Correction cuts out an error and its associated parts, leaving the rest the same. This has come to the end of the book of Revelation. We must first see that we must only worship God. We should not be as weak as John about to worship the angel since he saw the angel glory from Heaven, but this is not easy. Fortunately, that angel know his place. Second, we see that not everyone believes the prophecies and God will leave us to make our own choices. We have also seen that the Lord Jesus Himself declared that He is one of the Trinity. How could anyone say that there is no Trinity of God! We must be overcomers who wash their clothes and can enter the city. We also see that the Lord Jesus is the Messiah mentioned in the Old Testament. Whether in the paternal or maternal genealogy of Jesus Christ, we can see that He is the root of David and his descendant. He is the bright morning star, our ray of light in the darkness. Finally, we know that the prophecies in the book of Revelation cannot be added to or subtracted from. We give one such example for both cases. How could someone who claims to be a Christian not be afraid of God’s words? We really need to respect God’s words, treat Him as God, and know that God is infinite and humans are limited.
1. Angels are servants together with us
”And he said to me, “These words are faithful and true”; and the Lord, the God of the spirits of the prophets, sent His angel to show to His bond-servants the things which must soon take place. “And behold, I am coming quickly. Blessed is he who heeds the words of the prophecy of this book.” I, John, am the one who heard and saw these things. And when I heard and saw, I fell down to worship at the feet of the angel who showed me these things. But he said to me, “Do not do that. I am a fellow servant of yours and of your brethren the prophets and of those who heed the words of this book. Worship God.””(Revelation 22:6-9)
First it made very clear that the angel said this was true and it was something that would definitely happen. We clearly see that it is not enough to just hear, but to obey. We have shared before that those who hear and hear correctly are indeed more blessed than those who do not hear, so I won’t go into more detail on this point. Although we know that “The Lord is not slow about His promise, as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing for any to perish but for all to come to repentance.”(2 Peter 3:9) But the time will come eventually, although “…the day of the Lord will come like a thief, …”(2 Peter 3:10) He has absolute sovereignty.
This was the second time John wanted to worship an angel. The first time was, “Then he (angel) 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.””(Revelation 19:9-10) This is because John saw the angel with heavenly glory and forgot that Christians must only worship God. Fortunately, although John showed the weakness of man, the angel knew his position and said that you must worship God. This is just like when Jesus was tempted, He clearly “…said to him, “Go, Satan! For it is written, ‘You shall worship the Lord your God, and serve Him only.’””(Matthew 4:10)
Regarding the prohibition of worshiping angels, the book of Hebrews makes it very clear, “God, after He spoke long ago to the fathers in the prophets in many portions and in many ways, in these last days has spoken to us in His Son, whom He appointed heir of all things, through whom also He made the world. And He is the radiance of His glory and the exact representation of His nature, and upholds all things by the word of His power. When He had made purification of sins, He sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high, having become as much better than the angels, as He has inherited a more excellent name than they. For to which of the angels did He ever say, “You are My Son, Today I have begotten You”? And again, “I will be a Father to Him And He shall be a Son to Me”?”(Hebrews 1:1-5) We know that there is a sequence in the time when Jesus became flesh. The Father sends the Son, and the Holy Spirit will not come until the Son goes. But in eternity, They have the same dignity and glory, and they are the Trinity God.
Furthermore, “But to which of the angels has He ever said, “Sit at My right hand,
Until I make Your enemies A footstool for Your feet”? Are they not all ministering spirits, sent out to render service for the sake of those who will inherit salvation?”(Hebrews 1:13-14) In era of the New Testament, it is very clear that we must worship the Triune God alone.
Let’s look at it from the era of the Old Testament then. God gave us the Ten Commandments, and the first two commandments say this, “Then God spoke all these words, saying, “I am the LORD your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery. “You shall have no other gods before Me. “You shall not make for yourself an idol, or any likeness of what is in heaven above or on the earth beneath or in the water under the earth. You shall not worship them or serve them; for I, the LORD your God, am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children, on the third and the fourth generations of those who hate Me, but showing lovingkindness to thousands, to those who love Me and keep My commandments.”(Exodus 20:1-6) It clearly shows that we cannot worship other gods. How consistent is what God tells us through the Bible!
2. Man’s choice of prophecies and the declaration of the Lord Jesus
“And he said to me, “Do not seal up the words of the prophecy of this book, for the time is near. Let the one who does wrong, still do wrong; and the one who is filthy, still be filthy; and let the one who is righteous, still practice righteousness; and the one who is holy, still keep himself holy.” “Behold, I am coming quickly, and My reward is with Me, to render to every man according to what he has done. I am the Alpha and the Omega, the first and the last, the beginning and the end.” Blessed are those who wash their robes, so that they may have the right to the tree of life, and may enter by the gates into the city. Outside are the dogs and the sorcerers and the immoral persons and the murderers and the idolaters, and everyone who loves and practices lying. “I, Jesus, have sent My angel to testify to you these things for the churches. I am the root and the descendant of David, the bright morning star.” The Spirit and the bride say, “Come.” And let the one who hears say, “Come.” And let the one who is thirsty come; let the one who wishes take the water of life without cost.”(Revelation 22:10-17)
In the time of Daniel, “The vision of the evenings and mornings Which has been told is true;
But keep the vision secret, For it pertains to many days in the future.”(Daniel 8:26) The vision at that time was sealed because “There is an appointed time for everything. And there is a time for every event under heaven.”(Ecclesiastes 3:1) The time has come when prophecy is no longer sealed. But it is obvious that not everyone believes and accepts prophecies. People have choices about prophecies. God does not help you make choices, but allows you to make your own decisions. We should really turn to God!
We can clearly see that the Lord Jesus declares Himself to be the one in the Trinity. Last time we talked about New Jerusalem being the Holy of Holies, the place where the Triune God is present, so we won’t go into detail about this. We have seen that overcomers who have washed their clothes can enter the city. As we emphasized last time, we should not become Christians who fall outside the city and can only gnash their teeth by then.
We also see that the Lord Jesus is the Messiah mentioned in the Old Testament. We can see this whether in the paternal genealogy of Jesus Christ in the first chapter of the Gospel of Matthew or the maternal genealogy of Jesus Christ in the third chapter of the Gospel of Luke. He is the root of David and his descendant. He is the bright morning star, our ray of light in the darkness.
3. The prophecies of the book of Revelation cannot be added to or subtracted from
”I testify to everyone who hears the words of the prophecy of this book: if anyone adds to them, God will add to him the plagues which are written in this book; and if anyone takes away from the words of the book of this prophecy, God will take away his part from the tree of life and from the holy city, which are written in this book. He who testifies to these things says, “Yes, I am coming quickly.” Amen. Come, Lord Jesus. The grace of the Lord Jesus be with all. Amen.”(Revelation 22:18-21)
Someone subjectively said without mentioning any evidence that the opening verses were added and should not be there. This person clearly knew that by doing so he was deleting the prophecies in this book. I really doubt how such a claimed Christian cannot be afraid of God’s words! Someone else told me that only spiritual people know about the occurrence of the seven thunders. Of course I don’t know their occurrence since the Bible clearly says, “When the seven peals of thunder had spoken, I was about to write; and I heard a voice from heaven saying, “Seal up the things which the seven peals of thunder have spoken and do not write them.””(Revelation 10:4) John obeyed God, and he indeed did not record what the seven thunders said. This belongs to this who claims to be a Christian and add something to the prophecies, and think that he has special visions. I would ask the same question, how can such people who claim to be a Christian who doesn’t be afraid of God’s words? No wonder in the eyes of God, there are so many churches like the church in Laodicea mentioned in the book of Revelation! People will do things according to their own ideas. Like the church in Laodicea, they think they have done many things, but they are worthless in the eyes of God. So much so that they shut Jesus out without knowing it!
We really need to respect God’s words and treat Him as God. We must know that God is infinite and man is limited. The Bible clearly says, ““For My thoughts are not your thoughts, Nor are your ways My ways,” declares the LORD. “For as the heavens are higher than the earth, So are My ways higher than your ways And My thoughts than your thoughts.”(Isaiah 55:8-9) This is not just talk, it’s true. That’s it.
The Bible says very clearly, ““The kingdom of heaven is like a treasure hidden in the field, which a man found and hid again; and from joy over it he goes and sells all that he has and buys that field.”(Matthew 13:44) That person is the Son of Man, and He will really do this. The scripture goes on to say emphatically, “Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant seeking fine pearls, and upon finding one pearl of great value, he went and sold all that he had and bought it.”(Matthew 13:45-46) This buyer and seller also refers to the Lord Jesus. When the Lord Jesus encounters a pearl of great price, He will use His absolute sovereignty try to buy that pearl.
Finally, we see that the last moment has indeed arrived. The Lord Jesus said, I will come quickly. Yes, we want you to come quickly, but we know that everything is determined by your absolute sovereignty. At the same time, we are willing to see you to come. Your grace is always with all the saints, knowing that without Your grace, we would be anything. Amen!
(Verses refer to those in NASB95 unless otherwise specified.)
(You can get all articles in “https://a-christian-voice.com/” under “On spiritual understanding about life.”)
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