Good evening and welcome to EBible Fellowship's Bible study in the Book of Revelation.  Tonight is study #17 of Revelation, chapter 11, and we are continuing to look at Revelation 11:10-11:

And they that dwell upon the earth shall rejoice over them, and make merry, and shall send gifts one to another; because these two prophets tormented them that dwelt on the earth. And after three days and an half the Spirit of life from God entered into them, and they stood upon their feet; and great fear fell upon them which saw them.

In our last couple of Bible studies we have been looking at “prophets” in the Bible, as it says here: “These two prophets tormented them that dwelt on the earth.”

We went into the Old Testament and we saw in 1Kings, chapter 22, that there were 400 prophets that prophesied things the king and the people wanted to hear and there was one lone prophet that faithfully prophesied the things that God had said to him.  And when this prophet Micaiah prophesied the things God said, it was, in a sense, a “torment” to the king of Israel and the people of Israel.  We have to understand that the word “torment” can mean that which is disturbing; it is a word that is also translated as “toiling,” as when the disciples were “toiling” to row.  It is not a word that has to do with torture.  It is more a word that relates to being “vexed” or “troubled.”  So the prophecy of the true believers in the congregations during the church age was a source of vexation to those that dwelt upon the earth, just like Micaiah’s prophecy was a source of vexation to the king of Israel.  This is the nature of the true prophets of the Lord, those that proclaim, faithfully and honestly, of what the Bible says.  They are not well received, as we saw in the Gospel of Luke.  Let me read this again, because it sums up very well how true prophets are viewed and how false prophets are viewed.  It says in Luke 6:22-23:

Blessed are ye, when men shall hate you, and when they shall separate you from their company, and shall reproach you, and cast out your name as evil, for the Son of man's sake. Rejoice ye in that day, and leap for joy: for, behold, your reward is great in heaven: for in the like manner did their fathers unto the prophets. 

Just think about that.  God is saying that the prophets, like Jeremiah, Isaiah and other prophets we read of in the Bible who were true believers and faithful to what God told them, were hated and separated from and they were reproached and had their names cast out as evil, for the Son of man’s sake.  To say, “For the Son of man’s sake” is synonymous to saying “for the word’s sake,” and it is what can be expected when God causes us to “stand fast” in His Word.  It is not that there is anything special in us, but we have no where else to go.  We might even desire to go somewhere else, but we cannot because we know there is no truth anywhere else and God has arranged the circumstances in our lives so that we must take a stand for Him and His Word; He moves in us to will and to do of His good pleasure.  He is the one who draws us to Himself and He will not let us go, so it is not like we are doing anything great, in and of ourselves, when we hold fast to the Word of God.  God is working this out within us.

Even the prophet Jeremiah, for a time, attempted to be silent and not speak any more in JEHOVAH’S name and, yet, he could not refrain.  It is not possible for a true believer to refrain because God’s Spirit is a force within us, since He has given us a new resurrected soul and He indwells us, so there is a strong desire to do the will of God.  Of course, in order to do the will of God, we must follow the Word of God and be obedient to it and do what God commands us to do. 

So, here we see that there is hatred and the world separates from us and we become a reproach in their sight.  They cast out our names as “evil.”  Our name can become a “curse word,” in a sense, almost like a dirty word. 

I remember back in the 1980s when I was a fairly new listener to Family Radio.  I was working with this woman that went to the same church I did and we ended up working at the same job.  We were talking one day about Family Radio, Mr. Camping and the Open Forum program.  I remember clearly, even though it was over 25 years ago, that she said to me with a lot of emotion, “Oh, he is such a mean man.”  She even repeated it: “He is such a mean man.”  I was stunned because I felt just the opposite.  I felt he was a good man that God was using and he was kind and considerate.  The problem was that she had her doctrinal differences with him and she did not like how he would talk about damnation and his strong stance for “election” or the way he would treat some callers (in her eyes) and, yet, she was completely wrong.  She had an entirely different idea concerning Mr. Camping than I did (or that other true believers did) and that is how it is when there is a child of God who is faithful to the Word of God. 

Individuals that are not truly “born again” and have not been given ears to hear do not understand the truths being taught them, and they perceive things in a very different way.  They think very negatively toward those that are bringing that kind of a message.  It is very intolerant to their ears, for example, to hear that a woman is not to teach.  They have the attitude, “Are you not caught up to date?  Do you not know what century you are living in?”  They do not understand that this is the Word of God and it does not matter what century we are living in.   We just want to be faithful to what the Bible says.  Or, they think if there is a woman living in an abusive relationship that it is cruel not to recommend that she divorce or not to encourage her to separate from her husband and to take the children and get out of that marriage.  It is cruel or mean to say to a divorced person that he or she cannot remarry, according to the Word of God. Can you see how all these doctrines (and many more) sound to a person that has a natural mind and the ears of the world?  It can sound so harsh when someone says that God has predestinated certain ones by election and it is all according to His will regarding who becomes saved and who does not: “You are not fair!  You are not giving people a chance.  What does it matter then?” 

This is the natural mind at work and it revokes and rebels against the Word of God when it hears things like God has ended the church age and God’s Spirit has left and there is no more salvation taking place.  It just sounds so terrible and awful: “What kind of message is this that you are bringing?  You are not supporting the churches.  You are not concerned about all the individuals that have come into the congregation?  Why do you not support us and pray for them and why do you not help us because new families have come in, rather than saying contrary things?  What do you want us to do?  Do you want us to lead them out of the churches and back to the world under the power of Satan?” 

It is all a matter of our vantage point (by God’s grace), that we understand the Word of God and it really comes down to the fact that many individuals do not understand the truths of the Bible.  They do not understand that God is the one in control and He is sovereign over all these matters and we must just bow the knee and humble ourselves to the perfect will of God.  God is sovereign concerning whom He saved, as well as when He saved.  And now the child of God is saying, “God has shut the door to heaven and ended His salvation program.”  Can you imagine how cruel and mean that sounds to people that have natural minds?  It must just grate upon them and torment them.  It must be troubling them greatly that they are hearing these things.  They cannot understand how we can believe such a thing.  “Do you not understand that this means that no one is becoming saved and that God is not granting mercy any longer?”  Then they bring up various scenarios: “Are you telling me that God is not saving in this instance or in this other case?”  But, we can only say what the Bible permits us to say and that is that God has locked in the date of May 21, 2011, as the Day of Judgment and as the day He shut the door.  He has confirmed it with the Biblical calendar of history, wherein events came together in such a way that there is no doubt it is the “finger of God.”  It is the will of God and this is the Day of Judgment and nothing has changed; nothing in the Bible can be shown to be an error concerning the Biblical calendar; and all the information we have learned since then only confirm this teaching.  The true believers are just lowly doorkeepers.  We do what God commands us to do.  When He told us to open the door wide during the day of salvation when He was saving a great multitude during the Great Tribulation, then we said, “Very well,” and we were very happy about that.   Then God shut the door and no man can open it and now we have to tell people, “I am sorry, but the door is shut.  God has completed His salvation program.  He saved everyone He intended to save and He is not saving anyone else.”  It just sounds horrible and, therefore, the natural man hates this kind of message and they hate the one bringing it.  Their understanding of God is that He would never do that kind of thing, so it must be you that are the “evil” one.  So they hate you.  They separate from you.  They reproach you and cast out your name as evil.  As a result of your holding to the truth of the Bible and remaining steadfast in what the Bible says, these things will happen to you, but it is for the Word’s sake, or for the Son of man’s sake.

It goes on to say in Luke 6:24-26:

But woe unto you that are rich! for ye have received your consolation.  Woe unto you that are full! for ye shall hunger. Woe unto you that laugh now! for ye shall mourn and weep. Woe unto you, when all men shall speak well of you! for so did their fathers to the false prophets.

You know, I think we are aware of what we could do in order for men to speak well of us.  If we wanted to “fit in” with the world and we wanted to “fit in” with the churches and with those that are unhappy and displeased with us because of our holding onto the truths of the Word of God (especially the end time truths), we know what we would have to do and we know how we could get “patted on the back” and we know what it would take for other men to say “Amen,” to us and to be called “brother or sister” by many people.  We could just adjust our position; if we make a few changes; if we stop being dogmatic; if we relent and give up our position.  If our word would become like their word and what we say would no longer agitate or torment them and if we would say things they would like to hear; if we would just give in and bend our doctrines and speak with one voice as they speak, then all would be well.  We could also have others speak well of us.  They would say, “What a good believer!  What a nice man!  What a loving man!  Do you know what he believes?  He believes God loves everybody.  Do you know what his position is? He thinks God is so merciful and gracious that He would never shut the door.” 

Actually, in some circles today, all you have to do is say that God is still saving and it does not matter what else you believe because certain individuals will pat you on the back and you will be one of the brethren because you are not identifying with that hated doctrine of the door being shut.  Yes, we as believers know what we “could do,” because we have been around long enough in this world.  It is the same thing in the world as it is in the religious circles of professed Christianity: you just do not make waves; you go along with the crowd and you will be accepted.  You will be loved.  The world loves its own.   So that is an option for someone who is struggling and they think it is so difficult to live as a true believer in this world.  There is the option – go be like the world and join the masses.  What will happen?  Now you will have friends.  Now you will have support, at least to some degree.  It is all superficial, of course.  It is all vanity.  There are “words” that mean nothing and there are “pats on the back,” but there is no genuine caring and love involved at all.  But you can have that superficial camaraderie and the companionship of the world, but you would lose God.  You lose the God of the Bible.

So the child of God perseveres, by God’s grace and by His doing.  It is not of us.  We would be walking along with everyone else, as we did in times past, but we cannot do that any longer because the Spirit of God within us will not permit it and we value that.  We cannot live without God any longer.  We cannot live, denying God and accepting the world.  We cannot live that way any more.

Remember, Moses thought about these things and God moved him to record some of the things that we are going through in Hebrews 11:24-27:

By faith Moses, when he was come to years, refused to be called the son of Pharaoh's daughter; Choosing rather to suffer affliction with the people of God, than to enjoy the pleasures of sin for a season; Esteeming the reproach of Christ…

Christ is the “Word made flesh,” so that could be what “Esteeming the reproach of the Word of God.”

Esteeming the reproach of Christ greater riches than the treasures in Egypt: for he had respect unto the recompence of the reward. By faith he forsook Egypt, not fearing the wrath of the king: for he endured, as seeing him who is invisible.

This is the position of the one God has saved and brought to Himself.  We “esteem the reproach of Christ.”  Remember what it said in Luke 6, where it said they will hate you and separate you from their company?  It said in Luke 6:22 that they “will reproach you.”  Moses esteemed that reproach because it was reproach for Christ, just as it also said, in Luke 6:22: they will “cast out your name as evil, for the Son of man's sake.”  Moses esteemed that reproach as “greater riches than the treasures of Egypt.”

We should also realize that it is far better to suffer temporarily and to be afflicted for Christ’s sake and for the Word’s sake than to enjoy popularity, friendship and the world’s delights and acceptance of us.  It is far better to put up with affliction and to continue to wait patiently for the Lord to bring us through this period of time and whatever trials and tribulations we are going through. 

This study has gone in a direction I was not planning, but let me just read some Scriptures in Mark 8:34-38:

And when he had called the people unto him with his disciples also, he said unto them, Whosoever will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me. For whosoever will save his life shall lose it; but whosoever shall lose his life for my sake and the gospel's, the same shall save it.

Again, “for Christ’s sake” and for the “Gospel’s sake” is one and the same.

…For what shall it profit a man, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul? Or what shall a man give in exchange for his soul? Whosoever therefore shall be ashamed of me and of my words in this adulterous and sinful generation; of him also shall the Son of man be ashamed, when he cometh in the glory of his Father with the holy angels.

The end of the last verse is a reference to Judgment Day.  If we are ashamed of the Word of God or if we are ashamed of Christ (because He is the Word made flesh), then He will be ashamed of us.  This is a big part of the test that God is putting us through when the doctrines we are sharing can seem so severe to the natural man or the man of the world; he does not understand it and he responds in a very negative way to the proclamation of the truths of the Bible.  As we hold onto these truths, especially today, we have no one to help us and no one to support us, especially not the world and definitely not the churches.  We have no one to back us up but the Bible and God Himself, so that is where we must take our stand, by the power of His grace working within us.  We wait upon Him as He brings us, day by day, through this fiery trial until the “night” ends and the day breaks.