Rejoice at Judgment?

   May God's peace fill your heart and soul because of what the Lord has done for you, when you consider this amazing truth found in Psalm 96.  It declares that the heavens will be glad, the earth will rejoice, the sea will roar, the field will exult, the trees of the forest will sing for joy at a coming event.  What could possibly be the reason why?  

 God is coming to judge the earth!  

 Do you remember being called to the principal's office? (or to your boss' office)  Was there a sudden drop in your heart, an instant panic? In our natural response the first thought is "uh oh, what did I do wrong?"  So this Scripture is totally contrary to our feelings where an immediate red flag goes up.  How can this be?

 Deep in our hearts we long for good to be honored and evil to be dealt with; in short, justice.  We know the good tree has good fruit, and the bad tree bears bad fruit.  Of course, God is all just and every sin will receive its consequence.  But, what if there is evil or sin in us?  

That is the point.  Jesus promised to send the Spirit (John 16:7-11) to convict of sin and righteousness and judgment, which is His provision to reconcile and give His peace to us.  Paul said he couldn't even judge himself, but called on God to judge him before taking communion.  When we are judged and repent of what the Lord exposes, then we can stand righteous before God. Jesus who knew no sin, became sin so that we could become the righteousness of God (2 Corinthians 5:21)  His righteousness and His perfect love cast out all fear. 

We can rejoice that God is coming to judge the earth.  We know in our hearts that Jesus has taken our sin and given us His righteousness.  So rather than instill fear, the coming of the Lord to judge brings peace and joy because we are already judged and the Jesus' righteousness we now have is perfect.  You don't have to panic if you are being followed by a police car when you know you are going the speed limit.  Obviously part of Jesus reigning is removing all sin and setting up a holy kingdom on earth. Romans 14:17 declares this kingdom is "righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit."   We rejoice that this kingdom that is in us, will also be established on earth as it is in heaven! 

Revelation of Jesus Christ

Do not fear, only believe.  Even though Jesus says this to His people, many are fearful about the coming events of the end-times.  They don't even want to think about it, yet alone read the book of Revelation.

Would you allow the Holy Spirit to change your mind?  First, God promises a special blessing to those who read or even hear the words of this prophecy.  Second, and most important, in verse one, this book is "The revelation of Jesus Christ" rather than just a description of the "terrible" things to come that it is feared to be.  The book of Revelation reveals Jesus' heart, power, and leadership in preparing the nations for God's glory.  The main theme is Jesus' return to earth as king to rule all the nations (Rev. 1:7) and to remove all that resists His kingdom of absolute love.  God is love. 

God deliberately chose to give us this revelation of Jesus to prepare us for the end-time drama that will transition the earth to the age-to-come, and to equip us to endure persecution and temptation so as to overcome in victory (Rev 12:11, Rev 15:2).  Rather than instill fear, God promises these words will give grace and peace to His believing church (Rev 1:4). 

"Behold, He is coming in the clouds, and every eye shall see Him" (Rev. 1:7) so every person will see His royal procession back to earth.  If we humbly open our hearts to read Revelation correctly, it causes us to love Jesus and trust His leadership and dramatic plan to transition the earth to where "the kingdoms of the earth have become the kingdoms of our Lord."  His wise and loving plans combine God's sovereignty, human free will, and overcoming the arrogant Satanic rage, which produce an awesome end-time harvest of souls and a victorious Church, without violating justice or man's free will.  Both love and wickedness will come to full expression and receive their reward.  God is not mocked, what a person sows he will reap. 

Jesus will judge wickedness and oppression to remove all that hinders love (Rev. 19:2). The Antichrist and the kings of the earth will declare war against Jesus (Rev. 17:14; 19:19; cf. Ps. 2:2). Jesus will war against them (Rev. 19:11).  Jesus’ judgments in the Great Tribulation do not happen to God’s people as helpless victims of Satan, but are released through them as they partner with His sovereign leadership. As the book of Acts describes the power of the Spirit released through the early church, so the book of Revelation describes the power of the Spirit to be released through the end-time church.  The type of miracles and judgments seen in the books of Exodus and Acts will be multiplied and released worldwide through prayer in the Tribulation. The greatest demonstrations of power in history will be released by the praying Church operating in unity under Jesus’ leadership. 

Let's look at an overview of Revelation that will help us grasp the understanding of the message through seeing the way the events unfold.  There are 4 parts in the structure of the book of Revelation with the fourth part being the largest consisting of 5 chronological sections in which the events occur in sequential order.  

Part 1: John’s calling to prophesy about the end times (Rev. 1). John gave truths about Jesus’ majesty that formed the way he prophesied about the end times. These revelations of Jesus' character are necessary to give knowledge of His nature and also to equip us for this time. 

Part 2: Jesus gave 7 letters to the churches (Rev. 2-3). The instructions Jesus gave to these churches about overcoming sin also give insight into what the end-time church must overcome. 

Part 3: Jesus takes the scroll (Rev. 4-5). Contains the earth’s title deed and His plan to cleanse it. Jesus takes a 7-sealed scroll from the Father. The scroll represents the title deed of the earth and the battle plan to judge, cleanse, and prepare the nations for Jesus’ rule over all the earth, while bringing the Church to a mature Bride who partners with Him in the plan (Rev 6-22). 

Part 4: Jesus’ battle plan (Rev. 6-22). Includes Great Tribulation judgments against the Antichrist. Jesus reveals His main storyline of love to cleanse the earth of evil. His battle plan is seen in 5 chronological sections describing the main storyline of the 21 judgment events (7 seals, 7 trumpets, and 7 bowls) that are released on the Antichrist’s empire in sequential order. 

After each chronological section, an angel explains to John why the events just described are necessary. The angelic explanations function as a parenthesis that puts the storyline on “pause.” They answer questions arising from the chronological sections: Why is God’s wrath so severe? What will happen to the saints? Angels explain to John what happens to God’s people including what Jesus will do to help them, and what the Antichrist will do to persecute them.   

Chronological Section #1 (Rev. 6). The seal judgments against the kingdom of darkness. Angelic Explanation #1 (Rev. 7). We receive protection from judgments and falling away. 

Chronological Section #2 (Rev. 8-9). The trumpet judgments against the Antichrist’s empire. Angelic Explanation #2 (Rev. 10-11). We receive direction by increased prophetic ministry. 

Chronological Section #3 (Rev. 11:15-19). Jesus’ second coming royal procession and the rapture leading to Jesus replacing all the kings and top governmental leaders on earth. Angelic Explanation #3 (Rev. 12-14)—the Antichrist’s violent confrontation with the saints deserves Jesus’ judgment and the replacement of all his evil governments. 1. At the 7th and last trumpet (1 Thes. 4:16; 1 Cor. 15:52; Rev. 10:7), Jesus will rapture the Church and travel across the sky in a royal procession so that every eye will see Him (Rev. 1:7). 7 Behold, He is coming with clouds, and every eye will see Him, even they who pierced Him. And all the tribes of the earth will mourn because of Him. (Rev. 1:7) 2. After this, Jesus will enter Jerusalem and stand on the Mount of Olives (Zech. 14:4). 

Chronological Section #4 (Rev. 15-16). Bowl judgments destroy evil infrastructures in society. Angelic Explanation #4 (Rev. 17-18). The seduction of Babylon’s evil religion will permeate and infiltrate all the structures of society, requiring that Babylon be totally destroyed. 

Chronological Section #5 (Rev. 19-20). Jesus’ triumphal entry into Jerusalem (Rev. 19:11-21:8). Angelic Explanation #5 (Rev. 21-22). The restoration of all things, Acts 3:21, (Rev. 21:9-22:5). 11 I saw heaven opened, and behold, a white horse. And He who sat on him was called Faithful and True, and in righteousness He judges and makes war. 12 His eyes were like a flame of fire, and on His head were many crowns…15 Now out of His mouth goes a sharp sword, that with it He should strike the nations. And He Himself will rule them…16 And He has on His robe and on His thigh a name written: KING OF KINGS AND LORD OF LORDS…19 I saw the beast, the kings of the earth, and their armies, gathered together to make war against Him… 20 Then the beast was captured, and with him the false prophet…these two were cast alive into the lake of fire…21 The rest were killed with the sword… 20:1 Then I saw an angel coming down from heaven, having the key to the bottomless pit and a great chain in his hand. 2 He laid hold of…Satan, and bound him for a thousand years …3 so that he should deceive the nations no more till the thousand years were finished…4 I saw thrones, and they sat on them, and judgment was committed to them…they lived and reigned with Christ for a thousand years. (Rev. 19:11-20:4)  

We will proceed step by step in coming posts to help us understand the powerful truths of this revelation of Jesus that God chose to provide for our benefit. 

The Holy Spirit bears witness to Jesus in the book of Revelation, and will use this revelation to lead us into all truth which prepares us for the events coming.  Fear not, avoid not, excuse not, and read this crucial book for the time is at hand.  Be blessed as you read and hear the words of this Revelation!

Never Fail Because the Lord is With You

As you recall, Joseph was sold into slavery by his brothers and ended up in Potiphar's house in Egypt.  However, rather than being defeated, Joseph's condition is described as "The Lord was with Joseph, and he was a successful man" in the house of Potiphar, who put all that he had under Joseph's authority.  Then after he refused to lie with Potiphar's wife, and he was put in prison Joseph's situation is described this way, "But the Lord was with Joseph and showed him mercy" so "the keeper of the prison committed to Joseph's hand all the prisoners.  The keeper of the prison did not look into anything that was under Joseph's authority, because the Lord was with him; and whatever he did, the Lord made it prosper."

Joseph triumphed even as a slave and prisoner in Egypt, because the Lord was with Him.  David recalls, in Psalm 23, that walking through the valley of death, he will not fear, because "Thou art with me."  Many of the patriarchs and prophets accomplished amazing feats because the Lord was with them.   Darkness changes to light when the Lord is with you.

In the New Covenant, Jesus, removed the barrier of sin through His death and resurrection (Colossians 2:13-14) and raised you up to sit with Him (Ephesians 2:6) and your life is literally "hidden with Christ in God" (Colossians 3:3).  Jesus promised and through His completed work, He made it a reality that "I am with you always, even to the end of the age."  You are a temple of the Holy Spirit, and by His Spirit the Father and Jesus live in you.  We absolutely are in His presence NOW, not just after we die.  Paul further declares how amazing this truth is in Colossians 1:27, "To them God willed to make known what are the riches of the glory of this mystery, which is Christ in you, the hope of glory.  In short, the Lord is with you.

What is the problem? Why don't we walk around like "He is with us" and "He always leads us in triumph?"  Maybe Hosea 4:6 says it best, "My people are being destroyed because of lack of knowledge." Our natural mind cannot fathom the thoughts of God.  We desperately need the revelation of God's truth. Jesus said we live by the Word of God.  That Word has to abide in us to bear fruit. The benefits of having God with you and in you are infinite. You will overcome. You will be free. You love others and yourself.  You will have peace, love, joy, and are satisfied forever.  Obviously when we leave this earth and come before God, we will bow in awe of His greatness, His glory, His presence and overwhelming perfect love.  A young man in Atlanta, Georgia, who died and came back to life describes his experience of being in God's presence as "being totally satisfied" and all he wanted was "to do what God wanted him to do."   You and I are in  His presence NOW.  Jesus promised that if we continue in His Word, we would know the truth, and the truth would set us free.

What is our experience as we realize we are in His presence.  Psalm 16"11 states that "in His presence is fullness of joy.  The joy of the Lord is my strength.   The Word likewise reveals His love that casts out all fear and His peace that flows like a river.  Choose to remind yourself that the living God dwells in you.  What can man do to you or me if God be for us and with us?   However, since our natural fleshly thoughts are fallen, we need to renew our minds and refresh our feelings by God's Word.  We can change our thinking by following David's instructions how to enter into His presence, "Enter His gates with thanksgiving and His courts with praise, and bow before Him."  In Philippians, Paul reminds us to give our anxieties to God in prayer and He will keep our minds and hearts in peace beyond all understanding.  The Spirit helps us apply this truth and put to death those doubts, fears, and hindrances which seek to steal all the benefits of His presence. 

Take a moment to be still, and know that He is God.  I will never leave you or forsake you.