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 Sermon > Official Service |
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Title |
Revelation Lectures(1) |
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Speaker |
Rev. Jaerock Lee |
Bible |
Revelation1:1-3 |
Date |
2006-10-13 |
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Revelation 1:1-3
[1] The Revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave Him to show to His bond-servants, the things which must soon take place; and He sent and communicated it by His angel to His bond-servant John,
[2] who testified to the word of God and to the testimony of Jesus Christ, even to all that he saw.
[3] Blessed is he who reads and those who hear the words of the prophecy, and heed the things which are written in it; for the time is near.
Dear brothers and sisters in Christ.
Many people live their lives with feelings of insecurity and fear of the uncertain future.
It's because they have no idea what kind of unfortunate things may happen to them even tomorrow.
There are even people who live in fear and anxieties about the last days of the world.
They worry because they don't know when and how the earth will be destroyed by natural disasters and other calamities. As the end of the world gets nearer and nearer they worry about living in torment and suffering.
And, of course, there are people who are optimistic about the future of mankind. However, the reality that mankind now faces doesn't leave room for any optimistic thinking.
Strangely changing weather, environment destruction resulting from industrial development, and natural calamity, ever increasing numbers of incurable diseases and terminal diseases, newly discovered diseases, morality that is going astray, crimes that are more and more vicious and inhumane, international conflicts between tribes, nations, and religions; all these facts cause people to live each day in fear and insecurity.
So, people are always curious about future, and they try to make their own plans for the future.
But there is nothing that can foretell what will happen in the future. No matter how well people prepare themselves for the future, no plan can be perfect.
God controls man's life and death, and fortune and misfortune. If God takes away one's life, whatever the person has prepared by the means of flesh, it will be useless.
Then, what will happen when the end time of the world is near? How should we prepare for that?
The answer can be found in the Book of Revelation that I will start to give lectures on beginning today.
In order for whoever reads and listens to this word to be awaken in these last days and to be adorned for the husband, the Lord had the things that would occur in the last days to be recorded.
He also told us about New Jerusalem, the best dwelling place in heaven so that we can have hope for it.
There aren't many churches these days that preach about this Revelation.
They say that since the word in the Revelation of John is difficult to understand and interpret, it should not be read casually. There are cases where they don't have any contact with it at all.
There are also people who denounce those who proclaim that the time is near as written in the bible. They condemn those as if they were time-limited eschatologists.
When a church tells people to be alert and be adorned as a bride, people leave the church since they don't like the teaching.
Naturally they stay away from the prophecy written in the Revelation, and the words about the end time are getting dimmer and dimmer.
But the teaching of 'how to eat the lamb' which is written in Exodus 12:9-10 clearly tells us how we should make God's word our bread.
It says, "Do not eat any of it raw or boiled at all with water, but rather roasted with fire, both its head and its legs along with its entrails. And you shall not leave any of it over until morning, but whatever is left of it until morning, you shall burn with fire."
To eat its head and its legs along with its entrails means to keep in your heart the whole word of God, all 66 books of the bible, from Genesis to Revelation, without missing any of it.
You should not read or listen to only the words that are pleasing to your ears. From Genesis to Revelation, you should not miss anything, but you should eat the whole thing.
It also says, "You shall not leave any of it over until morning, but you shall burn it with fire." It means that you should diligently make the word of God bread, and adorn yourself before the morning, which means 'before the Lord comes back.'
Therefore, if you are a child of God, you must read and learn the words in the Revelation, and make bread of them.
One thing you should remember is that, when you make God's word bread, you should not interpret the word by the means of the flesh.
2 Peter 1:20-21 says, "But know this first of all, that no prophecy of Scripture is a matter of one's own interpretation, for no prophecy was ever made by an act of human will, but men moved by the Holy Spirit spoke from God."
Therefore, when you 'eat the lamb,' you should 'roast it with fire' which means you should eat it roasted with fire of the Holy Spirit.
Since the word of God is written in the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, you should read and listen to it in the inspiration and the fullness of the Holy Spirit.
I myself have piled up countless prayers and fasting in order to interpret the word of God in the inspiration of the Holy Sprit.
This lecture on Revelation can be delivered to you since God interpreted its words in an answer to my prayers and fasting.
I once gave lectures on Revelation in 1986.
Since the words of the prophecy are so important and deep, God told me to give lectures on Revelation three times.
But there is no time left for me to give lectures on it twice. So, when I deliver this second lectures on Revelation, I will prepare myself well with prayers, and give deep and detailed lectures as if it were the third time lecture.
Also, I will lecture in relation with other prophecies of the Old Testaments so that the members of this church can clearly understand the things that will take place in the future.
Even if these precious words are deciphered, however, the most important thing is your heart and attitude.
First of all, you must realize how blessed you are to live a Christian life that in itself is a condition blessing.
No matter how precious something is that you are given, what a pity it would be if you don't realize its true value.
Therefore, if you make every word precious, recognize its true value, and are thankful for the fact that God interprets the words of the prophecy, then it will be truly valuable and meaningful.
Second, as the words of the prophecy in Revelation are explained, you must realize the time is very near.
You have witnessed how God has guided and led this church so far.
Since the beginning of this church, God has worked on this church by His words in accordance with the spiritual growth of its members and the flow of spirit.
Therefore, the fact that God is explaining the words of Revelation at this time imposes a very significant spiritual meaning.
Since not much time is left till the end, God wants you to be awakened and prepare yourself better to welcome the Lord.
And since you have witnessed how God has accomplished His providence through this church in this end time, and it has become great faith to you, God wants many of you to advance to New Jerusalem.
May you understand such heart and will of Father God, ride on the flow of spirit through this lecture on Revelation, and march on in hope and joy, in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, I pray!
Dear brothers and sisters in Christ.
"John" is known as the writer of this Book of Revelation, as written in the verse 1 and 9 of chapter 1.
And the man, "John" is the Apostle John, one of the 12 apostles of Jesus Christ.
사도 요한은 요한계시록 이외에도 요한복음과 요한 1, 2, 3서를 기록한 것으로 전해지고 있습니다.
It is said that Apostle John wrote the Book of John, and Books of 1, 2 & 3 John.
In many parts of the Book of John that he wrote, John indicates himself as 'the disciple whom Jesus loved.'
The Lord Jesus Christ made Apostle John, the one of His disciples that He loved, write the Revelation which contains so many important things.
However, the Lord didn't give the deep words of the prophecy to Apostle John only because he was the one that the Lord loves.
In order for Apostle John to receive such deep words of revelation, he had to be qualified to receive it.
The qualification is to be sanctified by casting away any form of evil, and to have the heart that resembles that of the Lord.
Then, when he gives fervent and fiery prayer, he will bypass the gate of spiritual realm, and receive the secret words of the prophecy in spiritual communication.
Apostle John was the one who was qualified for this condition.
In A.D. 95, when the Roman Emperor, Domitianus,greatly persecuted Christianity, Apostle John was arrested and thrown into a boiling hot pot of oil.
However, he survived in the boiling hot oil pot.
Then those who had tried to kill Apostle John banished him to an island, called 'Patmos.'
While on the isle of Patmos, Apostle John authored the Book of Revelation.
However, there are some Christians who consider of this story of Apostle John's survival from the boiling hot pot of oil to be mere fiction.
That's because that they cannot believe the fact that a man could survive the (immersion in) boiling hot oil without even with a scar.
But when I prayed to God about this, God told me that this was a true story.
If you look into the Book of Daniel, one of the Old Testaments, Daniel's three friends were thrown into a hot furnace which was seven times hotter than usual, and didn't receive any harm but survived.
Daniel 3:27 says, "The satraps, the prefects, the governors and the king's high officials gathered around and saw in regard to these men that the fire had no effect on the bodies of these men nor was the hair of their head singed, nor were their trousers damaged, nor had the smell of fire even come upon them."
The Lord who is the same yesterday, today, and forever can work not only on Daniel's three friends but also on Apostle John, and He can still work even today.
But the problem is that it is really hard to find some who can receive such a work from the Lord; that is making even death bypass an individual.
Just as Apostle John says in 1 John 5:18, "We know that no one who is born of God sins; but He who was born of God keeps him, and the evil one does not touch him," Apostle John himself was the one who could be protected by God.
That's why he could be saved even from a situation that he could not but die. And that's why the Lord gave the words of the prophecy to Apostle John, who was proper in the sight of God, and allowed him to write them down.
To the fleshly people who banished Apostle John to the isle of Patmos, all these things were done as they wanted to do, but all these things were accomplished by God supervising the fleshly people in God's providence.
God managed all things so that the Apostle John could be completely separated from the world, devote himself to prayers, and communicate in the spiritual realm so that he could receive revelation from God.
Likewise, the fleshly people may think that things are done the way they want them to be done. But in accomplishing God's work, God manages even the fleshly people, and makes everything work for good so that even the fleshly people can be used as instruments.
Dear brothers and sisters in Christ.
The verse 1 of Revelation says it's 'the revelation of Jesus Christ.'
It explains from whom the revelation came, and how the revelation was possible.
Now, what is a revelation?
It is 'something that, in the inspiration of the Spirit of God, helps people know and understand the truth of God that otherwise cannot be learned.'
Just as Jeremiah 33:3 says, "Call to Me and I will answer you, and I will tell you great and mighty things, which you do not know," when a man who is proper and qualified in the sight of God cries out in his prayer, he can communicate and receive revelation in an inspiration.
In Old Testament times the Holy Spirit did not come upon people and the Spirit of God moved the prophets of the Old Testament times depending on the will of God by the works of God and they received revelations in the inspiration of the Spirit of God, and those of the New Testament times, in the inspiration of the Holy Spirit.
In addition, when the revelation is proclaimed, it becomes the word of the prophecy.
Now, tonight's scripture says that it is the revelation of Jesus Christ. It means that the revelation that Apostle John received became possible by Jesus Christ, and it came from Jesus Christ.
Originally Adam, the first man God created, could communicate with God all the time.
There was no need of revelation; Adam could always learn everything directly from God.
But after Adam committed sin, the situation changed.
Since the spirit in Adam and all his descendants died, they were not able to communicate with God, who was the Spirit itself.
Therefore, God made some people who were proper in the sight of God to come under the inspiration of the Spirit of God and communicated with them in order to let people know His will and to guide them.
But after Jesus came to this earth and took our sins on our behalf to become a peace offering for us, the situation changed again.
The barrier that used to be between God and people fell down, and the dead spirit revived after people received the Holy Spirit. They are now connected back to God, the Spirit itself.
In other words, because of Jesus Christ, it became possible again to have communication with God.
Therefore, anyone can communicate with God if he is a child of God by receiving the Holy Spirit. And it is also possible to receive revelation if he is proper in the will of God.
The 1 Corinthians 14:26 says, "What is the outcome then, brethren? When you assemble, each one has a psalm, has a teaching, has a revelation, has a tongue, and has an interpretation. Let all things be done for edification."
It clearly says that there is a revelation when people assemble in the name of the Lord.
In these days of the Holy Spirit, the revelation comes by the inspiration of the Holy Spirit. And the revelation is possible only because of Jesus Christ. Therefore Apostle John wrote that it is the revelation of Jesus Christ.
But all these are only from God, and that's why Apostle John says in the following, 'which God gave Him, Jesus Christ.'
Just as Matthew 11:27 says, "All things have been handed over to Me by My Father; and no one knows the Son except the Father; nor does anyone know the Father except the Son, and anyone to whom the Son wills to reveal Him," God gave the revelation to us only because of His son, Jesus Christ.
And through the revelation, God wants us, as His children, to know and learn more clearly about the Father.
God doesn't like the idea that His children don't know very well about Him or vaguely know about him. God wants His children to become true children who know and understand well and clearly about their Father.
So, God searches for a child who can receive revelation in accordance with the Father God's wish and His son, Jesus Christ's wish.
And when He finds someone who is proper to receive revelation, He makes His will announced through him.
Tonight's scripture says, 'to show to His bond-servants, the things which must soon take place.' From time to time God has let His proper people know in advance the things that will take place in the providence of human cultivation.
It is just like Amos 3:7 says, "Surely the Lord God does nothing Unless He reveals His secret counsel To His servants the prophets."
Then, why not God doesn't let us know in advance about such important things that will take place when the Lord comes back to take us and when it is near the end?
God gave Apostle John clear revelation about those things, and for this job, God sent an angel.
The scripture says, 'and He sent and communicated it by His angel to His bond-servant John.'
There are many different angels in heaven.
There are angels like soldiers; there are angels like servants; there are angels who do praise and music, and administration.
Just as there are many different officials who take care of many different tasks in a country, in a vast and huge heaven, there are countless different angels and they do their given tasks.
And there are orders and ranks in the world of angels; there are ordinary angels, there are angels who are in charge of these ordinary angels; and there are archangels who are like ministers of a government.
Jude 1:9 mentions about Michael the archangel, and Luke 1:19 says, 'I am Gabriel, who stands in the presence of God.' Here Gabriel is also an archangel.
There are countless angels in heaven, but not just any of them can stand in the presence of God.
When an angel stands in the presence of God, it means the angel is a leader. A leader of angels is an archangel.
And there are many other archangels other than Michael and Gabriel recorded in the bible.
Since the revelation given to Apostle John was very important, God chose and sent an archangel who could understand the heart and will of God and deliver it well.
It is just as a president of a country chooses and sends someone who can truly understand the will and heart of the president and put it into action well when the President wants to handle something important by someone else's hand.
At the same time, the [resident chooses someone who is also in a position with authority.
Likewise, God chose and sent an archangel who was in such a position.
The Book of Revelation clearly writes about the will and providence of God, and the things that will soon take place with the revelation that God sent through an archangel and with the vision that Apostle John saw.
Dear brothers and sisters in Christ.
Tonight's scripture says that the things written in the Revelation are 'the things that must soon take place.'
Some may be curious and they may say, "The Book of Revelation was written 1,900 years ago, and in those days, the things were 'the things that must soon take place.' Then why haven't they taken place yet till now? Why did Apostle John record that the things must soon take place even though they still haven't taken place yet?"
But, it was God, the Lord of Sabaoth, not a man who said 'the time is near' and 'the things that must soon take place.'
Not only in those days but also in these days, no matter how long people live, it is difficult to live more than 100 years.
And chances are that people have no idea what will happen today, or even tomorrow, a month or a year later.
Therefore, if God calls and takes away your soul and spirit, it is 'the time' and it is the time that the things just took place.
So, whoever reads and listens to these words of the prophecy should be ready for the time even though they don't know when it's going to be.
Those who said, "Why hasn't the time come yet since the Lord said the time would come soon?" already have come across 'the time' (that was designated)
Therefore, you must keep in your heart that your time is always near.
When God calls my soul and spirit, everything is done at the very moment, at 'the time'.
Tonight, right now when you listened to the first lecture on Revelation, I hope that you will once again become blessed by making a new determination.
The end time when the things written in the Revelation will take place is around the corner. Many signs of the end times are taking place in every part of the earth.
I urge you to realize what a blessing it is for God to allow you to listen to this lecture on Revelation, and to perfectly adorn yourself for the Lord.
Just as the verse 3 says, "Blessed is he who reads and those who hear the words of the prophecy, and heed the things which are written in it," may all of you heed and abide by the things you hear, and become blessed, in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, I pray!
Amen |
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