Revelation: Part 58

When anyone anywhere, responds to this knowledge by having a desire to know this God, God will move heaven and earth to get the message to them.

God knows and remembers every suffering I’ve had. And it’s all written in his book. And he will make it up to me when I get there. And believe you me, he will.

You will never suffer anything in this life as a believer, and you just trust him. Even if you don’t, God’s got a record of it, and he’s gonna reward you for it. Because every time he allows you to suffer, it is for some purpose that he has. Either to make you grow, or as you go through suffering by faith, it causes others to see the reality of Christ in you.

And that’s something you don’t hear much taught about today, do you? It’s a shame, because that’s a big part of christianity. All right, another book. And that’s gonna be for the believers.

All right. There’s the book of life, and we know all about that, Psalms 69:28 mentions it. David said may they be blotted out of the book of life, and may they not be recorded with the righteous. Now, here’s one that I think is very, very important.

This is found in Psalms 139, verse 16. And this is why I believe that life begins at conception. Absolutely. Psalms 139, verse 16.

Your eyes have seen my unformed substance, and in your book they were written, the days that were ordained for me. In other words, how long I would live. When as yet they were not one of them. You see, what this is saying, is very important.

I studied this very carefully in Hebrew. Your eyes have seen my unformed substance. They are in your book. They were written.

They were written before I was ever conceived. They were written from the foundation of the earth. In other words, every part of you, every molecule, was written in God’s book from the foundation of the earth. What you would look like.

Your organs. All of the -that’s what this is saying. All of the molecular structure. Everything was written in God’s book.

That’s why God made such a point of this, because I believe -you know, God says that the resurrection is about raising this body of yours into a glorified body. People say, well, how -you know, people have been blown to bits, they’ve been burned, they’ve been lost, they’ve been decayed long ago. How will he do that? Because it’s all written in his book.

Every molecule. Long before you were conceived. So there’s no chance -I get so upset when they call these babies a fetus. A fetus?

That’s just to dehumanize them. They’re human from conception. All right. Then there is the book of the Old Testament remnant.

Daniel 12:1. Now at that time, michael, the great prince who stands guard over the sons of your people, will arise. And there will be a time of distress such as never occurred since there was a nation until that time. And at that time, your people, everyone who is found written in the book, will be rescued.

So there they are. They’re written in God’s book. Then there is this one. And this also is for believers.

This is a book of remembrance of all who remain true in times of apostasy. Malachi 3:16-17. Then those who feared the Lord, that means they reverenced him, spoke to one another, and the Lord gave attention and heard it. And a book of remembrance was written before him for those who fear the Lord and who esteem his name.

They will be mine, says the Lord of hosts, on the day that I prepare my possessions, and I will spare them as a man spares his own son who serves me. I want to be one of those, don’t you? All right. Then -there are many other things, but I’m gonna go to Revelation 13:8 right now.

This is the Lamb’s book of life. All who dwell on the earth will worship him, the Antichrist, everyone whose name has not been written in the Lamb’s book of life. In the original Greek, by the way, it does not say has not been -it doesn’t say everyone who has not been written from the foundation of the world in the Lamb’s book of life. It literally says everyone who is not written in the Lamb’s book of life, of him who was slain from the foundation of the world.

From the foundation refers to Christ of the world being slain. It was preordained, in other words. Now, look at chapter 17, because there’s a contrast. Chapter 17, verse 8.

The beast that you saw was and is not, and is about to come up out of the abyss, and go to destruction. And those who dwell on the earth whose name has not been written in the book of life from the foundation of the world. Now, here’s why it’s important what I said, and I studied the Greek syntax very carefully. The Lamb’s book of life does not say that it was written from the foundation of the earth.

The Lamb’s book of life is a book that Jesus keeps. And when someone believes in him, he writes their name in his book of life. The Lamb’s book of life. The book of life was written before the foundation of the earth.

There’s a contrast. There are two different books. You do not see the Lamb’s book of life mentioned at the last judgment, the judgment of condemnation. Only the book of life.

You see, God has a double-entry accounting system. The book of life was mentioned in the Old Testament. I read it to you out of psalms. And the book of life contains, or it contained, the name of every person who would ever be born from the foundation of the earth.

When a person dies, he comes, he lives, he dies, and he doesn’t receive God’s gift of forgiveness, he doesn’t receive God’s provision for sin. His name is blotted out of the book of life. However, when someone believes in Christ, his name is written into the book. So at the end of man’s history, what do you have?

You have a double-reference check. You will only have those who believed in Jesus Christ, and those in the book of life remain because they accepted God’s provision. So the Lamb’s book of life is the one that is checked at the judgment seat of Christ, but the book of life is checked at the last judgment. All right, let’s look at chapter 20 again now.

Now I said last week, why is there a last judgment, in the light of John 3:18? Because in John 3:18 it says, he who believes in him, is not condemned. He that believes not is condemned, how? Already.

Because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God. All right. So, hey, if you didn’t believe in Jesus Christ, there’s no mystery about what’s gonna be the verdict at the last judgment. You’re already condemned.

So why are you there? Why the folderol? Because, you see, everyone is going to have a personal defense that they’ve dreamed up at the last judgment.

Jesus even gives us a preview of that. Did you know that? In Matthew 7, one of the most misunderstood passages in the Bible, I’ve had people give me this verse trying to prove that faith alone won’t save you. And proved just the opposite.

In verse 21, Matthew 7:21. Not everyone who says to me, Lord, Lord, will enter the kingdom of heaven; but he who does the will of my father who is in heaven. Many will say to me on, what day? That day.

What day is he talking about? Judgment. Many will say to me on that day, Lord, Lord. Too late.

Did we not prophesy in your name, and in your name cast out demons, and in your name perform many miracles? And then I will declare to them, I never knew you. Depart from me, you who practice lawlessness. What’s the key here?

Not everyone who says to me, Lord, Lord, will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one that does the will of the father. What is the will of the father? Well, John doesn’t leave it blank. Look at John 6.

They said therefore to him, what shall we do that we may work the works of God? And Jesus answered and said to them, this is the work of God, that you believe in him whom he has sent. That’s the only work he’ll accept and it’s not a work. And then he says in verse 38, for I have come down from heaven, not to do my own will, but the will of him who sent me.

And this is the will of him who sent me, that all that he has given me I lose nothing, but raise it up on the last day. For this is the will of my father, that everyone who beholds the son and believes in him, may have eternal life, and I myself will raise him up on the last day. So what does he mean when he says but those who do the will of the father? That you look on him, recognize who he is, and believe on him.

What do these, obviously religious people, phony christians, probably charismatic leaders, what do they plead at the last judgment? Didn’t we do many miracles in your name? Didn’t we prophesy in your name? Yeah, I’ve heard these fortune tellers calling themselves prophets.

Didn’t we do many wonderful works? And he’ll say, I didn’t know you. Why? Because what are they pleading?

Their own works. And that ain’t gonna make it. Now, this is serious, folks. If you’re depending on anything to earn God’s acceptance other than to believe in Jesus Christ and receive the gift of his pardon, you’re not going to make it.

There will be no human merit accepted. Only the merits of Jesus Christ will get you in. And I know a lot of people are confused on this because, I mean, you can see it in the Bible. You look at the life of Abraham and you look at the life of David, and you look at the life of a lot of the great heroes in the Bible, and you say, wow, how are they gonna make it?

Well, God believes in presenting man warts and all. Because he sees what we are, not what we are perceived to be by the public. And it isn’t a sinless person that God uses. If he were gonna do that, he wouldn’t have anybody to use.

And I find that some of the people used greatly by God are people who stumble and fall on their face and do some pretty -pretty stupid things. But there’s one characteristic of the kind of person God loves and uses. And that is, one who never thinks of himself as deserving God’s grace. And when he fails, he goes before God with the attitude, I never deserved anything and I never will deserve anything.

I come and throw myself upon your mercy and your grace by faith in what Jesus Christ did for me. And God will pick you up off the floor, dust you off and say, okay, get back in the game. Trust me and walk with me. That’s God’s way.

And it’s gonna be such a horrible thing you know, at the judgment seat of Christ. The believers will be there for having their works done, but they’re judged for the sole purpose of seeing what rewards we get, or lose. Not for taking us out of being in heaven. Okay, so getting to this verse now.

It says I saw the dead, great and small, standing before the throne of God, and books were opened and another book was opened, which is the book of life. Now, it says the dead were judged from the things which were written in the books, according to their works. And the sea gave up the dead which were in it and death and Hades gave up the dead which were in them, and they were judged, every one, according to their works. You see, there are several books, I’m sure there’s gonna be a book of the law because when a man stands there -God’s whole purpose is to give man a chance to present his case.

Why should I let you into heaven? And I believe that in these books, not only are the things we think of in our -you know, in our perception as bad, that’s not gonna be the emphasis. I believe in God’s books he’s going to bring up the things we thought were good that we did. Like, you know, I went to africa, and, you know, I gave a few million dollars to help out like the movie stars do.

It’s a good thing to assuage your conscience. Or you did things which, you know, socially were a good thing. But God’s gonna look at it and say, here’s my standard. So you considered this good.

But my standard looks at your heart, at your motive, and it looks at all the rest of your life too. And those who have been exposed to God’s law will be judged by the the law. Which says whosoever keeps the whole law, yet offends in one point, is guilty of all. God doesn’t judge on the curve.

You may be better than louie, but you’re not better than God. You’re not equal with him, see. That’s the standard, God. Then there will be the heathen there that will say, well, I never heard any of this.

And to that God will present something like from Romans 1, which says in verse 18, for the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men who suppress the truth by means of their unrighteousness. In other words, there is truth in us. We’re born with it. Because that which is known about God is evident within them, for God made it evident to them.

Now, if God made it evident, it’s evident. And it shows that man has the evidence of conscience, even though it has been compromised and has been manipulated, in that we excuse and justify things we do. That’s evidence that there is a moral reasoning that God gave us. And the heathen will be judged on that basis.

But he will still be shown that he falls short of God. And most sad of all will be the religious person. Who says, well, you know, I was greatly devoted, I didn’t call you by name, I called you buddha, but, you know, I did the best I could.

Sorry, my name isn’t buddha. And it sure isn’t muhammad. And it’s not allah, the moon God. It’s not confucius.

It’s not Mary baker glover patterson eddy.

No. Everyone’s gonna be judged by the books. And God’s going to go through every account. Jesus Christ the Lord is gonna do it.

It’s Jesus that sits on the white throne. He will go over everything in our file. And it’s all there. And emphasizing the things we thought were good, he will show.

It can never be good enough. And then he will point to those who heard the Gospel, or heard about Jesus. And show every time someone tried to get across the Gospel. Every time the Holy Spirit worked in your conscience and in your heart, trying to draw you to Christ.

And at last he will sadly say, depart from me, you who work iniquity. I never knew you. And they will be cast into the lake of fire and outer darkness. A place of personal isolation where you will remember and remember and go over your life for all eternity thinking, I could have believed.

I could have responded to the urging of God for me to seek him. I could have responded to what I saw evidence about of there being a God in the universe. Especially this is gonna be difficult for the ph.d.’s and the scientists. Because they can’t pile it higher and deeper there.

And all of their arguments about you can’t prove the existence of God from things that are created. When it slaps you in the face every time you turn around, God exists. And, finally, God will sadly say, this is the second death. And there’s never, never, never an end to it.

You know, the thing that I think most people count on is -well, I’ve talked to so many, is that there’s really not going to be something after this life. This is only the beginning. And the thing that should really grip our hearts as we think about telling people about Jesus, is that every human being is going to live somewhere forever. Bodily, even the unbeliever is gonna be raised bodily.

A body of corruption, but a body that can feel, can -in the heart can feel the searing agony of every missed opportunity. Let’s use this -first of all, make sure that you have counted on Jesus as your only hope. And, secondly, to think about those you know and you love who are outside of Jesus Christ. This is not games.

This is not whether it would be nice if I talked to them or not. But it’s a matter of life and eternal death. Let us pray. Father, in Jesus’ name, I thank you that by your mercy and your grace you’ve told us about Jesus Christ.

We’ve come to believe and accept the gift of pardon that he gave his life in our place to pay for and to give us as a gift. Help us to walk worthy of such love and grace. And help us to share Jesus in a wise way depending on the Holy Spirit with those we love. In Jesus’ name, amen.

If you have the guts to be a real revolutionary, come forward right now and accept Jesus Christ as your real revolutionary, and he’ll make a revolutionary that will change lives.

Thank you so much for standing with me as a watchman on the wall. I pray daily that he will reward your faithfulness and protect and prosper you in these difficult times. Thank you again for being a vital part of my team.