The
Book
of Revelation
A Written compostion of the Heavenly Calling Network Study Group
Part 9
Joel, chapter 2
1: Blow ye the trumpet in Zion, and
sound an alarm in my holy mountain: let all the inhabitants of the land
tremble: for the day of the LORD cometh, for it is nigh at hand;
2: A day of darkness and of gloominess, a day of clouds and of thick
darkness, as the morning spread upon the mountains: a great people and
a strong; there hath not been ever the like, neither shall be any more
after it, even to the years of many generations.
3: A fire devoureth before them; and behind them a flame burneth: the
land is as the garden of Eden before them, and behind them a desolate
wilderness; yea, and nothing shall escape them.
4: The appearance of them is as the appearance of horses; and as
horsemen, so shall they run.
5: Like the noise of chariots on the tops of mountains shall they leap,
like the noise of a flame of fire that devoureth the stubble, as a
strong people set in battle array.
6: Before their face the people shall be much pained: all faces shall
gather blackness.
7: They shall run like mighty men; they shall climb the wall like men
of war; and they shall march every one on his ways, and they shall not
break their ranks:
8: Neither shall one thrust another; they shall walk every one in his
path: and when they fall upon the sword, they shall not be wounded.
9: They shall run to and fro in the city; they shall run upon the wall,
they shall climb up upon the houses; they shall enter in at the windows
like a thief.
10: The earth shall quake before them; the heavens shall tremble: the
sun and the moon shall be dark, and the stars shall withdraw their
shining:
11: And the LORD shall utter his voice before his army: for his camp is
very great: for he is strong that executeth his word: for the day of
the LORD is great and very terrible; and who can abide it?
12: Therefore also now, saith the LORD, turn ye even to me with all
your heart, and with fasting, and with weeping, and with mourning:
13: And rend your heart, and not your garments, and turn unto the LORD
your God: for he is gracious and merciful, slow to anger, and of great
kindness, and repenteth him of the evil.
14: Who knoweth if he will return and repent, and leave a blessing
behind him; even a meat offering and a drink offering unto the LORD
your God?
15: Blow the trumpet in Zion, sanctify a fast, call a solemn assembly:
16: Gather the people, sanctify the congregation, assemble the elders,
gather the children, and those that suck the breasts: let the
bridegroom go forth of his chamber, and the bride out of her closet.
17: Let the priests, the ministers of the LORD, weep between the porch
and the altar, and let them say, Spare thy people, O LORD, and give not
thine heritage to reproach, that the heathen should rule over them:
wherefore should they say among the people, Where is their God?
18: Then will the LORD be jealous for his land, and pity his people.
19: Yea, the LORD will answer and say unto his people, Behold, I will
send you corn, and wine, and oil, and ye shall be satisfied therewith:
and I will no more make you a reproach among the heathen:
20: But I will remove far off from you the northern army, and will
drive him into a land barren and desolate, with his face toward the
east sea, and his hinder part toward the utmost sea, and his stink
shall come up, and his ill savour shall come up, because he hath done
great things.
21: Fear not, O land; be glad and rejoice: for the LORD will do great
things.
22: Be not afraid, ye beasts of the field: for the pastures of the
wilderness do spring, for the tree beareth her fruit, the fig tree and
the vine do yield their strength.
23: Be glad then, ye children of Zion, and rejoice in the LORD your
God: for he hath given you the former rain moderately, and he will
cause to come down for you the rain, the former rain, and the latter
rain in the first month.
24: And the floors shall be full of wheat, and the fats shall overflow
with wine and oil.
25: And I will restore to you the years that the locust hath eaten, the
cankerworm, and the caterpiller, and the palmerworm, my great army
which I sent among you.
26: And ye shall eat in plenty, and be satisfied, and praise the name
of the LORD your God, that hath dealt wondrously with you: and my
people shall never be ashamed.
27: And ye shall know that I am in the midst of Israel, and that I am
the LORD your God, and none else: and my people shall never be ashamed.
28: And it shall come to pass afterward, that I will pour out my spirit
upon all flesh; and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, your
old men shall dream dreams, your young men shall see visions:
29: And also upon the servants and upon the handmaids in those days
will I pour out my spirit.
30: And I will shew wonders in the heavens and in the earth, blood, and
fire, and pillars of smoke.
31: The sun shall be turned into darkness, and the moon into blood,
before the great and the terrible day of the LORD come.
32: And it shall come to pass, that whosoever shall call on the name of
the LORD shall be delivered: for in mount Zion and in Jerusalem shall
be deliverance, as the LORD hath said, and in the remnant whom the LORD
shall call.
We can't read those minor prophets or this book of the Revelation and
the book like Daniel without realizing some of the terrible things that
must come upon this earth before righteousness is established. There
are two sides to the nature of God. You and I, by His mercy, have met
one side, the love of God. The grace. The mercy. The kindness of God.
But we are told in the same book that our God is a consuming fire. And
it is quite impossible for holiness to come into touch of wickedness
without that consuming fire acting with out ruth, without mercy. The
more we think of it the more we wonder that He saved us. He must reign,
we are told, until all enemies are put under His feet. We sometimes
entertain ideas that we will shield the name of God and say that at
long last every person will ultimately be saved. But that one statement
has got to be weighed doesn't it. In the balances. He must reign till
all enemies are under His feet. Well all enemies under His feet is not
a place you would expect the redeemed and the reconciled and the saved
to be. So, let us not criticize, let us stand in wonder. As we see the
judgments fore shadowed that must come upon the earth, maybe have some
sort of conscieness of what sin must be in the sight of a Holy God.
Then to realize how absolutely necessary it was that Christ should come
and suffer as He did. So that there should be no possibility of any
objection being raise in heaven or earth with regard to the validity of
our salvation. We have not been saved by merely an act of kindness. We
have been saved by unspeakable love providing unspeakable
righteousness. And without it, we shall be like the rest. Attainable to
the wrath to come.
We are looking at this book of the Revelation and we have pondered the
first great movement, which we get in chapter 5 and 6. The opening of
this seven sealed book. And we raised this question before. Isn't it
remarkable that the Lamb of God is the only one found worthy to open
the seals. And instead of blessings following in its train, judgments
beyond dreams begin to break loose. One thing we are assure of from
this book, that the Lamb, who is the redeemer, is the one's who's wrath
has to be feared. At the end of the breaking of the seals when the
sixth seal is opened they call on the mountains and the rocks to fall
upon them from the wrath of the Lamb. From the wrath of the Lamb. We
meet the love of God in the first chapter, verse 5 Unto him
that loved us, and loosed us from our sins in his own blood,....
That is a reference to the work of the Lamb of God. We've got the Lamb
is the light there of in the Holy city. But never let us blink or shut
our eyes to the fact that when wrath comes upon this world its not the
Lamb of God standing aside and letting it come. It is the wrath of the
Lamb of God. This makes the whole thing one. But it makes that wrath of
the Lamb so very terrible to contemplate.
Well now, the story goes on in chapter 7 as an interval. Before the
next move takes place, which is the sounding of the seven trumpets.
There is a period. A period that is occupied by segregating and sealing
those who were Gods people before the wrath begins to fall. And that
ends in chapter 8 verse 1. I suppose it is the most solemn half hour
that has ever been mentioned in or outside of scripture. And when he had
opened the seventh seal, there was silence in heaven about the space of
half an hour. .... Isn't that an extraordinary statement. The
more you know, the more your conscience of, as the seconds tick off.
And the half hour reaches its zenith. When that is finished then heaven
opens. Not in mercy and in blessing. But in unprecedented judgments. We
are not opening and reading this study to take enjoyment or rejoicing
to think that this is so. Except that we can not help to rejoice to
what ever God says is right must be.
So for the moment we are in the midst of a pause. We are told in verse
1 of chapter 7 And
after these things I saw four angels standing on the four corners of
the earth, holding the four winds of the earth, that the wind should
not blow on the earth, nor on the sea, nor on any tree. 2: And I saw
another angel ascending from the east, having the seal of the living
God:.... In this book, nearly everybody is sealed, branded, or
marked. And here is where the divisions come in. Either you will have
the seal of the living God, or you maybe branded or marked with the
mark of the beast. This is where everything is coming out to the
surface. It is so easy in everyday ordinary life to take a lazy fare
attitude, which is more like sitting on the fence. It is so easy, but
there is no sitting on the fence in the book of the Revelation. Oh my
friend, there is no neutral ground here. This is where it all comes out
into the open. And you find that men are blaspheming even though they
are being judged. You find them actually plotting to make war with the
Lamb. It is quite anti christian right out in the open. It is only
bringing out into the open what is in the hearts of many men today.
What is to yet come, is being prepared now, in our midst, around about
us. Because the last epistles of Paul tell you that in the last days,
periless times shall come. And the word periless is used of a man who
was so dangerous that nobody could get at him sitting in a cemetery
with chains. No one could bind him. That is the sort of days that are
coming. Doctrines of demons. Preparing for the next great move, which
is this book of the Revelation.
So now shall we see this merciful act which is taking place in chapter
7 and get some consolation from it for ourselves and with regard to
others. This is chapter 7, and here we have the seal of the living God.
and he cried
with a loud voice to the four angels, to whom it was given to hurt the
earth and the sea, 3: Saying, Hurt not the earth, neither the sea, nor
the trees,.... You will find this word hurt is used in the book
of the Revelation rather more freely than anywhere else. In the
churches to the overcomers, you will not be hurt of the second death.
Hurt. So we have here the word hurt to whom it was given to hurt the
earth and the sea saying Hurt not the earth,
neither the sea, nor the trees, till we have sealed the servants of our
God in their foreheads..... So that you see the moment the
sealing has taken place and they are secure and safe, then pandemonium
breaks forth and all things which are almost beyond our power to
describe invades this earth. When we are reading the prophet Joel, the
description of that army was not a description of an ordinary army of
human beings. There is a supernatural element about the conflict that
comes to a crisis in the day of the Lord.
Now, with regard to this question of sealing. I want you to look at
quite a number of passages in the prophet of Ezekiel. Because in the
prophet Ezekiel you will find very much the same happening there that
we find here. First of all in chapter one, without going through the
chapter. It is so involved that it takes a long time. You have those
living creatures. And the word living creature in the old testament is
the word wrongly translated beast in the book of the Revelation. The
book of the Revelation should also be translated living creature. Not
beast. And we have a description of them having four faces in verse 10.
The man, the lion, the ox, and the eagle. So that is common ground with
the book of the Revelation. Now in chapter 4 verse 16 we have another
item which you might remember or may have already noticed, lets look at
it verse 16
Moreover he said unto me, Son of man, behold, I will break the staff of
bread in Jerusalem: and they shall eat bread by weight, and with care;
and they shall drink water by measure, and with astonishment:....
Now you remember when one of the seals were opened, there was a horse
rider going forth with a pair of balances in his hand. Saying a measure
of wheat for a penny. Famine. Here it is again. And you will discover,
they are the scourges that God has used and will use on this earth.
War, famine, pestilence, they walk together. Of course we can speak of
it more scientifically today. We can show that pestilences have
actually been spread over the earth by the movement of armies. That
some places it never knew some sort of bacteria or microbe has suddenly
fallen foul of it because armies have marched across territories and
taken it with them. And the opposite end, now a days, chemical warfare
is a weapon of this same sort of thing. Spreading bacteria or microbes
across the battlefields. So there is a natural reason for it and a
supernatural one as well. That is in chapter 4:16
Chapter 5 of Ezekiel verse 1 and 2. And thou, son of
man, take thee a sharp knife, take thee a barber's razor, and cause it
to pass upon thine head and upon thy beard: then take thee balances to
weight, and divide the hair. 2: Thou shalt burn with fire a third part
in the midst of the city, when the days of the siege are fulfilled: and
thou shalt take a third part, and smite about it with a knife: and a
third part thou shalt scatter in the wind;.... This is a very
strange and obscure type, and I am not attempting to explain it. I am
only asking you to remember that this is repeated in the book of the
Revelation. A third part of the grass. A third part of the cities. A
third part of the shipping fell. A third part first, before the
complete destruction. Then we have in chapter 5 of Ezekiel in verse 12 A third part of
thee shall die with the pestilence, and with famine shall they be
consumed in the midst of thee: and a third part shall fall by the sword
round about thee and I will scatter a third part into all the winds,
and I will draw out a sword after them..... Then in chapter 9 of
Ezekiel, we come to the point where we get the picture of seething of
men before the judgments fall. verse 1 He cried
also in mine ears with a loud voice, saying, Cause them that have
charge over the city to draw near, even every man with his destroying
weapon in his hand. 2: And, behold, six men came from the way of the
higher gate, which lieth toward the north, and every man a slaughter
weapon in his hand; and one man among them was clothed with linen, with
a writer's inkhorn by his side: and they went in, and stood beside the
brasen altar. 3: And the glory of
the God of Israel was gone up from the cherub, whereupon he was, to the
threshold of the house..... It is moving a way.
In the beginning of Ezekiel moves reluctantly away from the house to
the city, from the city to the field, from the field right away to the
distance. Then there is a blank. And in the last chapters He is coming
back again. In the same order. When restoration is due. And he called to
the man clothed with linen, which had the writer's inkhorn by his side;
4: And the LORD said unto him, Go through the midst of the city,
through the midst of Jerusalem, and set a mark upon the foreheads of
the men that sigh and that cry for all the abominations that be done in
the midst thereof..... Then he goes onto tell you that this is
what was done. verse
11 And, behold, the man clothed with linen, which had the inkhorn by
his side, reported the matter, saying, I have done as thou hast
commanded me..... So there is a certain amount of parallel
between those mystical passages in Ezekiel and this sealing of this
number in the book of the Revelation chapter 7. The reference to the
inkhorn, I do not know if their is very many in this little
congregation of people who are reading this study, who have had a man
come to their door with a book and a little bottle of ink tied through
his button hole, that sounds a little Victorian, but in the long dim
ages of the past that was what was happening. Now we have fountain pens
and regular every day pens and so on. And we do without the ink horn.
But there it is, the man with the inkhorn.
Now we come back to chapter 7 of the book of Revelation. verse 4 And I heard
the number of them which were sealed: and there were sealed an hundred
and forty and four thousand of all the tribes of the children of Israel.....
And if that is not sufficient to tell you it says of the tribe of Judah
were sealed twelve thousand. The tribe of Reuben. The tribe of Gad. It
goes through them tribes. And yet some that we may know are hoping to
be numbered among the 144 thousand. The question then would be, what
tribe would you belong to. Tribe? Tribe, what does that have got to do
with it? Well, its got to do with it here. Surely you can not
spiritualize all this detail. And the tribe of Reuben, and the tribe of
Nepthalim, and the tribe of Manasses, and wipe that all out because you
yourself has taken this passage and entertain the idea that you may
possibly be numbered among the 144 thousand. When I contemplate the
numbers for the population of the Earth today which is over 6 billion
people, where does the 144 thousand get. You would not have one per
city. And yet some of the people are hoping to be numbered among it. I
hope they won't be to utterly disappointed. But you see, God has not
said a single word like that. This means what it says. This is where
the people of Israel are coming in to the story again. And they are
being, some of them, set apart because they are numbered among the
overcomers of this book. Now, there is a rather peculiar fact here. If
you go down the list, there is one name missing. And that is the tribe
of Dan. I won't turn you back to Ezekiel again, but if you were to go
back to chapter 48, and the first verse. When the land is being divided
between the tribes in the day that is coming Dan is the first one to
have his portion. Don't you see, it is one thing to be a tribe of
Israel and get God's gift, but its another thing to be numbered among
the 144thousand that are going to be sealed because they are over
comers. And the first tribe of Israel that went in to Idolatry and
influenced the others was the tribe of Dan. You'll find that mentioned
in the book of Kings chapter 2:10-29. Or again in the prophetic song
that is given in Genesis 49 when it goes through the various tribes,
Dan is a serpent. And there are those, by putting two and two together
of scripture, have come to the conclusion that the tribe of Dan will
contribute the anti christ at the time of the end.
Let me give you a point for a moment. When you speak about that anti
christ, don't think about the beast. The beast of the book of the
Revelation is the political power and the anti christ is the false
messiah. Now the false messiah will be to do with Israel. And the false
ones in Israel will desert the covenant and follow the false christ.
And that is where the whole conflict comes in this book.
So now we got these set apart of the different tribes of Israel a 144
thousand. Somebody might say, if you leave out one of the tribes and
yet there were twelve of them, who's arithmetic has gone wrong? Well,
Joseph you see, is not always mentioned, but he is here. But he has a
double portion, being the first born of having the adoption. And his
two sons give there names to tribes. Ephraim and Manasses. So that you
see that the numbers have been made up in that way.
Lets come a stage further in this chapter. verse 9 After this
I beheld, and, lo, a great multitude, which no man could number, ....
this is in contrast to the specific 144 thousand of the tribes of
Israel. 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;.... There is rather a
mute point. Does this verse 9 refer to the great outside Gentile world.
Yes you say, they are of all nations, kindreds, people, and tongues. If
you go back to chapter 5 and read these identical words verse 9 And they
sung a new song, saying, Thou art worthy to take the book, and to open
the seals thereof: for thou wast slain, and hast redeemed them
{not us} to
God by thy blood out of every kindred, and tongue, and people, and
nation; 10: And hast made them {not us} unto our God kings
and priests: and they {not we} shall reign on the
earth..... Well that is one nation. Not all the nations are
going to reign over the earth. Only one nation. That is the people of
Israel. The first chapter says, verse 5 Unto him
that loved us, and loosed us from our sins in his own blood, 6: And
hath made us kings and priests unto God and his Father;.... And
in chapter 20 the overcomers are kings and priests.
So you see, out of nations, kindreds, peoples, and tongues instead of
proving that they are different nations. It means they have been
gathered out from all the places to which they have been scattered and
at last in there own rightful place. Well then again in chapter 7 verse
15 we have these words Therefore are they
before the throne of God, and serve him day and night in his temple:....
Well are all these people from all nations, people, kindreds, and
tongues are they going to serve God in the temple? That is the high
priestly possession. That is the kingdom of priests in view. And so, as
far as I am concerned, I mean I don't impose this on any one else, I
still see the people of Israel in this chapter. First of all, there are
those who are the over comers. The 144 thousand sealed. Then after
that, the rest of them, for all Israel is going to be saved, some are
overcomers and some who are not, in the full sense. So, we have this
great multitude, which is enumerable, out of, not merely of, but out of
all nations, and kindreds, and tongues, and peoples, and they stood
before the throne and before the Lamb clothed with white robes and
palms in their hands. Here again, we have some evidence that they were
a specific people. Their not exactly the same class, apparently, as the
144 thousand. But they got this touch about them, that they got the
white robes, and they have got the palms in their hands, and if you
looked back in chapter 6 verse 9 you will read these words And when he had
opened the fifth seal, I saw under the altar the souls of them that
were slain for the word of God, and for the testimony which they held:
10: And they cried with a loud voice, saying, How long, O Lord, holy
and true, dost thou not judge and avenge our blood on them that dwell
on the earth? 11: And white robes were given unto every one of them;
and it was said unto them, that they should rest yet for a little
season, until their fellowservants also and their brethren, that should
be killed as they were, should be fulfilled..... Well these are
martyrs. These are told to wait until their fellow servants, who were
to follow them on the same footsteps of being martyrs, and so we are
reaching again to that company that are so particularly marked out in
this book of those who bare their witness even unto death. Its not for
me to try to distinguish and impose upon these verses private opinions.
But I think we can see that the 144 thousand are a distinct class and
then the great multitude is made up of those, who never the less, have
gone through this fierce testing and have come out triumphant.
We will go a little bit further down this chapter to see that. verse 10 of chapter
7, And cried with a loud voice, saying, Salvation to our God which
sitteth upon the throne, and unto the Lamb.... these are
ascriptions of praise for something they have received. Salvation to
our God doesn't mean to our God needs to be saved. It means that these
are saved people giving Him the credit for salvation, as we had in
chapter 5. And every creature
which is in heaven, and on the earth, and under the earth, and such as
are in the sea, and all that are in them, heard I saying, Blessing, and
honour, and glory, and power,.... It is a description of praise
for all these things that God has given to them. And the palms in their
hands, we often use the idea of the palm of victory, but the palms were
particularly associated with the feast of tabernacles. You remember in
the feasts of Israel, it starts with the Passover and it gets to the
seventh month, although Israel had twelve months in the year, their
festival year only occupied seven. The rest of them were blank until we
start again. So its a seven again. The seventh month is when the day of
atonement comes. When the feast of Tabernacles come. When they are all
sitting underneath their own vine and their own fig tree with no enemy
to make them afraid. And in that self same month, there is the blowing
of trumpets. Can't you see, Israel's festival year was going through
the whole purpose of the ages so far as it belonged to the earthly
side. It begins with Passover. It ends with Atonement, Tabernacles, the
blowing of trumpets, and every man going out free with Jubilee, the
joyful sound going through the earth and no one makes him afraid. So
there is a blessed side to this you see, as well as a dreadful one. And
we have it here. verse 11 chapter 7,
And all the angels stood round about the throne, and about the elders
and the four living creatures and fell before the throne on their
faces, and worshipped God, 12: Saying, Amen:....
Please do remember that Amen means to confirm something. You notice it
comes in the gospel of John, if you are looking at the original, when
our Savior introduces a very important solemn piece of teaching. He
says, verily, verily, I say unto you. You know that one don't you. Well
He said, Amen, Amen, twice. A double Amen. Look it up. So here they
said "Amen". It is the very title of Christ in this book. He is called
THE "Amen". And at the very last, when it has come full circle, John
says "Amen", even so come Lord Jesus. So it says here they say Amen.
And at the end of the verse he says Amen again. He says it twice. 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,.... that is a strange way of putting
it, of course this man never said anything, but he answered him. That
is because you don't speak sometimes but your asking questions without
using words aren't you. For instance, for the Lord answered Nicodemus,
a word Necodemus never said. Necodemus said, we know that thou art a
teaching come from God and no one can do these things except God. But
Jesus answered and said except a man be born again. How does that
answer. Nicodemus was talking on the surface about the man that could
work miracles. But beneath the surface there was an unspoken need which
the Savior knew. He went straight at it. Disconcerting, isn't it. So
here, one of the elders answered, and again I am going to stop. I don't
know if you are puzzled or curious about the day that is coming. Would
you take it in your stride. Well, its good not to be worried to much.
But, you know, to contemplate waking up in the day of glory in an
entirely new world, a spiritual world, with all the circumstances of
life completely changed. No more sorrow. No more pain. No more sin. No
more death. No more curse. You begin to wonder how you will accommodate
yourself. There is this feeling that we will be like little children.
We won't bother about it. We shall be in a family. And there will be
some there who have been there all the time who will come at once to
our rescue and before we know where we are we shall be fitted in here
and fitted in there. So one of these elders who is around the very
throne of God, he came forward and said to this man What are these
which are arrayed in white robes? and whence came they?.... And
you think what a thing to ask. Why don't you tell the man. Oh no, that
is not the best way to teach anybody. This was quickening an interest,
wasn't it. I
said unto him, Sir, thou knowest. And he said to me, These are they
which came out of great tribulation, .... come out of great
tribulation. The great one. And we will turn back to verify this point
in Matthew 24. It must be the same one. verse 21 For then
shall be great tribulation, such as was not since the beginning of the
world to this time, no, nor ever shall be..... And in the verse
29 Immediately
after the tribulation of those days shall the sun be darkened, and the
moon shall not give her light, and the stars shall fall from heaven,
and the powers of the heavens shall be shaken:.... This is what
is coming, you see. And then shall
appear the sign of the Son of man in heaven:.... So here we have
this unprecedented tribulation. Never been one like it before. Never be
one like it afterwards. And isn't it a comfort to know that it's got
bounds set to it. That it will last 3 years and a half, according to
the testimony of prophecy. And then come to an end. Never to be
repeated. 3 years and a half is long enough in all conscience. But it
is good to know that God has complete control.
So he said, chapter
7 verse 14 continued, These are they which came out of great
tribulation, and have washed their robes, .... Washed their
robes. Now this is another way in which the scriptures speak about
participating personally in the victory of Christ. Washed their robes,
in the blood of the Lamb, is literal, but because of what the blood of
the Lamb stands for is the spiritual equivalent. And you remember that
in another passage speaks about these overcomers later on and use
something of the same expression. Chapter 12 verse 10 And I
heard a loud voice saying in heaven, Now is come salvation, and
strength, and the kingdom of our God, and the power of his Christ: for
the accuser of our brethren is cast down, which accused them before our
God day and night. 11: And they overcame him by the blood of the Lamb,
and by the word of their testimony; and they loved not their lives unto
the death..... So they are conquerors in Him, who is the super
conqueror as Romans the eight chapter calls Him.
Back again in chapter 7 verse 15 Therefore
are they before the throne of God, and serve him day and night in his
temple:.... Here is another feature. There are some expositions
of the book of the Revelation in which sever the throne of God from the
temple. But, you see, when Christ comes the second time, He will unite
in His one person that which God would not allow men to have united
here below, except in the type, Melchisidek. Melchisidek was a king
priest. But no king priest was tolerated by God afterward. He stands
alone. A peculiar man, who neither beginning of life nor end of days.
He has no pedigree. He just crept into the scene and goes again. A type
of Christ. Who is a priest forever after the order of Melchisidek. The
order of Aaron was different. Christ is not merely a successor to the
Aaronic priesthood because Aaron was never a king. But in the day that
king Ussiah died, who dared to unite in his own body priest and
kingship. The prophet Isaiah said, I saw the Lord sitting upon a throne
and His train filled the temple. The two, the throne and the temple.
And those holy beings, they veiled their faces, and they veiled their
feet, as they cried Holy, holy, holy.
We have here, one of many passages in the book of the Revelation, which
indicates that we have at last the King priest. In the first chapter of
Revelation, the description of Christ standing in there, before who
even John fell at His feet, is the king priest. And it is not quite
true to say when Christ came to this earth, nearly two thousand years
ago, Israel rejected Him as king. That isn't saying quite the truth.
You'll find in one passage, in Johns gospel, said that the people would
have taken Him and made Him a king by force. Well, that is not
rejecting Him is it. But what they did reject was the king priest. They
would have excepted Christ if He had delivered them from the yoke of
Rome. A political deliverance. But what they were not so happy about
was to deliver them from the yoke of sin. And Tradition. And all the
things that would make up their everyday life. So they rejected Him.
But they must have this, there is no possibility of a king reigning, by
himself, or a priest ministry by himself, not at long last. Its
combined in one office. You will find in the prophet Zachariah, a
suggestion, that the council of peace shall be between them both. He
shall sit as a priest upon His throne. That is the only kingship that
God will utterly and ultimately tolerate. All other kings have failed
because they can only deal externally. They may pass edicts. They may
pass laws, both good or bad. But, they can't rule the hearts of the
people over who they have swayed. The king priest, is God's answer. But
of course that is yet to come. For the moment we have no such office
that we can appeal to.
We have one or two passages that we should look at, but first we must
finish the remainder of this chapter. Therefore are they
before the throne of God, and serve him day and night in his temple:
and he that sitteth on the throne shall dwell among them.....
That again is a point to stop for a moment. Solomon, when he dedicated
the temple that was made according to the specification given, was
amazed. He said, but still, the heaven and the heaven of heavens can
not contain thee, much less this temple that I have built. And yet,
another passage says, I am the lofty one who inhabited eternity, who's
name is Holy, I dwell in the High and lofty place. Is that all? No. I
dwell in the High and lofty place with him also [that is] of a contrite
and humble spirit. Isn't that remarkable. Or again, the prayer of
Ephesians 3. The closing goal of the prayer that Christ may
dwell in your hearts by faith.... Think of the number of times
that God is suggested in the book, that God is seeking a dwelling
place. We can understand man seeking a dwelling place. God with all the
infinite universe at His disposal, you wouldn't be thinking He would be
seeking a dwelling place, would you. But, there is something about the
purpose of God, something that God is pursuing, and He will not be
satisfied with all that is in the universe if He cannot dwell in the
Hearts of those who are redeemed and love Him. There is a lot more in
that, then what meets the eye at first.
So, His ultimate title in the scripture is not LORD, or God. His
ultimate title when Christ came, was to reveal Him as the Father. The
Father is related to the Family. And the dwelling place is the glorious
title of the home that has been prepared for those who love Him.
Then we get the final words of this chapter They shall hunger
no more,.... Hunger no more. It is a suggestion that they were
hungry. Oh yes. You will find in this book, that before the end comes,
they will be rationing in a sense that we have never known yet.
Rationing on another scale. Unless you tow the line, and receive the
mark of the beast, and agree with all the anti christian teaching of
the day, you will not be permitted to buy or sell. So hunger will be
one of the tests. And its a very humbling thought to think that the
most animal element in our make up is where most of us would fail. What
was the first instrument of temptation recorded in the bible? When she
saw that it was good for food. What was the first instrument of
temptation of Israel in the wilderness? Something to eat. What was the
instrument of temptation even offered to the Son of God in the
wilderness? If thou be the Son of God make yourself bread. Friends,
that is pointing to you and to me. Solomon says, give me neither
poverty nor riches, for if I hunger I may steal. And you know the time
comes when people have been shipwrecked or lost, well they become
practically savage animals. And all spark of humanity seams to go. What
a test then. The first one, don't pass by it lightly. They shall hunger
no more. For they were deprived. Then you will understand more, when
satan comes down, because he knows his time is short, that a certain
company are born with eagles wings in the wilderness and are fed with
bread from heaven for 3 years and a half. And they will pray the prayer
in which many call the Lords prayer. There is nobody else that ever
will. So, when it says, give us this day our daily bread, epiousios
{ep-ee-oo'-see-os} translated daily is the bread that cometh down upon
us. It came down upon them in the wilderness once. IT will come down to
another company in the feature. They shall hunger no more.
Continuing They
shall hunger no more, neither thirst any more; neither shall the sun
light on them, nor any heat..... This isn't mean to say that
they will be more happy than a hog. But this is the exposure which can
be so maddening when your down near the equator. For the Lamb which
is in the midst of the throne shall feed them,.... They shall
hunger no more. The Lamb will feed them. All the things of the past are
going to be undone because of redemption. The hunger will go, and the
one who feeds will be the Lamb. The Lamb shall feed them. and shall lead them
unto living fountains of waters:.... And don't be to surprised
if a few of these will be singing to themselves, when that day comes,
The Lord is my Shepherd. He leadeth me, always the shepherd, the Lamb
of God, leading His people to fountains of waters.
What a lovely thought this last one is. And God said to one of the
angels wipe away all their tears. Is that it? No.Oh no, NO. This is
where we are going to come into living personal contact with God
Himself. How, I don't know, but it says and God shall wipe
away all tears from their eyes..... And it is repeated,
remember. We might as well get this again to see what it says. In
chapter 21 verse
3 And I heard a great voice out of heaven saying, Behold, the
tabernacle of God is with men, and he will dwell with them, ....
What is He going to do? He is going to dwell with them. Same thing, you
see. he will
dwell with them, and they shall be his people, and God himself shall be
with them, and be their God. 4: And God shall wipe away all tears from
their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor
crying, neither shall there be any more pain: for the former things are
passed away..... Isn't it good to know that is coming.
We have got a dreadful series infront of us. Plagues, that Egypt never
knew, are going to fall upon this earth. But they are limited, they got
a purpose, they got a time, and then God shall wipe away all tears. And
there shall be no more sorrow, no more death, for the former things are
passed away.