Peace and grace in the love of our Lord Jesus Christ.
Revelation 17:1,5
17:1. Then one of the seven angels who had the seven bowls came and talked with me, saying to me, "Come, I will show you the judgment of the great harlotwho sits on many waters,
17:5. And on her forehead a name was written: MYSTERY, BABYLON THE GREAT, THE MOTHER OF HARLOTS AND OF THE ABOMINATIONS OF THE EARTH.
Revelation 17 is about the judgment to Babylon.
The great Babylon is the same the great harlot who is the mother of harlots and of the abomination of the earth.
Revelation 17:14
17:14. "These will make war with the Lamb, and the Lamb will overcome them, for He is Lord of lords and King of kings; and those who are with Him are called, chosen, and faithful."
Babylon who is unfaithful is against Jesus and His chosen people.
Jesus and His body who has been redeemed and is faithful will surely win.
The great Babylon (the false church) and the body of Christ (the true church) have shown themselves since the beginning, but Babylon appears first through its tower (Genesis 11). It means preceding God's calling to Abraham (Genesis 12).
The lesson until today is that the false thing always wants to look greater than the true one.
Genesis 11:1-9
11:1. Now the whole earth had one language and one speech.
11:2. And it came to pass, as they journeyed from the east, that they found a plain in the land of Shinar, and they dwelt there.
11:3. Then they said to one another, "Come, let us make bricks and bake them thoroughly." They had brick for stone, and they had asphalt for mortar.
11:4. And they said, "Come, let us build ourselves a city, and a tower whose top is in the heavens; let us make a namefor ourselves, lest we be scattered abroad over the face of the whole earth."
11:5. But the LORD came down to see the city and the tower which the sons of men had built.
11:6. And the LORD said, "Indeed the people are one and they all have one language, and this is what they begin to do; now nothing that they propose to do will be withheld from them.
11:7. "Come, let Us go down and there confuse their language, that they may not understand one another's speech."
11:8. So the LORD scattered them abroad from there over the face of all the earth, and they ceased building the city.
11:9. Therefore its name is called Babel, because there the LORD confused the language of all the earth; and from there the LORD scattered them abroad over the face of all the earth.
The tower of Babel is the first Babylon.
The biggest weakness of Babylon is that it does not have the powerful name, so they make a name for themselves (verse 4). It is not in line with the will of God, so it is confused by God.
The lesson for us is that working all things must be in line with the will of God. It is the most important. Outside God's will, we will surely be broken. But if we are in the will of God, we will surely be successful because He is with us.
Genesis 17:5,10,15-16
17:5. "No longer shall your name be called Abram, but your name shall be Abraham; for I have made you a father of many nations.
17:10. "This is My covenant which you shall keep, between Me and you and your descendants after you: Every male child among you shall be circumcised;
17:15. Then God said to Abraham, "As for Sarai your wife, you shall not call her name Sarai, but Sarahshall be her name.
17:16. "And I will bless her and also give you a son by her; then I will bless her, and she shall be a mother of nations; kings of peoples shall be from her."
'a mother of nations; kings of peoples shall be from her' is not the same as the mother of harlots. It is the difference with the building of the body of Christ.
God gave His powerful name to Abram and Sara by the circumcision agreement when He called them, so Abram became Abraham (being added 'ah' from the name of Jehovah), and Sara became Sarah (being added 'h' from the name of Jehovah).
Now, one who is called and redeemed by Jesus receives the powerful name of Jesus through the circumcision of Christ, namely the true water baptism, so he is saved.
Revelation 7:4-9
7:4. And I heard the number of those who were sealed. One hundred and forty-four thousand of all the tribes of the children of Israel were sealed:
7:5. of the tribe of Judah twelve thousand were sealed; of the tribe of Reuben twelve thousand were sealed; of the tribe of Gad twelve thousand were sealed;
7:6. of the tribe of Asher twelve thousand were sealed; of the tribe of Naphtali twelve thousand were sealed; of the tribe of Manasseh twelve thousand were sealed;
7:7. of the tribe of Simeon twelve thousand were sealed; of the tribe of Levi twelve thousand were sealed; of the tribe of Issachar twelve thousand were sealed;
7:8. of the tribe of Zebulun twelve thousand were sealed; of the tribe of Joseph twelve thousand were sealed; of the tribe of Benjamin twelve thousand were sealed.
7:9. After these things I looked, and behold, a great multitude which no one could number, of all nations, tribes, peoples, and tongues, standing before the throne and before the Lamb, clothed with white robes, with palm branches in their hands,
Verse 1-8 is about the Israelites who are sealed as the center of the bride.
Verse 9 is about the Gentiles who are sealed.
After being called and saved, the chosen people of the Israelites and Gentiles are sealed by the name of Jesus on their foreheads. It is the same as becoming perfect, so we belong to Jesus and it cannot be charged against by anything.
So, men including the servants of God who have no seal of the name of Jesus will enter the great Babylon with the sin that grows rapidly, so they are destroyed forever.
Jesus comes to the world with the powerful name. It was looked for by men, but they were wrong, so they were destroyed.
For us, the name of Jesus is given, so we can be saved and perfected.
The name of Jesus is given to us who are called (being saved), chosen (becoming the servant of God), and faithful.
Let us minister to God with the power of His name until we worship Him by crying out His powerful name.
Matthew 14:28-33
14:28. And Peter answered Him and said, "Lord, if it is You, command me to come to You on the water."
14:29. So He said, "Come." And when Peter had come down out of the boat, he walked on the water to go to Jesus.
14:30. But when he saw that the wind was boisterous, he was afraid; and beginning to sinkhe cried out, saying, "Lord, save me!"
14:31. And immediately Jesus stretched out His hand and caught him, and said to him, "O you of little faith, why did you doubt?"
14:32. And when they got into the boat, the wind ceased.
14:33. Then those who were in the boat came and worshiped Him, saying, "Truly You are the Son of God."
'Lord, save me!' means that Peter used the short time to cry out Jesus' name. He was used by God, but he was in fear and doubt to God Himself or the true teaching Word when he faced the false teaching.
Peter stretched out his hand to God, and He stretched out His hand to him, so he experienced the power of the name of Jesus. Do not make our own name!
The results are as follows:
God blesses us.
Revelation 17:1,5
17:1. Then one of the seven angels who had the seven bowls came and talked with me, saying to me, "Come, I will show you the judgment of the great harlotwho sits on many waters,
17:5. And on her forehead a name was written: MYSTERY, BABYLON THE GREAT, THE MOTHER OF HARLOTS AND OF THE ABOMINATIONS OF THE EARTH.
Revelation 17 is about the judgment to Babylon.
The great Babylon is the same the great harlot who is the mother of harlots and of the abomination of the earth.
Revelation 17:14
17:14. "These will make war with the Lamb, and the Lamb will overcome them, for He is Lord of lords and King of kings; and those who are with Him are called, chosen, and faithful."
Babylon who is unfaithful is against Jesus and His chosen people.
Jesus and His body who has been redeemed and is faithful will surely win.
The great Babylon (the false church) and the body of Christ (the true church) have shown themselves since the beginning, but Babylon appears first through its tower (Genesis 11). It means preceding God's calling to Abraham (Genesis 12).
The lesson until today is that the false thing always wants to look greater than the true one.
Genesis 11:1-9
11:1. Now the whole earth had one language and one speech.
11:2. And it came to pass, as they journeyed from the east, that they found a plain in the land of Shinar, and they dwelt there.
11:3. Then they said to one another, "Come, let us make bricks and bake them thoroughly." They had brick for stone, and they had asphalt for mortar.
11:4. And they said, "Come, let us build ourselves a city, and a tower whose top is in the heavens; let us make a namefor ourselves, lest we be scattered abroad over the face of the whole earth."
11:5. But the LORD came down to see the city and the tower which the sons of men had built.
11:6. And the LORD said, "Indeed the people are one and they all have one language, and this is what they begin to do; now nothing that they propose to do will be withheld from them.
11:7. "Come, let Us go down and there confuse their language, that they may not understand one another's speech."
11:8. So the LORD scattered them abroad from there over the face of all the earth, and they ceased building the city.
11:9. Therefore its name is called Babel, because there the LORD confused the language of all the earth; and from there the LORD scattered them abroad over the face of all the earth.
The tower of Babel is the first Babylon.
The biggest weakness of Babylon is that it does not have the powerful name, so they make a name for themselves (verse 4). It is not in line with the will of God, so it is confused by God.
The lesson for us is that working all things must be in line with the will of God. It is the most important. Outside God's will, we will surely be broken. But if we are in the will of God, we will surely be successful because He is with us.
Genesis 17:5,10,15-16
17:5. "No longer shall your name be called Abram, but your name shall be Abraham; for I have made you a father of many nations.
17:10. "This is My covenant which you shall keep, between Me and you and your descendants after you: Every male child among you shall be circumcised;
17:15. Then God said to Abraham, "As for Sarai your wife, you shall not call her name Sarai, but Sarahshall be her name.
17:16. "And I will bless her and also give you a son by her; then I will bless her, and she shall be a mother of nations; kings of peoples shall be from her."
'a mother of nations; kings of peoples shall be from her' is not the same as the mother of harlots. It is the difference with the building of the body of Christ.
God gave His powerful name to Abram and Sara by the circumcision agreement when He called them, so Abram became Abraham (being added 'ah' from the name of Jehovah), and Sara became Sarah (being added 'h' from the name of Jehovah).
Now, one who is called and redeemed by Jesus receives the powerful name of Jesus through the circumcision of Christ, namely the true water baptism, so he is saved.
Revelation 7:4-9
7:4. And I heard the number of those who were sealed. One hundred and forty-four thousand of all the tribes of the children of Israel were sealed:
7:5. of the tribe of Judah twelve thousand were sealed; of the tribe of Reuben twelve thousand were sealed; of the tribe of Gad twelve thousand were sealed;
7:6. of the tribe of Asher twelve thousand were sealed; of the tribe of Naphtali twelve thousand were sealed; of the tribe of Manasseh twelve thousand were sealed;
7:7. of the tribe of Simeon twelve thousand were sealed; of the tribe of Levi twelve thousand were sealed; of the tribe of Issachar twelve thousand were sealed;
7:8. of the tribe of Zebulun twelve thousand were sealed; of the tribe of Joseph twelve thousand were sealed; of the tribe of Benjamin twelve thousand were sealed.
7:9. After these things I looked, and behold, a great multitude which no one could number, of all nations, tribes, peoples, and tongues, standing before the throne and before the Lamb, clothed with white robes, with palm branches in their hands,
Verse 1-8 is about the Israelites who are sealed as the center of the bride.
Verse 9 is about the Gentiles who are sealed.
After being called and saved, the chosen people of the Israelites and Gentiles are sealed by the name of Jesus on their foreheads. It is the same as becoming perfect, so we belong to Jesus and it cannot be charged against by anything.
So, men including the servants of God who have no seal of the name of Jesus will enter the great Babylon with the sin that grows rapidly, so they are destroyed forever.
Jesus comes to the world with the powerful name. It was looked for by men, but they were wrong, so they were destroyed.
For us, the name of Jesus is given, so we can be saved and perfected.
The name of Jesus is given to us who are called (being saved), chosen (becoming the servant of God), and faithful.
Let us minister to God with the power of His name until we worship Him by crying out His powerful name.
Matthew 14:28-33
14:28. And Peter answered Him and said, "Lord, if it is You, command me to come to You on the water."
14:29. So He said, "Come." And when Peter had come down out of the boat, he walked on the water to go to Jesus.
14:30. But when he saw that the wind was boisterous, he was afraid; and beginning to sinkhe cried out, saying, "Lord, save me!"
14:31. And immediately Jesus stretched out His hand and caught him, and said to him, "O you of little faith, why did you doubt?"
14:32. And when they got into the boat, the wind ceased.
14:33. Then those who were in the boat came and worshiped Him, saying, "Truly You are the Son of God."
'Lord, save me!' means that Peter used the short time to cry out Jesus' name. He was used by God, but he was in fear and doubt to God Himself or the true teaching Word when he faced the false teaching.
Peter stretched out his hand to God, and He stretched out His hand to him, so he experienced the power of the name of Jesus. Do not make our own name!
The results are as follows:
- The powerful name of Jesus is able to change us from the fleshly men to the spiritual ones like Jesus. Being in doubt becomes trusting and committing ourselves to God. The fear becomes the one of God, namely obedience.
The wind ceased. It means that the powerful name of Jesus finishes all of impossible problems, and gives peace. All things become easy and light. - Being lifted up from the spiritual decadence to live in righteousness and holiness, including ministering to God faithfully and fervently. We are used in the ministry of the building of the perfect body of Christ.
If the spiritual thing is lifted up, the physical one will surely be restored and lifted up by God.
It continues until Jesus comes a second time that we are changed to become as perfect as He is. We are worthy to greet Jesus when He comes a second time on the glorious clouds. We enter the One-Thousand-Year Kingdom of Peace (the upcoming Paradise) and the New Jerusalem forever.
God blesses us.