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REVELATION
4-6
SEGMENT IV
PAGE 2 of 2
Root
Problem
The seven seals are
carefully laid campaigns that address certain
problems and issues. Before we examine the first
seal, a short review about man’s condition
and position before God is necessary; otherwise,
the first three seals may not mean as much to you
as they should.
Adam and Eve were created
in God’s image, but after they sinned, they
lost the nature of God. (This is why we have to
be born again – to receive God’s
nature.) Instead of having a propensity for
righteousness (like our Creator), they suddenly
had a propensity for rebellion against God’s
way (like the devil). The curse of sin was
conveyed to Cain, the first child of Adam and
Eve. It is ironic that Lucifer was the first of
God’s creation and Cain was the first of
Adam’s creation. Jesus said of Lucifer, “He
was a murderer from the beginning.” (John
8:44) What comparison can be drawn between the
two murderers? Why does sin produce murderers?
Murder is the only thing among mortals that
resolves the question of authority. Sinners
cannot tolerate anyone, including God, who
constantly thwarts the demands of a self-seeking
heart. Therefore, murder is sin’s solution
to the question of sovereign authority.
When people justify
murder in the name of God, their actions prove
that Lucifer is their God. Jesus said to the
Jews, “You belong to your father, the
devil, and you want to carry out your father’s
desire. He was a murderer from the beginning, not
holding to the truth, for there is no truth in
him….” (John 8:44) Distorted views
of God are formed in ignorance and defended by
arrogance. History reveals that more wars have
been fought in the name of God than for any other
reason. The root problem with religion is man’s
“egocentric view of God.” Every
religious system is both arrogant and ignorant,
and these components can ruin an otherwise decent
person. When pressed to its core belief, the
egocentric view of God says, “My
understanding of God and His will is better than
your understanding of God and His will. My church
has the truth about God and yours does not. My
God is the greatest God and He is more powerful
than your God. If you insult my god or my
beliefs, I will defend my God by inflicting harm
on you so that an unbeliever will not diminish my
God. I know God best. My God is only true God,
and therefore, I will defend my the name of God
from infidels and blasphemers.” These
comments reflect pure ignorance and arrogance.
The last resort of false religion is force. Any
person would have to agree that a God who depends
on human protection is very weak.
The population of the
world has become very dense in some areas and
because human beings have cherished ideas about
God, religious tensions are erupting with
increasing violence. It is very difficult for
religiously diverse people to discuss religious
differences without denigrating each other.
Egocentric religion causes people to look on
others with contempt and hatred. Religion is a
powerful force in the world and most people would
rather die for their religion than change it. In
fact, I have seen statistics indicating that less
than five percent of the world’s population
changes religious systems. If this were true, it
indicates that religion is the second most
powerful force on Earth. Of course, the most
powerful force on earth is death.
We
Cannot Hear Each Other
Can a Jew tell a Catholic
the truth about God? Can a Moslem tell a Jew the
truth about God? Can a Hindu tell a Baptist the
truth about God? Can a Mormon tell a Jehovah’s
Witness about God? Of course not! Contrary to
what evangelicals say, Jesus is not frustrated or
distressed by man’s religious diversity
because He takes full responsibility for it. When
He separated the people of Earth at the Tower of
Babel, Jesus knew what He was doing and He
foreknew the outcome of His actions. (Genesis
11:8; Acts 17:26,27)
This section on the first
seal includes these issues because the first seal
is a campaign to rescue the sheep of God, and we
know from the Scripture that there are sincere
and honest people in every religious system on
Earth. The Bible indicates the ratio is
one-third sheep and two-thirds goats. (Zechariah
13:8,9) Human beings cannot accurately read the
motives of the heart; therefore, they cannot tell
sheep from goats. (God alone knows our hearts. 1
Kings 8:39) Jesus began a campaign in 1798 that
will ultimately allow the final generation to
determine whether they are sheep or goats. This
is interesting because Jesus does not judge who
is a sheep and who is a goat during the Great
Tribulation. Instead, a series of tests will
determine the answer!
A person might ask,
“Since God already knows the contents of our
hearts, why does He insist on putting us through
the test that is coming upon the whole world?”
(Revelation 3:10) The answer is simple. How could
Jesus condemn anyone to death on the basis of
foreknowledge? Can you imagine Jesus saying to a
wicked person at the Great White Throne judgment
scene in Revelation 20, “Well, I could not
save you because I knew what your choices would
be if I tested you during the Great Tribulation?”
Of course not. Jesus said, “Behold, I am
coming soon! My reward is with me, and I will
give to everyone according to what he has done.”
(Revelation 22:12) Notice that Jesus does not
reward people for what they believe. We will be
rewarded for what we do because our faith is
revealed by our actions. (James 2:26) Paul wrote,
“For we must all appear before the
judgment seat of Christ, that each one may
receive what is due him for the things done while
in the body, whether good or bad.” (2
Corinthians 5:10) Notice that Paul said we will
receive our reward for things “done”
instead of things “believed.” The point
is that the inhabitants of Earth will be tested
during the Great Tribulation, with the terms and
conditions of salvation, because God’s
generous offer is ours to accept or reject.
According to Revelation,
the separation of sheep and goats will occur
during the Great Tribulation. At the appointed
time, Jesus will select and empower 144,000
people who will come from every religious group
on Earth. These people will be selected and
chosen on the basis of their hearts – not
their religion. Their love for God and man will
be the basis of their selection. These people are
identified as coming from the twelve tribes of
Israel in Revelation 7:4 because they will have
the hearts like Abraham. You may recall
that Jacob was renamed “Israel” after
he became humble and showed true remorse for his
sins. (Genesis 32:28) This is why the redeemed
are called the children of Abraham! (Genesis
15:5) You may also recall that Jesus defined our
genealogy according to our actions. In other
words, if we humbly put our faith in Christ as
Abraham did, “to go – to be – to
do” as Jesus directs, then we are the sons
of Abraham! (John 8:38-44; Galatians 3:28,29) The
point is that there are “sons of Abraham”
in every religious system on Earth, although they
are not formally called Jews. (Romans 2:13-29)
Jesus will personally
appear to the 144,000 in a glorious vision, and
He will give them a prepared script, a book of
words, to speak during the Great Tribulation.
(Revelation 10:1-7) The 144,000 will not speak
their own words. They will speak like Ezekiel,
who was given a prepared script, a book
containing words that he was to speak to Israel.
(Ezekiel 2 & 3) As a result of their
encounter with Jesus, some of the 144,000 will
suddenly become “Hindu believer in Christ”
and they will speak to their fellow Hindus about
the terms and conditions of salvation through
Jesus. Similarly, “Moslem believers in
Christ” will speak to their Moslem brothers
about the terms and conditions of salvation
through Jesus, just as “Jewish believers in
Christ” will speak to their Jewish brothers
about the terms and conditions of salvation
through Jesus. The irony is that “Protestant
believers in Christ” will speak to their
Protestant brothers about the terms and
conditions of salvation through Jesus, and most
of them (about two-thirds) will refuse the
testimony of Jesus at the same rate as Moslems,
Hindus and Jews! Because one religion cannot
speak to another, Jesus will avoid man’s
egocentric view of God by having “brothers”
speak to brothers. I call this end time solution
to presenting the gospel a “theo-centric
view of God” because it is God-centered. In
essence, it robs denominations of their arrogance
and highlights their ignorance. No religious
system will be able to claim or receive credit
for presenting the gospel of Jesus to the world!
Given the enormous
prejudice against Jesus found in the world’s
religions, you may wonder, “How will the
144,000 be able to speak to their brothers about
Jesus?” The answer is simple. A sudden
outbreak of God’s horrific judgments (the
first four trumpets) will kill hundreds of
millions of people, and the crisis that follows
will humble the whole world to a point where
every ear will thoughtfully consider the powerful
declarations and miracle working powers of the
144,000. By empowering “enlightened”
brothers to speak to their brothers in darkness,
God will have 144,000 servants who understand the
culture, religion and language of each nation. By
ignoring the pompous claims and bamboozle of
religious systems, Jesus will be able to speak to
each religious group within its own mindset. The
144,000 will deliver the testimony of Jesus and
they will declare that Jesus Christ is coming
soon to gather up His sheep. They will explain
that Jesus is profoundly concerned about our
response to His authority. Our response to truth
reveals whether we are submissive to God or
rebellious against God. Theo-centric sheep will
say, “Lord, whatever you want me to do, I
will gladly do.” Egocentric goats will say,
“This is not the voice of God. There is
safety in numbers. I will obey my leader.”
Humanity’s
egocentric ways will be completely revealed
during the Great Tribulation. When God’s
judgments begin, the religions of the world will
be forced to swallow some pride (arrogance).
Their silence on these coming judgments will
prove they knew nothing about God’s Word or
His plans. To cover up their ignorance, they will
participate in a crisis government that will form
to appease God. (If religious leaders understood
the prophecies of Daniel and Revelation, they
would not participate in the crisis government
that will form as a result of God’s coming
judgments!) In an attempt to justify God’s
actions, self-righteous people from each
religious system will declare wicked people are
responsible for God’s wrath, and with
hundreds of millions of people lying dead in the
streets, what will the wicked people be able to
say?
Self-righteous,
churchgoing people will insist that laws with
severe penalties must be implemented to reduce
sinful behaviors, and befuddled politicians will
quickly oblige. In light of the overwhelming
destruction all around, what else can they do?
The religious leaders of the world will conclude
that God must be worshiped and revered, and in
the context, they will seek laws demanding
respect for God and the worship of God. When the
144,000 and their followers refuse to obey the
laws implemented to appease God, they will be
associated with “the wicked people” who
have angered God. Both groups will be persecuted
with harsh civil penalties for refusing to
worship God according to the laws demanded by the
religious leaders.
The message of the
144,000 will be hard to obey because the
testimony of Jesus will stand in direct
opposition to the laws that have been
established. Catholics, Protestants, Hindus,
Moslems, Jews, and pagans alike will struggle
with the testimony of the 144,000, because the
demands of Jesus will be powerfully clear, but
contrary to what is traditionally believed and
taught. Even more, the demands of Jesus will be
contrary to the laws of the land. In this
juxtaposition of conflicting laws, a large number
of people will prove to be sheep. The net result
is that Moslems will not become Protestants, and
Protestants will not become Hindus, etc. Many
people will become “believers” in
Christ through the testimony of the 144,000, just
like many early Jews became Jewish “believers”
in Christ through the testimony of His disciples.
God has carefully designed the separation of
sheep and goats so that the playing field during
the Great Tribulation will be level for everyone.
Every person on Earth will experience the same
level of difficulty of living by faith in
Christ. Winning the heart of the Hindu will be no
easier than winning the heart of the Protestant.
Trusteeship
of the Gospel Changes
When Jesus delivered
Israel from Egyptian slavery, He had a glorious
purpose for them. Israel was to be a light unto
the Gentiles, but Israel repeatedly failed.
Therefore, Jesus took the trusteeship of the
gospel from the Jews (Matthew 23:38) and gave it
to the Christians. (Matthew 28:19,20)
Unfortunately, Christians have also failed. So,
Jesus took the trusteeship of the gospel from the
Catholic Church and gave it to the Protestant
Church in 1798. However, Protestants have failed,
too. The final trusteeship of the gospel will be
given to the 144,000. Like Gideon’s tiny
band of three hundred, the 144,000 will succeed
in their mission because they will be sealed.
(The sealing mentioned in Revelation 7 is the
removal of the sinful nature. For a discussion on
the importance and meaning of the sealing, please
go to the Bible study room and click on the
lesson 30, The Sealing.)
After the 144,000 are
sealed, the Holy Spirit will work through them in
a most dramatic way for 1,260 days. (Revelation
11:3)
Remember that God has
sheep and goats in every religious system, and He
has been able to bring good things out of
religious systems that fell into apostasy. For
example, the Jews gave us the Old Testament. The
Catholics gave us the New Testament and the
Protestants discovered the five essential
teachings of Jesus. The 144,000 will use the Old
Testament, the New Testament and the teachings of
Jesus to lead God’s Sheep through the Great
Tribulation, helping them pass the test of faith
and receive the seal of God!
For reasons that are
forthcoming, the first three seals have been
broken and, as a result, we now have information
about Jesus, our King and High Priest, that is as
fresh as manna from Heaven! This information
comes to us in the form of five essential Bible
doctrines. Protestants began globally preaching
the first of these five doctrines after the fall
of the papacy in 1798. I am not saying these five
essential doctrines suddenly became true in 1798.
Truth is always true, but truth is not always
known or widely understood. For example,
salvation through faith in Jesus has always been
true, but not always known or widely understood.
Even though these five
doctrines have been true for ages, they could not
be widely known or understood until Jesus began
campaigning to overcome man’s arrogance and
ignorance. Unfortunately, the Catholic Church
does not endorse the five essential doctrines,
and in fact, most Protestant churches today do
not endorse all five doctrines either. Just
because Hindus, Moslems, Jews, Catholics and
Protestants do not understand them or accept
them, does not prevent these five teachings of
Jesus from being true. During the Great
Tribulation, these five essential Bible truths
will be presented to the world. The five
essential Bible doctrines (or the five S’s)
are:
1.
Salvation through faith in Christ
2.
The State of man in death
3.
The Second Coming
4.
God’s seventh day Sabbath
5.
God’s use of parallel Sanctuaries or temples
Seventy-Three
Percent of the World is Not Christian
When Jesus broke the
first seal, the Holy Spirit came to Earth and
gave power to the message that salvation comes
through faith in Jesus. How can this message be a
new revelation in 1798 if salvation through faith
in Jesus has been proclaimed ever since He
returned to Heaven? The answer may surprise you.
At the present time, the American Bible Society
says approximately 73% of the world does not
recognize Jesus Christ as the Son of God. Other
Christian organizations estimate the number to be
close to 66%. Nevertheless, the actual statistic
speaks volumes Christians have been telling the
world that Jesus is the Son of God, the Savior of
the world, for almost 2,000 years, and at the
present time, less than one-third of the people
alive on Earth right now have not had a chance to
thoughtfully consider the gospel of Christ, or if
they have heard it, why did they reject it? The
answer to this question is simple. The power of
religion keeps people from considering ideas that
are religiously different. Moslems cannot tell
Baptists about God and Mormons cannot tell
Episcopalians about God, etc.
You may say, “But
the idea that salvation comes through faith in
Christ was not a new revelation in 1798.” A
review of church history reveals otherwise. When
a person surveys the history of the Christian
Church, the doctrine of salvation through faith
in Christ was missing for more than a thousand
years. In its place, the Catholic Church
substituted a doctrine that salvation comes
through the Church of Christ. This subtle
but deadly deflection from the truth began
shortly after Jesus returned to Heaven. For
centuries, the truth about salvation was buried
in the traditions and teachings of the Church,
and it was not until military power broke the
authority of the Catholic Church in 1798 that the
truth about salvation, through faith in
Christ, could be widely proclaimed to the
world!
The doctrine of salvation
through faith in Christ began unfolding the day
Adam and Eve sinned. Abel was the first casualty
of faith in Christ. (Hebrews 11:4) Enoch, Noah,
Abraham and Moses put their faith in Christ.
(Hebrews 11:6-26) Christ led out of Egypt and
provided food and water for His people in the
wilderness. (1 Corinthians 10:4) From the
beginning of sin until the end of salvation’s
offer (Revelation 22:11), everyone who willfully
surrenders to the authority of Jesus receives the
gift of righteousness, and through His
righteousness, salvation is possible. (Genesis
3:21; Romans 1:17; 3:21,22; 6:23; Revelation
19:8) During the Jewish era (1437 B.C. –
A.D.33) and Catholic era (A.D. 538 – 1798),
this sublime truth was alive, but it was
underground. After the Jews and Catholics were
taken out of the way, and the Protestants
received the trusteeship of the gospel, the
message of salvation through faith in Jesus came
out of hiding. It subsequently claimed six
percent of the world’s population. (Today,
400 million Protestants make up six percent of
the world’s population. Of course, the
actual number of born again Protestants is
substantially less than 400 million.) In this
respect, church history reflects the corporate
actions of the Christian Church whose
headquarters were in Rome. It was not
the church invisible, or the underground
believers who faithfully obeyed the Word of God
through the ages.
“And
on This Rock I Will Build My Church”
Between A.D. 538 and
1798, the clergy of the Catholic Church lorded
“divine authority” over the nations of
Europe by imposing two false doctrines on the
people. (A brief discussion on the meaning of
Matthew 16: 13-19, one of the texts used by
Catholics to defend claims of papal authority, is
located at the end of the discussion on this
third seal.)
- First,
the pope claimed to be the appointed
successor of Peter and so he held the
highest and most honorable position on
earth. The Church claimed that God
spoke only through the pope because he
was the Vicar of Christ on Earth. (Later
on, this claim became the foundation of
papal infallibility.) The Church also
claimed that Jesus had given Peter and
his successors “the keys of the
kingdom.” Eventually, Pope Gregory
VII (1028-1085) defined “the keys of
the kingdom” to mean that everyone
on Earth, including kings and queens,
were subservient to the authority of the
pope. In other words, the pope and his
priests had authority over eternal life.
- The
second false doctrine was the necessity
of sacraments. The church taught that if
a person refused to receive the
sacraments or was excommunicated so that
he could not receive the sacraments, that
person would go to Hell and burn forever.
Therefore, ignorant laymen submitted to
the outlandish demands of Catholic clergy
to avoid being sent to Hell. In effect,
the clergy held the laity hostage and any
ransom demanded by the clergy was
produced. This situation was the straw
that broke the camel’s back. When
Tetzel offered forgiveness of sins for
money, Martin Luther could not tolerate
the tactics of the Church any longer and
he protested by nailing his complaints to
the church door (the ninety-five theses).
History confirms the
Church aggressively defended these two doctrines
because together, they secured enormous power and
advantage for the Church over kings and nations.
The actions of the Church of Rome should not be
surprising. Whether in matters pertaining to
church or state, those who have possession of
power will do whatever it takes to hold on to
power. This is the selfish egocentric nature of
man. The history of the Jews and the history of
Christianity share an interesting parallel. God
gave both populations the trusteeship of the
gospel. Both endured for more than a thousand
years. Both religions began with good-hearted
people, and both ended in apostasy and in
opposition to God’s truth. This is not a
statement about Jews and Catholics. This is a
statement about human nature. I have often said
that if God had chosen Ishmael instead of Isaac,
the names of the people would have changed, but
the results would have been identical.
Salvation
through Faith in Christ Rediscovered
When Martin Luther
(1483-1546) nailed his ninety-five theses to the
church door in 1517, the Roman Catholic was
stirred, but not alarmed. How could a priest in
Germany threaten the mighty Church of Rome?
However, Luther’s protest against Rome can
be compared to Samson’s destruction of the
Philistine temple. (Judges 16:30) When Samson
gained enough strength to push the main pillars
of the Philistine temple out of their places, the
temple collapsed. Similarly, when Protestantism
gained enough strength, it pushed the two main
pillars of Catholicism (papal authority and the
necessity of sacraments) out of their places and
the Catholic Church fell. On the basis of Bible
discovery, Protestants denied the claims of the
pope and this explains, in part, the historical
conflict between Protestants and Catholics today.
The
Apostle Paul of the Protestant Reformation
Protestant historians
have conferred the title; “Father of the
Protestant reformation” on John Wycliff
(1330- 1384) because Wycliff was the first
reformer within the Catholic Church to
significantly challenge Rome’s departure
from Bible truth. If Wycliff is the father of
Protestantism, then Martin Luther should be
called “the Apostle Paul” of the
Reformation. I say this because Paul and Luther
were highly educated and they stand out in
history for having accomplished the same thing.
Both men created an exodus from two corrupt
religious systems. Judaism and Catholicism,
respectively, using the authority of Scripture.
Luther entered the
Augustinian monastery at Erfurt in 1505 and he
took the vow of obedience, poverty and chastity
in the following year. By 1512, Luther had earned
a doctoral degree. In 1515, at the age of 32, he
was made vicar over eleven Augustinian
monasteries. Luther was serious about serving the
Lord and His Church. As Luther matured in his
understanding of the Bible, he became concerned
about the number of doctrines that the Church
endorsed. Eventually, a wedge of discernment
divided the devotions of Luther. Even though he
loved the Lord and the Church, Luther had
carefully documented ninety-four issues within
the Church that needed reform. When the priest,
Tetzel, came to town in 1517 boastfully offering
to sell forgiveness of sins for a price, Luther
was outraged. Tetzel was raising money to pay for
the construction of St. Peter’s Basilica by
selling salvation for a price. This was too much.
Luther added this behavior to the long list and
with a soul full of disgust; he nailed his
ninety-five complaints to the church door in
Wittenberg on October 31, 1517.
As a young priest, Luther
did not question the idea that Church authority
was greater and higher than the teaching of the
Bible. However, after comparing the teachings of
the Church with the Bible, Luther realized the
Bible must be continually asserted and exalted
above the authority of the church. Otherwise, the
carnal nature of man would eventually manipulate
or corrupt the teachings of Christ. Luther also
became convinced that mankind is justified before
God through Christ without the necessity of works
and a shocking experience confirmed his belief.
Sometime between 1512 and 1515, Pope Leo X
offered an indulgence (the forgiveness of sins)
to people who would climb Pilate’s staircase
on their knees. Because Luther sincerely wanted
freedom from the guilt of sin, he decided to
climb the staircase even though he was already
struggling with the relationship between faith
and works. While climbing the staircase, he heard
a thunderous voice say, “The just shall live
by faith.” (Romans 1:7) It was an epiphany!
Suddenly, everything he had been studying in the
Bible connected. In a flash, he realized that
salvation came through faith in Christ alone
– without sacraments or works of penance
– and he stood to his feet and departed the
building in shame and haste.
In April 1521, Luther was
summoned before Church officials at Worms to
defend his radical teachings and behavior. He was
accused of forty-one errors and given sixty days
to recant. Of course, the Church could not accept
Luther’s call for reform because his
reformation would weaken the “God Given”
authority of the Church. When Luther saw that
church officials had not examined his books and
they would never accept the plainest teachings of
Scripture, he spoke to the assembly saying,
“Here I stand. I can do no other…my
conscience is captive to the Word of God.”
Luther was condemned to death, but he escaped
with his life.
Even though Luther’s
call for reformation did not reform the Church,
he did catch the ear of the laity. Laymen were
weary of the fear and the burdens that the Church
imposed on them. Luther knew the laymen were in
spiritual darkness because they did not have
access to the Bible. Therefore, Luther translated
the New Testament into the vernacular language of
the German people in 1522. This was the dawning
of a new day. The Church had forbidden possession
of the bible and people caught with bibles were
severely punished, tortured, or killed.
Luther’s
activities in Germany added to the swell across
Europe for the reformation within the Church. Two
hundred eighty-one years after the posting his
ninety-five theses to the church door at
Wittenberg, the authority of the Catholic Church
was toppled because it would not reform. In
February 1798, Napoleon’s forces captured
the area currently known as Vatican City; the
pope was dethroned, and was taken prisoner by
General Waller and Berthier. The elimination of
papal power enabled Protestants to speak freely
about salvation through faith in Christ. At last,
they could teach and preach without intimidation
or threat from the Catholic Church. Protestants
began to share the good news that salvation was
not dependant on church or priest! Salvation came
through faith in Jesus alone. There is nothing
more powerful than truth whose time has come.
When we remember that the Church of Rome fell
because “judgment was pronounced in favor of
the saints of the Most High” (Daniel 7:22),
and that Jesus was found worthy to receive the
Book of Life in 1798, we find an interesting
effect on Earth. Jesus broke the first seal on
the Book of Life and the power of Jesus’
gospel broke out of the tomb of darkness where it
had been sealed for 1,260 years!
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