Rev.1. First verses and Rev. 22 last Chap. 22, v. 16. “I, Jesus …” notice who it was. These are the words of Jesus Christ just as were those He spoke when He was here on this earth. Satan was still in Heaven, but Satan is not in heaven now. When Jesus ascended to heaven and entered the holiest with His own blood, it says Satan’s place was then no more in heaven. When Christ was here on this earth, Satan was in heaven, but he had lost his throne in heaven. He had lost that throne before the time of Adam and Eve, but he was not forbidden to enter heaven until Christ entered with His own blood. Satan’s place was no longer in heaven. He was cast out into the earth and his angels were cast out with him. It cost something to get him out of heaven. It says there was war in heaven, Michael and his angels fought and the devil and his angels fought, and Michael overcame and Satan and his angels were cast out into the earth. It says; “Woe unto the inhabitants of the earth and of the sea, because the devil is coming down unto you with great anger, because he knows he has but a short time. Do you know what the devil set himself to do – to do all the harm that he could and to make war with the woman’s seed. In other words, he set himself to destroy the work Christ had done on this earth. Do you know the way that he plans to destroy it? By filling the world with religion in the name of Jesus Christ, and that is what the world is full of to-day. It is full of religion in the name of Jesus Christ and many people think that it is God’s religion and all the time it is the devil’s religion. If the devil worked in his own name, people would know it is the devil, but when he works in the name of Jesus Christ, people think it is Christ. If you read the 13th chapter of Revelation, you will see the work of the devil. It tells us in that chapter that all the world would worship the Beast. That was the devil’s religion. All the world would worship him except those whose names are written in the Book of Life? Those that hear the true gospel and allow God by His Holy Spirit to dwell in them. That is one of the best ways of expressing what salvation is – our bodies becoming a temple for God’s Spirit to dwell in. Before we got saved, there was another tenant in our house. Jesus Christ spoke of it as the unclean spirit. That is why we never have to be taught to do bad things. We all do bad things by nature because there is that old unclean spirit dwelling in us. Jesus said; “He is a strong man armed that keeps his palace, but when a stronger than he comes upon him he casts him out and spoils his goods.” Do you know who is the stronger than the strong? – God’s Holy Spirit and He is that new tenant that comes into the house. When a person becomes a new creature because there is a new tenant in that house, and nothing short of that is salvation. We must allow God’s Holy Spirit to come in to dwell in us and He will reach us and help us. All those who do not allow that to happen, will worship in the other way, but we in whom God’s Spirit dwells, will worship Him in His own way.
13th Chapter – Satan’s chapter. 14th Chapter – God’s chapter. Read chapters 12, 13, 14, 15 and 16 often. They all follow each other and you cannot take one chapter away from the other, and have the right understanding of what is said.
The first 5 chapters of the book – the first chapter does not start with the birth of Christ – this was 97 years after Christ was born. The first church mentioned is at Ephesus. Paul preached at Ephesus – the last place he preached at before he became a prisoner, and Paul was not saved when Christ was crucified. Before he worked at Ephesus, he worked at many other places. This message was sent to the Church, but the Lord said that they had lost their first love. Was it the first love for God Himself, or was it the first love for one another, or was it their first love for the unsaved world? Every true child of God should have these three forms of love. A love for God and His truth and Way, and a love for one another, and a love for the unsaved people of the world. If we have a love for the unsaved people of the world, we will try and bring the gospel to them. I would encourage you to try and bring the gospel to people of your own nationality.
The 12th Chapter begins with the birth of Christ. The 14th Chapter says that this everlasting gospel was to go to every nation and kindred and tongue and people. This gospel of the Kingdom was to be preached in all the world before the end. I am glad that when I decided to begin to serve God I began to feel my responsibility towards the unsaved people around me. The night I decided to serve God, a sister of mine also decided. We had never talked together about it, but God was working in both of our hearts. Now we had an experience – the experience of old things passing away and all things becoming new. The new tenant had come into the house and the old tenant had been put out. I began to feel my need of telling other people about it and my friends saw that I was changed. If we become children of God, our friends will see it. If anyone told me that I would spend my life preaching the Gospel, I would never have believed it. One of the brothers said; “If you open your mouth wide, the Lord will fill it.” The first words I spoke were; “I will try and tell you how I got my sins forgiven.” I went on to speak that night, but I cannot tell you any other words I spoke, but I never can forget the joy that was in my heart. It was just because I had opened my mouth for Christ. While I was speaking, it came to my mind as if someone had said; “If the Lord could always help you like that, it will be possible for you to preach the Gospel.” From that time on, I began to think about preaching the Gospel.
Acts 1 – it speaks about bondmen and bondwomen. It speaks first about sons and daughters, that is the whole family of God, but it says; “On My bondmen and bondwomen I will pour out My Spirit. These are the ones that would go forth to preach the Gospel. He said; “I will pour out My Spirit on them and they shall preach the Gospel.” It was only about ten months after that I went out to preach the Gospel. I saw a letter written to another young man, asking him if he would consider preaching in Africa. He did not go, he went to America instead. He did not carry on preaching and died many years ago. I wrote to the man and told him I had seen the letter and would like to volunteer to preach in Africa. In 1907, I landed in South Africa with seven others. God opened the way for me in Cape Town. One home I went to to ask about holding meetings, the lady said to me; “Who sent you to ask our home for a meeting?” I said; “So far as man is concerned, no one sent me.” She said; “I would like to know if it was God who put it in your mind, because since my husband and I have been married a few years ago, we have been trying to serve Him.”
Only two churches were right, the church at Smyrna and the church at Philadelphia, and there were a few names in Sardis. It seems to imply that the others were not. It is the overcomers who will live and reign with Christ in the thousand years. In these messages he spoke about those who would overcome. In one place it says; “He that overcometh shall be clothed in white raiment.” In the message to Smyrna He spoke along the same lines; “He that overcometh shall not be hurt of the second death.” There could not be a second if there was not a first.
20th Chapter: “Blessed and holy is he that hath part in the first resurrection … thousand years.” All the true overcomers will not only be in heaven, but they will reign on the earth for a thousand years. “The rest of the dead lives not again till the thousand years are finished.”, and this is the second death.” The punishment for those who are not true overcomers, it is not that they will not land in heaven, but they will not be resurrected to reign with Christ for the thousand years. Only the true overcomers will be resurrected to reign with Christ for the thousand years.
Chapter 3: message to Laodicea – “To him that overcometh will I grant to sit with me in my Throne even as I overcame and am sat with my Father in His throne.” He was promising the true overcomers a place with Him in His throne.
Chapters 4 & 5, from the beginning to end, tell us about the throne. There are 2 classes of overcomers. Two classes of people in God’s service. In the Epistles we read about the saints and the servants. The saints are those who serve God in their homes and the servants are those who leave their homes and all to preach the Gospel. There are two classes of people who sat with Him in that throne, which was the throne of God. Jesus was given a place in His Father’s throne. Now He has a right to give others a place with Him in that throne, and when we read these chapters, we read about four and twenty elders that were on seats round about the throne. They were clothed with white raiment and had crowns of gold on their heads. Those were the true overcomers amongst the saints of God; the people who served God in their homes. I might make mention here that was not the life of Jesus divided into two parts. He lived as a carpenter in Nazareth as a pattern for people who serve God in their homes. At 30 years of age, He left the bench and went forth to preach the Gospel and from that time He had no home of His own. Jesus told those people who went out, that they would get fathers and mothers and brothers and sisters and houses and lands. The first home I had was the one I spoke about earlier.
On the Day of Judgement there were two classes of people there. The human race was divided into two, the sheep on His right and the goats on His left. There was another group whom He called his brethren who were with Him. It says that he will say to those groups whom He called His Brethren, who were with Him. It says that He will say to those on His right hand; “Come ye blessed of My Father, inherit the Kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world, for I was thirsty and ye gave me drink…” etc. Those brethren were those who had left all to preach the Gospel. Those on the seats round about were the true overcoming saints of God.
In the midst of the throne and round about the throne he saw four living creatures – they were the true overcoming servants of God. There were 24 round the throne, but only four in the midst of the throne. The Lord’s saints are many more than the Lord’s servants.
It gives a description of those who were in the midst of the throne. It says that they were full of eyes before and behind and within. That is what is needed in every true servant of God. Paul was a man with eyes, before, looking out for where he could bring the Gospel – one of the marks of a true servant of God, anxious to bring the Gospel where it had never been preached. Paul was also full of eyes behind – looking back to the places where he had been and writing letters to those he had left. Full of eyes within – watching himself as well. He said; “I keep my body under, lest having called others to the conflict, I myself should be rejected.”
These four living creatures had a message also, that consisted of three things – the holiness of God, the omnipotence of God and the unchangeableness of God. The time came when all these people fell down before the Lamb. There was a little book in the right hand of the One who sat on the throne. Someone asked; “Who is worthy to open the Book.?” The angel said to John; “Weep not. The Lion of the trive of Juda has prevailed to open the Book.” That was Jesus. When He took the Book, John saw as it was, a lamb that had been slain. Both these animals represent Jesus. When Jesus was on earth He was the Lamb, and when He took the Book out of the right hand of Him who sat on the throne, He was as a lion. You can do what you like with a lamb, but the time will come when He will be the Lion.
When He opened the seals, these living creatures and the elders fell down before the Lamb, and they sang a new song – “Thou art worthy … and has redeemed us from every nation and kindred and tongue and people … and we shall reign on earth.” They tell us themselves who they are. People from different nations of the earth. God’s salvation had come into their lives and made them kings and priests and fitted them for reigning with Christ on earth in the thousand years when He reigns. The true overcomers will not only be with Christ hereafter, but they will reign with Him in the thousand years.
(4 divisions of the book Revelations; Chapters 1-5, 6-11, 12-16, 17-22)
Truth Archive 