27TH MARCH, 2022
Minister: Pastor Seyi Osanyinbi
Last time, we talked about the wrath of God and a bit on the study of the end times from the book of Revelation.
The book contains the revelation of the person of Jesus, His agenda and how the end is going to play out. Everything that was said will come to play exactly as God has declared it and nothing anywhere in any creation can change the plan because He who is the first and the last has declared it.
There are so many symbols and mysteries contained in the book of Revelation and one needs to have a preview of what the book is about, else it will be difficult to understand. The Book can be divided into sections: In Chapter 1, Jesus introduced Himself afresh to John as the resurrected Christ; Chapters 2 and 3 are about encouragement to the Church to bring us into alignment; Chapters 4 and 5 unveil God’s glory while Chapter 6 discusses the judgment of God that is unfolding. The whole story ends up addressing the Church on standing strong in the end times.
John had a personal relationship with Jesus of Nazareth while He was still on the earth but until he encountered Jesus again on the Island of Patmos, He did not get a complete picture of who Jesus truly is. So, his epistle was quite different from the epistle of the other disciples because he encountered the resurrected Jesus in a different way.
The Book of Revelation can be viewed in the contexts of God’s dealings with Israel, the Church and the gentile nations.
Genesis 10:7-9; 11:1-6; Psalm 2:1-5
Nimrod was a mighty man before the Lord and his influence began from Babel. His was a wicked venture hunting for the souls of men; Cain was also such a man. Nimrod brought people together to work against the counsel of God by raising a tower that could reach to the heavens.
Only those who are stubbornly faithful can overcome in these end times. God has done so much to get the gentiles to repent and be saved but the time is slowly winding down.
Daniel 2:27-33,42-45; Revelation 11:2
After the flood, God did not give control of the earth to anyone. Nebuchadnezzar was the first to ever come to take such leadership by building a powerful empire. The present world system follows the Babylonian style. This follows an agenda in the heart of God that the gentiles will rule the earth for a period of time.
Revelation 11:2; Romans 11:11-24
We are currently living in the time of the gentiles when the gentiles bear rule over the earth.
Salvation was initially limited to Israel because of their covenant with God. However, they stumbled and fell and salvation was extended to the gentiles. God needs us to provoke the Jews to jealousy but we still have a long way to go.
The salvation of Israel is predicated on what the gentile Church will do. We must come into the place of glory that will provoke the Jews into jealousy to seek their God. We have a collective responsibility towards Israel; we will determine their salvation. It is such a tall order.
We have to put our lives in order and help our brethren to put theirs in order too. We have to be careful because the wheat and tares will grow together until the day of separation. We must be careful and discerning in these last days so that we do not waste God’s investments upon our lives.