Revelation

What did all of these cities have in common? They had pagan temples dedicated to male and female supernatural mythical gods. Prostitution and moral decadence could be found everywhere. If anyone opposed a pagan god they might become a human sacrifice. The temples had Priests and priestesses that spoke with ecstatic utterances and they were allowing demons to speak through them—the authoritative name of Jesus stopped demon possession. They worshipped nature and the seasons. Where did the myth of all these Greek and Roman superhuman champions come from? Just as Zane Grey glorified the plainsmen that became our cowboy heroes; Homer, Aeschylus, Euripides, and others glorified their mythical gods that became their worshipped heroes. Where did Homer and the others get their ideas from? They got their ideas from the real world that once existed.

At one time there existed extraordinary men such as:

1. The Nephilim, Genesis 6:4

2. The Sons of Anak, Numbers 13:30-33; Deuteronomy 1:28; 2:10-11, 20-21; Joshua 14:15; 15:13-14; Judges 1:20; 1 Samuel 178:4-7; 2 Samuel 2:18-22; 1 Chronicles 5:8; 20:4-8; 27:20; And the fortress called Hebron received its name from Arba the father of Anak. Hebron means the city of Arba, Genesis 23:2.

3. Goliath was mentioned in 1 Samuel 17:4-7 whereas young David slew Goliath the giant, 1 Samuel 17:50.

The ancient world glorified the giants and made them into gods. Mankind was gullible and dopey enough to worship them. The 7 churches of Asia Minor had to overcome the immorality and the absurdity of false worship. The people trusted in foolishness instead of the true God of creation.

Since the fall of Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden, God had a plan to save mankind and it included the development of the 12 tribes of Israel. God used the 12 tribes for a way to keep the knowledge of sin a reality and so that our memory would never forget that we need a savior. God used the 12 tribes as a means to prove He was real and He is the creator. He used the 12 tribes as a method to protect His life as a baby until God Himself selected the day of His sacrifice for the sins of the world. Mary was chosen and trusted by God to take care of the infant Jesus until His hour arrived.

The 12 tribes were also chosen as a race to get the message of salvation to all of mankind—to save the world from the fall of sin that occurred in the Garden of Eden, Isaiah 49:6. The 12 tribes of Israel were supposed to be the light of the nations. They were supposed to take God’s message of salvation to the end of the earth. However, in 30 A.D. most of the 12 tribes in Jerusalem and in the world rejected Jesus as the Savior Messiah. Once again God would need to rely on a remnant--the 12 apostles instead of 12 tribes. God would use a few from synagogues worldwide instead of the masses of Israelites and Levites from the temple in Jerusalem. God was extremely angry with their blindness, disobedience, and lack of brotherly love. As-a-result, God condemned them to a judgment of retribution through a Roman massacre. The 12 tribes turned Jesus over to the Romans to be crucified because they did not like or want a suffering Messiah. They wanted a king Messiah to come down from heaven and put them in charge. The entire Book of Revelation is about the end of the 12 tribes because of their terrible failure to recognize the Messiah. It is also about the end of Jerusalem that represented the end of the Old Testament—Judaism.

On the Day of Pentecost God introduced the Holy Spirit that Jesus promised would come, Luke 24:49; John 14:26. In Acts 2:37-39 Peter explained how each person was to receive the Holy Spirit as promised. There are too many Christian denominations that refuse to follow Peter’s instructions and they refuse to follow Jesus’ example Matthew 3:15-17. From Matthew 3:15-17 is the order of receiving the Holy Spirit—Jesus is the first fruits of those who are dead and the order includes those after Him who are alive, I Corinthians 15:20-23. Most people obey their preacher or denomination but they will not obey God with this command. You will never fail if you obey God rather than Man’s ideas of interpretation of the Bible. Change your heart to observe Christ’s ethics and -- Obey God!

The reason Jesus demanded that the 7 churches repent and overcome is because since the beginning of time mankind did not have God the Holy Spirit living inside him. Salvation of having the Holy Spirit inside man was absolutely incredible. If God is in you then He demands that you keep His temple Holy. This is why John wrote in the manner that he did. God now demands holiness of His temple.

Since God was angry with the 12 tribes did He let them know of their treachery and betrayal? Yes He did and it is recorded in Matthew 23 and 24. The event that occurred in Matthew 23 was only two days before the Passover, Matthew 26:1. The scribes were mostly the Levite priesthood who were in charge of the scrolls, and they were also rabbis. The Pharisees was the political party that believed that a Messiah would rule the earth from Jerusalem. They rejected Jesus as the Messiah. They were opinionated and extremely intolerant of anyone who was in opposition of them. Let us view Jesus’ outcry confrontation with them in Matthew 23 of the 8 woes.

1. Woe- For shutting the door and access into the Kingdom of Heaven.

2. Woe- They devour widows houses and camouflage their wicked transaction with a long prayer.

3. Woe- They pervert a proselyte by adulterating them by double degradation.

4. Woe- Jesus called them ‘blind guides’ because they thought more of the gold than the Holy Place.

5. Woe- They were more concerned about the 10% tithe than looking to help others with alms.

6. Woe- They looked attractive outside but inside they were dishonest with crooked schemes.

7. Woe- They appear as beautiful mausoleums but consider their inside that is full of dead bones.

8. Woe- They honor the prophets graves and the righteous graves but Jesus accuses them of having a murderous heart just like their fathers had. Jesus is going to send them prophets, wise men, righteous scribes, and Himself. They will kill some, crucify others, scourge and persecute from city to city. Did you catch the ‘city to city’ which included Asia Minor? Jesus calls them ‘a brood of snakes’ and foretells their destiny—Hell. At the conclusion of Jesus’ condemnation He tells that ‘all the guilt of the righteous blood shed on the earth’ will fall on them of that generation—that is within 40 more years. [30 A.D. with 40 more years is 70 A.D.]

Jesus cries over Jerusalem twice, ‘Jerusalem, Jerusalem’ who kills the prophets and stones those sent to her. Jesus is condemning the entire city for murder, including Himself. He equates most of the people of Jerusalem as ‘chicks.’ Jesus wanted to gather the 12 tribes under His ‘wings’ but they were totally against Him.

Next Jesus foretells a prophecy: Jesus said to ‘look closely’ or ‘behold’ because your house or dwelling place is being left to you ‘desolate.’ The word ‘desolate’ is intentional and comes from Daniel 9:26-27. In Daniel a prince will come that will destroy the city and will make a complete desolation. In Matthew 24:2 Jesus tells the disciples that not one stone will be left that will not be torn down.

In Matthew 24:15 comes the significant prophecy from Daniel about the ‘Abomination of Desolation’ which is the identity of the Roman armies, Luke 21:20. In Matthew 24:28 the ‘corpse’ is the city and the temple buildings and the ‘vultures’ are the Roman armies.