October's featured article
Chapter 19 The Second Coming of Jesus Christ
- "1 And after these things I heard a great voice of much people in Heaven, saying, Alleluia; Salvation, and glory, and honour, and power, unto the LORD our God:"
The focus of this chapter of Revelation is the physical return of the LORD Jesus Christ to the planet Earth to sit upon His Throne, i.e., "and He shall rule them with a rod of iron" (19:15), while the Beast (the Antichrist) and the False Prophet are cast alive into the Lake of Fire to be tormented forever, i.e., "both were cast alive into a Lake of Fire burning with brimstone" (19:20). "I am the LORD: I will speak, and the Word that I shall speak shall come to pass" (Ezekiel 12:25). Many newspapers have reserved their largest print type, which they call "Second Coming Type," for headline news of the highest importance. Why shouldn't the headline, "Jesus Christ Returns to Earth," be deemed the greatest headline possible by even the secular press, if atheists curse with the name of God upon their lips, and all walks of life make some kind of appeal to the Almighty in dire circumstances? "10 That at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of things in Heaven, and things in Earth, and things under the Earth; 11 And that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is LORD, to the glory of God the Father"(Philippians 2:10-11).
At this point in the Divine Narrative, "a great voice of much people in Heaven" (19:1) signifies all mankind, who have been saved by the Blood of the Lamb, who have been resurrected or raptured after the "mystery of God ['concerning Christ and the Church' (Ephesians 5:32)] should be finished" (Revelation 10:7), praising God in a Heavenly Scene around the Throne of God. What is the reason for this Great Noise in Heaven? A command has been echoed by God's creatures to praise and worship God, i.e., "Alleluia" (19:1). In the Greek, allelouia means Praise ye the LORD or Hallelujah. It comes from the Hebrew words halal (praise) andYahh (Jehovah). Only four times does "Alleluia" occur in the New Testament. All four times are in this chapter (19:1, 3, 4, 6), and each time in preparation for the Second Coming of Jesus Christ. Worship does not merely state the obvious facts of Who God Is, but it enters into hearty agreement with God about the truth of those facts. "Salvation, and glory, and honour, and power, unto the LORD our God" (19:1). Because He has saved us, we glorify God, agreeing and declaring that glory, honour, and power rightfully belong to God "for His wonderful works to the children of men!" (Psalm 107:31). This heartfelt praise comes because of the Almighty's magnificent judgment of the Great Whore (Revelation 18); further, the Glorified Saints must be excited because they are about to enter into their Marriage Supper with the Lamb (19:7-10). And, before the Beast and False Prophet face their final doom in the Lake of Fire (19:20), the ultimate conflict of all time, Armageddon (19:17-19), must be emblazoned on the consciousness of all Moral Beings. "15 And the mean man shall be brought down, and the mighty man shall be humbled, and the eyes of the lofty shall be humbled: 16 But the LORD of Hosts shall be exalted in judgment, and God that is holy shall be sanctified in righteousness" (Isaiah 5:15-16).
----
- "2 For true and righteous are His judgments: for He hath judged the Great Whore, which did corrupt the Earth with her fornication, and hath avenged the blood of His servants at her hand."
Since we have been taught to "love [our] enemies, [and] bless them that curse you" (Matthew 5:44), we must again agree with Christ that "true and righteous are His judgments" (19:2). It has long been our proper understanding that True Love is willing to be stern and hard where it is necessary, e.g., "He that spareth his rod hateth his son: but he that loveth him chasteneth him betimes [Hebrew, shachar, early]" (Proverbs 13:24). And, if God does not guard the efficacy of the sanctions and punishments of the Moral Law of Love, i.e., "the wages of sin is death" (Romans 6:23), then Satan himself would eventually be paroled from the Lake of Fire. But, we have been assured that the Judgment that follows this life is forever because: (1) Sinners will dwell with Everlasting Burnings, i.e., "The sinners in Zion are afraid; fearfulness hath surprised the hypocrites. Who among us shall dwell with the devouring fire? who among us shall dwell with Everlasting Burnings?"(Isaiah 33:14), (2) Transgressors will always feel an Unquenchable Fire, i.e.,
Chapter 19 The Second Coming of Jesus Christ
Do you have a ministry or a business
Do you have a called of God ministry where your whole purpose is to "feed the sheep", and God supplies your needs, or do you have books, tapes, videos, etc. that you SELL for a "donation", or just outright SELL, and your buyers supply your needs?
There is nothing wrong with being in business and selling things. However, if you are a church or any kind of "ministry", you may want to check your motive for how you are conducting the work of the Lord.
Remember the money changers in the temple where JESUS turned over the tables and threw them out. They were selling things in the "CHURCH".
(God made it quite clear to us that we were not to charge for anything, that HE is our source.)
</div>
