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 Sermon > Official Service |
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Title |
Revelation Lectures(68) |
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Speaker |
Rev. Jaerock Lee |
Bible |
Revelation 14:17-15:4 |
Date |
2008-07-11 |
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Revelation 14:17-15:4
[17] And another angel came out of the temple which is in heaven, and he also had a sharp sickle.
[18] Then another angel, the one who has power over fire, came out from the altar; and he called with a loud voice to him who had the sharp sickle, saying, "Put in your sharp sickle and gather the clusters from the vine of the earth, because her grapes are ripe."
[19] So the angel swung his sickle to the earth and gathered the clusters from the vine of the earth, and threw them into the great wine press of the wrath of God.
[20] And the wine press was trodden outside the city, and blood came out from the wine press, up to the horses' bridles, for a distance of two hundred miles.
[1] Then I saw another sign in heaven, great and marvelous, seven angels who had seven plagues, which are the last, because in them the wrath of God is finished.
[2] And I saw something like a sea of glass mixed with fire, and those who had been victorious over the beast and his image and the number of his name, standing on the sea of glass, holding harps of God.
[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."
Dear brothers and sisters in Christ.
In tonight's scripture, a sharp sickle is mentioned.
A sickle is a tool that is used for cutting something.
Spiritually, the sickle carries the meaning of the final conclusion of a work.
Therefore, the sharp sickle of tonight's scripture means that it will be concluded by the judgment of truth through Jesus Christ.
It implies that the 7 Year Great Tribulation is about to come to an end and the time for the Final Judgment has arrived.
The standard of the Judgment is Jesus Christ.
It is just like what the Lord said in John 3:17-18, which reads, "For God did not send the Son into the world to judge the world, but that the world might be saved through Him. He who believes in Him is not judged; he who does not believe has been judged already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God."
However, people cannot simply receive salvation only because they confess that they believe Jesus Christ.
If they truly believed in the Lord, there would be evidence.
The evidence is whether they lived by the word of God.
James 2:17 says, "Even so faith, if it has no works, is dead, being by itself."
Therefore, the fact that Jesus Christ becomes the standard of judgment means that 'the standard has become the extent to which each individual had practiced the word of the Lord in their life'.
According to this standard, the chaff is separated from the good grain.
The scripture says that an angel swings the sickle and reaps the clusters from the vine of the earth.
When a farmer harvests, some crops are well ripened, and there may be others which have not ripened as well.
Likewise, through Jesus Christ, who had become the standard of judgment, the good grains and chaff are separated.
Now, 'the clusters from the vine of the earth' has the meaning of the fruits of the flesh.
It means that they are the fruits that have grown up from the energy of the flesh and the untruth.
Revelation 14:19-20 shows the result of the souls who are such fruit of the flesh.
It says, "So the angel swung his sickle to the earth and gathered the clusters from the vine of the earth, and threw them into the great wine press of the wrath of God. And the wine press was trodden outside the city, and blood came out from the wine press, up to the horses' bridles, for a distance of two hundred miles."
"Throwing them into the great wine press of the wrath of God" is "Having them cast into the judgment."
It is the repayment according to what had been done by those who had committed acts against the will of God that had drawn the wrath of God.
By the way, there are three kinds of judgment.
The first is the Judgment of the Holy Spirit.
When you accept Jesus Christ as your Savior, you receive the Holy Spirit as a gift.
And the Lord said in John 16:8, ""And He (the Holy Spirit), when He comes, will convict the world concerning sin and righteousness and judgment."
The Holy Spirit help you understand sin, righteousness, and judgment when you listen to the word of God.
By the word of God, which is the light, you find the evil and unrighteousness in you.
At this time, when the evil which has been hidden deep inside you is revealed, you strongly feel the stress and painfulness from it.
But if you cast off the evil you've just found right away, you will soon be filled with joy and thanks.
Moreover, when you live with the help of the Holy Spirit, you can live in the fullness of the Holy Spirit all the time.
On the contrary, when you don't cast off the newly found sin but live in sin even though you know it's sin, then your heart becomes agonized and afflicted.
Since the two minds; one to pursue the truth, and the other the untruth are in conflict with each other, your heart becomes troubled and afflicted.
When you move away from the truth, your heart becomes troubled and agitated. This response of the heart is the Judgment of the Holy Spirit.
It is the judgment that brings agony to your heart.
Even in this situation, however, if you don't cast off evil but continue to live in the darkness of sin, the Holy Spirit is becoming quenched.
Before the Spirit is quenched, you must quickly repent and turn back to recover the fullness of the Holy Spirit.
Now, the second form of judgment is the Judgment of the Truth.
When you listen to the word of God, I told you that you understand by the help of the Holy Spirit.
But not all the people put the truth they understand into practice.
Some may be able to put what they realize into practice 100 %, but most of them can't.
The degree each person puts what they have realized into practice is all different.
At this moment, according to how well you live in the truth, the Judgment of the Truth comes.
When you live in the truth, which is the Word of God, God protects you and guides you.
And, you receive the blessing of prosperity, that is, all things going well and favorably.
You also receive the blessings in health and finances.
On the other hand, when you don't live according to the truth, you come under the accusations of Satan.
And it results in trials and afflictions.
Financial difficulties, problems in the family, and diseases, are such trials and afflictions.
The decision whether you receive prosperity or difficulty depends on how well you put the word of truth that you hear and understand into practice.
This is called the Judgment of the Truth.
Now, when you don't practice the truth, it results in problems occurring and you end up yielding the fruit of the blessings; this is the Judgment of the Body.
This third kind of judgment is the Judgment of the Body.
You hear the truth and understand it, but you don't live in the truth. Due to this, family discord and diseases come to you.
You encounter problems in your business; things don't go well and you fall into financial difficulties.
When things are evidenced like this, the result of the judgment of truth becomes quite noticeable and it is called the Judgment of the Body.
In sum, there is the Judgment of the Holy Spirit, and the next is the Judgment of the Truth, and the last is the Judgment of the Body.
When people don't repent and turn back in the stage of the Judgment of the Holy Spirit, they fall into the Judgment of the Truth. When they don't repent even in this stage, they eventually fall into the Judgment of the Body.
Dear brothers and sisters.
Each individual's faith can be measured according to these judgments of the Holy Spirit, of the Truth, and of the Body.
It can be examined and determined whether they are the good grain or the chaff.
On the Last Day, all these things are considered and judged.
And there is the Punishment of Fire according to the judgment.
Those who ignore the voice of the Holy Spirit and don't live in the truth, but live by the desires of the flesh are eventually discarded by God.
That's why they receive the Last Punishment of Fire.
Therefore, if you wish to avoid the Last Punishment of Fire, you should quickly repent and turn back in the early stages.
Wouldn't it be good if you realize and repent when the Holy Spirit mourns?
Even if you reach the judgment of the body, please realize it and repent and turn back quickly.
Then, you can escape from the eternal judgment of fire.
Dear brothers and sisters.
While God has been cultivating human beings for 6,000 years, He has endured countless times.
Through the people of God, He taught people to live by His word, and He proved God is alive.
He still does, even today.
Through the servants of God and God-loving people, He spreads His will and accomplishes His providence.
But, people come to depend on modern science more and more; they depend on their knowledge and wisdom all the more.
They deny God and they are becoming increasingly stained with sin more and more.
Eventually when the time that God has set comes, they have no other choice but to be thrown into the wine press of the great wrath.
God is completely clean and perfect without any spot or blemish.
When compared with the heart of God, the heart of human beings is so dirty and ugly.
It is this heart that you should find and change through the word God.
That's why God allows the judgments.
In order to make you live in the truth so that you can resemble the heart of God, He allows you to be subjected to the judgments of the Holy Spirit and of the Truth, and even the judgment of the Body.
God refines you so that you can realize your self and change through the judgments.
If you forsake such love of God to the very end, you will be thrown into the press of the wrath of God and receive the Last Punishment of Fire.
Now, Revelation 14:20 says, "And the wine press was trodden outside the city, and blood came out from the wine press, up to the horses' bridles, for a distance of two hundred miles."
Being "outside the city" means not receiving salvation.
"The press was trodden and blood came out" indicates the suffering that resulted from the judgment.
The amount of blood that will be shed due to the 7 Year Great Tribulation is so huge.
Those who fall and remain on the earth will receive the judgment of fire during the 7 Year Great Tribulation.
The Third World War, natural disasters and all kinds of plagues are described as the 'judgment of fire.'
And this judgment covers the whole world.
Because of this terrible world-wide judgment of fire, huge amounts of blood will be shed; for this, tonight's scripture says, "blood came out up to the horses' bridles.'
"Blood came out for a distance of two hundred miles" indicates how miserable and terrible the judgment of fire is.
God gives a chance until the last moment, but those who don't accept the chance will fall into a terrible judgment.
The problem is however, there is yet another judgment of fire that still awaits. It is so extremely terrible that the judgment of the earth cannot even be compared with it.
The fleshly judgment of fire is not the end, but 'hell,' the spiritual judgment of fire that will never be quenched forever and ever is waiting.
Even though people are not caught up in the air but fall into the fleshly judgment of fire, they should hold on to the name of the Lord and overcome by all means so that they can escape from the spiritual judgment of the fire.
That's why God allows all the things that will take place after the Rapture to be recorded in the Book of Revelation.
This word, however, can be heard by those who have ears to listen to the voice of the Holy Spirit.
No matter how great the detail used to interpret the word, only those who have ears to hear can listen to this word, repent, and grasp the last chance of salvation.
Now, Revelation 15:1 says, "Then I saw another sign in heaven, great and marvelous, seven angels who had seven plagues, which are the last, because in them the wrath of God is finished."
From the start of the 7 Year Great Tribulation up to this point there have been many tribulations and plagues.
There will be the Third World War, natural disasters, and other various afflictions.
The Seven Seals and the Seven Trumpets from an earlier chapter indicate such tribulations.
But there is a final plague appearing in tonight's scripture.
It is the plague that concludes the 7 Year Great Tribulation; it is a much more widespread and terrible plague the likes of which that cannot be compared with any previous plagues.
By the way, you should not misunderstand God while observing the plagues during the 7 Year Great Tribulation.
You should not think that God pours this indiscriminate wrath onto those who fall into the 7 Year Great tribulation because He is merciless.
In fact, the plagues during the 7 Year Great Tribulation are what people bring upon themselves out of their evil.
For example, the 3rd World War alone is the result of the piled-up evil of people.
It is not the plague that God brings on them.
Of course, God can move the hearts of human beings so that no war can break out.
But, when evil piles up, it eventually yields its fruit according to justice.
Especially, the human cultivation that was planned in the providence of God will be concluded in the 7 Year Great Tribulation.
Therefore, God will disregard the earth as the world becomes subjected to the power of the darkness.
The act of God turning His face from the earth in itself is the wrath of God.
When God turns His face from the children of God, the enemy devil and Satan don't leave them alone.
When children of God dwell in the light, God surely protects them from the enemy devil and Satan.
But, when they live in the darkness, there is nothing else but the results of the accusations by Satan.
During the 7 Year Great Tribulation, since the earth is under the authority of the enemy devil and Satan, the evil of people becomes worse and worse.
God has no other choice but to ignore the people, and thus the people commit acts of even greater evil. They indulge themselves in brutality, violence, and wanton destruction.
Moreover, since the nature of people is to pursue personal advantage and benefits, they even suffer from terrible natural disasters as a result of the destruction of the earth.
Now, all these plagues and tribulations reach their peak while running toward a dead end.
While seeing this, Apostle John said, "I saw another sign in heaven, great and marvelous."
Continuing verse, Revelation 15:2 says, "And I saw something like a sea of glass mixed with fire, and those who had been victorious over the beast and his image and the number of his name, standing on the sea of glass, holding harps of God."
Revelation 4:6 says, "before the throne there was something like a sea of glass, like crystal; and in the center and around the throne, four living creatures full of eyes in front and behind."
The sea of glass that is before the Throne of God is as clean and pure as crystal.
But, tonight's scripture says it is like 'a sea of glass mixed with fire.'
The sea of glass shows everything people have done on the earth.
It even shows from what kind of heart and mind their actions had come.
Therefore, they cannot lie or make an excuse before the Judgment of God.
Now, when the people who reach salvation by dying in martyrdom during the 7 Year Great Tribulation are seen on the sea of glass, what is going to be seen?
It will show how they died in martyrdom.
Those who once fall into the 7 Year Great Tribulation and reach salvation will all undergo the process of martyrdom.
They should be able to prove their faith through martyrdom, and at the same time, they should pay the price for their wrong doings according to justice.
That's why God shows how they die a martyr when those who reach salvation during the 7 Year Great Tribulation come to the Judgment.
By showing the scene, God recognizes that they paid the price by faith, and reached salvation.
The sea of glass, at this point, seems to be a sea of glass that is mixed with fire.
Since they die a martyr keeping their faith even under such terrible persecutions and tribulations, it's obvious that the sea of glass appears to be mixed with fire.
Those who have been victorious over the beast and his image are able to stand with the number of his name on the sea of glass in indescribable thanksgiving.
They stand on the sea of glass, holding harps of God, and they sing the song of Moses, the bond-servant of God, and the song of the Lamb.
Revelation 15:3-4 says, "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! 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.""
God gave the Law through Moses to let people know the will of God.
And God sent Jesus Christ to fulfill the Law with love so that people can accomplish complete sanctification of heart.
To the extent that people understand such providence of God, cast of evil in heart, and resemble the heart of the Lord, they become full of joy and thanks in their hearts.
They give thanks for God's giving the Law, and they give thanks for fulfilling the Law with love.
That's why they sing the song of Moses and the song of the Lamb.
And it is not only the souls who are caught up in the air who sing these songs.
But also the souls who repent, turn back, and reach salvation through martyrdom even though they fall into the 7 Year Great Tribulation sing these songs.
The joy and thanks of salvation that they get when they overcome the persecutions and torment come out from the depth of their hearts.
They also realize from the bottom of their hearts the heart of God and of the Lord.
The more of God's providence we understand, the more we are surprised by the awesome greatness, power, intensity and marvel of His work.
Of course we believe in God the Almighty, but whenever we see His work, we cannot but be surprised.
What about the appearance of the dragonflies?
We believed that they would appear just as God said, and we knew when it would be, but how surprising it is when you actually see them?
We cannot but give glory to God.
Dear brothers and sisters.
Only the Lord is righteous and true.
All the creatures should fear His name.
Only with such fear can they stay far from the sin and live in the truth.
Those who live like this do not face the righteous work of the Lord with fear.
The closer it is to the Last Judgment, the harder they try to live in the righteousness.
And they will worship the Lord, and give the praise of eternal joy and thanks to the Lord on the Last Day.
They will sing the praise to the Lord together.
Dear brothers and sisters in Christ.
How often do you give the praise of joy and thanks to God and to the Lord?
Of course, when we go to heaven, we will give thanks and praise to God the Trinity forever and ever.
But, the incense of the thanks of praise are not the same.
The incense of some is so dense and beautiful that even the souls around become full of grace and inspiration.
On the other hand, some doesn't even come out courageously.
And it is this time while we live on this earth that decides what kind of incense we can give to God the Trinity in heaven.
Please check the incense of your thanks and praise to God.
How beautiful and dense is it that contains your heart?
I hope your lips will always give praise for the righteousness and holiness of the Lord.
I also hope your lips will not stop giving the praise of thanks and joy.
It is important to give many praises and worship, but the more important thing is the incense of the heart that is contained in them.
When Apostle Paul and Silas were caught while preaching the gospel and when they sang praise to God at night with their feet fastened in the stocks in prison, how beautiful and how thick the incense of their praise was!
It must have been good enough to move the heart of God.
Even when you are in a difficult and troubled situation, the incense of joy and thanks that you give to God can truly touch the heart of God.
I hope the beautiful incense of praise that touches the heart of God will never cease in your life.
May you also put such thick incense of your heart into your praise and give it to God before His Throne, in the name of the Lord, Jesus Christ, I pray!
[Amen] |
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