Revelation Chapter 7

 

Revelation Chapter 7 

Introduction: 

Chapter 7 is about the one hundred and forty four thousand (See 14:1-5) virgin Jewish men; twelve thousand each from the tribes of Judah, Reuben, Gad, Asher, Naphtali, Manasseh, Simeon, Levi, Issachar, Zebulun, Joseph and Benjamin; who are sealed with the Mark of GOD on their foreheads. The Heavenly and human hosts who worship GOD continuously.

:1 After these things I saw* four angels standing at the four corners of the earth (Isaiah 11:11-12), holding the four winds of the earth (Daniel 7:2*), that the wind should not blow on the earth, on the sea, or on any tree.

*Four winds – Jeremiah 49:34-36; Ezekiel 37:9; Daniel 8:8, 11:4; Zechariah 2:6; Matthew 24:31 (Mark 13:27).

:2-3 Then I saw* another angel ascending from the east, having The Seal of The Living GOD; and he cried with a loud voice to the four angels to whom it was granted to harm the earth and the sea, saying, “Do not harm the earth, the sea or the trees (Revelation 9:3-4) till we have sealed the servants of our GOD on their foreheads (Revelation 14:1; All Believers – Ephesians 1:13-14; Revelation 22:1-4).”

:4-8 And I heard the number of those who were sealed; one hundred and forty-four thousand of all the tribes of the children of Israel were sealed: of the tribe of Judah twelve thousand were sealed; of the tribe of Reuben twelve thousand were sealed; of the tribe of Gad twelve thousand were sealed; of the tribe of Asher twelve thousand were sealed; of the tribe of Naphtali twelve thousand were sealed; of the tribe of Manasseh twelve thousand were sealed; of the tribe of Simeon twelve thousand were sealed; of the tribe of Levi twelve thousand were sealed; of the tribe of Issachar twelve thousand were sealed; of the tribe of Zebulun twelve thousand were sealed; of the tribe of Joseph twelve thousand were sealed; of the tribe of Benjamin twelve thousand were sealed.

                There is an addendum at the end of these notes on the Twelve Tribes listed and not listed in this section. Dan and Ephraim are excluded, Joseph and Manasseh are included.

:9-12 After these things* I looked and behold**, a great multitude which no one could number, of all the nations, tribes, peoples and tongues, standing before The throne and before The LAMB, clothed with white robes, with palm branches in their hands,  and crying out with a loud voice, saying, “Salvation belongs to our GOD Who sits on The Throne and to The LAMB!” All the angels stood around The Throne and the elders and the four living creatures and fell on their faces before The Throne and worshipped GOD, saying: “Amen!

 Blessings and Glory and Wisdom, Thanksgiving and Honor and Power and Might, be to our GOD Forever and Ever. Amen!”

                As in chapters 4 and 5 we see great multitudes of heavenly and earthly creatures worshipping GOD.

:13-17 Then one of the elders answered, saying to me, “Who are these arrayed in white robes and where did they come from?” And I said to him, “Sir, you know.” So he said to me, “These are the ones who come out of The Great Tribulation and washed their robes and made them white in The Blood of The LAMB (Revelation 20:4). Therefore they are before The Throne of GOD and serve Him day and night in His Temple; and He Who sits on The Throne will dwell among them (Revelation 21:3). They shall neither hunger anymore nor thirst anymore (Revelation 21:6); the sun shall not strike them, nor any heat (Revelation 21:23); for The LAMB Who is in the midst of The Throne Will Shepherd them and lead them to Living Fountains of Waters. And GOD Will wipe away every tear from their eyes (Revelation 21:4).”

* ”Then I saw”, “After these things”, “Next” are all phrases that tell the reader the order that John saw events or something was revealed to him: but not necessarily the order in which they happen! Just like in Revelation 22, verses 1-5 are about the Eternity, In 6-11 the angel is speaking to John in his present time, in 12-17 JESUS is talking about His 1000 year reign, 18-19 are a warning, 20 is JESUS seal of approval and 21 is a Blessing to all who read this Revelation. This is why we each must read and study the Scriptures, letting The HOLY SPIRIT teach us.

**Behold is said 27 times in Revelation, 26 times it is defined as: idŏu; lo, see, behold. From ĕidō; to see, to know, be aware, behold.

In Revelation 17:8 it is defined as blĕpō; to look at, behold, beware, lie, look, perceive, regard, see, sight, take heed.

Several times in The Revelation of JESUS CHRIST, John is told to look or behold, he is being told to see what is happening because he is expected to record it for the Church so we will know what GOD plans and therefore how we should participate in His Kingdom’s Work in the earth.

 

https://youtu.be/42vHk4waeo0

 

 

Addendum:

From Verse By Verse Ministry International 

In Revelation 7, the 144,000 Jewish men raised up to evangelize the world come from twelve tribes of Israel, but the tribe of Dan is missing from the list. Why?

The absence of Dan in the list of tribes in Revelation 7 is a source of much interest among Bible students. The text itself offers no explanation, but we can speculate based on some analysis.

First, it’s important to note that there are 13 named tribes in Israel, not twelve. Jacob bore twelve sons, but later Jacob adopted Joseph’s two sons in place of Joseph after moving to Egypt. Thereafter, the sons of Jacob were:

Reuben, Simeon, Levi, Judah, Zebulun, Issachar, Dan, Gad, Asher, Naphtali, Ephraim, Manasseh and Benjamin

Secondly, there are at least 19 lists of Jacob's sons given in the Old Testament: Gen. 35:22-26; 46:8-25; 49:3-27; Exod. 1:2-5; Num. 1:5-15; 2:3-31; 13:4-15; 26:4-51; 34:19-28; Deut. 27:12-13; 33:6-25; Josh. 13:7-22; Judg. 5:12-18; 1 Chron. 2:1-8:40; 12:24-37; 27:16-22; Ezek. 48:1-7, 23-28, 31-34

Reviewing these lists, we usually find all thirteen tribes included though sometimes a tribe is left out (usually Levi). For example, in Numbers 1, 2, 13, and 26, the tribe of Levi is left out. In other cases, Joseph’s two sons, Ephraim, and Manasseh are combined under just the name Joseph. In one case, multiple tribes are missing (i.e., Judge 5). So, we see that it's not unusual for scripture to leave names out when listing the tribes of Israel.

But then we have the list in Revelation 7. This list is unique in several ways. First, it is the only list of the tribes of Israel in scripture to exclude Dan. Secondly, it is the only list to include Joseph in place of only one of his sons instead of both sons. Specifically, Joseph and Manasseh appear in the Revelation 7 list but Ephraim does not. Perhaps the exclusions of Dan and Ephraim are related?

Thirdly, the territories originally allotted to the tribes of Ephraim and Dan bordered one another in Canaan, but during the time of Judges Dan rejected its claim and moved north to occupy a part of the territory of Naphtali.

Finally, even though the name Joseph is listed in Revelation 7, no territory or tribe of Joseph actually exists. Joseph didn’t receive a portion in the land. His two sons were adopted by Jacob and received Joseph’s double portion instead. This raises the question how can there be 12,000 men from "Joseph" during Tribulation when no such tribe of people exists?

Given these clues, we can offer speculation on why Dan and Ephraim are missing from the list.

In Judges 17-21 we're given two stories of apostasy in Israel. Both stories center on the tribes of Dan and Ephraim and on the city of Bethlehem, the birthplace of David, God's choice for king over Israel. The writer of Judges emphasizes in these chapters that these were the days before Israel had a king. 

In those chapters of Judges, Dan sinned by viewing the land God allotted to them as unacceptable, so they abandoned it. While passing through Ephraim, they stole idols from a home and recruited a Levite to serve in a false temple in the new territory. As a result, Dan became the first tribe in Israel to embrace idol worship in Israel.

Meanwhile, the tribe of Ephraim, the source of the idols, assumed control over the land originally intended for Dan. They aided and abetted the Danites in bringing idolatry into the land of Israel. These sins give just cause for God to exclude them from the privilege of preparing Israel and the world for the Messiah's return.

Furthermore, since the tribe of Manasseh is already included in the list of Revelation 7, then we know that the tribe of Joseph can't represent his two sons, as is usually the case in scripture. Instead, Joseph still represents two tribes, but in this case Joseph replaces Dan and Ephraim, tribes historically and geographically linked by their conspiracy to introduce rebellion and idolatry into Israel. So they were excluded from this list by name with the name Joseph standing in their place.

Such a substitution allowed the Lord to retain the symmetry of twelve tribes while drawing attention to these tribes' joint contribution to idolatry in Israel. Since there is no literal tribe of Joseph, in a sense, we could say that Dan and Ephraim were “hidden” in Joseph. If so, then the 12,000 men of the tribe of Joseph in the Tribulation will actually be Danites and Ephraimites.

But there is a deeper message in their exclusion. The apostasy of Dan and Ephraim represented the low point in Israel's history immediately prior to the Lord raising up a king from Bethlehem to deliver Israel from its sin. Sound familiar?

This is exactly the pattern that will exist prior to the Lord's return to rule over Israel at the end of Tribulation. By excluding these two tribes from the list in Revelation 7, the Lord is pointing our attention back to the circumstances at the end of Judges. The final chapters of Judges (17-21) and the story of Ruth which follows Judges form a three-part story of the king's arrival to address the nation's idolatry.

Parts 1 and 2 of the story are found in Judges 17-21 and chronicle the growing apostasy of Israel under the influence of the Danites and Ephraimites. Part 3 of the story is found in Ruth, where the Messiah's arrival in Bethlehem (pictured by the arrival of Naomi's son in Bethlehem) serves as the hope of Israel. These events picture the greater arrival of Christ to rescue Israel from apostasy.

Therefore, Dan and Ephraim are missing in the list of Revelation 7 to draw our attention to the time of Judges, to illustrate that Israel is once again guilty of apostasy as it was in Judges under Dan and Ephraim. And once again the Lord will bring Israel a king from Bethlehem to rescue Israel from its apostasy, that is Jesus Christ. By excluding these two tribes, the Lord is emphasizing that the third part of the story is right around the corner. 

 

 

Valentine's Day 2-14-25

 

Valentine’s Day

February 14, 2025

 

Today is the day we celebrate love in its many forms:

Friendship

Family

Companionship

The Bond of war or tragedy

Marriage

GOD

 

Whoever you express love to today do not forget The One Who is Love (1 John 4:7-11) and Loved you so much that He planned your salvation before He created the heavens and the earth (1 Peter 1:18-21); and He planned the days of your life while you were in your mother’s womb (Psalm 139:13-18).

Need - Good - Gift

Need – Good – Gift

 

Three of most Christians’ favorite memory verses are: Matthew 6:33; Romans 8:28; James 1:17.

 

Matthew 6:33 “Seek you first The Kingdom of GOD and His Righteousness and all these things (needs) will be added to you.”

Most skip 6:34 “Do not worry about tomorrow, tomorrow will take care of itself, each day had its own issues”

 

Romans 8:28 “And we know that all things (that intersect our life) work together for Good to those who Love GOD and are The Called According to His Purpose.”

Most skip 8:27, 29-30 “Now He Who searches the hearts knows the what mind of The SPIRIT is, because He makes intercession for the Saints According to The Will of GOD…For whom He foreknew, He also Predestined to be Conformed to the Image of His Son (Philippians 3:8-10), that He might be The First Born among many Brethren. Moreover whom He Predestined, these He also Called; whom He Called, these He also Justified; and whom He Justified, these He also Glorified.”

 

James 1:17 “Every Good Gift and Perfect Gift is from Above, and comes down from The Father of Lights, with Whom there is no variation or shadow of turning.”

Most skip 16, 18”Do not be deceived my beloved Brethren…Of His Own Will He brought us forth  by The Word of Truth, that we might be a kind of firstfruits of His creatures.”

 

We have needs, wants and desires: needs are the things that keep us alive, air to breath, food and water to sustain our bodies, purpose to satisfy our desire to Please GOD. Wants and desires are not needs and we can live without them, it just feels like we have to have them to be happy and successful.

 

In Matthew 6:32 JESUS said, “For after all these things (Matthew 6:25-31) the Gentiles (non-believers) seek. For your Heavenly Father knows that you need all these things.” That’s why verses 33-34 apply to our life. “Let go and Let GOD” or “Do not worry GOD supplies all our need” (Philippians 4:19)!

 

James tells us that every Good Gift comes for GOD, when we do a Good Deed we are sharing GOD’s Perfect Gift with others. Even unbelievers do this when they do a good deed toward someone else. We, as Born Again Believes in JESUS are Firstfruits of GOD’s Eternal Creation when we share His Perfect Gift with others; it has the Power to change lives (Romans 1:16-18).

 

Romans 8:27-30 is the fact that GOD has a plan for each of our lives (Psalm 139:13-18) and if we endure the process of life by trusting in GOD everything in our life (no matter how bad or good) He will Work according to His Purpose for our life. That is The Need and The Good together; it is The Gift of GOD to all who believe and live according to JESUS’ Commandments (John 8:31-32; 14:15-18, 23-24).

 

https://youtu.be/1WyjupSG6s8

Revelation Chapter 6

 

Revelation Chapter 6

Introduction:

Chapter 6 is the opening of the first six of the seven seals of The Scroll: seal 1 is the rider of the white horse with a crown and a bow who conquers; seal 2 is the rider of the red horse with a sword who takes peace from the earth and causes people to kill each other; seal 3 is the rider of the black horse with a pair of scales who causes inflation; seal 4 is the rider of the pallid horse named death who is followed by hell, they kill one-fourth of humanity by plagues, famine, war and by wild animals; seal 5 is the martyrs put to death for their witness and proclaiming The Word; seal 6 is a great earthquake, the sun turned black and the moon blood red, stars fall from heaven to the earth and the sky recedes like a scroll rolled up, mountains and islands are moved and all peoples call out to be hidden from The LAMB’s wrath.

:1-2 Now I saw when The Lamb opened one of the seals; and I heard one of the four living creatures say with a voice like thunder, “Come!*” I looked and beheld a white horse** its rider had a bow***; a crown was given to him and he went out conquering.

                John saw The Lamb (JESUS) open one of the seals and heard one of  the living creatures say in a commanding voice Go or Come, (this happens in verses 1, 3, 5 and 7 where the four horses and their riders are revealed) some believe that the living creature was telling John to go or to come and see what was happening. I do not believe that the living creature was speaking to John but to the horses and their riders. I believe that the living creature was commanding the horse and rider to come or to go forth, this may be the start of the seven years of The Great Tribulation that GOD is going to bring on the earth; even though the effects of these horses and riders have been rampaging over the earth since the flood. The rider of the white horse has authority (a crown) and power (a bow**) to conquer.

*“Come!” - In the KJV and NKJV it says, “Come and see.” The Greek word used for come can mean come or go (Strong’s Greek Dictionary of The New Testament) “and see” is not in the earliest texts. In the TLV it says “Go!” with a note that “and see” is added by some translations; in the CJB it says “Come!”; in the NIV it says “Come!”

** Heavenly horses are mentioned several times in the Bible, 2 Kings 2:11, 6:15-17; Zechariah 1:8, 6:1-8; Revelation 19:11-14.

*** Bow – I heard a teaching about the bow in this verse and with no mention of arrows that it was not meant as a weapon (What?). If you have a rifle or pistol and you are going hunting or shooting do say I am going to get my gun and bullets and go hunting or shooting? No, the bullets are assumed! The arrows are the bullets of the bow, many times in the scriptures the bow is mentioned as a weapon without mentioning the arrows and a few time the arrows of GOD are mentioned without a bow, you can hit people with the bow or stab people with the arrows, but they just work better together than alone (Genesis 27:3, 48:22; Joshua 24:12; Psalm 21:12, 38:1-2, 45:4-5).

:3-4 When He opened the second seal I heard the second living creature say, “Come!” (In the NKJV in the notes for verse 3 it is noted that some translations do not say, “and see.”) Another horse, fiery red, went out and its rider was given a great sword to take peace from the earth and that people should kill (murder and wars) one another.

            This rider has power to take peace from the world; for thousands of years there have been places in the earth where there was no peace and the number of places in the earth where there is no peace is increasing. The sword is a weapon of maiming and death and it is used to keep people in fear, therefore they have no peace.

:5-6 When He opened the third seal I heard the third living creature say, “Come!” so I looked and beheld a black horse and its rider had a pair of scales (balances) in his hand. I heard a voice in the midst of the four living creatures (whose?) saying, “A quart of wheat for a day’s wages, and three quarts of barley for a day’s wages; and do not harm the oil and the wine.”

                This is inflation, in some countries today this is the prevailing wage, a meal for a day’s work. Inflation is from greed!

:7-8 When He opened the fourth seal I heard the fourth living creature say, “Come!” So I looked and I beheld a pale (plaid or greenish) horse and its rider was named Death, and Hell followed it. Authority (power) was given them over a quarter of the earth to kill with sword (war), hunger (famine), death (disease) and by the beasts (pestilence) of the earth.

                The sword does not only represent war, but murder; hunger is not just from a lack of food but also from poor quality food, or food that is contaminated; death does not come only from disease but accidents; beasts of the earth are not just wild animals but insects, viruses and microorganisms.

All four of these judgments have been happening since the grandchildren of Noah started to spread over the face of the earth; especially after GOD confused their language (2 Chronicles 7:13-14; Ezekiel 5:11-12; Jeremiah 15:1-3; Matthew 24:6-7).

:9-11 When He opened the fifth seal I saw under The Altar the souls of those who had been slain for The Word of GOD and for the testimony they held (2 Timothy 1:8; Hebrews 11:39-40; Revelation 1:9, 12:11, 20:4). They cried with a loud voice, saying, “How long LORD, Holy and True, until You Judge and Avenge our blood on those who dwell on the earth (Exodus 2:23-25; Joel 1:13-14; Matthew 7:7-11; Revelation 11:16-18)?” Then a White robe (Revelation 7:9, 19:14) was given to each of them and it was said (by Whom?) to them that they should rest a little while longer, until both the number of their fellow servants and their brethren, who would be killed as they were, was completed.

                People have been killed for their Faith and Obedience to GOD, again since the grandchildren of Noah spread out over the face of the earth, possibly even before the flood.

:12-17 I looked when He opened the sixth seal and there was a great earthquake; and the sun became black as sackcloth of hair; and the whole moon became like blood. The stars of the heaven fell to the earth as a fig tree drops its late figs when it is shaken by a great wind. Then the sky receded (or split apart) as a scroll when it is rolled up (Isaiah 34:4; 2 Peter 3:7-13); and every mountain and island was moved out of its place (Joel 2:10-11, 30-31, 3:14-16; Matthew 24:29-31). The kings of the earth, the great men, the rich men, the commanders, the mighty men, every slave and every freeman hid themselves in the caves and in the rocks of the mountains; and said to the mountains, “Fall on us and hide us from the Face of Him Who sits on The Throne (Psalm 45:6; Acts 1:; Revelation 3:21, 20:11) and from The Wrath of The LAMB! For the Great Day of His wrath has come and who is able to stand (Psalm 2:2-5; Isaiah 2:10-12, 20-21; Luke 23:30; Revelation 11:15-19, 16:17-21)?”

                This sounds like The Last Day; The Day CHRIST returns to establish His thousand year reign over the nations with a Rod of iron (Psalm 45:6); but there is one more seal in chapter 8 (this is one of the things that confuses people when they read the Revelation. Chapter 7 would fit better before chapter 14, but this is the order in which things were revealed to John.

https://youtu.be/j-7OHcSbAYs

Works And Faith!

 

Works And Faith!

 

John 10:31-39 JESUS’ Works show He Is GOD!

“Then the Jews took up stones again to stone Him. JESUS answered them, ‘Many Good Works I have shown you from My Father; for which of those Works do you stone Me?’ The Jews answered Him, saying, ‘For a Good Work we do not stone you, but for blasphemy, and because You being a Man make Yourself  GOD.’ JESUS answered them, ‘Is it not written in your Law, “I said, ‘You are gods.’”? If He called them gods, to whom The Word of GOD came (and The scripture cannot be broken), do you say of Him Whom The Father Sanctified and Sent into the world, “You are blaspheming,” because I said, “I Am The Son of GOD”? If I do not do the Works of My Father, do not believe Me; but if I do, though you do not believe Me, believe The Works, that you may know and believe that The Father is in Me, and I in Him.’ Therefore they sought again to seize Him, but He escaped out of their hand.”

 

Ephesians 2:8-10 – Faith comes from GOD not from our Works!

“For by Grace you have been Saved through Faith, and that not of yourselves; it is The Gift of GOD, not of Works, lest anyone should boast. For we are His Workmanship created in CHRIST JESUS for Good Works, which GOD prepared before hand that we should walk in them.”

Philippians 2:12-16 – We have to Work to maintain our Salvation!

“Therefore, my beloved, as you have always obeyed, not in my presence only but now much more in my absence, Work out your own Salvation with Fear and Trembling; for it is GOD Who Works in you both to Will and to Do for His Good Pleasure. Do all things without complaining and disputing, that you may become Blameless and Harmless Children of GOD without fault in the midst of a crooked and perverse generation, among whom you Shine as Lights in the world, Holding Fast The Word of Life, so that I may rejoice in The Day of CHRST that I have not Run in Vain or Labored in vain.”

James 1:19-27 – Be Doers of The Word!

“So then my beloved brethren, let every man be Swift to Hear, Slow to Speak, Slow to wrath; for the wrath of man does not produce The Righteousness of GOD. Therefore lay aside all filthiness and abundance of wickedness, and receive with Meekness the Implanted Word, which is able to Save your souls. But be Doers of The Word and not hearers only deceiving yourselves. For if anyone is a hearer of The Word and not a Doer, he is like a man observing his natural face in a mirror; for he observes himself, goes away, and immediately forgets what kind of man he was. But he who looks into the Perfect Law of Liberty and Continues in It and is not a forgetful hearer but a Doer of The Work, this one will be Blessed in What he Does. If anyone thinks he is religious and does not bridle his tongue but deceives his own heart, this one’s religion is useless. Pure and Undefiled Religion before GOD and The Father is this: to visit orphans and widows in their trouble, and to keep oneself unspotted from the world.”

James 2:14-26 – Faith without Works is Dead!

“What does it profit my brethren, if someone says he has Faith but does not have Works? Can Faith Save him? If a brother or sister is naked and destitute of daily food, and one of you says to them, ‘Depart in Peace, be warmed and filled.’ But you do not give them the things which are needed for the body, what does it profit? Thus also Faith by itself if it does not have Works, is dead. But someone will say, ‘You have Faith and I have Works.’ Show me your Faith without your works and I will show you my Faith by my Works. For you believe there is One GOD; you do well, even the demons believe – and tremble! But do you want to know, O foolish man, that faith without Works is dead? Was not Abraham our father Justified for Works when he offered Isaac his son on the altar? Do you see that Faith was Working together with his Works and by Works Faith was made complete? And The Scripture was fulfilled which says, ‘Abraham Believed GOD, and it was accounted to him for Righteousness.’ And he was called the friend of GOD. You see then that a man is Justified by Works and not by Faith only. Likewise, was not Rahab the harlot also Justified by Works when she received the messengers and sent them out another way? For as the body without the spirit is dead, so Faith without Works is dead also.”

 

https://youtu.be/hZzp4eycQ8k

Revelation Chapter 5

 

Revelation Chapter 5 

Introduction:

Chapter 5 is the Revelation of the scroll with seven seals that only The LAMB that was slain and is Alive is worthy to open them. So the four living creatures and the twenty-four Elders worshiped Him with harps and bowls of incense which are the prayers of the Saints, along with tens of thousands of angels.

:1 “And I saw in the right hand of Him Who sat on The Throne a Scroll written inside and on the back, sealed with seven seals (Ezekiel 2:9-10; Isaiah 29:11-12).

:2-5 Then I saw a strong angel proclaiming with a loud voice, ‘Who is Worthy to open The Scroll and to loose it seals?’ And no one in Heaven or on the earth or under the earth was able to open The Scroll or to look at It. So I wept much, because no one was found worthy to open and read the scroll or to look at It. But one of the elders said to me, ‘Do not weep, Behold, The Lion of The Tribe of Judah (Genesis 49:8-10), The root of David (Isaiah 11:1, 10) has prevailed to open The scroll and to lose Its seven seals.’

:6-7 And I looked and Behold, in the midst of the Throne and the four living creatures, and in the midst of the elders, stood a Lamb (John 1:29) as though it had been slain (1 Peter 1:18-21), having seven horns and seven eyes, which are the Seven Spirits of GOD sent out into all the earth (Zechariah 4:8-10). Then He came and took The Scroll out of the right hand of Him Who sat on The Throne (Isaiah 6:1).

:8-10 Now when He had taken The scroll, the four living creatures and the twenty-four elders fell down before The Lamb (Revelation 19:4), each having a harp and golden bowls full of incense, which are the prayers of the saints (Revelation 8:3-4). And they sang a new song, saying (Revelation 14:1-4), ‘You are Worthy to take The Scroll, and to open its seals; for You were slain and have Redeemed us to GOD by Your Blood, out of every tribe and tongue and people and nation. And have made us kings and priests (Exodus 19:6; Revelation 1:5-6) to our GOD; and we shall reign on the earth.’

:11-14 Then I looked and I heard the voice of many angels around The Throne, the living creatures and the elders; and the number of them was ten thousand times ten thousand and thousands of thousands, saying with a loud voice: ‘Worthy is The Lamb Who was slain To receive Power and Riches and Wisdom, and Strength and Honor and Glory and Blessing!’ And every creature that is in Heaven and on the earth and under the earth and such as are in the sea, and all that are in them (Psalm 145:21; Philippians 2:9-11), I heard saying: ‘Blessing and Honor and Glory and Power be to Him Who sits on The Throne (1 Chronicles 29:10-12; Revelation 20:11), and to the Lamb forever and Ever!’ Then the four living creatures said, ‘Amen!’ and the twenty-four elders fell down and worshipped Him Who Lives Forever and Ever.”

https://youtu.be/tsKAJ42ZWdU

The Redeemed Are One People!

 

The Redeemed Are One People!

Ephesians 1-4

 

Here is the theme of Paul’s letter to the Ephesians and therefore to All Believers in JESUS CHRIST! Ephesians 1:4-6 “Just as He Chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, that We should be Holy and without blame before Him in Love, having Predestined us to Adoption as Sons by JESUS CHRIST to Himself, according to the Good Pleasure of His Will, to the Praise of The Glory of His Grace, by which He Made Us Accepted in the Beloved.”

Jew and Gentile as One Body in JESUS CHRIIST!

 

The Beloved are the Redeemed People (Jews – Deuteronomy 33:12; Psalm 60:4-5, 108:5-6, 127:1-2; Isaiah 5:1-7; Romans 11:26-28) with whom GOD made an Eternal Covenant that is still active and in force today and will be Eternally! That is The Old Covenant with Abraham and his descendants. [JESUS – Matthew 3:17, 12:18; Mark 9:7] Who is The Lamb of GOD Who takes away the sin of the world (John 1:29, 35, 17:24). {Church – Colossians 3:12; 1 Thessalonians 1:2-4}, and The New Covenant with those Jews (Acts 3:24-26) and Gentiles who Believe in JESUS CHRIST (Acts 13:22-23; John 3:16-17; Romans 1:16-17)!

 

This is Paul’s teaching; remember Paul started out as a hater of JESUS CHRIST! He believed in GOD’s separation between Israel and all other people groups. He was raised in Jerusalem at the feet of a renowned Pharisee, Gamaliel, by his own claim he was a Pharisee among Pharisees, ahead of his peers in faith and practice of the Torah (Philippians 3:4-6); persecuting the Believers (Acts 22:17-20) until he met JESUS on the road to Damascus (Acts 9:1-30). So he understood the two faiths (Judaism and The Way [Christianity]) becoming one in JESUS CHRIST The Messiah.

 

Ephesians 2:11-18, “Therefore remember that you, once Gentiles in the flesh –who are called Uncircumcision by what is called the Circumcision made in the flesh by hands– that at that time you were without CHRIST, being aliens from the commonwealth (natural state) of Israel and strangers from The Covenants of Promise, having no Hope and without GOD in the world. But now in CHRIST JESUS you who were once far off have been brought near by The Blood of CHRIST.”

GOD raised up Israel to be a nation that showed GOD’s Glory, Grace and Power to the nations of the world. But they failed as was predicted by GOD Who Crucified CHRIST before the foundation of the world (John 17:24; 1 Peter 1:19-20; Revelation 13:8).

“For He himself is our Peace, Who has made both One and has broken down the middle wall of separation, having abolished in his flesh the enmity, that is, the Law of Commandments contained in Ordinances, so as to Create in himself One New Man from the Two, thus making Peace, and that He might reconcile them Both to GOD in One Body through the Cross, thereby putting to death the enmity. And He came and Preached Peace to you who were afar off (Gentiles) and to those who were near (Israel). For through Him we Both have Access by One SPIRIT to The Father (Matthew 5:17-20; Hebrews 8:7-13).”

 

Ephesians 3:1-6 “For this reason, I Paul, the prisoner of CHRIST JESUS for you Gentiles – if indeed you have heard of the dispensation of the Grace of GOD which was given to me for you,…that the Gentiles should be Fellow Heirs, of the Same Body and Partakers of His Promise in CHRIST through the Gospel,”

                We are One Body in CHRIST JESUS!

 

There are some Christians who believe that The Church (The Body of CHRIST in the earth) replaces Israel (replacement theology) but that is false! Paul declares that there is only One Body in Ephesians 4:4-6, “There is One Body and One SPIRIT, just as you were Called in One Hope of your Calling; One LORD, One Faith, One Baptism; One GOD and Father of All, Who is above All, and through All, and in you All.”

GOD’s Covenant with Abraham, Isaac and Jacob is Eternal, that means it is not complete or expired or fulfilled and it will not be completed until the whole creation is judged by fire and The New Heaven, Earth and Jerusalem are revealed (2 Peter 3:1-13;  Revelation 20:11-22:7).

 

Ephesians 4:7-16 “And He gave some to be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists and some pastors and teachers, for the equipping of the Saints for the Work of the Ministry, for the Edifying (Building up) of the Body of CHRIST, till we All come in the Unity of the Faith and of the Knowledge of the Son of GOD, to a Perfect Man, to the Measure of the Stature of The Fullness of CHRIST; that we should no longer be children, tossed to and fro, carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the trickery of men, in the cunning craftiness of deceitful plotting, but, Speaking The Truth in Love, may Grow up in All Things into Him Who is the Head–CHRIST–from Whom The Whole Body , Joined and Knit Together by what Every Joint Supplies, according to the Effective Working by Which Every Part Does Its Share, causes Growth of the Body for the Edifying of Itself in Love.”

There is only one Body of JESUS CHRIST, it is all who Believe in JESUS as the Son of GOD and Confess that GOD Raised Him from the dead (Romans 10:9-10).

 

Ephesians 4:17-24 “This I say, therefore, and testify in The LORD that you should no longer walk as the rest of the Gentiles walk, in the futility of their mind…and that you put on The New Man which was Created according to GOD, in True Righteousness and Holiness.”

                The Call of Unity is the Call of Repentance, we all who Believe in JESUS CHRIST must stop sinning and live a Righteous (Repentant) life, Holy (Dedicated) to GOD (Ephesians 4 :25-5:21).

Psalm 133!

 

https://youtu.be/YEejMEFD7Es