"Then I saw another angel flying in the midst of heaven, having the everlasting gospel to preach to those who dwell on the earth- to every nation tribe, tongue, and people- saying with a loud voice,' fear God and give glory to Him, for the hour of His judgment has come; and worship Him who made heaven and earth, the sea and springs of water.' And another angel followed, saying, 'Babylon is fallen is fallen, that great city, because she has made all nations drink of the wine of the wrath of her fornication.' Then a third angel followed them, saying with a loud voice, 'If anyone worships the beast and his image, and receives his mark on his forehead or on his hand, he himself shall also drink of the wine of the wrath of Babylon which is poured our full strength into the cup of His indignation. He shall be tormented with fire and brimstone in the presence of the holy angels and in the presence of the Lamb.'"
Revelation 14:6-10
Dear Reader,
This Bible study was conducted last night and I have felt convicted that it must be shared. Shared with my friends who are already in the faith, that they may be blessed by it, as well as for those who are not yet in the faith that the Lord may shed His light on them. My humble prayer is that you will be blessed.
What is happening?
In Revelation 14:6,7 the Bible is clearly giving us the instruction to worship the one true God who created the heaven's and the earth, the sea, and all that in them is. Then in v9, and 10 of the same chapter a solemn warning is given to those who worship the beast and receive his mark.
Choices presented
Two choices are presented to the world
- worship God
- worship the beast
Revelation 13:1 describes this beast rising out of the sea with seven heads and ten horns and on his heads a "blasphemous name" see Daniel 7:8, 23-25
Who is not going to heed the Third Angel's warning?
Revelation 13:8 "ALL who dwell on the earth whose names are NOT written in the Lamb's book of life."
- most of the world is going to worship the beast, there will only be a remnant of them who are written in the Lamb's book, a remnant who according to Rev 12:17 "keep the commandments of God and have the faith of Jesus."
Understanding
Rev 14:1 "Then I looked, and behold a Lamb standing on Mount Zion, and with Him one hundred and forty-four thousand, having His father's name written on their foreheads."
In Revelation 7:1 we see a holy angel going about sealing God's people again, "On the forehead"
A Contrast revealed
Here we see a great contrast revealed between the world, and God's people.
- God's people will have the seal of God; they will have "His name" written on their "Foreheads"
- the world will accept the beast's mark also on their foreheads and hands.
God has many names, but what did He answer when He was asked what His name is?
Exodus 33:18,19 "And he (Moses) said, 'I beseech Thee, show me Thy glory.' Then He said, 'I will make all My goodness pass before you, and I will proclaim the name of the Lord before you. I will be gracious to whom I will be gracious, and I will have compassion on whom I will have compassion."
- here Moses has asked to see the glory of the Lord; lets see what happens...
"Now the Lord descended in the cloud and stood with him there and proclaimed the NAME OF THE LORD. And the Lord passed before him and proclaimed, 'The Lord the Lord God, merciful and gracious, longsuffereing, and abounding in goodness and truth."
What did the Lord say His name is?
The Lord says that His name is "Merciful, and Gracious, Longsuffering, and abounding in goodness and truth."
What does this mean?
It means that the name of the Lord is His character!
Okay so we know what Revelation is talking about when it says the "Name of the Lord." It is talking about His character, but how can we get His character on our foreheads?
To answer this we have to start with a question.
What does the forehead mean?
Deuteronomy 11:1,18
"Therefore you shall love the Lord your God, and keep His charge, his statutes, His judgments, and His commandments always..."
"Therefore you shall lay up these words of mine in your heart and in your soul, and bind them as a sign upon your hand, and they shall be frontless between your eyes."
- God's commandments are to be written where???
- In your heart and soul, and between your eyes (your forehead)
Heb 10:16 "This is the covenant that I will make with them after those days, says the Lord: I will put My Laws into their hearts, and in their minds I will write them"
Isaiah 8:16 "Bind up the testimony, seal the law."
God is promising to write His law upon our minds if we will be His people!
Can you imagine Beloved Reader??? Totally free from sin, with God's very character written on your heart and mind! I would say it was too good to be true but Jesus cannot lie and He is the one who made this promise, claim it for yourself!
Revelation 14 makes much more sense now, and Revelation 14:12 tells us a little more.
"This is the patience of the saints; here are those who keep the commandments of God and the faith of Jesus."
There is that promise again, the Faith of Jesus!
Faith and the Law
Rom 3:31 "Do we then make void the law through faith? God forbid! On the contrary we establish it."
So it is our faith of Jesus beloved that allows us to ask for His character and know that He will give unto us as we ask, therefore freeing us from sin and giving us the strength to live like He did, establishing the Law in our hearts and minds.
Rom 3:20 "Therefore by the deeds of the law no flesh is justified in His sight, for by the law is the knowledge of sin."
James 1:23 compares the law to a mirror, a mirror cannot remove the stain from your shirt or get that broccoli out of your teeth, it only shows you the blemish so that you can use the toothbrush, or stain remover.
The law cannot save us because we cannot keep it of ourselves and even if we could it would do no good without faith. It is the faith of Jesus that allows us to keep the Law and gives the law meaning to us. That we might be true to the law in spirit and not only in letter.
Hebrews 11:1 tells us that Faith is the very evidence of what is unseen, it is what allows us to worship the God we cannot see rather than Babylon which we unfortunately see all too well.
Hebrews 11:7 tells us that it was faith by which Noah built the Ark, Genesis 6:22 explains that Noah did ALL that God commanded of him. It was faith by which Noah kept the commandments.
So all that is great, but what does God want, what is true worship?
1 Chronicles 16:29 "Give glory to God and worship Him in the beauty of His holiness."
- God will actually make us holy, He will impart His holiness!
- when this happens we will know Him
John 4:22-24
- True worship is that of the Spirit
- true worship requires that God impart on us His Holy Spirit
How can I be made pure?
Our last text answers this question. 1 Peter 1:22,23 tells us that it is God's word, the Bible which purifies and makes us holy!
Thank you so much for reading and again I pray that you are blessed.
Sincerely,
Kevin Hughes, your brother in the faith of Jesus
It is extraordinary that people take this drug-addled Roman-age stuff seriously.
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