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New Testament (part eight): Jude; Revelation
JUDE |
55 AD |
“Keep yourselves in God’s love as you wait for the mercy of our
Lord Jesus Christ to bring you to eternal life.” 21 |
Author: Jude
Written From: Unknown
Sent To: Unknown |
Purpose: Warn believers about immoral men traveling and teaching false doctrine that perverted the grace of God into a license to sin |
Theme: Confront apostasy |
Basic Outline:
- Verses 1-4, statement of Jude’s intention for writing
- Verses 5-7, past judgments on apostasy, rebellion and immorality
- Verses 8-13, present condition and character of false teachers
- Verses 14-16, prophesied future judgment of current false teachers
- Verses 17-23, defense against false teachers and apostasy
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Memorable Verses:
- “Although I was very eager to write to you about the salvation we share, I felt I had to write and urge you to contend for the faith that was once for all entrusted to the saints.” 3
- “For certain men . . . have secretly slipped in among you. They are godless men, who change the grace of our God into a license for immorality.” 4
- “Though you already know all this, I want to remind you . . .” 5
- “These men are blemishes at your live feasts.” 12“Enoch, the seventh from Adam, prophesied about these men.” 14
- “Keep yourselves in God’s love as you wait for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ to bring you to eternal life.” 21
- “Be merciful to those who doubt; snatch others from the fire and save them; to others show mercy, mixed with fear – hating even the clothing stained by corrupted flesh.” 22, 23
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Greek Words:
- ’aggeloV – aggelos – messenger, angel, 6.
- ‘arpazw – harpazo – to seize, to snatch, catch away, pluck, pull, take by force, 23 (also Acts 8:39; 2 Cor. 12:2, 4; 1 Thes. 4:17; Rev. 12:5).
- ’epagwnizomai – epagonizomai – struggle for, contend for, to exercise great effort and exertion for something. It is a word from the Greek gymnasium used to refer to the struggle and effort put forth by athletes in an athletic contest, 3.
- kuriothV – kuriotes – dominion, government, 8 (also Eph. 1:21; Col. 1:16; 2 Pt. 2:10).
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Healthy Doctrine:
- Angels
- Judgment
- Apostasy
- Inspiration of Scripture
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Jude wanted to write about the salvation that belongs to the believers but saw a greater need and was inspired by the Holy Spirit to defend orthodox Christian doctrine. False teachers were infiltrating the Christian ranks with bad doctrine which led to bad morals. Jude quotes from the book of First Enoch and refers to an exchange between Satan and Michael recorded in the book the Assumption of Moses. Since Jude was writing under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit we should assume that at least these two portions of extra biblical writings are accurate and true. Paul does the same thing in Acts 17:28; 1 Corinthians 15:33 and Titus 1:12.
Chapter forty-eight
The Prophetic Book
REVELATION |
96 AD |
“Yes, I am coming soon.” 22:20 |
Author: John
Written From: Patmos
Sent To: Seven Churches of Asia |
Purpose: Reveal Jesus Christ and his final victory as he defeats his enemies and establishes his kingdom on earth and in eternity. Also, complete the prophetic theme that runs through scripture. |
Theme: The glorified Jesus and the his coming kingdom |
Basic Outline:
Chapter 1, the glorified Christ
Chapters 2-3, seven letters to seven churches in Asia
Chapters 4-5, John taken to heaven
Chapters 6-18, the Tribulation
Chapter 19, Jesus returns
Chapter 20, the Millennium Kingdom
Chapters 21-22, the New Heaven and New Earth, the eternal state |
Memorable Verses:
“Write, therefore, what you have seen, what is now and what will take place later.” 1:19
“He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.”2:7, 11, 17, 29; 3: 6, 13, 22
“The voice I had first heard speaking to me like a trumpet said, ‘Come up here, and I will show you what must take place after this.’ ” 4:1
“Do not weep! See, the Lion of the tribe of Judah, the Root of David, has triumphed. He is able to open the scroll and its seven seals.” 5:5
“Then I heard the number of those who were sealed: 144,000 from all the tribes of Israel.” 7:4
“These are they who have come out of the great tribulation; they have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb.” 7:14
“I saw the seven angels who stand before God, and to them were given seven trumpets.” 8:2
“The fifth angel sounded his trumpet, and I was a star that had fallen from the sky to the earth. The star was given the key to the shaft of the Abyss.” 9:1
“I will give power to my two witnesses, and they will prophesy for 1,260 days, clothed in sackcloth.” 11:3
“A great and wondrous sign appeared in heaven: a woman clothed with the sun, with the moon under her feet and a crown of twelve stars on her head . . . Then another sign appeared in heaven: an enormous red dragon with seven heads and ten horns and seven crowns on his heads.” 12:1, 3
“I saw a beast coming out of the sea. He had ten horns and seven heads, with ten crowns on his horns.” 13:1
“Then I saw another beast, coming out of the earth. He had two horns like a lamb, but he spoke like a dragon.” 13:11
“He also forced everyone, small and great, rich and poor, free and slave, to receive a mark on his right hand or on his forehead, so that no one could buy or sell unless he had the mark, which is the name of the beast or the number of his name.” 13:16, 17
“Then I looked, and there before me was the Lamb, standing on Mount Zion, and with him 144,000 who had his name and his Father’s name written on their foreheads.” 14:1
“I saw in heaven another great and marvelous sign: seven angels with the seven last plagues.” 15:1
“Behold, I come like a thief! Blessed is he who stays awake and keeps his clothes with him, so that he may not go naked and be shamefully exposed.” 16:15
“Then they gathered the kings together to a place that in Hebrew is called Armageddon.” 16:16
“The seven heads are the seven hills on which the woman sits. They re also seven kings. Five have fallen, one is, the other has not yet come.” 17:9, 10
“Fallen! Fallen is Babylon the Great!” 18:2
“After this I heard what sounded like the roar of a great multitude in heaven shouting: ‘Hallelujah!’“ 19:1
“I saw heaven standing open and there before me was a white horse, whose rider is called Faithful and True. With justice he judges and makes war.” 19:11
“He seized the dragon, that ancient serpent, who is the devil, or Satan, and bound him for a thousand years.” 20:2
“The second death has no power over them, but they will be priests of God and of Christ and will reign with him for a thousand years.” 20:6
“Then I saw a great white throne and him who was seated on it.” 20:11
“Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away,” 21:1
“Behold, I am coming soon! Blessed is he who keeps the words of the prophecy in this book.” 22:7 |
Greek Words:
- qliyiV – thlipsis – afflicted, pressure, anguish, burden, persecution, tribulation, trouble, 1:9; 2:9, 10, 22; 7:14.
- stefanoV – stephanos – crown, a prize in the public games, a symbol of achieved honor, refers to the wreath awarded to a victorious athlete or worn by a pagan priest or given to city officials when a dignitary arrives, 2:10; 3:11; 4:4, 10; 6:2, 9:7; 12:1; 14:14.
- diadhma – diadema – diadem, royal crown, crown worn by royalty, a symbol of political power or sovereign authority, 12:3; 13:1; 19:12.
- megas – megas – exceedingly high, great, mega, large, loud, mighty, used 87 times in Revelation including 1:10; 2:22; 5:2; 6:4; 7:2; 8:8; 9:2, 14; 10:3; 11:13; 12:1, 3; 17:5; 20:1, 11; 21:12.
- ’armageddwn – armageddon – Armageddon, or Har-Megiddon, 16:16.
- nikaw– nikao – to be victorious, overcome, 2:7, 11, 17, 26; 3:5, 12, 21; 5:5; 6:2; 11:7; 12:11; 13:7; 15:2; 17:14; 21:7.
- kainoV – kainos – new, fresh, 2:17; 3:12; 5:9; 14:3; 21:1, 2, 5.
- tacu – tachu – without delay, soon, by surprise, suddenly, with ease and readily, lightly, quickly, 2:5, 16; 3:11, 11:14; 22:7, 12, 20.
- caragma – charagma – brand, mark, a marking in the ancient world for a slave, a soldier or a worshiper, 13:16, 17; 14:9; 14:11; 15:2; 16:2; 19:20; 20:4.
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Healthy Doctrine:
- Eschatology
- Judgment
- Salvation
- Satan
- Angels
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In chapter one Jesus appears to John on the isle of Patmos and instructs him to write “what you have seen, what is now and what will take place later.”
In the next two chapters (chapter two and three) Jesus dictates seven letters to seven churches in Asia that John oversaw. The seven churches are: Ephesus, Smyrna, Pergamum, Thyatira, Sardis, Philadelphia, and Laodicea.
In chapter four the vision of the final seven years on earth begins when John is called up to heaven into the throne room of God. God is encircled by twenty-four elders and the four cherubim.
In chapter five God is holding a scroll of rolled-up parchment that is sealed with seven seals. The scroll is the will or the final testament of history which includes the completion of redemption and salvation. No one is worthy to open the scroll but Jesus, the Lion of the tribe of Judah, appears as a lamb that had been slain. He is the only one worthy of opening the scroll and finalizing the history of salvation on earth.
In chapter six the Lamb opens six of the seven seals which begin a series of events on the earth that lead history as we know it to its final hour. The first releases a leader bent on conquest. The second releases great war. The third shows famine and economic imbalance. The fourth brings death to a quarter of the earth’s population by sword, famine, plague and wild beasts. The fifth reveals the martyrs of this time in heaven waiting for vengeance. The sixth releases catastrophic events to the physical earth.
In chapter seven John sees 144,000 Jews from each of the twelve tribes of Israel being sealed before the great distresses begin on earth. The result of the evangelism of 144,000 from the tribes of Israel is seen in heaven as a great multitude of saved people gathered around the throne of God having come out of the Great Tribulation on the earth from every nation tribe, people and language.
Chapter eight reveals the results of the opening of the seventh seal. When the seventh seal is opened seven angels appear with seven trumpets used to call forth seven more distresses on the earth. But before they begin, the answers to the prayers of the saints are cast down in judgment on the earth. The first trumpet produces hail and fire mixed with blood that burns up a third of the earth. The second trumpet calls forth a huge mass all ablaze that lands in the sea producing a tsunami that destroys a third of seas. The third trumpet produces a great, blazing meteor shower that contaminates a third of the fresh water. The fourth trumpet causes the loss of one third of twenty-four hours of light including a third of the light from both the sun and the stars. These are all natural disasters.
Chapter nine reveals the last three trumpets but they are all supernatural attacks and are introduced at the end of chapter eight with an announcement of “Woe! Woe! Woe to the inhabitants of the earth, because of the trumpet blasts” of the last three angels. The fifth trumpet, or the first “Woe”, comes because an angel that had been given the key to the Abyss releases from the Abyss some kind of demonic beings that torment men. The sixth trumpet releases the four angels bound at the Euphrates Rivers and their angelic army of two hundred million to kill a third of mankind. This combined with the death of a quarter of mankind from chapter six after the fourth seal would mean the death 3,358,125,000 people in about a three year period out of earth’s current population of 6,750,000,000 leaving 3,391,875,000, a little over a half of the population, alive midway through the tribulation. It is figured that 32% of people today claim to be of the Christian faith. If we assume that half of that 32%, or 1,080,000,000, are actually true believers who are taken in the rapture of the church before the Great Tribulation begins that would mean today’s world population would go from 6,750,000,000 to 5,670,000,000 after the rapture then be reduced by a fourth down to 4,252,500,000 after the fourth seal, and then reduced by a third down to 2,849,175,000 after the sixth trumpet. The total loss being 3,900,825,000 people from earth’s population in a thirty-six to forty-eight month period. Realize we are just in chapter nine and what is known as the Great Tribulation is yet to come on the earth in the next few chapters.
Chapter ten John is given a little scroll by a mighty angel and told to eat the scroll. After John has eaten the scroll and the words he is told, “You must prophesy again about many peoples, nations, languages and kings.”
Chapter eleven introduces two men who will oppose ungodliness and call forth many signs and wonders including plagues, famine and miracles. They will prophecy for the final 1, 260 days (42 months or three and a half years) of the tribulation (11:2,3). When the seventh trumpet sounds loud voices from heaven say, “The kingdom of the world has become the kingdom of our Lord and of his Christ.” The temple in heaven is open and the Ark of the Covenant is seen.
In chapter twelve John sees a vision that includes a woman and a dragon. This vision captures the battle between God’s promises and Satan’s opposition from the beginning to its final conflict.
Chapter thirteen introduces the beast from the sea (anti-christ) and the beast from the earth (false prophet). The false prophet will cause the whole world to worship the anti-christ and receive the mark on their right hand or forehead in order to buy and sell on the earth.
In chapter fourteen the 144,000 marked with the Father’s name are seen on Mount Zion with the Lamb. Mt. Zion is in Jerusalem and this vision indicates that this 144,000 will endure through the tribulation and meet Jesus in Jerusalem upon his return to the earth. This chapter includes the announcement that the center of the world’s economy, Babylon, has fallen. There are also two references to the harvest of the earth: reaping grain and harvesting grapes.
In chapter fifteen and sixteen seven angels are given seven bowls with the final seven plagues of God’s wrath on the earth. There can only be a matter of weeks left before Jesus returns at this point since these plagues would result in the extinction of man and life on earth if something did not interrupt them. These plagues are focused on the anti-christ’s kingdom and include:
- painful skin ulcers
- the destruction of the rest of the salt water seas leaving the earth to corrupt in its own filth
- the loss of all fresh water or drinking water
- scorching of men by the sun
- a spiritual darkness leaving men hopeless
- an military invasion from the east which sets up the last battle centered in the middle east and Armageddon
- the final attack on the climate, geography and atmosphere on earth which includes lightning, thunder, one hundred pound hailstones and an earthquake unlike anything that has occurred on earth since man.
Chapter seventeen is a behind the scenes look at the spiritual dimension of the anti-christ’s kingdom and the authority of Satan that has been handed through the ages from empire to empire including Egypt, Assyria, Babylon, Persia, Greece, Rome and the anti-christ.
Chapter eighteen describes the fall of Babylon, the center of the world commerce in the final days.
Chapter nineteen begins in heaven with the church having been made ready. Then heaven is open and Jesus, the rider on the white horse moves out for battle. He defeats the armies of the world.
Chapter twenty shows the binding of Satan for a thousand years and the establishing on earth of the millennial kingdom. At the end of the thousand years Satan is released and leads a final rebellion. This is followed by the Great White Throne judgment which only involves those whose names are not in the Lamb’s book of life. Death, Hades, and all the lost are thrown into the Lake of Fire.
Chapter twenty-one begins with the present universe and earth having been removed or destroyed. A new universe and a new earth have been created for life in the eternal state. The New Jerusalem, or heaven, the city of God, descends into this universe and this is the eternal state of mankind and the eternal God.
In chapter twenty-two Jesus says he is coming soon and Jon testifies that he has written done truthfully all he was shown. Jesus repeats several times he is coming soon and the free gift of salvation is offered as a free drink of the water of life to any who will accept it.
The Healthy Doctrine Glossary
Adoption – is the act of God’s grace where believers become sons of God. The Greek word huiothesia is used in Romans 8:15, 23; 9:4; Gal. 4:5; Eph. 1:5 and the word indicates a total break with the old family and the establishment of a new family relation that includes all the rights, privileges and, also, responsibilities that come with the family position. (see John 1:12)
Antinomianism – this is an unhealthy doctrine. It is the heretical belief that under the gospel dispensation of grace the moral law is of no use or obligation because faith alone or knowledge alone is necessary for salvation. This false doctrine holds that your spiritual condition is not connected or affected by your physical life or moral behavior. Antinomianism comes from two Greek words: anti which means against and nomos which means law.
Depravity – the total depravity of man means that sin’s corruption has extended into every part of man’s nature (mind, intellect, body, will, emotions, desires, etc.) and also, that there is nothing in man to empower him to gain a right standing with God or commend him to a holy and just God. Total depravity does not mean that every man has thoroughly acted out his depravity or that men do not have a conscience or that they will engage in every type of sin or that a totally depraved man can not do good. Total depravity means that man is as bad off as he can be but does not mean he is as bad as he can be.
Grace – Grace is God’s response to man’s need. Man’s need is greater than man can meet or even understand. There is nothing man can do to earn deliverance from his sinful state. God’s grace produces mercy. God has manifested this grace in the salvation he has provided (Titus 2:11; Romans 3:24; 5:15-17, 20; 2 Corinthians 8:9). Grace refers to the new state we have been brought to (Romans 6:14; 5:2). Grace continues to be God’s operating principle for believers (Galatians 5:4). Grace provides the daily needs of the believer (Hebrews 4:16; Philippians 4:19). Grace can never coexist with law because this compromise nullifies grace (Romans 4:13-16)
God’s Wrath and Divine Judgment – against sin takes place through out history and at the final judgment
Imputation – means to “credit over to one” or “to charge to one’s account”
- Adam’s sin to us
- Our Sin to Christ
- Christ’s righteousness to us
Justification – To justify someone in a court case means to look at the evidence and honestly declare the person accused as innocent and not guilty. Justification is not forgiveness because a forgiven person is still a guilty person who has been forgiven. A justified person is someone who is rightfully declared innocent in an honest court of law. Justification in theology is the divine pronouncement that one who is in Christ Jesus is fully innocent and wholly acceptable to God’s holiness. This occurs when God sees the believer as sinless and righteous in Christ.
Justification by Faith – We enter into the state of justification by faith in the work of Jesus on the cross which removed sin and its penalty. We are not justified in God’s sight by what we do but by what Jesus did.
Propitiation – is the universal concept of an angry God that must be pleased or satisfied before any good thing or blessing can occur. The work of Christ on the cross satisfies all the claims of divine holiness, righteousness and justice so that God propitiated. Many times you hear a man say that Christ satisfies him, when in reality that never really was an issue. Christ has always been the bread of life and the water of life that satisfies man. The issue was that God was not satisfied. Our biggest concern was not if we were satisfied with God, but if God was satisfied with Christ. Jesus Christ is our propitiation before God and God is satisfied or propitiated with Christ.
Reconciliation – Reconciliation means “to cause to conform to a standard” or “to be adjusted to a specified standard.” When a person adjusts the clock in their car to the satellite time shown on their cell phone they have reconciled the clock in the car to the time on the cell phone. If a person does not keep track of the use of their debit card they will not be reconciled with their bank statement at the end of the month. Their checking account would be out of balance. The world is out of balance with God. We are unable to reconcile ourselves with God (Romans 5:6-9). But, in this condition God came through Jesus Christ and reconciled us (Romans 5:10). God reset us; he realigned us; he caused us to come into conformity with him. (Romans 5:20-21; 2 Corinthians 5:18-20)
Redemption – Redemption is what occurs when a slave is purchased by someone who has the intention of setting that slave free. No one can set a slave free unless they are willing to pay the debt for the price of the slave, or redeem the slave. Jesus Christ purchased us from sin by paying the penalty for our sin (1 Peter 3:18; Revelation 5:11,12; Galatians 3:13; Romans 3:22-24)
Regeneration – “re-“ and “generate” are of Latin origin and mean “generated over again”, “born again”, or “born a second time” (John 3:7; Titus 3:5; 1 John 3:2; 1 John 3:1; 2 Corinthians 5:17). God is the father of the new birth (John 1:12, 13). The Holy Spirit is the active agent that causes the new birth (John 3:5-6). The Word of God is the means by which the Holy Spirit produces the new birth because a man cannot believe in something that he is ignorant (1 Peter 1:23; Romans 10:17). Faith is the mechanism that accomplishes the new birth (Galatians 3:26; John 1:12). The resurrection of Jesus Christ is the power of the new birth (1 Peter 1:3). The blood of the new covenant is the starting point of the new birth (1 Peter 1:18-19)
Repentance – Repent in the Bible means “a change of mind.” Literally, it means a turning about, specifically in the mind. This turning or changing of the mind results in a change of course, a new direction and a new attitude toward the object being considered in the mind. Repentance may occur along with sorrow, but sorrow is not repentance. Repentance is a change of mind in respect to the revealed truth in the Word of God. Jesus teaches repentance in Matthew 21:28-30. Paul teaches that repentance, or a change of mind, occurs in response to the word in 2 Timothy 2:24-25 but in 2 Timothy 4:3-5 men change the word of God to suit their mind. Godly sorrow brings repentance that leads to salvation, worldly sorrow brings only death with no change of destiny (2 Corinthians 7:10). Godly repentance leads to salvation and deeds follow (Acts 26:20)
Sanctification – from the Greek word agiozw which means “set apart”. The word is similar to holy, holiness, saint and sanctify. Three agents that bring about sanctification are: the Holy Spirit (1 Cor. 6:11; 2 Thes. 2:13; 1 Peter 1:20, the Son (Hebrews 10:10), the Word (Truth) of God (John 17:17; Eph. 5:26)
- Positional Sanctification – the work of God in salvation where he sets the believer apart for his will.
- Experiential Sanctification – the work of man empowered by the Holy Spirit were he sets himself apart for the will of God in his thinking, speaking and actions.
- Ultimate Sanctification – the final work of God where the believer is totally conformed into the image of God in spirit, soul and body
Sin Nature of Man – Complete depravity of man means each individual man is as bad off as he can be in
God’s eyes, but does not mean each individual man is as acting as bad as he could.
– The necessity for substitution exists because the righteous and holy God demands that sin and rebellion be punished. Romans 3:22-26 addresses the question of how a holy, just and righteous God can maintain his holy, just and righteous character and yet justify the sinner.
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