December 14, 2008
Scripture:
Romans 8:1 — Our sins are gone; we have no condemnation; we can have peace!
Ephesians 2:11 – 17 — v. 11 is talking about the past; v.12 tells us about the present.
Can we look back to that verse that our brother read in John 14. V.27: “Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you: not as the world giveth, give I unto you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid.” I was thinking of the phrase “not as the world giveth”. At this season, many people are giving. In this world, if you give, you give away and no longer own that thing. I have been rejoicing that here is something that God gives, and still keeps. Christ gave us peace with God. He didn’t need that; He always had that. He also gave us God’s peace. He gives it away, and yet he keeps it; not how the world gives. We can rest in the same peace that God does concerning our sins and our future. Oh, how precious that is. He also gave us life, but He didn’t lose it. This is a sort of sharing. He did the same with the Spirit; we both have it. Isn’t it precious? “Not as the world giveth give I unto you.”
Hymn 272 – Thou are coming, mighty Saviour
Prayer
We’ve been talking about God’s plans for the future; today, we’ll look at Revelation 20. Read vv. 1 – 3. John saw an angel bind Satan and cast him into the bottomless pit. He was left there for 1000 years: the Millennium. The Millennium will be a wonderful time; the influence of Satan will not be on the world. This is the first of 4 big events we will see in this chapter.
We can remember how the beast in Rome will have the number 666, and all who want to buy or sell must have that number on their hand or forehead. Those who resist the beast and refuse to have the number will be persecuted, probably killed. But at the end of the tribulation, there will be a part of the first resurrection: those who had refused to take the number 666 will reign with the Lord during the Millennium. This is the second event. However, there will be a second resurrection, at the end of the Millennium: this will be the resurrection of all those who have died in their sins since Cain.
Read vv. 7 – 9. After the Millennium, Satan will be released from the bottomless pit. He will gather a huge army and go to Jerusalem, because this is his last chance to gain power in the world. But, God will step in and bring fire down upon the army. In v. 10, we read that Satan will be sent to the lake of fire, where the beast and false prophet already are. It’s interesting to note that there will be day and night in the lake of fire, while there will only be day in Heaven.
Read vv. 11 – 13. Here we find that all the dead raised in the second resurrection will stand before the Great White Throne. The Lord will review their lives, judging them for their works as written in the books. Then, all those whose names are not written in the Book of Life will be sent to the Lake of Fire. Read vv. 14 & 15.
This should make us realize the importance of accepting the Lord as our Saviour; it should also make us desire to share the good news of the cross with others.
We looked last time at how the Jews built the altar, restored worship, and held the feast of tabernacles. Another thing that happened in this chapter is that they activate the Levites and priests. This was to set forward the work of the house of God, which was the original decree from Cyrus.
So what did they do to begin the building of the temple? They blew the trumpets, sounded the cymbals, and sang. That seems like an odd way to begin building the house of God, but that is actually an accurate picture of how we build the house of God today.
First we see the priests blowing the trumpets. Aren’t we priests? All Christians are royal and holy priests to God. And what is the trumpet? It is the Word of God, used to build His house: every one brought to the Lord through His word is a stone added to the building.
It’s important to note that these Jews were perfectly following the temple ordinances that Moses had laid out in the law so many years before. The temple had been completely destroyed for over 50 years. Think of all those who had been born since that time: they had been instructed in the way of the Lord so that when they returned, they knew what to do. Even though they were few (there were only 74 Levites, contrasting the 38,000 at Solomon’s dedication), they made sure they followed God’s will perfectly. Some here may remember going to meetings where there were 200 – 300 people attending. It isn’t that way today. We have the same reactions that the Jews had when they returned: we are thrilled to be able to meet in God’s way, but sad that there are not more here. God probably had mixed emotions as well as He watched the Jews here.
V. 11 — It’s interesting to look at what they sang; we can find many psalms—Millennial psalms—that are word-for-word what they sing here. They looked forward to a time when the Lord would come and reign. They didn’t realize there would be a little gap where we come in. For us, they are a type of our very situation.
There was quite a celebration when the foundation for the temple was laid. God, too, was surely pleased as He saw His earthly house being built.
Hymn 248 – O happy day, that fixed my choice
Prayer