November 22, 2007

• Revelation 7 by Pastor Don

  Happy Thanksgiving!!!!!! I am so blessed to have a multitude of teachings to share with you. I am so blessed to have had God pursue me for salvation and then to place me under the teachings of Pastor Don. I am blessed to be in a great church family, to have a wonderful husband and three children. God is awesome. Today when I was driving, God spilled clouds all over the mountain and made my view so beautiful. Everywhere I look I have so much to be grateful for. And then, He gave us His living WORD!!!! The Bible. Pastor Don has been teaching on Revelation and I am going to continue his teaching.

  On Sundays Pastor Don prays until God gives him an opening scripture. Last Sunday 11/11 it was Psalm 37:1-4 Do not fret because of evildoers, nor be envious of the workers of iniquity. For they shall soon be cut down like the grass, and wither as the green herb. Trust in the LORD, and do good; dwell in the land, and feed on His faithfulness. Delight yourself also in the LORD, and He shall give you the desires of your heart.

  Pastor Don then talked about how the Bible is 66 books written by 40 people. Men have tried to prove that the Bible is false and that there are errors in the document. But we can trust the Word of God.

  1. The Bible has not been tampered with. It has withstood the test of 5,000 years of history. It has not been rewritten and is the same as the original. In 1948 the Dead Sea Scrolls were found in a cave outside of Jerusalem. In comparing the texts found in those caves with the Bible we have today, the errors were minimal, and mostly punctuation errors. The content was EXACTLY THE SAME. Every book of the Bible was represented in the caves. The scribes of the Essenes and the scribes copied the scriptures. When the scriptures were copied by the scribes, if one mistake was made the whole copy was burned. They believed the scriptures were the Word of God and not one mistake could be tolerated. They memorized whole books of scriptures.  If the Bible had been tampered with in 2000 years, then a simple comparison would have proved this fact, and it did not occur. Not only that but there were different texts of the Bible in different parts of the world – the Babylonian text (Daniel), the Subjective (?) text in Rome and North Africa, and the Hebraic text. They were all the same.

  There are over 24,000 copies of all the gospels, and over 24,00 excerpts of the New Testament. If they messed with the text, all you had to do was take the copies and compare. Unlike the Muslims, their sacred text has many versions, and the ruling power would destroy all competing documents, the Bible does not have that history. When King James in 1611 decided to produce an English Bible, he went to all corners of the earth to bring back ancient copies. 3,800 poets and linguists gathered to make the Bible in English. It is the best selling book in the world. Everything that it says will come to pass came to pass. If one prophesy did not come to pass as the Bible said it would, then the whole book would be suspect. But everything that it has said would happen has happened to date. Given the bulk of fulfilled prophesies, we can trust that the few future prophesies remaining will also come to pass.

  Prophesy fulfilled also confirms the validity of the Word. In AD 70, after Jesus was crucified the Temple was destroyed. The Jews hid out in Masada, and Jerusalem was burned. 900,000 Jews were sent into captivity all over the world, one million were killed. Jeremiah prophesied that the Jews would disperse all over the world in the last days. Jesus had predicted the destruction of the temple where one stone would not be left on another – and that is what happened in AD 70.

  And In Isaiah 66:8 God says Who has heard such a thing? Who has seen such things? Shall the earth be made to give birth in one day? Or shall a nation be born at once? For as soon as Zion was in labor, she gave birth to her children.

  May 6, 1948 this prophesy came true! The Balfour treaty paved the way for Israel to become a nation. The League of Nations permitted Jews to return to Israel from all over the world. And Israel became a nation in ONE DAY.

  Pastor Don gave a brief five minute (or so) synopsis of the previous chapters in Revelation.

  Revelation Chapter 1 – The Lord Jesus appears and begins to talk about the seven churches. This is historical churches and also spiritual problems that face the church today.

  Revelation Chapter 2 -The Persecuted church- The Church of Ephesus -590-1500 AD the first 100 years Jesus gave them compliments, that they kept a special place. But he also criticizes them that they have left their first love, that their zeal waned.  The Church of Smyrna had hard times and perservered in tribulation. Jesus told them they would suffer, but if they were faithful until death they would gain a crown of life. Then Jesus spoke to the Church of Pergamos, that he knew that they were located where satan’s throne was, at the heart of pagan worship. They were rich and had a lot of money, and listened to the doctrine of the Nicolatians. They had to repent and do right. Jesus also spoke about the church in Thyatiria, that he knew their works, love, service, faith and patience. They were doing these things more than at the first, but they had allowed Jezebel to come in and spread false doctrine and idols. That those who did not fall into that doctrine are to hold fast until Jesus comes, and if they perservere Jesus will give them the morning star.

  Revelation Chapter 3 – The church at Sardis, they may appear alive but are really dead. They were falling into idolatry, were rich and needed to hold fast and repent. Those who overcome would be clothed in white garments and their name would not be blotted out of the Book of Life. The church of Philadelphia 1700′s-1900′s They spread the gospel. England evangelized the world Christopher Columbus was a Messianic Jew whose main goal was to bring the gospel to the New World. They have the key of David, and what they open, no one shuts, and what they shut, no one opens. Jesus knew their works, that they had little strength. It doesn’t take much strength to do God’s will, and they have kept His Word and not denied His name. They will be kept from the hour of trial (notice it is only a short time – an hour), they are to hold fast. And lastly the church of today, Laodicea – the lukewarm church. Laodicea made black wool and eye salve, and when Jesus prophesied about them, they were not doing these things. But Jesus tells them that they are neither warm nor cold – but lukewarm and He would spit them out of his mouth. They were wealthy, but did not realize that they were spiritually poor, they were naked, and He would give those who overcame garments of white (not black) and He would open up their blind eyes.

  Revelation Chapter 4 – John sees a vision of Heaven and the question of who is worthy to open up the scroll – and the Lamb of God (Jesus) comes forward as worthy. There is worship in heaven and the saints saying to God, the four living creatures say AMEN, and the the 24 elders fall down and worship. (Heather’s note, look at the song that is sung in verse 9 …And you have redeemed us to God by Your blood – only saved believers can sing that).

  Revelation Chapter 5 – the Six seals are opened. When the first is opened what appears is a white horse – with a rider that went out conquering and to conquer – a spirit of warfare, The second seal opened and a fiery red horse whose rider is able to take peace from the earth comes, third seal is a black horse with a rider who brings famine – a quart of wheat for a day’s wages. Pastor Don pointed out the rising gas prices and runaway inflation. The fourth seal – a pale horse whose rider is death and Hades followed with him – and 1/4 of the earth would be killed with sword, hunger, death, and beasts of the earth. These beasts of the earth could be rodents, insects and germs.  There are new diseases cropping up that are not being dealt with with our current antibiotics. The fifth seal was when the souls under the altar who had been slain for the word of God and the testimony they held (martyrs) are asking God how long before they are avenged – God gives them white garments and says they should rest a little while longer. There are more people who have died in the last decade for the Word of God than in all of history since the time of Jesus. And the sixth seal being opened causes a great earthquake, the sun becomes black and the moon like blood, and the stars fell to the earth. Everyone hid in the rocks of the mountains for the great day of His wrath has come.

  Pastor Don pointed out that many teach a false gospel that separates God’s goodness from God’s wrath. Just because God is not displaying His wrath now, does not mean that at the right time it will not happen. Love has with it certain parameters, it demands obedience, elicits punishment. Many do not want to hear that God can punish, but if the devil was slamming you down into the concrete you would want a punishing God. A parent who does not discipline their children does not love the child. Punishment is correction – not abuse. Rightly applied the child will learn right from wrong, and the repercussions of disobedience will underscore the lesson of doing what is right. We have a whole generation in America that is so permissive, and the fruit of that is the behavior that is being exhibited by the youth today, they are without discipline and act out without concern of others. If you don’t stop this, if we don’t get our lives under control, we will end up in a cycle of self destruction.

  Revelation 7:1-4 After these things I saw four angels standing at the four corners of the earth, holding the four winds of the earth, that the wind should not blow on the earth, on the sea, or on any tree. Then I saw another angel ascending from the east, having the seal of the living God. And he cried with a loud voice to the four angels to whom it was granted to harm the earth and the sea, saying, “Do not harm the earth, the sea, or the trees till we have sealed the servants of our God on their foreheads.” And I heard the number of those who were sealed. One hundred and forty-four thousand of all the tribes of the children of Israel were sealed:

  God held back this judgment until people could be sealed. If you look at verses 5-8 you see that 12,000 from each tribe of Israel were sealed. We don’t know what this seal is, if it is a physical or a spiritual mark. The Bible doesn’t indicate. What is important to realize is that these tribes are tribes of Israel – if the false teaching that God is done with Israel was true why would God indicate that these tribes would be sealed? God does not lie, and He holds to His covenant that He made with Abraham. The Jews will be saved, not all – but the remnant who accept Him will be saved. Pastor Don gave many scriptures (see previous post) regarding the rapture. When this happens we will not be on the planet, but there will still be believers on earth. Believers who saw what happened, have read the scriptures and realized that God was telling the truth.

  At this time in the end times the earth was like a pregnant woman – with birth pangs. They increase until the time of the birth. As we read about the seals, trumpets and bowl judgments we see that the events escalate. Even now things on our planet are intensifying – there are far more serious earthquakes each month than in the past, and they are coming with greater frequency. There are also tsunamis – one of which knocked the earth’s axis a tiny bit, and that has affected our weather patterns. There are also an increase in hurricanes, cyclones, drought, famine and diseases. War has increased on the earth, and we are hearing about wars and rumors of wars. Someone wonders how God will select these 144,000 – and Pastor Don stated that God knows the DNA of each person. There is a false teaching in some cults like the Jehovah Witnesses that state that the 144,000 are not Jews, but why would God not have then placed the Gentiles in this passage instead of the tribes of Israel? God clearly details what will happen to Jews and what will happen to Gentiles.

  Revelation 7:9-12 After these things I looked, and behold, a great multitude which no one could number, of all nations, tribes, peoples, and tongues, standing before the throne and before the Lamb, clothed with white robes, with palm branches in their hands, and crying out with a loud voice, saying, “Salvation belongs to our God who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb!” All the angels stood around the throne and the elders and the four living creatures, and fell on their faces before the throne and worshiped God, saying: “ Amen! Blessing and glory and wisdom, thanksgiving and honor and power and might, be to our God forever and ever. Amen.”

  Heavenly worship!!!!

  Revelation 7:13-14 Then one of the elders answered, saying to me, “Who are these arrayed in white robes, and where did they come from? And I said to him, “Sir, you know.”

  Revelation 7:15-17 So he said to me, “These are the ones who come out of the great tribulation, and washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb. Therefore they are before the throne of God, and serve Him day and night in His temple. And He who sits on the throne will dwell among them. They shall neither hunger anymore nor thirst anymore; the sun shall not strike them, nor any heat; for the Lamb who is in the midst of the throne will shepherd them and lead them to living fountains of waters. And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes.”

  The Lamb is Jesus, and these are wearing white spiritual robes. These are spiritual clothes, for this was taking place in the spiritual realm. (Heather’s note, they came from tough times because it says that they will not hunger or thirst anymore – famine and drought) And God will wipe away their tears. Pastor Don was asked why tears? And he told us that everyone was guilty of something, something that we are ashamed of in our life, and when we get closer to God and those dark areas of our life are exposed by the light of truth, there will be tears. We will have been forgiven for our sins if we have repented, but we will still be sorry for those things that we have done that is not His perfect will for us.

  1 John 1:9 If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.

  Many will refuse to call on His name and ask His forgiveness. God will gladly help any who call on His name. Satan will not be on earth, for He will be in the bottomless pit for 1000 years.

  Revelation 20:2-3 He laid hold of the dragon, that serpent of old, who is the Devil and Satan, and bound him for a thousand years; and he cast him into the bottomless pit, and shut him up, and set a seal on him, so that he should deceive the nations no more till the thousand years were finished. But after these things he must be released for a little while.

  An angel (not even a big wig angel – Heather’s note) will grab satan with one hand, opening the door of the bottomless pit with the other, and he will be sealed there for 1000 years so that Jesus can rule and reign on the earth. This is necessary for God wants to show people what godly rule looks like, the kind of rule that He wanted Adam and Eve to have.

  Before this happens though, the antichrist will emerge (he will emerge after the saints are taken out of the way). Already things are being set in motion to make this easier. The European Union and Europe are soon going to challenge the United States. The Euro is about $1.45, and they are seeking to gain monetary advantage over what used to be the almighty dollar. There is already chips with data on them being inserted in our animals and some people, the UPC code with its 666 is already set in place. Pastor Don feels that the New World Order is here. The United Nations have pulled together to make this happen. We occasionally see military soldiers dressed in black in our area that we think might be UN soldiers, but they wear no insignia that is recognizable, and they practice military maneuvers.

  Jesus will come to earth after this time period to rule and reign for 1000 years to show that He can do better than we did. He cannot judge us if He cannot do better. Because satan will be in the pit, people will not be able to say, “The devil made me do it.” We all have wanted to live the way we want to live, do things the way we want to do things, and then not have anyone judge us for our actions. But God does have to judge – we also have to judge. We have to judge good as good, and evil as evil. If we don’t we are out of God’s order. (Heather’s note, it is not our place to judge to condemnation, but if we want to live a decent life we have to make calls. I cannot refuse to judge if my daughter is doing something illegal, that she is out of order and needs correction. If I don’t correct my children and correct my behavior, chaos will come.) It is not true that Jesus told us not to judge, He said:

  John 7:24 Do not judge according to appearance, but judge with righteous judgment.

  You need to make a right call, and when you judge, judge with kindness. We do not judge someone and tell them they are going to Hell, but at the same time, when a person is out of order, they need to be judged.

  Revelation 20:7-9 Now when the thousand years have expired, Satan will be released from his prison and will go out to deceive the nations which are in the four corners of the earth, Gog and Magog, to gather them together to battle, whose number is as the sand of the sea. They went up on the breadth of the earth and surrounded the camp of the saints and the beloved city. And fire came down from God out of heaven and devoured them.

  Jerusalem is the beloved city, and it will be judged by fire. Why are the people coming against Jerusalem? It is because of the 144,000 Jewish evangelists, and they want to try and wipe out the Messiah. After the 1000 years, there will be births on the earth, and all those who were born since satan was cast into the pit, also need a chance to make a choice for Christ or against Christ. What is surprising is that some will not choose to follow Christ, they would rather follow the lies of satan.

  Revelation 20:10 The devil, who deceived them, was cast into the lake of fire and brimstone where the beast and the false prophet are. And they will be tormented day and night forever and ever.

  The devil who deceived Adam and Eve, will be cast into the lake of fire and will be tormented forever and ever. One translation says for ages and ages. Forever and Eternity are not words in the original language.This is a reference to eonic time. What is time when there is no time? God invented time for man, giving us 24 hour days, seasons, years, etc. But at the end of the millennial period  – Hebrew Word: OLAM or AONIC. From age to age. How long is an age? We don’t know. How long is an eon? we don’t know for it is outside of time as we know it.

  Revelation 20:12 And I saw the dead, small and great, standing before God, and books were opened. And another book was opened, which is the Book of Life. And the dead were judged according to their works, by the things which were written in the books.

  The Book of Life will be opened and all dead were judged by their works, by what was written in the books.

  Revelation 20:13 The sea gave up the dead who were in it, and Death and Hades delivered up the dead who were in them. And they were judged, each one according to his works.

  It is not works that gets us to salvation, but we will be judged by our works – by the heart of what we did. Will it be straw, hay and stubble that is burnt up? Or will it be gold, silver, and precious metals? God will read our hearts. It is good to give food to the poor – if we are giving it for a reason that is not God centered, that good work will be burnt up – for example for political gain, not to advance God’s kingdom. If our works are Ego centered, they will not last judgment.

  Revelation 20:14-15 Then Death and Hades were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death. And anyone not found written in the Book of Life was cast into the lake of fire. God will test and try our works by fire. God has told us that the one important work is to Believe Jesus, and that is a choice. It is not blind faith, for we have a reason for our faith.

  So in verse 13 the people are judged, there are two deaths. the first is the physical death, and the second death is after the spirit comes out of the body and is judged – either to eternal life or to the second death in the lake of fire. It sounds cruel, but the truth is that there are some who would not be happy in heaven, who do not want to be near God, and God will not force them to be there.

  Revelation 20:15 tells us that anyone who makes that choice and is not found in the Book of Life will spend eternity in the lake of fire.

  Revelation 21:1  Now I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away. Also there was no more sea.

  This is a vision of the New Jerusalem, coming down from Heaven.

  Revelation 21:3-4  And I heard a loud voice from heaven saying, “Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and He will dwell with them, and they shall be His people. God Himself will be with them and be their God. And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes; there shall be no more death, nor sorrow, nor crying. There shall be no more pain, for the former things have passed away.”

  When you are in the presence of God with all your baggage, you will be facing the truth of where you went wrong and erred. Evangelists stealing money, sexual promiscuity, teachers teaching false doctrine – God will know all – He knows all. And God will wipe away the tears of those who have accepted Christ and repented, for them there will be no fire, and the former things will have passed completely away, but there will be tears.

  Revelation 21:6 And He said to me, “It is done! I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End. I will give of the fountain of the water of life freely to him who thirsts.

  IT IS DONE! Does a man who has everything thirst? No. We realize we don’t have to thirst.

  Revelation 21:7 He who overcomes shall inherit all things, and I will be his God and he shall be My son.

  He who overcomes- we will overcome because we are a believer. We overcome in spite of the fact that we can’t get it together, in spite of the fact that we struggle in the flesh. Our belief in Him helps us to overcome.

  Revelation 21:8 But the cowardly, unbelieving, abominable, murderers, sexually immoral, sorcerers, idolaters, and all liars shall have their part in the lake which burns with fire and brimstone, which is the second death.”

  There will be a judgment. We have all done these things on some level, but as believers we have repented, for we don’t choose to disobey. Our belief in Him helps us to overcome so that we do not face the lake of fire.

  Pastor Don shared that you can have been a high priestess of the devil and have repented, and God will cleanse you of your past sins. Pastor Don talked about some who choose to try out the Ouija Board, and said that often it is curiosity that gets us in trouble. Pastor Don prays that all will repent, he doesn’t even want his worst enemy to spend 10 seconds in the lake of fire.

  1 Corinthians 3:1-3 And I, brethren, could not speak to you as to spiritual people but as to carnal, as to babes in Christ.  I fed you with milk and not with solid food; for until now you were not able to receive it, and even now you are still not able;  for you are still carnal. For where there are envy, strife, and divisions among you, are you not carnal and behaving like mere men?

  So who gets purged? Not all saints have overcome all their flesh, but God needs us to be purged when He tabernacles with us. So what does he purge?

  1 Corinthians 3:9-10 For we are God’s fellow workers; you are God’s field, you are God’s building. 10 According to the grace of God which was given to me, as a wise master builder I have laid the foundation, and another builds on it. But let each one take heed how he builds on it.

  The best spiritual foundation can be laid, but how a person builds on that foundation will alter their lives. Will it be lasting godly works? or earthly works. If you go off on a tangent and disobey God, that is your choice, not Pastor Don’s responsibility. We have choice.

  1 Corinthians 3:11-13For no other foundation can anyone lay than that which is laid, which is Jesus Christ. Now if anyone builds on this foundation with gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, straw, each one’s work will become clear; for the Day will declare it, because it will be revealed by fire; and the fire will test each one’s work, of what sort it is.

  The kind of work may not always be clearly delineated as godly or not, but there will be a judgment, and after a time the type of work will be determined by what is lasting, what survives the fire of purification. It will be revealed by fire, by a test. We will be saved (salvation), but our works may be burnt up in the fire of purging.

  2 Corinthians 3:14-17 If anyone’s work which he has built on it endures, he will receive a reward. 15 If anyone’s work is burned, he will suffer loss; but he himself will be saved, yet so as through fire. Do you not know that you are the temple of God and that the Spirit of God dwells in you? If anyone defiles the temple of God, God will destroy him. For the temple of God is holy, which temple you are.

  We are the temple of God, and God will test what stuff His temple is made of – wood, hay, straw or things of lasting duration.

  We need to become fruit testers, to watch and see what fruit comes out of a person’s life.

  We want lasting crowns to cast at the feet of Jesus.

  Praying you had a blessed Thanksgiving.

  Heather

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