Revelation
3:5 He who overcomes will, like them, be dressed in white. I will never
blot out his name from the book of life, but will acknowledge his name before
my Father and his angels.
Once again
we see the promise to those who overcome, those who prevail in the face of
affliction, torture and even death, for the sake of Christ.
Revelation
3:5 He who overcomes will, like them, be dressed in white. I will never blot
out his name from the book of life, but will acknowledge his name before my
Father and his angels.
To the
church in Sardis, Jesus promises those who overcome to be dressed in white, the
sign that the wearer has the right to be at the table of the Lord's feast.
Matthew 22:12, 13 'Friend,' he asked, 'how did you get in here
without wedding clothes?' The man was speechless. 13"Then the
king told the attendants, 'Tie him hand and foot, and throw him outside, into
the darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.'"
Mark 16:5 As they entered the tomb, they saw a young man dressed
in a white robe sitting on the right side, and they were alarmed.
Acts 1:10 They were
looking intently up into the sky as he was going, when suddenly two men dressed
in white stood beside them.
Revelation 4:4 Surrounding the throne were twenty-four other thrones,
and seated on them were twenty-four elders. They were dressed in white and had
crowns of gold on their heads.
Revelation 19:14 The armies of heaven were following him, riding
on white horses and dressed in fine linen, white and clean.
Being
dressed in white is a token of purity and holiness, being in the company of
God. For believers, this promise is a sure comfort and a motivation to
persevere.
When we
consider the book of life, especially as it is used here in this passage, some
may argue that it is a changeable document in which God writes and erases
peoples' names as they display good or bad behavior.
We need to
dwell on the concept of the book of life for a short while to properly
understand what the meaning and impact of it is on the life of the believer.
Let's look
at those passages that seem to infer that the book of life is a changeable
document:
Psalm 69:28 May they be blotted out of the book of life and not be
listed with the righteous.
And, of
course, the passage that is from the letter to the church in Sardis, which we
have just read:
Revelation 3:5 … I will never blot out his name from the book of
life …
Then,
there are passages that are neutral and do not infer that the book of life is
changeable:
Philippians 4:3 Yes, and I ask you, loyal yokefellow, help these
women who have contended at my side in the cause of the gospel, along with
Clement and the rest of my fellow workers, whose names are in the book of life.
Revelation 20:12 And I saw the dead, great and small, standing
before the throne, and books were opened. Another book was opened, which is the
book of life. The dead were judged according to what they had done as recorded
in the books.
Revelation 20:15 If anyone's name was not found written in the
book of life, he was thrown into the lake of fire.
Revelation 21:27 Nothing impure will ever enter it, nor will
anyone who does what is shameful or deceitful, but only those whose names are
written in the Lamb's book of life.
Then,
finally, there are passages that proclaim that the book of life has been
recorded before creation:
Revelation 13:8 All inhabitants of the earth will worship the
beast--all whose names have not been written in the book of life belonging to
the Lamb that was slain from the creation of the world.
Revelation 17:8 The beast, which you saw, once was, now is not,
and will come up out of the Abyss and go to his destruction. The inhabitants of
the earth whose names have not been written in the book of life from the
creation of the world will be astonished when they see the beast, because he
once was, now is not, and yet will come.
[1]The Jews celebrate Yom Kippur,
which is considered one of the most important holidays of the Jewish year and
all Jews are obliged to refrain from all work, they must fast and attend
synagogue services, while there are some minor practical exceptions. Yom Kippur occurs on the 10th day of Tishri,
the seventh month of the Jewish calendar. The holiday is instituted at
Leviticus 23:26 - 32 The LORD said to Moses, 27"The
tenth day of this seventh month is the Day of Atonement. Hold a sacred assembly
and deny yourselves, and present an offering made to the LORD by fire. 28Do
no work on that day, because it is the Day of Atonement, when atonement is made
for you before the LORD your God. 29Anyone who does not deny himself
on that day must be cut off from his people. 30I will destroy from
among his people anyone who does any work on that day. 31You shall
do no work at all. This is to be a lasting ordinance for the generations to
come, wherever you live. 32It is a sabbath of rest for you, and you
must deny yourselves. From the evening of the ninth day of the month until the
following evening you are to observe your sabbath."
As we have
seen, Yom Kippur means "Day of Atonement," and that pretty much
explains what the holiday is. It is a day set aside to "afflict the
soul," to atone for the sins of the past year. Yamim Noraim are the ten days from the first day of
the month of Tishri, when Rosh Hashanah is celebrated, to the tenth day when
Yom Kippur is celebrated, and are also referred to as the ten "Days of
Awe" or the "Days of Repentance."
One of the
ongoing themes of the Days of Awe is the concept that God has "books"
that he writes our names in, writing down who will live and who will die, who
will have a good life and who will have a bad life, for the next year. These
books are written in on Rosh Hashanah, but our actions during the Days of Awe
can alter God's decree. The actions that change the decree are "teshuvah,
tefilah and tzedakah," repentance, prayer, and good deeds (usually,
charity). These "books" are sealed on Yom Kippur. This concept of
writing in books is the source of the common greeting during this time, which
is "May you be inscribed and sealed for a good year."
According
to Yom Kippur, therefore, the judgment entered in these books is sealed. This
day is, essentially, your last appeal, your last chance to change the judgment,
to demonstrate your repentance and make amends.
From the
foregoing, there is an apparent contradiction in the application of the names
entered into the books, namely, that in one instance the names are written for
a good year, that is, until the next Yom Kippur, and in the other instance, the
books are sealed on Yom Kippur, implying that they will remain sealed indefinitely,
"writing down who will live and who will die." I assume here, of course, that their
reference to living or dying means eternal life or death.
Since
there is no mention in Jewish literature of other books in which God writes
names, the books of Yom Kippur seem to relate to that found in Psalm 69:28.
If it were
true that God would wait for Yom Kippur to see how his people behave and then
write down the names of those who behaved well into the book of life, and
obliterate those names of those who behaved badly, then it would imply that God
would wait on man to execute his judgment, which is absurd. Furthermore, it is
not clear whether the Jewish custom implies that God has no knowledge of who
will behave either good or bad, which would further indict their belief if they
also believe that God is omniscient.
It could
be that the Yom Kippur refers to the book of deeds that we find in Revelation
20:12. In Deuteronomy we read,
Deuteronomy 29:20 The LORD will never be willing to forgive him;
his wrath and zeal will burn against that man. All the curses written in this
book will fall upon him, and the LORD will blot out his name from under heaven.
It is
interesting to note that the LORD "will blot out his name from under
heaven." There rather here a
reference to an obliteration from under heaven, which is a reference to eternal
punishment and not a name in the book of life.
Luke 12:10 And everyone who speaks a word against the Son of Man
will be forgiven, but anyone who blasphemes against the Holy Spirit will not be
forgiven.
If the
Jews meant to imply that Yom Kippur has reference to the book of deeds instead
of the book of life, I would not expect references to names being entered or
blotted out but rather deeds that would be recorded.
When one
further argues along the lines of God's omniscience and whether God actually
knew beforehand whether one would behave in a way that would cause his or her
name to be written in the book of life, then the argument of the Arminians
touches that of the Jewish thought.
The Arminians,
and many other so-called charismatic doctrines that do their best to deny the
scriptural teaching that God foreordained the elect's salvation and none other,
believes that God, before creation, actually peered down the tunnel of time
into the future and observed who would accept Christ as their personal savior,
and then noted their names in the book of life.
The points
of agreement that the Arminians have with Jewish thought lie in their belief
that God could not have written the names of those whom He knew beforehand in
the book of life, even before creation, and then sent his Son to save them
only. As much as the Jews, partly
because of their blind spot on God's omniscience, miss the evidence that the Messiah
has already been here, just as much, for the same reason, do the Arminians fail
to comprehend that Jesus Christ is God, in spite of their testimony to the
contrary.
David's
declaration in Psalm 69:28 "May they be blotted out of the book of
life…" and Jesus' promise in Revelation 3:5 in no way infers that the book
of life is changeable, but rather sets wickedness apart from holiness, setting
the impossibility of the one against the sureness of the other.
Let's look
at an interesting conversation that Moses had with God in Exodus 32 after Israel
made the golden calf:
Exodus 32:31 So Moses went
back to the LORD and said, "Oh, what a great sin these people have
committed! They have made themselves gods of gold! 32But now, please
forgive their sin--but if not, then blot me out of the book you have
written." 33The LORD replied to Moses, "Whoever has sinned
against me I will blot out of my book. 34Now go, lead the people to
the place I spoke of, and my angel will go before you. However, when the time
comes for me to punish, I will punish them for their sin."
Moses was
in great emotional pain about the infidelity of Israel, his own brothers,
people of his own race, because they had all the promises and blessings from
God and yet they acted so foolishly. Moses knew that he could only throw
himself upon the mercy of God and proclaim their wickedness. From this we shouldn't infer things such as first,
that God didn't already know about Israel's sin, and second that it
was remotely possible that Moses could offer himself as atonement to satisfy
this sin. Moses knew that offering God his own place in the book of life for
the sake of Israel's sin is impossible, but he rather pitted the severity of
the sin against the impossible to thereby emphasize the need for God's mercy.
Moses
acted here as a type of Christ by mediating for his people, by offering himself
as a sacrifice for the atonement of their sins. But God denies Moses his
request, because the only One who would be able to perfectly satisfy for the
sins of his people would be the suffering Christ, who had to endure being
forsaken by God so that Moses and all the believers need not be blotted out of
the book of life. If the book of life
was a changeable document, then the sacrifice of Christ was contingent on man's
fickleness and there would have been no need that his sacrifice be complete,
which is absurd.
There is
another saint that used the same language for the same reason much later in the
history of the church. Let's read about
it in
Romans 9:2 I have great sorrow and unceasing anguish in my heart, 3for
I could wish that I myself were cursed and cut off from Christ for the sake of
my brothers, those of my own race. 4The people of Israel. Theirs is
the adoption as sons; theirs the divine glory, the covenants, the receiving of
the law, the temple worship and the promises. 5Theirs are the
patriarchs, and from them is traced the human ancestry of Christ, who is God
over all, forever praised! Amen.
Same
scenario, same pledge. The apostle Paul pleads on behalf of the Jews, who
enjoyed so many blessings from God and yet they deny the Messiah that was
promised, and about whom they read from the Prophets and the Psalms every
Sabbath, even while he was with them. So, Paul pleads for the impossible to
show the intensity of his sorrow and anguish, just as Moses did centuries
earlier: for the same reason.
One should
resist naming Paul a type of Christ as Moses can legitimately be called a type
of Christ, since being a type of Christ is to prefigure the Messiah to come,
while Paul was rather showing forth the type of Christians we ought to be by
fulfilling our duties as intercessors for our fellow believers; by being
priests in addition to our other two offices: that of prophets and kings.
Jeremiah
also interceded for Israel as we read in,
Jeremiah 8:19 - 9:2 Listen to the cry of my people from a land far away: "Is the LORD not in Zion? Is her King no longer there?" "Why have they provoked me to anger with their images, with their worthless foreign idols? 20The harvest is past, the summer has ended, and we are not saved." 21Since my people are crushed, I am crushed; I mourn, and horror grips me. 22Is there no balm in Gilead? Is there no physician there? Why then is there no healing for the wound of my people? 9:1Oh, that my head were a spring of water and my eyes a fountain of tears! I would weep day and night for the slain of my people! 2Oh, that I had in the desert a lodging place for travelers, so that I might leave my people and go away from them; for they are all adulterers, a crowd of unfaithful people.
If we were
to conclude that God would at some stage blot peoples' names from the book of
life, then we must also conclude that God had mistakenly written their names
into the book in the first place and only after God realized what they had
done, did He remove their names again. As if God couldn't have known about
their hypocrisy, because remember it is not forgivable sins that we talk about
here, these sins justify God blotting their names out of the book of life
forever condemning them to hell.
It is
tantamount to proclaiming that God couldn't foresee ahead of time that these
sinners would actually stoop so low that it would be necessary to condemn them
to hell. It is further tantamount to believing that while God wrote their names
into the book of life He merrily believed in and worked them towards their
salvation. This is a blasphemous belief
putting a blind spot on God's omniscience just where the Jews and the Arminians
have it. God does not have an observant foreknowledge, but a creative
foreknowledge, meaning that God cannot perceive something in the future without
it being created or without it being absolutely sure that it will come to pass.
Some
believe that God wrote the names of all people into the book of life with 'wet
ink,' so to speak, and as soon as one accepts Jesus as one's personal savior
then the ink becomes, magically, indelible.
The other names that remain in wet ink will be blotted out and removed
from the book of life. There is no evidence that God works in this way and it
is nothing but a figment of someone's imagination meant to maintain the blind
spot on God's omniscience and character with no other intention but to mislead
and deceive.
We see,
then, that Jesus writes to the church in Sardis promising those few who
persevere two things, namely, one that the impossible will not happen,
and two, that their names are in the book of life and will never be
removed.
What we
have said here is not mere conjecture, but the passages later in Revelation
confirm this. But first let's look at how God applies his foreknowledge to the
elect.
Romans 8:29, 30 For those God foreknew he also predestined to be
conformed to the likeness of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many
brothers. 30And those he predestined, he also called; those he called,
he also justified; those he justified, he also glorified.
So, there
is no indication that God had any doubt, even before creation, who those would
be that would follow him into eternal glory. He wrote their names, and no other
names, into the book of life. He didn't
intend to remove any name or add any name to those that He has recorded.
These
passages explain what happens to those whose names are not in the book of life.
Revelation 13:8 All inhabitants of the earth will worship the
beast--all whose names have not been written in the book of life belonging to
the Lamb that was slain from the creation of the world.
Revelation 17:8 The beast, which you saw, once was, now is not,
and will come up out of the Abyss and go to his destruction. The inhabitants of
the earth whose names have not been written in the book of life from the
creation of the world will be astonished when they see the beast, because he
once was, now is not, and yet will come.
Revelation 20:15 If anyone's name was not found written in the
book of life, he was thrown into the lake of fire.
These
passages explain what happens to those whose names are found in the book of
life.
Luke 10:20 However, do not rejoice that the spirits submit to you,
but rejoice that your names are written in heaven.
Philippians 4:3 Yes, and I ask you, loyal yokefellow, help these
women who have contended at my side in the cause of the gospel, along with
Clement and the rest of my fellow workers, whose names are in the book of life.
Daniel 12:1 "At that
time Michael, the great prince who protects your people, will arise. There will
be a time of distress such as has not happened from the beginning of nations
until then. But at that time your people--everyone whose name is found written
in the book--will be delivered."
Revelation 21:27 Nothing impure will ever enter it, nor will
anyone who does what is shameful or deceitful, but only those whose names are
written in the Lamb's book of life.
Revelation
13:8 and 17:8 confirm that the book of life was recorded before creation, which
is perfectly in accordance with God's character and omniscience. There is no reason to believe that God had
any doubt that the names that he recorded in the book of life were the names of
those that will stand before his judgment throne at the end of time and
gloriously sing his praises.
When we
get to those passages we will delve more deeply into the essence of the moment
of separation between the elect and the reprobate.
Ezekiel 18:20 The soul who sins is the one who will die. The son
will not share the guilt of the father, nor will the father share the guilt of
the son. The righteousness of the righteous man will be credited to him, and
the wickedness of the wicked will be charged against him.
Psalms 49:8, 9 The ransom for a life is costly, no payment is ever
enough-9that he should live on forever and not see decay.
Revelation
3:5 He who overcomes will, like them, be dressed in white. I will never blot
out his name from the book of life, but will acknowledge his name before my
Father and his angels.
When Jesus
promises the remnant remaining faithful in the church at Sardis that he will
acknowledge their names before the Father and his angels, it is a sweet comfort
that
Matthew 10:32, 33
"Whoever acknowledges me before men, I will also acknowledge him
before my Father in heaven. 33But whoever disowns me before men, I
will disown him before my Father in heaven.
Matthew 25:34 "Then
the King will say to those on his right, 'Come, you who are blessed by my
Father; take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation
of the world."
I Samuel 2:30
"Therefore the LORD, the God of Israel, declares: 'I promised that
your house and your father's house would minister before me forever.' But now
the LORD declares: 'Far be it from me! Those who honor me I will honor, but
those who despise me will be disdained.'"
Luke 12:8, 9 "I tell
you, whoever acknowledges me before men, the Son of Man will also acknowledge
him before the angels of God 9but he who disowns me before men will
be disowned before the angels of God."
Romans 10:10 For it is with your heart that you believe and are
justified, and it is with your mouth that you confess and are saved.
Revelation
3:6 He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.
Here again
Jesus charges them to open their ears to the preaching of the gospel and open
their hearts to the threats and promises of his word.
Revelation
3:7 "To the angel of the church in Philadelphia write: These are
the words of him who is holy and true, who holds the key of David. What he
opens no one can shut, and what he shuts no one can open."
The church
in Philadelphia is in a small city in Lydia, south east of Sardis, plagued by
earthquakes during the reign of emperor Tiberius and although Sardis was closer
to the epicenter, Philadelphia experienced the most destruction. The
destruction was so severe that the city received relief from their annual
tribute and other subsidies payable to Rome. As gratitude for the relief and
aid received from Caesar, the leaders of Philadelphia erected a huge monument
in honor of Tiberius and renamed the city Neocaesarea, meaning Caesar's new
city.
The newly
rebuilt city took a new name merely to honor its imperial patron and rescuer,
but Philadelphia's economic weakness slowed its recovery from the earthquake's
devastation and prolonged its dependence on Rome.
Just as
Jesus did to Smyrna, He speaks commendation without rebuke. The challenge confronting the Philadelphian
church was external opposition from those in the Jewish community who, instead
of embracing Jesus the Messiah, who was perfectly recognizable from the
Scriptures they read each Sabbath, they rejected him, proving to be not true
Jews but a synagogue of Satan. Both the
churches of Smyrna and Philadelphia needed resources: the church in Smyrna was
poor and the Philadelphian church had only little power as we shall see when we
deal with the next verse. Yet each held
fast in its confession despite adversity, despite pressure to renounce their
allegiance. But they held fast and did
not deny Jesus' name.
Revelation
3:7 "To the angel of the church in Philadelphia write: These are the
words of him who is holy and true, who holds the key of David. What he
opens no one can shut, and what he shuts no one can open."
Once again
Jesus identifies himself in a different manner than he did to the other
churches. Here he proclaims his deity by the words that could only describe
God, "These are the words of him who is holy and true…" Or we may
also say "the true holy One." Let's look at some of the other
passages that identify Jesus and the Father as the Holy One.
Job 6:10 Then I would still have this consolation--my joy in
unrelenting pain--that I had not denied the words of the Holy One.
Psalm 22:3 Yet you are enthroned as the Holy One; you are the
praise of Israel.
Psalm 71:22 I will praise you with the harp for your faithfulness,
O my God; I will sing praise to you with the lyre, O Holy One of Israel.
Proverbs 9:10 "The fear of the LORD is the beginning of
wisdom, and knowledge of the Holy One is understanding."
Isaiah 40:25 "To whom will you compare me? Or who is my
equal?" says the Holy One.
Isaiah 60:9 Surely the islands look to me; in the lead are the
ships of Tarshish, bringing your sons from afar, with their silver and gold, to
the honor of the LORD your God, the Holy One of Israel, for he has endowed you
with splendor.
Hosea 11:9 I will not carry out my fierce anger, nor will I turn
and devastate Ephraim. For I am God, and not man--the Holy One among you. I
will not come in wrath.
Mark 1:24 "What do you want with us, Jesus of Nazareth? Have
you come to destroy us? I know who you are--the Holy One of God!"
John 6:68, 69 Simon Peter
answered him, "Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal
life. 69We believe and know that you are the Holy One of God."
Acts 2:27 Because you will not abandon me to the grave, nor will
you let your Holy One see decay.
I John 2:20 But you have
an anointing from the Holy One, and all of you know the truth.
Revelation
3:7 "To the angel of the church in Philadelphia write: These are the words
of him who is holy and true, who holds the key of David. What he opens
no one can shut, and what he shuts no one can open."
Keys are
the symbols of power and authority, the bearer decides who opens and
shuts. Jesus declares that he holds the
key of David. The one who has the key of David has the power to fulfill the
promises made to David, which can be none other than the Messiah.
In the
opening vision the Son of Man held the keys of death and Hades, signifying his
right to unlock the grave and release its captives. Here we see his authority over entrance to the messianic kingdom
as the royal heir of David.
Isaiah
prophesied about Jesus in,
Isaiah 22:22 I will place on his shoulder the key to the house of
David; what he opens no one can shut, and what he shuts no one can open.
Fulfilling
this prophesy about him, Jesus identifies himself here as the One who holds
that key.
Revelation
3:7 "To the angel of the church in Philadelphia write: These are the words
of him who is holy and true, who holds the key of David. What he opens no
one can shut, and what he shuts no one can open."
Jesus
quotes from the prophecy of Isaiah 22:22 that we quoted here, and for good
reason: so that they may recognize him as the One about whom the Scriptures
speak, that He is the One who is God and Messiah. Speaking about opening and
shutting doors indicates supreme power and that that power is totally
irresistible; nobody can change what Jesus has ordained.
He has
opened the door to proclaiming the gospel with the keys of David.
Revelation
3:8 I know your deeds. See, I have placed before you an open door that no
one can shut. I know that you have little strength, yet you have kept my word
and have not denied my name.
Jesus acknowledges
that he knows their plight and that they have little strength. He follows through in this verse stating
that he will open a door for them that will remain open, which means the door
to profess the gospel has been opened for them. Since God prepared their work for them, the fruit is sure:
"I have placed before you an open door that no one can shut."
I Corinthians 16:7 - 9 I do not want to see you now and make only
a passing visit; I hope to spend some time with you, if the Lord permits. 8But
I will stay on at Ephesus until Pentecost 9because a great door for
effective work has opened to me, and there are many who oppose me.
II Corinthians 2:12, 13 Now when I went to Troas to preach the
gospel of Christ and found that the Lord had opened a door for me. 13I
still had no peace of mind, because I did not find my brother Titus there. So I
said good-by to them and went on to Macedonia.
Colossians 4:3 And pray for us, too, that God may open a door for
our message, so that we may proclaim the mystery of Christ, for which I am in
chains.
Some
commentators interpret that the open door means rather an open door directly to
the kingdom of God, which cannot be shut against them even when the synagogue
of Satan repudiates them. They claim
that the victor in Philadelphia will enjoy permanent access to God's presence
as a pillar built into the structure of God's sanctuary, never to leave his
holy presence, as seen in Revelation 3:12.
There is
hardly any conflict between the two positions.
One cannot assume that the faithful in Philadelphia would instantly
ascend into heaven upon reading this letter, relieving them of the chores of
this world, so they have no choice but to live out their lives as members of
Christ's body within the constraints of the church as a struggling entity until
the Savior comes again.
In that
role, the church, not only in Philadelphia but everywhere, has to proclaim the
gospel to the world and to the faithful the promises of permanent access to the
kingdom of God is applicable.
Therefore, interpreting the opening of this door by Jesus, as a door to
an opportunity to spread the gospel as well as a door opening into the kingdom
of God is the same thing, the former necessarily going before the latter.
Jesus
promises an open door into heaven to those who have kept his word and he
promises that their word of witness will bear fruit even if their enemies,
those who are of the synagogue of Satan would resist them.
Revelation
3:9 I will make those who are of the synagogue of Satan, who claim to be
Jews though they are not, but are liars--I will make them come and fall down at
your feet and acknowledge that I have loved you.
Those who
are here described as the from the synagogue of Satan shouldn't be seen as
those who will at the end of time acknowledge that Jesus is the Christ, because
then every knee will bow and every tongue will confess his lordship. Here, however, we see that it is only some
who will "fall down at your feet and acknowledge that I have loved
you." Jesus describes a foretaste of this final day which is closer and
more immediate, in which the humiliation of his enemies becomes their
salvation.
In
Isaiah's prophetic imagery the Gentiles were to be saved as they came to bow at
Israel's feet and to confess, "Surely, God is with you, and there is non
else."
Isaiah 45:14 - 16 This is what the LORD says: "The products
of Egypt and the merchandise of Cush, and those tall Sabeans--they will come
over to you and will be yours; they will trudge behind you, coming over to you
in chains. They will bow down before you and plead with you, saying, 'Surely
God is with you, and there is no other; there is no other god.' 15Truly
you are a God who hides himself, O God and Savior of Israel. 16All
the makers of idols will be put to shame and disgraced; they will go off into
disgrace together.'
I Corinthians 14:24, 25 But if an unbeliever or someone who does
not understand comes in while everybody is prophesying, he will be convinced by
all that he is a sinner and will be judged by all 25and the secrets
of his heart will be laid bare. So he will fall down and worship God,
exclaiming, "God is really among you!"
Job 42:8 So now take seven bulls and seven rams and go to my
servant Job and sacrifice a burnt offering for yourselves. My servant Job will
pray for you, and I will accept his prayer and not deal with you according to
your folly. You have not spoken of me what is right, as my servant Job has.
Isaiah 49:23 Kings will be your foster fathers, and their queens
your nursing mothers. They will bow down before you with their faces to the
ground; they will lick the dust at your feet. Then you will know that I am the
LORD; those who hope in me will not be disappointed.
Isaiah 60:14 The sons of your oppressors will come bowing before
you; all who despise you will bow down at your feet and will call you the City
of the LORD, Zion of the Holy One of Israel.
Zechariah 8:20 - 23 This is what the LORD Almighty says:
"Many peoples and the inhabitants of many cities will yet come 21and
the inhabitants of one city will go to another and say, 'Let us go at once to
entreat the LORD and seek the LORD Almighty. I myself am going.' 22And
many peoples and powerful nations will come to Jerusalem to seek the LORD
Almighty and to entreat him. 23This is what the LORD Almighty says:
"In those days ten men from all languages and nations will take firm hold
of one Jew by the hem of his robe and say, 'Let us go with you, because we have
heard that God is with you.'"
Acts 16:37 - 39 But Paul said to the officers: "They beat us
publicly without a trial, even though we are Roman citizens, and threw us into
prison. And now do they want to get rid of us quietly? No! Let them come
themselves and escort us out." 38The officers reported this to
the magistrates, and when they heard that Paul and Silas were Roman citizens,
they were alarmed. 39They
came to appease them and escorted them from the prison, requesting them to
leave the city.
The fire
and light radiating from the Son of Man in the opening vision symbolized divine
holiness. Jesus alludes to the Old Testament title of Yahweh, the Holy One of
Israel. In Isaiah 60:14 God promises
that his people's oppressors will bow at their feet and acknowledge that they
are "the city of the LORD, the Zion of the Holy One of Israel."
Likewise, Jesus the true holy One will bring opponents to bow at the church's
feet and confess that she is the Lord's beloved.
Revelation
3:10 Since you have kept my command to endure patiently, I will also keep you
from the hour of trial that is going to come upon the whole world to test those
who live on the earth
Revelation
3:11 I am coming soon. Hold on to what
you have, so that no one will take your crown
Revelation
3:12 Him who overcomes I will make a pillar in the temple of my God. Never
again will he leave it. I will write on him the name of my God and the name of
the city of my God, the new Jerusalem, which is coming down out of heaven from
my God; and I will also write on him my new name
Revelation 3:13 He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit
says to the churches