Participants: Pastor Stephen Bohr
Series Code: CGC
Program Code: CGC000026S
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01:12 Shall we bow our heads?
01:14 Father in heaven, we thank you so much 01:17 for the privilege of being in Your house. 01:20 We thank you for the awesome privilege of opening up 01:24 Your holy book... the book of Genesis 01:27 and the book of Revelation... 01:29 to study about that select group: the 144,000. 01:35 We ask that Your Holy Spirit will guide us in our study today 01:38 and help us to learn the lessons which will be 01:42 useful in our own personal walk with Jesus. 01:45 And we thank you, Lord, for hearing our prayer 01:47 for we ask it in Jesus' name, Amen. 01:52 I'd like to invite you to turn in your Bibles with me 01:55 to the book of Revelation chapter 21. 01:58 Revelation chapter 21. 02:02 And we want to read verses 10 through 13. 02:05 Revelation 21 and verses 10 to 13. 02:10 Here the New Jerusalem is being described 02:14 and it says this: 03:07 We find here a description 03:09 of the New Jerusalem. 03:12 And what I want you to notice 03:13 as we begin our study 03:15 is that the New Jerusalem 03:16 has twelve gates. 03:18 And on each gate is one of the names 03:22 of the twelve sons of Jacob. 03:27 Now the question is: what are those names? 03:30 We're not told in the passage that we just read 03:34 so we must go to Revelation chapter 7 03:37 and verses 1 through 8. 03:40 Revelation chapter 7 and verses 1 through 8. 03:47 Here we find in the first three verses a description 03:51 of the great tribulation which is soon to come 03:55 upon the world. It says in verse 1: 04:14 By the way, when the winds are released 04:17 that's the tribulation... the period of the plagues. 04:20 Time of trouble such as has never been seen in the 04:22 history of the world. Verse 2: 04:49 I want you to notice here that the reason for the sealing 04:53 is to identify those who are going to go through the 04:57 tribulation so that their lives are preserved, 05:01 their lives are spared. 05:03 That's the reason why it says before the winds are released 05:07 "seal My servants on their foreheads. " 05:10 In other words, it is a mark of protection upon God's people 05:14 who will go through the tribu- lation when the winds of strife 05:19 are released. 05:21 And then I want you to notice who are the ones that receive 05:24 the seal. Verse 4: 05:41 So now we're going to notice the names of the individuals 05:45 that are found on the doors that we read about 05:48 in Revelation chapter 21. Verse 5: 06:44 The names of the sons of Jacob 06:48 which later became the tribes of Israel. 06:53 Now there's a critical question that we need to ask 06:57 before we move on to study about the 144,000 07:01 and that is: when will the 144,000 live 07:07 in the history of the world? 07:09 There's no doubt whatsoever, folks, as we examine 07:13 the book of Revelation that the 144,000 07:16 are those who will be alive when Jesus comes. 07:20 You say: "How do we know that? " 07:22 Well, let's go back to chapter 6 07:25 and we'll notice that very clearly. 07:27 Revelation 6, and I would like to begin at verse 15. It says: 07:54 "and from the wrath of the Lamb 07:57 for the great day of His wrath has come 08:00 and who shall be able to stand? " 08:03 Now what event is being described in these verses? 08:06 There's no doubt that it's talking about the second coming 08:10 of Christ. That's the "great day of His wrath. " 08:14 Now my question is: who will live during this period 08:18 of the outpouring of God's wrath? 08:21 The answer is in the very next chapter where we read from. 08:24 It says there that the winds of strife are being held 08:28 until the servants of God are sealed on their foreheads. 08:32 So when the question is asked: "Who shall be able to stand? " 08:36 the answer is: "Those who have received... " What? 08:41 "Those who have received the seal of God. " 08:44 So when Jesus comes and He manifests His wrath 08:50 according to the book of Revelation 08:51 those only ones who will be able to stand 08:54 are the 144,000 08:57 who have the names of all of the sons of Jacob 09:02 of the tribes of Israel. 09:05 Now we need to ask the question 09:08 "Who are these 144,000? " 09:11 Are we dealing here with literal Jews? 09:16 Is this God's final plan for the literal Jewish nation 09:20 where He's going to rescue literal people from the literal 09:24 tribes of Israel? Or is this referring to 09:28 spiritual Israelites who have the characteristics 09:33 of the sons of Jacob who later became the tribes of Israel? 09:39 Well, what we need to do to answer this question 09:42 is examine what the New Testament means 09:47 by the word Israel. 09:49 Obviously, these people are going to be saved 09:52 because in the day of the wrath of the Lamb 09:54 they are going to be able to stand. 09:56 They are sealed with the seal of God. 09:58 They're going to be saved in other words. 10:01 Now if they're going to be saved and they are Israel, 10:04 we need to understand what Israel means 10:07 in the New Testament. 10:10 Go with me to Romans chapter 2 and verses 28 and 29. 10:15 Romans 2:28-29. Let's identify Israel. 10:21 It says here, the apostle Paul speaking: 10:37 Notice that a Jew is not necessarily one who has been 10:41 circumcised. Verse 29: 11:02 Who is Israel according to this passage? 11:05 Israel is composed of those 11:08 who have circumcised hearts. 11:11 Who have been converted 11:13 to Jesus Christ as their Savior 11:16 and Lord. That is true Israel. 11:19 Now go with me to Galatians chapter 3 and verse 16 11:24 further emphasizing this point. 11:26 Galatians chapter 3 and verse 16. 11:30 It says here: "Now to Abraham and his seed 11:35 were the promises made. 11:37 He does not say 'and to seeds' as of many 11:43 but as of one. And to your Seed who is Christ. " 11:49 Who is the only true Seed of Abraham? Christ. 11:54 The promises were not made to seeds but to the Seed... 11:59 Jesus Christ. 12:00 Now you say: "Well that excludes all of us. " 12:04 No it doesn't. 12:05 Notice chapter 3 and verses 27 and 29. 12:11 Galatians chapter 3 verses 27 and 29. 12:17 Here we find the apostle Paul saying this: 12:29 Verse 29: 12:40 Who are the children of Abraham according to this verse? 12:45 The children of Abraham are those who belong to whom? 12:49 To Christ. 12:51 In other words, Israel is not defined 12:54 by the blood we have, by the place we live, 12:57 or by the surname we possess. 13:00 Israel is defined as those who have accepted Jesus Christ 13:04 as Savior and Lord... 13:07 which is a spiritual relationship. 13:10 In other words, you can not be a literal Jew 13:13 and still, according to the Bible, be a Jew. 13:17 You can not be a literal Israelite and yet still be 13:21 Israel because Israel is defined spiritually... 13:25 it is not defined physically and literally. 13:28 Would this apply to the 144,000? 13:32 Obviously the 144,000 by the New Testament definition 13:37 are not those literal Israelites 13:40 but they are spiritual Israelites who have received 13:44 Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord. 13:47 Notice also Romans chapter 9 and verses 6 through 8. 13:52 Romans chapter 9 and verses 6 through 8. 13:57 The apostle Paul could not be any clearer than he is in this 14:00 passage. He says this: 14:03 "But it is not that the Word of God has taken no effect 14:07 for they are not all Israel who are of Israel. " 14:12 Did you notice he said not all Israelites are Israelites? 14:18 Not all Jews are Jews 14:21 according to the definition of the apostle Paul. 14:24 Who are Jews? Who is Israel? 14:27 Notice verse 7: 14:28 "Nor are they all children because they are the seed 14:31 of Abraham. " Notice that just because you are 14:33 the literal seed of Abraham you're not a child of Abraham. 14:36 "But in Isaac your seed shall be called. 14:39 That is... " Notice... "those who are the children 14:43 of the flesh... " That is, literal Jews... 14:46 "these are not the children of God, but the children 14:50 of the promise are counted as seed. " 14:55 We could go to other places in the New Testament. 14:57 I'll just mention the gospel of John in passing. 15:01 John chapter 8. Jesus is speaking with the Jews 15:03 and He says: "I know that you are Abraham's children; 15:07 I know that you are Abraham's seed. " 15:09 But then He goes on to say: 15:11 "I know that you're really not Abraham's seed 15:14 because Abraham rejoiced to see My day 15:17 and he was glad but you want to kill Me. 15:20 And so even though you are literally children of Abraham 15:24 by wanting to kill Me - manifesting a different spirit 15:27 than Abraham - you show that you are not really 15:30 children of Abraham. " 15:32 So Israel in the New Testament is defined relationally to 15:37 Jesus Christ. Which means that the 144,000 15:40 are not literal Jews. They are Jews in the sense that 15:44 the New Testament uses the word Jew, 15:47 the word Israel. They are spiritual Israelites 15:50 who have accepted Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord. 15:55 Now let's go to Revelation chapter 21 and verse 12 15:59 which we already read. But I want you to notice here 16:03 another interesting detail. 16:06 Revelation chapter 21 and verse 12. It says here: 16:22 Did you notice this? That the gates are not just open 16:26 and vacant. The gates have what? 16:31 An angel at each gate. 16:34 And I believe that what they're doing is checking I.D. 16:39 to make sure that you're going through the right gate. 16:43 We'll come to that a little bit later on. 16:45 Now the question is: who will be allowed by the angels 16:49 into the Holy City? 16:52 Revelation chapter 22 and verse 12 has the answer. 16:56 Revelation chapter 22 and verse 14 actually. 17:01 Revelation 22 and verse 14. It says: 17:19 Who is allowed to go into the city through the gates? 17:23 Those who what? 17:25 Those who keep His commandments. 17:28 Who allows them in? The angels who are standing 17:33 at the gates. But now we have a serious problem. 17:39 Let me ask you this: were the sons of Jacob sinners? 17:46 Were they pretty wicked? 17:49 Allow me to tell you something about the 12 sons of Jacob. 17:53 The names that are immortalized on the doors of the city. 17:59 The sons of Jacob were filled with covetousness 18:04 and envy. 18:07 They coveted Joseph's position. 18:10 They were envious because his father gave him a coat 18:14 of many colors. 18:16 They were liars. 18:19 In fact, they lived a lie for years and years 18:23 telling their father that Joseph had been killed by a wild beast. 18:27 And they hid this lie for years. 18:31 They were murderers. 18:34 They were filled with hatred. 18:37 And by the way, the Bible says that hatred is murder. 18:41 He what hates his brother is a murderer 18:43 according to I John. 18:45 And so you have them hating their own brother. 18:49 You have them having a murderous spirit. 18:51 In fact, when they saw Joseph coming they said... 18:53 and Simeon and Levi were probably the main culprits... 18:56 They said: "Let's kill our brother... 18:59 our own flesh and blood. " 19:02 Not only this. They were cold- blooded killers and thieves. 19:08 I don't know whether you're aware of the story 19:10 that we find in Genesis about Shechem. 19:14 Genesis 34 has the story. 19:17 Just so happens that these 12 brothers had 1 sister. 19:20 Her name was Dinah. 19:23 And Dinah went with some of her friends to Shechem 19:26 and there Shechem, who was the son of the king, 19:29 actually had sexual relations with their sister 19:33 and she conceived a child. 19:36 And of course Shechem 19:39 the Bible says loved Dinah 19:41 with all of his heart and he wanted to get married with her. 19:43 So he contacted Jacob and he said: "You know 19:48 my son Shechem wants to marry your daughter Dinah. " 19:53 And when Simeon and Levi heard about this 19:58 they said: "This cannot go unpunished. " 20:01 And so what they did... they prepared a very special plot. 20:05 They said to all of the men of Shechem: "We cannot allow 20:08 our sister to marry an uncircumcised man. 20:10 If you will be circumcised and all of the men of Shechem 20:13 are circumcised, then we'll allow Shechem 20:16 to get married to Dinah. " 20:19 And so they were circumcised. 20:21 And when they were in the third day - which is the moment 20:23 of greatest pain from circumcision - 20:27 Simeon and Levi went to the city of Shechem 20:30 and they killed every single one of the men 20:33 that were in that town. 20:35 And not only that, they also went in and they plundered 20:39 and they stole everything that belonged to the inhabitants 20:42 of Shechem. 20:44 That's the kind of individuals that these men were. 20:47 And then you have Reuben who slept with his father's wife 20:52 Bilhah. 20:53 That's called incest. 20:55 And then you have the merciless and mean-spiritedness 20:59 when Joseph is crying out "Please don't sell me. " 21:02 They have no mercy. 21:04 No compassion whatsoever. 21:07 And then of course you have Reuben, who has the backbone 21:11 of a jellyfish. 21:13 You know, when they throw Joseph into the pit 21:17 Reuben should have said "This is wrong. " 21:19 He was the oldest brother. "This cannot go; let him go. " 21:23 But he didn't. 21:25 He worked and said: "Well, you know, I'll go 21:27 and I'll take him out of the pit 21:29 after the anger calms down and when my brothers leave. " 21:34 And when he came back he had already been sold. 21:37 And by the way, you also have Judah 21:41 lying with his daughter-in-law 21:43 thinking that she was a prostitute. 21:46 That's amazing. 21:49 You have all of these children from four mothers 21:53 all living under the same roof. 21:56 In other words, this was a totally dysfunctional family. 22:01 I mean... with a dysfunctional lifestyle. 22:07 Totally - almost - corrupt. 22:09 Not totally because they changed later on. 22:13 And yet their names stand immortalized 22:19 forever on the gates of the New Jerusalem. 22:24 You can imagine the wicked outside the city saying: 22:27 "Oh, You left us outside 'cause we're liars. 22:29 What about those whose names are on the doors? 22:34 On the gates? " "Oh, You cast us out here 22:37 because we're thieves. What about them? " 22:40 "Oh, you left us out here because we're murderers. 22:43 What about them? " 22:45 In other words, those who are inside 22:49 were just as much sinners as those who were outside. 22:52 At least at one stage in their lives. 22:55 So how could the sons of Jacob have their names immortalized 22:59 on the gates of the Holy City, the New Jerusalem? 23:04 The book of Revelation has the answer. 23:07 It is true that they were vile sinners, 23:10 but the book of Revelation emphasizes that they were 23:12 overcomers. They overcame their sins. 23:17 They overcame their defects. 23:21 They gained the victory over all of these besetments 23:24 in their lives. Notice Revelation chapter 21. 23:28 Revelation chapter 21 and verse 7 on this point. 23:32 Revelation chapter 21 and verse 7. 23:35 It says here: 23:37 "He who... " What? 23:42 "overcomes shall inherit all things 23:47 and I will be his God and he shall be My son. " 23:52 He who overcomes what? 23:54 Notice verse 8. The contrast of those who are outside the city. 23:58 It says: "But the cowardly, unbelieving, 24:01 abominable, murderers, 24:04 sexually immoral, sorcerers, 24:07 idolaters, and all liars 24:11 shall have their part in the lake which burns with fire 24:15 and brimstone which is the second death. " 24:18 Who is inside the city? The what? 24:21 The overcomers. 24:23 Overcomers over what? 24:25 It has to be over what is mentioned in verse 8. 24:28 In verse 8 you have a list of sins and transgressions 24:33 which are violations of the Ten Commandments. 24:36 And those who are outside never overcame these things. 24:40 But those who are inside the Bible says 24:43 that they "overcame. " 24:46 Notice Revelation chapter 2 and verse 7. 24:49 By the way, this is a formula that is used after every single 24:52 church. There's 7 churches in Revelation 2 and 3. 24:55 After every single church is mentioned 24:57 you have this formula. 24:59 It says there in Revelation 2 and verse 7: 25:03 "He who has an ear let him hear 25:06 what the Spirit says to the churches. " 25:21 What is the condition for eating from the Tree of Life 25:24 in the midst of the Paradise of God? 25:25 It means to what? To overcome. 25:29 By the way, if we compare with that the verse that we read 25:32 a few minutes ago - Revelation 22 verse 14- 25:35 it says: "Blessed are those who do His commandments 25:38 that they may have the right to the Tree of Life. " 25:41 So what does it mean to overcome 25:43 if we compare these two verses? 25:45 Overcoming means to obey His what? 25:48 It means to obey His holy law. 25:51 And lest you wonder about this 25:53 notice Revelation 22 and verse 15 25:56 which comes immediately after saying that those who keep 25:59 the commandments will be allowed through the gates into the city 26:03 to partake of the Tree of Life 26:05 it says in verse 15: 26:25 So what have we seen so far? 26:27 First of all we've seen that the New Jerusalem 26:30 has twelve gates. 26:32 And inscribed on each gate is the name 26:36 of one of the sons of Jacob. 26:39 We found that the 144,000 26:43 are composed of those who have those names of the tribes. 26:47 And we discovered that the 144,000 26:50 are those who are going to be alive when Jesus Christ comes 26:54 and they're going to be preserved by the seal of the 26:57 living God. We've noticed that they're not literal Jews 27:01 because the New Testament definition of a Jew 27:03 or of Israel is one who has accepted Jesus Christ 27:07 as Savior and Lord... no matter what nation they come from. 27:10 We've noticed that at the gates there will be angels 27:14 guiding the people through the gates. 27:16 We have notice that those who go through the gates 27:19 are overcomers. They are overcomers of all 27:22 of the list of sins that are mentioned concerning those who 27:26 are outside the Holy City. 27:30 No matter how vile, how evil, how bad people have been 27:35 the final generation will be a generation of victorious people 27:39 who will overcome every defect of character. 27:42 Whether it is inherited or whether it is cultivated 27:46 they will gain the victory and they will remain firm to God. 27:51 By the way, go with me to Revelation chapter 15 verse 2 27:55 and I want you to notice that this group is going to live 27:59 in the world in the worst period of its history. 28:02 Revelation chapter 15 and verse 2. It says here: 28:25 By the way, are these the end-time saints? 28:29 When is it that the beast is going to manifest its power? 28:32 When is it that the image of the beast is going to be erected? 28:35 When is it that the mark of the beast is going to be imposed 28:38 on pain of death. Is that at the very end of human history? 28:42 Most certainly yes. 28:45 And it says that they were standing on the sea of glass 28:49 having the harps of God. 28:52 They have overcome. 28:54 They are victorious. 28:56 They have washed their garments we're going to notice 28:59 in the blood of the Lamb 29:01 and they have gained the victory over sin in their lives. 29:06 Now I want you to notice a very interesting detail 29:09 which I did not underline yet 29:11 in Revelation 22:14. 29:16 Revelation 22 and verse 14. 29:18 I don't know whether you've ever stopped to think about this 29:20 but let me ask you: is everybody going to enter 29:23 through the same gate? 29:29 There's twelve gates, right? 29:32 So is everybody going to enter through the same gate? 29:35 No. Notice Revelation 22 and verse 14. 29:39 It says: 29:55 Plural. 29:56 So are different people going to enter through different gates? 30:00 Obviously yes. 30:02 Because you're not going to enter through all twelve! 30:05 You're going to enter through one. 30:07 Now the question is: through which gate 30:11 will you enter? 30:14 Through which gate will I enter? 30:16 What will determine which gate we will go through? 30:21 I believe we have the answer in Genesis 49. 30:24 Go with me to Genesis 49 30:28 and I want to read verses 1 and 2. 30:31 Genesis 49:1-2. 30:36 Here Jacob gathers his sons together 30:41 and he's going to pronounce his final blessing upon them 30:44 before he dies, but he is also going to predict 30:49 what their characters are going to produce 30:53 in the last days. 30:55 Notice Genesis 49 verses 1 and 2. 31:13 Let me ask you: were they going to be literally alive 31:15 in the last days? Were the sons of Jacob 31:18 going to be literally alive in the last days? 31:19 Of course not. So what does this mean: 31:22 "I will show you what will befall you in the latter days? " 31:28 It's talking about the influence of their lives 31:34 and people who have similar characters to the characters 31:39 that they possess. 31:41 And then notice verse 2: 31:51 You know, it's very common for people today to speak about 31:54 four personality profiles. 31:57 They've got it wrong. They've got to multiply 4 x 3 32:03 because there are not four personality profiles... 32:07 there are actually twelve personality profiles. 32:11 I've done an extensive study of the names 32:14 of the sons of Jacob and also all their trajectory 32:18 through scripture, and I've discovered beyond a shadow 32:20 of a doubt that each one of the sons of Jacob 32:24 had a character different than the other one. 32:27 They had different shades or variations in their character, 32:31 in their way of being. 32:33 And what God is trying to say is that in the end time 32:36 there's going to be in the world 32:38 twelve different personality profiles. 32:42 Twelve different types of persons. 32:45 And your personality profile will determine 32:49 through which gate in the Holy City you go through. 32:53 If you have the personality, for example, 32:56 of Simeon or Levi, 32:59 who would lose it real fast - they had a short fuse - 33:03 and they said: "Hey, let's just kill Joseph... " 33:06 because according to Jewish tradition the ones that came up 33:08 with the idea of killing Joseph were Simeon and Levi. 33:12 They also were the masterminds in killing all of the men 33:15 of Shechem. I mean, these were bloodthirsty killers. 33:19 There's going to be people in the world that have 33:21 that type of character. 33:23 There are going to be people like Reuben 33:25 who had the backbone of a jellyfish. 33:28 Always contemporizing and saying "I'll take care of it later. " 33:32 Procrastinators... who perhaps don't stand for truth at the 33:35 moment that they're supposed to. 33:37 And I could go through each one of the sons of Jacob. 33:40 Each one of them has a personality profile 33:44 which will be shared by people who live on planet earth 33:48 in the end time. But the important thing is: 33:50 that no matter what the personality profile 33:53 every single one of those who enter through the gates 33:57 into the city will eventually be overcomers. 34:00 They will overcome the defects in their character 34:03 and they will develop the strength of their character 34:06 and they will overcome the deficiencies and the weaknesses 34:10 of their characters. And, like the 12 sons of Jacob 34:13 are inscribed upon the doors of the city, 34:16 they will go through the gate into the city 34:19 to partake of the Tree of Life. 34:21 There is no sin, there is no besetment 34:25 whether inherited or cultivated that cannot be overcome. 34:30 In fact, the sons of Jacob are an inspiration to us. 34:35 I mean, how much more vile could you become 34:38 than sleeping with your father's mother? 34:44 How much more vile than to visit a prostitute 34:48 and sleeping with your daughter-in-law? 34:51 How much more vile could you be than to want to kill 34:55 your own brother? 34:57 How much more vile could you become 34:59 than being so bloodthirsty that you would want to kill 35:03 a whole town of people 35:05 because they had sexual relations with your sister? 35:08 And yet their names are inscribed on the gates 35:11 of the Holy City. 35:12 Wow! If that's not comforting to you 35:16 I don't know what would be comforting. 35:18 No matter how evil and how wicked we are 35:21 if we overcome through the power of Jesus 35:24 who overcome, we will be able to go through one of the gates 35:28 into the Holy City, the New Jerusalem, 35:31 and partake of the Tree of Life. 35:34 But we're talking not about literal Reubenites 35:37 and literal Levites. We're talk- ing about spiritual Israelites. 35:42 who have the same types of character as the original 35:45 sons of Jacob. 35:48 It's interesting to notice that in the list of the sons 35:51 of Jacob that are found in Revelation chapter 7 35:55 two of them are missing. 36:00 The first one that is missing is Dan. 36:04 Dan. 36:07 The second one that is missing is Ephraim. 36:11 You say: "Why would Dan and Ephraim be missing? " 36:14 The Bible explains why Ephraim is not there. 36:17 There's a declaration of God where He says 36:20 "Ephraim is joined to his idols. Leave him alone. " 36:27 What a terrible declaration. 36:29 He totally identified himself or his descendants with idolatry. 36:35 What about Dan? 36:37 Go with me to Genesis chapter 49 and verse 17. 36:41 One of the worst characteristics that a person could have. 36:44 You see, Dan's name is not inscribed on one of the gates 36:48 of the Holy City because of his trait of character. 36:51 And anyone who has that trait of character 36:53 will not go through a gate into the city 36:57 because Dan is not there. 36:59 And you say: "What was this trait, this evil trait of 37:02 character? It says in Genesis 49 verse 17: 37:21 In other words, Dan was of those types that become a stumbling 37:26 block to people. He was a backbiter. 37:30 And by the way, there's a text in Psalm 104 37:32 that inter-relates the idea 37:36 of lying, the tongue, and backbiting 37:42 like it says here in Genesis 49 and verse 17. 37:46 There will be no Ephraimites. 37:48 There will be no Danites in the Holy City. 37:51 Because you know that sin originated with one who was 37:54 a liar about God. 37:56 One who was a backbiter. One who worked underground. 38:00 One who led a third of the angels to betray their trust 38:04 to God. 38:06 There will be no people who 38:07 have a character like Dan. 38:09 There will be no one who has 38:10 the character like Ephraim. 38:13 Now let's go back once again to Revelation 22 and verse 14. 38:18 It says: 38:32 Now some of you might have some versions of the Bible 38:36 that express this verse differently. 38:40 For example, the NIV will say 38:42 not blessed are those who keep His commandments 38:46 but many of the modern versions, in fact, most of them say 38:50 "Blessed are those who wash their robes 38:56 that they may have a right to the Tree of Life 38:59 and enter through the gates into the City. " 39:01 Now the question is: what is the correct translation? 39:04 Is the correct translation washed their robes? 39:07 Or keep the commandments? 39:09 The fact is, folks, that we don't have to choose 39:12 between one or the other. 39:13 I believe that the best translation is "keep His 39:15 commandments, " by the way. 39:17 I believe that that can be proven 39:19 by studying the ancient manuscripts, by studying 39:21 the context, and the relationship between this verse 39:24 and Genesis chapters 1 and 2. 39:26 I have no doubts whatsoever. 39:28 But just for the sake of argument, it doesn't really 39:30 make that much difference be- cause in the book of Revelation 39:33 both expressions are used elsewhere. 39:36 Notice Revelation chapter 7 and verse 14. 39:40 Revelation chapter 7 and verse 14. 39:43 It's speaking about that great multitude of redeemed 39:47 that no one can number from every nation, kindred, 39:49 tongue, and people. And it says there 39:52 in Revelation chapter 7 and verse 14: 40:13 Is the idea of washing the robes and making the robes white 40:17 in the blood of the Lamb contained in the book of 40:19 Revelation? It most certainly is. 40:21 And by the way, washing our garments in the blood 40:25 of the Lamb simply means two things. 40:29 Number one: it means that we accept Jesus 40:33 as our justification. 40:36 In other words, we receive Jesus as our Savior 40:38 and He looks upon us as if we've never sinned. 40:42 One our ledger in heaven He writes "forgiven. " 40:46 We are accepted in the beloved not on the basis of 40:51 what we do but on the basis of what Jesus did. 40:54 When we accept Him our slate is clean. 40:59 But we can't stop there 41:02 because from a justified life flows also what? 41:07 A sanctified life. 41:10 In other words, when Jesus wipes our slate clean 41:13 and He looks upon us as if we had never sinned 41:17 it will be our delight and our joy 41:19 to keep the commandments of God 41:22 because we love God. 41:24 And so in Revelation we find the expression 41:28 "blessed are those who wash their robes" 41:31 but the expression "blessed are those who keep the commandments" 41:34 is also used in Revelation. 41:37 You're all acquainted with Revelation 12 verse 17 41:40 where it says that the dragon was wroth with the woman 41:43 or enraged with the woman? 41:45 And went to make war with the remnant of her seed 41:49 who what? Who keep the commandments of God. 41:53 See the idea wash their robes? 41:56 Keep the commandments. 41:58 We also have Revelation 14 verse 12 42:01 which is the concluding verse of God's last message to the 42:04 world: the Three Angels' Messages. It says: 42:17 So both ideas are there. 42:19 If your garments have been washed in the blood of the Lamb, 42:22 the natural consequence will be to what? 42:27 To keep the commandments of God. 42:29 Let me ask you: the twelve sons of Jacob... 42:32 the ones that are mentioned on the gates of the City... 42:36 sons of Israel... were those individual's sins 42:40 cleansed by the blood of the Lamb? 42:42 Were they? Were they given a clean slate? 42:46 Must be... because their names would not be inscribed 42:49 forever on the gates of the City unless their sins - all of the 42:54 evil deeds that they performed - had been cleaned away. 42:57 But let me ask you: did their lives also change? 43:01 Their lives must have changed 43:03 because they were overcomers. We read it. 43:07 They were not like those outside the Holy City. 43:10 We read a long list of sins that characterizes those 43:13 outside the City. Those inside will be different than these. 43:18 Notice Revelation 22 and verse 11. 43:21 Very interesting verse describing the close 43:24 of human probation. 43:26 Revelation chapter 22 and verse 11. 43:30 And unfortunately, the King James Version and the 43:33 New King James does not capture the full meaning 43:37 of certain words that I'm going to describe. 43:41 Revelation 22 and verse 11 says: 43:49 It gives the impression that being unjust is a state 43:53 in which you're found. 43:55 Actually, the Greek word should be translated 43:58 "He who is unjust, let him act unjustly still. " 44:06 It has to do not with a state of being but with action. 44:11 And then it says: 44:12 "and he who is filthy, let him be filthy still " 44:16 In the Greek really it say "he who is filthy 44:18 let him continue to act filthily. " 44:22 I know there's not such a word. 44:25 "he who is righteous, let him be righteous still" 44:29 In the Greek it says "he who is righteous 44:31 let him continue to act righteously" 44:35 "and he who is holy, let him be holy still" 44:38 The Greek says: "he who is holy let him continue to act 44:43 in a holy manner. " 44:46 In other words, those who live in the final generation 44:49 will not only be characterized by their intellectual belief 44:53 in Jesus. They will not be characterized 44:56 by their sins being washed away in justification 45:00 but they will act differently. 45:02 They will act in a holy manner. 45:04 They will act in a just manner. 45:06 Their faith will be shown by their works. 45:10 Now notice Isaiah 26 verses 1 to 3. 45:15 Isaiah 26 and verses 1 to 3. 45:20 We have this wonderful passage which is related to what we're 45:23 studying in Revelation chapter 7 and chapter 14. 45:28 Notice: 46:14 What will the character of those who enter in the gates 46:17 be like? It says here: "open the gates 46:22 that the righteous nation which keeps the truth 46:25 may enter in. And You will keep him in perfect peace 46:28 whose mind is stayed on You. " 46:32 As the apostle Paul say in Colossians chapter 3:1-2... 46:37 he says: "Set your mind on the things above 46:41 not your mind on the things below. " 46:44 You know, one author has said that if we could catch one 46:47 glimpse of heaven we would never want to live 46:50 on planet earth again. 46:53 Why not then place our minds in heaven? 46:56 Because that's going to be our permanent home. 46:59 We focus so much on this world. 47:01 The things of this world. 47:03 The houses of this world. 47:04 The money of this world. 47:05 Our automobiles; our toys. 47:07 We focus so much on this world 47:08 as if this is going to last forever. 47:11 We're living in the last days, folks, 47:14 and God wants to separate for Himself a holy people. 47:18 Now notice Psalm 15. 47:20 Let's go to Psalm 15 47:22 are described. 47:26 Psalm 15. And I'm going to read the whole Psalm 47:29 because it's not very long. 47:30 It says there the following... Psalm 15: 49:09 Revelation 6 says 49:11 "Who shall be able to... " What? "to stand? " 49:15 Psalm 15 says that those who practice these things 49:18 will not be moved. 49:22 So the 144,000 are going to have 49:26 a sterling character. 49:29 Now go with me to Isaiah 60 and verse 18. 49:34 Isaiah 60 and verse 18. 49:37 I want you to notice something very interesting which is said 49:40 about the gates. 49:43 It says there: 50:06 And by the way, if you read Revelation chapter 19 50:08 verses 1 and 2 it speaks about a great multitude that are 50:12 singing in heaven. A multitude which no one can number. 50:16 They're singing praises and honor and glory to God 50:19 because He has saved them from final destruction 50:23 at the end of time. 50:26 Now by the way, Revelation 21 and verse 21 50:31 tells us that each gate is one pearl. 50:36 Each gate is one what? One pearl. 50:42 Those must be some massive pearls! 50:45 Is there anything more beautiful than a pearl? 50:49 I've seen many precious gems. 50:51 I can't see anything more beautiful than a pearl. 50:53 You see all of the colors of the rainbow. 50:55 Beautiful. 50:57 Imagine a gate of a city 51:02 where the city, where you know... the wall of the city 51:07 is as tall as its width and its breadth. 51:11 That's some door! 51:15 Now why would God make the gate of pearl? 51:20 Do you know how a pearl is formed? 51:23 A pearl is formed as a result of an irritant 51:29 which is planted in the shell of the mother of pearl. 51:34 There's an irritant... a grain of sand or something. 51:37 And then begins a secretion that starts forming the pearl. 51:43 What is God trying to tell us? 51:46 That if we're going to enter heaven it must be what? 51:49 Through many what? Through many irritations. 51:54 In fact, that's what Paul meant in Acts 14 verse 22 51:58 where he says that we must understand that it is through 52:02 many tribulations that we must enter the kingdom of God. 52:07 There are many irritants in our lives. 52:10 But if we use those irritants to gain strength and to 52:14 draw closer to Jesus we can make something beautiful 52:18 out of these tribulations and trials in our lives 52:21 and we will finally enter through the gates of pearl. 52:26 Finally I ask the question: who are the only ones 52:29 who are going to dwell in heavenly society? 52:33 I'm just going to mention these verses in closing. 52:37 Matthew chapter 5 and verse 8 says: 52:49 What are the rest going to do? 52:52 Did you notice Revelation 6? 52:53 What are those who are not pure in heart going to do? 52:56 They're going to hide in the caves 52:59 and they're going to beg for the rocks to fall upon them 53:02 and hide them from the face of the One that is sitting 53:06 upon the throne. 53:09 But it says: "Blessed are the pure in heart 53:12 for they shall see God. " 53:15 Hebrews 12 verse 14 says 53:18 that we need to be at peace with all men 53:22 and we need to develop holiness 53:25 without which no one will see the Lord. 53:30 You see, folks, there's a special preparation 53:33 of character that needs to take place in order for us to 53:35 be able to stand. 53:38 In order for us to stand like Shadrach, Meshach, and 53:40 Abednego before the image of Nebuchadnezzar, 53:43 the image of the beast so to speak, 53:45 and say: "We will not worship... no matter what. 53:49 You can throw us in the furnace but our heart is set in God. " 53:56 In order for that to happen, folks, 53:58 we need to make everything in this world secondary 54:00 and our relationship to God primary. 54:05 I John 3 says that everybody who has this hope in him - 54:10 the hope of the coming of Jesus - 54:12 "purifies himself even as He is pure. " 54:18 What do we do if we have the hope of the coming of Jesus? 54:21 We purify ourselves. 54:24 The apostle Paul says... In Ephesians chapter 5 54:27 he says that God wants a church "without spot or wrinkle 54:32 or any such thing. " You say: "Pastor, that's impossible! " 54:36 It's not impossible. 54:38 If you believe that it's impossible, then you have to say 54:42 that Philippians 4 verse 13 says "I can do almost 54:45 all things through Christ who strengthens me. " 54:49 "I can do most things through Christ who strengthens me. " 54:53 "I can do some things through Christ who strengthens me. " 54:57 That's not what the text says. The text says: 54:59 "I can do ALL things except overcome sin 55:02 through Christ who strengthens me. " 55:05 That's not what the text says. 55:08 The text says: "He who is able to keep you from falling... " 55:13 The end-time generation will be a generation 55:16 totally victorious over sin; 55:18 washed by the blood of the Lamb in justification; 55:21 and living a sanctified 55:24 holy life. 55:26 Which means that our dress 55:28 will be holy. 55:29 It means that our entertainment will be holy. 55:32 It means that our worship will be holy. 55:35 It means that our music will be holy. 55:40 It means that everything that we do and say 55:43 will have a holy focus 55:46 because the 144,000 are found without guile or spot 55:51 before the throne of God. 55:54 I'd like to end by referring to one individual that we find 55:57 in Genesis who experienced before the fact 56:01 what the righteous living are going to experience 56:04 when Jesus comes. 56:05 His name was what? Enoch. 56:10 Notice Genesis chapter 5 and I would like to read 56:14 verse 22. Genesis 5... actually, verse 24. 56:18 It says in verse 24: 56:21 "And Enoch walked with God 56:25 and he was not 56:27 for God... " What? "took him. " 56:31 What did Enoch do before he went to heaven? 56:35 He walked with God. 56:37 Now go with me to another text. The book of Hebrews 56:40 quickly... Hebrews chapter 11 and verse 5. 56:45 Hebrews chapter 11 and verse 5. 56:47 It explains a little bit more what it meant 56:50 for Enoch to walk with God. 56:52 It says in verse 5: 56:53 "By faith Enoch was taken away 56:56 so that he did not see death 56:59 and was not found because God had taken him. 57:05 For before he was taken he had this testimony: 57:08 that he pleased God. " 57:11 To walk with God is to please God. 57:13 And the apostle Paul tells us that those who are in the flesh 57:16 cannot please God. 57:18 How about we make pleasing God our first priority? |
Revised 2020-01-02