Statesman63
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 | | Subject: Revelation Chapter 5 (Part 40) (Verses 9 - 10 ) Mon Oct 12, 2015 10:04 pm | |
| Revelation Chapter 5 (Part 40) (Verses 9 - 10)
I would like to make one final point about Revelation 5:8. It says, “And when He [the Lamb] had taken it, the four living creatures and the twenty-four elders fell down before the Lamb. Each one had a harp and they were holding golden bowls full of incense which are the prayers of the saints.” Post-Tribulationists argue that the bowls with the prayers of the saints prove that the Pre-Tribulation doctrine is false. They incorrectly argue “How can they be holding the prayers of the Saints if the entire Church has been raptured to Heaven at this time according to Pre-Tribulationists? Whose prayers are they holding?” In other words, they assume that there would have to be Christians on Earth at this time in order for those in Heaven to be collecting the prayers of the Christians on Earth. The answer to this predicament is simple. God does not answer all prayers right away. Some, He holding in Heaven until His wrath pertaining to them is built up and the time to unleash His wrath comes to pass, which will actually occur during the Day of Wrath, AKA, the Tribulation. The Post-Tribulationists who argue their retort assume that our prayers today are all immediately responded to and that none are postponed to be address later. We will later see in the book of Revelation that we can offer prayers even from Heaven.
Why does it matter, one may ask, whether a person is a Pre-Tribulationist or Post-Tribulationist? Because well over 2 thirds of the entire Bible is about eschatology: that is, the end times. It is not just the book of Revelation that’s at stake, but eschatology includes nearly every book of the Bible. There are several great passages that often get misinterpreted because of a lack of understanding of eschatology. There are several passages that are often read without the reader even realizing that it is actually referring to the end-times. Without a clear understanding of eschatology, one is not fully attuned to the implications of end-times passages. Moreover, it is important to understand eschatology because some of the end-times passages that get misinterpreted lead to a false doctrine. Out of a particular misinterpretation, some incorrectly conclude that salvation is by works and not by faith alone. That is a dangerous misinterpretation to have. Romans 11:6 says that such an interpretation cancels your saving faith because your saving faith wasn’t correct: “And if by grace, then it is no longer by works; if it were, grace would no longer be grace.” We will discuss these misinterpretations as we progress along in future lessons. You and I are Pre-Tribulationists, and accurately so. Pre-Tribulationists interpret Bible prophecy literally (except where the Bible is obviously speaking metaphorically), letting the Bible do most of the interpretation for us. Post-Tribulationists use a lot of figurative interpretations and apply it everywhere; and therefore, they come up with many fanciful, incorrect conclusions.
Verse 9 continues and references the 24 Elders, as it reads, “And they sang a new song...” John wanted us to know that this is a new song. Keep in mind that angels were created before humans. No one knows how long before humans, but they possibly were here ions before the creation of man. Angels too were created, of course, so there was a time when only the Trinity existed. Since angels were here for a long time, it seems that John is inferring that they repeat the same doxologies, whereas, believers will change things up in Heaven musically. Psalm 33:3 says, “Sing to him a new song; play skillfully, and shout for joy.” Psalm 96:1 says, “Sing to the LORD a new song; sing to the LORD, all the earth.” And Psalm 98:1 reads, “Sing to the LORD a new song, for he has done marvelous things; His right hand and His holy arm have worked salvation for Him.” That is a good verse, by the way. It shows that God does the work for our salvation, not us. We cannot work out our own salvation. I know there is a verse that sounds like it is telling us to do just that—but there is salvation that pertains to eternal life; and there is salvation that pertains to saving through the storm that we are going through in this life which requires a renewed focus on faith and obedience. Furthermore, what Philippians 2:12 is really saying is not to work out your salvation to obtain it, but rather, to work out your salvation because you already have it. “Work out your salvation” is just a small snippet, or clause in Phillippians 2:12—the rest of the sentence, which often goes unquoted, clarifies this clause. Please refer to my Works vs. Faith series, which explains this passage in much more detail.
Back to Psalm 98:1...the very next verse, verse 2, shows that it is referring to salvation from sin as opposed to just from trials because it says, “The LORD has made His salvation known and revealed His righteousness to the nations.” So Psalm 98:1 is talking about saving faith for Eternal Life. What John could also be referring to by mentioning that it is a new song in Revelation 9:5 is that this song is commemorating a new time in history of mankind. We are at a new dispensation of God’s agenda where the Day of Grace has passed, and His wrath will now be unleashed upon the face of the Earth.
We mentioned that whenever angels “sing” solo, they don’t actually sing, but rather speak their doxology, whereas the believers in Heaven sing their doxology. The only time the Bible seems to imply that angels sing is when they are tagging along in unison to a song that the believers are singing, but whenever it mentions them going solo, they are always speaking. I remember as a kid, being in the church choir, but I never actually sang. I didn’t know the songs and didn’t care to lift my voice, so I would move my lips to the lyrics. I might at times would utter certain lines that I knew accurately while the rest of the choir members sang the song. Also, the clause, “Each one had a harp,” I think is a reference only to the Twenty-Four Elders, as nowhere else in Scripture do angels have instruments. Only believers glorify the Lord with instruments throughout the Bible. It is not an important point whether or not angels really do sing and therefore this topic should not be heavily debated.
Revelation 5:9 continues with the song: “‘You are worthy to take the scroll and to open its seals, because you were slain, and with your blood you purchased men for God from every tribe and language and people and nation.’” Interesting. In this day of Ferguson, Baltimore, and Cleveland race tensions and marches, we see here that God is not a respecter of different races. God views all races as having equal value. In fact, not even the Israelites are “better” than the other races in the eyes of God. Here is a lovely verse, so please memorize it: Amos 9:7 says, “’Are not you Israelites the same to me as the Cushites?’ declares the LORD.” The Cushites were black people. There is nothing special about Israelites other than the fact that God chose them to establish His covenant and eternal kingdom through His sovereign choice. The Cushites are the same as the Israelites in God’s eyes. In fact, God wanted to make it very clear that His people Israel were not special. In Deuteronomy 9:4-6, God says, “After the LORD your God has driven them [the Canaanites] out before you, do not say to yourself, ‘The LORD has brought me here to take possession of this land because of my righteousness.’ No, it is on account of the wickedness of these nations that the LORD is going to drive them out before you. It is not because of your righteousness or your integrity that you are going in to take possession of their land; but on account of the wickedness of these nations, the LORD your God will drive them out before you, to accomplish what he swore to your fathers, to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. Understand, then, that it is not because of your righteousness that the LORD your God is giving you this good land to possess, for you are a stiff-necked people.”
Note that when John gets a glimpse into Heaven that he saw with his eyes the many different races of people in Heaven. Jesus Christ shed His blood to purchase men from every tribe, language, people, and nation. You and I will be the same race in Heaven that we are right now in the flesh. Each race will still be distinguishable in Heaven. A black person here today will be a black person for an eternity in Heaven. Heaven will be filled with people from every race and nation. No one therefore should have a since of racial superiority. Skin color means nothing to God. God does not love one race over another. The blood of a black man can save the life of a white man with the same blood type and vice versa. Skin color is only a difference of degree of melatonin. Humans have put meaning to the different shades of skin that God never did. That is equivalent to a group forming and declaring, “We are better than everyone else because we are bald-headed. We are better than those who have hair.” There is a famous Dr. Seuss cartoon that depicts this ignorance. Ignorance of Truth creates and nurtures racism. Many whites see blacks only from a distance and let the media and news portray their image of all black people. They then conclude that all blacks are criminals. Dr. King once said, “Criminality and delinquency are not racial; poverty and ignorance breed crime whatever the racial group may be.” The reverse is true that blacks have their presupposition of whites. King also said, “Black supremacy is just as dangerous as white supremacy.” There is no inherent worth in one’s skin color. God sees the heart not the color of a man. Sadly, Sundays are one of the most segregated days, as Christians typically separate racially when they go to Church. There are only 2 colors that God takes note of: if a person is covered with the red crimson blood of Jesus Christ or if they are not covered.
I am in no way impressed by our marches today. We have created the slogan, “Black lives matter”, but I ask: If black lives matter then why is it that Blacks abort their babies on an average of 50 percent of their own population? Why are we murdering ourselves and think that the sin of the cops is worse than our own? We march for a few, but will not lace up out boots for 59 million innocent babies that have been murdered since Roe v. Wade. We ignore our own sins, and until we get to the root of the entire issue that plagues this country, no gains will be made because God has cursed the land. God curses any land where innocent blood is shed. America is a cursed land. We wonder how people can come to schools with guns and create terror. The Bible says that when innocent blood is shed He sees to it that more blood is shed (Ezekiel 35:6) [Edom in that passage represents all enemies of God]. If we want a better nation we need to start by removing the curse. We must first stop the genocide of babies for God to show favor on the land. It is not the world (sinners) that needs to answer this cause. It is God’s people who need to stand for righteousness. God is waiting for us, not the world to fix this. God says, “If my people, who are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from Heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land.” Few have made the connection of the prolific crime rate in the land to the root cause of the horrific infanticide of innocent babies. What greater sin than that is America currently guilty of? What greater sin than that has the Church neglected to confront? All lives matter; even those in the womb.
When we are able to see things the way God sees things when Christ comes and reveals Truth to all men, we will finally realize that skin color means nothing. Until then pride blinds us from seeing Truth. Just one last point on this race issue: there is no such thing as the curse of Ham. Ham was never cursed. Canaan, one of Ham’s sons was cursed. Ham, who is considered black by many scholars, had 3 other sons: Cush, Mizraim, and Put. Mizraim is considered to be the one whose line led to the Egyptian civilization. Cush led to Babylon. Mizraim also led to the Philistines among other nations. Canaan, the one who was cursed had Sinite, one of his sons, who is considered to be the one whose line led to today’s Chinese people.
The new song continues in verse 10, and it reads: “You have made them to be a kingdom and priests to serve our God, and they will reign on the Earth.” The second part of this sentence is in the future tense. The Church at this time is in Heaven, but our work on Earth is not done. We will come back to Earth in our resurrected new glorified bodies, which will be spiritual with physical-like properties and will reign with Christ. We will reign with Christ for 1,000 years on this Earth and then reign with Him for an eternity on the next Earth to come. We will be priests and have priestly duties. But according to 1 Peter 2:9, God, in Christ, has made us priests right now. It says, “But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people belonging to God, that you may declare the praises of Him who called you out of darkness into His wonderful light.” Our priestly duty right now is to declare the praises of Him who has called us out of darkness into His wonderful light. Are we doing our priestly calling?
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