SERMONS - BIBLE TEACHING - SCRIPTURE COMMENTARY - REVELATION
On the Seventh Day He Rested and Sanctified It
March 10, 2024
And on the seventh day God ended his work which he had made; and he rested on the seventh day from all his work which he had made. And God blessed the seventh day, and sanctified it: because that in it he had rested from all his work which God created and made.
For we which have believed do enter into rest, as he said, As I have sworn in my wrath, if they shall enter into my rest: although the works were finished from the foundation of the world. For he spake in a certain place of the seventh day on this wise, And God did rest the seventh day from all his works. And in this place again, If they shall enter into my rest.
Brothers and sisters, you were sanctified on the seventh day of God's creation, when your will (soul) "agreed" with his will and shall be unified with his will. Why and how? Are we to counsel God (Isaiah 40:13, Isaiah 40:14) ? But it is so that you are his from that day, the seventh day (described in Genesis 2:2-3 and spoken of in Hebrews 4:3-5), that you became his and you are his; even before you were born, he planned it. And such, being his, he began his work of salvation in you, by his will and work in you, not by your own will (John 1:12). You are his child, the child of God. And as it is his work, it is perfect in the Spirit, even as there were works of iniquity performed in your flesh, full of infirmities. But that part (the works of the flesh) was forgiven to you on the cross. And as such, it is not counted against you, it was blotted out, when you believed on him, on the Lord Jesus Christ. And you are sealed with that holy Spirit of promise (Ephesians 1:13).
So for you, children of God, God's works in you are counted to your salvation. But for the wicked, children of disobedience, their own works (Revelation 20:12) are counted to their condemnation. Because they were against the works and will of God and separated from the works of God, they separated themselves from him (God) forever.
Can two walk together, except they be agreed?
So, then he (God) purposed you, according to the good pleasure of his will, to his own good works.
in whom also we have obtained an inheritance, being predestinated according to the purpose of him who worketh all things after the counsel of his own will:
With the work of his hand, as a potter makes his clay, he made you a vessel for honor.
But now, O Lord, thou art our father; we are the clay, and thou our potter; and we all are the work of thy hand.
Hath not the potter power over the clay, of the same lump to make one vessel unto honour, and another unto dishonour?
As a side note, notice in the following verse that our Lord Jesus is manifesting that he is of the Potter:
When he had thus spoken, he spat on the ground, and made clay of the spittle, and he anointed the eyes of the blind man with the clay,
When you answered the call of the Spirit of the Lord, your "born again" day brought your living soul "back" to that seventh day, and you entered into his rest.
For we which have believed do enter into rest, as he said, As I have sworn in my wrath, if they shall enter into my rest: although the works were finished from the foundation of the world. For he spake in a certain place of the seventh day on this wise, And God did rest the seventh day from all his works. And in this place again, If they shall enter into my rest.
But the wicked - as his will was never with God - the Almighty purposed his vessel for dishonor.
For the scripture saith unto Pharaoh, Even for this same purpose have I raised thee up, that I might shew my power in thee, and that my name might be declared throughout all the earth.
And I will harden Pharaoh’s heart, and multiply my signs and my wonders in the land of Egypt.
As such, even though from your birth to this world it looks to you that it is your will, your mind, your heart, your body, your life, and your circumstances, in reality you are his clay - a vessel to honor if you are his and a vessel to dishonor if you are not his. As he knew you as his son or as his enemy from the beginning, he formed you as it was purposed and determined from the beginning. That is his work; he performed it on all.
Then you might say, "Why preach if they are predestined?"
I say, One was predestined to preach, and one was predestined to hear. How can they hear if they were not preached to?
How then shall they call on him in whom they have not believed? and how shall they believe in him of whom they have not heard? and how shall they hear without a preacher? and how shall they preach, except they be sent? as it is written, How beautiful are the feet of them that preach the gospel of peace, and bring glad tidings of good things!
For whom he did foreknow, he also did predestinate to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brethren. Moreover whom he did predestinate, them he also called: and whom he called, them he also justified: and whom he justified, them he also glorified.
What shall we then say to these things? If God be for us, who can be against us?
If you say, "Why not sin? I was predestined for it; my maker made me such!"
I say, Ah, are you your own witness? Were you made a vessel to dishonor? If not, come to his feet. Your maker, Christ Jesus the Lord, is calling you with stretched arms!
The whole conclusion of this is that it is all Christ's, and we rest in him, and the works were finished from the foundation of the world (Hebrews 4:3).
For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be made alive.
and hath put all things under his feet, and gave him to be the head over all things to the church, which is his body, the fulness of him that filleth all in all.
Come to Christ Jesus, your maker, your Lord, and your Savior. Come and dine.
Jesus saith unto them, Come and dine. And none of the disciples durst ask him, Who art thou? knowing that it was the Lord.
Christ be in you, the hope of glory.
-By Lubomir
What Are These Which Are Arrayed in White Robes?
March 31, 2024
9 After this I beheld, and, lo, a great multitude, which no man could number, of all nations, and kindreds, and people, and tongues, stood before the throne, and before the Lamb, clothed with white robes, and palms in their hands; 10 and cried with a loud voice, saying, Salvation to our God which sitteth upon the throne, and unto the Lamb. 11 And all the angels stood round about the throne, and about the elders and the four beasts, and fell before the throne on their faces, and worshipped God, 12 saying, Amen: Blessing, and glory, and wisdom, and thanksgiving, and honour, and power, and might, be unto our God for ever and ever. Amen.
13 And one of the elders answered, saying unto me, What are these which are arrayed in white robes? and whence came they? 14 And I said unto him, Sir, thou knowest. And he said to me, These are they which came out of great tribulation, and have washed their robes, and made them white in the blood of the Lamb.
Brothers and sisters, who are these we read about in Revelation 7:9? I believe that these are saints taken to God in the event described in 1 Thessalonians 4:17:
then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord.
How are Revelation 7:9 and 1 Thessalonians 4:17 related? Most, if not all, religious scholars today agree that what Paul wrote in 1 Thessalonians 4:17 is what they call the Rapture of the Church. What they disagree about is where to place that rapture in the Book of Revelation. And they go by different clues they consider and come up with different conclusions. I will not talk much about those conclusions of others here, but rather what I believe. If I need to mention others to compare for our better understanding, I will. I need to say that I have not learned it from other men, even though I am finding out that some - not many, I suppose - see this the same way as I do. And also, I have to say that when, at first (I was also a babe in Christ, as are some of you), I attempted to learn God's truths mainly from scholars and their books, all I got was a mixture of truths and errors. And that is also the state of many of our churches today. Take heed what you hear and read. Rather, inquire directly of God to teach you and grant you the gift of spiritual discernment.
Which things also we speak, not in the words which man’s wisdom teacheth, but which the Holy Ghost teacheth; comparing spiritual things with spiritual.
Now, about the word "rapture", which we will keep using here, so you will know what event we are addressing here (even though the word rapture is not used in the Bible). The word used, as we read, is the word caught up, from the Greek word harpazō, which also means "pluck, pull, take by force, to seize, to snatch out or away" (Strong's G726).
Many believe that the end times are near, and many things indicate that to be so. Perhaps you do not need to have an exact understanding of the complexity of all the details of how the end time events will unfold. Only understand and believe that God will never forsake you, if you are his, end times or not. But it is good to have it right if you seek a deeper understanding of the end times. And likely, most Christians now do seek it.
I believe, brothers and sisters, that the key to a sound understanding of the end times, and even the whole Bible, is to receive it in the spirit and without fear of the flesh, wherever the word of God leads you. And since we are talking about fear, the only fear you need to have in you is the fear of disagreeing with God, which is the cause of separation from God. So, when you fear disagreeing with God, you are on the right path to agreeing with him.
Can two walk together, except they be agreed?
Agree with God in everything and give him thanks in everything. That is the alpha of your relationship with God.
Going back to Revelation 7:9, we read, brothers and sisters, that the Apostle John saw a great multitude, which no man could number. Picture that: The glory of God, his body of Christ, assembled in great numbers before the throne of God and before the Lamb, as it says, of all nations, and kindreds, and people, and tongues. Brothers and sisters, we can observe here how the grace of God was not only extended to all nations by the great commission (Matthew 28:19-20), but also shall be performed here,as I believe verse 9 of Revelation 7 indicates.
19 Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost: 20 teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world. Amen.
When you read the Book of Revelation, this great multitude of people is first mentioned here, in Revelation 7:9. When John was taken up in the spirit (Revelation 4:2), he saw a throne, and roundabout he saw twenty four seats and twenty four elders sitting, and he saw four beasts. There was no great multitude, but twenty four elders in white raiment. No one from the great multitude of people is present here in Revelation 4. Nor is the great multitude present in Revelation 5, when the Lamb is receiving a book with seven seals, a very significant event. Many, many angels are present, but there is no great multitude of bodies of saints. Where are they? They've not been gathered yet. Here, we mean souls with actual glorified bodies, not just souls. The bodies of saints - the great multitude mentioned in Revelation 7:9 - are not shown raptured yet in Revelation 4. The only visible bodies before the throne of God (not counting the beasts) are those of the twenty four elders clothed in white raiment. Some believe that these twenty four elders represent the raptured church. Yes, they (twenty four) represent the church as elders, but they certainly do not embody the great multitude of raptured bodies of believers. If the twenty four elders with crowns and seats embodied the whole raptured church, I believe the Bible would give an explanation as it does in such cases where something shown is a symbol of something else. The Bible is its own interpreter (see Revelation 1:12 and 16 with Rev 1:20; and Revelation 17:1 with Rev. 17:18).
Brothers and sisters, picture again the scene in Revelation 7:9-11.
There is the great multitude of people standing before the throne of God and before the Lamb, all angels also standing round about the throne, and the twenty four elders and four beasts. What a splendid scene! And twenty four elders are standing together with the great multitude of people. Elders as representatives of the church, and the great multitude of people with them as the actual raptured church, the Church lifted up from the earth, the body of Christ in its glory. As far as the elders themselves, we will not talk today about where some of these elders came from except to tell you to meditate on Matthew 27:52-53.
It is written that the multitude is saying with a loud voice, Salvation to our God … and unto the Lamb (Revelation 7:10). The acknowledgement is to our God and the Lamb. Compare that with the assembly of saints who had gotten victory over the beast and over his image (Satan and Antichrist) in Revelation 15:2. They sing the song of Moses and the song of the Lamb. Singing the song of Moses is a clear indication of their Jewish heritage here in Revelation 15:3, and that they had gotten the victory over the beast, over his image and over his mark, places them in the time after the Antichrist orders the world to worship him and to receive his mark. In contrast, the great multitude in Revelation 7:10, are raptured before the Antichrist is given full control. The great multitude in Revelation 7 is kept from the hour of temptation, as it is promised to the church of Philadelphia in Revelation 3:10:
Because thou hast kept the word of my patience, I also will keep thee from the hour of temptation, which shall come upon all the world, to try them that dwell upon the earth.
When we read about this great multitude in Revelation 7:9, we see that they are clothed with white robes.
For the word white, in the original Greek text (TR), the word leukos is used. It means light, bright, brilliant, dazzling white, of the garments of angels, and of those exalted to the splendor of the heavenly state (Strong's G3022).
It is the same word used in Matthew 17:2 and Luke 9:29, describing the changed countenance of our Lord Jesus, who was transfigured before his disciples.
And now, brothers and sisters, on to the part that brings fear to the hearts of some Christians. In verses 13 and 14 of Revelation 7, it is written:
And one of the elders answered, saying unto me, What are these which are arrayed in white robes? and whence came they? And I said unto him, Sir, thou knowest. And he said to me, These are they which came out of great tribulation, and have washed their robes, and made them white in the blood of the Lamb.
They came out of great tribulation. Great tribulation. Many modern scholars do not want to associate the rapture of the church with great tribulation. All I can say is again that the first mention of a great multitude of people, nations, and tongues, gathered before the throne of God, with all indications that this is the Church of God lifted up from the earth, is in Revelation 7:9, and not before that. And they came out of great tribulation. Came out of, came out of. This is not the same as going through the whole great tribulation. Not one angel out of seven has yet sounded trumpets of war, and not one angel out of seven has yet poured any plagues, for in them is filled up the wrath of God (Revelation 15:1).
Trust in God and his Son, Christ Jesus, as he loves his people with immeasurable love, and will not forsake them, ever.
18 And Jesus came and spake unto them, saying, All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth. 19 Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost: 20 teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world. Amen.
God is faithful, by whom ye were called unto the fellowship of his Son Jesus Christ our Lord.
For God hath not appointed us to wrath, but to obtain salvation by our Lord Jesus Christ,
Christ be in you, the hope of glory.
-By Lubomir