|
|
|
Go to Homepage
|
The
fourth and fifth Chapters of Revelation about this
teaching: a. These
chapters have been hidden from us because of our own vanity. I believe that we are living in the most
exciting time of history that has ever been. Bible prophecy has
been withheld from us for over two thousand years. God told
Daniel to seal up the prophecy until the time of the end. He also
told John while writing the seven thunders not to write what he
had heard. It is very clear that in all probability God knew that
if John had written down what the seven thunders had said, the
book of Revelation would have been understood long before God was
ready for us to understand it. End time prophecy has always been looked upon
with hopeful eyes, desiring to understand their great mysteries
we have speculated and imagined tremendous things. Yet, we have
never really understood in the past. Over the past century men
have passed along what was being taught over a hundred years ago.
It is sad that our fathers had not received the true light on
Bible prophecy. God had simply not given it yet. It simply was
not the time of the end. God has withheld these great mysteries
until now. I sincerely believe that if anyone with an open heart
were to go to God in prayer and be patient with him, listening to
his voice, they would be given all the mysteries in Bible
prophecy today. Why would I believe this? Simply because God is
not a respecter of persons, he loves us all. One of the things that has hindered us in the
past from understanding the scriptures, has been the longing to
find ourselves, the Gentiles in scripture, we are full of vanity
by nature. This causes us to blind our own minds to the truth.
The fourth and fifth chapters of Revelation has been hidden from
our minds because of this vanity. God loves us for sure, but in
order for us to be exalted we must humble ourselves to the truth.
One day God is going to demonstrate his love through the Church
in America to such a degree that it will seem to be unbelievable.
It will happen! In this study it is very important that we read
the scriptures from these two chapters. They are connected very
closely in their content. It would help if you were to open your Bible to these scriptures so that you can see both chapters before your eyes. It is my prayer and the prayers of
all the people who are involved with the Christian Crusade for
America and Israel, that you will understand. And that by
understanding what you read, you will feel compelled to help us
pray for America and to help us in our effort to reach all the
unsaved people, Jew and Gentile alike in our nation with the
Gospel of Jesus Christ. Now Let's begin our study in the fourth
chapter. I was in the city of Joppa praying: and in a trance I saw a vision, A certain vessel descend, as it had been a great sheet, let down from heaven by four corners; and it came even to me: The door that John sees in this Scripture is a door to future events that God had open to John. Only heaven knows the future for sure. This is the reason that this door was set in heaven. God is going to show him things that are going to happen in the future. The way God is going to do this is by showing him a number of allegories, or types and shadows of things in strange appearances that will tell us a story without saying it in words. The images you are about to see are not real. When we get to heaven, heaven will absolutely not appear the way that John would see it. 2: And immediately I was in the spirit: and, behold, a throne was set in heaven, and one sat on the throne. 3: And he that sat was to look upon like a jasper and a sardine stone: and there was a rainbow round about the throne, in sight like unto an emerald. The next mystery is that there is a rainbow that is like unto an emerald, around the throne. Some try to say that the rainbow encircled the throne, but if it did, it would not be a rain-bow, but it would be a circle. So, it went up and over the throne like rainbows do. The mystery of this rainbow is that it is green. What in the world could a green rainbow represent? Well, God's word has the answer. In Gen. 9 beginning with the 11th verse God makes a covenant with Noah. 11. And I will establish my covenant with you; neither shall all flesh be cut off any more by the waters of a flood; neither shall there any more be a flood to destroy the earth. A token of a covenant is simply this. God set the rainbow in the sky as a reminder of the covenant that God made with Noah. So the rainbow was a reminder of a covenant that God had made with someone. This tells us what the rainbow over God's head was there for. It was a reminder. But wait a minute. This rainbow is green. Rainbows are multi-colored. What can this possibly mean? Well, let's look at God's word again, and we will find the rest of this mystery. As Jesus was being led to be crucified, a crowd of women followed Jesus weeping and wailing. Jesus turned to them in Luke 23:28 and said: "Daughters of Jerusalem, weep not for me, but weep for yourselves, and for your children." He told them of the hardship that would come to Israel and then said: Lk: 23:31, For if they do these things in a green tree, what shall be done in the dry? Green represents life. In this case Jesus was referring to himself being the life that was in Israel. It would not be long until that life would not be there any longer. Jesus is the way the truth and the life. He was the green or the life of Israel. He is also our life. We are like a green tree because he lives in us. This green in the rainbow represents Jesus. Life. A token or rememberance of a covenant with life, or Jesus in it. There is only one covenant in the world that was made to a man that had this promise in it. It was Abraham's covenant that would take us toThe everlasting covenant of life. God is remembering the covenant he made because of his covenant with Abraham. That covenant is the one and the same with the new covenant that God promised to Israel. Jeremiah 31:31-34 tells us of a covenant that would come to Israel that their sins would be remembered no more. This covenant is the same as the one Jesus made with the Church. It was to the Jew first and then the Gentile, but it is between Jesus and his followers. 4: And round about the throne were four and twenty seats: and upon the seats I saw four and twenty elders sitting, clothed in white raiment; and they had on their heads crowns of gold. This covenant that we saw in verse 3 explains whom these 24 elders are who are sitting before God with crowns on their heads. Abraham's covenant was that some day the 12 sons of Jacob would receive salvation and that God would always be their God. So 12 of these elders are the 12 sons of Jacob. The other 12 are rather obvious because Jesus himself raised these men up for representatives of Israel and the covenant that brought Jesus to them. The Covenant of Abraham is why they were saved. These are the 12 disciples, with Mathias that replaced Judas according to scripture. This whole scene is about the rebirth of Israel through the remembrance of Abraham's covenant. All of these men are from Israel. These men have been crowned, which shows that they have great rewards coming to them in Heaven. 5: And out of the throne proceeded lightnings and thunderings and voices: and there were seven lamps of fire burning before the throne, which are the seven Spirits of God. 28: Father, glorify thy name. Then came there a voice from heaven, saying, I have both glorified it, and will glorify it again.29: The people therefore, that stood by, and heard it, said that it thundered: others said, An angel spake to him.30: Jesus answered and said, This voice came not because of me, but for your sakes. When God speaks we will either understand it or not. If we understand it becomes a light to us, or lightning, if we don’t understand it may as well be thunder. What are the seven lamps burning with fire? It is important to realize that there is only one Church, and one Spirit. Ephesians 4: Rev. 1:10-11 Even though there were seven churches in Asia, there was in all reality only one church of Asia. In this same fashion, since God has a people on all seven continents of this earth, there is seven churches today; The Church of North America, the Church of Europe, The Church of Africa and so forth. The Seven Churches which make up the one Church in the World today is also called the body of Christ. The seven lamps are the same thing. John saw the seven lamps burning before the throne. These lamps are an allegory or type and shadow of the seven spirits of God. Since Ephesians 4:4 says that there is only one body speaking of the Church and that there is only one Spirit, speaking of the Spirit of God. It is obvious that this is simply telling us that the seven lamps burning with fire is symbolic of the outpouring of the Holy Ghost that has been poured out all over the earth for all men to receive, in all seven Continents. In John's day they didn't know that there were seven Continents in the world, but God did. 6: And before the throne there was a sea of glass like unto crystal: and in the midst of the throne, and round about the throne, were four beasts full of eyes before and behind. II chronicles 4:5 said that it held 3,000 baths (in our estimates it held 10,000 gallons of water). We must remember that the Bible teaches us that the things that were in the Temple and Tabernacle under the law represented things that are Heavenly.
This huge sea sitting on the backs of these 12 oxen are a prophecy of a time that the 12 Disciples, under the banner of the Ox that is Ephraim's banner, would take the Gospel to the world. God has made all Christians priests and kings in the kingdom of God, but the lord must wash us before we can do his service. Through his blood and through his word this is made possible. This what this sea represents the remission and forgiveness of sins. His capacity to cleanse us is like an Ocean or a Sea. It is enormous! The reason we don't see the cross or a sacrifice altar here is because he has already been crucified once, and that was enough. There is no more sacrifice for sins; it has already been paid. The one who paid that price will step out in the next chapter as a Lamb to take the book with the seven seals from the father sitting on the throne. The other mystery in this verse is the four beast who were full of eyes before and behind. This is Israel and their banners in the wilderness: Ephraim in the west, Judah in the East, Dan in the north, and Reuben in the south. When God placed these tribes around the tabernacle in the wilderness he used the banners of the leading tribes.
These four beasts are full of eyes before and behind. We will give an understanding of this in Verse 8. 7: And the first beast was like a lion, and the second beast like a calf, and the third beast had a face as a man, and the fourth beast was like a flying eagle. The description of each one of these beasts are the emblems on the banners of Israel. The Lion is for the tribe of Judah, the Calf is actually a baby Ox, and the Calf holds a deep mystery that we will go into later. The Ox is the emblem of Ephraim, the Man is Reuben’s banner and the flying Eagle is Dan’s banner. These were the four encampments around the Tabernacle in the wilderness. 8: And the four beasts had each of them six wings about him; and they were full of eyes within: and they rest not day and night, saying, Holy, holy, holy, Lord God Almighty, which was, and is, and is to come. So, the 24 wings represent 24 men who are responsible to help Israel get to heaven. These wings are will carry them there. These 24 men are the same as the 24 elders who are sitting around the throne. The 12 patriarchs and the 12 disciples, the reason they are shown as wings is because God’s promises to these 12 men are why Israel, all of Israel, will be saved in the last days. These four beasts were full of eyes verse 6 says that they were full of eyes before and behind. In this verse it says that they are full of eyes within. Israel has been held in partial blindness since the time that Christ walked on this earth. These eyes that we see are a description of the time that Israel will be able to see and understand. This means that will be saved and know that they are saved. The fact that the location of these eyes being before, behind and within is a confirmation of Israel’s salvation. They are able to say which was, because God has given them eyes behind, He has given them eyes to see into the past to believe that Jesus was the one that came to Israel and was crucified for their sins. Jesus was really the Messiah after all. They say, and is. They have been given eyes to see within. How do they know that Jesus is? Because Jesus is now living in their hearts just like you and me. This is how we know that he is, because he lives in us. Jesus told Nicodemus that you can't see the kingdom of God until you have been born again. They have been born again. They say and is to come. Because they have been given eyes before, they are able to see what lies ahead of them. Now they realize that Jesus is going to come and rapture them out of here with the rest of the Church, Gentile and Jew alike for there is neither in the kingdom of God. God was giving John a vision of a group of Jews who will be saved before the Seven Year Tribulation begins. There is a lot of scripture in the Bible about this, but most people don't realize that it is there. One of the things that have blinded the gentile church to the truth concerning Bible prophecy is our own desire to see ourselves in the scripture. We are the best at taking the scriptures in the Old Testament, written to Israel and turning them into a spiritual blessing for ourselves. By doing this we have blinded our own selves to what God has actually promised to Israel, and have obscured the meanings of much prophecy given concerning us. He has something greater in store for us than we could ever imagine. It is the unusual in this allegory that tells us what God wants us to see. The Ox of Ephraim has become a calf. This is very revealing. It is a baby ox, Ephraim's ox has been born again. God is telling us that Ephraim has been born again. If the lion had been a lion Cub, sometimes called a whelp, it would have been telling us that all of Israel had been saved. Why? Because Israel is still under two banners, the Ox or the Lion, all of Israel. God has never changed his mind. Since the Lion is still an old Lion, not a baby Lion, this tells us that the Jews in the Land of Israel have not been saved yet. These under the Ox are clearly the Jews in the Western Hemisphere. God still sees Israel in two groups. It doesn't matter what tribe you were from. If you live in the Western Hemispere and you are a Jew, you are under Ephraim's banner the Ox. If you live in the Eastern Hemisphere you are under Judah's banner the Lion. There are an estimated 13 million Jews living in the world today scattered among the nations. Gradually the Jews have been going to two countries in the world. In the past two hundred years they have either gone to one of two places. That is the United States of America, or the nation of Israel. These are the two main gatherings of the Jews, Ezekiel's two sticks. God has promised to save the Jews in America and the Western Hemisphere first. Jeremiah 31: 9 :They shall come with weeping, and with supplications will I lead them: I will cause them to walk by the rivers of waters in a straight way, wherein they shall not stumble: for I am a father to Israel, and Ephraim is my firstborn.In these scriptures God is telling us that Ephraim, the Jewish people who are living in the western Hemisphere, will be saved first. There is something else that is important to take note of and that is this. The firstborn had the birthright, which meant that they also had a double portion. These people will possess a double portion of God's Spirit when they are saved. The Spirit of God is part of their inheritance. But there is more. The simple fact that the four beasts are telling Jesus in the fifth chapter of Rev. that he is worthy to open the seals. This tells us that this is going to happen before the tribulation begins. Simply because he hasn't broken the seals yet. The tribulation will begin when the first seal is broken. 9: And when those beasts give glory and honour and thanks to him that sat on the throne, who liveth for ever and ever, This is speaking of glorifying God through Christ. These four beasts are giving glory and honor to God by accepting Jesus and being thankful for it. This pleases God, you cannot come to God except through Jesus Christ. Israel in the past has dishonored God by not accepting Jesus Christ. In verse 8 these four beasts are saying, Holy, holy, holy, Lord God Almighty, which was, and is, and is to come. We are shown in Revelation Chapter 1 verses 7-8. 7:Behold, he cometh with clouds; and every eye shall see him, and they also which pierced him: and all kindreds of the earth shall wail because of him. Even so, Amen. 10: I was in the Spirit on the Lord's day, and heard behind me a great voice, as of a trumpet, 10: The four and twenty elders fall down before him that sat on the throne, and worship him that liveth for ever and ever, and cast their crowns before the throne, saying, 11: Thou art worthy, O Lord, to receive glory and honour and power: for thou hast created all things, and for thy pleasure they are and were created. Ephesians 3:9: And to make all men see what is the fellowship of the mystery, which from the beginning of the world hath been hid in God, who created all things by Jesus Christ: Ephesians 1: 9: Having made known unto us the mystery of his will, according to his good pleasure which he hath purposed in himself: Revelation 5th Chapter 1: And I saw in the right hand of him that sat on the throne a book written within and on the backside, sealed with seven seals. 2: And I saw a strong angel proclaiming with a loud voice, Who is worthy to open the book, and to loose the seals thereof? 3: And no man in heaven, nor in earth, neither under the earth, was able to open the book, neither to look thereon. 4: And I wept much, because no man was found worthy to open and to read the book, neither to look thereon. 5: And one of the elders saith unto me, Weep not: behold, the Lion of the tribe of Juda, the Root of David, hath prevailed to open the book, and to loose the seven seals thereof. 6: And I beheld, and, lo, in the midst of the throne and of the four beasts, and in the midst of the elders, stood a Lamb as it had been slain, having seven horns and seven eyes, which are the seven Spirits of God sent forth into all the earth. Then in John’s vision he saw something unusual looking standing in front of the throne with the four beasts, the 24 elders looking on. He saw a Lamb that appeared that it had been slain as they would slay a lamb for the Sacrifice. This lamb was very unusual in its appearance. It had seven horns and seven eyes. It was revealed to John that this was the seven Spirits of God that was sent forth from God into all of the earth. The seven Spirits of God are one and the same with the seven lamps burning with fire that is found in the fourth chapter. The Lamb that appeared to have been slain is an allegory of Jesus himself who was slain and became the supreme sacrifice for the sins of all of mankind. The seven horns and seven eyes are an allegory of the ministry of the Holy Spirit throughout the whole earth. All seven continents are the benefactors of this ministry. The seven horns are seats of authority, which reveals that the Jesus has a seat of authority over each continent of this earth. The seven eyes are the all-seeing eye of Jesus that is watching over all seven continents. His eye is on the righteous and nothing is hidden from his loving eye. This is to mean that He is Lord and that he his watching over the earth to perform his word. The seven continents simply represented the whole entire earth. All of this is ministered to us through the Holy Spirit. At one time God only worked hand in hand with one nation on this earth and that was Israel. Today he has opened the doors to all nations to come and serve him. 7: And he came and took the book out of the right hand of him that sat upon the throne. 8: And when he had taken the book, the four beasts and four and twenty elders fell down before the Lamb, having every one of them harps, and golden vials full of odours, which are the prayers of saints. They have harps because they are about to sing a song to Jesus. They also have golden vials full of odors that are described as the prayers of the Saints. You will only put something that is precious to you in something valuable such as a golden vial. They are precious to these beasts and elders because they are the prayers of the Saints who have prayed for the salvation of Israel. They are described as odors or a fragrance that smells good. These golden vials speak volumes as to what has taken place. 9: And they sung a new song, saying, Thou art worthy to take the book, and to open the seals thereof: for thou wast slain, and hast redeemed us to God by thy blood out of every kindred, and tongue, and people, and nation;
In Revelation 4:6 there is a calf, the Ox is Ephraim the Jews in the West. The reason we see that Ox as a baby calf is because Ephraim the Jews in the Western Hemisphere have been born again. 10: And hast made us unto our God kings and priests: and we shall reign on the earth. 11: And I beheld, and I heard the voice of many angels round about the throne and the beasts and the elders: and the number of them was ten thousand times ten thousand, and thousands of thousands; 12: Saying with a loud voice, Worthy is the Lamb that was slain to receive power, and riches, and wisdom, and strength, and honour, and glory, and blessing. 13: And every creature which is in heaven, and on the earth, and under the earth, and such as are in the sea, and all that are in them, heard I saying, Blessing, and honour, and glory, and power, be unto him that sitteth upon the throne, and unto the Lamb for ever and ever. 14: And the four beasts said, Amen. And the four and twenty elders fell down and worshipped him that liveth for ever and ever. The 24 Elders feel the same way that Paul feels, Israel is their family. Remember all of these people are saved before the Tribulation begins. These events happen before Jesus opens the seven seals and the Tribulation begins. God Bless You |