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Psalms
119:110-120 The wicked
have laid a snare for me, Yet I have not strayed from Your precepts. Your
testimonies I have taken as a heritage forever, For they are the rejoicing of my heart. I have
inclined my heart to perform Your statutes Forever, to the very end. I hate the
double-minded, But I love Your law. You are
my hiding place and my shield; I hope in Your word. Depart from me, you
evildoers, For I will keep the commandments of my God! Uphold me according to
Your word, that I may live; And do not let me be ashamed of my hope. Hold me
up, and I shall be safe, And I shall observe Your statutes continually. You
reject all those who stray from Your statutes, For their deceit is falsehood. You put away all the
wicked of the earth like dross;
Therefore I love Your testimonies. My flesh trembles for fear of You, And I am
afraid of Your judgments.
Father God, send a full measure of your
Holy Spirit to us daily so our zeal for you will spill forth in the form of
salt, to season those around us. Then we can, “Rejoice and be exceedingly glad, for great is your reward in heaven……..” Matthew
5:12 In
Jesus name we pray, Amen!
Revelation 22:11-21 NKJV
This
lesson will conclude the Book of Revelation. I hope this study of Revelation
has enlightened you to what is to come. I also hope that it has brought
conviction upon your life especially if you are not saved, and it has you
really thinking about how you want to spend eternity. There should have been
several times when the word of God made you feel uneasy as you read the
lessons. If you were uneasy at times I hope you examined your lifestyle and
made a decision to accept Jesus into your heart. Just remember it is up to us
to make the first move toward Jesus because God gave us a free will to choose
Him or the world. We can deem ourselves good according to man’s standards, but
it is God’s standard that counts. We can accept what is going on in the world
today like same sex marriages, abortion, etc. to fit in with the changing
times, but all this keeps us separated from God and it is up to us as
individuals to step toward God, acknowledge these things are sinful, have the
desire to turn from these things, and cry out to Jesus to come into our hearts
and help us to be overcomer’s. Jesus LOVES us and will adopt us as one of His
children if we repent of our ways. It doesn’t matter how awful the sin is,
Jesus LOVES you as His creation, but hates the lifestyle, and if we are sincere in our hearts of truly wanting to
turn from the lifestyle we are living, Jesus is true and faithful and will
save us.
These
last 11 verses Jesus is telling us one last time what will happen to those that
live a righteous or unrighteous life. He is crying out to all that will read
His words to come to Him.
11 He who is
unjust, let him be unjust still; he who is filthy, let him be filthy still; he
who is righteous, let him be righteous still; he who is holy, let him be holy
still."
This verse comes across at
first that where a person is in a relationship whether it be with Jesus or
Satan, then that is where he will end up for eternity, but that isn’t the case
here. We know all are welcome at the foot of the Cross through repentance. John
3:16 tells us God so loved the world He gave His only begotten Son so whosoever
may have a chance of salvation. Verse 17 below proclaims salvation is for anyone
that desires it. 17 And the Spirit and the bride say,
"Come!" And let him who hears say, "Come!" And let him who
thirsts come. Whoever desires, let him take the water of life freely.
So what is this verse
actually saying? It is telling us that we are where we are in a relationship
with Christ of our own accord. We can live a sinful life or a holy life, it is
our choice. If we choose Jesus and move toward Him we will be rewarded or if we
choose a corrupt life we will be rewarded. The reward we receive will be based upon
what we do with our life here on earth, as the next verse tells us.
12 "And behold, I am coming quickly, and My reward is with Me, to give to every one
according to his work.
And behold, I am coming quickly; This is not referring to the second
coming of Christ at Armageddon, but to those in John’s time, and our present
time. It is speaking of when our time here on earth is over it can come as
quickly as a blink of an eye. Whatever we are when this happens whether unjust
and filthy or righteous and holy is what the reward will be for eternity.
And My reward is
with Me, to give to everyone according to his work: The reward Jesus will be carrying can
be positive or negative depending on our works. The one and only works that
counts is faith in the works of the Cross, meaning Jesus death and
resurrection. If our faith is in anything other than the Cross, it is a false
faith that God will not accept. 2 Corinthians 5:10 For we must all appear before the judgment seat
of Christ, that each one may receive the things done in the body, according to what he has done, whether good or
bad. Galatians 6:7-8 Do not be deceived, God is
not mocked; for whatever a man sows, that he will also reap. 8 For he who
sows to his flesh will of the flesh reap corruption, but he who sows to the
Spirit will of the Spirit reap everlasting life.
13 I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the
End, the First and the Last."
The Alpha is the first
letter in the Greek Alphabet, and Omega the last letter in the Greek Alphabet. What
Jesus is saying is that He is the beginning, everything in-between, and the
end. He is not saying he had a beginning, but He is the author of creation, and
is in control of all between the beginning and the end. He is the King and
Ruler.
14 Blessed are those who do His commandments,
that they may have the right to the tree of life, and may enter through the
gates into the city.
Blessed are those; Introduces the last of the seven
beatitudes in Revelation (see v.
7; 1:3;
14:13;
16:15;
19:9;
20:6).
Who
do His commandments; Who
do His commandments, should have been translated, “who washed
their robes in the Blood of the Lamb”. The world of scholarship and Archaeology
has discovered thousands of early Greek text and comparing these Manuscripts,
the scholars can easily ascertain the original text John wrote.
That
they may have the right to the tree of life, and may enter through the gates
into the city; Those
that keep God’s commandments by the power of the Holy Spirit living within them
through a Spiritual Birth, will inherit the Kingdom of God for eternity. They will
have the rights to the tree of life and enter the New Jerusalem through the Pearly
Gates.
15 But
outside are dogs and sorcerers
and sexually immoral and murderers and idolaters, and whoever loves and
practices a lie.
In Johns day the Gentiles
were referred to as dogs.
This verse can mislead a
person into thinking that there will be life outside the New Jerusalem and that
it will be of corruption. But we know this can’t be true because Jesus wiped
all evil off the earth and cast all evil into the Lake of Fire and then cleansed
the earth with fervent heat to rid it of all of mankind’s corruption.
So what is this verse
telling us? It is telling us that anyone that twists the meaning of scripture
to fit their lifestyle will not enter Heaven. They will believe the lie they or
someone produced by twisting the meaning of God’s Holy and True word. Jesus
will exclude them from the holy city. These people whose lives have gone so
wrong they resemble Satan, who deceives the whole world (Revelation
12:9; 13:13-15; 16:14). They are hypocrites, trying to live
one way while pretending to believe another. Satan is the father of lies. John 8:44 You are of your father the devil, and the
desires of your father you want to do. He was a murderer from the beginning,
and does not stand in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he
speaks a lie, he speaks from his own resources,
for he is a liar and the father of it.
Today we see leaders who
twist the truth to serve their purposes. Many people have lost the ability to
distinguish what's true from what they wish was true. Dishonest people soon
begin to believe the lies they construct around themselves. Then they lose the
ability to tell the difference between truth and lies. By believing your own
lies, you deceive yourself, and alienate yourself from God and lose.
16 "I, Jesus, have sent My angel to testify to you these
things in the churches. I am the Root and the Offspring of David, the Bright
and Morning Star."
I, Jesus; Jesus is closing out this last book of the Bible by stating,
“I Jesus”.
Have sent My angel to testify to you these things in the churches; He is plainly stating He has and is
sending His messengers the angels to the churches, and the preachers and
congregation had better listen. "He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to
the churches."
I am the Root and the Offspring of David; Jesus is both the Source and Son of
David, echoing the words of Isaiah. Isaiah
11:1 There shall come forth a Rod
from the stem of Jesse, And a Branch shall grow out of his roots. The meaning then is; not that he was
the ancestor of David, or that David sprang from him, but that he was the
offspring of David or lineage, according to the promise in the Scripture, that
the Messiah should be descended from him. No argument, then, can be derived
from this passage in proof of the pre-existence, or the divinity of Christ.
The Bright and Morning Star; This phrase means that anyone can have a new life in
Jesus Christ no matter who they are or what they have done. Jesus loves those
He creates, but what He hates is the lifestyle so many lead because of the sin
nature and it is this sin nature that separates them from God. Repentance and
asking Jesus to help in a sinner’s life will give them a new beginning just
like the beginning of a new day when the sun comes up.
17 And the
Spirit and the bride say, "Come!" And let him who hears say,
"Come!" And let him who thirsts come. Whoever desires, let him take
the water of life freely.
This verse is an
invitation for anyone to come home to Jesus through salvation. The Spirit of
God cries out to all to come. Anyone that hears can come. Anyone with a
spiritual thirst in their soul can come. Anyone that has a desire for a
Heavenly eternity can take the water of life that Jesus has to offer, all they
have to do is come to the Cross and repent.
18 For I
testify to everyone who hears the words of the prophecy of this book: If anyone
adds to these things, God will add to him the plagues that are written in this
book;
19 and if
anyone takes away from the words of the book of this prophecy, God shall take
away his part from the Book of Life, from the holy city, and from the things which are written in
this book.
This is a strong statement
and one to be heeded. Anyone adding to or taking away, from the prophecies of
this book will heap the Judgment of God upon themselves. The plagues that are
in this book will be poured out on anyone that preaches or teaches false
doctrine and their name will be erased from the Book of Life, meaning eternity
will be spent in the Lake of Fire. This book of Revelation is intended to be
heard, obeyed, and not tampered with. John is testifying this is the Word of
God.
With this statement I
leave you with these thoughts to ponder. Where do religious denominations stand
that are constantly changing their doctrine to fit in current times? Does the
church you attend change its doctrine? Has your church and does your church
follow the teachings of the Bible or do they have doctrine devised by man in a
series of questions and answers?
20 He who
testifies to these things says, "Surely I am
coming quickly." Amen. Even so, come, Lord Jesus!
He who testifies is Jesus
and His name is all over this Book. He is the Lamb who was slain, His Blood
washes away sin, and He alone makes one fit to enter into the Eternal City. He
will come quickly and the cry from His Saints echoes in the Heavens and on earth
for the return of Jesus.
21 The grace
of our Lord Jesus Christ be
with you all. Amen.
This book closes with an
invitation for all to accept Jesus as their Saviour and receive the gift of
Grace.
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I leave all with this thought in closing this book of
Revelation.
When you leave this earth which Jesus do you want to meet:
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The Judge That Hates Sin?
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The One With Open Arms?
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Art used; by Pat Marvenko Smith, copyright 1992.
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Where
do you want to spend Eternity?
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Heaven?
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Hell?
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Art used; by Pat Marvenko Smith, copyright 1992.
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Art used; by Pat Marvenko Smith, copyright 1992.
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Colossians 1:16 For by Him all things were created
that are in heaven and that are on earth,
visible and invisible,
whether thrones or dominions or principalities or powers.
All things were created through Him
and for Him.
Romans 3:23 for all have sinned and fall short of
the glory of God,
Romans 6:23 For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our
Lord.
John 3:3 Jesus answered and said to him, Most assuredly, I say to you,
unless one is
born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God."
Bill
Wiesbrock https://www.facebook.com/bill.wiesbrock?ref=tn_tnmn
Sinners Prayer; Pray this, and if you believe
it with your heart, Jesus will save you!
“Lord Jesus
I know I am a sinner. I confess my sins to
you; I am sorry for my sins; I repent (Meaning, desiring to turn from a sinful
lifestyle.) of all my sins, and I am asking for your forgiveness of all of my
sins. I believe that only you can
forgive sin. I commit my life to you and
ask you to come into my heart, direct, and take charge of my life. I believe that you died to set me free from my
sinful lifestyle and you rose from the dead to give me eternal life, and right
now you are seated at the Right Hand of God Almighty. I believe you are the Son
of God; the only Way, the only Truth, the only Life, and my Savior.” I believe this and have faith you will make a
new person out of me, by sending the Holy Spirit to dwell in my heart and lead
me in a new life. In Jesus name I pray Amen.”
(John 3:16,17; Romans 3:23; 6:23; 5:8; 10:9-13; Ephesians 2:8-10; 1
John 5:11-14; 1:6-10) (Sin: Rom.
1:22-32; Gal. 5:19-21; Eph. 5:3-7)
