Introduction to Rev. 11:6-11 (Rev. 11:6-11)

 

SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR 7/15/2015 1:01 PM

My Worship Time                                                                 Focus:  Introduction to Rev. 11:6-11

Message of the Verses                                                           Reference:  Revelation 11:6-11

            Message of the verses:  “6 And I saw another angel flying in midheaven, having an eternal gospel to preach to those who live on the earth, and to every nation and tribe and tongue and people; 7 and he said with a loud voice, "Fear God, and give Him glory, because the hour of His judgment has come; worship Him who made the heaven and the earth and sea and springs of waters." 8 And another angel, a second one, followed, saying, "Fallen, fallen is Babylon the great, she who has made all the nations drink of the wine of the passion of her immorality." 9 Then another angel, a third one, followed them, saying with a loud voice, "If anyone worships the beast and his image, and receives a mark on his forehead or on his hand, 10 he also will drink of the wine of the wrath of God, which is mixed in full strength in the cup of His anger; and he will be tormented with fire and brimstone in the presence of the holy angels and in the presence of the Lamb. 11 "And the smoke of their torment goes up forever and ever; they have no rest day and night, those who worship the beast and his image, and whoever receives the mark of his name."”

            We perhaps need to relax and take a breath before we continue on in this 14^th chapter of Revelation by looking back to see where we have come from and then where we are going from here.  First of all let us think about what most people on earth desire to have and that is peace on earth, but the problem is that there is no peace other than when it comes through the Prince of Peace, the Lord Jesus Christ.  As we look back on history it has been said that of all our recorded history there have been less than 300 years of real peace in the world.  I heard that when there is peace in the world that it is actually just a time for men to reload their weapons for the next war to come, and what we have been studying in the book of Revelation is that there will be the greatest war of all since the history of man during the end of these seven years of tribulation.  Politicians cannot stop it, for they have never been able to stop a war yet since time began.

            Let us look at another quote from John MacArthur to help us understand this review a bit better:  “Revelation has much to say about the coming judgments; as already noted, they are the primary focus of chapters 6-11 and 15-19, with chapters 12-14 forming a brief interlude in the unfolding revelation of God’s judgmental wrath.  Chapters 12-13 have been seen to recount the events of the Tribulation from Satan’s perspective; chapter 14 returns to what God is going to do.  In three visions, this text previews the remaining judgments of the Tribulation and the return of Christ.  The first vision (vv. 1-5) was of the 144,000 Jewish evangelists who will appear with the Lord Jesus Christ on Mount Zion at His second coming.  Before us in verses 6 through 11 is the record of the second vision, in which judgment is proclaimed by three angelic messengers.”

            A while ago Billy Graham wrote a book on angels as they are a very important subject in the Word of God.  The Greek word for angels is “angelos” and it actually means messenger, for angels are God’s messengers and are seen throughout the Bible doing things that God has for them to do.  We remember from earlier chapters in Revelation and other OT passages that Satan was the highest of these angels and he fell soon after he was created and he took one third of the created angels with him to do evil and to do harm on the earth.  The remaining 2/3rds of the angels are loyal to the Lord and do His bidding here on earth and even in the heavens that surround the earth.  Angels were instrumental in the giving of the Law on Mt. Sinai as seen in Acts 7:38, 52 and also Gal. 3:19 and then in Hebrews 2:2 also.  We see from the book of Daniel that angels gave messages to Daniel and from the NT we see them giving a message to Zacharias and also to Mary announcing the birth of the Lord Jesus Christ.  While Jesus was on planet earth the angels ministered to His needs as seen in the fourth chapter of Matthew after Jesus had been tempted by Satan.  Angels will deliver the “nonelect” for judgment as seen in Matthew 13:41-42, 49-50.  They will accompany the Lord Jesus Christ when He returns to planet earth as seen in Matthew 25:31; and also 2 Thessalonians 1:7.  John MacArthur writes “In Revelation, angels are involved in the outpouring of God’s wrath (8:6ff; 11:15ff; 16:1ff.)  Unlike those angels, however, the three angels described in verses 6-11 do not bring judgment.  Instead, they bring astounding proclamations from God concerning the consummation of the age.

            The three angels do not appear in sequential or chronological order.  Instead, the address issues and events that stretch across the Tribulation period.  Their messages anticipate the judgment of the seventh trumpet (11:15; chaps 15, 16), which includes the final, climactic, rapid-fire bowl judgments at the end of the Tribulation.  The messages they bring are designed to produce a remedial fear (cf. Luke 12:5; Heb. 10:31) leading to saving faith.  God will graciously offer sinners another opportunity to repent before unleashing the terrifying bowl judgments (16:1ff.).  The first angel preaches the gospel, the second pronounces judgment, and the third promises damnation.”

            This is what we have to look forward as we continue our study from the 14^th chapter of the book of Revelation. It is difficult to totally understand the chronological order of the events that we study in the book of Revelation, but with the help of the Holy Spirit and also the different commentaries that I look at hopefully we will be able to get a grasps on this subject.

            Spiritual meaning for my life today:  As I look at the unfolding world around me, especially what is happening in our country and also in the country of Israel and the other countries in the Middle East, and as I continue to study the book of Revelation it helps put things into perspective, the perspective that God is totally in control, and God has a plan, and nothing will prevent His plan from being executed in the time frame He wants it to happen.  We know what the end will be, and for believers it may be difficult times ahead, but we need to look forward to the end when we will be with our Lord forever.

My Steps of Faith for Today:  To continue to trust the Lord and His plan for my life, knowing that He is completely in control.

Answer to yesterday’s Bible question:  “Holiness” (Romans 6:22).

Today’s Bible question:  “To whom did Jesus say, ‘I am the resurrection and the life…believest thou this’?”

Answer in our next SD.

7/15/2015 1:48 PM

The Characteristic of Perfection (Rev. 11:5b)

 

SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR 7/14/2015 9:32 AM

My Worship Time                                                            Focus:  The Characteristic of Perfection

Bible Reading & Meditation                                                Reference:  Revelation 11:5b

            Message of the verse:  “They were blameless.”

I want to just say that being a perfectionist is a losing battle as far as I am concerned, for there is no one who is perfect, except for the Lord and so if you are always trying to be perfect you will be disappointed most of the time.  However when we look at the perfection of these 144,000 Jewish Evangelists we see that John reports through the inspiration of the Holy Spirit that they are blameless.  John MacArthur writes “Because they will trust in God’s power and lead lives characterized by praise, purity, devoted loyalty, and singleness of purpose, the 144,000 will be blameless.  That does not, of course, mean that they will be sinless (1 Kings 8:46; Job 15:14-16; Ps. 143:2; Prov. 20:9; Eccl. 7:20: 1 John 1:8-10), but they will be sanctified.  They will be above reproach, leading godly lives before all who see them.”

We can look at several verses to show us that God desires us to lead holy lives, and to live in holiness:  “just as He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we would be holy and blameless before Him. (Eph. 1:4).”  “yet He has now reconciled you in His fleshly body through death, in order to present you before Him holy and blameless and beyond reproach (Col. 1:22).”  “For I am jealous for you with a godly jealousy; for I betrothed you to one husband, so that to Christ I might present you as a pure virgin (2 Cor. 11:2).”  “that He might present to Himself the church in all her glory, having no spot or wrinkle or any such thing; but that she would be holy and blameless (Eph. 5:27).”  “15  but like the Holy One who called you, be holy yourselves also in all your behavior; 16  because it is written, "YOU SHALL BE HOLY, FOR I AM HOLY’ (1 Pet. 1:15-16).”  “Now to Him who is able to keep you from stumbling, and to make you stand in the presence of His glory blameless with great joy (Jude 24).”

I am putting some older Spiritual Diaries onto one of my blogs, as both blogs are named “2 Timothy 2:15,” from the book of Hebrews and I am currently posting from the eleventh chapter of Hebrews which is commonly been called “God’s Hall of Fame,” or “God’s Hall of Faith” as the theme of chapter eleven is faith.  With this said I have stated that this is one chapter in the Scriptures that is not finished for the writer actually says that he did not have time to continue looking at the characters from the Word of God who belonged in this chapter, and so I think we can truly say that the 144,000 Jewish Evangelists rightfully belong in the 11^th chapter of Hebrews, for if there is one thing that they will do during the Tribulation Period they will walk by faith one step at a time trusting the leading and guiding of the Holy Spirit in their lives. 

We have now come to the end of our study of the 144,000 and I believe that they are a great example for us to follow, to live our lives patterned after the characteristics that we have been studying about in their lives.  It is because of these characteristics that they will have that the greatest spiritual revival in the history of mankind will take place as it will be the best of times and the worst of times, best because souls, many souls will be saved, and the worst for it will be the darkest hour ever to come to planet earth.

We will continue looking at the 14^th chapter of Revelation in our next studies as we begin to study about “Angelic Messengers.” 

Spiritual meaning for my life today:  I desire to follow the things that I have been learning about the 144,000 Jewish Evangelists in my life.  I know that I cannot have the same ministry that they will have, however it is my desire to do the things that the things that the Lord has planned for me to do.

My Steps of Faith for Today:  To be a light in an ever darkening world.

Answer to yesterday’s Bible question:  “A ram” (Genesis 22:13).

Today’s Bible question:  “Being made free from sin, one has fruit unto what?”

Answer in our next SD.

7/14/2015 9:59 AM

Characteristic of Precision (Rev. 14:5a)

 

SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR 7/13/2015 7:32 AM

My Worship Time                                                                 Focus:  Characteristic of Precision

Bible Reading & Meditation                                                Reference:  Revelation 14:5a

            Message of the verse:  “And no lie was found in their mouth”

            We begin the next to last look at the different characteristics of the 144,000 men from Israel, 12,000 from each of the twelve tribes of Israel who are meeting with the Lord Jesus Christ on Mt. Zion as seen in the first five verses of chapter fourteen of the book of Revelation.  I believe that we can all learn many things from these characteristics that we find in these five verses, things that we can implement into our lives as we continue to serve the Lord in difficult times that are now going on in different places around the world.

            In our evening service last night at First Baptist church our pastor spoke of what the Supreme Court Decision on same sex message had to do with the Word of God and even looking into the future of what it will mean to be a Christian in the days to come.  He went to a verse from 2 Timothy 4:3-5 that we can also look at as we look at the characteristic of precision for these 144,000 Jewish evangelists.  “3  For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but wanting to have their ears tickled, they will accumulate for themselves teachers in accordance to their own desires, 4  and will turn away their ears from the truth and will turn aside to myths. 5 But you, be sober in all things, endure hardship, do the work of an evangelist, fulfill your ministry.”  We are now living in a time when people want to only have their ears tickled, and not look at what the truth of Scripture is.  The 144,000 did not have this problem as they did not listen to the lies of Satan as the prophet Zephaniah wrote “The remnant of Israel will do no wrong and tell no lies, nor will a deceitful tongue be found in their mouths” (Zeph. 3:13).  People today want to feel good even if it takes lies to be believed so that they will feel good, but the truth of God’s Word does not always make us feel good, but when applied, in the end it will give peace to us.  The 144,000 did as Paul wrote to Timothy in the passage from above as they certainly did the work of evangelists and they also fulfilled their ministry, and this is a good example for us to follow in the days we are living in.

            John MacArthur concludes his commentary on this section by writing “In all generations, triumphant Christians are characterized by ‘speaking the truth in love’ (Eph. 4:15) and ‘laying aside falsehood [and] speak[ing] truth’ (Eph. 4:25).  Knowing the vital importance of ‘accurately handling the word of truth’ they will ‘be diligent to present [themselves] approved to God as [workman] who [do] not need to be ashamed’ (2 Tim. 2:15).  They will never be guilty of ‘walking in craftiness or adulterating the word of God’; rather, ‘by the manifestation of truth [they will commend themselves] to every man’s conscience in the sight of God’ (2 Cor. 4:2).”

            Spiritual meaning for my life today:  We live in a world that is fast falling into the hands of the lies that Satan is telling, and so one of the things that I need to and want to do is to fulfill what Paul writes to Timothy and that is to do the work of an evangelist as the world will only be changed through the preaching of the Gospel as souls are saved one at a time.

My Steps of Faith for Today:  Pray that God will bring onto my path someone that I can talk to about what Christ has done for me.

Answer to yesterday’s Bible question:  “Psalm 100.”

Today’s Bible question:  “What did Abraham finally offer instead of Isaac?”

Answer in our next SD.

7/13/2015 7:55 AM

Characteristic of Purpose (Rev. 14:4c)

 

SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR 7/12/2015 7:09 AM

My Worship Time                                                                 Focus:  Characteristic of Purpose

Bible Reading & Meditation                                                Reference:  Revelation 14:4c

            Message of the verses:  “These have been purchased from among men as first fruits to God and to the Lamb.”

            First I would like to go back to Revelation 5:9 “And they sang a new song, saying, "Worthy are You to take the book and to break its seals; for You were slain, and purchased for God with Your blood men from every tribe and tongue and people and nation.”  We can see from this verse that John is again showing that the Lord Jesus Christ has purchased men from among  every tribe and tongue and people and nation, which is similar to what we read in our verse today.  Now according to this verse in Revelation chapter five and other verses like Acts 20:28 which reads “"Be on guard for yourselves and for all the flock, among which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers, to shepherd the church of God which He purchased with His own blood.”  We can also look at 1 Corinthians 6:20 “For you have been bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body.”  Next 1 Corinthians 7:23 “You were bought with a price; do not become slaves of men.”  Next 1 Peter 1:18-19 “18  knowing that you were not redeemed with perishable things like silver or gold from your futile way of life inherited from your forefathers, 19  but with precious blood, as of a lamb unblemished and spotless, the blood of Christ.”  All of these verses show that God is the One who has purchased us through the blood and sacrifice of our Lord Jesus Christ, but for these 144,000 God had purchased them for a special purpose.  Our verse for today states that they have been redeemed as “first fruits to God and to the Lamb.”  We will have to go back to the Old Testament to understand what the term “first fruits” means.  I will give a couple of references here to show what this means, the first from Deuteronomy 26:1-11, but we will not write this one out but will look at Deuteronomy 18:3-5 “3 “Now this shall be the priests’ due from the people, from those who offer a sacrifice, either an ox or a sheep, of which they shall give to the priest the shoulder and the two cheeks and the stomach. 4 “You shall give him the first fruits of your grain, your new wine, and your oil, and the first shearing of your sheep. 5 “For the LORD your God has chosen him and his sons from all your tribes, to stand and serve in the name of the LORD forever.”  Now in Deuteronomy 26:1-11 we can see that this passage speaks of the first part of a crop to be harvested were offered to God.  Now what does this have to do with the 144,000 of Revelation 7 and 14?  John MacArthur writes “As previously noted, the number 144,000 does not symbolize all the Tribulation saints, but rather designates a group of Jewish evangelists.  The purpose of their lives will be to serve the Lord by proclaiming the gospel to the lost, perishing, Christ rejecting world.

            “It is also possible to view the 144,000 as ‘first fruits’ in the sense that they represent the first of many others who will be saved.  Paul used the term in that sense when he noted that ‘the household of Stephanas …were the first fruits of Achaia.’  The 144,000 may legitimately be viewed as the first fruits of redeemed Israel, foreshadowing the nation’s salvation when Christ returns.  In that day ‘they will look on Me whom they have pierced; and they will mourn for Him, as one mourns for an only son, and they will weep bitterly over Him like the bitter weeping over a first born’ (Zech. 12:10).  Of that day Paul wrote ‘25 For I do not want you, brethren, to be uninformed of this mystery-so that you will not be wise in your own estimation-that a partial hardening has happened to Israel until the fullness of the Gentiles has come in; 26 and so all Israel will be saved; just as it is written, "THE DELIVERER WILL COME FROM ZION, HE WILL REMOVE UNGODLINESS FROM JACOB." 27 “THIS IS MY COVENANT WITH THEM, WHEN I TAKE AWAY THEIR SINS."”

            I want to go back to Revelation 5:9 and look at the phrase “from every tribe and tongue and people and nation.”  What we don’t see in this phrase is the word “race” for all of what John speaks of here is from the same race, the human race, but he does talk about different tribes and tongues and people, and nations, which are all a part of the human race.  I have spoken about this in earlier SD’s and so this is not new, but this is a great problem in our world today and it comes from the false religion of evolution.  This is just another bad thing that comes out of evolution that is we have different races of people when in fact there is only one race and that is the race of man that God created on the sixth day.  Also as I earlier stated that one of the other problems of the religion of evolution is that since we are all one big accident that there is no one we are accountable to, but this is wrong for all men are accountable to God.

            Spiritual meaning for my life today:  I am thankful for the things that I am learning from the lives of the 144,000 mentioned in these two chapters of Revelation, happy that I can learn from their lives, and even happy that since I believe that we are close to the return of Jesus Christ to come to take His bride that I even pray for these men from time to time that God will do just as He tells us He will do with them during the Tribulation Period. 

My Steps of Faith for Today:  To love the Lord with all of my heart, soul, mind and strength, and to be thankful for the love that the Lord has for me.

Answer to yesterday’s Bible question:  “Solomon” (Luke 12:27).

Today’s Bible question:  “Which Psalm begins, ‘Make a joyful noise unto the Lord, all ye lands’?”

Answer in our next SD.

7/12/2015 7:45 AM

Characteristic of Partisanship (Rev. 14:4b)

 

SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR 7/11/2015 7:16 AM

My Worship Time                                                                Focus:  Characteristic of Partisanship

Bible Reading & Meditation                                                Reference:  Revelation 14:4b

            Message of the verses:  “These are the ones who follow the Lamb wherever He goes. These have been purchased from among men as first fruits to God and to the Lamb.”

            I am not sure if I ever heard of the word “partisans” before, but at least it has been a long time.  According to the Oxford English Dictionary this word means “on who takes part of sides with another; an adherent or supporter of a party, person, or cause…a devoted or zealous supporter…One who supports his party ‘through thick and thin’; a blind, prejudiced, unreasoning, or fanatical adherent.”  John MacArthur quotes John Phillips is showing how the 144,000 are completely loyal to the Lamb:  “They allow no rivals, no refusals, and no restraint to mar their dedication to Him.  Does He need someone to stand upon the steps of the Vatican and cry out against the marriage of Christendom to the Beast?  There are 144,000 ready to go!  Does the Lord need someone to beard the Beast at some high function of state and roundly denounce him, his policy, his statecraft, his religion, his economic boycott, his mark, his ministers, his alliances with Satan?  There are 144,000 eager to go!  Does the Lamb need evangelists to proclaim to the untold millions the gospel of the coming kingdom of God? To climb the highest Himalayas, to cross the desert stands, to blaze evangelistic trails through steaming jungles, or to mush huskies across wide arctic wastes?  There are 144,000 ready to go!  And though the Beast’s Gestapo [sic] dog their footsteps and wreak upon their converts his direst vengeance, yet on they go undaunted and undeterred.  That was the very spirit of their consecration as they followed the Lamb whithersoever He led them on earth, and their reward is in kind.”

            These are the kind of loyal followers that the Lord Jesus Christ is looking for as He states in Matthew 16:24 “Then Jesus said to His disciples, "If anyone wishes to come after Me, he must deny himself, and take up his cross and follow Me.”  In another Word from Him as He spoke to the rich young ruler He advised him “"If you wish to be complete, go and sell your possessions and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow Me’ (Matthew 19:21).”  Another time from the gospel of John Jesus told a crowd of unbelieving Jews that they were not His sheep for if they were, He says that “"My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me’ (John 10:27).”  Paul says the following in 1 Corinthians 11:1 “Be imitators of me, just as I also am of Christ.”  John writes the following in 1 John 2:6 “the one who says he abides in Him ought himself to walk in the same manner as He walked.”

            As we continue to look at the 144,000 from the fourteenth chapter of Revelation we can learn what it means to be a committed follower of Jesus Christ, and these men will do this in the worst time that the world has ever faced as it will not only have judgments from the Lord, some we have already looked at and some we will look at later, and also have the restraint taken away, that restraint that is in the world today, and they will also face the wrath of Satan as he and all of his demons have been kicked out of heaven and some of the demons that have been locked up in the pit will be let loose, so you can see that these men will be truly sold out for the Lord Jesus Christ.

            Spiritual meaning for my life today:  I remember a sermon that Billy Graham preached in the western part of Canada many years ago, and in that sermon he spoke of the difficulty of being sold out to the Lord Jesus living in the prosperous world of that day, and I suppose you can say of this day.  Too many distractions cause believes not to be truly sold out to the Lord when we really need to be, I need to be.

My Steps of Faith for Today:  I need to think about what I am learning concerning these 144,00 men and then make some changes in my life so that I, like them can be surrendered to the Lord in a similar way.

Answer to yesterday’s Bible question:  “Spain” (Romans 15:24).

Today’s Bible question:  “Who in all of his glory was not arrayed like the lilies?”

Answer in our next SD.

7/11/2015 7:49 AM

Characteristic of Purity (Rev. 14:4a)

 

SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR 7/10/2015 7:41 AM

My Worship Time                                                                          Focus:  Characteristic of Purity

Bible Reading & Meditation                                                            Reference:  Revelation 14:4a

            Message of the verse:  “These are the ones who have not been defiled with women, for they have kept themselves chaste.”

            Now according to 2 Thessalonians 2:6-7 which reads “6 And you know what restrains him now, so that in his time he will be revealed. 7 For the mystery of lawlessness is already at work; only he who now restrains will do so until he is taken out of the way.”  I am not going to get into all that this verse means as I went over it in my study of 1^st and 2^nd Thessalonians last year, but the point that I want to make here is that when the restraining of sin is removed then people will act without being restrained, in other words people will act as vile as they want to act and if you think that things are bad on earth now, and they are getting more worse all the time, this is nothing to what life will be like in the Tribulation Period.  Sexual sin will be worse than it ever has since man was on the earth and that makes what we read in this first part of verse four more unbelievable that we can imagine. 

            As the world grows ever darker and darker in the Tribulation Period these men will shine as a bright light to all they come in contact with for their lives will be pure as the verse says that they will not be defiled by women which will be the normal thing during this time period.  John MacArthur writes “That the specific sin that they will avoid involves women indicates that sexual purity is the view here, not detachment from the corrupt world system.  That the 144,000 will be separate from Antichrist’s empire has already been made clear; they bear God’s mark, not the beast’s (7:3-4).  Nor does this passage teach that they will all be unmarried, since sex within marriage does not defile anyone (Heb. 13:4).  What it means is that they will stand apart from the sin of their culture; 144,000 morally pure preachers amid the defilement that surrounds them.”   

            We now live in a world where being sexually pure is becoming more difficult all of the time, for we can view things on smart phones that were actually against the law fifty years ago, and I suppose they are still against the law, but no one enforces that law any more.  The Bible tells us in 1 Thessalonians 4:3 “For this is the will of God, your sanctification; that is, that you abstain from sexual immorality.”  The Bible is very clear what sexual immorality is as we can read about what it means in different parts of both the OT and the NT.  One man and one woman living in marriage forever is the correct kind of sexual purity, or a man and or a woman never having sexual relations before they are married.  Jesus went on to tell us in the Sermon on the Mount that if a person thinks about having sexual relations in their minds they were actually having them and this is sinful, for it is the mind that first commits sinful acts as a person acts out what they are going to do and then if they do not check these sinful thoughts while in the mind they will actually act them out.

            In his commentary on this section John MacArthur quotes a rather famous Pastor, Robert Murray McCheyne who writes the following paragraph for the benefit of a young preacher:  “Do not forget the culture of the inner man—I mean of the heart.  How diligently the cavalry officer keeps his sabre clean and sharp; every stain he rubs off with the greatest care.  Remember you are God’s sword, His instrument—I trust a chose vessel unto Him to bear His instrument, will be the success.  It is not great talents God blesses so much as great likeness to Jesus.  A holy minister is an awful weapon in the hand of God. (Andrew A. Bonar, Memoirs of McCheyne [Chicago: Moody, 1978], 95).”

            Spiritual meaning for my life today:  I suppose that once man fell that one of the easiest sins to fall into has to do with a sexual sin.  God made man perfect, so perfect that both Adam and Eve could walk around naked and there would be no problem with any kind of sexual sin.  After man sinned one of the first things God did was make clothes for them and we have been wearing clothes ever since.  Keeping my saber clean and sharp is difficult at best, but just as the Lord will give power to those 144,000 He will also give power to me and to all who seek His power.

My Steps of Faith for Today:  Keep my sword clean and sharp.

Answer to yesterday’s Bible question:  “Pharaoh’s daughter” (Exodus 2:9).

Today’s Bible question:  “In writing to the Romans, Paul told them he planned to visit them on his way to what place?”

Answer in our next SD.

7/10/2015 8:17 AM

Characteristic of Praise (Rev. 14:2-3)

 

SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR 7/9/2015 8:43 AM

My Worship Time                                                                          Focus:  Characteristic of Praise

Bible Reading & Meditation                                                         Reference:  Revelation 14:2-3

            Message of the verses:  “2 And I heard a voice from heaven, like the sound of many waters and like the sound of loud thunder, and the voice which I heard was like the sound of harpists playing on their harps. 3 And they sang a new song before the throne and before the four living creatures and the elders; and no one could learn the song except the one hundred and forty-four thousand who had been purchased from the earth.”

            As we look at these two verses and then look back at some other verses in the book of Revelation we will see that the praise which goes to the Lamb and to God comes in stages and continues to grow larger and larger.  One may think that the 144,000 would not be ready to praise the Lord after all they went through, but it seems that their desire is to praise the Lord for the protection that He has given them throughout their ministry on the earth.

            Verse two begins with John hearing a voice from heaven, a loud voice, and this is not the first time that he has heard a loud voice from heaven as it also was heard in Rev. 4:1; 10:4, 8; 11:12; 12:10, and will be heard again in 14:13; 18:4; and 19:1.  It is described “like the sound of many waters and like the sound of loud thunder.”  In Ezekiel 43:2 we read “and behold, the glory of the God of Israel was coming from the way of the east. And His voice was like the sound of many waters; and the earth shone with His glory.”  In Revelation 1:15 the voice of the Lord Jesus is described as “His voice was like the sound of many waters.”  Revelation 19:6 says “Then I heard something like the voice of a great multitude and like the sound of many waters and like the sound of mighty peals of thunder, saying, "Hallelujah! For the Lord our God, the Almighty, reigns.” 

            Now let us go back to where the song begins which is in Rev. 5:9-10 “9 And they sang a new song, saying, "Worthy are You to take the book and to break its seals; for You were slain, and purchased for God with Your blood men from every tribe and tongue and people and nation. 10 “You have made them to be a kingdom and priests to our God; and they will reign upon the earth."”  This song begins with the four living beings and the twenty-four elders in these verses.  Now in 5:11-12 we read “11 Then I looked, and I heard the voice of many angels around the throne and the living creatures and the elders; and the number of them was myriads of myriads, and thousands of thousands, 12  saying with a loud voice, "Worthy is the Lamb that was slain to receive power and riches and wisdom and might and honor and glory and blessing."”  7/9/2015 9:02 AM      7/9/2015 6:38 PM

            This was not just a voice, but also the text tells us that it is a song as we read “heard was like the sound of harpists playing on their harps.”  I think that it is fair to say that because of harps being used that we can contend that this is a joyous praise to the Lord as seen in several OT passages which I will quote some of them and list some of them too.  “Meanwhile, David and all the house of Israel were celebrating before the LORD with all kinds of instruments made of fir wood, and with lyres, harps, tambourines, castanets and cymbals (2 Samuel 6:5).”  Give thanks to the LORD with the lyre; Sing praises to Him with a harp of ten strings (Pss. 33:2).”  “Praise Him with trumpet sound; Praise Him with harp and lyre (Pss. 150:3).”  Others include 1 Chron. 13:8; 15:16, 28; 2 Chron. 5:12-13; Neh. 12:27; Pss. 71:22; 144:9. 

            John MacArthur writes “The new song in heaven before the throne and before the four living creatures and the elders is the song of redemption (cf. Pss. 33:1-3; 40:3; 96:1-2; 98:1-2; 144:9-10; 149:1; Isa. 42:10).  The angels will join the Old Testament saints, the raptured church, and the redeemed Tribulation martyrs in praising God for salvation.  While angels do not experience redemption, they do rejoice because of it (Luke 15:10).  All heaven will overflow with praise because God’s redemptive work culminating in the return of Christ is accomplished.” 

            We read that no one but the 144,000 know the song, but it is not stated why so MacArthur again quotes Henry Morris who has a possible explanation:  “Although the words of the song of the 144,000 are not recorded, it surely dwells in part at least on the great truth that they had been ‘redeemed from the earth.’  Although in one sense all saved people have been redeemed from the earth, these could know the meaning of such a theme in a more profound way than others.  They had been saved after the rapture, at the time in history when man’s greatest persecutions and God’s greatest judgments were on earth.  It was at such a time that they, like Noah (Genesis 6:8), had ‘found grace in the eyes of the Lord’ and had been separated from ‘all that dwell upon the earth’ (Revelation 13:8).  Not only had they been redeemed spiritually but, precursively as it were, they had been redeemed from the very curse on the earth (Genesis 3:17), being protected from pain an death by the guarding seal.”

            These 144,000 will join with the heavenly chorus in praising the Lord for the marvelous work of redemption.  Let us look at least part of what they will be singing which is found in Rev. 15:3-4 “3  And they *sang the song of Moses, the bond-servant of God, and the song of the Lamb, saying, "Great and marvelous are Your works, O Lord God, the Almighty; Righteous and true are Your ways, King of the nations! 4  "Who will not fear, O Lord, and glorify Your name? For You alone are holy; For ALL THE NATIONS WILL COME AND WORSHIP BEFORE YOU, FOR YOUR RIGHTEOUS ACTS HAVE BEEN REVEALED."”  Now when we think about what is going on here we have to understand that redemption is the greatest gift that can be given from a holy and also a just God.  God is the One who sent His only Son into the world to  provide the salvation that only He could provide, and so as we think of it in that perspective we can take time to praise the Lord for His gracious and merciful gift of salvation, for as the song tells us “Jesus paid it all and all to Him we owe.”

            As we go over some of these characteristics of the 144,000 starting with power and today looking at praise we can practice from what we learn as we live out our Christian life here on earth.  John MacArthur agrees with this statement as he writes “A mark of triumphant Christian living in any era is constant praise to God.  The 144,000 no doubt praise God throughout their time of trial and persecution.  Because their ordeal is over and they are victorious, they will burst forth in praise to God for their deliverance.  Joy is the proper outflow of a heart that trusts in God’s sovereign power (Phil. 3:1; 4:4; 1 Thess. 5:16; James 1:2; 1 Pet. 4:13).”

            Spiritual meaning for my life today:  Praising the Lord daily for the gift of salvation is something that needs to be incorporated in my walk with the Lord.

My Steps of Faith for Today:  Praise the Lord for the marvelous gift of salvation.

Answer to yesterday’s Bible question:  “Master, we have toiled all night and have taken nothing’” (Luke 5:5).

Today’s Bible question:  “Who said ‘Take this child away, and nurse her for me, and I will give thee thy wages.”

Answer in our next SD.

7/9/2015 7:06 PM