“The
Revelation Of Jesus Christ” • 6.7.20 • Calvary Christian
Fellowship, Sunday Morning Service
Intro.
Text
•
Revelation 1:1,2 : "The Revelation of Jesus Christ,
which God gave Him to show His servants—things which must shortly take place.
And He sent and signified it by His angel to His servant John, who bore witness to the word of
God, and to the testimony of Jesus Christ, to all things that he saw." : Without any warning, John runs directly to the purpose of his
book, the title of which thrills all that hear it.
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This book proposes to give to us the "Revelation Of Jesus Christ!" It
is not about the "Antichrist." It is not about prophetic timelines.
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It is the the most clear picture that we have of Jesus as He is and as He will
be!
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It is the "apocalypsis" of Jesus the Messiah! That idea of
"apocaylpse" has come to be associated with catastrophe and disaster.
For some, that will still be the case.
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When the Greeks used the word "Revelation," it pointed to a full and
final disclosure, as when one lifts off a tarp from a sculpture or work of art.
This volume then is the unveiling of Jesus Christ.
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When He is finally come, blessing will fall to believers who have endured
patiently and lived faithfully for their Messiah and woe will befall unbelievers
who refused to bow their hearts to Him!
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This work before us, the final words of our New Testament, indeed, our entire
Bible, center on laying bare the full intention for history as it relates to
Jesus Christ.
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Consequently, this book isn't for the world's consumption. I can hardly think
of a more confusing volume to give to an unbelieving person, though most
unbelievers are fascinated by it!
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This final library of letters, symbols and images was given by the Father to
the Son for the sake of His servants. God authorized Jesus to reveal this to
Christians!
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God wants His Son's servants to have a look at something with their eyes. Because
there is also a hint in the word for providing evidence or proof for an idea,
he wants us to be convinced!
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This sneak peak at coming attractions has been prepared for His douloi, His
slaves! This is a book for all that serve the Lord Jesus with their lives
voluntarily! It's a tremendous privilege to study!
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What God is about to disclose, John comments, must shortly, speedily, come into
being. I wonder if John wondered what that would mean! It's been 2,000 years!
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"Shortly" relates to the marking of acceleration. In your vehicle,
you are constantly marking your speed on the provided "tachometer."
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The things that are recorded here in this volume must rapidly or move rapidly
toward fulfillment! When these events begin to happen, they will happen in
rapid succession.
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When it begins in earnest, it will come to a close without a prolonged wait!
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Doesn't this make perfect sense? There won't be a need to prolong these
actions.
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The world will have been given every opportunity to receive Christ and they
will still refuse! Some day soon, it will be pointless to have Ambassadors on
this planet.
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The world continues to develop mindsets and philosophies that cannot be
penetrated simply by standards of truth, shared individually.
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Today, if you are male, Christian and heterosexual, you are an unknowing agent
of an oppressive system which one must seek liberation from through activism!
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Consequently, the world will finally be left to their own devices, which will
culminate in judgment! It will fall swiftly and suddenly upon them according to
John.
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God gave this content to Jesus, who gave it to John via His angel. Jesus sent
and signified it, a word referring to making a mark that clearly revealed it to
be His! Why did He give it to John?
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First, because John was the final Apostolic witness left! He is in his 90's by
this time, serving time on a small volcanic island off the coast of Turkey, God
sustaining Him well beyond his years!
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Second, John had been willing to testify to the word of God and to affirm what
Jesus had said of Himself! John had been reliable to serve! He has written a
profound amount of material.
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Everything that he had been given, everything that he saw, that he had come to
perceive about Jesus, he wrote freely of in his generation. Why wouldn't the
Lord give this to him?
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When you are faithful to do what God has called you to do, God will call you to
do more! John has been faithful in all that he has been given. Here, he is
given much more! Verse 3.
•
Revelation 1:3 : "Blessed is he who reads and those
who hear the words of this prophecy, and keep those things which are written in
it; for the time is near." Listen
carefully to verbs: "Reads, hears and keeps." This is all integrated
together!
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Initially, as this volume reached it's intended audience, there was a single
person who read, a group of people who were hearing and an entire congregation
that would commit to keeping it!
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That blessing continues today! I am reading this to you and exposing to you the
senses of the words that are being written.
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This first audience understood the nuances of their own language with no need
for exposition. Today, we are reading back into a language that none of us
know.
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We are therefore, reading with the attempt to gain a thorough digestion of the
material. The Lord promises that in doing so we will be blessed!
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God's blessing is not for those with an eye to simply gather trivial facts or
to look into that which interests us! Be careful of studying this book just to
titilate your prophetic senses!
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When John uses this word, it reflects an ability to "distinguish
between" or "to recognise," to "know accurately." The
idea is to have an intimate knowledge of each and every piece!
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That reading is connected with hearing the words. If reading intones being able
to make distinctions, then hearing, considering what is being said, continues
that exercise!
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As I am reading, I am consciously attempting to hear what the Lord is saying
through these verses. What is required of me? What actions are consistent with
His heart?
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Which actions are condemned by His word? A valuable prayer would be to have an
ear to hear! Not an ear that would be attentive to what is attractive to you.
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Not an ear that is selective or seeking wisdom for others. And certainly not an
ear that seeks information that will destroy other people's systems of
interpretation! What is Jesus speaking to you!?
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Would you not seek that blessing at this time? This book is right in front of
you and there is no better time than this! Take the Lord up on this! Read and
hear the words of this prophecy!
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For those that wonder about the nature of this book, hear it's own testimony at
three verses in. What is ahead of us is prophecy, which generally has two
meanings in scripture.
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To prophecy generally is to speak forth God's word to His people. This is
prophetic proclamation. We will definitely see instances and elements of that
in this book.
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However, I'd suggest that the second definition of prophecy is applicable here
especially.
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This second definition is related to a predictive element, events which are yet
future to the author. In verse 1,
John has already said: "these things which must shortly take place!"
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They had not happened in his time, but were coming soon! I am aware that there
are several methods of interpretation that have been employed when studying
Revelation.
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I have heard of them, studied them and considered them. Great men that I have
respected otherwise have held these views: Postmillenialism, Amillenialism,
Preterism.
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If I could put them all into a general category, I'd call them all
"Fulfilled" theology.
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Each of these groups sees the elements that we are about to study as either
fulfilled historically or as stories which tell of God's victorious story in
repeated pictures.
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Given the predominance of these views today, it might surprise you to learn
that the early church Fathers were predominantly premillenial in it's
eschatology!
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Those with fulfillment theology, Amillenial, Postmillenial or Preterist leaning
Christians, will find their respective systems tied to the Roman Catholic
Church, whose priesthood was the Kingdom.
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In response, the Protestant church took the task of trying to explain what is
seen here with a vital piece of information missing: The rebirth of the nation
of Israel!
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Consequently, the promises that were give to Israel were "spiritualized"
and applied to the church. Understandably, this has led to quite a few
differences in how Israel is viewed prophetically!
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In any event, this "Fulfilled" theological stance was a sincere
departure from what the Patristic Fathers, those who lived after John's death,
carried into the second century.
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On your own time, read Iraneaus, Papias, Barnabas, Justin Martyr, Tertullian,
and Cyprian.
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Really, with the exception of men that rejected Revelation, there isn't one who
isn't premillenial! This doesn't mean that these guys were all totally
reliable. They just believed in a future!
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There are prophecies that are yet to be fulfilled and God is going to fulfill
them in His time!
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There are real events that will take place in time and space that will come to
pass sometime in the future in the same way that other prophecies have been
fulfilled in the past!
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You believe in a literal Jesus who came to this planet via the virgin womb of a
young woman. You believe in a God that created a universe out from nothing. Why
would you disbelieve now?
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In this way, we are to be reading and hearing Revelation with some eye to the
future, when these prophetic acts bring full glory and attention to Jesus
Christ! Read and hear it this way!
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Our blessing is fulfilled when we are found keeping that which is written! Here
is our old friend, "tereo," which refers to guarding or attending to
the word.
- God is never giving us information for
it's own sake. We are reading and hearing for the sake of keeping the word,
attending to it's call in our lives!
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When it calls us to love, repent, be warned, be vigilant, the one who keeps
finds ways to exercise and fulfill the meaning of these words! Why is this
important? "For the time is near!"
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The Greeks used two words for "time," the first of which marks
chronology. The second, the word used here, refers to opportunity!
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The opportunity for us to learn of what God wants to teach us about Jesus
Christ is at hand! It is right in front of us! It is within our grasp!
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With this prologue behind us, John begins this massive volume. Verse 4.
•
Revelation 1:4-6 : "John, to the seven churches which
are in Asia: Grace to you and peace from Him who is and who was and who is to
come, and from the seven Spirits who are before His throne, and from Jesus Christ, the faithful
witness, the firstborn from the dead, and the ruler over the kings of the
earth. To Him who
loved us and washed us from our sins in His own blood, and has made us kings and priests to His God and Father, to
Him be glory and dominion forever and ever. Amen." : John is addressing a group of churches that he was an overseer
of. He is the Elder. Each of these fellowships were located in modern day
Turkey. This isn't an exhaustive church list.
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For example, the church located in Colossae would have been right in the middle
of this group. For some reason, these churches, which we will discuss soon,
were the focus of this material.
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John writes to them in the common way that most church letters began:
"Grace and peace." For a church that was experiencing as much turmoil
as they were, they needed this more than ever!
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Unlike the other letters however, this was a direct address from the Godhead!
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John is the Trinity's amanuensis. He is taking down dictation from "the
One who is, who was and who is to come."
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This descriptive title speaks of the Father's eternal nature! He
"is." He exists now as He has always existed. He was and He is to
come!
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He is the God of all eternity, the God of our past, present and future! John
continues by describing the third person of the Trinity second! The Holy
Spirit.
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He is described as "the seven Spirits" who are more literally, in
range of sight of God's throne. Like a ready servant, the Spirit is very close
to the King and the seat of power!
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What is the meaning of the "seven Spirits?" Many point to Isaiah 11:2, where we find six, not
seven activities that the Holy Spirit enables the Messiah to operate in.
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There are references made by scholars to Zechariah
4:10 and the seven eyes of God.
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I prefer to hold to the full and complete work of the Holy Spirit in the work
of salvation. He performs and perfects that which relates to God's plan for us
within us!
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He guides, convicts, comforts, conforms, teaches and fills our Christian lives
with His power!
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Then we come to Jesus Christ who is described with three phrases. First, Jesus
is the "faithful witness."
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He is THE reliable, legal and historical witness to all of the work of the
Father in redemption. He can speak authoritatively to all the God has offered
through Him.
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His life speaks of love, justice, redemption, holiness and perfect obedience!
What He says about these things are definitively true and trustworthy!
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Jesus is also the "firstborn from the dead." Jesus is the prototype
of a new creature that comes forth from the dead into everlasting life.
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He is not the first to be resuscitated or raised from death. He is the first to
have died and then to have risen, never to die again! He is the first with a
glorified body, Preeminent in the plan of God!
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Because He is the faithful witness and firstborn from the dead, He is the ruler
over the kings of the Earth! Because of His obedience to His Father, the Son
has been given the Name above all!
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His rule extends over all of the Earth, now in heaven and soon upon the Earth!
If this is true, why is injustice still a part of our planet?
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Before I answer that however, understand that an anticipation of justice
reveals that there is One who is Just! The Kings of the Earth, from Genesis 3 on, have sought to rule apart
from God.
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They have sought their own standards of justice, which are moved by those with
the most!
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God's Kingdom is not that way! When He does come, His Kingdom will stand in
stark contrast to all of the previous Kingdoms of the Earth, with an immovable
basis of righteousness!
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Jesus will not take to the throne in a physical, temporal way until the Kings
of the Earth completely fail to provide this planet with the justice that it
believes to be possible!
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God's people, who are currently adhering to Kingdom principles, are the
ambassadors to this God rejecting world! The world has been given time to see
the contrast of His rule in our lives.
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One day soon, all injustice will be wiped away, Jesus conclusively
demonstrating that He is not just another King, but the King of Kings! How will
He have effected this?
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By creating a group of diverse people from every tribe, tongue and nation, who
value His promise, have embraced His rule and are living His life via the
agency of the Holy Spirit!
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John can't stop himself as he glories in this fact! It is Jesus who has loved
and washed, ceremonially cleansing us from our sins in His own blood!
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That fact of ceremonial cleansing is significant because of what He has made of
us. He has made those who are washed in His blood a Kingdom of Priests!
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As you can see in the NKJV, the translators chose to employ the word
"Kings." I much prefer the translation "Kingdom." We belong
to a Kingdom that is filled with Priests!
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On this planet, we represent God's desires to our fellow humans and we bring
those same humans before the Lord in prayer for their salvation and
sanctification.
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Much like the Levitical priests were once annointed with the blood of an
animal, so also are we set apart to serve on account of the blood of our Savior
and Lord!
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Every believer in Christ is given the authority by God to represent Him to the
various people groups that they encounter! Are we to rejoice in what He has
made us? Not at all!
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Our hearts join with John as he praises the Name of Jesus! May He have all
glory and power for all of eternity! Verse 7.
•
Revelation 1:7,8 : "Behold, He is coming with clouds,
and every eye will see Him, even they who pierced Him. And all the tribes of
the earth will mourn because of Him. Even so, Amen. 'I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End,' says the Lord, 'who is and who was
and who is to come, the Almighty.'" : When Jesus returns at His second coming, He will come in the
same way that He ascended to heaven. The angels told the disciples this as they
stared into the sky. (Acts 1:11)
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At the rapture of the church, Jesus will draw us up in the clouds. When He
returns, He will come with the clouds!
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Unlike the rapture of the church, which will occur without warning, the second
coming will be a public and predictable event! Every eye will see Him!
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Matthew 24:30 tells us that when
they see Him, all the tribes of the earth will mourn because of Him, especially
those that pierced Him, His own countrymen according to the flesh!
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This won't be a slight wiping away of the eye. It will be a full expression of
lament and wailing!
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Some of that mourning will result from regret that they hadn't served or loved
Him before! There are those that will mourn because they will have been
convinced that He wasn't the truth!
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Can you imagine the regret for those who have fought all their lives and then
found out that Christ's rule was true? How awful will that be, especially for
those that pierced Him!
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The Jews that discounted the claims of Jesus Christ, who believed only in a
political Messiah that would build them a temple, will mourn when they see the
true Christ!
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They will know that it was their piercing that kept their promise from them!
Even so, let it be!
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Jesus tells the churches that He is the Alpha and Omega. These are the first
and last letters of the Greek alphabet. All of God's communication to men is
wrapped up in Him!
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Jesus is the beginning and the end of everything redemptive. He is the One who
is, who was and is to come! Isn't that interesting!? Jesus assumes the very
description of the Father.
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Like His Father. Like the Holy Spirit. Jesus is and was and is to come! He is
the God of our past, present and future! Nothing that was happening in this
historical moment could stop this!
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No Emperor or government would have the ability to keep Jesus from fulfilling
this!
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Jesus is coming! Let there be no mistake about it! Let there be no faltering in
our conviction to live in light of it! What are you doing with your freedoms?
Why would you act so carnally?
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Can you afford to play fast and loose with your soul? Are you so confident of
your place with the Lord, that you would play on the edge of Christian
propriety!? Wake up!
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Jesus, the ever present One is coming! The Almighty is soon to gather us to be
with Him!
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Jesus tells us that He is endued with all strength and might Let there be no
mistake! There is no room for a theology that ignores the claim of Christ's
deity!
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It is affirmed repeatedly throughout John's writings and the Faithful witness,
the Firstborn from the Dead, is the Almighty and He comes quickly!
Conclusion
- If we are to learn anything from this opening volley, it is that history is going somewhere!
- If we are to learn anything from this opening volley, it is that history is going somewhere!
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Everything is moving toward a time when Jesus, the Almighty, will take His
rightful place upon the throne of this planet!
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Righteousness will prevail, enemies will be vanquished, our faith will be
vindicated and our God will never again allow us to be absent from Him
presently!
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Whatever you find valuable enough to hold onto in pride or foolishness, I pray
that you will hold onto this with greater value: Jesus Christ is coming soon!
- Let us walk in a
renewed passion for His Name and raise our eyes to believe!
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