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10-22-2017 Weekly Message

The contemplation of the week: Proverbs 25:1-28

Text: Revelation 4: 1-11

Word Title: Come Up Hither!

          The Lord Jesus Christ chose the Apostle John to write the last book of the Bible, and when he was on the island of Patmos after suffering, the Lord Jesus showed him in the Holy Spirit of all things that would happen. Apostle John recorded all that he had seen:

” The Revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave unto him, to shew unto his servants things which must shortly come to pass; and he sent and signified it by his angel unto his servant John:

2Who bare record of the word of God, and of the testimony of Jesus Christ, and of all things that he saw. 3Blessed is he that readeth, and they that hear the words of this prophecy, and keep those things which are written therein: for the time is at hand.. “(Rev. 1: 1-3)

          Apostle John recorded the words of Revelation and first testified of what will happen in the future:

” Behold, he cometh with clouds; and every eye shall see him, and they also which pierced him: and all kindreds of the earth shall wail because of him. Even so, Amen. “(Revelation 1: 7)

             He testified of what he saw and heard in the Holy Spirit as he was in the Day of the Second Coming of the Lord Jesus Christ:

 ”  I John, who also am your brother, and companion in tribulation, and in the kingdom and patience of Jesus Christ, was in the isle that is called Patmos, for the word of God, and for the testimony of Jesus Christ I John, who also am your brother, and companion in tribulation, and in the kingdom and patience of Jesus Christ, was in the isle that is called Patmos, for the word of God, and for the testimony of Jesus Christ. Saying, I am Alpha and Omega, the first and the last: and, What thou seest, write in a book, and send it unto the seven churches which are in Asia; unto Ephesus, and unto Smyrna, and unto Pergamos, and unto Thyatira, and unto Sardis, and unto Philadelphia, and unto Laodicea.“(Revelation 1: 9-11)

           That is correct! The Holy Spirit, the Spirit of God, is an eternal Spirit that is able to show the things in the past, present, and future. All Scriptures are written by those who are anointed  by the Holy Spirit, so we can preview God’s eternal purpose in the Holy Spirit in the Word of God.

        Apostle John testified about the anointing of the Holy Spirit

“But the anointing which ye have received of him abideth in you, and ye need not that any man teach you: but as the same anointing teacheth you of all things, and is truth, and is no lie, and even as it hath taught you, ye shall abide in him. 28And now, little children, abide in him; that, when he shall appear, we may have confidence, and not be ashamed before him at his coming.29If ye know that he is righteous, ye know that every one that doeth righteousness is born of him.” (1 John 2: 27-29).

         Apostle John wrote  letters to the seven churches as  the Lord Jesus Christ gave him. These seven churches are the churches in ancient Asia and at the same time they are the types of all the churches that will appear in the future. In other word, the Lord has made the future history of the church that will come forth in advance. The last two churches, the Philadelphia Church and the Laodicea Church, are models of the church to be raptured before the Great Tribulation and the Church to be left in the world without being raptured.

          The text given to us today begins with “After this I looked.”. In other word, he witnessed of what will happen after the  church age. He saw a door opened in heaven. The door that was opened must be the same as the door when Enoch was lifted up into heaven, and   when Elijah the prophet was lifted up into heaven with fire chariots. We cannot see it in our own eyes, but in order to ascend to heaven we must pass through the door in heaven.

          When Jesus was the Son of man, He said He is the door itself:

” Verily, verily, I say unto you, I am the door of the sheep. 8All that ever came before me are thieves and robbers: but the sheep did not hear them. 9I am the door: by me if any man enter in, he shall be saved, and shall go in and out, and find pasture. The thief cometh not, but for to steal, and to kill, and to destroy: I am come that they might have life, and that they might have itmore abundantly. 11I am the good shepherd: the good shepherd giveth his life for the sheep. But he that is an hireling, and not the shepherd, whose own the sheep are not, seeth the wolf coming, and leaveth the sheep, and fleeth: and the wolf catcheth them, and scattereth the sheep. 13The hireling fleeth, because he is an hireling, and careth not for the sheep “( ). 10: 7-13)

          The Lord Jesus  spoke beforehand of  false preachers, false teachers, and false prophets who preach another gospel in the future. He also  spoke of the Antichrist to come who will appear as Christ. The Apostle John made a clear testimony of  the Antichrist:

“ Little children, it is the last time: and as ye have heard that antichrist shall come, even now are there many antichrists; whereby we know that it is the last time. 19They went out from us, but they were not of us; for if they had been of us, they would no doubt have continued with us: but they went out, that they might be made manifest that they were not all of us. 20But ye have an unction from the Holy One, and ye know all things. I have not written unto you because ye know not the truth, but because ye know it, and that no lie is of the truth. 22Who is a liar but he that denieth that Jesus is the Christ? He is antichrist, that denieth the Father and the Son. (1John 2: 18-22)

            Through Apostle John, the Holy Spirit made clear witness of  the Antichrist. Those who profess to believe in Jesus Christ, but at the same time who believe in another Christ is also the Antichrist. Nowadays, we see a giant Antichrist taking control of almost all Christians. Almost all churches in Korea are affiliated  to WCC. They are those who claim that Jesus alone is not the Christ but all other religions as Christ, and they will welcome the Antichrist when he appear.

            As Apostle John testified, the end has already begun 2,000 years ago. The last time is the end of the world, and the end of the world is because  the old serpent, the Devil was judged. The Lord Jesus Christ overcame the sins brought by the devil by dying transferring the sin of the world unto  his body to judge the devil that has  the power of sin and death, He was buried to overcome what all men should be buried, and he  threw all the world’s sins into the hell to take away them all, and resurrected  to have victory over the devil by destroying death. At the moment of destroying sin and death, the devil was  judged. But the Lord has been  waiting a thousand years as a day to save the Jews and Gentiles who believe in Him from sin and death by grace for the past two thousand years since  the judgment of the devil was done.

         The voice of the Lord, “Come  up hither!”, Is the voice of the Lord Jesus shouting with the sound of a trumpet to open up the heavenly gates and lift up all the children in the Holy Spirit to heaven. It is what happens when the dispensation is fullness of  times is done  Apostle Paul testified to the Saints in the Church of Ephesus:

” Having made known unto us the mystery of his will, according to his good pleasure which he hath purposed in himself: 10That in the dispensation of the fulness of times he might gather together in one all things in Christ, both which are in heaven, and which are on earth; even in him:“(Ephesians 1: 9-10)

         In the Bible, the word saying , “Come on up!” is shown two more  times: It is a message that all come up to heaven:

 ” Put not forth thyself in the presence of the king, and stand not in the place of great men: 7For better it is that it be said unto thee, Come up hither; than that thou shouldest be put lower in the presence of the prince whom thine eyes have seen.  …..  
And they heard a great voice from heaven saying unto them, Come up hither. And they ascended up to heaven in a cloud; and their enemies beheld them. “(Proverbs 25: 6-7, Rev 11:12))

            As the moment when  Apostle John heard the word, “Come up hither!” He was already in heaven in the spirit not in  the flesh, and saw the Father  God sitting on the throne of heaven. Sooner or later, when the Lord Jesus appears  in the air and will say  to the born-again church, “Come on up hither!” They will also be in heaven at the same time. They shall also see all things in heaven.

             Apostle Paul testified that only this moment, the day of Christ’s appearance, is comforting the saints:

  For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first: 17Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord. Wherefore comfort one another with these words. “(1 Thess. 4: 16-18) Amen! Hallelujah!