BIBLE MEDITATION:
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.”
ENCOURAGING WORD:
Why is it that most pastors and bible teachers of today will overlook certain passages in the Bible and even in some cases, teach the complete opposite of what the scriptures say? I have very seldom, if ever heard in any churches of today where the Book of Revelation was taught or even mentioned unless it was a church that teaches through the Bible, book by book, chapter by chapter and verse by verse. The church that I attended for forty years, never once taught on the Book of Revelation. I believe that these churches are doing a huge injustice to their congregations. Good Christian people who are attending church on a weekly or sometimes a bi-weekly basis are doing so, because they want to be fed the Word of God, yet they are not being taught the whole counsel of God or to be more direct, what the Bible teaches about the end times. If you are not prepared for the days ahead, you will be caught off guard and completely unaware of what to expect. We read in Revelation 1:3 where it says, “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.” Yet you will never hear this message taught in any mainline churches of today that you attend, unless it teaches through the Bible, Book by Book, Chapter by Chapter and Verse by Verse. When they do talk about the verse above, they say it has already happened in seventy AD when Jerusalem was under siege and destroyed by Titus Vespasian and the Roman Legion. This was when Titus Vespasian and the Roman Legion went in and destroyed all of Jerusalem right down to the last stone. We read where Jesus prophesied this in Matthew 24:1-2; “Then Jesus went out and departed from the temple, and His disciples came up to show Him the buildings of the temple. And Jesus said to them, “Do you not see all these things? Assuredly, I say to you, not one stone shall be left here upon another, that shall not be thrown down.” Jesus is speaking of the temple at Jerusalem that would be destroyed during the siege of Jerusalem in seventy AD and those who were able to escape, fled to a Jewish fortress called Masada or they escaped into other countries. Where pastors get confused is when it says “The Time Is Near” they take this verse to mean it would happen in their time. We need to remember, when Jesus says soon, soon to Him could be anytime in the remaining years of human existence. Remember what Peter says in 2 Peter 3:8; “ But, beloved, do not forget this one thing, that with the Lord one day is as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day.” Two thousand years to us is two days to (Jesus) The book of Revelation has not happened yet, as many churches of today teach, but it will. As a matter of fact, we are seeing most of the end time prophecies'' currently playing out right before our eyes.
Paul tells us in Acts 20:27; “For I have not shunned to declare unto you all the counsel of God.” Paul is telling us that we need to study the whole counsel of God, and that includes, The Book of Revelation, not just the chapters that make us feel good. If you are attending a church that just teaches topical studies, you are not hearing the full counsel of God. You are most likely missing most of what the Bible teaches. These Pastors will be held accountable for not teaching the whole counsel of God. One of the last verses in Revelation tell us this, Revelation 22: 18-19; “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; 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 exactly what they are doing when they skip over parts of the Bible that they don’t want to teach.
The main reason that I believe Revelation is not being taught is because it is hard to understand. Unless you have been Born-Again into the Holy Spirit and read through the Old Testament book by book, verse by verse you will not understand what the Bible teaches. You have to understand the Old Testament before you can understand the New Testament, and that most certainly applies to the Book of Revelation, especially in these days in which we live. All Bible prophecy comes to a climax in the Book of Revelation. There are a lot of Old Testament teachings that if studied, will give you a picture of the church, Israel and the days leading up to the end times. If you do a complete study of the book of Daniel, and understand all twelve chapters, then you will have a very good understanding of Revelation. There are many parallels between the book of Daniel and Revelation. I’ve heard it said by a great scholar and it makes total sense, “The New Testament is in the Old Testament concealed and the Old Testament is in the New Testament revealed.” This is so true, when you start to read the New Testament all the way through, there is often an Old Testament story that foretells of a New Testament teaching.
For example; when you read about Jesus Christ in Revelation 5, as the Kinsman Redeemer, you will see the perfect picture of this fulfillment in the Book of Ruth. The book of Ruth, a traditional reading at harvest time during the Feast of Weeks (Shavuot), is a book of only four brief chapters that is both a classic love story and also an essential book of prophecy. One cannot understand Revelation, Chapter 5 without it. It is a story about Boaz, a type of the Kinsman Redeemer, (Jesus Christ) restoring the land of Israel back to the rightful owners, (Naomi) and the redemption of the believing Gentiles, The Church, (Ruth) Ruth would turn out to be a Gentile Bride for a Jewish man. Like I just said, the Book of Ruth is about a Jewish man, who takes a Gentile Bride, and then restores Israel back to the rightful owners, the Jews. Now let’s go back to when Jesus was rejected by Israel. This is exactly what happened when Israel rejected their Messiah. Because of their rejection of Jesus as Their Messiah, their land was taken from them, which once again, happened in seventy AD. Then salvation was available to all who would believe on Jesus Christ as their personal Lord and Savior. After Jesus was crucified, died and was buried, He sent the Holy Spirit out into the world to gather a bride for Himself. A Gentile Bride, I might add. Jesus is our Kinsman Redeemer, and the believing Gentiles are His chastened Bride. Once the Great Feast
takes place, which will be after the Great Tribulation, then Israel will permanently be back in their land just as God promised to them thousands of years ago. Right now, Israel is back in their land, and will never be uprooted again, but they are still being oppressed to a certain point. The day is coming, and I believe coming soon, when all this will come to fruition and Israel will be back in the land and it will be the perfect Paradise just as promised. I could get into more depth, but I think you get the picture.
This small four chapter book is just one example of hundreds of messages that are cleverly hidden in the scriptures of the Bible. The only way that these hidden messages can be revealed is through the Holy Spirit. Matthew 10:26 tells us; "Therefore do not fear them, for there is nothing concealed that will not be revealed, or hidden that will not be known.” We are told that knowledge and wisdom will increase in the end times, and if you are watching and listening, you will see that this is true in the world today. If you’re not watching, it will all blow by you like a brisk morning breeze, and when it is too late, it will pass you by and catch you off guard.
Ever since Jesus Christ ascended into heaven, the Holy Spirit of God has been roaming throughout the world, calling out to all those that would believe on Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior through faith. See, ever since the book of Acts, we have been living in the age of Grace or more commonly known by many as the church age. We read this in Acts 2:1-4; “ When the Day of Pentecost had fully come, they were all with one accord in one place. And suddenly there came a sound from heaven, as of a rushing mighty wind, and it filled the whole house where they were sitting. Then there appeared to them divided tongues, as of fire, and one sat upon each of them. And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance.” This was the beginning of the church age, and it will end with the Rapture of the church. Then Jesus once again turns His attention to Israel for one more seven year period known as the Great Tribulation. This will be the end of the sixth day, or for us the six thousandth year of time as we now know it. This will usher in the seven thousandth year (or the seventh day according to God) of existence where Jesus will set up His thousand year Millennial Kingdom. I could share a lot more on this topic, but for now, I’ll leave it as is.
One of the last verses that we read in the Bible, Revelation 22:18-19; says it all, Let me read it again. “Revelation 22:18-19; “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; 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.” I would not want to be responsible for all the false teaching that is being taught in many of the churches of today. Remember, the Bible says in Galatians5:9;“A little leaven, leavens the whole lump.” Leaven is always symbolic of sin. So, what it is saying is this, one small sin can escalate into many more sins and that is exactly what has happened in our churches today. A little mislead teaching can lead to a huge deception and that is what Jesus said would happen in the end days, and we are seeing that on a huge scale today. Be aware of truth, it is found in the Bible and only the Bible!
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