Question: I am having difficulty understanding the book of Revelation. It seems to go on and on, describing terrible judgment on the Earth. Can you clarify the arrangement of the book? 7/9/9
Answer:
Yes, the book of the Revelation of Jesus Christ appears complicated, but reading and understanding the book promises great blessings to those who diligently study the book and its prophecies.
A most logical explanation and organization of the Revelation has been provided by Bible teacher Marilyn Hickey. She believes strongly in a pre-tribulation “Firstfruits” rapture of the believing church in the near future. Marilyn Hickey’s explanation of Revelation includes the division of selected chapters of the book into seven different sections with various perspectives. As a teaching tool she helpfully describes the divisions as seven "rooms," with some of the rooms seeing the same things but from the different perspectives of different entities:
First room. Chapter 1. About Christ.
Second room. Chapter 2. About the churches, each of which she says belongs to a historical period, but also relating to CHURCHES today.
Third room. Chapters 4-11. Covers from the rapture to the return of Christ, as seen from the perspective of HEAVEN.
Fourth room. Chapters 12-16. The same period, from the rapture to the return of Christ, but giving more details and seen from the perspective of the EARTH, with the tribulation saints persecuted by the Antichrist.
Fifth room. Chapters 17-18. Still the same period, from the rapture to the return of Christ, but with more details and seen from the perspective of SATAN.
Sixth room. Chapters 19-20. From the return of Christ to the end of the 1,000 YEARS..
Seventh room. Chapters 21-22. From the 1,000 years through ETERNITY.
The following statement is provided by Jim Bramlett who has heard Marilyn’s concepts of the period in great detail.
She goes into great explanatory detail on all these points. Does Marilyn have a "revelation of Revelation? You can judge for yourself by obtaining the study by calling her phone number: 1-303-796-1333.
My thoughts: As Marilyn Hickey’s study suggests, certain events herald the different aspects of the divisions of the book of Revelation. In the first chapter of Revelation an overview of the 7-year period is given, from the perspective of Jesus Christ.
The second chapter as another “room “ or division describes the status of the church both throughout the church age as well as the individual status of various types of churches to the time of the rapture. It commonly is believed that the current “last days” status of the church is represented by the final two “churches” in the series, the Philadelphia and the Laodicean churches of today.
The Laodicean church refers to the members of the part of the present-day church who are not enthusiastic about Jesus, described by Jesus Christ as “lukewarm”, neither totally rejecting the teachings of Jesus Christ nor being devoted to or enthusiastic about His cause. The Laodicean church represents those Christians who will be “left behind” at the pre-tribulation rapture of part of the end-time Believers, likely soon to occur..
The Philadelphia church just prior to the rapture will be those present-day Christians who are totally dedicated to the cause of Jesus Christ and who work long and hard to fulfill the commands of the Lord Jesus Christ. They are viewed as being part of the bride of Christ who will be raptured just prior to the beginning of the 7-year tribulation or the 70th week described in the book of Daniel. This 7-year period is a time of enormous difficulty for the whole world, marked with the martyrdom of those who keep the testimony of Jesus Christ as Believers.
After the rapture of the “Philadelphia” believers the tribulation begins and are described in the book of Revelation under the categories of different perspectives listed above.
### Your comments or question
Consequences
Question: When we are forgiven of our sins does this reverse all of the spiritual consequences of our past sins? 7/22/9
The spiritual consequence of our past sins that always are reversed relate to the time when we first confess our sins and receive God’s forgiveness and salvation We no longer suffer the consequence of consignment to hell after this life. Salvation by Jesus Christ’s sacrifice guarantees that we shall live with Jesus Christ in His Kingdom throughout eternity. To a large extent the other consequences of sins are ameliorated, but some consequences cannot be erased. All of these may affect the ability of an individual to be a credible worker in the calling that the individual otherwise might have fulfilled. The calling itself may remain while circumstances interfere with performance.
For example, if we have disobeyed the Lord’s will for our lives in selection of a spouse and the marriage ends in divorce, many of the events that have transpired result in consequences that remain forever. For example, children who have been born of that union must bear the burden of being reared in a one-parent home with the parent’s being absent much of the time working for a living. If the income from a single working parent is insufficient then not only the parent suffers but so do the children. They may not enjoy privileges which their friends have, such as two parents to look after their needs, adequate (not to mention designer) wardrobes, expensive toys, vacations to further away places, discretionary money for generous allowances, quality time with their parents, etc.
The work schedule may preclude the ability to attend church on a regular basis. This affects the spiritual growth of the whole family. This then will affect spiritual rewards in Heaven.
With a parent who remarries, children may experience, realistic or not, a feeling of non acceptance from the parent’s new spouse. They must adjust to the new spouse’s children or half-siblings born into the second marriage. There may not be sufficient money for college educations for all of the children. They may have to work their way through college, as best they can, or they may be forced to forego college altogether. Because of this, future career opportunities will be affected. This also may close the doors of opportunity for careers in religious capacities which otherwise would have resulted in spiritual rewards.
Of course, everyone may seek the Lord for other opportunities to serve Him that may result in even greater spiritual rewards than would be true otherwise. Our God is able to do anything through our faith in His promises. We should always aspire, irrespective of our situations, to a closer relationship with the Lord and be open to the leadings of His Holy Spirit who is within us to guide, comfort and to convict of sin.
A biblical example of an individual who was greatly blessed by the Lord above all of his peers who then threw away those blessings with shattering consequences, is found in the story of Samson.
When Samson was born his parents were instructed to rear him under the guidelines of the Nazarite vow. For Samson these vows forbade the cutting of his hair. He was never to touch a dead body, never to drink wine and to devote his complete life to the service and will of God. Samson grew to manhood with the strength of several men. He won great battles single-handedly against the enemies of the Israelites, the Philistines. The Philistines were determined to remove the Israelites from the area that had been Canaan and which the Lord God gave to His people known as the Children of Israel. Israel was also known as Jacob, the grandson of Abraham and Sarah.
Samson was proud of his great prowess in battle against the Philistines. The Philistines hated Samson because of the damage he caused to their cities and fields. At one time he removed the gigantic gates of the city and carried them away on his shoulder after ripping it single-handedly off its hinges. He set their fields afire and ruined their crops. In one battle he slew 1000 of the Philistines all by himself using for a weapon the jawbone of a donkey that he found on the ground nearby.
The Bible records that Samson broke all of his Nazarite vows. He drank wine, he touched a dead body and he did not dedicate himself totally to the Lord God. Samson’s great weakness was beautiful women. Samson fell in love with a beautiful Philistine woman named Delilah. Night after night he visited her residence to spend hours with her.
Delilah had been promised a great sum of money from the Philistines if she could uncover the secret of his prowess. Delilah teased and begged Samson daily to tell her the secret of his great strength. To get her to stop begging him on several different occasions he told her false things that would destroy his strength. For example, to tie him with seven bowstrings, to tie him with seven new ropes and to weave the seven locks of his hair with a loom. Each time Delilah would do to him as he had suggested, then awaken him shouting, “Samson, the Philistines are upon you!”
Each time Samson would awaken, shake himself and break loose. Finally Delilah cried bitterly, accusing him of not loving her because he would not reveal his secret. Finally Samson weakened and divulged his critical secret. As Samson was sleeping Delilah beckoned for men to cut his hair. She cried, “Samson, the Philistines are upon you!” Samson shook himself as before, but his strength had left him.
The Philistines took him prisoner, burned out his eyes with a hot poker and chained him to the huge stone wheel pulled along a trough to grind grain into flour, around and around, all day long, every day. Samson was destined to spend the rest of his days doing the job that an ox would do, grinding at the mill. He frequently was put on display for the Philistine people to mock him and to heap scorn upon him as their former mighty enemy whom the Philistines had reduced to a life worse than death.
One day Samson felt the breeze blowing through his hair which had begun to re-grow, and he realized that his incredible strength was returning. He heard that there was to be a great festival in the Temple of Dagon, the Philistines’ god. Three thousand people, including the Philistines’ most powerful political, military and religious leaders would be present.
Samson prayed earnestly, “Oh, God please forgive me for my sin and please use me for your glory one more time.”
At the festival in the temple of Dagon the people began to call for Samson to appear so that they could mock him and shout taunts at him. Samson had seen the temple of Dagon years earlier and knew how it had been constructed, its enormous weight bearing upon two tall round pillars in the center. As Samson stood between the pillars the people laughed at him and spat on him. He stretched his mighty arms around the pillars and pulled with all of his great strength which had returned. The temple crashed around him, killing the main political, military and religious leaders. Samson also died in the destruction with the 3,000 Philistines. Because God had favor upon him and forgave him when he repented, the good for the Children of Israel that Samson brought about in his death was greater than the good he had done in all of his life previously. Because the Philistines lost their greatest leaders they became weakened and eventually the Israelites were able to overcome the Philistines. They removed the Philistines from the land that God had given them.
Your comments or question
Did Samson commit suicide?
Question: Doesn’t the story of Samson equate to a story of suicide?
Suicide is wrong. It is murder with no opportunity to repent afterward. Nevertheless, I do not believe that this could be identified as a suicide on Samson's part. Israel and the Philistines were in a brutal war that had been ongoing for years. While this is my opinion, I believe that this is the correct take: Samson performed an act of sabotage during a fierce war. The Philistines were determined to destroy the Israelites so that they would be scourged from the land. Sound familiar?
When Samson pulled down the temple of Dagon it was filled with 3000 people who were sacrificing to their false god Dagon on an important pagan festival. A large number of those present were the political and military leaders of the Philistines.
In war people engage in exceedingly dangerous situations to defeat the enemy and to save their country. In war people on both sides get killed. This action of Samson, even though Samson died in its operation, saved the lives of thousands of Israelis and eventually culminated in the destruction and removal of the Philistine government.
In war hard choices always must be made. People die, but it is neither considered "murder" nor suicide, according to God's definition in the Old Testament. It was a life-and-death struggle between two groups of people, and Samson brought major deliverance to God’s people. Through his sacrifice thousands of Israelite young men were spared from dying in future battles that otherwise would have been fought to bring freedom to their people. We can be certain that Samson is and will continue to receive great rewards in God’s kingdom because of his sincere, heart-felt repentance and willingness to be used of God in a task even unto death.
Satan had intended to bring great ruin to Samson and to the children of Israel through Samson’s fall into sin. God knew how to turn this situation, or any other, for that matter, into a great blessing. It depends on our willingness to fall on our faces in contrite repentance, asking God to forgive us and to use us, “one more time”. Deuteronomy 23:4,5 recorded: “...they hired against you Balaam...to curse you. Nevertheless the Lord your God would not listen to Balaam, but the Lord your God turned the curse into a blessing for you, because the Lord your God loves you.”
Your comments or question ###
Repentance
Question: Why do people say that repentance for sins committed after we already have received salvation is important. Doesn’t our original salvation experience automatically cover all of our future sins? 7/23/9
When praying about our status with the Lord after receiving Christ’s salvation we can have not a shred of doubt that we’re forgiven and spiritually covered with the blood sacrifice of Jesus. We therefore can be secure in the assurance of salvation and of our right through Jesus' sacrifice to enter Heaven. Nevertheless, we still may be overcome with humility and sorrow for the mistakes (sins) we've committed in the past. Some of these sins may have resulted in severe, lasting harm to ourselves and to others.
Additionally, since we still are humans living in a sinful world, subject to temptation we may find that we have yielded to temptations to do things that are not pleasing to God, even after we have given our hearts to the Lord. It may appear that there is a never-ending supply of terrible words, deeds and attitudes of which we’ve been guilty: injustice to others gossip, failure to encourage and help, ingratitude, being a poor example, words of condemnation of others, and on and on.
As each of these thoughts, acts and deeds occur, they cause us to slip in our relationship with the Lord. Unconfessed and therefore unforgiven sin looms before us, driving us further from the Lord’s comforting presence. Our holy God cannot be in the presence of sin. He withdraws bit by bit as we continue headlong down destructive paths of attitudes and deeds. When we sense this separation in our spirits we need to stop and reconsider the decisions we have been making. Have we sincerely sought the will of God before proceeding with our plans? Have we searched our hearts and minds for things we have done which affect ourselves and/or others adversely? Failing diligently to seek God’s will before making decisions, brushing past nagging concerns that these may not meet God’s approval for our lives, can be defined as disobedience and rebellion, which are sin.
At such points we need to stop what we are doing, find a quiet place to have a discussion with the Lord (prayer), asking Him to forgive us for our attitudes and actions. Sometimes it requires lengthy periods of introspection, asking God to reveal to our minds those areas that are not pleasing to Him. We also need to ask Him to show us the adverse effects our words and actions have had in the lives of others so that we may pray about them and make retribution if possible.
When God has revealed to our spirits the consequences of our wrong actions we need to take these matters before God in prayer, itemizing each wrong we have done, along with the wrong that we have brought into the lives of others. We then need to do what the Bible commands us to do, I John 1:6-9, “If we say that we have fellowship with Him, and walk in darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth. But if we walk in the light as He is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus Christ, His Son cleanses us from all sin. If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.”
It is amazing how difficult it can be just to face up to ourselves and to God with the fact that we have committed ungodly actions and to ask for forgiveness. Pride is known as one of the seven deadly sins, and it is well defined. Humbling ourselves before God in contrite acknowledgment that we have wronged God and others, although difficult, results in a refreshing feeling of a lightened load. Sin depresses us and drags us down but spiritually dumping those problems into the Lord’s lap is therapeutic in the extreme.
We do not have to worry about whether He will forgive us after we have confessed because the verses just quoted promise after confession, “..He is faithful and just to forgive us....” From that point on, as far as God is concerned those sins are gone, never committed, and dropped into the “sea of God’s forgetfulness” never to be remembered against us anymore. The Blood sacrifice of Jesus covers all sins, as long as we CONFESS AND REPENT OF THEM to Him. If we refuse to confess these after-salvation sins, then we shall be judged for them at the Bema Seat Judgment seat of Christ after the resurrection. It is much better to get these sins under the blood of Jesus and forgiven through repentance and confession to Him in prayer. By addressing these sins we can see where we have a tendency to slip. At the same time we can ask the Lord for strength and power to resist such sins in future. If we ask, He will help. As Jesus said, “You have not because you ask not.”
Unfortunately, although God forgives us and no longer holds it against us that we did sin in the past, we still need to face up to the fact that our sins may have caused extreme hardship on ourselves or others. It is our duty as Christians to pray for God to alleviate the harm that we have done. We need to pray earnestly that God makes up the difference for those people who have been harmed by our unwise and sinful actions. Even though God forgives and forgets, the ones whom we have harmed may not find it easy to forgive, much less forget. It is incumbent on us not only to pray for these people but also to go to them, asking forgiveness for the harm we have done.
It is extremely difficult to humble ourselves and go to these people to ask forgiveness. Some people find it difficult to forgive and these may feel justified in “giving us a piece of their mind” for what we have done. In those circumstances it is easy to become angry because they do not seem to understand how difficult it was for us to go to them to ask forgiveness in the first place. Nevertheless, the Lord will give us patience and strength to forbear adding fuel to the fire as we seek His help.
As a word of caution, if we are absolutely certain that the individual we have harmed has no comprehension that an injury has been done to him/her, and if there is absolutely nothing one can do about the wrong once we have ceased the sinful act(s), it may be better to continue to pray earnestly for God’s blessings upon that individual’s life and to leave it there with God. If confession can only bring pain and perhaps result in widening of the damage it may be better to keep silent after repenting to God.
A case in point involved, a Christian lady who worked with another woman’s husband. Because of a series of events a brief affair ensued between her and the husband. Both quickly ended the affair and asked forgiveness from the Lord. The guilty woman agonized over a need to confess to the unsuspecting wife and to ask forgiveness. After days in prayer she finally became convinced that a confession from her would create extreme anger and an inability of the wife to forgive. A divorce doubtless would have ensued, breaking up a marriage with permanent disruption of the lives of the two children. In that case it was better, after ensuring that the sin would not be repeated, to leave the whole matter in the Lord’s hands. She understood the need never to try to relieve her own mind by confessing to other, unaffected parties who might not be able to resist the temptation to share a juicy piece of gossip and therefore multiply the disasterous consequences needlessly.
The consequences of that slip (sin), however was that the guilty woman felt constrained to quit the job she had enjoyed but which would continue to place her in contact with the husband. She moved to another city where she developed new friends and church associates. This was a case where a sin, although forgiven after repentance and confession to the Lord, caused permanent changes in her life. Fortunately the Lord was good for His word to help us through all of our temptations and trials as we seek His help. She eventually married and continued to serve the Lord.
On the other hand, some people fool themselves into thinking that the injured party has no conception of the sin that has been on-going. In a similar example, the guilty husband and his guilty partner fooled themselves into thinking that the wife had no idea of the betrayal. In fact, she was fully aware but said nothing since to do so might cause a divorce which would place her future financial security as well as the well-being of the children into grave jeopardy. She suffered in silence and emotionally withdrew from her husband because of the emotional pain she was bearing. Some betrayed spouses have sought solace in alcohol or other substances, thus increasing the spiritual and physical destruction precipitated by sin.
In addition, there are the spiritual consequences of unrepented and unconfessed sin. Scriptures strongly indicate major eternal consequences for sin, even to those who thought that they were “saved”, who had accessed Jesus Christ for their salvation. Two scriptures on point in the book of Revelation state: Rev. 21:7,8, “He who overcomes shall inherit all things, and I will be his God and he shall be my son. But the cowardly, unbelieving, abominable, murderers, sexually immoral, sorcerers, idolaters, and all liars shall have their part in the lake which burns with fire, and brimstone, which is the second death.”
Then speaking of the New Jerusalem, Rev. 21: 27, “But there shall by no means enter it anything that defiles, or causes an abomination, or a lie, but only those who are written in the Lamb’s Book of Life.”
There is NO caveat here that interjects, “unless they had become Christians early in life, in which case they may perform such deeds as they please....the sacrifice of Jesus automatically covers all of their sins in advance.” NO! NOT!
The sense of the scripture is that if they had been Christians and found themselves falling into such sins, then it is incumbent upon them to STOP the sinning, be sorry, repent and confess their sins and ask Jesus to forgive them for slipping and for being such a bad example for others. If they have done this (repentance and confession to God), then without a doubt their sins will be forgiven, never to be remembered anymore, provided repentance had occurred and they truly intended not to continue in that particular sin.
As Paul said, the grace that we have received from Christ does not give us the right to continue living a life of sin. We are commanded to turn away from sin and to ask for help from God to strengthen us so that we do not slip back into those old lifestyles in which we were immersed prior to receiving salvation by grace through faith in Jesus Christ’s sacrifice for us.
There has been an unfortunate trend among Christians to accept an occasional slip (sin) as part of our journey through this life. Growing in usage is the phrase, “I’m just a sinner, saved by grace.”
The inference here is that it is a normal, expected part of our Christian experience to continue occasionally doing those things that clearly are labeled “sin”, that God expects it and automatically covers it in advance. We are commanded to strive for perfection, as Jesus indicated in Matt. 5:48, “Be ye perfect, even as your Father in Heaven also is perfect.” This is our goal here on earth and we should strive to meet it, not to excuse our deficiencies as to-be-expected for humans who claim to be sinners, saved by grace.
As we who have accessed the blood of Jesus and the throne of grace we are no longer to identify ourselves as sinners, even though we have made serious mistakes of judgment on occasion. “Normal” for us is the standard of righteousness exhibited by our Lord and Savior, our supreme example, Jesus Christ.
In all situations, as redeemed, Christian, free moral agents, we almost always have the right and responsibility to make choices: right or wrong, good or evil, submitted or rebellious, etc. We answer for the choices we make in terms of gain or loss of rewards. Even though we are not to be cast into hell, we can lose rewards for our attitudes and actions. (Rewards: Gold, silver, precious stones, or wood, hay or stubble which burn)
We are always to strive toward perfection in our Christian walk although we'll never achieve total perfection on this side of glory. As Luke quoted Jesus, Luke 21:36, Watch therefore and pray always that you may be counted worthy to escape all these things that will come to pass, and to stand before the Son of Man.” If our attitudes and actions as Christians made no difference, Jesus would not have had the unfairness to demand of us that we be "accounted worthy". Jesus wasn't saying that we'd lose our salvation but that we could lose the chance to leave before judgment falls upon the earth in the tribulation period. He was concerned about the timing with which it would be our turn to escape the horrors of the tribulation.
There is nothing of self-righteousness here. In honesty we are continually appalled to recall how truly unworthy of His grace we have been and how extremely difficult it continues to be to keep accounts current with Jesus and with our fellow man. We are not trying to “earn” salvation. Salvation is by grace alone. We are rewarded for the life we have lived and the good that we have done for the Kingdom of God and for other people.
Paul described the spiritual armor with which we are to be clothed, Ephesians 6:11. Armor is meant for warfare and we are commanded to "fight the good fight", to stand firm in the face of the adversity which the devil throws at us and to "so fight" for the kingdom of God. That is what Jesus was talking about with His warnings.
Soldiers who are guilty of dereliction of duty are court marshaled. We all have been derelict at one time or another. There also are times when it is impossible in this life to rectify our errors. We then must throw ourselves on the mercy of the court. It is through the love and mercy of God through Jesus Christ that we have not been booted out of the army of God and our names blotted from the book of life. That's amazing grace.
In another allegory, like good fighters, after each round our trainer (the Holy Spirit) douses us with refreshing water, (sanctification in our daily walk with the Lord). Our trainer takes care of fresh wounds and encourages us to get back in the ring for more rounds until the fight is over. We then take our rewards, according to the Lord’s promises. We have fought the good battle. We have won the fight. We enter into the kingdom of our Lord and God, Jesus Christ, forever to be with Him in his glory and greatness in the new heaven and the new earth.
