Revelation 14:1-3 – “Then I looked, and there before me was the Lamb, standing on Mount Zion, and with him 144,000 who had his name and his Father’s name written on their foreheads. And I heard a sound from heaven like the roar of rushing waters and like a loud peal of thunder.  The sound I heard was like that of harpists playing their harps.  And they sang a new song before the throne and before the four living creatures and the elders.  No one could learn the song except the 144,000 who had been redeemed from the earth. These are those who did not defile themselves with women, for they remained virgins.  They follow the Lamb wherever he goes.  They were purchased from among mankind and offered as firstfruits to God and the Lamb. No lie was found in their mouths; they are blameless.”

The book of Revelation returns to the 144,000 witnesses introduced previously in Revelation 7:1-8.  That earlier chapter explained the significance of the number itself – 12,000 from each of the 12 Tribes of Israel.  Twelve in the Bible often symbolizes foundations for a phase of God’s project.  God build His Old Testament project (the nation of Israel) starting with 12 Tribes, and His New Testament project (the church) with 12 Apostles.  Here, the 12 groups of 12,000 (totaling 144,000) comprise the foundation for God’s project during the final period of history, the Great Tribulation.  The Tribulation is a period when God briefly returns to His Old Testament project to finish it, and this begins at the Rapture when the faithful church has finished its mission and leaves the world.  That is the reason for the number here: 12 Tribes multiplied by 1,000 (the number for the end of an age) multiplied again by twelve (God bringing completion to the original project, bringing something new out of the old).

Also, note that seven is the biblical number of perfection, and the book of Revelation has a structure that centers around four series of sevens – 7 letters to churches, 7 seals, 7 bowls, and 7 trumpets.  Similarly, the seventh chapter of the book briefly introduces the 144,000 witnesses, then m-oves on, and returns to the subject seven chapters later.

The vision of the 144,000 witnesses pertains to an event still in the future – it does not include those reading this today.  The event that John foresaw in a vision is the conversion of these Israelites during the Great Tribulation, the 7-year period after the Rapture of the church and before the Return of Christ to reign on the earth.  The first reference, in chapter 7, pertains to the beginning of their story, when the angel of the Lord first marks or seals twelve thousand from each of the twelve tribes of Israel (an earlier lesson described this).

This chapter revisits them seven years later, at the end of the Tribulation, when Jesus has returned.  How do we know this refers to the end of the Tribulation?  The Lamb is standing on Mount Zion in Jerusalem.  Jesus has returned!  The faithful church is with him but we will have glorified bodies that we received seven years earlier at the Rapture.  Here the focus is on the believers who survive the Great Tribulation – all are Jewish.  They are God’s servants and messengers on the earth during the worldwide reign of the Antichrist.  They will not convert any Gentiles during this time – the epoch for converting Gentiles is now, and it ends at the Rapture.  Instead, they will be turning Israelites to Jesus as their Messiah during the Great Tribulation, when the whole world has turned against Israel.  In this sense, the prophecy here is not about us (the faithful Christians today), but about a group that will succeed us after we are gone.

His Father’s Name written on their foreheads – Jesus promises in Revelation 3:12 to do this for all who overcome, not only the 144,000 – this blessing is something they share in common with all the saints.  The visible mark identifies us as belonging to Him, but also alludes to the consecration of our minds and attitudes to the Father.  It stands in contrast to the unbelievers receiving the mark of the Beast on their foreheads in the previous chapter.

Sound like rushing waters and thunder – A similar phrase, in Revelation 1:15, describes the sound of God’s audible voice.  Here it refers to the heavenly worship and celebration of victory by the saints.  See Revelation 19:6 – “Then I heard what sounded like a great multitude, like the roar of rushing waters and like loud peals of thunder, shouting: Hallelujah!  For our Lord God Almighty reigns!”).  His return will occasion the greatest worship time in history.

]]> http://www.maranathaglobal.org/latest/8634/feed 0 http://www.maranathaglobal.org/latest/8632 http://www.maranathaglobal.org/latest/8632#comments Sat, 25 Feb 2012 21:02:07 +0000 dru http://www.maranathaglobal.org/?p=8632 Lessons from the 144,000 pt 2 – Revelation 14:3-5

Revelation 14:3-5 – “And they sang a new song before the throne and before the four living creatures and the elders.  No one could learn the song except the 144,000 who had been redeemed from the earth. These are those who did not defile themselves with women, for they remained virgins.  They follow the Lamb wherever he goes.  They were purchased from among mankind and offered as firstfruits to God and the Lamb. No lie was found in their mouths; they are blameless.”

A previous lesson explained the direct prophetic fulfillment of this passage – still in the future, as it pertains to the end of the Great Tribulation.  At the same time, we can glean much from the description of these believers.

New song – Also mentioned in Psalm 40:3; Psalm 96:1; Psalm 98:1; Psalm 144:9; Isaiah 42:10; and Revelation 5:9.  God does not keep us in dead tradition and ritual; he gives believers new songs.  “before the throne, before the elders…” – this reminds us that our worship comes directly before God in heaven.

Did not defile themselves with women – During the Great Tribulation, God’s people will be under the directive against marriage that we see in Jeremiah 16:1-4; all the reasons there will apply in the Tribulation.  Today (prior to the rapture), God encourages Christians to get married and have children (see 1 Corinthians 7:2; Malachi 2:15).

Purity in this area of our lives is what God expects.

They follow the Lamb wherever he goes – walking according to revelation.  Rather than going our own way and pleading with God to come along, the true believer follows the Lamb.  “Follow” implies two things – knowing his movements (this requires revelation, sensitivity to the Spirit) and action (the decision to pursue him).  “Wherever” suggests the level of commitment – they will go anywhere to stay close the Lamb.  Too many Christians want a comfortable Christianity.

Redeemed from the earth – the word “redeemed” emphasizes the purchase component of our salvation – Jesus’ blood paid a price to gain our freedom from spiritual slavery to sin.  All true Christians are those he has redeemed from the corruption in this world (Galatians 3:13-14; 1 Peter 1:18-19).

Purchased from among mankind (see also Revelation 5:9-11) Jesus’ blood was a purchase price or payment for our souls.  Through this purchase, we became God’s rightful property.  Everything we have, everything we are, rightfully belongs to him, not us.  Jesus does not save everyone – most people will not go to heaven.  Instead, Jesus saves us out of mankind (“from among”).  Christians should not worry too much about fitting in with the world around us.  God saves us from among mankind, not into mankind.  Of course, Jesus “gave himself as a ransom for all men…”  (1 Timothy 2:6). Everyone has an opportunity to receive salvation through Christ, but he saves individual men, not mankind as a group.

There was an ancient Greek custom where someone could pay a “redemption price” at the slave market in order to set a certain slave free.  “In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, in accordance with the riches of God’s grace.”  (Ephesians 1:7)  One facet of Christ’s atonement was this re-purchase of “property” (i.e., slaves).  “For you know that it was not with perishable things such as silver or gold that you were redeemed from the empty way of life handed down to you from your forefathers, but with the precious blood of Christ, a lamb without blemish or defect.”  (1 Peter 1:18-19)

Offered as firstfruits – “firstfruits” was a mandatory sacrifice in the Old Testament.  Sometimes, it must have been difficult for the ancient Israelites to offer God the first portion of food they picked when it ripened.  On a practical level, the firstfruits sacrifices teach us to put God first – in our time, in our financial and career decisions, and in our families.  God’s goal in the atonement was to produce people who consecrate themselves fully to Him.

No lie was found in their mouths; they are blameless – Christians should always tell the truth and never lie.  Most lies people tell are simply to “save face,” to avoid admitting something embarrassing.  They have a prideful desire to escape a moment of embarrassment.  There are also those who lie order to trick and exploit others, but this is less common.  A believer must decide to be scrupulous about this – to have no lie come from his mouths.  God’s standard is zero lying, zero fibbing, no distortion, and no half-truths when we speak.  Christians should be blameless.  In the Gospels, the writers usually refer to followers of Jesus as “disciples,” meaning students or apprentices.  The Holy Spirit produces holiness in us, making his servants blameless.

Revelation 10:10-11 – “I took the little scroll from the angel’s hand and ate it. It tasted as sweet as honey in my mouth, but when I had eaten it, my stomach turned sour.  Then I was told, ‘You must prophesy again about many peoples, nations, languages and kings.’”

Little Scroll - God’s words; today we have these in the Bible and when the Holy Spirit speaks, either directly to our hearts or through revelations in the gathering of brethren.  This symbol also appears in Isaiah 29:11-18 and Ezekiel 2:9-3:4.

Open, unrolled in the angel’s hand – God intends His Word to be an open book for us.  Some neglect the Bible because they find it confusing.  Use a Bible version that is easy to understand – in one’s own language, or in simple, modern English.  Those who cannot read should try to obtain an audio recording or have someone read the Bible to them regularly.   In addition, the Holy Spirit wants to help us understand the Word (see Psalm 119:18; 1 John 2:27; 2 Corinthians 3:6).

We should prayerfully ask the Lord to show us the meaning of passages we find difficult; God loves to answer this prayer.

Eat the scroll – The Bible uses “eating” as a symbol of deliberately taking the Word into our hearts and minds.  Jesus said that man could not live by bread alone, but by the Word of God (Matthew 4:4; Luke 4:4).  “When your words came, I ate them.”  (Jeremiah 15:16).  We need to feed our souls with the Word, taking it into our lives, making it part of who we are.  We must go beyond merely hearing verses read in church services or reviewing our favorite inspirational passages.

We should read it or listen to it frequently (Revelation 1:3; 1 Timothy 4:13); reflect or meditate on it (Joshua 1:8); discuss its meaning with others, especially family members (Deuteronomy 6:7); and memorize portions of it, to the extent of our ability (Psalm 119:11; 2 Timothy 3:15).  The Bible even encourages us to write sections of Scripture as a way of remembering what God says (Deuteronomy 6:8-9).  We should allow the Word to change our minds and our opinions about any subject it addresses.

Sweet like honey – God’s Word is sweet for us; the same is true of a “word from the Lord,” a revelation from the Holy Spirit – it brings a profound joy.  See Psalm 119:103 – “How sweet are your words to my taste, sweeter than honey to my mouth.”  Psalm 19:10 – The Lord’s commands are “sweeter than honey, than honey from the comb.”  The Bible should not be like a chore for us, something tedious or boring.  If we feel that way, there is something wrong in our approach.  Think about the sensation of tasting honey – intense sweetness, the strong flavor.  Those who think the Bible is boring usually have not read it, or perhaps they tried reading only an old, archaic version whose language was too foreign.  Our initial encounter of the Word is a pleasant sensation.

Sour in my stomach – As we take the Word into ourselves more deeply, eventually it challenges us.  So do the Holy Spirit’s ongoing revelations.  God points out whatever in our life is worldly, materialistic, greedy, selfish, prideful, and envious.  Many people cannot bear correction; they neglect the Word because they dislike how it addresses their flaws and failures.  God wants us to embrace his Word and allow it to change us. In addition, God’s Word has a serious message about the future: that nothing in this world has any lasting value, judgment is coming, and eternity without salvation is endless torment.  Many who call themselves Christians prefer to maintain a superficial connection to the Word, wanting only lighthearted words of inspiration and hope, promises of material prosperity and health.  The flesh always LOVES these things – everyone hopes to become rich, healthy, and important.  When we really take God’s Word into ourselves, we learn that material prosperity has no lasting value and is not as important to God as it is to our flesh.  We learn that inspiration or excitement is not as important as righteousness and faithfulness.  We learn that disobedience – or even half-obedience – has serious consequences. 

Now prophesy – In Revelation 10 and Ezekiel 3, it is only AFTER the prophet has eaten the entire scroll that God tells him to prophesy.  We should prepare ourselves to be God’s spokesperson by taking his Word fully into our lives.  Those who read, study, and discuss the Bible are more ready to hear from God.  The person hearing from God should know the Word well enough to check and compare what they believe God is saying with what is already in the Bible.  This avoids many mistakes and false prophecies.

 How to Have Revival

Revival is a biblical concept in which the Lord renews the operation of his Holy Spirit in the lives of believers and in the midst of the Body of Christ.  Anything the Lord has done in the past, he can also do today.  The Lord desires his servants to be revived and refreshed every day- “his mercies are new every morning” (Lamentations 3:23).  Faithful servants pray for this, as did Habakkuk; but the biblical prayer also has a prophetic aspect pointing to the last days before the rapture of the church.

At some points in history, this process of revival has been marked by dramatic, revolutionary moments that brought sweeping social reform and mass conversions.  We see biblical examples of this in stories of Hezekiah and Josiah.  In these cases, revival followed a long period where the operation of the Holy Spirit had nearly disappeared for at least a generation or more, and when the Lord’s project surged forth with new force, the result was tumultuous.  Perhaps the best-known recent revivals of this sort occurred in the “Great Awakenings” in North America and Europe in the mid-nineteenth century.  Unfortunately, these wonderful movements quickly faded after the original leaders died, or various divisions or scandals ensued among the God’s people.

The ideal “revival” is an ongoing, continuous process.  The Holy Spirit wants a sustainable revival that grows steadily over time.  We do not want a sudden burst of excitement that fizzles out after a few months or a few years.  Instead, we want to have the operation of the Holy Spirit to progress over time, not ending until the faithful ones meet the Lord in the air.  We do not want a revival of mere emotionalism or sensationalism, but rather a spiritual reality, one that produces lasting fruit.  Indeed, this has been our experience in the work of the Holy Spirit – there is continuous refreshment and new life, building and increasing in intensity over time.

When we try to have revival without a spiritual structure in place to maintain it, the results will be only temporary.  We need to have a Body that is functioning properly in order to prevent the divisions and abuses that terminated all the revivals in the past.  We need to have a people who are committed corporately to seeking the Lord’s direction and will in all things, every day.  We invite you to investigate this Work of the Spirit that we have been experiencing, and discover the reality of an ongoing revival.

We pray, as did the prophet: “O Lord, revive Your work in the midst of the years!” 

In the original Greek text of the New Testament, the word translated here as “a place” is “kleros.” The King James Version translated it “inheritance,” which is one of its meanings. Kleros is a very important word in both the New Testament and in the Greek version of the Old Testament that the Apostles used in the early church (called the “Septuagint”).  This is the first in a series of lessons exploring the meaning of this term.

Reference books list the main definitions of kleros as “lot, portion, or share.”  It is the word used for casting lots to inquire of the Lord in Acts 1:26.  Peter told the money-loving Simon Magus that he had “no share in this ministry” in Acts 8:21 (“neither part nor lot in this matter”), using the same word “kleros” for “lot” or “share.”  In Colossians 1:12 Paul uses the word for the “inheritance” of the saints, and in 1 Peter 5:3 it uses the same word to call the faithful church the Lord’s “heritage” that has been entrusted to the pastors.  The common theme is our allotted portion or share, designated and revealed by God’s grace to us.

Here, kleros is a place among the true saints. When we experience salvation through Christ, we receive a place at His table, at the eternal wedding feast of the Lamb.  “He brought me to his banquet table, and his banner over me is love.”  (Song of Songs 2:4; see also Isaiah 25:6).  There is a place with your name, designated and reserved for you.  This is more than merely a geographic location that is available for you; rather, it is an invitation, an inclusion in the family of God (see Matthew 22:2-10).  You place at the table is your “kleros,” a share assigned to you by Jesus himself.  “Blessed are those who are invited to the wedding supper of the Lamb!” (Revelation 19:9).

Your place (kleros) among those who are sanctified also refers to your life here, right now, not just to our future in heaven.  God has a place for you in his own flock, his faithful church:

It is a place where you belong, where you can feel at home spiritually

It is a place where you can feel safe from both the world and from the abuses that plague religion.

It is a place where you can serve Christ and make a difference or an impact in God’s project.

It is a place where you can receive spiritual nourishment and can grow or progress spiritually.

It is a place of rest and peace (Hebrews 3: – 4:10).

“that I may enjoy the prosperity of your chosen ones, that I may share in the joy of your nation and join your inheritance in giving praise.” (Psalm 106:5)

“Kleros” is our share in the joy of God’s people, joining his inheritance, enjoying the blessings He gives them.

“so that” – Notice the conditional structure of this sentence.  How do we receive a place (kleros) among the sanctified?  Through the opening of our eyes (revelation), and by turning from darkness to light (“repentance” means “turning”), turning away from the authority of the Enemy to God in complete submission to our Heavenly Father.  These things – opening eyes, turning form darkness to light, and turning from the Enemy’s authority to God – enable us to take a place among God’s own flock.  This phrase “so that” also reveals God’s purpose in evangelism – he sends preachers like Paul to open people’s eyes, to turn them from darkness to light, SO THAT they may receive a place among God’s people.  Godly evangelism or outreach has this ultimate goal or purpose – to see people take their place among the servants of Christ.  The goal is not merely to have a well-attended evangelism event!  We must stay focused on God’s long-term goal, which is to have them receive their place, their kleros.  God intends everyone he saves to become an integrated part of a fellowship of true saints (the body), even if that is a small group meeting regularly in a home.  We should think of outreach in terms of kleros – bringing people into their kleros, their place in the family of God.

“so that they may receive a place among those who are sanctified by faith in me.” – Acts 26:18

]]> http://www.maranathaglobal.org/latest/8190/feed 0 http://www.maranathaglobal.org/latest/8183 http://www.maranathaglobal.org/latest/8183#comments Sun, 11 Dec 2011 00:33:02 +0000 dru http://www.maranathaglobal.org/?p=8183 Revelation 13:8-10 “All inhabitants of the earth will worship the beast – all whose names have not been written in the book of life belonging to the Lamb that was slain from the creation of the world.  He who has an ear, let him hear.  If anyone is to go into captivity, into captivity he will go.  If anyone is to be killed with the sword, with the sword he will be killed.  This calls for patient endurance and faithfulness on the part of the saints.”

This sentence gives us an interesting definition-by-negation: by telling us what unbelievers are not like, it provides a nice definition of what believers in fact are. The true believers escape the spiritual deception that comes on the world in the last days to attract most people to the Antichrist, whoever that is.  Of course, many who call themselves “Christian” but are unsaved will fall under the deception, because their names are not yet in the book of life.

“Written in the book of life” – Those who receive salvation in Christ have their names written in a heavenly book – known in eternity, designated as belonging to the Son of God.  This is most important thing we can attain in life.  Christianity is not supposed to be impersonal or just a group affiliation or tribal identity.  It is personal – God saves individuals, one by one, marking them for eternity and seeking a personal relationship with each true believer.

When you pray, you pray not as a member of a Christian country or even a church, but as an individual whose name is written in God’s book (if indeed your name is there).  The book belongs to the Lamb – it is HIS book because he purchased each person there with his own blood on the cross, and he alone is worthy to open the book.  Those whose names are in the Lamb’s book belong to the Lamb themselves – they are his own possession and inheritance.  We belong to Jesus, we are his, he purchased us and deserves full ownership over our lives.

Lamb that was slain from the creation of the world – Jesus physically died about 2000 years ago just outside the walls of Jerusalem.  How then could he be “slain from the creation of the world”?  The answer is that God planned for Jesus to die as a redeemer from the time of creation – God always planned to send his Son as an atoning sacrifice for us.  Salvation is the project of God from eternity – He planned it before we existed, and it will continue in eternity after this world passes away.  Even in Genesis 3, God began hinting at the Savior who would come to defeat the Enemy and to cover the sins of the people.  Jesus’ death was an injustice from a human point of view (wrongfully accused, illegally executed), but it was not a tragedy, because through his death we can have life.  All through human history, God has been preparing and planning for the culmination of His project of salvation, which Jesus accomplished on Calvary.

Men study history and read about great wars and powerful human leaders. Men see themselves as the product of history, the next step in a series of events, each one caused by the previous step. In eternity, where time is less relevant, the view has always focused on the center of history when Jesus died.  Today, we live out the fulfillment of a plan that God started from the creation of the world.  Before the world existed, God planned to bring you to eternity.  We are not the product of history or some gradual development.  We live today in exactly what God prepared before he said, “Let there be light.”  When we look backward, we see the Lamb, and when we look forward, we also see the Lamb.  The Lamb always before, and forever ahead.

He who has an ear, let him hear – This phrase occurs several times in the book of Revelation, and Jesus used similar words in the gospels (see Matthew 11:15; Matthew 13:9, 43; Mark 4:9; Luke 14:35).  This is a recognition that most people are not listening or attentive to God’s revelation, and at the same time it is a challenge to those who are listening.  The point is that we should heed what God is saying if we care about the revelation and doing God’s will.

“If anyone is to be killed with the sword, with the sword he will be killed.  This calls for patient endurance and faithfulness on the part of the saints.” - Many believers must experience persecution, and we can trust God’s plan throughout these trials, and endure through the suffering.

Whose Names Are in the Book of Life – Revelation 13:8-9

Revelation 12:10-11 - “Now have come the salvation and the power and the kingdom of our God, and the authority of his Christ. For the accuser of our brothers, who accuses them before our God day and night, has been hurled down.  They overcame him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony; they did not love their lives so much as to shrink from death…”

Revelation 12 is about “the Woman” and the Dragon.  Bible Scholars today debate about the identity of “the Woman,” a symbolic figure here.  Some scholars believe she is a symbol of the nation of Israel – out of which came the Messiah (Jesus) and the first Christians.  Others think she symbolizes the church, which brings Jesus to the world today through our testimony, and which suffers so much persecution.  We will not attempt to resolve this debate here, for our purpose is to emphasize the clearer, and more important, points in the chapter.  Similarly, scholars disagree about the timing of Satan (the Dragon) being cast to the earth.  Some believe this refers to an event in the Last Days, which intensifies the demonic activity in the world, while others think this refers symbolically to an event in the distant past.  Taken by itself, this chapter seems to suggest that it is in the last days.  On the other hand, Jesus seems to refer to this as a past event in Luke 10:18.  It is not important for us to settle such disputes in this lesson, as both viewpoints are acceptable to some sincere Bible scholars.

Other points are very clear.  The “male child, who will rule all the nations with an iron scepter” in verse 5 is Jesus Christ (see Revelation 2:27; Revelation 19:15; and Psalm 2:9).  In addition, the “Dragon” is a symbol of the Enemy (Satan, also called the Devil), who “leads the whole world astray” (Revelation 12:9) with spiritual deceptions and sin.  According to this passage, one-third of the heavenly angels joined Satan in his revolt against God, but they failed completely (Revelation 12:4; Revelation 12:9; see also Matthew 25:41; 1 Peter 3:19-20; 2 Peter 2:4; Jude 1:6).  Nevertheless, we must not dwell on things relating to Satan or demons, lest we give them attention they crave but do not deserve.  The Bible warns us to avoid thinking or talking too much about evil things and to focus our minds instead on Christ, salvation, and the things that please God (Philippians 4:8-9; Psalm 119:37; 2 Corinthians 10:5; Colossians 3:1-2).  We now turn to the heavenly declaration, which should be the focus of our preaching on this chapter.

Now have come the salvation and the power and the kingdom of our God – Christians must understand that everything around us will soon end, and Christ will abruptly replace this present world system.  Things in this world, and in our lives, may get worse before they get better, but we know the conclusion of history – Jesus reigns forever.  Salvation refers to the eternal project to rescue sinners from darkness and sin, which Jesus accomplishes – his name in Hebrew means “Savior.”  (Matthew 1:21).  The power of God will be fully manifest on earth after Jesus returns – now we prophecy only in part (1 Corinthians 13:9); and we see miracles rather inconsistently.  The Kingdom of our God is where God is in control rather than men.  The authority of his Christ – Jesus is the “Christ,” which means God’s “anointed,” because he fulfills God’s eternal project of salvation.  Jesus receives full authority from God the Father (Matthew 28:18).

The accuser of our brothers, who accuses them before our God day and night – The name “Satan” actually means “accuser” or “adversary” in Hebrew.  Believers must understand that the Enemy is not merely an evil spirit who brings disease, accidents, or other misfortunes.  He also reminds us of our former sins (to discourage us from holiness) and brings accusations against us to God Himself (see Job 1 & 2).  This role of the accuser is much more serious than any physical afflictions the Enemy can bring on us!  Many people today do not take their own sin seriously – they think God will overlook sins, or be relaxed about sin.  They fail to understand the intensity of the legal charges brought against each of us in heaven every day.  The Enemy is like a ferocious, imbalanced, bloodthirsty prosecutor, highlighting every sin and failure in hopes of seeing us condemned and cursed by God.  The situation is utterly hopeless for us except for the covering of Jesus’ blood.  They “overcame him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony.”

Thankfulness and thanksgiving are frequent commands in the Bible.  Many Christians yearn to know God’s will for their lives; we should ask our Lord what he wants when we face decisions.  At the same time, the Bible already tells us several things that are “God’s will for you” – usually certain character traits that God wants us to cultivate.  These, in turn, will have a significant impact on how we pursue our careers, family relationships, ministry, and so forth.

The New Testament repeatedly instructs us to be thankful in every situation and circumstance (see Ephesians 5:20; Philippians 4:6; Colossians 3:17).  We should intentionally develop the practice of finding things to thank God for in every circumstance, good or bad.  This does not mean that we should thank God for a disease, death, or other afflictions – we know that the Enemy sends those things, too.  Some believers make the mistake of thinking they will seem super-spiritual if they thank God for bad things that happen to them.  This is not Biblical – we should not attribute every bad thing that happens to God, especially when the Bible is so clear that there are evil forces in the world.  We should thank God within our trials, despite our trials, but we do not have to thank Him for the trial, as if God is the author of disease and poverty.  When we are sick or grieving the loss of loved ones, we can thank God for other blessings we have, like eternal life and the comfort of His Spirit.  We thank God that the situation is no worse than it is, and that we know He will bring us through it.  We do not have to pretend tragedies are not tragedies.

God delights in our gratitude and expressions of thanks to Him (thankfulness is therefore very important), but we should not condemn ourselves for the fact that we need to improve in this area. It is very rare that the Bible condemns or criticizes anyone for not being thankful enough (see, for example, Romans 1:21 or Luke 17:17), and these are about people who were not thankful AT ALL – they simply ignored God completely.  We should not think of the fact that we could MORE thankful as some kind of sin.  Most believers thank the Lord for things regularly; at the same time, we all need to grow in this area.  Christian virtues are not an either-or, succeed-or-fail endeavor, but rather as something that all Christians have to some extent, but that we all need more, no matter how much we already have.

We must address a strange practice regarding thanksgiving that is prevalent among many Pentecostal and Charismatic churches: the habit of praying for a miracle and simultaneously thanking God for the miracle, even though it has not yet occurred.  Sometimes they say, “I thank you in advance knowing you will answer my prayers.”  Others say, “God, I thank you because I know you have ALREADY healed this person!” It is strange enough that they are thanking God for something before it happens; it is stranger still that these people believe that it makes God more likely to do the miracle (or answer the prayer) if they have uttered these words and thanked Him already.  They act as if thanking God in advance were a magical incantation; that somehow they are binding or forcing God to do the miracle.  God appreciates the thankfulness overall, and God often answers the prayers, but thanking God in advance does not cause God to act or make it more likely that He will answer the prayer.  It is good to have faith that God answers prayer, but we must be careful about suggesting that the specific words we use matter so much.  This is the mentality of witchcraft, not of prayer.  Witchcraft starts with the idea that saying special words or doing certain rituals makes something happen miraculously.  Prayer is the opposite – it is simply our conversation with our Heavenly Father, part of our relationship with Him, an expression of our dependence on Him to meet our needs.  The witchcraft mentality seeks to control things, to bring events under human control.  Prayer, in contrast, yields or surrenders control of the situation to God.  Therefore, we should not teach church members to thank God in advance for things.  They should thank Him for the privilege of coming into His presence, and we should certainly thank God when He answers the prayers.  We need not turn prayer into pretending.

]]> http://www.maranathaglobal.org/latest/8481/feed 0 http://www.maranathaglobal.org/latest/8478 http://www.maranathaglobal.org/latest/8478#comments Fri, 02 Dec 2011 17:54:10 +0000 dru http://www.maranathaglobal.org/?p=8478 “Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures.” – 1 Corinthians 15:3

Why Did Jesus Have to Die For Our Sins?  Most believers understand at least some of the reasons that Jesus had to die.  “Christ died for our sins.” This is truth.  In addition, Jesus’ on the cross, and the shedding of his blood, brought other important blessings as well, beyond forgiveness.  On the subject of forgiveness through the cross, however, the next natural question is how Jesus’ death enables us to have forgiveness.  It is natural for someone to ask why God needed to have His own Son die in order to forgive us.  Why was a blood sacrifice required?

First, we must understand that sin is a rebellion against the Creator and Sustainer of the whole world – of the whole Universe.  Every sin is a challenge to God’s authority, an affront to His rule and government.  The Bible says that following our fleshly desires is not merely a mistake or failure; it is an act of hatred against God (Romans 8:7).  Such an act of defiance against the Lord of Life himself requires punishment.  Without punishment, there is no justice.  Justice must be satisfied somehow, or it undermines the entire moral government of the universe.  Imagine a kingdom where no laws are ever enforced, no wrongdoing punished.  The moral authority of that government would collapse; it would be no government at all.  God’s laws hold the very universe together; they are perfect and true.  The universe itself would collapse without God’s laws remaining in force.  Any sin against part of God’s law is a sin against the whole law; “all sin is lawlessness.”  (1 John 3:4)  For this reason, the wages of sin is death (Romans 6:23).  The punishment due for any crime depends partly on how evil it is, and partly on the status of the victim of the crime.  For example, we may let minor traffic violations go unpunished, but an assassination of a King (especially a kind, righteous king), or treason against the nation, are very serious and must be punished.  Sin is a direct affront to the Highest Authority in the world – the King of Kings and Lord of Lords.  It also betrays the rest of the created order in which we live.  All sin is supremely selfish.  There is no higher authority we could offend than the Lord Himself.  Nobody is more loving and deserving of our gratitude and service rather than our insults.  If we fully appreciate God’s rule and the utter selfishness of all sin, we can see that sin inherently deserves death.  Justice requires satisfaction.

This puts all of us sinners in a bad position – we truly deserve the worst possible punishment because of whom we sinned against (the Lord himself).  If God simply ignored all our sins and pretended they did not happen, this would essentially abrogate His own law, making it a nullity.  In His great love, God sent His Son to die in our place, to provide “expiation” or atone for our sins.  He satisfied the demands of the law – the demand that death be the punishment for a breach of the law.  Jesus did not deserve to die, but offered himself in our place as a satisfaction for our crime, so that we could go free.  We see, therefore, that Jesus actually had to die in order for God to forgive sins.

There is more.  In the original covenant with Israel, God created a system of ceremonial laws that served to consecrate Israel to God as his special people, to make them different from all other nations.  (All these rules also served the double purpose of symbolically foreshadowing Jesus and his work of salvation).  Those restrictions about food, the required ceremonies on special days, and frequent blood sacrifices all brought “blessings” under the covenant when perfectly observed – and they triggered actual curses when violated.  These curses fell on everyone, because no one kept these laws consistently.  Yet an obscure provision lay within the covenant, providing that a curse would fall on anyone executed by impalement on a tree or execution stake (Deuteronomy 21:23).  The person would die in a state of ceremonial uncleanness, that is, under the curses of the covenant.  This is the very reason they crucified Jesus, instead of killing him by some easier method.  The Jewish religious leaders wanted to spite Jesus for claiming to be the Messiah and the Son of God, so they insisted on putting him to death in a way that put him under a curse, so he would die in a state of uncleanness and separation from God.  This is why they insisted on having the Romans execute Jesus as a political prisoner and refused to execute him themselves (see John 18:31).  Under Jewish law, the penalty for blasphemy or false prophecy (the crimes for which they accused Jesus) was stoning the person to death, not crucifixion.  It is clear from John 8 that they stoned other people whenever they wanted, and Pilate could not understand why they wanted Jesus executed by the Romans instead.  The Jewish leaders knew that the Romans would use crucifixion, and that this would make Jesus unclean or cursed, so they pressured Pilate into executing Jesus as a political troublemaker.  They were partly right – the full curse of the Law came upon Jesus when he died on the cross because of Deuteronomy 21:23.  They did not anticipate, however, Jesus’ resurrection, which broke the curse and ended the old covenant.  As Paul explains, “Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us, for it is written: ‘Cursed is everyone who is hung on a tree.’  He redeemed us in order that the blessing given to Abraham might come to the Gentiles through Christ Jesus, so that by faith we might receive the promise of the Spirit.” (Galatians 3:12-14).  By enduring crucifixion, Jesus ended the Law of Moses and reinstituted the covenant of Abraham, which provided that “All nations will be blessed through him [the seed, or Jesus].” We can come to God directly without keeping the Old Testament rules because Jesus died on a cross.

In addition, not only did Jesus have to die – and have to die on a tree or execution stake – it also had to involve shedding his blood or bleeding throughout the process.  This is why it matters that they did not tie Jesus to the cross or hang him from a noose; they nailed his hands and feet to the wood.  God foretold the wounds from the nails a thousand years beforehand in Psalm 22:16.  Why?  The spiritual life of every creature is in its blood, according to Leviticus 17:10-14.  This is why, the Bible says, animal sacrifices could provide substitutionary atonement or satisfaction for sin.  In Jesus’ case, the spiritual life in his blood was actually the Holy Spirit.  Through Jesus’ bloodshed, the Holy Spirit poured out on the world in a new way.  “How much more, then, will the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself unblemished to God, cleanse our consciences from acts that lead to death, so that we may serve the living God!” (Hebrews 9:4) First, notice that Jesus offered himself (the sacrifice of his blood) through the Holy Spirit.  Second, it says his blood today produces sanctification within us, and sanctification is something the Holy Spirit alone produces in us.  (See Galatians 5:22-25).  “God saved us through the washing of rebirth and renewal by the Holy Spirit, whom he poured out on us generously through Jesus Christ our Savior.”  (Titus 3:5-6)  The internal operation of the Holy Spirit in the believer overlaps perfectly with the operation of the blood of Jesus.  Functionally, the two are the same.

The Bible also says that Jesus’ blood served to “sprinkle” us, marking us as God’s own possession under the new covenant (see, e.g., 1 Peter 1:2).  “With your blood you purchased men for God from every tribe and language and people and nation.  You have made them to be a kingdom and priests to serve our God, and they will reign on the earth.” (Revelation 5:9-10).

We see, therefore, why Jesus had to die; why he had to die on a cross; and why he had to suffer actual crucifixion, so that he would shed his blood while dying on the cross.  His death provided satisfaction for our sins, for our failure to give God the obedience and service He deserves.  The cross of Calvary placed the full curse of the Law and its ceremonial requirements onto Jesus’ physical body, allowing the curse to end there when he rose from the dead.  The nails and spear wound in his side allowed his blood to flow, bringing his life (the Holy Spirit) to us.  “There is one God and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus, who gave himself as a ransom for all men.”  (1 Timothy 2:5-6).

]]> http://www.maranathaglobal.org/latest/8478/feed 0 http://www.maranathaglobal.org/latest/8181 http://www.maranathaglobal.org/latest/8181#comments Fri, 11 Nov 2011 00:29:59 +0000 dru http://www.maranathaglobal.org/?p=8181

Revelation 13:8-10 – “All inhabitants of the earth will worship the beast—all whose names have not been written in the book of life belonging to the Lamb that was slain from the creation of the world.  He who has an ear, let him hear.  If anyone is to go into captivity, into captivity he will go.  If anyone is to be killedwith the sword, with the sword he will be killed.  This calls for patient endurance and faithfulness on the part of the saints.”

Revelation 13 is about a horrible “beast” (a symbolic portrayal of the Antichrist) and a lesser beast that supports him – a symbol of the individual commonly known as “the False Prophet.”  Both receive their power and position from the dragon, who represents the Enemy (Satan – see Revelation 12:9).  Both fail completely in the end, and find themselves cast into the Lake of Fire (see Revelation 14:9-10; 15:2; 19:20).

In the Old Testament, the prophet Daniel had visions or dreams of beasts that represented political empires (Babylonian, Persian, Greek, and Roman – see Daniel 7) and specific world leaders (the ram and the goat in Daniel 8-9).  In Revelation, the beasts refer to people who carry out a specific mission of the Enemy.  The first beast has the same symbolic features as the Dragon in Revelation 12 – 7 heads and 10 horns, with parts of the beasts in Daniel 7.  Seven heads probably refers to the Antichrist’s headquarters – both Rome and Jerusalem, as well as some other ancient cities, sit atop seven hills.  Ten horns apparently refer to ten national leaders who will yield their sovereignty to the Antichrist.  The parts of Daniel’s beasts merged into one beast suggests that the Antichrist will have some kind of global dominion, ruling over territories that were parts of all the ancient empires.

We should not devote too much time to speculating about the possible identity of the Antichrist or the False Prophet.  It is an unnecessary, unedifying distraction.  Today’s true believers will not be here during the reign of the Antichrist, because it occurs after the Rapture, so it does not really matter for our lives today to know the identity of this person.  If God wanted us to know this individual’s identify beforehand, he could have revealed clearly in his Word, as He did on other occasions (see Isaiah 45:1-13; 1 Kings 13:2), so we must assume that God does not want us to know the identity ahead of time.  Preachers and writers for the last 150 years have named various political and religious leaders as the “antichrist,” only to look foolish when the whole thing came to nothing.  In addition, the Bible clearly warns us to avoid thinking or talking too much about evil things and to focus our minds instead on Christ, salvation, and the things that please God (Philippians 4:8-9; Psalm 119:37; 2 Corinthians 10:5; Colossians 3:1-2).

It appears that the Antichrist will be a wildly popular world leader; someone who appears to have special gifts or powers to solve some of the world’s problems, and that people will start to revere this leader as a type of god.  We truly do not know if he will come from the Americas, Europe, the Middle East, Africa, or Asia – plausible scenarios could posit him coming from anywhere.  Nor do we truly know if he will be from a Christian, Jewish, Muslim, or Hindu – again, various people have found hints in Scripture supposedly pointing to each of these possibilities.  He will be someone that people everywhere admire and look to for answers.  He is like a substitute for Jesus in people’s minds.

Similarly, the secondary “beast” – the False Prophet – appears to be a religious leader who endorses and supports the Antichrist, even performing miracles to induce people to trust in the Great Leader.  We do not know what religious background he will have, only that he will have mass appeal to billions of people.

Apparently, regardless of their origins, both men will be able to bridge the differences between the world’s religions, appealing to people from every religious background (except for the true saints who belong to Jesus).  The different religions will come together behind these leaders, even if they retain their group identities.  “All inhabitants of the earth will worship the beast…”  The reason for this is twofold: first, all world religions originate with a Satanic deception to lure people away from the one true God – even institutionalized Christianity, which began with the true Gospel, incorporated many pagan traditions and customs over the centuries that separate it from the God’s revelation in Scripture.  Second, for most people, religion is mostly a matter of culture and customs, something compatible with the flesh.  Most people will adapt their religion for whatever suits their fleshly ideas and agendas, and the Antichrist will appeal to people’s longings and tell them what they want to hear.

“…all whose names have not been written in the book of life belonging to the Lamb that was slain from the creation of the world.”  In other words, only the true servants of Christ will not follow the deception of the Antichrist and the False Prophet, even though everyone else does.  The true believers today will be gone by then (the Rapture), so this probably refers to Israelites who accept Jesus as the Messiah during the Tribulation.  Even so, the deception is already starting in the world today –blending of religions, people looking to government leaders to solve all their problems, an increase in mysticism and witchcraft everywhere, and churches that focus entirely on material things, rather than eternity.  The true believers discern what is happening and stay away from such things.