Isaiah 53:7; John 1:29; 1 Corinthians 5:7; 1 Peter 1:19; Revelation 5:1-14

Summary: The Lord Jesus Christ has all things and events under His Divine and Sovereign control. He has the final word on how everything will conclude. No amount of evil on the world’s part will stop Him from His mission to “make all things new.”

I sometimes think that when we study the Book of Revelation, we tend to focus on the impending judgments of the wicked and the horrendous consequences that follow. While God’s wrath is certainly a major theme of the book, we must remember that the book of Revelation is also a book of praise and glorification to God as well.

The fourth and fifth chapters give us a glimpse of the glory of heaven and the activities within the throne room of the Sovereign Lord God Almighty. John’s description of what occurs is a source of comfort and joy to beleaguered, persecuted, and weary Christians of not just his time but for all people throughout the course of history who have placed their faith in Christ for salvation and who were also willing to risk everything to follow Him, often at the cost of their lives.

Revelation 4 and 5 show beyond all doubt that no matter how spiritually dark things get in this present world, the presence and Light of Christ shine forever, and His authority, power, glory, and control over the affairs of His creation will never be thwarted or stopped by the delusional and malevolent works of the devil and his brood.

In chapter 5, verse 1, John sees in the right hand of Him who sits on the throne “a scroll written inside and on the back, sealed with seven seals.” This indicates that the scroll’s contents are highly valued and important. In the days of the Roman Empire, messages sent to the emperor or governing officials were sealed with an insignia that had been imprinted into hot wax. This meant that nobody had the right, permission, or authority to open it except the one to whom it was sent or by permission from the recipient for a trusted representative to open and read the contents. Documents sealed with the signet of kings and rulers were treated with respect and were a symbol of the authority behind them.

The seven seals of the scroll in God’s hands, however, could not be broken by any earthly power. No one has the authority to direct the course of history save for the Sovereign LORD. These seals are a reminder that we are not “the masters of our fate and the captains of our souls.” We are not the center of all there is, as atheists, secularists, and humanists would have us believe. The seven seals show that we do not “call the shots.” It is a blow to our arrogance, rebellion, and unmitigated gall to believe that we can tell God to “get out of the way” and run things ourselves.

The events described in Genesis 3 should have been a “wake-up call” that when we try to run this world without God, it ends in disaster in every aspect. Our rebellion against God also alienated us from His grace, mercy, and love and put us in the situation we face today (Romans 1:18-22, 3:11-18).

In verse 2, John writes that a “strong angel” comes forth and asks, “Who is worthy to open the scroll and loose its seals?” He notices that nobody comes forth because no one has that kind of authority and power to open the seals and put into place the events that are to come (v.3). The contents of the scroll are too much for an earthly power to enact, nor could they do so in their present fallen condition. There is only One who has the ability and authority to put God’s plans into action, and that is the Lord Jesus Christ, who has been given this authority by God the Father (Matthew 28:18, 25:31-46; John 5:26-27; Revelation 5:5-6).

This is not Jesus — beaten, bruised, and bloodied like the world last saw Him. He is the risen and glorified Lamb of God (John 1:29). He fulfilled that role by being the final and perfect sacrifice for our sins. By His death, burial, and resurrection, the work of atonement on our behalf has been done and never has to be repeated (John 19:30). The perfect, sinless Lamb of God took upon Himself our imperfect, fallen, sinful nature on the cross. We cannot atone for ourselves (Isaiah 53:4-6, 64:6). That is an exercise in futility, and we never seem to get that.

The Lord Jesus has opened the door of reconciliation with God the Father, and by the power of the Holy Spirit, we have the privilege and joy of knowing and loving Him through His constant presence, certified by the authority of His inerrant, all-sufficient, Holy Word (John 17:17; Acts 17:11; 2 Timothy 3:16-17; 2 Peter 1:19-21).

Verses 5-7 are symbolic of the absolute, unquestioned power, presence, and divinity of the Lord Jesus Christ. He is God Incarnate, Creator (Genesis 1:1; John 1:1-4; Colossians 1:16-18), Savior, Sustainer, and Sovereign, who has all the power, ability, and full authority to put into place the events that are to come upon the world, and to bring all things to a conclusion on His terms.

The hosts of heaven bow in humble worship when He obtains and opens the scroll. All of heaven rejoices as the Son takes upon Himself the responsibility and honor of bringing evil to its end (vv.8-14) and restores creation to its former unspoiled condition (Romans 8:18-22; Revelation, Chapters 21, 22).

We can rejoice in knowing that one day, He will return in the air for His true church (Luke 21:28; John 14:1-3; 1 Corinthians 15:51-58; 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18; Revelation 3:10), and we will be among the hosts of heaven who will witness these things happen, and rejoice with fellow saints that He is the Sovereign LORD, Who will truly make all things new. He has never broken that promise, as He makes us new creations when we give our lives to Him (2 Corinthians 5:17).

You are going to witness these things come to pass, either in the glory of heaven or the hell that will come to earth when the events described in Revelation 6 and following begin, unleashing the time of the Great Tribulation and its horrors, both physically and eternally. While there is still time, please settle the issue of where you will spend eternity (2 Corinthians 6:2; Hebrews 9:27; James 4:13-15). Repent of your sins, confess that Jesus is Lord, and you will be saved (Acts 16:31; Romans 10:9-10, 13).

Be a part of the heavenly host and watch the King get ready to go into action. Amen.

donaldwhitchard@outlook.com

www.realitycityreverend.com

According to the Merriam Webster Dictionary, “Procrastination” is to intentionally put off the doing of something that should be done now. When the Bible tells us in three places that everyone, or all, who call on the name of the Lord shall be saved (Joel 2:32, Acts 2:21, and Romans 10:13), why would there be hesitation? One belief is that when the Trumpet of God sounds and the shout comes from an archangel, then people will be able to call out in time to be Raptured up to meet Jesus in the air. (ESV – all emphasis is mine)

That would be well and good if the Rapture was to take a day or so to be completed. One real testimony to dispute this belief is 1 Corinthians 15:52; “…in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised imperishable, and we shall be changed.”

There are a couple more stipulations that complete the “ABCs of Salvation.”

“A” = Admit we are all sinners in need of a Savior to ensure our Salvation. The only one that has provided that Salvation is Jesus the Christ, as given in John 14:6 and Acts 4:12.

The “B” = Believe that Jesus is the only true Son of the Living God and that He shed His pure, sinless blood for all who would receive and accept His gift, and that no amount of works or anything else can save us, as given in Ephesians 2:8-9.

Of course, the “C” = Call to be saved.

The hardest part of this for many people is to believe it’s not difficult to become a member of Our Savior’s precious flock. When our Savior declared, “It Is Finished,” in John 19:30, He was declaring that our sin debt had been paid in full and that all who would truly accept His gift would be saved and have a reservation to be with Him forever.

Considering all the pain and agony My Jesus went through so that we could be forgiven and have a Home with Him forever, we should be more than willing to ask His forgiveness and for Him to come into our hearts.

Jesus promised that all who do receive and accept His awesome gift will have the Holy Spirit within us from then to the end of our days on this earth. There are numerous verses in the Old and New Testaments referring to the Holy Spirit. Just a few are John 14:16-17, John 14:26, Luke 11:13, Romans 8:9-11, 1 Corinthians 3:16, and 12 Corinthians 6:19.

Jesus knew that more people would desire the ways of this earth and the so-called “pleasures” offered through the deceptive temptations from Satan.

Matthew 7:13-14 states, “Enter by the narrow gate. For the gate is wide and the way is easy that leads to destruction, and those who enter by it are many. For the gate is narrow, and the way is hard that leads to life, and those who find it are few.”

Again, the hard part is believing the world is wrong and Jesus is right.

We’re told in 1 John 2:15-17, “Do not love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world; the desires of the flesh and the desires of the eyes and the pride of life; is not from the Father, but is from the world. And the world is passing away, along with its desires, but whoever does the will of God abides forever.”

John goes on in 1 John 2:20-23, “But you have been anointed by the Holy One, and you all have knowledge. I write to you, not because you do not know the truth, but because you know it, and because no lie is of the truth. Who is the liar but he who denies that Jesus is the Christ? This is the antichrist, he who denies the Father and the Son. No one who denies the Son has the Father. Whoever confesses the Son has the Father also.”

Jesus, Paul, James, Peter, John, and others spoke about teachings from false prophets and the influence of antichrists. All this was posted in the first Century A.D. Looking at the nearly two millennia that has passed, we have witnessed just about every kind of evil imaginable. Our Savior told us there would be obvious signs toward the end of this age that would begin to take place that would signal our redemption was near (Luke 21:28). It would be safe to say that these signs started in earnest in the last decade, and each passing day shows an acceleration.

For anyone to set a specific day or hour that we will hear the Trumpet and shout would be foolish. When Jesus was on this earth, He stated in Matthew 24:36, “But concerning that day and hour, no one knows; not even the angels of Heaven, nor the Son, but the Father only.”

Some may say this proves Jesus was not a part of the Godhead; however, in Hebrews 2, we’re told Jesus was made lower than the angels for a little while.

Philippians 2:8 states, “And being found in human form, He humbled Himself by becoming obedient to the point of death; even death on a cross.” We can rest assured that when Jesus’ Spirit left His body on that cross, He was again fully God and in the presence of the Father.

The thief on the cross had enough time to confess that he believed Jesus was the Savior and called out for his Salvation. Jesus told Him in Luke 23:43 that the thief would be with Him that day in Paradise.

We have the true word of our Heavenly Father written by about forty Holy Spirit-inspired authors. Sadly, false prophets have taken it upon themselves today to “tweak” God’s word to fit their own selfish desires. This was a problem even Jesus had with the religious leaders of His day. The time will come at the White Throne Judgment in Revelation 20:11-15, where all blasphemy against God’s true word will be enforced. There will be no pardons or forgiveness at this judgment.

For all who truly believe the actual Word of the Lord, there will be an event called the “Harpazo” taking up, or Rapture. The verses about this are 1 Thessalonians 4:13-17 and 1 Corinthians 15:51-53. As given earlier, it will happen in “the twinkling of an eye.”

Anyone who does not have a reservation before this event will be left behind to face the most awful circumstances this earth has ever witnessed to date. They will enter a seven-year period of wrath or tribulation, and world events taking place now will pale in comparison to what’s coming.

There will be people saved during that time but most likely at the cost of martyrdom. Even though today, the Messianic Jewish believers only make up about 2% of their total worldwide population, by the end of the tribulation, all survivors will be 100% believers.

To delay in calling out to our Shepherd to forgive and save us could very well be a ticket to the wrath. To call out now would be a sure reservation to missing it altogether.

Satan will try every tactic to get souls to delay. He knows his future and hopes to pull many into the Lake of Fire with him. Our Heavenly Father will force no one to accept His Son but will honor the request of all who truly do.

It’s a choice each person must make for themselves. Heaven with Jesus, or hell with Satan. I encourage everyone to make their reservation with Jesus today.

Maranatha – Come, Lord Jesus!

huebshman46@gmail.com

Also raptureforums.com

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