MAX KLEIN BIBLE MINISTRIES
The Seven Baptisms
Written by: Max Klein
Baptism means identification or association:
Introduction:
1. This meaning began in Homer's time. Homer wrote of the one-eyed giant, Cyclops who had trapped Ulysses and his men in a cave and was eating them one at a time. The ingenious Ulysses devised a plan. He had his men sharpen a large log and together they rammed this log into the eye of the one-eyed Cyclops rendering him blind. They identified (baptized) the sharpened log with Cyclops’ eye which changed Cyclops from a seeing giant to a blind giant. Having blinded the Cyclops, they were able to maneuver their way out of the cave. Another example by Homer: Homer's Odyssey, book 9, used baptism for hot metal identified (baptized) with water when a smith dipped a piece of hot iron into water. This is how a blacksmith would temper swords in the ancient world. After this identification, the sword was made stronger and so less likely to bend.
2. Xenophon said that the Spartan military recruits after finishing infantry training would identify (baptize) their spears with pig’s blood. They would run by a barrel of pig’s blood and thrust their spears into this blood. This ritual, identified their spears with killing and the soldier’s readiness for combat with the enemy.
3. Euripides used the word for a ship identified with the bottom of the sea when it sank. Before sinking, the ship was valuable; after sinking it had no value at all.
4. So "baptize" in the classical Greek meant to identify one thing with another so that the characteristics of the original thing were altered. Therefore, the interpretation of the word "baptism" is identification with something that brings about a change.
5. There are a number of cognates related to this Greek word such as bapto, baptizo, baptisma, baptismos, baptistes, and embapto. A few examples follow:
6. John 13:26, “Jesus then answered, ‘That is the one for whom, I shall dip [the future of the Greek word bapto] the morsel and give it to him. So, when he had dipped [the aorist participle of bapto; the sop now takes on a new meaning that of honor] the sop [the morsel], He took and gave it to Judas, the son of Simon Iscariot.”
To give someone a sop [a special bit of food usually a piece of bread or meat with a tasty sauce] was the highest honor of a banquet. At a banquet a special piece of bread or meat was prepared along with a special sauce for the guest of honor who would then honor someone by giving it to that person. Jesus as the guest of honor took this sop and dipped it into a special sauce and gave it to Judas. In this way, the Lord Jesus Christ honored Judas as a member of the family of God, and for his ministry as an apostle to the Lost Sheep of Israel. This honor should have given Judas second thoughts regarding his plan to betray Jesus to the Sanhedrin.
7. Matthew 3:7, “but when he [John the Baptizer] saw many of the Pharisees and Sadducees coming for baptism [identification: the Greek word baptisma], he said to them, “You brood of vipers [poisonous snakes], who warned you to flee from the wrath to come [Baptism of Fire: identification with the fire of Torments and then the Lake of Fire]?”
8. Hebrews 6:1-2, “Therefore, leaving behind the elementary teaching about Christ, let us advance to maturity, not laying again the foundation [of the basics such as]: a change of thinking about dead works [just as an unbeliever must have a change of mind about Christ to obtain salvation, so the believer must have a change of mind about legalism (dead works) in order to obtain the spiritual life], and of faith toward God [Faith-Rest Drill], (2) doctrine of baptisms [the Greek word baptismos; a reference to the seven types of baptism as found in Scripture] as well as the laying on of hands [ritual rebound in the age of Israel], and of resurrection from the dead, and of eternal judgment [the Great White Throne Judgment].
9. Matthew 3:1, “In those days John the Baptizer [the Greek word baptistes; when John baptized someone into the Jordan River, the converts were identified with the plan of God and his kingdom.] came proclaiming [as a herald] in the desert of Judea.”
There are two categories of identification in Scripture namely an actual identification or a real baptism and a representative identification or a ritual baptism which uses water.
The four real or actual identifications with something that has significance.
1. The Baptism of Moses: 1 Corinthians 10:1-2 presents the baptism of Moses, "For I do not want you to be unaware, brethren, that our fathers were all under the cloud and all passed through the sea; (2) and all were baptized [the Greek word baptizo] into Moses in the cloud [the Lord] and in the sea." This was a real identification in which Moses was identified with the Lord and the open path through the Red Sea and the Jews were identified with Moses. By the way, none of the Jews got wet, only Egyptian unbelievers who were immersed in the water as a means of death.
2. The Baptism of the Cross is found in Matthew 20:22, “But Jesus answered [Salome by addressing her sons] and said, “You [plural: a reference to James and John] do not know what you [James and John] ask. Are you [James and John] able to drink of the cup [bear the punishment of all the sins of the world] that I am about to drink of, and to be baptized with the baptism [the sins of the world identified with Christ followed by the Father judging them] that I am baptized with [identified with]?” They [James and John] said to Him, “We are able. [the dumbest statement that James and John ever made]” [I selected the longer text as did Jerome.]
3. The Baptism of the Holy Spirit (Retroactive Positional Truth and Current Positional Truth) occurs at salvation for Church Age believers only.
Colossians 2:12. Having been buried [aorist participle] with Him [Jesus Christ] by means of the baptism [God the Holy Spirit identified us with the burial of Jesus Christ as part of our salvation] by means of which [Baptism] you have been raised up [main verb] with Him [in union with Jesus Christ seated at the right hand of the Father] through faith [at the point of salvation] in the operational power from the source of God who has raised Him [the humanity of Christ was given a resurrection body] out from the dead [physical death].
Romans 6:3-9:
Romans 6:3: Or do you not know that all of us who [a correlative] have been baptized into [identified with] Christ Jesus [Current Positional Sanctification: we are in union with Christ in his life in heaven], have been baptized into His death [Retroactive Positional Truth and so identified with his substitutionary spiritual death on the cross]?
Positionally, (in union with Christ) we share His righteousness, heirship, priesthood, destiny, election, eternal life, royalty, sonship etc. All these making us a new spiritual species in Christ Jesus. The plural correlative hosoi (ὅσοι) means that if we were identified with Christ in heaven and we were, then also we have been identified with Christ in his substitutionary spiritual death in which he removed the power of sin nature. Thus, the sin nature should not have power over our lives.
A few more points will be noted:
1. Note that the baptism of the Holy Spirit at salvation enters the believer into union with Christ at the right hand of God the Father which union is called current positional truth.
2. This verse also mentions identification with Christ in His spiritual death on the cross which identification theologians call retroactive positional truth. Retroactive positional truth also includes identification with Christ in His physical death and burial as well.
3. Identification with Christ in His death, then, has a two-fold connotation namely all personal sins were judged at the cross and since that is the case, God the Father is free to provide in grace, the Recovery Procedure. The second connotation is that good and evil were rejected by Jesus on the cross since good and evil are a part of Satan’s policy and plan. On the cross, Jesus relied on the proto-type spiritual life which operated under the two power options namely God’s power system.
4. So, the old sin nature’s ruling power over the Christian has been broken since all sins were judged on the cross and the Recovery Procedure has been provided. So, Retroactive Positional Truth has destroyed the sovereignty of the old sin nature over the life of the Christian.
5. Also, since Jesus rejected the good and evil policy of Satan so should the believer reject Satan’s policy of good and evil as the believer applies Retroactive Positional Truth.
Romans 6:4: Therefore, we have been buried together with Him through the identification [Baptism of the Spirit] into His death [physical], in order that just as Christ has been raised up from the dead [on Resurrection Sunday], through the glory of the Father [through the Father’s power], [So also we, the dead in Christ, will be raised from the dead by the power of the Father, and those alive at the Rapture, by the power of the Holy Spirit.] in this manner we also might walk in newness of life [Experiential sanctification should reflect our future ultimate sanctification.].
Christ had to die physically “and Jesus having shouted clearly with a loud voice said, Father, into your hands I deposit my [human] spirit, and having said this, he exhaled” (Luke 23:46). This last exhale caused His soul and spirit to depart from his mortal body resulting in physical death. Just as Christ had to die physically in order to obtain his resurrection body, so we must depart from our body of corruption, or mortality in order to receive our eternal body called our resurrection body.
The Newness of Life:
1. The newness of life provided through the baptism of the Spirit includes positional freedom from producing good and evil. Not only are we free from the tyranny of good and evil but we are also free from having to produce good and evil.
2. The believer has no obligation to improve the devil’s world through social action, socialism, welfare state, communism, environmentalism, or any social gospel, social action, getting involved, etc.
3. The human race is protected from Satan’s policy of good and evil through the laws of divine establishment which promote freedom instead of improvement at the cost of freedom.
4. In addition to the Laws of Divine Establishment the believer is insulated from good and evil positionally through the baptism of the Spirit.
5. Divorced from the Old Sin Nature positionally and its useless activity of human good and the function of evil, the life of the believer can be devoted to glorifying the Lord Jesus Christ through maximum knowledge and application of Bible doctrine.
Romans 6:5: For if we have become united with Him [Christ, the new husband] in the likeness of His death [the substitutionary spiritual death of Christ on the cross], and we have, and not only this, but also, we shall be [united in the likeness] of His resurrection [Current Positional Truth: in union with the resurrected Christ].
Romans 6:6: Be knowing this [through Retroactive Positional Truth], that our old man [our former husband, the sin nature dates back to the Garden] has been crucified together [with Him], in order that the [human] body, with reference to its sin nature, [the sin nature located in the body] might be rendered powerless [when we use Recovery Procedure and the two power options], that we should no longer be slaves to the sin nature.
“Our old man has been crucified with Him” meaning that the power of the sin nature has been broken on the cross. Since the power of the sin nature was broken by the work of the cross, we as believers have no excuse for not executing the spiritual life. We will not be able to say to Christ at our evaluation that our sin nature was too powerful for us to execute the spiritual life.
A few points for further clarification:
1. Retroactive positional truth is that phase of the baptism of the Holy Spirit at salvation which identifies the believer with Christ in His spiritual death, physical death and his burial.
2. In the substitutionary spiritual death of Christ on the cross all the personal sins in human history were imputed to Christ, but at the same time the other two trends of the old sin nature were not imputed for judgment.
3. Good and evil is the policy of Satan as the ruler of this world and the function of the old sin nature as the sovereign of human life. In fact, the sin nature functions as the agent of Satan.
4. Good and evil were not imputed for judgment on the cross. Hence, in the spiritual death of Christ on the cross they were rejected to remain an issue in the angelic conflict, rejected to be perpetuated in human history as an issue every believer must face, and either overcome through the intake of doctrine or be entrapped by ignorance of doctrine and therefore lose out in glorifying God in time.
5. We are identified with Christ in His spiritual death, which means that we must understand that our sins have been judged and that good and evil has been rejected.
6. It all adds up to the fact that the sovereignty of the old sin nature over human life has been made powerless through retroactive positional truth.
7. The imputation of all personal sins of the human race to Christ on the cross means that the believer through the rebound technique is instantly forgiven sins, cleansed from all wrong doing which includes Satanic good and evil, restored to fellowship and filled with the Spirit.
Romans 6:7: For we who have died [the Christian is identified with the substitutionary spiritual death of Christ: theologically called Retroactive Positional Truth] have been acquitted [positional deliverance] from [the power of] the sin nature.
A few points for further clarification:
1. A dead person is discharged from the obligations of his former sphere of life. This is why the word “death” is used in this context. It is not a literal, physical death we are discussing but identification with Christ in His death.
2. As unbelievers we were under the authority of Satan as the ruler of this world, and under the authority of the old sin nature as the sovereign of human life.
3. Both the power of Satan and the old sin nature have been abrogated through the baptism of the Holy Spirit at salvation.
4. This passage, then, emphasizes the annulling of the power and the authority of the old sin nature as the sovereign of human life.
5. Positionally, the power of the sin nature has been broken. Experientially, the old sin nature controls to the extent that we fail to understand and utilize the provision and support of logistical grace.
Romans 6:8: Now if we have died with Christ, and we have [retroactive positional truth], we also believe that we shall live in association with Him [the instrumental of association; a reference to Current Positional Truth].
In this verse, the 1st Class conditional sentence shows the relationship between Retroactive Positional Truth with Current Positional Truth. The protasis, the ‘if’ clause states the reality of Retroactive Positional Truth and the apodosis, the concluding clause states the doctrinal inference and the reality of Current Positional Truth. While Retroactive Positional Truth presents positional rejection and separation from good and evil as the policy of Satan and the function of the old sin nature, Current Positional Truth relates the believer to the function of the royal family of God. In other words, they have separate functions.
Romans 6:9: Knowing that because Christ has been raised from the dead [He received a resurrection body], no longer can He die; [physical] death is no longer a master over Him.
Analysis:
1. Retroactive positional truth destroys the sovereign authority of the old sin nature over human life. Current positional truth, on the other hand, destroys the limited authority of physical death in human life.
2. Instead of being ruled by the old sin nature located in the cells of the human body and influencing our souls toward sin, good and evil, we now have a new sovereign, the Lord Jesus Christ. We are identified with Him in His deaths, in His burial, resurrection, ascension and session.
3. Before salvation and the baptism of the Holy Spirit our lives were under the absolute rule of Satan who is the ruler of this world and under the rule of the old sin nature which is the ruler of life, and under the limited rule of physical death. All of that, of course, has been changed since salvation.
4. Now both retroactive and current positional truth have abrogated the authority and power of these former rulers. The power of Satan over our lives has been broken through identification with the rejection of good and evil namely Satan’s policy and plan and through our position in union with Christ. The power of the old sin nature is broken through retroactive positional truth and the power of physical death is broken through current positional truth.
5. Therefore, having studied these things by principle and by implication we are now ready for application, verses 12 & 13 specifically.
6. Having been positionally liberated from the sovereignty of the old sin nature as an absolute ruler, and the authority of physical death, we must recognise and apply doctrine for the experiential victory commanded in verses 11-13.
Galatians 3:25-28, “But now that faith has come, we are no longer under the authority of [have need of] a school bus. (26) For you are all children of God through faith in Christ Jesus. (27) For all of you who were baptized into Christ [identified with Christ through union with Him] have clothed yourselves with Christ. (28) There is neither Jew nor Greek [no racial distinction], there is neither slave nor free man [no social or economic distinction], there is neither male nor female [no gender distinction]; for you are all one in Christ Jesus. [All Christians have the same privileges and opportunities to execute the spiritual life.]”
Current Positional Truth, Elaborated:
In the Church Age, Current Positional Truth establishes our relationship with Christ as opposed to religion. It refers to the Church Age believer in union with Christ and is the key to understanding the Church Age and how the royal family came into being. Therefore, it is the basis for distinguishing between Christianity and religion. Christianity is a relationship with God without merit whereas religion is a system of works to gain the approbation of God. Never shall the twain meet!
The mechanics of Current Positional Truth is the Baptism of the Holy Spirit, whereby the Spirit enters us into union with Christ. 1 Corinthians 12:13, “For also by agency of the one Spirit we are all baptized [identification resulting in becoming a new spiritual species] into one body [in union with Christ], whether Jews or Greeks [racial distinctions are removed], whether slave or free [class and economic distinctions are removed], even all were made to drink [the aorist passive, the voice of grace] the one Spirit [The Holy Spirit did not ask us whether we wanted to be put into union with Christ or not.].” Ephesians 4:5, “One Lord [becomes our Lord positionally at Salvation]), one faith [faith alone in Christ alone; Acts 16:31], one baptism [Baptism of the Holy Spirit takes place at salvation].”
Current Positional truth guarantees that there will be no judgment for believers in eternity, Romans 8:1, “Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.” Thus, the condemnation which occurred at the first birth was removed at the 2nd birth. As a result of being born with the sin nature and the imputation of Adam’s Original Sin, we were condemned to the Lake of Fire for all eternity, but now that has been removed. Romans 5:12, “For this reason just as through one man [Adam] the sin [nature] entered into the world [procreation], and so spiritual death through the sin [the imputation of Adam’s Original Sin to the sin nature], and so spiritual death spread to all mankind, because all sinned when Adam sinned [since we were all genetically in Adam when he sinned, we will receive Adam’s Original Sin].” However, at our spiritual birth, the 2nd birth, our pre-salvation sins were all forgiven including Adam’s Original Sin. After which, the Spirit entered us into union with Christ where there is now no condemnation (Romans 8:1).
Current Positional truth qualifies the believer to live with God forever. To live with God forever, the believer must have eternal life and God’s perfect righteousness, 1 John 5:11-12, “And this is the deposition [testimony] that the God [the Father] has given to us, eternal life, and this life is in his son [Since we are in union with Christ, we share this life.]. (12) and he who has the son [a relationship with the Son] has the life [eternal life] and the one who does not have the son of God [relationship with the Son] does not have the life [eternal life].” 2 Corinthians 5:21, “And He [the Father] made Him who knew no sin [perfection] to be a sin offering [imputation of sins on the cross] as a substitute for us so that we might become the righteousness of God in Him [current positional truth].” To live with God forever means you must have His life, and you must be as righteous as He is.
Positional truth guarantees the believer’s eternal security, Romans 8:38-39, “For I am persuaded that neither death [nothing in death] nor life [nothing in life] nor angels nor principalities [ruling angels] nor powers [human organizations] nor things present nor things to come (39) nor height [nothing in heaven] nor depth [nothing in Hades] nor any other creature shall be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.” Eternal life in Christ is for all eternity!
Positional truth belongs to all categories of believers whether they be apostate, mature, immature, spiritually adult, or carnal. Since Current Positional Truth occurs at the point of salvation before experience in the Christian life begins, it doesn’t depend on that experience. 1 Corinthians 1:2, “to the church of God which is in Corinth, to those who have been sanctified in Christ Jesus [at salvation], called saints together with all who call upon the person of Our Lord Jesus Christ, their [Lord] and ours.” So, even though you may be carnal or in reversionism, you still have positional truth. Being in union with Christ has nothing to do with what you do [experiential righteousness], or don’t do [failure to execute God’s plan]. Current Positional sanctification is completely the work of God the Holy Spirit and so is not based upon our volition, but on the sovereign decision of God. We make the decision to believe in the Lord Jesus Christ, but we don’t make the decision to enter into union with Christ “all were made to drink the one Spirit” as per 1 Corinthians 12:13. God the Holy Spirit graciously did that for us and so it cannot be undone.
Current Positional truth creates a new spiritual species in Christ as per 2 Corinthians 5:17, “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ and he is, he is a new spiritual species. The old things have lost their power; behold, new things have come to pass.” You become a new spiritual species at salvation by being put into union with Christ. It is what God does for you, and therefore it is grace. It is not what you do after salvation, such as the self-righteous works of legalism. The “old things” have to do with spiritual death and those things related to that death; the “new things” refer to things you receive at salvation such as the 40 assets and the unique spiritual life.
Positional truth should motivate the production of divine good and a pattern of life compatible with royalty as per Ephesians 2:10, “For we are his creation, having been created in Christ Jesus [a new spiritual species with many assets] for the purpose of divine good production [via experiential sanctification] which the God [the Father] has prepared in advance [in eternity past, God the Father provided election and predestination as part of our Portfolio of Invisible Assets], that we in the sphere of them [election and predestination] may pattern our lives.”
Even though a Christian may die the Sin on to Death, he will not lose his position in union with Christ (1 John 5:18-20), and so cannot lose his salvation. In order for a believer to lose his position in Christ, he would have to sin in that status, but since the believer cannot sin in union with Christ, he cannot lose his position in Christ and so cannot lose his salvation. Thus, it is comforting and reassuring to a believer to know that even though a loved one may have died the ‘sin on to death’, he has not lost his salvation.
Because we are in union with Christ, we share His:
1. Eternal life, 1 John 5:11, “And this is the deposition [testimony] that the God [the Father] has given to us, eternal life [At salvation, God the Father imputes this life to the human spirit], and this life is in his son [The Christian also shares the life of Christ through union with Him]. (12) and he who has the son [a relationship with the Son] has the life [eternal life] and the one who does not have the son of God [relationship with the Son] does not have the life [eternal life].”
John 14:6, “Jesus said to him [Thomas], ‘I am the way, the truth and the life [eternal life]; no person [in human history] comes face to face with the Father [having an eternal relationship with the Father] except through Me.’”
2. Perfect righteousness, 2 Corinthians 5:21, “And he (God the Father) made him [Jesus] who knew no sin (perfection) to be a sin offering as a substitute for us so that we might become the righteousness of God in him [positional truth]. Sharing the righteousness of Christ, we become the objects of God the Father’s love as per Romans 8:39.
3. Election, Ephesians 1:4, “just as He [the Father] has elected us for Himself in Him [Jesus Christ] before the creation of the world [in eternity past], that we may be set apart [experiential sanctification] and blameless [ultimate sanctification] in the presence of Him [Father].”
4. Destiny, Ephesians 1:5, “By means of love, He has predestined us for the purpose of adoption as adult sons to Himself through Christ Jesus our Lord according to the grace purpose of His will.”
5. Sonship, Galatians 3:26, “For you are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus.”
6. Heirship, Romans 8:16-17, “The Spirit Himself testifies together [bears witness] with our [human] spirit, that we are the children of God. (17) Now, if we are children and we are, also heirs, on the one hand heirs of God [the Father], and joint heirs with Christ. If indeed [if it is true that], we suffer with Him [pass all three stages of undeserved suffering], that also we might be glorified with Christ.”
7. Sanctification, 1 Corinthians 1:2, “to the church of God which is in Corinth, to those who have been sanctified in Christ Jesus, called saints together with all who call upon the person of Our Lord Jesus Christ, their [Lord] and ours.”
8. Priesthood, Hebrews 7:12-19, “For when the priesthood is changed, of necessity there takes place a change in the Law also. (13) For the One [the Lord Jesus Christ] concerning whom these things are spoken belongs to another tribe [the tribe of Judah] from which no one has officiated at the altar. (14) For it is evident that our Lord has descended from Judah, a tribe with reference to which Moses spoke nothing concerning priests, (15) and this is clearer still, if another priest arises similar to Melchizedek, and there has, (16) who has become a priest not on the basis of physical requirement [a reference to the Levitical Priesthood] but on the basis of indestructible life [the Lord’s priesthood is forever]. (17) For this reason, it is witnessed, ‘You are a priest forever similar to the order of Melchizedek.’” [We are in union with Christ. Therefore, we are royalty and priests forever. We represent ourselves before God as royal priests.] (18) For, on the one hand, there is a rescinding of the former commandment [the Mosaic Law that authorized the Levitical priesthood] because of its weakness and uselessness (19) (for the Law brought nothing to completion), but on the other hand, there is the bringing in of a better hope [the second door of hope for the Church Age believer—a personal sense of destiny—by which we enter the adult spiritual life] through which we draw near to God.”
Hebrews 7:26-28, “For it is fitting that we should have such a high priest, impeccable integrity, the One who cannot do evil, undefiled, separated from sinners and exalted above the heavens; (27) Who does not need daily, like those Levitical priests, to offer up sacrifices, first for their own sins, and then for the sins of the people, because this He did once for all when He [Jesus] offered up Himself. (28) For the Law appoints men as high priests who are weak, but the word of His [God the Father’s] oath, which came after the Law, appoints a Son, who has become perfect forever [Jesus Christ is a perfect high priest].”
9. Royalty, 1 Peter 2:9, “ But you and only you are an elect [elect by God the Father] race [as a new spiritual species], a royal priesthood [since Jesus is a king-priest], a holy nation [God’s entity: a nation of priests: every Christian is a priest], a people for God’s own possession [a protected people], so that you may proclaim the excellencies of Him [Christ] who has called [in eternity past] you out of darkness [spiritual death and the Cosmic Systems] into His amazing light [his plan];”
10. New Spiritual Species, 2 Corinthians 5:17, “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ and he is, he is a new spiritual species. The old things have lost their power [Old Covenant]; behold, new things have come to pass [This would include the New Covenant to the Church.].”
Current Positional Truth changes our relationship with Angels.
1. Through current positional truth the believer is higher than angels positionally.
2. Christ is seated at the right hand of the Father, and so superior to all angels. By virtue of being in union with Christ, every believer is now positionally superior to angels.
3. Positional truth has fulfilled the believer’s triumph with Christ in the angelic conflict. We are victorious with Him already.
4. Furthermore, positional truth demands compatibility with experiential righteousness. Therefore, the believer’s walk on this earth must be compatible with positional truth since we have perfect security in Christ, we have the freedom to choose for Jesus Christ, to love Jesus Christ, to respond to His love, and to fulfill our purpose on this earth.
What positional truth is not?
1. It is not an experience, emotions or ecstasies.
2. It is not progressive; it cannot be improved in time or eternity.
3. It is not related to human merit or ability.
4. It cannot be changed by God, man or angels. It is eternal in nature.
5. It is not obtained gradually as you grow in grace, but in toto at salvation.
6. It is not known apart from the metabolization of doctrine.
7. From understanding the doctrine of positional truth, we progress in our spiritual life, but we cannot improve it since it is perfect at salvation.
8. We are not in Christ because of what we do (execution of the spiritual life) or fail to do (fail to execute the spiritual life), but because of what God has done.
A few points of explanation:
1. The conclusion from positional truth, whether retroactive or current, is that the Christian must apply these doctrines to his spiritual life.
2. In Romans 7:1-4 where we have an illustration of a woman whose first husband has died freeing her to marry another. This is what actually happens to us as believers at salvation. The old sin nature is the husband up to the point of salvation, but at the moment we believe in Jesus Christ positionally the sin nature is dead, as it were, the first husband has died and we have a new husband through union with Christ. Retroactive Positional Truth removes our first husband, the sin nature whereas Current Positional Truth enters us into union with Christ, our new husband.
3. The old sin nature-husband is still around, still seeking to regain his control over his former wife, the believer. But union with the second husband, the Lord Jesus Christ, has broken the first husband’s authority over the former wife.
4. The Baptism of Fire:
Matthew 3:11, “On the one hand I [John the Baptizer] baptize you [believers] by means of water because of a change of thinking [about Christ], but the one coming after me is mightier than I whose sandals I am not worthy to lace [loosen, remove]. He himself will baptize by means of the Holy Spirit [a reference to the Baptism of the Holy Spirit in the Church Age] and by means of fire [a reference to the Baptism of Fire at the 2nd Advent].”
Baptism of Fire: The baptism of fire (identification with fire) is defined as the judgment of unbelievers both Jew and gentile at the Second Advent. They will be removed from the earth and placed in fire for 1000 years until the Last Judgment, Luke 3:16-17; Mathew 25:31, 33. The analogy to the Baptism of Fire is found in Matthew 24:36-41. The one left in the field is the mature believer; the one taken is the unbeliever.
Parables of the Baptism of Fire:
1. The wheat and the tares (the unbelievers), Matthew 13:24-30, 36-40.
2. The good and bad fish (unbelievers), Matthew 13:47-50.
3. The ten virgins: five wise, five foolish (the unbelievers), Matthew 25:1-13.
4. The sheep and the goats (the unbelievers), Mathew 25:31-46.
5. The talent test, Matthew 25:14-30. The one talent man represents the unbeliever.
If Jesus Christ had not been rejected by the Jewish people, then the age of Israel would have continued until its completion (the Tribulation completes the age of Israel). (However, they did reject Jesus Christ as Savior and Messiah and so the client nation was destroyed, and the Church age was intercalated that is inserted before the age of Israel was complete.) After the completion of the age of Israel at the end of the Tribulation, comes the wrath of God namely the Baptism of Fire when the Lord removes both Jewish and gentile unbelievers from the earth and identifies them with fire forever. After which, the Millennial reign begins.
The Three Ritual Baptisms. None are extant at the present time. They are representative identifications in which water is used as a training aid to represent some principle of doctrine.
1. The Baptism of John is found in Matthew 3:2-6, “Saying, ‘Change your thinking [regarding Christ] for the kingdom of heaven is near.’ [The future king was already on the earth] (3) For this is what was communicated through Isaiah, the prophet saying, ‘The voice of one [John the Baptizer] proclaiming loudly in the desert [of Judea]. Prepare [the aorist tense is a one time-decision] the way of the Lord [an idiomatic expression for salvation]. Keep on making upright [the use of the Recovery Procedure followed by the development of experiential righteousness] His paths!’ (Isaiah 40:3) (4) Now, John himself kept on having a garment of camel’s hair [very uncomfortable] and a leather belt around his waist, and his food was locusts and wild honey. (5) Then [after John went where God wanted him to be] Jerusalem kept on going out to him [face to face] and all Judea and all the districts around the Jordan. (6) and they were being baptized [identified with the kingdom] by him [under John’s authority] in the Jordan River [where Israel crossed when they entered the land], and they kept on confessing their sins [post-salvation confession of sins].”
MAX KLEIN BIBLE MINISTRIES
The Book of Revelation: Chapter Seven
A verse-by-verse commentary by Max Klein
Let us bow our heads; If we need to use the Recovery Procedure as found in 1 John 1:9, let us do so at this time that we might be in fellowship. (pause) Father, we thank you for the privilege and opportunity to study your word and for the freedom that you have provided for us here in Corpus Christi, Texas, U.S.A.; furthermore, we express our appreciation to God the Holy Spirit who will enlighten us regarding the message this evening. We as priests pray this through the person of our Lord Christ Jesus, our High Priest, Amen.
Most Christians and Catholics in Texas believe that human life begins at conception. Thus, it was Texas which was instrumental in over turning the Supreme Court Decision of Roe versus Wade. They call this anti-doctrinal movement, “Pro-Life.” There is deception in the phrase in itself since we are all pro-life, but what they mean is that human life begins at conception which is doctrinally incorrect.
A few points for consideration:
1. There is no human life at conception; human life begins at birth for at birth God creates the spark of life and imputes it to the format soul in biological life which brings about human life. From thereafter human life resides in the soul.
2. In the first trimester of pregnancy, the fetus is not viable and therefore abortion during this period is not a sin and certainly not murder.
3. Some contend that any abortion at any time is encouraging promiscuity. This is like saying that the simple use of the Recovery Procedure encourages sin. Both contentions are ridiculous. The Bible clearly teaches us that it is the Sin Nature that encourages one to sin. Of course, the person who wants to sin, will distort truth in order to do so. This doesn’t imply that we should ban the truth.
4. Truth never encourages sin. When a physical sperm unites with a physical egg, a physical blastocyst is formed. This is not human life for God creates human life at birth. Therefore, it is neither sin nor should it be a crime to have an abortion in the first trimester of pregnancy.
5. To make abortion at the first trimester a crime is a crime in itself and can encourage sin. For example, a doctor may inform a couple that if the pregnant wife brings her fetus to term, she will die. The husband believing that a fetus is a human being chooses for the fetus and so in effect murders his wife.
6. Because a government makes having an abortion a crime, a young woman having been raped and impregnated by a criminal is forced to bring her non-viable fetus to term and in so doing her life is destroyed.
7. A young couple may be very poor and so cannot afford to bring a fetus to term, much less to provide for a child after birth. Therefore, it should be their right to choose for an abortion in the first trimester of pregnancy. This choice would be neither sin nor evil.
8. If you should like to understand this subject well, may I suggest that you read the booklet, ‘The Origin of Human Life’ by R. B. Thieme Jr.
Revelation 7
This chapter will answer the question posed by those unbelievers anticipating the Baptism of Fire. Revelation 6:17, “For the great day of their [the Father and the Son] wrath [the Baptism of Fire] has come, and so who is able to stand? [only believers of the Tribulation in the Lord Jesus Christ] This chapter is a parenthesis between chapter 6 and 8. Since it is a parenthesis, we will not get the seventh seal until chapter 8:1. If you recall, the six seal judgments of Revelation 6 were as follows: the white horse, the red horse, the black horse, the ashen horse, the fifth seal makes reference to the martyrs and their imprecatory prayers to be answered by the 7 Trumpet Judgments (the last three of these are referred to as Woes), and the sixth seal will include three judgments namely volcanos and earthquakes followed by meteors raining upon the earth followed by nuclear warfare.
Outline:
1- 8: The evangelists
9-14: The results of evangelism of the Tribulation
15-17: The interim blessing of the martyrs in the Tribulation
Revelation 7:1
After these things [the breaking open of the first 6 seals] I saw four pursuivant angels [these are wingless angels who control the weather machine, one angel for each hemisphere] standing ready [to administer divine judgment] at the four corners of the earth [the four hemispheres: NW (three wind cells are in operation), NE (three wind cells are in operation), SW (three wind cells are in operation), SE (three wind cells are in operation)] restraining the four winds of the earth [Within these hemispheres, there are wind cells namely the Polar cells [driven by temperature: as air moves toward the poles it sinks and forms easterly surface winds], the Ferrel cells (located between the polar and the Hadley cells and so dragged by these two cells and not by temperature), and the Hadley cells (equatorial cells) circulate hot air through the atmosphere from the surface to high altitudes and back again in a circular fashion.], in order that no judgment or disciplinary wind should blow on the land or on the sea or against any tree.
Μετὰ τοῦτο εἶδον τέσσαρας ἀγγέλους ἑστῶτας ἐπὶ τὰς τέσσαρας γωνίας τῆς γῆς, κρατοῦντας τοὺς τέσσαρας ἀνέµους τῆς γῆς, ἵνα µὴ πνέῃ ἄνεµος ἐπὶ τῆς γῆς µήτε ἐπὶ τῆς θαλάσσης µήτε ἐπὶ πᾶν δένδρον.
Revelation 7:2
Then, I saw another angel [pursuivant officer, a cherub, the commander over the weather machine] who had the seal of the living God, coming up from the East and shouting a command in a loud voice to the four angels to those who were given the authority or power to damage the land and the sea [via the wind cells].
καὶ εἶδον ἄλλον ἄγγελον ἀναβαίνοντα ἀπὸ ἀνατολῆς ἡλίου, ἔχοντα σφραγῖδα θεοῦ ζῶντος, καὶ ἔκραξεν φωνῇ µεγάλῃ τοῖς τέσσαρσιν ἀγγέλοις οἷς ἐδόθη αὐτοῖς ἀδικῆσαι τὴν γῆν καὶ τὴν θάλασσαν,
Revelation 7:3
And he said, "Do not damage the land [on the surface of the earth] or the sea or the trees until we have sealed the servants of our God [the Lord will provide protection for the evangelists of the Tribulation until all will have had a chance to hear the gospel] on their foreheads.
λέγων, Μὴ ἀδικήσητε τὴν γῆν µήτε τὴν θάλασσαν µήτε τὰ δένδρα ἄχρι σφραγίσωµεν τοὺς δούλους τοῦ θεοῦ ἡµῶν ἐπὶ τῶν µετώπων αὐτῶν.
Therefore, the weather machine is to stand down from red alert and not enter into any function that would be detrimental until everyone will have had a chance to hear the gospel.
Sealing means protection: 144,000 Jewish evangelists in the Tribulation will be protected from every devastating and sensational phenomenon that will occur during their time of ministry.
Note that there are three categories of survival in the Tribulation: the over-survivors who cache ammo and food in different places etc. as their only security. The liberals who under-survives as illustrated by their crusades for nuclear disarmament, their peace movements, their soft attitude toward evil nations, and toward criminals; the wisdom-survival crowd, the third category, includes both the application of doctrine and the flexibility under the direction of our Lord Jesus Christ and the ministry of the Holy Spirit. If there is a cache of food around, they will find it; if there is a weapon handy, they won’t need it or they will use it, but if there isn’t they are still going to survive. This is the wisdom crowd.
Evangelism, Principles of:
Knowledge of salvation is necessary for witnessing. You cannot witness for Christ unless you know the gospel, 2 Corinthians 5:18-21, “All this is from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ and gave us [as ambassadors] the ministry of reconciliation: (19) Namely that God [the Father] was by means of Christ reconciling the world to himself [the principle of unlimited atonement] not counting their trespasses against them [the penalty of our personal sins were imputed directly to Christ on the cross], and he committed to us, the doctrine of reconciliation. (20) Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ as though God were making His appeal through us. We [as ambassadors] invite you [through the gospel message] on behalf of Christ become reconciled to God. (21) And he (Father) made him [Jesus] who knew no sin [impeccability of Christ] to be a sin offering [Jesus Christ, the high priest offered himself as a sacrifice for the penalty of our sins] as a substitute for us so that we might become the righteousness of God in him [positional truth].”
The Christian has a two-fold witness ministry. Being a witness to the unbeliever and before angels in the Angelic Appeal Trial are the responsibilities of every believer as per Acts 1:8, “But you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit comes upon you [the Filling of the Holy Spirit]. And you shall be witnesses to Me both in Jerusalem and in all Judea, and in Samaria, and to the end of the earth.” [The human race was created to function as witnesses in Satan’s appeal trial. So, being witnesses to the unsaved human race is not the primary function of the Christian though important. So, even though a Christian may witness to many unbelievers during his lifetime, if that same believer does not function as a witness in this angelic appeal trial, basically he has failed in his primary mission.]
The effectiveness and clarity of the believer’s witness depends upon his understanding of the last judgment as taught in Revelation 20:12-15 and the convincing ministry as per John 16:8-11. These two passages make it clear that a person’s sins are not the issue in salvation except the sin of not believing in Jesus Christ.
Witnessing is impossible apart from the ministry of the Holy Spirit, John 16:8-11, “And when that one comes, he will convince the world [the unbeliever] concerning sin and righteousness and judgment; (9) concerning sin, because they do not believe in Me [the sin of rejecting Christ as savior is the only sin not judged on the cross; (10) and concerning righteousness, because I go to the Father and you no longer see Me [the need for perfect righteousness]; (11) and concerning judgment, because the ruler of this world has been judged [If the greatest creature ever created did not escape judgment nor will you].”
Pertinent content of the Bible is the believer’s weapon in witnessing, 1 Corinthians 1:18, “For the Word of the cross to the ones who are perishing [the ones rejecting the gospel] is foolishness, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God.” [If the unbeliever refuses to listen to the gospel or rejects the gospel information after hearing it (Common Grace followed by the Call of God the Father), then the gospel and all other spiritual information in the Bible will appear to him as foolishness. 1 Corinthians 2:14, “But the soulish-man [ψυχικὸς δὲ ἄνθρωπος is a reference to the unbeliever] does not accept the things from the Spirit of God for they are foolishness to him, and he is not able to understand them because they are discerned spiritually]” [Regarding God’s word, the unbeliever can only understand the Laws of Establishment and the gospel via Common Grace and nothing else since the unbeliever does not have a human spirit.]
The dynamics of witnessing depend upon the believer’s mental attitude, Romans 1:14-16, “I am under obligation both to the civilized unbelievers [those with Greek culture and language] and to the uncivilized unbelievers [like the barbarians of Spain] both to the wise [mature believers] and to the ignorant [includes baby, adolescent, and reversionistic believers]. (15) Thus, my eagerness to proclaim the good news [both the gospel and the spiritual life] to you who are in Rome. (16) For I am not ashamed of the good news regarding salvation, for it is the power of God for providing salvation to anyone who believes in Christ, both to the Jew foremost [first in privilege] and likewise to the Gentiles.” [Paul had a sense of obligation based upon a sense of honor. From that sense of honor toward God, comes a sense of duty or responsibility toward others both to the unbeliever and to the believer.]
There are two areas of witnessing namely the witness of the life as per 2 Corinthians 3:3, “Being manifested [to people and angels] that you are a letter from Christ, having been ministered to by us; therefore, written not with ink but with the Spirit of the living God, not on tables of stone but on the tablets of the human heart [stream of consciousness].” and the witness of the lips as per 2 Corinthians 5:14-21, “For the love for Christ keeps motivating us, having concluded this, that one died [a substitutionary spiritual death] for all, therefore all died [real spiritual death at birth]; (15) and He [Christ] died as a substitute for all in order that they who live might no longer live for themselves, but for Him who died and was resurrected [rose again] on their behalf. (16) Therefore, in the future we regard no one from the human viewpoint [according to the flesh]; even though we have known Christ from the human viewpoint [from the typical viewpoint that we had before we were saved], but now [with cognitive self-confidence and beyond] we know Him in this way no longer. (17) Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, and he is, he is a new spiritual species; the old things have passed away [lost their power over you like people emphasis over God emphasis]; behold, new things have come [the ten unique features of the Church Age; the ten Problem Solving-devices; the distribution of Escrow Blessings for time and the anticipation of the distribution of Escrow Blessing for the eternal state]. (18) Now, all these things are from God, who reconciled us to Himself through Christ and gave us [His ambassadors] the ministry of reconciliation, (19) namely, that God was by means of Christ reconciling the world to Himself, not counting their trespasses against them, and He has committed to us the word of reconciliation. (20) Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God were making an appeal through us; we beg you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God [by believing in Jesus Christ as your savior]. (21) He made Him who knew no sin to be a sin offering on our behalf, so that we might become the righteousness of God in Him [in union with Christ].”
There is reward for witnessing in fellowship with God, 1 Corinthians 3:13-14, “each man’s work [Christian work or production] will become evident; for the day [evaluation seat of Christ after the Rapture] will show it because it is to be revealed by fire, in fact the fire itself will test the quality of each man’s work. (14) If any man’s work which he has built upon it [Christ, the Rock] remains, he will receive a reward.”
Paul knew that all the human ability and power in the world cannot persuade even one sinner to trust in Christ as savior. Only the power of the Holy Spirit working through the gospel can break through into the human soul causing an unbeliever to believe in Christ. 1 Corinthians 2:4, “Both my doctrine and my preaching were not in persuasive words of man’s wisdom [not in Greek culture and philosophy; not in rationalism or empiricism], but in the demonstration of the Spirit [regarding the gospel: common and efficacious grace; Paul’s teaching after salvation was done under the Filling of the Spirit and the power of metabolized doctrine in his soul] and in his power [God’s power is used both in the presentation of the gospel and in the teaching of God’s word which follows].”
In the Church Age, Paul witnessed under the power of the Filling of the Spirit and metabolized doctrine in his soul. In the Tribulation, Daniel’s Seventh Week, the last 7 years of the Age of Israel, the 144,000 Jewish evangelist and others will witness from the power of metabolized doctrine only for the Filling of the Holy Spirit will not be provided for believers in the Tribulation. However, these 144,000 evangelists most likely will be given the Enduement of the Spirit as the prophets were given in the Old Testament.
A few points for clarification regarding the presentation of the Gospel:
1. Human public ability and eloquence will not bring a sinner to Christ.
2. Human popularity or success will not bring a sinner to Christ.
3. Human attractiveness will not bring a sinner to Christ.
4. It is not necessary to be intelligent or an intellectual to reach intellectuals.
5. You do not have to learn the unbeliever’s philosophy or viewpoint to present him with the gospel-message.
6. You do not have to cultivate people or become friends with them to witness to them.
If faith in Christ were founded on logic it could be refuted by logic. All it takes is a greater debater, a smarter person using logic. The objective of witnessing is not to win a debate, not to present a logical platform subject to debate, but to present an absolute: the gospel. The Holy Spirit does the rest.
Proper Evangelism:
1. Give the unbeliever information pertinent to salvation and stay on the subject. Avoid false issues such as legalism, salvation by change of behavior, feeling sorry for sins, joining the church, etc.
2. Never put the cart before the horse. Do not try to get the unbeliever to live the Christian way life. The issue is not living the Christian life, the issue is “Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and you will be saved,” Acts 16:31; John 3:36.
3. Be sure to declare the good news [the gospel], and in the good news do not confuse it with the issue of sin for that has been removed. Only emphasize the person of Christ and His work on the cross. However, after explaining the good news, you may state what will happen if the unbeliever should reject the good news.
4. Do not add to the gospel. Nothing is accomplished by getting a person to give up his sins, to improve his behavioral pattern, or to feel sorry for his sins, to join a church or to walk down a church aisle.
5. Provide information and do not get in the way of the Holy Spirit with regard to the decision of faith. You can’t force the volition of any member of the human race; even God can’t do that.
6. Never ask an unbeliever for money, and avoid any kind of a gimmick that would confuse the issue like asking him to come forward or to stand up during an evangelistic appeal.
Pitfalls in our personal witnessing:
1. Avoid argumentation. You are not trying to win a debate; rather you are trying to win a soul to Jesus Christ. Hence, your job is to disseminate information rather than to argue over its validity.
2. Do not be sidetracked by false issues such as: Is the Bible the Word of God? Use the Word of God, don’t argue as to whether the Bible is valid or not. The issue as to whether the Bible is the Word of God or not is an issue for the believer but not for the unbeliever.
3. Deal with the individual alone wherever possible. Often people will give you a hearing, but they will not do so in the presence of others who might ridicule them.
4. Avoid the concept that you must speak to a certain number of individuals each day or you are not spiritual. This is a human viewpoint-pressure system.
5. Avoid bragging about witnessing.
6. Avoid judging other believers for their apparent failure to witness. This is putting your nose into the affairs of other people.
Four types of false motivation related to the lust pattern.
1. Materialism lust. A person witnesses for money.
2. Approbation lust. A person witnesses for recognition or praise.
3. Power lust. A person witnesses in order to gain ascendancy in some Christian group.
4. Ego lust. Witnessing motivated by competition with other believers. For example, if you witness to five people a day, I’ll witness to six!
In 1 Corinthians 9:16-23, Paul presents his viewpoint regarding the Gospel. “For if I communicate the good news [maybe I will; maybe I will not], I have nothing to boast about [neither evangelism nor communicating the spiritual life is a basis for boasting], for I am under necessity [I’m just doing what I should be doing; it is my responsibility]; for woe is me if I do not proclaim [at the point of opportunity] the gospel [fail in my responsibility as an ambassador and fail in my responsibility as a communicator of the spiritual life]. (17) For if I do this willingly [communicate the good news in fellowship], and I do, I have a reward [for witnessing even though the unbeliever may not respond]; but if I unwillingly fulfill a responsibility with which I have been entrusted, (18) What then is my reward [There is no reward for witnessing or communicating God’s Word unwillingly since the believer is functioning under false motivation]? That, when I proclaim the good news [the gospel to the unbeliever; the spiritual life to the believer], I may offer the good news without charge [Paul never took money from the unbeliever nor did he take funds from the Corinthian believers], so as not to make full use of my right [Paul had the right to receive remuneration from the Corinthian Christians] in the gospel [in presenting the good news]. (19) For though I am free [the Law of Liberty] from all men, I have made myself a slave to all, so that I may win more [souls for Christ]. (20) To the Jews I became as a Jew [for example abstaining from eating pork] so that I might win Jews; to those who are under the Law, as under the Law though not being under the Law myself [Paul was not under the Mosaic Law], so that I might win those who are under the Mosaic Law [the Jewish unbeliever]; (21) to those who are without the Law [the Gentile unbeliever], as without law, though [Paul] not being without the Law of God but under the Law of Christ [the Law of the Filling of the Spirit], so that I might win those who are without law. (22) To the weak [Jewish and Gentile unbelievers] I became weak, that I might win the weak [to the Lord]; I have become all things to all men, so that I may by all means save some. [In matters of doctrine, Paul was adamant and dogmatic, but in matters of expediency Paul was flexible without deceit and without compromise.] (23) I do all things for the sake of the gospel [the gospel-message], so that I may become a fellow partaker of it.”
Revelation 7:4
Then, I heard [the apostle John concentrates] the number of those who had been sealed, one hundred and forty-four thousand were sealed [these Jews by race who will live through-out the world; the first wave of believers] from every tribe of the sons of Israel [except Dan].
καὶ ἤκουσα τὸν ἀριθµὸν τῶν ἐσφραγισµένων, ἑκατὸν τεσσαράκοντα τέσσαρες χιλιάδες, ἐσφραγισµένοι ἐκ πάσης φυλῆς υἱῶν Ἰσραήλ·
God is fair, and so before judgement there is a grace period. No one has ever been overtaken by a natural disaster without an opportunity to change his thinking about Christ and to believe in Him or in the case of the believer, the opportunity to return back to Bible doctrine. This is why we have the evangelism and teaching of the 144,000.
Revelation 7:5
From the tribe of Judah [the tribe of David and the humanity of Christ] twelve thousand, from the tribe of Reuben [unstable as water] twelve thousand, from the tribe of Gad [recovered quickly from defeat in life] twelve thousand,
ἐκ φυλῆς Ἰούδα δώδεκα χιλιάδες ἐσφραγισµένοι, ἐκ φυλῆς Ῥουβὴν δώδεκα χιλιάδες, ἐκ φυλῆς Γὰδ δώδεκα χιλιάδες,
Revelation 7:6
From the tribe of Asher [great business people] twelve thousand, from the tribe of Naphtali [the brother of Dan] twelve thousand, from the tribe of Manasseh [the eldest son of Joseph, but not the greatest] twelve thousand,
ἐκ φυλῆς Ἀσὴρ δώδεκα χιλιάδες, ἐκ φυλῆς Νεφθαλὶµ δώδεκα χιλιάδες, ἐκ φυλῆς Μανασσῆ δώδεκα χιλιάδες,
Revelation 7:7
From the tribe of Simeon [a cruel person] twelve thousand, from the tribe of Levi [was cruel like his brother] twelve thousand, from the tribe of Issachar [generally had wrong priorities] twelve thousand,
ἐκ φυλῆς Συµεὼν δώδεκα χιλιάδες, ἐκ φυλῆς Λευὶ δώδεκα χιλιάδες, ἐκ φυλῆς Ἰσσαχὰρ δώδεκα χιλιάδες,
Revelation 7:8
From the tribe of Zebulun [stable] twelve thousand, from the tribe of Joseph [a reference to Ephraim] twelve thousand, and from the tribe of Benjamin [Benjamin was faithful to Judah and the greatest soldiers] twelve thousand were sealed.
ἐκ φυλῆς Ζαβουλὼν δώδεκα χιλιάδες, ἐκ φυλῆς Ἰωσὴφ δώδεκα χιλιάδες, ἐκ φυλῆς Βενιαµεὶν δώδεκα χιλιάδες ἐσφραγισµένοι.
The Twelve Sons of Jacob:
1. From Leah: Reuben, Simeon, Levi, Judah, Issachar, and Zebulun. (What if Jacob had not been tricked into marrying Leah? There would be no Moses, no Levitical priesthood, no David and no Joshua the High Priest.)
2. From Zilpa, Leah’s maid: Gad and Asher
3. From Rachel: Joseph and Benjamin
4. From Bilha, Rachel’s maid: Dan and Naphtali
Jacob’s prophecy regarding his sons as found in Genesis 49.
Reuben: He had great potential but was as unstable as water. Even being the oldest, he lost his rulership to Judah, his priesthood to Levi, and his double portion to Joseph. From his line, came Dathan and Abiram two conspirators against Moses. Genesis 49:3-4, “Reuben, you are my firstborn; My might and the beginning of my strength, Preeminent in dignity and preeminent in power. (4) Uncontrolled as water, you shall not have preeminence, because you went up to your father's bed [an impulsive act]; Then, you defiled it; he went up to my couch.”
Simeon and Levi: Simeon was a cruel and mean person; furthermore, he was sneaky and arrogant and could not be trusted. Levi was similar to Simeon in temperament, but was blessed by his association with Moses and ultimately was formed into the Levitical priesthood. However, there are always exception to the norm for Moses, a Levite was undoubtedly the greatest believer of the Old Testament, and Jeremiah, a priest from Anathoth and a great prophet.
Jacob’s prophecy as in Genesis 49:5-7, “Simeon and Levi are brothers; Their swords are implements of violence. (6) ‘Let my soul not enter into their plotting [against people]; Let not my glory be united with their assembly [Jacob would have nothing to do with these two sons]; Because in their anger, they slew men [murdered innocent people], and in their self-will [egotistical arrogance], they lamed oxen [cut the tendons of the oxen; a reference to Genesis 34:28]. (7) ‘Cursed be their anger, for it is fierce, and their wrath, for it is cruel. I will disperse them in Jacob, and scatter them in Israel.”
The story of Simeon and Levi’s cruelty and violence is found in Genesis 34:1-31, “Now Dinah the daughter of Leah, whom she had borne to Jacob, went out to visit the daughters of the land. (2) When Shechem the son of Hamor the Hivite, the prince of the land, saw her, he took her and lay with her by force. (3) He was deeply attracted to Dinah the daughter of Jacob, and he loved the girl and spoke tenderly to her [apparently, she responded to his tenderness and would have consented to marriage]. (4) So, Shechem spoke to his father Hamor, saying, "Get me this young girl for a wife [He wants to take responsibility for her]. (5) Now, Jacob heard that he had defiled Dinah, his daughter; but his sons were with his livestock in the field, so Jacob kept silent until they came in. (6) Then, Hamor the father of Shechem went out to Jacob [the one in authority] to speak with him. (7) Now, the sons of Jacob came in from the field when they heard it and the men were grieved, and they were very angry [out of fellowship since they have no spiritual life] because he had done a disgraceful thing in Israel by lying with Jacob's daughter, for such a thing ought not to be done [true, but this was an expression of their self-righteousness]. (8) But Hamor spoke with them, saying, ‘The soul of my son Shechem longs for your daughter; please give her to him in marriage. (9) ‘Intermarry with us; give your daughters to us and take our daughters for yourselves. (10) ‘Thus, you shall live with us, and the land shall be open before you; live and trade in it and acquire property in it.’ (11) Shechem also said to her father [to Jacob] and to her brothers, ‘If I find favor in your sight, then I will give whatever you say to me [in dowry]. (12) ‘Ask me ever so much bridal payment and gift, and I will give according as you say to me; but give me the girl in marriage.’ (13) But Jacob's sons answered [Since Jacob has the authority over the family, he should have answered. However, in weakness, he allowed his sons to usurp his authority. If a man has relationship with four women, he will be a poor husband; if he has sons from four women, he will be a bad father.] Shechem and his father Hamor with deceit, because he had defiled Dinah their sister [Keep in mind that they never asked Dinah what she would like to do. My guess is that she would have consented to marry Shechem.] (14) They said to them [in deceit], ‘We cannot do this thing, to give our sister to one who is uncircumcised, for that would be a disgrace to us. (15) ‘Only on this condition will we consent to you [at this point, they had usurped their father’s authority]: if you will become like us, in that every male of you be circumcised, (16) then we will give our daughters to you, and we will take your daughters for ourselves, and we will live with you and become one people [a horrendous lie]. (17) ‘But if you will not listen to us to be circumcised, then we [Simeon and Levi] will take our daughter [It is not their daughter] and go.’ (18) Now their words seemed reasonable to Hamor and Shechem, Hamor's son. (19) The young man did not delay to do the thing, because he was delighted with Jacob's daughter. Now he was more respected than all the household of his father [an honorable young man]. (20) So, Hamor and his son Shechem came to the gate of their city and spoke to the men of their city, saying, (21) ‘These men are friendly with us; therefore, let them live in the land and trade in it, for behold, the land is large enough for them. Let us take their daughters in marriage, and give our daughters to them. (22) ‘Only on this condition will the men consent to us to live with us, to become one people: that every male among us be circumcised as they are circumcised. (23) ‘Will not their livestock and their property and all their animals be ours [We will benefit by this relationship]? Only let us consent to them, and they will live with us.’ (24) All who went out of the gate of his city listened to Hamor and to his son Shechem, and every male was circumcised, all who went out of the gate of his city. (25) Now it came about on the third day, when they were in pain, that two of Jacob's sons, Simeon and Levi, Dinah's brothers, each took his sword and came upon the city unawares, and murdered every male. (26) They killed Hamor and his son Shechem with the edge of the sword, and took Dinah from Shechem's house [She was already living with Shechem], and went forth [Is this what Dinah wanted? No, this is what her two implacable and mean brothers wanted]. (27) Jacob's sons came upon the slain and looted the city, because they had defiled their sister [self-justification for looting]. (28) They took their flocks and their herds and their donkeys, and that which was in the city and that which was in the field; (29) and they captured and looted all their wealth and all their little ones and their wives, even all that was in the houses [total evil]. (30) Then, Jacob said to Simeon and Levi, ‘You have brought trouble on me by making me odious [deserving or causing hatred] among the inhabitants of the land, among the Canaanites and the Perizzites; and my men being few in number, they will gather together against me and attack me and I will be destroyed, I and my household. [What a weak response to all the evil which these two sons had committed; Jacob should have had them executed.]’ (31) But they said, ‘Should he [Shechem] treat our sister as a harlot [First of all, he did not treat her as a harlot for he wanted to marry her. This was their justification for murdering all the men of an entire city, destroying the homes of all these families and looting and stealing all their possessions etc.]?"
Judah: From his line, came Caleb, one of the greatest believers during the time of Moses, Othniel, the maker of the priestly garments, David the greatest king of Israel, and all the other kings except Saul who was from the line of Benjamin. Ruth and Daniel are also from this line. Zerubbabel in 536 B.C. led a remnant back to the Land. Regarding Jacob’s prophecy of Genesis 49:8-10a, “Judah, your brothers shall praise you; Your hand shall be on the neck of your enemies; Your father's sons shall bow down to you. (9) ‘Judah is a lion's whelp; From the prey, my son, you have gone up. He couches, he lies down as a lion, and as a lion, who dares rouse him up? (10a) ‘The scepter shall not depart from Judah, nor the ruler's staff from between his feet,”
Issachar and Zebulun: These are the last two sons from the line of Jacob and Leah. Issachar is a picture of a person who had great potential power but didn’t use it. Genesis 49:14-15, "Issachar is a strong ass, reclining down between the sheepfolds [He wouldn’t carry his burdens]. (15) When he saw that a resting place was good, and that the land was pleasant [good and pleasant is a place of prosperity], he bowed his shoulder to bear [his burdens for he was strong], and became a slave at forced labor.”
Issachar was a person who had no sense of responsibility. So, when a believer does not have a sense of responsibility, it leads to great instability. The tribe of Issachar, by the way, became a very prosperous tribe for the descendants put materialistic things first, success first, Bible doctrine last.
Issachar lived in one of the most fertile areas in the land of Palestine. Under an agricultural economy they were very successful, and prosperous. However, when the time came to resist the infiltration of the enemy, they refused to do so. They didn’t want to fight or resist. Since they did not have the right scale of values, freedom wasn’t important to them. Prosperity was more important than freedom and consequently the tribe of Issachar bowed the neck to slavery. They made a deal with the invaders, whoever came in, and simply paid them off and became their slaves. This continued during the entire history of the tribe of Issachar. In other words, they loved prosperity more than they loved freedom.
Zebulun means dwelling or protective habitation, a haven. He represents the type of person that you like to have around, a steady type of person, a person who is comforting, who can be helpful in time of stress and difficulty. During the first advent of Jesus Christ, Satan sought to destroy Jesus Christ as a baby. Joseph had to flee to Egypt where he stayed until Jesus was twelve years old. Then, when Joseph came back to the land, he went to Galilee which was in the territory of Zebulun in which place he was protected. Soldiers from Zebulun always stood in the ranks and did not give way. This means they were stable under pressure. Judges 5:18a, “Zebulun was a people who despised their lives even to death [they weren’t afraid of death and would fight to the death],” 1 Chronicles 12:33, “Of Zebulun, there were 50,000 who went out in the army, who could draw up in battle formation with all kinds of weapons of war and helped [David at Hebron] with an undivided heart.”
Gad and Asher are the sons of Zilpa. Genesis 49:19, “As for Gad, a company of raiders shall defeat him, but he shall reorganize and counterattack at their heels.” That is the prophecy of Gad. Gad was going to be defeated in an attack by a company of raiders, but he had the tremendous flexibility, even though he was down not to give up. Ultimately, he defeated the enemy in a counterattack. This is analogous to the grace provision of Recovery Procedure. There can be no spiritual prosperity apart from the Recovery Procedure. Gad illustrates the importance of flexibility, the importance of never giving-up and the importance of the Recovery Procedure. Gad is the 7th son of Jacob, the first son by Zilpah who was Leah’s maid and one of his concubines. Gad never allowed his defeats to get him down, but always turned his defeats into a victory. The great believers in the Old Testament as well as the great believers today are believers who do not allow failure to discourage them.
Asher: Genesis 49:20, “As for Asher his bread [his life] shall be fat [rich or prosperous], and he shall yield royal dainties.” It means everything he touched turned to gold. It means that Asher couldn’t lose on a business deal. So, by way of application, Asher speaks of believers who produce. A believer who is habitually productive “yields royal dainties.” If your life is right with the Lord, your life in relationship to other people will be a blessing to them. A royal dainty is a pastry which you have for dessert. In other words, there are some lives that can be classified as desert-lives. You run through life and you bump into a lot of ordinary people and a lot of horrible people that you would like to omit, like some foods you do not like, but there are certain believers who have such a wonderful walk with the lord that it just overflows into the lives of others. That is what Asher stands for.
Joseph: From the line of Rachel, Jacob’s favorite wife. She died during giving birth to her second son, Benjamin. Joseph received Reuben’s double portion and so from his loins comes two tribes namely Ephraim and Manasseh. From Ephraim came the following three greats: Joshua, Deborah, and Samuel. Also, from Ephraim came Jeroboam, the person who led the breakaway from Judah which break brought about the Northern Kingdom of Israel. Genesis 48:19, “But his [Joseph’s] father [Israel] refused and said, "I know, my son, I know; he [Manasseh] also will become a people and he also will be great. However, his younger brother [Ephraim] shall be greater than he, and his descendants shall become a multitude of nations."”
Benjamin: He was the brother of Joseph and the second and last son of Rachel. From his line, came King Saul. Though he started out okay, he eventually died the Sin unto Death. It is interesting to note that his appointment was in violation of Judah’s right of rulership. From his line also came Mordecai who gave great advice to Esther, and the greatest of all the Benjamins, the Apostle Paul, the greatest Christian ever and possibly the greatest genius of history.
From the line of Bilha Rachel’s maid came these two tribes namely Dan and Naphtali. Dan produced that loser, Sampson and will produce the antichrist of Israel in the Tribulation. Furthermore, Dan will be the only tribe that will not contribute to the 144,000 Jewish evangelists and teachers of the Tribulation. Revelation 13:11, “Then, I saw another [of the same kind] beast-dictator [Jewish] who rises to power from the land [of Israel]; and he had two horns [representing his civil and religious power] like a lamb [a false messiah], but he kept speaking [eloquently] like the dragon [like Satan since he is demon possessed].”
He is a political and religious genius (the two horns) who communicates the ideas of Satan. Genesis 49:16-18, “Dan shall rule his people [in the Tribulation] as one of the tribes of Israel. (17) Dan shall be a serpent in the way, a viper by the path, that bites the horse's heels [Israel in the Tribulation] so that his rider falls backward [the persecution of the Jewish believers in the 2nd half of the Tribulation]. (18) I [Jacob speaking for Jewish believers] wait for your deliverance [at the 2nd Advent], O Lord.”
From the line of Naphtali, came Barak, one of the less impressive judges. Genesis 49:21, “Naphtali is a hind let loose: he giveth goodly words.” He was the sixth son of Jacob and he was the second son of Bilhah, Jacob’s concubine. The word hind is a young deer, a deer that can move very fast. This word for hind is used as a synonym for swiftness in the Song of Solomon. To be let loose means to be sprung from a trap. So, Naphtali is pictured as a deer caught in a trap and able to break loose and to move with great rapidity out of danger. In Judges 4:2-3, Israel was trapped in bondage to King Jabin, a Canaanite king. Barak from the tribe of Naphtali was summoned by the prophetess, Deborah to take the offensive against the King Jabin whose army was commanded by Sisera as per Judges 4:4. However, Barak being weak, consented to this command from the Lord only if Deborah would go along and as it were to hold his hand. Though he was able to spring Israel from the entrapment of the Canaanites, he lost the privilege and honor of killing Sisera for he was killed by a woman who drove a spike through his head while sound asleep. Judges 4:17-22, “Now Sisera fled away on foot to the tent of Jael the wife of Heber the Kenite, for there was peace between Jabin the king of Hazor and the house of Heber the Kenite. (18) Jael [who was obviously on the side of the Jews and understood that a battle had taken place] went out to meet Sisera, and said to him, ‘Turn aside, my master, turn aside to me! Do not be afraid.’ And he turned aside to her into the tent, and she covered him with a rug. (19) He said to her, ‘Please give me a little water to drink, for I am thirsty.’ So, she opened a bottle of milk [to make him sleepy] and gave him a drink; then she covered him. (20) He said to her, ‘Stand in the doorway of the tent, and it shall be if anyone comes and inquires of you, and says, 'Is there anyone here?' that you shall say, 'No.' ‘(21) But Jael, Heber's wife, took a tent peg and seized a hammer in her hand, and went secretly to him and drove the peg into his temple, and it went through into the ground; for he was sound asleep and exhausted. So, he died. (22) And behold, as Barak pursued Sisera, Jael came out to meet him and said to him, ‘Come, and I will show you the man whom you are seeking [She knew of the Jewish pursuit].’ And he entered with her, and behold Sisera was lying dead with the tent peg in his temple [Deborah had to ride with and encourage Barak before he would enter into battle and another lady had to kill the opposing general for him].”
From the tribe of Manasseh, the eldest son of Joseph, came the one and only Gideon. Born weak and cowardly, but doctrine in his soul will make him a great hero. Judges 6:12, 15, “The angel of the Lord appeared to him and said to him, "The Lord is with you, O valiant warrior [humorous: he wasn’t at all but would be]. (15) He said to Him, O Lord, how shall I deliver Israel? Behold, my family is the least in Manasseh [and Manasseh is possibly the least valiant of all the tribes], and I am the youngest in my father's house."
These 144,000 Jewish evangelists who will evangelize and teach the Word all over the world, must not be confused with the nation Israel. The nation Israel is under the control of the Jewish dictator from the tribe of Dan during the Tribulation. This is the reason why there is no evangelistic representation from the tribe of Dan. As we progress into this passage, we will see that twelve tribes are represented. Each one of these twelve tribes have 12,000 evangelists sealed from that tribe, but there are thirteen tribes in Israel due to the fact that when Reuben, who was the firstborn of Israel, lost the privileges of primogeniture, he lost three things: the rulership which went to David and therefore to the tribe of Judah, the family priesthood which went to Levi, the double portion which went to Joseph. Joseph has two sons: Manasseh and Ephraim, and these are included. So, there are thirteen tribes in Israel. Only twelve are represented here; Dan is not since this tribe will be the source of the false prophet who will rule Israel during the Tribulation.
Revelation 7:9
After these things [the vision of the sealing of the 144,000 Jewish evangelists] I looked and behold, a large crowd [in heaven, believers martyred in the Tribulation] which no one could count from all the Gentile nations [national barriers do not hinder evangelism in the Tribulation even without a Client Nation] and Jewish tribes [racial barriers do not hinder evangelism in the Tribulation], and the masses [social barriers do not hinder evangelism in the Tribulation], and foreign languages [these Jewish evangelist live in every country of the world and so would know the language of their country; so there will be no linguistic barriers to evangelism] standing before the throne [in presence of God the Father; the throne mentioned because he is invisible] and before the Lamb [presence of the Son in hypostatic union], and they were wearing white robes [a reference to their interim bodies in heaven after death], and palm branches were in their hands [anticipating their resurrection bodies and the Millennial reign of Christ; the fulfillment of the Feast of Tabernacles].
Μετὰ ταῦτα εἶδον, καὶ ἰδοὺ ὄχλος πολύς, ὃν ἀριθµῆσαι αὐτὸν οὐδεὶς ἐδύνατο, ἐκ παντὸς ἔθνους καὶ φυλῶν καὶ λαῶν καὶ γλωσσῶν, ἑστῶτες ἐνώπιον τοῦ θρόνου καὶ ἐνώπιον τοῦ ἀρνίου, περιβεβληµένους στολὰς λευκάς, καὶ φοίνικες ἐν ταῖς χερσὶν αὐτῶν·
Evangelism without Prejudice:
1. In evangelism there must be no national prejudice in the presentation of the gospel.
2. There must be no racial or social prejudice in the presentation of the gospel.
3. Arrogance in the form of prejudice destroys the effective presentation of the gospel in the three categories: personal witnessing, the evangelistic ministry of those who have the spiritual gift, and national evangelism or missionary activity.
The removal of national prejudice in communicating the gospel.
1. From B.C. 1440 to A.D. 70, over 1500 years of history, client nation Israel had the responsibility of evangelizing Gentile nations.
2. The failure of evangelism and missionary activity was one of the reasons for the fifth cycle of discipline to Israel.
3. There must be no national prejudice in the presentation of the gospel. Why did the Jews fail in the past regarding missionary activity? They became arrogant about their culture, and therefore they became involved in Cosmic One and Cosmic Two. In Satan’s cosmic systems, they were not motivated to evangelize the Gentiles in Gentile nations.
4. When Christ was on the cross, He was judged for the sins of the entire world, therefore there must be no national prejudice in presenting the gospel.
5. While there is no client nation Israel in the Tribulation, mass evangelism will be carried out by Jewish evangelists who will not only present the gospel to the Jews, but to the Gentiles as well.
6. In spite of anti-Semitism reaching its peak in the Tribulation [Revelation chapter 12] these Jewish evangelists reach thousands and millions of Gentiles in Gentile nations. These Jewish evangelists will be evangelizing under the greatest period of anti-Semitism the world will ever know.
7. Furthermore, Jewish evangelists of the Tribulation perform their evangelistic responsibilities without the support of a client nation. National barriers will not hinder evangelism in the Tribulation even though there will be strong national barriers because of extensive warfare.
Why do they have palm branches in their hands?
Matthew 21:8, “And a very great crowd [mostly unbelievers from Jerusalem] spread their garments on the way [on Palm Sunday]. Others [believers from Bethany: John 12:9] [recognizing that He was the Messiah] cut down branches from the [palm] trees [John 12:12, 13] and spread them on the way. The branch is used to represent the Messiah (Jeremiah 23:5, “Behold, the days are coming," declares the Lord, "When I will raise up for David a righteous Branch, and He will reign as king and act wisely and do justice and righteousness in the land.” So, the ones who were placing branches down were acknowledging him as Messiah.
The laying down of the palm branches is acknowledging the Feast of Tabernacles which is the last of the 2nd Advent feasts. There are seven feasts which the Jews celebrated as a Client Nation to God. There were the feasts regarding the first advent, four of them, and there are the feasts of the second advent, three of them. Regarding the 1st Advent, the Passover represents the work of our Lord Jesus Christ on the cross which was generally celebrated around 14 April according to the Judean Calendar. Next came the Feast of Unleavened Bread which was a seven-day feast, 15-21 April. It represents the use of the Recovery Procedure and the advance to maturity. Within that week, there was the Feast of the First Fruits occurring on 18 April, the first Sunday after the Passover. This feast portrays the resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ, and the importance of eternal relationship with Him in resurrection. Then, in the first week of June, there was the Feast of Pentecost which is fifty days after the Feast of the First Fruits. It represents the setting aside of Israel as a client nation to God through the administration of the fifth cycle of discipline. After these four feasts, there occurred a great gap, between Pentecost and October. This gap represents the time when the Church Age, the dispensation of the royal family of God is being formed. Also, Israel’s fifth cycle of discipline begins in 70 A.D. and concludes at the 2nd Advent, roughly corresponding with the Church Age. Then, came the feasts of the second advent, three of them: the trumpets signaling the termination of the fifth cycle of discipline and the restoration of Israel as a Client Nation. This was followed by Feast of the Atonement, Yom Kippur, depicting the forgiveness of the sins of Israel and the fulfilment of the unconditional covenants [the Abrahamic, Palestinian or Land Covenant, Davidic and the New Covenant based on the work of the cross and resultant forgiveness]. The final feast is the Feast of the Tabernacles which depicts the Millennial reign of Christ.
Characteristics of the Millennium:
1. The millennium starts out with Jewish and Gentile believers only, yet many of their children turn out to be unbelievers. Israel is regathered and restored as a client nation, Isaiah 10:20-21, “Now in that day [the 2nd Advent] the remnant of Israel, and those of the house of Jacob who have escaped, will never again rely on the one [Assyria] who struck them, but will truly rely on the Lord, the Holy One of Israel. (21) A remnant will return, the remnant of Jacob, to the mighty God.” Isaiah 11:11-12, “Then it will happen on that day [the 2nd Advent] that the Lord Will again recover the second time with His hand the remnant of His people, who will remain, from Assyria, Egypt, Pathros, Cush, Elam, Shinar, Hamath, and from the islands of the sea. (12) And He will lift up a standard for the nations and assemble the banished ones of Israel, and will gather the dispersed of Judah from the four corners of the earth.”
2. Jesus Christ will rule the World as the King over kings and the Lord over lords.
3. There is a giant population explosion since the environment will be perfect and death will take a holiday so that by the end of the millennium millions of unbelievers will exist on the earth who have rejected the gospel and who will have joined the Gog-Magog revolution of Satan against the rule of Jesus Christ even though there will be perfect objectivity in the administration of justice.
4. Spirituality in the millennium will function under two powers namely metabolized doctrine and the Filling of the Spirit which will be characterized by ecstasy. Joel 2:28-29, "It will come about after this That I will pour out My Spirit on all mankind [the believers]; And your sons and daughters will prophesy; your old men will dream dreams, your young men will see visions. (29) Even on the male and female servants I will pour out My Spirit in those days.”
5. The ferocity of animals will be removed. Isaiah 65:25, "The wolf and the lamb will graze together, and the lion will eat straw like the ox; and dust will be the serpent's food. They will do no evil or harm in all My holy mountain," says the Lord.”
6. During the Millennium, Satan is bound and demons are removed. For that reason, there will be no religion in the Millennium. Revelation 20:1-3, “Then I saw [a vision] an angel descending from Heaven, having the key of the abyss [the fourth compartment of Hades] and a great chain [giant handcuffs] in his hand. (2) And he [the Officer of Arms] seized [with violence] the dragon [a term for beauty; a large snake in Classical Greek], that ancient serpent [so named because he indwelt the serpent to tempt the woman] who is the Devil [slanderer, accuser, defense attorney] even Satan [the Hebrew for devil], and bound him [with the chain] for a thousand years. (3) And he cast him into the abyss and shut and sealed it over him so that he would not deceive the nations any more until the thousand years have been completed. After these things [the closing statement of Jesus Christ and other events of the Millennium], he [Satan] must be released for a short time [for his closing statement].”
7. There is universal peace, Psalm 46:9, “He makes wars to cease to the end of the earth; He breaks the bow and cuts the spear in two; He burns the chariots with fire.” Isaiah 2:4, “And He will judge between the nations, and will render decisions for many peoples; And they will hammer their swords into plowshares and their spears into pruning hooks. Nation will not lift up sword against nation, and never again will they learn war.” Also, universal peace is confirmed in Hosea 2:18 and Micah 4:3.
8. There will be universal knowledge of God, Isaiah 11:9, “They will not hurt or destroy in all My holy mountain, for the earth will be full of the knowledge of the Lord As the waters cover the sea.”
9. There will be longevity in the human race, Isaiah 65:20, “Never again will there be in it an infant who lives but a few days, or an old man who does not live out his years; he who dies at a hundred will be thought a mere youth; he who fails to reach a hundred will be considered accursed.” There will be perfect health, so that people will have capacity for perfect environment (but this is not the same as capacity for life). The only reason people will die is capital punishment.
10. There will be a perfect world government under the leadership of Christ and the delegation of authority to invisible heroes of the Church Age to rule Gentile nations, Zechariah 14:9, “And the Lord will be king over all the earth; in that day the Lord will be the only one, and His name the only one.” Revelation 2:26-27, “He who is victorious [in the spiritual life] and keeps My assignments until the end [of his life], To him I will give authority over the Gentile nations, [as a blessing in the Millennium]; (27) And he shall rule them with a rod of iron, as the vessels of the potter are broken to pieces [swift and just punishment of criminals], as I also have received authority from My Father;”
11. There will be perfect environment in nature. Creation is released from the bondage of man’s sinfulness, Romans 8:19-22, “For the confident expectation of creation [the material universe] waits eagerly for the revealing of the sons of God [the royal family and the Old Testament believers at the Second Advent]. (20) For the creation [nature] was subordinated [at the Fall] to futility [void of purpose] against its own will, but because of Him [God the Father] who has subordinated it [nature’s curse will not be removed] until the time of hope [Jesus Christ at the 2nd Advent]. (21) Therefore, the material universe itself also shall be set free from the slavery to corruption [at the fall of man, nature shared in man’s corruption] into the freedom of the glory [nature will share in the glory which will occur during the Millennium] with reference to the children of God [nature along with the great believers will be blessed]. (22) For [explanatory] we know [perception of Bible doctrine in the past with the result that we know] that [delineates the content] the entire material universe groans [from great suffering] along with us [adult and mature believer in undeserved suffering] and suffers the pains of childbirth together with us until now.” Isaiah 35:1, 2, “The desert and the wilderness will be ecstatic [to dance around in a circle] in great happiness; and the desert will rejoice and blossom like a crocus. (2) It will blossom profusely, it will both rejoice with rejoicing and sing with happiness; the glory of Lebanon [majestic vistas, abundant rainfall, green hills, stately cedars and unceasing cold water from snowcapped mountains] will be given to it, the majesty of Mount Carmel [gardenlike loveliness and excellency of wood] and the plain of Sharon [rich grain growing plain]; they will see the glory of the Lord, the majestic royalty of our God.” Isaiah 11:6-8, “The wolf will live with the lamb, the leopard will lie down with the goat, the calf and the lion and the yearling together; and a little child will lead them. (7) The cow will feed with the bear, their young will lie down together, and the lion will eat straw like the ox. (8) The infant will play near the hole of the cobra, and the young child will put his hand into the viper's nest.”
Revelation 7:10
Then, they [the martyrs of the Tribulation] shouted and said, "Salvation belongs to our God [the Father who planned it] who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb [the saving work of Jesus Christ on the cross].
καὶ κράζουσιν φωνῇ µεγάλῃ λέγοντες, Ἡ σωτηρία τῷ θεῷ ἡµῶν τῷ καθηµένῳ ἐπὶ τῷ θρόνῳ καὶ τῷ ἀρνίῳ.
The Substitutionary Spiritual Death of Christ on the Cross:
1. Why was there a need for a substitutionary spiritual death? Adam and his wife suffered a real spiritual death when they ate from the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil. This involved the loss of their human spirit and acquisition of a sin nature. Hence, since the sin nature is part of the makeup of cellular genetics, all Adam’s descendance are born with the sin nature within their cells and with the imputation of Adam’s Original Sin imputed to that sin nature at birth. This means that all of mankind is helplessly located in the slave market of sin. This required someone outside of the slave market of sin to provide a ransom to free mankind. Thus, the need for an impeccable human being in hypostatic union to pay the penalty of every sin of mankind. This we call the substitutionary work of Christ on the cross.
2. He, Jesus was born in trichotomy (body, soul and human spirit) without a sin nature and so no imputation of Adam’s sin followed. Furthermore, since He never committed a personal sin, he retained his human spirit. Thus, the humanity of Jesus arrived at the cross in a state of impeccability and trichotomy. In that state, his humanity was qualified to bear the punishment of all the sins of humanity. Jesus Christ remained in the status of trichotomy on the cross as proven by his unique death namely his human spirit went into the care of God the Father, his soul went with God the Holy Spirit to Hades and his body remained in the grave.
3. Jesus lived under the Proto-type Spiritual Life which used the Two Power Options. This he gave to all the Church Age believers for their operational function. During the lifetime of the humanity of Christ, he was never forsaken by God the Holy Spirit whether it be before the cross or on the cross. The Holy Spirit always provided the enabling power for Jesus to execute the Father’s will during his entire life on this earth. So, from His birth to His physical death on the cross, He always had available and used the two power options namely the metabolized doctrine in his soul and the enabling power of the Spirit. In this way, Jesus Christ demonstrated the power of the Proto-type Spiritual Life. Having tested and proven this Proto-type, he gave it to the Church as its Operational Type Spiritual Life.
4. Before going to the cross, Jesus agreed to accept the punishment of all the sins of the human race, “My Father if it is possible and it is [Jesus had to be willing to go to the cross], let this cup [of the sins of the human race] pass from me, yet not as I will, but as you will.” (Matthew 26:39b)
5. Jesus personally never died a spiritual death, rather he bore the burden of mankind’s spiritual death on the cross namely He was punished for the penalty of the sins of all mankind. In other words, Jesus died a substitutionary spiritual death while forsaken by the Father during the judgment. On the other hand, Adam suffered a real spiritual death as also his progeny at birth.
6. So, Jesus’ substitutionary spiritual death means that He died as a substitute for the sins related to our spiritual death namely the billions of sins which were committed in addition to Adam’s original sin. In other words, he paid the penalty for our sins in toto.
7. Jesus Christ was portrayed as a male lamb unblemished and spotless (no sin nature and no personal sins) 1 Peter 1:18-19, “knowing that you were not redeemed with perishable things like silver or gold from your futile way of life inherited from your forefathers, but with precious blood, as of a lamb [a lamb sacrificed representing propitiation, reconciliation and redemption] unblemished and spotless, the blood of Christ.” Jesus remained impeccable while being judged for the sins of the world. 2 Corinthians 5:21, “And he [God the Father] made him who knew no sin [remained impeccable both before the cross and on the cross] to become a sin offering [The Greek word, hamartia can be translated sin offering: meaning in this verse that he accepted and received the responsibility for and the judgment of all the sins of the world] as a substitute for us so that we might become the righteousness of God [the Father] by Him [by the work of Christ on the cross].”
8. All the while Jesus was on the cross, he was functioning under the two power options namely the Filling of the Holy Spirit and metabolized doctrine in his human soul – not once was He out of fellowship. In this way, Jesus Christ demonstrated the power of the Proto-type Spiritual Life.
9. Judgment means a break in fellowship! On the cross, from noon to 3 p.m., God the Father punished Jesus for the penalty of every sin of the entire human race (unlimited atonement). How was this accomplished? The omniscience of God the Father imputed all the sins of mankind to Jesus during the last three hours on the cross while the Justice of the Father using his omnipotence then judged the humanity of Christ on the cross, while the deity of Christ was sustaining the universe. While bearing the penalty of the sins of the world namely His substitutionary spiritual death, Jesus had no fellowship with the Father, separation from fellowship with the Father until the work was accomplished on the cross. Death implies separation!
10. Jesus Christ was not a curse, but became a curse as per Galatians 3:13, “Christ redeemed us from the curse of the Law having become a curse for us, for it is written ‘Cursed is everyone who hangs on a tree.’”
11. The Staying Power of Jesus on the Cross: Hebrews 12:2, “Be concentrating on Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our doctrine, who because of the happiness that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame [from being identified with all these despicable sins], and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God.” Just as Jesus endured under great pressure, not reacting in bitterness, hatred, and self-pity, so we must endure under great pressure in order to achieve and preserve happiness. There is no happiness without the ability to endure under pressure (staying power).
12. Judgment not forgiveness: On the cross, there was only judgment, not forgiveness. Forgiveness is the result of the judgment of the cross. Forgiveness occurs for the first time, when a person believes in Jesus Christ. At that time, God the Father forgives that person’s pre-salvation sins as part of the salvation package. After salvation, when the Christian sins, he must use the Recovery Procedure as explained in 1 John 1:9.
13. The Christian is identified with His Substitutionary Spiritual Death. Romans 6:2, 7, 10, “Emphatically not [Paul’s abhorrence to a falsely drawn conclusion]! We who have died to the sin nature [Retroactive Positional Truth], how shall we still live in it [the power of Sin Nature]? (7) For we who have died [the Christian is identified with the substitutionary spiritual death of Christ: theologically called Retroactive Positional Truth] have been acquitted [positional deliverance] from [the power of] the sin nature [sin was judged; human good and evil were rejected]. (10) For the death [substitutionary spiritual death] which He has died, He has died once and for all with reference to the sin nature; but the resurrection-life which He lives, He lives with reference to the God [the Father].”
14. The omnipotence of the Father imputed all the sins of mankind to Jesus during the last three hours on the cross, and the Justice of the Father using his omnipotence then judged the humanity of Christ on the cross, while the deity of Christ was sustaining the universe. Matthew 27:46, “And about the ninth hour [3 P.M.] Jesus cried out with a loud voice, saying, “Eli, Eli, Lama Sabachthani?” translated [from the Aramaic into Greek], “My God, my God [addressing God the Father], why have you [in the singular] forsaken [abandoned] me?” David prophesizes the shout in Psalm 22:1a, “My God, My God why have you forsaken Me far from helping Me.” This was answered in Psalm 22:3a, “because you [Father] are holy [righteous and just].” The Father had to judge Jesus for every sin of mankind. Judgment implies abandonment and forsaking. There was no help nor fellowship during this judgment on the cross. So, this shout was prophesied in Hebrew (Psalm 22); shouted out in Aramaic and translated in Greek (Matthew 27:46).
Jesus understood why he had to be forsaken by God the Father but shouted out this rhetorical question for our benefit. It was a rhetorical question which had already been answered in Scripture as per Psalm 22:3a namely because the integrity of God demanded the punishment of all sins of mankind via a perfect sacrifice.
R. B. Thieme Jr. first taught this doctrine in 1986 during the teaching of the Ephesian series, a doctrine which has been buried for over 1500 years and is still unknown by most Christians since it is not known and subsequently not taught by any professor in any major theological seminary today.
Revelation 7:11
Furthermore, all the elect angels [millions if not billions] were standing around the throne and around the angelic staff officers [twenty-four in number] and around the four angelic heralds [of Revelation 4:6-9]; then they fell on their faces before the throne and worshipped God.
καὶ πάντες οἱ ἄγγελοι εἱστήκεισαν κύκλῳ τοῦ θρόνου καὶ τῶν πρεσβυτέρων καὶ τῶν τεσσάρων ζῴων, καὶ ἔπεσαν ἐνώπιον τοῦ θρόνου ἐπὶ τὰ πρόσωπα αὐτῶν καὶ προσεκύνησαν τῷ θεῷ,
Revelation 7:12
And they said, "Amen [liturgical Amen], praise [you cannot praise God unless you know him] and glory [one cannot give glory unless one has glory] and wisdom [relates to God’s self-knowledge, omniscience and foreknowledge] and gratitude [When people are not grateful in life, they will not be grateful to God for arrogant people have no gratitude.], honor [God demands our highest respect] and power [God provides the power for the spiritual life] and ability [a reference to his attributes] belong to our God forever and ever.
λέγοντες, Ἀµήν· ἡ εὐλογία καὶ ἡ δόξα καὶ ἡ σοφία καὶ ἡ εὐχαριστία καὶ ἡ τιµὴ καὶ ἡ δύναµις καὶ ἡ ἰσχὺς τῷ θεῷ ἡµῶν εἰς τοὺς αἰῶνας τῶν αἰώνων· ἀµήν.
Worship:
Romans 12:1, “I urge you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God [the grace blessings from the integrity of God] that you place your bodies under orders [obeying God is to be guided by God, an important part of advancing spiritually] as a living, set-apart sacrifice. This is well pleasing to our God - your rational and spiritual worship.”
“That you place your bodies under orders as a living set-apart sacrifice” means to place one’s self at God’s disposal. We are on this earth to serve God, not for God to serve us. Why the body? Why not the brain? Why not the soul? The body of the believer is the temple of the Holy Spirit. It is also the residence of the old sin nature. These two are resident and mutually antagonistic as explained in Galatians 5:16. When the old sin nature controls through sin, good, or evil, it also takes control of the soul. On the other hand, if the Holy Spirit who indwells the body, controls the soul, the believer is able to advance. The soul is the issue, what you think is the issue, and the whole process of the function of the soul. When it says here that you place your body under orders it is referring to the use of the Recovery Procedure to place oneself under the command of the Spirit via the Filling of the Spirit rather than the Sin Nature.
A few points regarding worship:
1. All worship must be rational, and this is only possible by relating it to Bible doctrine.
2. All worship must be spiritual, therefore related to the Filling of the Spirit and metabolized doctrine which is summarized in John 4:24.
3. To place your bodies under orders as a living, holy (set apart) sacrifice is not a one-shot decision, a so-called dedication to Christian living or service. In reality it is a series of decisions, daily decisions which involve the use of the Recovery Procedure, when necessary, followed by the maintenance of the Filling of the Spirit, and the consistent intake of Bible doctrine, the means of establishing the royal family honor code in your life.
4. The pattern of the Christian life is never guided by one decision. Though it takes one decision to become a Christian; after that there are no one-decision panaceas. Always it is a series of decisions. God gives us a day at a time and so we must make decisions each day.
5. Salvation, then, is a one-shot decision, but the spiritual life which follows salvation is a series of decision. You place yourself under orders to God for daily commands, daily decisions, daily function.
A few more points regarding Worship:
1. Spiritual worship is rational worship. Therefore, the emotionalism of tongues and other forms of emotional revolt are excluded.
2. Basically, worship includes certain functions: singing, praying, giving, the intake of doctrine, and the communion service. Each facet of worship demands two things: the Filling of the Holy Spirit and the residence of Bible doctrine in the soul. Always, it is doctrine and the Spirit.
3. Therefore, singing must be related to doctrine and executed under the Filling of the Spirit.
4. Therefore, prayer must conform to doctrine and be executed in the Filling of the Spirit.
5. Therefore, giving must be motivated from doctrine resident in the soul and fulfilled in the Filling of the Spirit.
6. Therefore, perception of doctrine, the most important and basic facet of worship, demands the Filling of the Spirit for inculcation.
7. Therefore, the communion service is a ritual which has no meaning apart from doctrine resident in the soul. Hence, a worship function which is impossible apart from the Filling of the Spirit.
8. Everything we have belongs to the Lord and therefore everything we have is secure. When we part with what we have in worship, whether it is our energy in concentration under the ministry of the Spirit, or whether it is money, or some function in the local church, of whatever it is, these expressions of worship are recognized in heaven. And because worship simply expresses our love for the Lord we still have, and always will have, the object of our love. Personal love for God expresses itself in worship.
Revelation 7:13
Then, one of the twenty- four angelic staff officers responded [to the worship] and said to me [John], "These who are wearing the white robes, who are they, and from where have they come [questions asked for our benefit]?
Καὶ ἀπεκρίθη εἷς ἐκ τῶν πρεσβυτέρων λέγων µοι, Οὗτοι οἱ περιβεβληµένοι τὰς στολὰς τὰς λευκὰς τίνες εἰσὶν καὶ πόθεν ἦλθον;
These angels who have been worshipping God for a long time now see in their presence those who are not angels but members of the human race who have been martyred. As a result of their martyrdom, they are enjoying perfect happiness in their interim bodies referred to as “wearing white robes”. They will continue to possess these interim bodies until the 2nd Advent at which time they will receive their resurrection bodies.
Revelation 7:14
Consequently, I [John] said to him, "My lord, [as his teaching angel, one of the 24 staff officers of Revelation 4:4] you know. Then, he [the teaching angel] said to me, "These [martyrs] are they who have come out of the great Tribulation [the last three and half years of the Tribulation]; furthermore, they have washed their robes [received imputed righteousness] and made them white [received their interim bodies after death] by means of the blood of the Lamb [the saving work of Christ on the cross].
καὶ εἴρηκα αὐτῷ, Κύριέ µου, σὺ οἶδας. καὶ εἶπέν µοι, Οὗτοί εἰσιν οἱ ἐρχόµενοι ἐκ τῆς θλίψεως τῆς µεγάλης, καὶ ἔπλυναν τὰς στολὰς αὐτῶν καὶ ἐλεύκαναν αὐτὰς ἐν τῷ αἵµατι τοῦ ἀρνίου.
A Concise definition for Imputed Righteousness is taken from Thieme’s Bible Doctrine Dictionary pages 137, 138.
“Divine righteousness to the believer. Because the imputation and judgment of sins satisfied divine holiness, God is free to impute His perfect righteousness to the believer at the moment of faith in Christ (Gen. 15:6; Rom. 3:22; 4:3–5). This is a judicial imputation because divine righteousness is credited where it does not rightfully belong—no affinity exists between the absolute righteousness of God and the total depravity of mankind. The judicial action is made complete when the justice of God recognizes His own righteousness in the believer and pronounces him justified, acceptable, vindicated (Rom. 3:24; Phil. 3:9b). By this imputation and justification, divine justice is free to sustain the believer with logistical grace and impute special blessings without compromising divine essence (Rom. 5:1; Titus 3:7).”
Blood of Christ:
‘The blood of Christ’ a phrase which unites the animal sacrifices with the work of Jesus Christ on the cross by using animal blood as a representative analogy for the substitutionary spiritual death of Jesus. When the carotid of an animal was severed, blood gushed-out and since the life of an animal is in his blood, the gushing-out of animal blood meant that the animal would die. The physical death of the animal through bleeding to death was used as a representative analogy for the substitutionary spiritual death of Jesus on the cross. In other words, the death of Christ on the cross was not a physical death through bleeding to death, but God the Father punishing the humanity of Christ for the penalty of every sin of humanity. The physical death of the animal depicted the substitutionary death of Christ on the cross. Ephesians 1:7, "By whom we have redemption through His blood (propitiation, reconciliation and redemption), resulting in the forgiveness of sins according to the riches of His grace." Colossians 1:14, "By whom we have redemption resulting in the forgiveness of sins." 1 Peter 1:18-19, "We have not been redeemed with corruptible things [including blood], such as silver and gold, from our empty manner of life, but with the precious blood of Jesus Christ, a lamb [the phrase ‘blood of Christ’ relates to an animal sacrifice; in other words, for those who insist that it was literal blood, should also insist that he was truly a lamb], (a lamb) without spot and without blemish." Thus, the phrase, the blood of Christ depicts, by analogy, the saving work of Christ on the cross.
Redemption is based on the judgment of the cross. Forgiveness is a result. The doctrine of Redemption was taught by means of animal blood in the Old Testament. Hebrews 9:22, "And according to the standard of the Law, nearly all things were cleansed with animal blood, and without the pouring out of animal blood there is no forgiveness [for without the shadow there is no reality]." You see, sacrificial animal blood was the shadow, a teaching aid of the reality. The reality would take place on the cross. Without the reality there is no payment of sins on the cross. Without the payment of sins on the cross, there is no basis for forgiveness of sins. The payment for the penalty of sins means that judgment took place on the cross. Forgiveness takes place at salvation and thereafter.
The following was taken from the booklet, “The Blood of Christ” by R.B. Thieme Jr. pages 1- 2.
THE BLOOD METAPHOR
THE BLOOD OF C HRIST symbolizes the most important event ever to occur throughout the ages of angelic and human history. The phrase, “the blood of Christ,” is a metaphor for the saving work of Christ on the cross. The cross was the terrible price Jesus Christ paid for our so-great salvation. Unless believers understand the true connotation of this figurative phrase, they cannot fully appreciate what Christ has done for them.
This is a sensitive subject for many believers. For some the blood of Christ has been associated with a lifetime of emotional experiences. Since childhood they have heard the blood mentioned in hushed, reverent tones; they have vigorously sung the hymns about the “wonderworking power in the blood”; or they have grown up with the idea that there was a special power in the red liquid that circulated through Jesus’ mortal body. Without even knowing its source, some believers cling to the old dogma that Christ carried His blood with Him to heaven in a bowl. This specious idea from the Dark Ages continues to perpetuate a form of mysticism around the physical blood of our Lord.
While some believers are ignorant of the doctrine of the blood of Christ from a simple lack of expository teaching, others are ignorant as part of a devastating system of hidden arrogance in their souls. The first category of individual has enough objectivity to listen and learn; he simply needs biblical information. The other type, however, is affected by a much more serious and complicated malady. Instead of being interested in what the Bible has to say, he considers his own view of the blood to be more important than God’s view. He would rather resist divine viewpoint than permit his pride to be deflated. To such a believer, the true doctrine of the blood is not simply a matter of learning something new and important; it is a challenge to his colossal arrogance. As the old saying goes, “Do not confuse me with the facts!” The only antidote is humility—recognition of the authority of the pastor-teacher who consistently teaches the Word of God. Bible doctrine will deflate pride and establish true spiritual growth on the solid foundation of Jesus Christ.
There is no biblical basis for attributing mystical or unusual properties to the physical blood of Christ. The term, blood of Christ, is far more significant than any magical power falsely ascribed to His bodily fluids. We will see in great detail that His physical blood has absolutely nothing whatever to do with substitutionary atonement.
In the Bible, αἵµα (haima), “blood,” can have several literal meanings which include human blood and animal blood. However, when the New Testament speaks of the blood in relation to the sacrifice of Christ, it does not refer to literal blood. “The blood of Christ” is always a figure of speech. The Greek lexicographer, Walter Bauer, devotes an entire paragraph to the figurative use of the word in relation to Christ. He describes “the blood and life as an expiatory sacrifice . . . especially the blood of Jesus as a means of expiation.” Likewise, Vine states, “the blood of Christ . . . betokens His death by the shedding of His ‘blood’ in expiatory sacrifice.” Bullinger categorizes phrases such as “justified by His blood” (Rom. 5:9), “redemption through His blood” (Eph. 1:7), “brought near by the blood of Christ” (Eph. 2:13), and “released us from our sins by His blood” (Rev. 1:5) as double metonymy referring to the “merits of His atoning death.” Further, Kittel’s Theological Dictionary confirms that “the blood of Christ in the New Testament is simply a pregnant verbal symbol for the saving work of Christ.” “Pregnant verbal symbol” means figurative language. In other words, Christ did not bleed to death to pay the penalty of sin. The term, blood of Christ, is a metaphor for His expiatory death in which He received the judgment that removed the penalty of sin.
Revelation 7:15
For this reason, they [a reference to those martyred] are before the throne of God [the Father in their interim life]; in fact, they worship Him by day and by night [implication: sleep is not necessary in an interim body] in His temple; and He who sits on the throne will bivouac [A bivouac implies a temporary arrangement and emphasizes the interim life of the believer in heaven who is waiting for his resurrection.] with them [these martyrs of the Tribulation].
διὰ τοῦτό εἰσιν ἐνώπιον τοῦ θρόνου τοῦ θεοῦ, καὶ λατρεύουσιν αὐτῷ ἡµέρας καὶ νυκτὸς ἐν τῷ ναῷ αὐτοῦ, καὶ ὁ καθήµενος ἐπὶ τοῦ θρόνου σκηνώσει ἐπí αὐτούς.
The Believer in the Interim Body:
1. The interim body does not need sleep.
2. The believer in his interim body is in a state also of great blessing and happiness actively happy with enthusiasm and other soul capacities, passively with tranquility.
3. Their service in heaven in the interim body is concentrated in the field of worship: their praise, their adoration, their expression of personal love for God.
4. Because of the disastrous circumstances and evil of the Tribulation, these believers while on the earth will have relatively little opportunity for assembly worship, but in heaven they can worship God every day and every night.
5. We never appreciate the value of our assembly worship and perception of doctrine until we have lost the privilege. God in His grace and faithfulness provides the opportunity in time to learn doctrine. While it is available, people rarely seem to appreciate the opportunity since believers are easily distracted by any form of entertainment, social life, business life, any kind of activity etc. These distractions become more meaningful and more important than taking in doctrine. However, there are those who discover the secret to living a happy life by putting the spiritual growth and life first among their priorities.
Worship is service to God, just as much as any form of spiritual production [witnessing, giving, teaching, praying, etc.] Furthermore, true worship is predicated on personal love for God through perception of Bible doctrine. Therefore, the expression of personal love for God is not only a motivating virtue but it is a function of happiness. When you love someone, you are happy to be in their presence. When you have learned doctrine and you assemble you are happy to hear about the Lord. In other words, the negative side of this principle: worship is never a drudge; it is not a good-luck charm; it is never a necessity imposed for hopeful blessing. Worship is the expression of maximum virtue and integrity in personal love for God. Everyone who is normal finds great happiness in the demonstration and expression of love. True worship is the expression of personal love for God. On earth God is invisible to us but in heaven He, the humanity of Christ is visible to the believer in the interim body. To enter the temple of God in the third heaven and to express personal love in worship is the quintessence of human happiness.
Revelation 7:16
They will never again be hungry, neither will they thirst anymore; the sun will never beat down on them or any scorching heat;
οὐ πεινάσουσιν ἔτι οὐδὲ διψήσουσιν ἔτι, οὐδὲ µὴ πέσῃ ἐπí αὐτοὺς ὁ ἥλιος οὐδὲ πᾶν καῦµα,
Under the principle of logistical grace, God provides for the believer the necessities of life. However, there are times when God removes this provision in order to glorify him in a special way. Here the very lack of provision indicates the nature of their testimony: they could have had food and water if they had renounced Christ but had refused to do so; their relationship with God will be of primary importance. God permits this privation in the Tribulation to demonstrate that a relationship with God is more important than any necessity in life, any pleasure in life, anything that might be associated with happiness in life.
Revelation 7:17
Because the Lamb who is in the middle of the throne shall be their shepherd, furthermore, He will lead them to the springs of the waters of life [eternal life and happiness]; and God [the Father] will wipe away every tear from their eyes. [There is great comfort and blessing in the interim life and there will be even greater blessing in their resurrection bodies.]
ὅτι τὸ ἀρνίον τὸ ἀνὰ µέσον τοῦ θρόνου ποιµανεῖ αὐτούς, καὶ ὁδηγήσει αὐτοὺς ἐπὶ ζωῆς πηγὰς ὑδάτων· καὶ ἐξαλείψει ὁ θεὸς πᾶν δάκρυον ἐκ τῶν ὀφθαλµῶν αὐτῶν.
The believer who executes God’s plan can have great happiness in his mortal body. In heaven, the believer in interim body will experience even greater happiness. The believer in resurrection body will have even a much greater happiness during the Millennium. In the eternal state, the believer will experience maximum happiness.
In the eternal state: Revelation 21:4, "And He will wipe away every tear from their eyes [removes suffering] furthermore, death shall no longer exist [in the eternal state]; neither shall there be any longer mental anguish [sorrow, sadness, grief], nor crying [a manifestation of all kinds of pain], nor physical pain; because the first things have [the old order of things has] passed away [culminative aorist: historical suffering from the viewpoint of the results].”
The happiness of the eternal state is impossible to explain. So, it is explained somewhat from the standpoint of negatives. In the eternal state there is an abolition of all suffering, remorse (bitter regret; moral anguish over past misdeeds), regret and sadness. There will be no regret in the eternal state since there will no memories of these and so no tears related to regrets.
