the Father has given Me to accomplish, the very works that I do, bear witness of Me, that the Father has sent Me. 37 “And the Father who sent Me, He has borne witness of Me.

God has born witness to Jesus through all the miracles.
Through all the resurrections…not just Jesus’ but all.
Through the Fathers words…verbally.
Past prophets…and those living at the time (John).

There is no doubt who Jesus is!

1 John 5:10 The one who believes in the Son of God has the witness in himself; the one who does not believe God has made Him a liar, because he has not believed in the witness that God has borne concerning His Son.

You accept God’s witness about Jesus, you get God’s witness about yourself.
God says as He points to Jesus, “This is my beloved Son”
If you believe that, God will turn around and give that same witness about you.
And the fact that God says that about Jesus gives you the same reasons for believing that you are God’s child too.
All these things give confirmation to your “son-ship.”

But the one who denies what God has said about Jesus; that person has made “God a liar.”

Now, look at vs. 11 And the witness (or testimony) is this, that God has given us eternal life, and this life is in His Son (No where or in nothing else). 12 He who has the Son has the life; he who does not have the Son of God does not have life.

So we have heard both sides of the conversation: John’s and to some extent, what the Gnostics believed. Now, after hearing both sides we must choose which one we want: Jesus and eternal life, or do we want to make God a liar and be lost forever?

The Obituary of Babylon (Rome)

THE OBITUARY OF BABYLON (ROME)

Rev. 17

As we begin here in chapter 17 the bowls of the wrath of God have been poured out.

Judgment is completed…Rome is destroyed.
As sure as God said it, it is done.

And now it is time for the obituary.

It is time for the brief death notice and a short biography of the deceased.
This obituary will cover 2 chapters…but today we will cover just the first half of it.

17:1 And one of the seven angels who had the seven bowls came and spoke with me, saying, “Come here, I shall show you the judgment of the great harlot who sits on many waters,

First you have to ask “who is this great harlot?”
John tells us…look at verse 18. John says: “And the woman whom you saw is the great city, which reigns over the kings of the earth.”

Now, in verse 5, John is going to speak of the harlot as being “Babylon the Great.”

But this cannot be the literal Babylon that is way over on the Euphrates River.
Notice, John says that this “woman or harlot…is the great city which reigns over the kings of the earth.”
John is talking about a “city” in his day…in the time period of 79 A.D.
Babylon didn’t rule over the kings of the earth…Rome did.
In fact, in 330 BC, when the Persian Empire fell to Alexander the Great, the city of Babylon was destroyed.
And the last time it was even mentioned on a Babylonia clay tablet was in 10 B.C…89 years before John wrote this.
At the time John receives this Revelation, Babylon didn’t rule over anything.
Rome did…so his reference to Babylon is to draw a parallel…that just as Babylon was a harlot in its day…and just as Babylon was destroyed…so to is Rome.

Notice verse 1 again. John says that the “great harlot sits on many waters.”

The word “sits” here can mean “dwells”…where she resides.
Now, look at this…this is a map of the Roman Empire during its peak.
Notice, she sits on the waters.

But there is another meaning behind this phrase “sits on many waters.” Look at verse 15:

15 And he said to me, “The waters which you saw where the harlot sits, are peoples and multitudes and nations and tongues.

In this context the word “sits” infers “rule”….”control.”
Rome ruled over many different people.
And that is true.
One of the things that Rome did in order to become such a great empire is it made many alliances with other nations.
And in some instances Rome would offer those who were potential enemies inclusion into the Roman Empire if they would pledge loyalty to the Empire.
For example, the Romans conquered the region of Palestine.
But what they did in order to minimize the cost and conflict of securing that area by military force…and to control the area…they appointed someone from that area to be king…and he was given rule over the area…just as long as he did what was best for Rome…and as long as he remained loyal to Rome.
That is why just before Christ was born you find Herod, a descendent from the tribe of Edom, as king…answering to the Emperor of Rome.

So Rome did this in many regions…and that is why she “sits” on all these nations and peoples.

So the harlot here is Rome…and there is another reason why the angels speaks of her “sitting on man waters.”

This angel is going to show Rome’s beauty, her place of prominence, her influence, her power first.
The angel is saying, “this is how magnificent she was.”
“But now she is destroyed.”
In doing this he is showing how great her fall is because she fell from such a lofty place…all the way to nothing.

So, lets read it again: Rev 17:1-2

And one of the seven angels who had the seven bowls came and spoke with me, saying, “Come here, I shall show you the judgment of the great harlot who sits on many waters, 2 with whom the kings of the earth committed acts of immorality, and those who dwell on the earth were made drunk with the wine of her immorality. ”

Verse 2 speaks of Rome’s alliances.
All the nations not only participated in Rome’s wealth and power…but also in her ungodliness.
They laid down with the dog and came up with fleas.

3 And he carried me away in the Spirit into a wilderness; and I saw a woman sitting on a scarlet beast, full of blasphemous names, having seven heads and ten horns.

We do not have to speculate about who this beast is…or what the seven heads and ten horns are…he will tell us.

4 And the woman was clothed in purple and scarlet (these are colors of royalty. She is royal on the outside…but inside she is disgusting. She is nothing more than a well dressed tramp.)

4 And the woman was clothed in purple and scarlet, and adorned with gold and precious stones and pearls, having in her hand a gold cup full of abominations and of the unclean things of her immorality(she was quick to share these things with any who wanted to participate with her. However, those who participated with her…would be destroyed like she was)

5 and upon her forehead a name was written, a mystery, “BABYLON THE GREAT, THE MOTHER OF HARLOTS(she teaches all the other little harlots how to be big harlots like her.)

5 and upon her forehead a name was written, a mystery, “BABYLON THE GREAT, THE MOTHER OF HARLOTS AND OF THE ABOMINATIONS OF THE EARTH.” 6 And I saw the woman drunk with the blood of the saints, and with the blood of the witnesses of Jesus.

See how disgusting she is…she has thrived on the blood and tears of fellow humans.

And when I saw her, I wondered greatly.

In other words, “who is this harlot…who is this that had drunk the blood of the saints?”

7 And the angel said to me, “Why do you wonder? I shall tell you the mystery of the woman and of the beast that carries her, which has the seven heads and the ten horns.

8 “The beast that you saw was and is not, and is about to come up out of the abyss and to go to destruction. And those who dwell on the earth will wonder, whose name has not been written in the book of life from the foundation of the world, when they see the beast, that he was and is not and will come. 9 “Here is the mind which has wisdom. The seven heads are seven mountains on which the woman sits,

Notice this map…there are seven hills on which Rome sits.
Rome has always been known by this identifying feature.

9 “Here is the mind which has wisdom. The seven heads are seven mountains on which the woman sits, 10 and they are seven kings; five have fallen, one is, the other has not yet come; and when he comes, he must remain a little while. 11 “And the beast which was and is not, is himself also an eighth, and is one of the seven, and he goes to destruction. 12 “And the ten horns which you saw are ten kings, who have not yet received a kingdom, but they receive authority as kings with the beast for one hour.

We covered this back in chapter 13…so we won’t get into as much detail as we did then.
But here is the list again:

Augustus
Tiberius
Caligula These 5 have fallen; vs. 10
Claudius
Nero

Galba (7 mos.)

Otho (3 mos.) These three were victims of a horrible civil war. They made no

Vitelius (9 mos.) contribution to the Empire.

Vespasian “One is”; vs. 10
Titus (He ruled for 2 years, 2 months, 20 days) “The other has not come yet; and when he comes, he must remain a little while” vs. 10.
Domitian (the son of Vespasian…”one of the seven”; vs 11).

“Beast which was and is not, is himself also and eighth, and is one of the seven, and he goes to destruction”; vs. 11 (see also vs. 8).

Under Nero the saints were severely persecuted. When Nero died the persecution ceased.
Then, when Domitian came to power the persecution returned.
That is why verse 11 speaks of Domitian as “the beast which was and is not.”
He is Nero Redividus…Nero revived.
The beast reared its ugly head through Nero…after Nero died Galba, Otho, and Vitelus were too busy trying to save their own lives to persecute the saints.
Under Vespasian, the time when John is writing, there was some persecution but it was not national policy like it was under Nero…so the “beast was not.”
But then the beast reared its ugly head again in Domitian and the persecution lasted until the year 3:11.
The beast had shown itself in Nero…died…and resurrected in Domitian.

12 “And the ten horns which you saw are ten kings, who have not yet received a kingdom, but they receive authority as kings with the beast for one hour.

These are 10 client kings or future kings who have not come to power yet…but when they do they will persecute the saints.
This would be Trajan to Diocletian.

13 “These have one purpose and they give their power and authority to the beast. 14 “These will wage war against the Lamb, and the Lamb will overcome them, because He is Lord of lords and King of kings, and those who are with Him are the called and chosen and faithful.”

Here is the reason that the victory is sure: He is Lord of lords, King of kings.
And every man, woman and child that refused to give in to this ungodly nation will be victorious with Him.

Now, notice the word “chosen”…that does not speak of “election.”

That word speaks of “choice”…the “best.”

15 And he said to me, “The waters which you saw where the harlot sits, are peoples and multitudes and nations and tongues. 16 “And the ten horns which you saw, and the beast, these will hate the harlot and will make her desolate and naked, and will eat her flesh and will burn her up with fire.

This is inner strife…and this inner strife helps aid in the fall of Rome.

17 “For God has put it in their hearts to execute His purpose by having a common purpose,(they are God’s too of judgment and don’t know it.) and by giving their kingdom to the beast, until the words of God should be fulfilled.

18 “And the woman whom you saw is the great city, which reigns over the kings of the earth.”

Again, this is the beginning of the obituary…or the announcement of death and a brief biography of the deceased.

The most powerful nation on the face of the earth…a nation who boasted in its wealth and power…a nation that had climbed higher than any other before it…is destroyed…all because of its rebellion against God, its failure to honor God, and because of the way it treated God’s people.
If it can happen to Rome…it can happen to the US…or any other nation.

The Harvest of the Wicked

THE HARVEST OF THE WICKED

Revelation 14

One of the biggest mistakes that people make when trying to understand the book of Revelation is they try to take each event mentioned and apply it to some specific event either in the modern past or still yet in the future.

As a result they come up with all kinds of ideas as to what this book is talking about.

What we need to understand about this book is instead of trying to apply each vision or event to a specific occurrence, what we must do is simply look at the obvious.

Listen for the obvious message.

It really is not hard to understand what the theme is of this book and that is true here in this chapter.

So, don’t worry so much about the specifics of the details and what they are talking about.
Instead, focus on the general message and what God is trying to say.

Now, when you come to chapter 14 we need to keep in mind that this is all a part of a vision that John is seeing…so we cannot take all he says here as being literal…or that it is going to be literally fulfilled.

We also need to remember that this is a part of the 7^th trumpet that was sounded in chapter 11: 15.
And remember, trumpets are intended to warn or sound the alarm.
And that is, in part, what this chapter does.

At the same time, this chapter is intended to reassure the faithful who are perhaps wondering if their faith in God and His Son has been in vain.

If they are thinking about abandoning their faith in Christ, this chapter is intended to persuade them not to do that.

So, let’s look at chapter 14.

Now, in chapter 13 we saw a great beast come up out of the sea.
- And that beast had 10 horns and seven heads…and on his horns was 10 diadems…and on his heads were blasphemous names.
- And if you remember, we went to chapter 17 and then to the book of Daniel to show that the beast of chapter 17 is the Roman Empire.

And the beast of chapter 13 was a great, terrifying beast that mocked God and persecuted His people.

And the beast deifies himself and tries to force the people to worship him.
But in the last verse of chapter 13 God tells us that the one who claims to be god is really no god at all…he is simply 666…the number of man cubed.
In other words, he is human to the core.

And now what you are going to see in chapter 14 is the One who really is Lord.

And you are going to see once again the foretelling of what is going to happen to the beast and all those who worship the beast.

So, let’s look at this, and once again, simply try to grasp the obvious message of what is said.

Vs. 1 And I looked, and behold, the Lamb was standing on Mount Zion, and with Him one hundred and forty-four thousand, having His name and the name of His Father written on their foreheads.

John had just seen in chapter 13 the beast that spoke fear, intimidation, and death.
Now he sees the Lamb…and notice…the Lamb is standing.
- He is not dead or slain.
- This reassures these Christians that the one they are faithful too is raised from the dead and is alive.

And notice the Lamb was standing on “Mt. Zion, and with Him one hundred and forty-four thousand.”

In Heb. 12:22 Mt. Zion signifies “the church.”
And if you go back to chapter 7 you see that the 144, 000 speaks of God’s faithful people.

And notice in the last phrase of the verse is something that we all had better have stamped on our foreheads…and that is His name and the name of His Father.

Having a name on the forehead speaks of possession…as well as the one who controls the thoughts, reasons and will.
We should be people who belong to the Lamb…as well as a people whose thoughts are controlled by Him.

Now, verse 2: And I heard a voice from heaven, like the sound of many waters and like the sound of loud thunder, and the voice which I heard was like the sound of harpists playing on their harps.

This is heaven voicing its approval of what it sees and of the Lamb.
What takes place here is heavens will.

Vs. 3 And they sang a new song before the throne and before the four living creatures and the elders; and no one could learn the song except the one hundred and forty-four thousand who had been purchased from the earth.

Only the redeemed can learn this song and sing it.
Only they could sing it and mean it.
- How often do we pray and sing things which are really not our convictions?
- These singers will be convicted of what they sing.

Vs. 4 These are the ones who have not been defiled with women, for they have kept themselves chaste. These are the ones who follow the Lamb wherever He goes. These have been purchased from among men as first fruits to God and to the Lamb. 5 And no lie was found in their mouth; they are blameless.

Notice the 7 characteristics…
7 indicates perfection.
These are the ones who did not give in to the temptations of Rome.
They remained faithful through it all.
They were given a choice in chapter 13 to follow the beast or Christ…and they have chosen Christ.

So these first 5 verses are encouraging words to these Christians…because it reminds them that the Lamb is still alive…that He meets with heavens approval….and so to do those who are remained faithful to Him.

Now verse 6:

And I saw another angel flying in midheaven, having an eternal gospel (good news) to preach to those who live on the earth, and to every nation and tribe and tongue and people;

It is not to late for those who live on the earth…for those who do not meet heaven’s approval.
There is still hope for the lost.

Vs. 7 …and he(the angel) said with a loud voice, “Fear God, and give Him glory, because the hour of His judgment has come; and worship Him who made the heaven and the earth and sea and springs of waters.”

The ultimate victory of the faithful was so certain that it could already be proclaimed.
Rome’s judgment is certain.
God is worthy of praise and the coming events will prove that.

Vs. 8 And another angel, a second one, followed, saying, “Fallen, fallen is Babylon the great, she who has made all the nations drink of the wine of the passion of her immorality.”

Babylon here is a reference to Rome. Rome is being compared to Babylon here; chapter 17.
Just as Babylon fell…so to will Rome.

And notice that Rome is looked at from a seductive view point.

Rome seduced the nations to participate with her in her immoral deeds.

And notice the angel says: “Fallen, fallen is Babylon the great.”

This fact is so certain that it is announced before it takes place.

Vs. 9: And another angel, a third one, followed them, saying with a loud voice, “If anyone worships the beast and his image, and receives a mark on his forehead or upon his hand, 10 he also will drink of the wine of the wrath of God, which is mixed in full strength in the cup of His anger; and he will be tormented with fire and brimstone in the presence of the holy angels and in the presence of the Lamb.

Those who follow the beast have benefited from the beasts power, influence, and economic prowess.

But now they must pay the piper.
They must now drink the wine of the wrath of God…which is mixed in full strength in the cup of His anger.
- This is a big price to pay for enjoyment of worldly pleasures.

Rev 14:11-12

“And the smoke of their torment goes up forever and ever; and they have no rest day and night, those who worship the beast and his image, and whoever receives the mark of his name.” 12 Here is the perseverance of the saints who keep the commandments of God and their faith in Jesus.

The saints suffered the fires of persecution until they died.
Now, they rest while the wicked suffer.
- This helps the saints to endure.

Rev 14:13

13 And I heard a voice from heaven, saying, “Write, ‘Blessed are the dead who die in the Lord from now on!'” “Yes,” says the Spirit, “that they may rest from their labors, for their deeds follow with them.”

What makes them “Blessed”?…they die IN the Lord.
There are only two places to die.

For those who die in the Lord…death is a closed door that Satan cannot open.

Now, we are going to see the harvest of those who follow the beast.

God has been promising judgment the beast and those who follow.
Now, it is vindication time.

Rev 14:14

14 And I looked, and behold, a white cloud, and sitting on the cloud was one like a son of man, having a golden crown (stephanos: victors crown) on His head, and a sharp sickle in His hand.

It is harvest time.
Judgment is here.

Rev 14:15-20

15 And another angel came out of the temple, crying out with a loud voice to Him who sat on the cloud, “Put in your sickle and reap, because the hour to reap has come, because the harvest of the earth is ripe.” 16 And He who sat on the cloud swung His sickle over the earth; and the earth was reaped.

17 And another angel came out of the temple which is in heaven, and he also had a sharp sickle. 18 And another angel, the one who has power over fire, came out from the altar; and he called with a loud voice to him who had the sharp sickle, saying, “Put in your sharp sickle, and gather the clusters from the vine of the earth, because her grapes are ripe.” 19 And the angel swung his sickle to the earth, and gathered the clusters from the vine of the earth, and threw them into the great wine press of the wrath of God.

And the wine press was trodden outside the city, and blood came out from the wine press, up to the horses’ bridles, for a distance of two hundred miles.

The vision of the wine press is symbolic of the horror of God’s judgment.

The message of this chapter is not hard to understand.

Judgment will come on the wicked.
And it will be a horrifying thing.

But those who have the name of the Lord on their foreheads…those who die in the Lord…will be blessed…from now on.

This whole chapter is written here to warn us to come to the Lamb…or to remain faithful to Him even unto death.

Reassurance to the Redeemed

REASSURANCE TO THE REDEEMED

Rev. 7

In chapter 6 we read about the breaking of the seals.

Judgment is coming on the Roman Empire and the opening of the seals not only warns of the coming judgment but also seems to be giving an indication to some degree the means in which Rome will fall.
Remember the four horses that came forth with the breaking of the seals? (White-conqueror with victor’s crown, with a bow, piercing the hearts of men with the word; Red – war, conflict, drains resources; black-economy; ashen-famine, pestilence, wild beasts, death).
The seals are a warning…God warns before He does…He gives people time to repent.

Then the fifth seal is broken…and the souls of those who had been slain because of the word…cried out, “How long, O Lord, will you refrain from judging and avenging our blood on those who dwell on the earth?”

And they are given white robes and are told to rest for a while because more would die before God brings forth His judgment.

And when the sixth seal is broken a picture of judgment and destruction is painted for us.

God is going to shake the foundation of the ungodly and turn their world upside down.
And no matter where they run, or where they try to hide…they will not escape “the wrath of the Lamb.”

And the chapter ends with this question: …for the great day of their wrath has come; and who is able to stand?”

And here in chapter 7 the writer answers this question.

Rev 7

7:1 After this I saw four angels standing at the four corners of the earth (Four relates to the world: east, west, north, south) , holding back the four winds of the earth(winds here represents the activity of God. In Exodus 10: 13 God told Moses to stretch out his hand and when he did an east wind brought locusts on the land. In Exodus 14: 21 God used a strong east wind to turn the sea into dry land. See also Isa. 57:13; Jeremiah 18:17; Dan. 7:2) , so that no wind should blow on the earth or on the sea or on any tree. (They hold the wind back so that no destruction on Rome can take place until God’s people are identified. This gave God’s people comfort. When Rome is destroyed God will know whom to destroy and whom to save.)

2 And I saw another angel ascending from the rising of the sun (This angel comes from the east…from where the light originates. His message is one of cheer.), having the seal of the living God; (The seal indicates that God owns sealed ones and would keep Satan from tampering with them. This message here in this chapter is for the saints. They are under God’s protection. Is this a protection from death? No, many will die. But when they do they will not be condemned like the wicked. Ezekiel 9 and 21: 3-4 will help you understand the principles of sealing.)

There is a point to consider here.
Some suffering is not the judgment of God.
Sometimes the innocent suffer with the guilty.
When this judgment comes on Rome it will mean severe hardship for these saints.
But, they will not receive the condemnation or the punishment that the wicked will receive.
The judgment will involve the righteous in suffering and it might look like they are being punished too.
But the sealing is God’s way of saying, “The righteous are not being judged.”

Rev 7:2

2 And I saw another angel ascending from the rising of the sun, having the seal of the living God; and he cried out with a loud voice to the four angels to whom it was granted to harm the earth and the sea, 3 saying, “Do not harm the earth or the sea or the trees, until we have sealed the bond-servants of our God on their foreheads.”(This angel calls for delay. The reason for the delay: the welfare of the righteous. “Don’t hurt the earth until the righteous are marked.”)

The reason they are marked on their foreheads? That is where the thoughts come from. These are people who have their minds on God.

Notice that the “bond-servants of God” will be sealed.

How many does that include? ALL of them. Every bond-servant of God is sealed.
This is not a “part” sealing.
Some want to say that this “sealing” only involves a select few.
Not so. Whoever is a bond-servant of God is sealed.

4 And I heard the number of those who were sealed, one hundred and forty-four thousand sealed from every tribe of the sons of Israel:

Some believe that the 144, 000 will be the exact number of redeemed in heaven.
However, if you look at verse 9 the indication is that some were already in heaven…a number so great that no one could count them.

Now, let me give you some thoughts about the number 144,000.

144,000 equals 12 x 12 x 1000.
12 is the number that represents God’s people (12 apostles, 12 patriarchs, 12 tribes).
By multiplying the number 12 by 12 and then by 1000 (which is a number of totality)…you have a number that symbolizes all the redeemed of the earth.
All of God’s saints on the earth at the time will undergo this period of trial when judgment comes on Rome.
But all are assured of God’s protection. See Amos 9:9.

Notice the phase: “from every tribe of the sons of Israel.”

Some believe that this is speaking literally of Israel. That this is speaking only of the Jews.
The problem is with the understanding of who “Israel” is.
A study of Romans 9 and Romans 11 will show you that just because they are Jews does not mean that they are “Israel.”
In fact, in Romans 9:6 the apostles Paul says: “For they are not all Israel who are descended from Israel. 7 neither are they all children because they are Abraham’s descendants, but: “through Isaac your descendants will be named.” 8 That is, it is not the children of the flesh who are children of God, but the children of the promise are regarded as descendants.

To speak of “Israel” is to speak of God’s redeemed people.

And that is confirmed by Revelation 14:1-5 because in that passage we are told exactly who the 144,000 are.

14:1 And I looked, and behold, the Lamb was standing on Mount Zion, and with Him one hundred and forty-four thousand, having His name and the name of His Father written on their foreheads. 2 And I heard a voice from heaven, like the sound of many waters and like the sound of loud thunder, and the voice which I heard was like the sound of harpists playing on their harps. 3 And they sang a new song before the throne and before the four living creatures and the elders; and no one could learn the song except the one hundred and forty-four thousand who had been purchased from the earth. 4 These are the ones who have not been defiled with women, for they have kept themselves chaste. These are the ones who follow the Lamb wherever He goes. These have been purchased from among men as first fruits to God and to the Lamb. 5 And no lie was found in their mouth; they are blameless.

“Israel” is an established name for the redeemed people of God.

Rev. 7:4 And I heard the number of those who were sealed, one hundred and forty-four thousand sealed from every tribe of the sons of Israel:5 from the tribe of Judah, twelve thousand were sealed, from the tribe of Reuben twelve thousand, from the tribe of Gad twelve thousand, 6 from the tribe of Asher twelve thousand, from the tribe of Naphtali twelve thousand, from the tribe of Manasseh twelve thousand, 7 from the tribe of Simeon twelve thousand, from the tribe of Levi twelve thousand, from the tribe of Issachar twelve thousand, 8 from the tribe of Zebulun twelve thousand, from the tribe of Joseph twelve thousand, from the tribe of Benjamin, twelve thousand were sealed.

Here is another problem for those who want to say that this is speaking of a literal Israel…or Jews.
Where is Dan? He is not included here? Where is He?

9 After these things I looked, and behold, a great multitude, which no one could count, from every nation and all tribes and peoples and tongues (four statements: four is the number of the world. Indicates these people were once in the world) standing before the throne and before the Lamb, clothed in white robes, and palm branches were in their hands(Lev. 23, 40. Palm branches were used in the “Feast of Tabernacles.” It was a time of celebration, joy, thanksgiving.”

10 and they cry out with a loud voice, saying,

“Salvation to our God (Salvation is attributed to Him) who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb.” 11 And all the angels were standing around the throne and around the elders and the four living creatures; and they fell on their faces before the throne and worshiped God, 12 saying,

“Amen, blessing and glory and wisdom and thanksgiving and honor and power and might, be to our God forever and ever. Amen.”

Notice the seven phrases…means that God is worthy of all and total adoration.

13 And one of the elders answered, saying to me, “These who are clothed in the white robes, who are they, and from where have they come?”

14 And I said to him, “My lord, you know.” And he said to me, “These are the ones who come out of the great tribulation (probably the great tribulation mentioned back up in chapter 6. Daniel told of the time when the kingdom of God would destroy the 4^th great kingdom on the earth.) , and they have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb. 15 “For this reason, they are before the throne of God; and they serve Him day and night in His temple (notice, they are priests); and He who sits on the throne shall spread His tabernacle over them. 16 “They shall hunger no more, neither thirst anymore; neither shall the sun beat down on them, nor any heat; 17 for the Lamb in the center of the throne shall be their shepherd, and shall guide them to springs of the water of life; and God shall wipe every tear from their eyes. ”

This chapter reassures these saints…the redeemed of God that when judgment and destruction comes on Rome…even though some of them may be killed in that judgment and destruction…they will be in heaven with God and the Lamb.

Salvation is theirs.

The Opening of the Seals

THE OPENING OF THE SEALS

Revelation 6

Here in the 6^th chapter we see the breaking of the 7 seals.

If you remember back in chapter 5 the “One who sat on the throne had a book in His right hand that was sealed with 7 seals…and the only one who was worthy to open the book and its seven seals was the Lamb who was slain…but who is alive.”

Now, here in chapter 6 we see the Lamb breaking 6 of the 7 seals that sealed the book and as He does so we see the beginning of the end of the book.

The rest of the book…gets its beginning right here.

Now, keep in mind that this is a vision and a lot of what is expressed here is expressed in symbols and symbolic language.

Therefore, it is difficult to know exactly what each of these symbols represent.
But, even though it is hard to know exactly what each symbol means…we can still learn the underlying lessons that God intends for us to learn.

CHAPTER 6:

Remember that this book is a book of prophecy and prophecy always warns of a coming judgment….and it always deals with the situation that is going on at the time.

I believe that when these seals are opened God is announcing the certainty of His judgment on the Roman Empire…and indicating to some degree the means in which Rome will fall.

So, look at verse 1.

And I saw when the Lamb broke one of the seven seals, and I heard one of the four living creatures saying as with a voice of thunder, “Come.”

“Come”: this is a theatrical term and it means to “appear on stage.”
It is a summons to begin…a command to “Get out here!”
This “living creature” is calling this rider “to appear.”

2 And I looked, and behold, a white horse, and he who sat on it had a bow; and a crown was given to him; and he went out conquering, and to conquer.

There is nothing in these verses that tells us for sure who these riders are…but the only other mention of a “white horse” in Revelation is found in chapter 19:11 and the rider there is Christ.
So it is a good possibility that that is who this is.

Notice the “white horse”.

That is the color of the horse that a conqueror rode after His victory.

This rider has a crown given to him.

Crown here is the word “stephanos”….it is a crown of victory or the crown of a conqueror.

And He says that He had a bow.

The “bow” was a weapon of antiquity…it allowed the one carrying it to strike from afar.

Several times in the OT we see the bow used metaphorically to show God defeating His enemies, or rescuing His people, or going to war with His enemies. (Ps. 7:12; Hab. 3:8-13, Ps. 45:5).
So the bow symbolically represented God going out to conquer…to defeat His enemies.
And He did that in one of two ways.
Arrows are intended to pierce the hearts of men…so it may be that this conqueror, especially if it is Christ, will conquer some by piercing their hearts with His word.
And those who reject His word will be destroyed as a result of rejecting that word.
Either way, the word will begin to reduce the influence of Rome and help in its destruction.

Then the verse says that this rider goes “out conquering and to conquer.”

His enemies need to beware because He has won and He will win.

All of these symbols combined together are a picture of conquest…perhaps Christ the conqueror defeating the enemies of God…or, in this case, the Roman Empire.

Now verse 3: “And when He broke the second seal, I heard the second living creature say “Come.”

Again, this is a summons to begin…”Get out here!”

“And another, a red horse, went out; and to him who sat on it, it was granted to take peace from the earth, and that men should slay one another; and a great sword was given to him.”

Red carries with it the idea of danger, blood, war!
Notice the word sword.

In the Greek that is the word “machira” and a “machira” was a small, short sword, kind of like a dagger, that was used for in, close fighting.
This rider on a red horse is indicative of war.
War would begin to reduce the power of Rome.

In verse 5 we see a description of economic hardship. Look what He says:

“And when He broke the third seal, I heard the living creature saying, “Come.” And I looked, and behold, a black horse; and he who sat on it had a pair of scales in his hand.

Scales are for weighing and measuring.

“And I heard as it were a voice in the center of the four living creatures saying, “A quart of wheat for a denarius, and three quarts of barley for a denarius; and do not harm the oil and wine.”

A denarius was considered to be a day’s wages…and here it takes a day’s wages to buy a quart of wheat or three quarts of barley.
This is an indication of the high cost of living.
Economic hardship.

Economic hardship could cause the people to revolt against the authorities and the government…and this too would aid in the decline of the Roman Empire.

And notice, He says: “Do not harm the oil and the wine.”

These were comforts…luxuries…and they were plentiful.
But no one could afford them because of the economic hardship.
The economic hardship would begin to reduce the Roman Empire

7 And when He broke the fourth seal, I heard the voice of the fourth living creature saying, “Come.” 8 And I looked, and behold, an ashen horse (sickly pale, yellowy green); and he who sat on it had the name Death; and Hades (Hades…the grave. The abode of disembodied spirits. Death slays, Hades reaps) was following with him. And authority was given to them over a fourth (indication that this is not the final judgment) of the earth, to kill with sword (war) and with famine and with pestilence and by the wild beasts of the earth.

Many Christians perished when thrown to wild animals.
Christians are not exempt from suffering.
But for the Christian, the sword, famine, pestilence and wild beasts are just 4 ways to go be with Jesus.

9 And when He broke the fifth seal, I saw underneath the altar the souls of those who had been slain because of the word of God, and because of the testimony which they had maintained (faithful unto death. These Christians had died because of their faith); 10 and they cried out with a loud voice, saying, “How long, O Lord, holy and true, wilt Thou refrain from judging and avenging our blood on those who dwell on the earth?”

Their call for retribution was not necessarily for them…they had already been slain.
Their call is for the cause they had died for.

11 And there was given to each of them a white robe(spiritually clean, pure); and they were told that they should rest for a little while longer (the persecution is not over yet), until the number of their fellow servants and their brethren who were to be killed even as they had been, should be completed also.

God is not finished yet with what He is doing.
Others would be slain.
In doing so the Roman Empire’s cup of iniquity would be full…thus resulting in justification for God’s judgment.

12 And I looked when He broke the sixth seal, and there was a great earthquake; and the sun became black as sackcloth made of hair, and the whole moon became like blood; 13 and the stars of the sky fell to the earth, as a fig tree casts its unripe figs when shaken by a great wind. 14 And the sky was split apart like a scroll when it is rolled up; and every mountain and island were moved out of their places.

This is language of the prophets to paint a picture of judgment and destruction.
You find this similar thing in Joel 1: 15; Joel 2:1-2; Isa. 13: 6-11; Jeremiah 4:23-25; Micah 1: 3-6; Amos 4: 13.
We know this is not the end of time because the last verse asks the question: Who is able to stand…and chapter 7 is going to tell us that.
This language…this kind of terminology is God stating that He is about to shake up the world of the ungodly.
It is coming soon.

15 And the kings of the earth and the great men and the commanders and the rich and the strong and every slave and free man, hid themselves in the caves and among the rocks of the mountains; 16 and they said to the mountains and to the rocks, “Fall on us and hide us from the presence of Him who sits on the throne, and from the wrath of the Lamb;

There will be no place to hide when God comes in judgment.

They will want to run…but no place to run.
No escape.

17 for the great day of their wrath has come; and who is able to stand? ”

This question will be answered in chapter 7.

Chapter 6 speaks of the coming judgment on the Roman Empire.

A couple of things we can learn here: God warns before He does.
He gives people time to repent.

Second: Anybody who touches God’s people touches the apple of His eye…and those people will answer to God for it.

Vengeance is Mine says the Lord.