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 Sermon > Official Service |
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Title |
Revelation Lectures(79) |
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Speaker |
Rev. Jaerock Lee |
Bible |
Revelation 19:9-21 |
Date |
2008-10-24 |
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Scripture
Revelation 19:9 – 21
[9] Then he said to me, "Write, 'Blessed are those who are invited to the marriage supper of the Lamb '" And he said to me, "These are true words of God."
[10] Then I fell at his feet to worship him But he said to me, "Do not do that; I am a fellow servant of yours and your brethren who hold the testimony of Jesus; worship God. For the testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy."
[11] And I saw heaven opened, and behold, a white horse, and He who sat on it is called Faithful and True, and in righteousness He judges and wages war.
[12] His eyes are a flame of fire, and on His head are many diadems; and He has a name written on Him which no one knows except Himself.
[13] He is clothed with a robe dipped in blood, and His name is called The Word of God.
[14] And the armies which are in heaven, clothed in fine linen, white and clean, were following Him on white horses.
[15] From His mouth comes a sharp sword, so that with it He may strike down the nations, and He will rule them with a rod of iron; and He treads the wine press of the fierce wrath of God, the Almighty.
[16] And on His robe and on His thigh He has a name written, "KING OF KINGS, AND LORD OF LORDS."
[17] Then I saw an angel standing in the sun, and he cried out with a loud voice, saying to all the birds which fly in midheaven, "Come, assemble for the great supper of God,
[18] so that you may eat the flesh of kings and the flesh of commanders and the flesh of mighty men and the flesh of horses and of those who sit on them and the flesh of all men, both free men and slaves, and small and great."
[19] And I saw the beast and the kings of the earth and their armies assembled to make war against Him who sat on the horse and against His army.
[20] And the beast was seized, and with him the false prophet who performed the signs in his presence, by which he deceived those who had received the mark of the beast and those who worshiped his image; these two were thrown alive into the lake of fire which burns with brimstone.
[21] And the rest were killed with the sword which came from the mouth of Him who sat on the horse, and all the birds were filled with their flesh.
Dear brothers and sisters in Christ.
I'm back from the 8th Mission Trip to Israel.
Now is the most important and critical moment of the Ministry to Israel.
God the Father guaranteed this mission trip through countless works of His power, and He was greatly glorified.
I give thanks to all of you who become great strength to this ministry through prayers and offerings.
Thanks to the beads of sweat from your prayers and wholehearted offerings, the gospel of the Lord is being widely preached in Israel.
God the Father surely pays back for what you sow and do by faith.
Since the 7th mission trip to Israel, it's been difficult to give you a report on the Israel Ministry.
I hope you will consider the situation, and I may tell you some stories of this mission trip on other occasions and gatherings.
Dear brothers and sisters.
In the last lecture, I told you that you should adorn yourself as a bride with good deeds in order to welcome the Lord.
I also said your fine linen would be decided depending on how much you fill your heart with the truth and cultivate it into the spirit and put it into good deeds.
In other words, the garments that you will wear in heaven forever are determined to the extent you cultivate your heart into the spirit and put it into deeds.
If you truly have hope for heaven, and hope for meeting with the Lord, how sincerely and earnestly would you prepare your bridal dress?
No bride in the world would greet her bridegroom in a filthy wedding dress!
In much the same way, I'm sure you want to wear the most beautiful clothing you can when you welcome the Lord.
Please have hope for the day when you put on the brightest and cleanest of garments and meet with the Lord.
May you continue to adorn yourself earnestly even tonight, in the name of the Lord, I pray!
Now, Revelation 19:9-10 says, "Then he said to me, "Write, 'Blessed are those who are invited to the marriage supper of the Lamb ' and he said to me, 'These are true words of God.' Then I fell at his feet to worship him, but he said to me, 'Do not do that; I am a fellow servant of yours and your brethren who hold the testimony of Jesus; worship God. For the testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy.'"
Dear brothers and sisters.
If you ask worldly people the question, "Who is a blessed man?" How would they answer?
They may have a different standard for being blessed. They may consider the blessed are those who have wealth, honor, authority, successful children, or health.
Now, what is your answer?
Psalm 1:1-2 says, "How blessed is the man who does not walk in the counsel of the wicked, nor stand in the path of sinners, nor sit in the seat of scoffers! But his delight is in the law of the LORD, and in His law he meditates day and night."
Also, Revelation 1:3 says, "Blessed is he who reads and those who hear the words of the prophecy, and heed the things which are written in it; for the time is near."
Therefore, the blessed man is the one who reads and listens to the word of God to know and understand the will of God, and who keeps and puts the word of God into practice.
The one who meets the qualification of a bride completely so that he can courageously say, "Amen, Lord, come!" when the Lord comes back to take us into heaven, he is truly the blessed man.
In tonight's scripture, the angel says, "Write, 'Blessed are those who are invited to the marriage supper of the Lamb '"
To be 'invited to the marriage supper of the Lamb' is to be qualified for salvation and to participate into the wedding banquet (marriage supper).
Those who are invited to the wedding banquet of the Lord will live a blessed life forever without tears, sorrow, pain, diseases, and worries.
Since those of faith know and believe this eternal blessing that they will receive soon, they can always rejoice and give thanks.
Those without faith, however, cling to what they see right in front of their eyes.
They know what a wonderful place heaven is because they heard about it.
They do know that 'what they sow and do in this earth will become rewards in heaven'.
However, they pursue fleshly blessings that are visible because they don't have truth faith.
Even if they have knowledge, they don't put it into practice and thus they don't receive true blessings.
Therefore, it is a true blessing for you to hear the truth, know the truth, and put it into practice by faith.
In the truth, you live a life that will please God, pile up rewards in heaven, and adorn yourself as a bride. This is true blessing.
You can do it because you know the word of God is absolute and true.
The word of God is surely accomplished as promised, and it is unchanging and everlasting.
If God is not faithful and He changes what He once said, or if anything He says is a lie, then we would not be able to say that those who believe in the Word of God and practice the Word are blessed.
But, since the word of God is absolutely true, and He is faithful, we can trust His Word and put it into practice.
How blessed are we since we will receive rewards and glory in the end as recorded in His true Word of promise?
When the Apostle John heard the message from an angel, he was so full of joy and emotion.
That's why he fell at the feet of the angel to worship him, but the angel stopped him.
The reason is that angels are also the creatures of God as we are His creatures.
There is only one God the Creator and only He is worthy to receive all worship, praise, and glory.
Now, "the testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy" has deep spiritual meaning.
That which is called a 'prophecy' is a statement made by someone about something they believe will happen.
In tonight's scripture, however, a 'prophecy' is the word of God spoken by someone on behalf of God.
To speak the word of God on behalf of God is to convey the will of God together in unity with the Holy Spirit.
Therefore, a 'prophecy' as a work of the Holy Spirit like this is true, and it's acknowledged and guaranteed by God.
In addition, this 'prophecy' proclaimed through the Holy Spirit is only the testimony of Jesus Christ who is the Truth.
By the way, since Jesus Christ is the Truth itself, a testimony of the Truth is a testimony of Jesus Christ.
Moreover, since Jesus is God, who came to this earth in flesh, then a testimony of Jesus Christ is a testimony of God.
Therefore, 'the spirit of prophecy' has the meaning of testifying through the work of the Holy Spirit to Jesus Christ, who is the truth itself, and to God who is spirit.
The spirit of prophecy is not something people teach or preach with their knowledge.
It is a testimony only through the Holy Spirit.
In order to testify completely in the work of the Holy Spirit, the man who is teaching should first live by the word of God which is the truth.
For example, in order to teach people to pray, the teacher should first be able to pray without ceasing.
And he has to communicate with God and receive the guidance and works of the Holy Spirit.
Those whose hearts are completely filled with the truth so that they have one heart with the Lord; what they speak and what they do are both guided by the Holy Spirit and they are all works of the truth.
Once they reach this level, they don't have to try to accomplish the truth only because they have knowledge that they should do the truth.
Even if they do something unconsciously, they do it naturally according to the truth.
The word spoken by these people itself is the spirit of prophecy.
Such a word penetrates soul and spirit, and every joint and to the marrow; and it has the power to change people.
On the other hand, a man who just learns and understands, and teaches the word of God is called a mere representative.
It is completely different from the spirit of prophecy.
I urge you to cultivate your heart into a heart of truth completely, and to give a testimony of Jesus Christ through the spirit of prophecy.
By the way, there is another meaning in "the testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy."
1 John 2:1 says, "My little children, I am writing these things to you so that you may not sin and if anyone sins, we have an Advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous."
Jesus took the cross in order to remove the barrier that blocked human beings from God.
In order to allow sinners like us to make peace with God, He Himself became an atoning sacrifice.
He became an Advocate who allows us to connect with God.
Therefore, saying "the testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy" has a meaning that the Lord Jesus is our Savior who becomes an Advocate between God and human beings.
From Revelation 19:11 and on describes what is the Lord's 'Second Advent''.
Revelation 19:11 says, "And I saw heaven opened, and behold, a white horse, and He who sat on it is called Faithful and True, and in righteousness He judges and wages war."
It is now time the forces of the antichrist collapses and the Lord comes back to earth.
The verse mentions 'a white horse and He who sat on it.' He who sat on the white horse is the Lord.
It says, 'He is called Faithful and True.' 'Faithful' means that the Lord acted with complete obedience to the word of God and He accomplished it.
'True' means that the Lord gave up His life for the will of God, and that He did things only according to the truth itself.
Like this, since the Lord completely obeyed the word of God the Father and accomplished it truthfully, He is properly qualified to judge by the Law of Justice.
'Justice' is a fair judgment of right and wrong in order to fulfill the Law without swaying to the right or to the left.
The scripture says, "in righteousness He judges and wages war," and it doesn't mean the Lord is actually waging a war against the enemy devil and Satan.
It refers to the spiritual warfare in which the Lord defeats the enemy devil and Satan with the authority of God's word.
Before Jesus began His public ministry, when He was tested three times by the devil, He defeated the devil only with the Word of God.
The children of God are always in spiritual warfare while living on this earth.
First of all, they struggle against sin to the point of shedding blood in order to cast off sin.
In addition, they wage spiritual warfare against the enemy devil and Satan in order to save just one more soul.
Revelation 19:12-13 says, "His eyes are a flame of fire, and on His head are many diadems; and He has a name written on Him which no one knows except Himself. He is clothed with a robe dipped in blood, and His name is called The Word of God."
As it says that the Lord's eyes are "a flame of fire,' everything is clearly revealed before the Lord.
Therefore, the Lord judges according to the law of Justice.
When the scripture says, "His head are many diadems," it shows how well the Lord pursued the will of God the Father and gave glory to God.
God the Father gives a crown as a reward to those who gave glory to God by accomplishing the work of God greatly.
While living in this earth, the Lord gave glory to God many times through many works.
Most of all, however, he gave greatest glory to God by taking the cross, dying on the cross, resurrecting in three days, and becoming the Savior.
For all of these the Lord did, He receives crowns from God the Father.
If you give great glory to God like this, you, too, can receive a crown from God.
The number of crowns that you will receive as rewards increases in heaven.
Now, the scripture says, "He has a name written on Him which no one knows except Himself."
Dear brothers and sisters.
In the beginning, when God divided Himself into God the Trinity, He gave a name to His each Son.
There is an original name given to God the Son and God the Holy Spirit.
And this name is written on Them, and no one knows the name except God the Trinity who were together in the beginning.
Of course you will come to know what the names are in heaven, but still, the original names are only known to God the Trinity.
Now, it also says, "He is clothed with a robe dipped in blood," it means that the Lord was crucified and died shedding His blood.
This shedding of blood redeemed human beings from their sins and gave them life.
Now, all of these acts were accomplished according to the word of God.
Jesus is the word who came to this earth in the flesh. He only taught by the Word of Truth, and He obeyed and accomplished His duty according to the Word.
That's why it says, "His name is called The Word of God."
Revelation 19:14-16 says, "And the armies which are in heaven, clothed in fine linen, white and clean, were following Him on white horses. From His mouth comes a sharp sword, so that with it He may strike down the nations, and He will rule them with a rod of iron; and He treads the wine press of the fierce wrath of God, the Almighty. And on His robe and on His thigh He has a name written, "KING OF KINGS, AND LORD OF LORDS.""
Countless heavenly hosts and angels guard the Lord who comes to earth.
The prophets who worked in the name of God the Father and the apostle who worked in the name of the Lord; all of those in leading positions come down together with the Lord.
'A sharp sword from His mouth' refers to the Word that is living and active.
'Striking down the nations with the sword' means that the Word of God itself is the judgment.
'Ruling with a rod of iron' means that He works with the mighty power of God.
'Treading the wine press of the fierce wrath of God' means that He judges by the precise justice according to the Word of God.
Depending on what kind of fruit of deeds come out, the judgment of praise and rewards or of punishments are made.
It also says, "On His robe and on His thigh He has a name written, "KING OF KINGS, AND LORD OF LORDS."" Here, a robe refers to the heart.
The heart of the Lord harbors all the heavens of Heaven
His thigh also stands on all the heavens of Heaven.
Therefore, when it says, "On His robe and on His thigh He has a name written, "KING OF KINGS, AND LORD OF LORDS," it means that the Lord is the King and Lord in all the Heavens.
Revelation 19:17-18 says, "Then I saw an angel standing in the sun, and he cried out with a loud voice, saying to all the birds which fly in midheaven, "Come, assemble for the great supper of God, so that you may eat the flesh of kings and the flesh of commanders and the flesh of mighty men and the flesh of horses and of those who sit on them and the flesh of all men, both free men and slaves, and small and great.""
"An angel standing in the sun, and he cried out with a loud voice" means the angel is proclaiming within Justice.
"The sun" is the light, in other words, the precise justice which reveals everything clearly.
Therefore, it means the judgment is made according to this justice.
"The birds may eat the flesh" doesn't mean that they actually eat the flesh. It refers to spiritual curse.
Birds assemble and eat the flesh of miserable corpses; it symbolizes a curse.
In ancient history, people disposed of the corpses under a curse to be eaten by birds.
"Kings, commanders, mighty men, horses, and those who sit on them" refer to those who ally themselves with the antichrist to stand against the Lord.
'Birds eating their flesh' means that they are cursed according to the Judgment of Justice.
It also says, "The birds may eat the flesh of all men, both free men and slaves, and small and great."
It means that those who stay apart from the word of God will be judged according to the word no matter what kind of honor, authority, wealth, and position they may have.
After the judgment, they will suffer forever according to what they have done.
Revelation 19:19-21 says, "And I saw the beast and the kings of the earth and their armies assembled to make war against Him who sat on the horse and against His army. And the beast was seized, and with him the false prophet who performed the signs in his presence, by which he deceived those who had received the mark of the beast and those who worshiped his image; these two were thrown alive into the lake of fire which burns with brimstone. And the rest were killed with the sword which came from the mouth of Him who sat on the horse, and all the birds were filled with their flesh."
"The beast and the kings of the earth and their armies" refer to the forces of the antichrist.
'Him who sat on the horse' refers to the Lord, and 'His army' refers to the prophets and heavenly hosts and angels that come down to earth guarding the Lord.
It says that the forces of the antichrist stand and make war against the army of the Lord. It doesn't mean that they actually wage a war.
They can no longer stand against the Lord. They cannot defeat the army of the Lord.
Here, 'Making war' refers to an agonizing situation after the forces of the antichrist collapses.
The world is also destroyed, but yet among the forces of the antichrist they are still killing and destroying.
Many people commit suicide.
At the very moment when the Lord's Second Advent is at hand, those who have done all kinds of evil will tremble out of fear and dread.
Moreover, in the situation when everything is destroyed, the confusion and despair is beyond imagination.
Without overcoming this situation, some take a pessimistic view and commit suicide, and some others kill one another for their own survival.
However, all the confusion comes to an end at the Second Advent of the Lord.
And the strict judgment is made for the beast and the false prophet.
In tonight's scripture, 'the beast' refers to the head of the unified government.
And, the false prophet refers to the head of the religion that cooperated with the unified government.
By the way, when it says the false prophet performed the signs, it doesn't mean that they performed actual signs the way the Lord and the prophets of God did.
The term 'sign' in this verse refers to the methods of deception that have deceived and confused people by using the technology of advanced scientific methods.
The false prophets that cooperate with the antichrist deceive people to worship the antichrist and to follow its words.
Those who committed such great evil are soon thrown alive into the lake of sulfur by the Lord.
The sin and evil that these two committed are so clear that they are thrown into the lake of sulfur that is hottest in hell without even the Great White Throne Judgment.
Also, those who are allied with them come to die during the confusion of the last stage of the 7 Year Great Tribulation.
And they suffer in Hades before the Great White Throne Judgment, and at the end, they, too, fall into hell and suffer forever.
When the scripture says, "all the birds were filled with their flesh," it means that they pay the price for their sin and evil.
We will look into the Millennium Kingdom starting with the next lecture.
Dear brothers and sisters in Christ.
There is nothing of this fleshly world that is eternal.
No matter how great the honor, wealth, and authority may seem, they will eventually disappear.
Of course, you should diligently and beautifully manage your life while on this earth.
However, the life on this earth is eventually to prepare for the eternal life.
2 Corinthians 4:18 says, "while we look not at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen; for the things which are seen are temporal, but the things which are not seen are eternal."
Moreover, among the things you sow and pile in the flesh, there is nothing you can take into the eternal life.
Only the things you sow in the spirit in this earth can be given back as eternal things in heaven.
Whatever you may eat, wear, drink or do, the things that you do for the glory of God the Father with unchanging love for God the Father, it is these things that will surely be piled in heaven.
Today, I urge you to plant in spirit for the eternal things like these.
Hebrews 11:16 says, "But as it is, they desire a better country, that is, a heavenly one Therefore God is not ashamed to be called their God; for He has prepared a city for them."
May you enjoy the true blessing in heaven, especially in New Jerusalem and live there forever, in the name of the Lord, Jesus Christ, I pray!
[Amen] |
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