Growintheword's Blog

Synopsis of Bible Study 08/31/11

Delivered by Bishop Walker III

Last week we talked about the Fall of Babylon which dealt with a world system that diluted the word of God and caused religious people to conform to the world, rather than being transformed by the renewing of their minds. This is significant, because this world system was so influential over Religious Babylon, it literally influenced them to go ways that God never intended.   Commercial Babylon represented this whole consumption of vanity. There were so many people caught up, trying to misappropriate the gifts of God, rather than being good stewards over the blessing of the Lord. They used them for their own personal gain and really x’ed God out of the equation.   Tonight we see that in heaven the response in heaven was different than the earths. On the earth, the world mourned or grieved when Babylon fell, but in heaven, the bible says there was great rejoiciing. This is where we will start today.   Chapter 19 Revelation 19:1-5 – Heaven Exults over Babylon1 After these things I heard a loud voice of a great multitude in heaven, saying, Alleluia! Salvation and glory and honor and power belong to the Lord our God! 2 For true and righteous are His judgments, because He has judged the great harlot who corrupted the earth with her fornication; and He has avenged on her the blood of His servants shed by her. 3 Again they said, Alleluia! Her smoke rises up forever and ever! 4 And the twenty-four elders and the four living creatures fell down and worshiped God who sat on the throne, saying, Amen! Alleluia! 5 Then a voice came from the throne, saying, Praise our God, all you His servants and those who fear Him, both small and great!

• We see the great multitude, the 4 creatures and the 24 Elders who are at the Throne of God saying Alleluia. This appears 4 times in Revelations 19. It is important to note, however, this is found nowhere else in the New Testament. In Hebrew, Alleluia means praise the Lord.
• They are saying Alleluia, because God’s judgments are righteous. In other words, how God judges the earth and how he judges Babylon is right. Always remember that even though God’s judgments may seem harsh to us, they are literally always right.
• The bible also said that he judged the harlot and avenged the blood of the servants that were shed by her.

Revelation 19:6-9 says 6 And I heard, as it were, the voice of a great multitude, as the sound of many waters and as the sound of mighty thunderings, saying, Alleluia! For the Lord God Omnipotent reigns! 7 Let us be glad and rejoice and give Him glory, for the marriage of the Lamb has come, and His wife has made herself ready. 8 And to her it was granted to be arrayed in fine linen, clean and bright, for the fine linen is the righteous acts of the saints.9 Then he said to me, Write: Blessed are those who are called to the marriage supper of the Lamb! And he said to me, These are the true sayings of God.

• This is not the first time we heard the thunder, lightning, and water representing the voice of God. What is interesting is that the worship going on at the throne was not some half-hearted worship. It was given all the way. When we think of the omnipotence of God and how awesome he is, our reaction should be that of exuberance. There should never be any doubt; people should recognize who God is through our response. If we are hesitant to reverence God or we are timid about reverencing him, it suggests that we don’t have a clear understanding of how awesome God is.
• When you are clear on who God is, it happens organically. It is not forced or coerced by someone else. You just automatically say Alleluia.
• Some people have problems saying Alleluia here on earth. If you have problem on hearth, you going to be out of place in heaven!
• The marriage of the Lamb
  • Remember the Lamb is Christ who was slain. The bride of the lamb is the church.
  • Prophetic References to this are:  Hosea 2:19-20 which says ¹⁹And I will betroth thee unto Me for ever; yea, I will betroth thee unto Me in righteousness, and in judgment, and in lovingkindness, and in mercies.²⁰I will even betroth thee unto Me in faithfulness, and thou shalt know the LORD., Isaiah 54:5 which says⁵For thy Maker is thine husband” the LORD of hosts is His name” and thy Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel; the God of the whole earth shall He be called., and Ezekiel 16.
  • Verse 7 says … and His wife has made herself ready – The wife represents the church meaning Ecclesia or community of faith. Here we are not talking about a denomination or building. We are talking about people or a community of faith who obey God and who are God’s children.
  • Some people would love for you to believe that their church is the only one that’s going to marry Christ, but the devil s a liar.
  • Look at how the church or bride has made themselves ready for the coming of the Lord. Ephesians 5:25-27 says²⁵Husbands, love your wives even as Christ also loved the church and gave Himself for it, ²⁶that He might sanctify and cleanse it with the washing of water by the Word, ²⁷that He might present it to Himself a glorious church, not having spot or wrinkle or any such thing, but that it should be holy and without blemish.
  • The washing of water by the word…- This suggests that the church in and of itself is you and I, but it is important to note that we have never seen a virgin or pure church, you and I are in it. If you find one don’t join it, because you will mess it up (you will cause it not to be perfect). God has no perfect churches, because there are no perfect people.
  • How does imperfection become worthy of this marriage? It is through the redemptive act of Jesus Christ at Calvary. Through this act, we were made righteous. At the point we accepted Christ, everything you did prior to that was washed away. As a result, regardless to what people remember and know about me or you, doesn’t matter. All people can do is remind us of what we used to do. They have no idea about your redeemed life. This is why we can’t come to church and be quiet. The bible says let the redeemed of the Lord, say so.
  • The comparison to the wife and the church in parallel is interesting. The bible says in verse 8; … fine linen, clean and bright, for the fine linen is the righteous acts of the saints. – She (the church) is viewed as clean and righteous, because she is wearing white linen. When a wedding happens and a bride puts on a white dress or wedding gown and we presume she is pure, innocent, and a virgin. We have had some brides that should have been in dark gray. The point is, at that moment you are made righteous, because of what happened before then doesn’t matter, because you are coming into a covenant brand new. It is the word of God that washes us every day.
  • When you are part of a word church, you have envy, strife, hatred, and etc… You come to church saying that you just refuse to like this person today, but the word of God washes it away and positions you to be a prepared bride of Christ when he returns. This means a lot of you is leaving and more of his word is coming inside of you.

Revelation 19:10 – 10 And I fell at his feet to worship him. But he said to me, See that you do not do that! I am your fellow servant, and of your brethren who have the testimony of Jesus. Worship God! For the testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy.

• John said the only thing he could do is fall to the angel’s feet and worship, but the angel told him to worship God. Anything that is created is not worthy of worship. The only thing that was not created is the creator, God. The creator made the creation to give worship to the creator. Don’t let yourself even be worshiped.

Revelation 19:11-16-Christ on a White Horse 11 Now I saw heaven opened, and behold, a white horse. And He who sat on him was called Faithful and True, and in righteousness He judges and makes war. 12 His eyes were like a flame of fire, and on His head were many crowns. He had a name written that no one knew except Himself. 13 He was clothed with a robe dipped in blood, and His name is called The Word of God. 14 And the armies in heaven, clothed in fine linen, white and clean, followed Him on white horses. 15 Now out of His mouth goes a sharp sword, that with it He should strike the nations. And He Himself will rule them with a rod of iron. He Himself treads the winepress of the fierceness and wrath of Almighty God. 16 And He has on His robe and on His thigh a name written: KING OF KINGS AND LORD OF LORDS.

• This is an amazing scene of Christ coming on a white horse. Isaiah 1000 yrs earlier pleaded with God for this day to come. Isaiah 64:1-2 says ¹Oh, that Thou wouldest rend the heavens, that Thou wouldest come down, that the mountains might flow down at Thy presence–²as when the melting fire burneth, the fire causeth the waters to boil– to make Thy name known to Thine adversaries, that the nations may tremble at Thy presence!
• In biblical times, soldiers were foot soldiers, so if you had a horse, you had an advantage. So this horse spoke of power, honor, and speed. The color of this horse spoke of victory.
• The bible says faithful and true- In other words; he is a keeper of his promises. Verse 11 also says … in righteousness, he judges and makes war. His eyes were like flames of fire… – When he starts this war, his eyes were like flames of fire, which means there is nothing he does not see. He is aware of all things at all time. Every thought, contemplation, or event that we participated in, God saw it.
• On his head crowns:- There is a Greek word, Stephano, which stands for crown of achievements. We are not talking about this one. We are talking about diadems which represent crown of royalty and authority.
• Clothed with rob dipped in blood- This represents Calvary. Jesus also has an army from heaven behind him.
  • Out of his mouth comes a sharp sword- Paul says the sword of the spirit is the word of God. The word of God is like a two edged sword. There are many references for this. Why is this important? It is because God conquers with the word. Throughout scripture, repeatedly we are told by God that we conquer by the word. In John 15, it says ⁵“I am the vine, ye are the branches… ⁷If ye abide in Me, and My words abide in you, ye shall ask what ye will, and it shall be done unto you.
  • Rule with the rod of iron – This is a reference to Psalms 2 where it explains how God rules with a rod of iron.
  • His name is on his thigh-Written on his thigh is King of king and Lord of lords. His name is on his thigh representing prominence, because as he sits on the horse, it is visibly seen that he is King of kings and Lord of lords.
  • He is called the word of God- Why is this interesting? John wrote Revelations and the gospel of John. John is not one of what we call the synoptic gospels (Matthew, Mark, Luke). Synoptic means to see together. Mathew, Mark, and Luke start by saying Jesus was born of the Virgin Mary in the Bethlehem. When you get to John, he saw it different. He starts out by saying in the beginning was the word and the word was with God, the word was God, and the word became flesh. He called Christ the word of God.
  • He had a name that no one knew but himself- God can never be comprehended perfectly by man. No matter how much knowledge or theology you attain, you will never totally comprehend God. There comes a point that everyone has to say, “I just don’t know.” Sometimes you have to say you just don’t know. Ex- You might not know why one person dies in an accident and the other lives.
  • Some people think that the secret name was yhwh: yahweh-secret name of God

Revelation 19:17-19 – The Beast and His Armies Defeated 17 Then I saw an angel standing in the sun; and he cried with a loud voice, saying to all the birds that fly in the midst of heaven, Come and gather together for the supper of the great God, 18 that you may eat the flesh of kings, the flesh of captains, the flesh of mighty men, the flesh of horses and of those who sit on them, and the flesh of all people, free and slave, both small and great.

• A voice comes down and says to the birds that they can now eat of the flesh of them-What is this about? This is the preparation for the great slaughter of Armageddon.
• Flesh is repeated 5 times. Those who walk in carnality and in the flesh must now die by giving up the flesh. Because they lived in the flesh, the birds come to eat up their flesh.
• When birds were dropping were falling out of the sky a few years back, many wondered was this a sign that Revelations had begun. The answer is no. These birds will not die. The scripture says these birds came to eat the flesh. If you see this happening and you are still here, may God bless you.
• Four different suppers:
  • The supper of salvation – This was a supper that invited us to come into relationship with Jesus Christ. Luke 14:16-24 says ¹⁶Then Jesus said unto him, “A certain man made a great supper and bade many. ¹⁷And he sent his servant at suppertime to say to them that were bidden, `Come, for all things are now ready.’<sup>18</sup>And they all with one accord began to make excuses. The first said unto him, `I have bought a piece of ground, and I need to go and see it. I pray thee have me excused.’¹⁹And another said, `I have bought five yoke of oxen, and I go to test them. I pray thee have me excused.’<sup>20</sup>And another said, `I have married a wife, and therefore I cannot come.’²¹So that servant came and showed his lord these things. Then the master of the house, being angry, said to his servant, `Go out quickly into the streets and lanes of the city, and bring in hither the poor and the maimed and the halt and the blind.’<sup>22</sup>And the servant said, `Lord, it is done as thou hast commanded, and yet there is room.’²³And the lord said unto the servant, `Go out into the highways and hedges and compel them to come in, that my house may be filled. ²⁴For I say unto you that none of those men who were bidden shall taste of my supper.'”
  • The Lords supper – Commemorates the Lord’s crucifixion.
  • The marriage supper of the Lamb-This is the marriage supper between church and the Lamb.
  • The supper of the great God– This is when the birds are called to eat the flesh of the kings and the men of the earth.
  • If you reject the first supper (a relationship with Jesus Christ), the second supper will mean nothing to you (communion), then you will not be present during the 3^rd supper (when the church is married to the Lamb), but you will be present at the 4^th supper (when the birds come and eat up your flesh).
  • Everyone gets to attend at least one of these suppers. Some will come to eat and others will be eaten.

Revelation 19:19-2119 And I saw the beast, the kings of the earth, and their armies, gathered together to make war against Him who sat on the horse and against His army. 20 Then the beast was captured, and with him the false prophet who worked signs in his presence, by which he deceived those who received the mark of the beast and those who worshiped his image. These two were cast alive into the lake of fire burning with brimstone. 21 And the rest were killed with the sword which proceeded from the mouth of Him who sat on the horse. And all the birds were filled with their flesh.

• The armies gather together to make war against him that sit on the throne. Imagine seeing the King of kings coming on a white horse with diadems on his head. He is saying, “I have a name that no one knows except myself, Lord of lords and Kings of kings is written on my thigh, and I come with a sword (the word of God in my mouth). I come as the reigning king of glory and the kings of the world want to war against this?” We call this the incurable insanity of sin. They try to make war against this.
• The battle of Armageddon is really laughter of God against the climax of man’s arrogance, because the Beast (the Antichrist) was captured. The false prophet was as well and they both were cast alive into the lake of fire.
• The Antichrist and False Prophet is in the lake of fire.
• Now Babylon has fallen, the Antichrist and False Prophet has been cast into the lake of fire. Birds have also eaten the flesh of the kings of the earth.

Chapter 20 Revelation 20:1- Satan Bound 1000 Years 1 Then I saw an angel coming down from heaven, having the key to the bottomless pit and a great chain in his hand.

• Have this anonymous angel that comes down from heaven with the key to the bottomless pit and a chain.
• It is not Jesus, or Michael, Gabriel, or any other high ranking angel. This angel is a low ranking angel for a reason. After all the power that the devil claimed to have, when God got ready to chain him up, he sent one of his lowest angels to chain him up.

Revelations 20:2-32 He laid hold of the dragon, that serpent of old, who is the Devil and Satan, and bound him for a thousand years; 3 and he cast him into the bottomless pit, and shut him up, and set a seal on him, so that he should deceive the nations no more till the thousand years were finished. But after these things he must be released for a little while.

• Satan was bound up with the chains for 1000 yrs.
• Some want to know what kind of chain was this that could bind Satan for 1000 years. – We do know chains were used to bind spirits. Jude 1:6 says⁶And the angels who kept not their first estate, but left their own habitation, He hath reserved in everlasting chains under darkness unto the judgment of the great Day—
• Satan is put into chains and put into the bottomless pit which was sealed for 1000 yrs. Remember the only power the devil had was deception. If you think about anything that has every hurt you, it can be traced back to some sort of deception. This is why 1 Peter 5:8 says ⁸Be sober, be vigilant, because your adversary the devil walketh about as a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour.
• The devil was into the bottomless pit for about 1000 years and then he was released. This is what we call the millennium. There is no more deception on the earth during this time. It is a literal 1000 yrs.

Revelation 20:4-6 –The Saints Reign with Christ 1000 Years 4 And I saw thrones, and they sat on them, and judgment was committed to them. Then I saw the souls of those who had been beheaded for their witness to Jesus and for the word of God, who had not worshiped the beast or his image, and had not received his mark on their foreheads or on their hands. And they lived and reigned with Christ for a thousand years. 5 But the rest of the dead did not live again until the thousand years were finished. This is the first resurrection. 6 Blessed and holy is he who has part in the first resurrection. Over such the second death has no power, but they shall be priests of God and of Christ, and shall reign with Him a thousand years.

• Those who have been beheaded were those that have gone through or martyred. Everything you go through sets up for you to reign with Him.
• Verse 5 says this is the first resurrection. The rest of the dead did not live again, until the 1000yrs was finished.
• By this time, everyone was dead, but there were some that were dead, but yet still alive.
• Verse 6 says this is the resurrection of blessing. It is resurrection of power and privilege. We become priest of God.
• This is:
  • A resurrection blessing.
  • A resurrection of power- The second death has no power over us.
  • A resurrection of privilege- It is because we become priest of God.
  • John 5:28-29 says ²⁸Marvel not at this; for the hour is coming in which all that are in the graves shall hear His voice ²⁹and shall come forth — they that have done good, unto the resurrection of life, and they that have done evil, unto the resurrection of damnation.- When you die and are saved, you rest. You have consciousness of peace. When you die with no relationship, you instantly know you are in hell. Ex- Jesus gives a parable of a rich man and poor man. The rich man opened his eyes and instantly realized he was in hell. He saw the poor man in the bosom of Abraham. This is representative of resting in Christ. The rich man asked if the poor man could dip his finger in water and put it on his tongue, because it was so hot where he was. This man (the rich man) was talking which indicates that he had awareness. There is awareness that when you die out of the Lord, you know you are in hell. There is also awareness when you die in the Lord as well. It is different though. It is an awareness of peace. Ex- Bishop explains that he has had some real good sleep before as he was coming out of anesthesia. This was some of the best sleep Bishop has ever had. Imagine that best sleep times a trillion. We really would like to tell you what this rest is really about, but none of us have ever died and come back to tell what it was like. We can however tell you people that have had near death experiences all have had the same testimony. All those who knew the Lord and died, but was revived all say they experienced an incredible peace during this time they really died.

Revelation 20 7-8 -7-Satanic Rebellion Crushed Now when the thousand years have expired, Satan will be released from his prison 8 and will go out to deceive the nations which are in the four corners of the earth, Gog and Magog, to gather them together to battle, whose number is as the sand of the sea.

• The bible says Satan will be released after 1000 yrs. He will go out to deceive the nation in the four corners of the earth.
• Gog and Magog is a reference to the prophetic enemies of Israel coming from Ezekiel 38:2-3 which says ²“Son of man, set thy face against Gog, the land of Magog, the chief prince of Meshech and Tubal, and prophesy against him ³and say, `Thus saith the Lord GOD: Behold, I am against thee, O Gog, the chief prince of Meshech and Tubal.
• We are reigning and Satan comes back after 1000 yrs thinking he is going to mess with us like he used to.

Revelations 20:9-109 They went up on the breadth of the earth and surrounded the camp of the saints and the beloved city. And fire came down from God out of heaven and devoured them. 10 The devil, who deceived them, was cast into the lake of fire and brimstone where the beast and the false prophet are. And they will be tormented day and night forever and ever.

• Where is the Devil? He is in the lake of fire along with the antichrist and the false prophet. They are tormented day and night forever and ever.
• The antichrist, the false prophet, and the devil are now in the lake of fire.
• Hell is a different place than the lake of fire. Hell is where those who die and are not saved go. Now the devil himself is cast into the lake of fire.
• Think about your great test struggle in your flesh. That thing that stands between you and who we supposed be in God. Now say to yourself, “Lake of fire, torment day and night, forever and ever. “ This ought to make you have a different perspective on the things you struggle with. Maybe you ought to put this in your phone under some of your contacts. This way you will see this saying when they call.
• This is a rap for the devil. The devil as we have known him is gone from this point on. The devil came to the earth in gen 3- reve 20 he is done.

The devil has let some residue we got to deal with: Revelation 20:11-13 – The Great White Throne Judgment 11 Then I saw a great white throne and Him who sat on it, from whose face the earth and the heaven fled away. And there was found no place for them. 12 And I saw the dead, small and great, standing before God, and books were opened. And another book was opened, which is the Book of Life. And the dead were judged according to their works, by the things which were written in the books. 13 The sea gave up the dead who were in it, and Death and Hades delivered up the dead who were in them. And they were judged, each one according to his works.

• The great throne represents status and power
• White means pureness and wholeness.
• Throne means kingly sovereignty.
• Who is this on the throne to judge? John 5:22 says ²²For the Father judgeth no man, but hath committed all judgment unto the Son, – Our churches have gotten so soft and perverted, we have gotten intimidated to tell people what God said, out of fear that people will look at us and say, “you can’t judge me!” You are not judging them, because you choose to tell the truth.
• John says in the previous verse that the Father doesn’t judge, but who does? John says the Son. John says that the one that rides the horse is called the word of God. This means it is not us judging people. It is the Word judging. Ex-If you drive 100 mph, it is not the officer that is judging you, it is the Law. Plead you case, but know the judge won’t judge you. It will be the law judging you. This is why some people don’t want to hear the word. They know it will call them into greater accountability.
• Lots of people reject the word, because they know the word will hold them accountable.
• The scripture says…committed all judgment unto son… You are not judging them when you tell them to truth. The one riding the horse is called the word of God. It is not me judging you; it is the word of God.
• All of us has to go before the judgment. 2 Corinthians 5:10 says ¹⁰For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, that every one may receive the things done in his body, according to what he hath done, whether it be good or bad.
• Standing before the judgment scene
• This is not a trial, it is a judgment. The dead has already been condemned. This is the punishment phase.

Revelation 20:14-1514 Then Death and Hades were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death. 15 And anyone not found written in the Book of Life was cast into the lake of fire.

• Death is a byproduct of the Devil. It comes in the world in Genesis 3. The moment Adam and Eve ate of the fruit, death came in.
• The wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life. Jesus said he came that we may have life and have it more abundantly.
• Death itself, which is a product of sin, is cast into the lake fire. The Devil caused us to make bad choices and those choices caused us to sin. Since the devil is gone, God says he needs death gone too.
• What about Hades? This is the place where the dead was, that didn’t know God. They knew they were at this place also called hell. Hades was cast also into the lake of fire.
• Hades is literally hell. Sheol, the Hebrew word for hell, was called the place of the dead. It is called the world beyond Sheol in the Greek. Imagine hell being cast into the lake of fire. Imagine living down here and having the choice born once of mother, die a natural death, end up right in hell, die again, and end up in lake of fire. Of course you can make the other choice; born of your mother, born again in Christ, and die only once. This is just moving from life to life. Can you imagine being in hell down here, and then turning around and dying again just to end up in the lake of fire? That’s just too much hell.
• The earth is being prepared. There is no more deception. Satan is in lake of fire along with Antichrist, the False Prophet, and those who followed them and refused to give their lives to God end up in the lake of fire. There are those reigning on the earth and the stage is being set for the final act. This is why God had to get sin, death, and devil out.