Isaiah has a picture of Heaven! He has a vision of our Messiah in Heaven hundreds of years before his incarnation to earth at Bethlehem! The six spirits of God are resting on Christ making the number seven a sign of completion! Revelation chapter four is the same picture in Heaven of our Messiah except this is after his ascension from earth back to Heaven! However in verse 5 we see thunder and lightning which represents judgment! Christ here in Revelation is preparing for his second coming back to earth to judge the living and the dead! His first coming was as a lamb or sacrifice but his second coming he is the judge of all. Judgment to those that have rejected his sacrifice for their sin! Jesus first coming was as a lamb but at his second coming as a lion! The Holy Spirit is the active agent in Heaven and on earth! A crucial part of the Trinity! The Holy Spirit came upon Mary to impregnate her with our Messiah! When Jesus was baptized by John in the Jordan River the Holy Spirit descended upon Jesus! This is why baptism is an important ordinance of the church! Then when Jesus ascended back to Heaven he promised to send his Holy Spirit to his church at Pentecost! Jesus role in Heaven was different before his incarnation! His role on earth was different! At his second coming his role will be different! However he is the same God with the same mission to redeem the earth and administer final judgment on those who have rejected him! James and Hamsa Sasse. GodWhoisGod.com
Tag: revelation
Power in the Name! (Continued)
On the previous post we talked about the meanings of the names of the seven churches that the Apostle John mentioned in the Book of Revelation. That is the names of the cities these churches resided in. We spoke of the meaning of the Greek word Ephesus. Now let us look at the city of Thyatira. What does the Greek word Thyatira mean? The word means; “To be controlled by a woman.” Jesus had many good things to say about this church however he corrected them on the woman named Jezebel! (Revelation 2:20) She was using the power of sex to seduce church members! Nothing new here! The name Jezebel means a worshipper of Idol’s! One truth I found out while living in India is that Idol worshippers make themselves God! Sex is a gift from God! Like any gift it can be used to either honor God or dishonor him! We face the perversion of sex here in America today in that the popular culture promotes gays, lesbians and transgenders as something honorable! The evil today is no different than it was in the 1st Century! The church today faces the same challenges! The good news is we have the same Christ! Jesus name is higher than the name of a controlling woman! Just like the city of Ephesus we cannot lose our first love to Christ! Will you exalt any name above the name of Christ? If we demote God then we promote Satan! The choice is ours to make but our choice determines our outcome both today and eternally! Chose Christ today and forever! James and Hamsa Sasse. GodWhoisGod.com
So Where are the Churches?
So where are the seven churches today listed in the Book of Revelation? Why did they not survive? Did they have really bad Pastor’s? Unfaithful members? The answer is the Greco-Turkish War! (1919-1922) It was a war between Christians and Muslims! The reason for the Muslim victory over Asia Minor is a complicated one! First of all Greece itself was divided politically in regards to the war! Europe itself was war weary from WWI. The Bolshevik Russia Revolution forming Socialism wanted to work against Christian governments in the West! With the Treaty of Moscow in 1921 Russian sent money arms and ammunition to the Muslims in Turkey! Starting in 1920 they sent them 6000 rifles, 5 million rounds of ammunition, 17600 shells and 442 pounds of gold bullion! Over the next two years they increased their aid! Here is a quote from Ernest Hemingway who was a war correspondent at that time for the Toronto Star; “Another night a British destroyer stopped a boatload of Turkish Muslim women who were coming from Asia Minor. On being searched for arms they turned out to be men! They were all armed and later proved to be Kemalist officers sent to organize the Turkish population in the suburbs in case of an attack on Constantinople. (Later Istanbul). The Armistice of Mudanna on October 15, 1922 followed by the Treaty of Lausanne Greece and Turkey came to an agreement to exchange populations. Over one million Greek Orthodox Christians were displaced; most of them resettled in Attica and the newly incorporated territories of Macedonia and Thrace and were exchanged for about 500 thousand Muslims. So these church populations were displaced mentioned in the Book of Revelation. James and Hamsa Sasse. GodWhoisGod.com
Family Member?
If in private your family members describe you using words like thief, liar, Satan’s Seat and other descriptive words taken out of the Book of Revelation you may have a problem!
Who Are They? Revelation 2:6
Who are the Nicolaitians? The word in the Greek means the conqueror of the people! Specifically in the Church of God! They are only referred to twice in the Book of Revelation. Both the church at Ephesus and the Church at Pergamos had the same problem! (Verse 2:15). The Nicolaitians were Bishops and prelates of the church gaining a triumphal victory over the laity! This is the very sin that brought forth the Reformation! It is mostly responsible for all our denominational and non-denominational churches around the world! The Nicolaitians compelled and forced church members to submit to the arbitrary dominion of men who have become the ones which the eternal hates! The Apostle Peter warned us that those who are leaders among God’s people must not dominate the faith of others but rather exhort them to do right! (1 Peter 5:1-3). The Nicolaitians are people in the church who have established a hierarchy of power and dominion under a government of ecclesiastical rulers! Comment: Yes! God hates these folks! Correction is very different from condemnation! We take the word disciple from the word discipline. Jesus used the techniques of correction and commendation very effectively! We as parents either tend to over correct and under commend or over commend and under correct! Everything I do cannot be right and everything I do cannot be wrong! That is why I need a Savior! My experience in ministry over the past 45 years has shown me people do not like to submit to authority! This is the nature of Satan! Most people will submit to authority if commended and corrected in love! However some will never! Hell is reserved for these folks! Why will some never submit? Because they want to replace God! This explains why the world is a war! War on God! Jesus asked the churches at Ephesus and Pergamos to repent! Sunday our Pastor Oscar Cope made an important point to us in his sermon! He said that the beginning of repentance is the end of judgment! James and Hamsa Sasse. GodWhoisGod.com
Holy Smoke! 2 Thessalonians 1:8-9
“In flaming fire taking vengeance on them that know not God, and that obey not the Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ; who shall be punished with everlasting destruction from the presence of the Lord, and from the glory of his power,” Comment: I do not know about you but I would not want to be wood for the fire! Jesus was placed on a wooden Cross and took the fire of hell to save you from the flames! Think about this! God took your hell and gave you heaven! He took your judgment upon himself! He took your sin and gave you forgiveness! What a deal! What fool would turn this down? Sadly most of the world will recognize their error at Christ’s second coming! They will wail and beat their bodies when they witness his second coming! Christ’s body was beaten for you! To reject this is serious! No one will miss Jesus second coming but many have missed his first coming! No one will be able to hide behind their sin anymore! Jesus second coming is not only to rule and reign over the earth for a thousand years but to judge those who have rejected him while living on earth! Christ’s judgment will be socialism on steroids! All those that rejected him will get equal treatment with the same outcome! Hell! Why? Because they rejected the only God who took their judgment upon himself for their sin! The church is not on the earth at this time they are in heaven! Those following Christ at his second coming are the believers following him back to earth! No army can stand against him! Jesus came as a lamb for the sacrifice but his second coming he comes as a lion! You will not be able to vote him out of office! You will not be able to vote another sinner into office to cover your sin! He is King of Kings and Lord of Lord’s! You will stand at the judgment seat of Christ naked with no covering to hide behind! No ideology that opposes him will stand the test of fire! Fire forever! If you have rejected Christ now is the time for you to stop playing the fool! Eternity is forever and this life is very short! If I were playing the lottery game I would buy the forever ticket that keeps me out of hell! If I were wrong about this it would not hurt me one bit! In fact it would help me live a clean life! But if you are wrong and Christ is true and all that he has written you will not be able to purchase enough fire extinguishers to put out the flames of hell! James and Hamsa Sasse. GodWhoisGod.com
Sunday Worship! Revelation 1:10
Greek Translation: “I, John was in the spirit when the breath of God blew on me! It was on the Lord’s day! It was Sunday the day and time of life that belongs to Christ! It is his day therefore I submit to my King and Ruler this day! This day is owned by my God!” Comment: Man’s day is in opposition to the Sabbath! Fifty years ago when I was a teenager about 90 percent of all businesses were closed on Sunday! What about today in America? I hear about more and more Christians telling me they have to work on Sunday? If the businesses stay open on Sunday then the employee’s will have to work on Sunday! Where was John in the 1st century when he received this revelation? He was in the Lord’s House on Sunday! Do not expect to hear from God if you forsake the Sabbath! It is like trying to catch a fish by casting your line on a sand dune in the desert! If you want to meet God you need to be where he hangs out! Now John’s church building could have been his prison! Peter and the Apostles spent time in prison but still honored the Sabbath! Turn your prison into a House of worship! If you do not want to be where God is then you may need to repent! If you resist Christ’s church here on earth you are also resisting him in Heaven! The separation from Christ begins here on earth and continues resisting Heaven! In American culture work has become the agent of resistance to Christ and Sunday worship! Most people move away from Christ gradually taking many little steps! If you want to take a big step forward back to Christ be in church on Sunday! James and Hamsa Sasse. GodWhoisGod.com
Mystery Solved! Revelation 1:20
Comment: The word mystery translated from the Greek means a sacred spiritual mystery! Something that is hidden but to be revealed later. This is why a believer in Christ lives by faith! We do not see everything about our faith immediately but God reveals himself to us in steps as we progress in following him! The word angels used here simply means a messenger! Someone with a message! It could be Gabriel however this word angel in the Greek can also mean a Bishop, Pastor or a designated elder! The word churches means a congregation of believers following Christ. I believe the angels were the seven Pastor’s of the seven churches in Asia Minor (Turkey). This letter was for them! Some believe the Roman guards would have read John’s letters so he coded them so only the churches would understand what he was saying! When the Roman guards read these letters they probably thought John was crazy! I am sure the world today looks at us the same way! The foolishness of God is wiser than the wisdom of men! The reason the Romans released John from prison is probably because they thought he was not a threat to Caesar but just plain crazy! Remember the whole Book of Revelation is the unveiling or uncovering the mystery of Jesus Christ! Look for Jesus Christ as you read and study this Book! To those who have not received the Revelation of Jesus Christ this Book would look foolish yet to those who have received him it is the power of God! The stars and the candlesticks ultimately all point to Christ! There was a star over Bethlehem and Jesus is the light of the world! Let him light your path so you do not stumble in the darkness! James and Hamsa Sasse. GodWhoisGod.com
Christbook or Facebook? Revelation 20:15
So which is it? Christbook or Facebook? It is not about me or about you! It is about Christ! You can let God make it about you but first you have to make it about him! Then you are moving in the right direction to stay out of the Lake of Fire! God did make it about you on the Cross! But if you reject his sacrifice for your sin then you become the sacrifice! You do not want to go there! After I discovered Christ’s love for me then for the rest of my life I have made it about him! So is your name in his Book? Is your name written in the Book of Life? How would I know? If you shared his name on your Facebook! Is your name written down in Heaven? If it was then you would share his name on earth! I do not wish the Lake of Fire on anyone! However the choice will be yours to make! In fact it has already been made! Unless you change your mind? God asked the same question in Daniel 12:1, that he has asked you in Revelation 20:15. Have you made it all about Christ? This is the only evidence God will find in the earth! Pastor Oscar Cope our Pastor here in Georgia has been in the ministry for over 50 years! So he has seen everything there is to see in ministry! He shared with us some of the excuses people make even in the church to avoid Christ! Some say I cannot take Communion or make the trip to the Altar because Christ and God is too Holy! I know God has forgiven me but I cannot forgive myself! Really? Are you greater than God? If God has forgiven you who in the world are you? Identification with Christ can only come while you are here on the earth! Your decision for Christ is only done in this life! But it determines your next life! How could I identify with Christ on Facebook? Put some Bible verses up on it! Embarrassed what your friends might think? Then you are not saved! No secret service Christians in earth or in Heaven! What evidence is there on earth that Christ is first in your life! Do you cheat God on your tithes and offerings! Do you work on Sunday or keep the Sabbath Holy? The evidence is either for or against you! Do you love others more than yourself? Can I have it both ways? My name in God’s Book and keep my Facebook account? Yes if you put and share Christ on your account! Your Facebook account will be closed one day! Then the Book of Life will be opened in Heaven! We hope and pray your name will be written there but your life for or against Christ is being recorded right now! James and Hamsa Sasse. GodWhoisGod.com
Ten Lost Tribes Myth! Revelation Chapter 7
This myth is sometimes referred to as the “British Israelism.” This myth is also anti-Semitic because it tries to deny Israel their homeland! Genesis 12:3 was never repealed! So in Revelation Chapter 7, we see 144000 Jews redeemed during the Tribulation period 12 thousand from each of the 12 tribes! Some of these tribes are in Israel today and some are living across Europe the United States and other countries! Many are migrating back to Israel. So the scriptures of your Bible will always expose the lies of the doubters! James and Hamsa Sasse. GodWhoisGod.com