October 26, 2008
Scripture:
Genesis 22:1,2 - “And it came to pass after these things, that God did tempt Abraham, and said unto him, Abraham: and he said, Behold, here I am. And he said, Take now thy son, thine only son Isaac, whom thou lovest, and get thee into the land of Moriah; and offer him there for a burnt offering upon one of the mountains which I will tell thee of.” Have you ever thought about that? God said, “Take your only son Isaac.” Abraham could have said, “Wait, I have two sons. Ishmael and Isaac.” Abraham had been promised a son, but for a long time no son came. So Abraham and Sarah decided to do something about it, and Abraham had a son through Hagar. He was what you might call a son of the flesh, because he came as a result of their own doing. When Abraham was old, he had a son through a miracle. How was Jesus born? Through a miracle. Go back to Adam and Eve. When they knew that they were naked, they decided to do something. They sewed fig leaves into aprons. God couldn’t accept that. There was no blood involved. God had to provide coats of skins; a sacrifice with blood. With Christ, He went to Calvary and shed His blood for our sins. How precious that God could say, “This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.” On the cross Christ said, “It is finished”; there is nothing more to be done, it was all done to the satisfaction of a holy God. That is why Isaac was Abraham’s only son. He came God’s way. How precious is God’s way! We came to God through Christ. That is God’s way. Other people try to do things to get to God, but it’s all fig leaves. And soon we shall hear that trump and go to be in His presence, where there is fullness of joy.
Hymn 179 – Nothing but Christ, as on we tread
Prayer
We have seen how the rapture will take place and there will only be Jews and unbelievers left on the earth. We looked at how we will go to the Judgement Seat of Christ and then to the Marriage of the Lamb. On earth, there will be the trinity of evil; we can’t imagine what it will be like here at that time. We’re going to look at an opposite today, the opposite of what we will be doing in Heaven. We will be at the Marriage of the Lamb as the bride of Christ; we will be pure, holy, and glorified. But on earth, the opposite will be going on. Read Revelation 17:1 – 2. All the churches will be combined at this time, headed by the Roman Catholic Church; it will be a very evil situation. The religious Roman empire is depicted here as a woman on a beast, vv. 3 – 5. In v. 6, we are reminded that this collection of churches has persecuted many Christians in the past. The beast has seven heads (v. 7), which is a picture of the seven hills of Rome (v. 9), from where this religious system will reign. Also, the ten horns of this beast are a picture of ten kingdoms which will rule the commercial and political world; they will be powered by Satan. These kingdoms will war against the Lord at the end of the tribulation, v. 14. In v. 16, the 10 kingdoms will destroy the religious system; and this will be God’s will.
In ch. 18:1, we read that this whole world system will be called “Babylon,” and it will be a completely corrupt system. Many in it will get rich by working for this system, v. 3. In vv. 4 – 6, God calls his people out of this system, because he is preparing to bring full judgement on it (v.8).
I want to look at one more thing in ch 19:1 – 6. Those that are in Heaven at this time will rejoice over the fact that Babylon will be destroyed. After the judgement, the Lord will reign on the earth for one thousand years; Lord willing we will look at that next time.
We’ve seen how important to have “these things” before us. We saw how some people would twist the Apostle Paul’s writings, and we were exhorted not to be of that ilk at all. We are now warned not to fall into error. We shouldn’t be unstable (v. 16), but steadfast. The wicked will try to deceive and to lead astray, telling us that God doesn’t exist, saying He is not what the Bible says He is, or that we do not need to recognize His authority. Hamilton Smith says that “The evolutionist would shut God out of His creation; the politician would exclude God from government, and the modernist would shut God out of religion.”
The word steadfast is an interesting word; it is not the same Greek word used for steadfast in II Corinthians 15:58; this is the only time in the Bible this Greek word is used. It has the meaning of “fixedness,” something that won’t move. It is a contrast to those who are unstable. Peter gives us a recipe for practical steadfastness in ch. 1:5 – 7; v. 10 says “if ye do these things, ye shall never fall.”
We should never stop growing as Christians. V. 18 exhorts us to grow in grace. You don’t stand still in your Christian life; you either go forward or backward. It can be likened to riding a bike; if you don’t move forward, you will fall. It has been said that Satan always attacked the main truth of a certain time period; we are in the day of grace, and so Peter must exhort us to grow in grace. We are also to grow in the knowledge of the Lord. Peter gives us four names for the Lord here: Lord, Saviour, Jesus, and Christ. Lord reminds us of His authority; Saviour reminds us of Calvary; Jesus reminds us of His humanity; Christ reminds us that He was the Anointed One. As we look at the Lord in these ways, we will learn about His humility, holiness, love, and faithfulness, and we will grow in these things. The writing of this caused Peter to bubble over with praise: to Him be glory!
Hymn 140 – Will your anchor hold in the storms of life
Prayer