What is Truth?

Bro Koay Kheng Hin

We are entering into Passion week and today is Palm Sunday when Jesus entered Jerusalem triumphantly. It is a big day for some Christians as it has a lot of tradition associate with it.

I want to start with John.

John 18:38

“What is truth?” retorted Pilate. With this he went out again to the Jews gathered there and said, “I find no basis for a charge against him.

Some may say he asked because he is confused. Some said he was being cynical. But there is something we can gather in Pontius Pilates answer. He does not care. He probably only care what Caesar says. Truth to him is Caesar.

The question is not whether Pontius Pilate care or not but whether you care about truth or not. If you care, then when you listen to sermons on the Internet or YouTube, do you think is it truth?

Today we will see what Jesus meant when he said the truth.

Matthew 4:17

From that time on Jesus began to preach, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven has come near.”

Jesus started his public ministry using the kingdom of heaven. What does the Bible says about the Kingdom of Heaven? Some passages use the Kingdom of God. The Kingdom of Heaven is synonymous with the Kingdom of God. Jesus is asking the people to repent because the Kingdom of God is near.

Is the Kingdom of Heaven synonymous with the church of God? Some of you may think it's the same. The Kingdom of Heaven is not exactly the church. When the Kingdom of Heaven is mentioned it encompasses the heavens. It includes all of creation including he angels and the church itself. The angels are not the church. The church is us.

The Kingdom of Heaven is now manifested in the church primarily because Jesus is the head of the church.

Is there a difference? Actually the words we use do make a difference.

I went to Teluk Kumbar outreach and I saw a church and I thought the name has changed. Later I saw our Teluk Kumbar and I told the people there that there's another church there. When we mentioned church, we see it in a smaller frame. We don't try to be technically correct. We use the term - our church.

Generally, when we use the word church we are talking about our church and less of the other churches. But when we use the word Kingdom there's no way we can say my kingdom.

We are Kingdom people with a Kingdom purpose and a Kingdom vision. Then we can see beyond our own church. Jesus is the King of his Kingdom.

I want to use goldfishes as an example. When you put it in a bowl it will grow to a certain size but it won't grow to its maximum size. The space will limit its growth. But if you give it a bigger space, it will grow to its potential.

We see ourselves as a church but we also need to see ourselves as part of the Kingdom of God. It will open up a new perspective. It will broaden our vision and perspective and what we do is not about the Jerusalem per se but has a much bigger purpose in the Kingdom of God.

We often use word church and hardly talk about the Kingdom of God. This concept or reality about the Kingdom of God help us understand what happened on Palm Sunday.

Matthew 21:6-9

6 The disciples went and did as Jesus had instructed them. 7 They brought the donkey and the colt and placed their cloaks on them for Jesus to sit on.

8 A very large crowd spread their cloaks on the road, while others cut branches from the trees and spread them on the road.

9 The crowds that went ahead of him and those that followed shouted,

“Hosanna to the Son of David!”

“Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!”

“Hosanna in the highest heaven!”

This is drawn from Psalm 118. The word Hosanna is translated save us. It was a word of thanksgiving and cry that gave praise to God for delivering Israel from the enemies. Hosanna became not just a prayer but became a praise. Son of David symbolises the Messiah. They were singing praise be to God who saves and the person Jesus came as a Messiah.

That praise is not just on earth but also in heaven that the Messiah is praised.

I want to connect this with a same incident in John.

John 12:13

They took palm branches and went out to meet him, shouting,

“Hosanna!”

“Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!”

“Blessed is the king of Israel!”

The laying of palm leaves were to welcome royalty. The numbers estimated were 2 million. It's a lot of people. Jerusalem was pack as pilgrims came. There are Jews who were in Jerusalem and also Jews who followed Jesus. There were Jews who saw Jesus raising the dead, healing the lepers and healing the blind. What other signs do they need? That's why they say Hosanna to the Son of David.

These people were proclaiming Jesus as the king. The name of Jesus was being lifted up. But something was wrong. When they sang Hosanna, they were already 90 years under Roman rule.

The Romans to be fair compared to other communities allowed a lot of leeway for them to practice their faith. Under that Roman oppression they were waiting for the Messiah king to throw the Romans out of Israel. They were thinking of a military king. They had in mind the Romans would be overthrown and he will reestablish the Davidic Kingdom. They saw Jesus as a political king.

In the 12th and 13th century was 200 years of the crusade. It was known as the Holy War. They saw Christianity as a political Kingdom. Today they say we have learned from the crusades. That Jesus will not set up an earthly kingdom. It's true that if you go to any church, they will say we will not take up arms to create a political Kingdom.

But many Christians still have in their mind an earthly kingdom. They think that the Kingdom of God is riches and cannot get sick. That there will be success and prosperity. That we will enjoy all that the kingdom promises here and now.

When it comes to money, I am very happy at the end of the month because I'm a teacher. Sometimes we get a pay rise so I'm very happy. I also want to be healthy. That's why I go jogging and stop badminton temporarily because when I saw some of my friends I don't want to collapse in court.

But these are not the focus of the Kingdom of God. These promises comes with the Kingdom of God but it is not the focus of the kingdom. It will come along the way but it is not our focus.

John 18:33-37

33 Pilate then went back inside the palace, summoned Jesus and asked him, “Are you the king of the Jews?”

34 “Is that your own idea,” Jesus asked, “or did others talk to you about me?”

35 “Am I a Jew?” Pilate replied. “Your own people and chief priests handed you over to me. What is it you have done?”

36 Jesus said, “My kingdom is not of this world. If it were, my servants would fight to prevent my arrest by the Jewish leaders. But now my kingdom is from another place.”

37 “You are a king, then!” said Pilate.

Jesus answered, “You say that I am a king. In fact, the reason I was born and came into the world is to testify to the truth. Everyone on the side of truth listens to me.”

Pilate asked Jesus  the question and Jesus answered Pilate with a question. Pilate answered quite smartly and said am I a Jew? Pilate is saying it's your people that brought him.

Jesus said his kingdom is not of this world. He did not deny that he is a king. If this kingdom did not come on earth then it must be from heaven. It is a Kingdom where God rule and reign.

As much as God wants to provide and bless our health, he does bless us but you must understand those are temporal. Temporal means what my mother tells me, you cannot bring it over. None can bring over. When you move over, you don't need this body already, however much you go to the gym. However much money you have. It's temporal. Your successes. You are the leader of a big company. You don't even need to wait till you move over, the day you retire you lose the recognition.

Jesus  is operating a spiritual and eternal kingdom. A Kingdom that will last forever. And he is our Messiah King. That is our focus. We must get our focus right. We are people who is part of a spiritual kingdom.

After this passage, Pilate asked what is truth? Here is where the word truth comes.

Truth has two meaning. One is, it refers to the Word of God. But it also refers to the person of Christ. In this case, it would primarily be the Word of God. It is what the Word of God says. The Word of God that is the sword of the spirit.

The political Kingdom is mainly reigned by the sword. But in the spiritual kingdom it is the truth that bears the power. The expansion of the Kingdom of God or the church it must primarily be truth in the Word of God as it is empowered by the Spirit of God.

We can plan and strategise but at the end of the day, it is the Spirit of God that empowers. That is why when Rev Allan Chan comes it is the Spirit of God that will heal and miracles happens. All glory to God.

I read that goldfish you cannot buy any fish food. They have less protein and more carbohydrates. They can grow until one foot. But you need to give it a big tank and feed the right food. For us to grow spiritually mature, if I tell you that you will pray and you will prosper and will succeed and you will be free from sickness. If I just teach you this, then it's not the whole counsel of God. Paul says he will teach the full counsel of God. 

The other example is this. I asked my wife whether infants need to drink milk for how long. My wife said maybe after 6 months can take some porridge and after some time can eat rice. I'm not syre ya so if not correct go and see my wife. Christians, when you first accepted Christ you will have your issues and burdens. If you just accepted Jesus and the person who disciples me tell me I have to die for Christ I will run away. I am just a young Christian.

20 years down the line the prayer I prayed 20 years ago I'm still praying how to grow? It's a process. The disciple will slowly see and appreciate a Kingdom purpose. You will know Jesus is coming again and that God is more than just the earthly.

Just now I prayed that the message will come with the grace and gentleness and the patience of a teacher. I have grown in the word. I'm a teacher and so I'm a reader. If I don't read the Bible I'll read something else.

We have to be patient because all of us grow at different rate. We cannot  impose on people our standards. In our kingdom context, we cannot take the proficiency approach. Growth is based on the individual's progress. 

I pray that in the church we encourage and edify each other.

What should our pursue and focus be in God's spiritual kingdom? The character and focus on the Kingdom of God. The best passage would be the beatitudes.

In the kingdom of the world it is the rich and famous that gets the applause. Also the powerful and the beautiful. But in the kingdom of God it's the meek and the merciful. The values are different.

Someone's says this. We are in the world but we're not of the world. If the ship is in  the water it is fine. But if the water is in the ship it is disastrous. We are in the world, and instead of the church influencing the values of the world, the world values have influenced the church.

Matthew 5:3-10

3 “Blessed are the poor in spirit,

for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

4 Blessed are those who mourn,

for they will be comforted.

5 Blessed are the meek,

for they will inherit the earth.

6 Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness,

for they will be filled.

7 Blessed are the merciful,

for they will be shown mercy.

8 Blessed are the pure in heart,

for they will see God.

9 Blessed are the peacemakers,

for they will be called children of God.

10 Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness,

for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

You will see these are the characters of the kingdom of God. Very different from the values of the world. What makes the kingdom bears kingdom power? It's because of the king.

Revelation 19:11

I saw heaven standing open and there before me was a white horse, whose rider is called Faithful and True. With justice he judges and wages war.

Revelation 19:16

On his robe and on his thigh he has this name written: king of kings and lord of lords.

The spiritual kingdom of God is where Jesus is the centre of it all.

There are 107 questions of the  WESTMINSTER SHORTER CATECHISM. What is the first question?

What is the chief end of man? What is the chief purpose of you?

Man's chief end is to glorify God and to enjoy it forever.

Glorifying God is an enjoyable experience. It is no accident that almost in all the epistles it ends with - To Him be the glory. Amen.

Lesson 1 - THE CENTRALITY OF GOD IN CHRIST

Have you ever wondered why, in interpreting the 13 letters of the apostle Paul, different people have drawn different conclusions about what exactly was on the apostles’ mind? To adequately answer this question, we need to first determine what is most important in the apostle's thinking? The first priority is to inductively determine the centre of Paul's thought. Many different themes have been taken as the Pauline centre. Justification, reconciliation, 'being in Christ', salvation history and the imminent apocalyptic triumph of God are examples of such themes. All these themes do portray specific areas of Pauline theology but they cannot be used as the centre of Paul's thought primarily because they express the work and promises of God rather than His person. These themes concern what God does rather than who He is. Take for example the theme of justification. If justification is used as the centre of Paul's thought, we will be elevating the gift of righteousness above the person who gave the gift. Taking justification as the Pauline centre will suppress other parts of the Pauline gospel. The only theme that can be taken as the centre of Paul's thought that adequately covers all aspects of the Pauline gospel can only be the person of God himself. Pauline theology, therefore, revolves around the centrality of God in Christ.

The centrality of God in Christ can be inductively derived from looking at the following
passages/verses.

1. God and Christ

Rom 11:36

"For from him and through him and to him are all things. To him be the glory forever Amen.”

1 Corinthians 8:6

"yet for us there is but one God, the Father, from Whom all things came and for whom we live; and there is but one Lord, Jesus Christ, through whom all things came and through whom we live.”

Colossians 1: 16

"For by him all things were created: things in heaven and on Earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all things were created by him and for him.”

2. The gospel of God in Christ

Galatians 2: 20

"l have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.”

Galatians 3: 26

"You are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus,”

1 Corinthians 2: 1-5

"When I came to you, brothers, I did not come with eloquence or superior wisdom as l

proclaimed to you the testimony about God. 2 For l resolved to know nothing while I was with you except Jesus Christ and him crucified. 3 I came to you in weakness and fear, and with much trembling.4 My message and my preaching were not with wise and persuasive words, but with a demonstration of the Spirit's power, 5 So that your faith might not rest on men's wisdom, but on God's power.”

3. Unity and Living for Christ

Phil 1: 20-21

"20 I eagerly expect and hope that i will in no way be ashamed, but will have sufficient courage so that now as always Christ will be exalted in my body, whether by life or by death. 21 For to me, to live is Christ and to die is gain.”

Phil 1: 27

"Whatever happens, conduct yourselves in a manner worthy of the gospel of Christ. Then,

whether i come and see you or only hear about you in my absence, l will know that you stand firm in one spirit, contending as one man for the faith of the gospel.”

Phil 3: 7-11

"7 But whatever was to my profit I now consider loss for the sake of Christ. 8 What is more, l consider everything a loss compared to the surpassing greatness of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whose l have lost all things. I consider them rubbish, that I may gain Christ 9 and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which is through faith in Christ — the righteousness that comes from God and is by faith. 10 I want to know Christ and the power of his resurrection and the fellowship of sharing his sufferings, becoming like him in his death, 11 and so, somehow, to attain to the resurrection from the dead.”

4. Pre-eminence of Christ

Colossians 1: 19-20

"19 For God was pleased to have all his fullness dwell in him, 20 and through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether things on earth or things in heaven, by making peace through his blood, shed on the cross.”

5. Righteous living

Colossians 3: 17

"And whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.”

1 Corinthians 10: 31

"So whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God.”

6. Salvation History

Ephesians 1:3-6

"3 Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed in the heavenly realms with every spiritual blessing in Christ. 4 For he chose us in him before the creation of the world to be holy and blameless in his sight. In love 5 he predestined us to be adopted as his sons through Jesus Christ, in the accordance with his please and will-- 6 to the praise of his glorious grace, which he has freely given us in the One he loves.”

1 Corinthians 8:6

“yet for us there is butane God, the Father, from whom all things came and for whom we live; and there is but one Lord, Jesus Christ, through whom all things came and through whom we live.”

Questions

1. Why is it important to determine the centre of Paul's thought?

2. What is the difference between the ’righteous living’ of a Christian and that of a Buddhist?

When a Buddhist do good works, it is impossible to bring glory to God. His righteous living cannot glorify God because he does not know him. The righteous Christian living at the end of the day brings glory to God. A Buddhist can be good but cannot be godly. A Buddhist can qualify Commandments 5 to 10 but not Commandments 1 to 4.

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Last week we talked about God, there's us and then the blessings. Everything that God has done for us. We worked on what was in the centre of Paul's teaching and study. Often we take the blessings as the centre and that's where we went wrong. There is a trend of thought, and it's something we want to address. A lot of things happened in the 80s. It was something cultural and sociological. The interpretation of the gospel was affected by the civil rights movements and the hippies era.

You will find at the end of the 80s, the positive thinking gospel came out. After that, we have the faith movement or the faith gospel. Then came health and wealth, which is the prosperity gospel. Now we have the gospel of grace. These are some things we must bear in mind. The early church was not an ideal church. What's happening now was also some of things that happened in the early church.

When the Kingdom of God expands, it will not expand without opposition from without and within. The devil won't leave you alone. We often get into leadership because there is a need and we are approached. But in leadership you realised it's not so easy and you get to face the opposition. The early church was much like that. And that's normal. The devil is hard at work and the heart of men is full of wickedness.

Positive thinking movement had only verses that's supporting positive thinking with those verses in red. All these biblical themes cannot be the centre except God himself. The centrality of Paul's thinking is Christ. Does the Pauline Letters teach that the centre is Christ? If you make a statement without biblical support, it will just be a personal statement. Today we have to look into the Bible and see what is on Paul's mind.

The ideal thing is to go book by book. That is what we call an inductive study. I gave you the statement that the centre of Paul's teaching is God.

Why do we say that Paul's centre is God himself?

Romans 11:36

For from Him and through Him and for Him are all things, to him be the glory forever! Amen.

From

Through

To

In everything that is written, Paul is saying that it is from God, and what is maintained and sustained is through God and to him is the glory. For Paul, it is the person of God and his glory that occupies his mind. It not only apply to Paul but also many of the writers of the NT and OT.

1 Corinthians 8:6

yet for us there is but one God, the Father, from whom all things came, and for whom we live; and there is but  one Lord Jesus Christ, through whom all things came, and through whom we live.

From whom and for whom and through whom.

God in Christ. Paul's centre is not just God but God in Christ. Many of the Pauline Letters actually exalt Jesus.  Paul's centre is the person of God and his glory.

In the letters to the Colossians you will find they are situational letters to address specific problems. At the Colossians there was the Colossian Heresy. There was some teaching on ceremonialism. There were certain types of rules to obey. It's what we call ritualism and it was required for your salvation. There was also ascetism and also secret knowledge including angel worship. These are called the Colossian Heresy or an early form of Gnosticism.

Colossians 1:15-16

15 He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation. 16 For by Him all things were created that are in heaven and that are on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or principalities or powers. All things were created through Him and for Him.

This addressed the angel worship.

Colossians 1:18-20

18 And He is the head of the body, the church, who is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, that in all things He may have the preeminence.

Reconciled in Christ

19 For it pleased the Father that in Him all the fullness should dwell, 20 and by Him to reconcile all things to Himself, by Him, whether things on earth or things in heaven, having made peace through the blood of His cross.

That the fullness of God is in Christ.

These verses help you pick Paul's mind. And you see him as a man that when he sees the problems in the church, the Holy Spirit hovers over him as he writes to address these problems.

The second one I want to work on is the gospel. What exactly is the gospel?

The Galatian Heresy is different from the Colossians. There were Judaizers (Jewish Christians) who are teaching that to be saved, a person needs to believe in Christ, e=which is perfectly fine and also to follow certain OT rites. (eg Circumcision).

Faith alone does not save. It must be faith with works of some of the law.

Galatians 1:6-7

6 I am astonished that you are so quickly deserting the one who called you to live in the grace of Christ and are turning to a different gospel— 7 which is really no gospel at all. Evidently some people are throwing you into confusion and are trying to pervert the gospel of Christ.

Some translation calls it a different gospel. There's this word - the gospel of Christ.

Paul needed to address this because he was contending on the truth of the gospel of Christ. How does Paul answer them.

Galatians 5:1-6

1 It is for freedom that Christ has set us free. Stand firm, then, and do not let yourselves be burdened again by a yoke of slavery.

2 Mark my words! I, Paul, tell you that if you let yourselves be circumcised, Christ will be of no value to you at all. 3 Again I declare to every man who lets himself be circumcised that he is obligated to obey the whole law. 4 You who are trying to be justified by the law have been alienated from Christ; you have fallen away from grace. 5 For through the Spirit we eagerly await by faith the righteousness for which we hope. 6 For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision nor uncircumcision has any value. The only thing that counts is faith expressing itself through love.

Paul contends for the centrality of Christ. That it is faith in Christ without the practice of the law like circumcision.

Galatians 3:26

So in Christ Jesus you are all children of God through faith,

Gospel of Grace

Faith gospel

Prosperity gospel

Positive thinking gospel

These words like grace or faith is a theme of the gospel. There is no gospel of faith or grace and definitely no gospel of prosperity or positive thinking. There's only the gospel of Christ or God.

How do I know this? It is because I checked the bible. I used to go through the bible and concordance looking for specific words. Praise God for technology. Now I just search and all the verses comes out!

1 Corinthians 9:12

If others have this right of support from you, shouldn’t we have it all the more?

But we did not use this right. On the contrary, we put up with anything rather than hinder the gospel of Christ.

Romans 15:16

to be a minister of Christ Jesus to the Gentiles. He gave me the priestly duty of proclaiming the gospel of God, so that the Gentiles might become an offering acceptable to God, sanctified by the Holy Spirit.

Except for Ephesians 6:15 that talks of the gospel of peace, but there is a reason for that. It is always the gospel of God and the gospel of Christ.

I had a conversation with a Christian who asked why is it that his non Christian friends are more successful in their business. He could not understand. To me his centre is the gospel of prosperity and his centre is not Christ.

Another talked about how he prayed so long and is still not healed. Then he said his faith is also less now because his prayers are not answered. That to me his centre is the gospel of faith and not God or Christ.

What do you think the apostle thinks about when he wakes up? How much money that he'll earn that day making his tents? I don't think so. I think this is what Paul thinks about when he wakes up.

Galatians 2:20

I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I now live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.

When he wakes up in the morning it is Jesus he is thinking of. This man is Christ-saturated. I'm a physic teacher ya, so I use the word saturation.

I want us to look at Heresy and Cults.

Jehovah Witness - Jesus was a created being

Mormons - the Bible is not complete

Oneness Movement - Jesus is God the Father

Moonies - the wife is the Holy Spirit

These are labelled as cults. They must be labelled heretical before they can be called cults. They must all get the person of Christ wrong.

There was a time I thought cults don't concern us until it happens to someone I know. Then I realised the danger of not being grounded.

Today we don't hear of so much of these cults. The game have changed. The problem we are facing today are the blessing gospels. Yet these gospels believe much of the same things we believe. The problem is when they actually tell you that you are saved through the blood of Christ, they put a full stop there. Their sermons will draw you to the blessings. They will tell you, you are saved, but after that they tell you their gospel of blessings and whether it's centred on Christ or not no longer matters.

Are they heretical? I do not want to use this word. I would use a diluted or distorted gospel. So the question is are you saved? If you are one of the cult, you are not saved. I formulated this. If it is this dilution of the gospel, you are at best a spiritual baby and at worst an unbeliever.

I do not know whether you are exalting Christ or exploiting Christ. Whether you wake up thinking about Jesus or money. If you have a church like that how do you measure spirituality. If times are good they will thrive. Their state is dependent on the financial state of the economy. But if the economy is in a downturn or if there are persecution, who will be found standing. They will probably be the first to cabut! The question is are you found standing if you are persecuted. That will qualify you of being more than a spiritual baby.

The devil or opposers of God will always recycle his tricks. They may at best be a victim and at worst a messenger of death.

The gospel is the gospel of God or the gospel of Christ.

Philippians 1:20-21

20 I eagerly expect and hope that I will in no way be ashamed, but will have sufficient courage so that now as always Christ will be exalted in my body, whether by life or by death. 21 For to me, to live is Christ and to die is gain.

For Paul, Christ is the source and secret of Paul's continual joy, for in Paul's life, he found  all its meaning in Christ. His most precious possession is Christ.

What is one thing you cannot afford to lose? I have been listening to the hymn "It is well with my soul". The writer went through a lot, even his business failed. All things in our life, like our career or our wealth or health is not something we can anchor our life on. There are certain things that we hold close to our life. Some hold on to their careers, some their family, and some their health. Their world collapse when the things they hold close to disappears. Nothing can be a secure anchor except Christ who could be your security in life.

Look at the apostle Paul. His most precious possession is Christ. To live is Christ and to die is gain. A lot of people say they want to go to heaven. When I ask them why they want to go to heaven, they will say because there'll be no more tears, it's a nice place etc but if you ask Paul, he'll say it's because my Christ is there.

Everything he does revolves around the person of Jesus Christ. All of us as children of God will have that seed. How far we go along  our road will depend on us, how we magnify Christ in our life.

What about holiness?

1 Corinthians 10:31

So whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God.

Paul did not pursue holiness for holiness sake but for the glory of God. It always revolve around Christ.

Why are Christians running on the spot? It all boils down to this.

The centre of Paul's life is God in Christ. Christ-saturation. Ask if this has been your focus? If you have not you would have been the same now as you have been before.

I want to talk about the word of God. The one thing that mark my Christian faith is the word of God. I have a certain biases and often it's through our experience.

I know someone in ministry that moved though the spirit. We are all ministers of God but we cannot be all. Some are called to be pastors, or evangelist, prophets or teachers. That's why we cannot be all. But whatever we do we have to be grounded in the word. The person today is moving in the spirit and when I talked to him, he says to me not to be a Pharisee. Does what we do concur with scripture? But he says the spirit of God has spoken to me, end of the story.

Whatever we do in ministry have to concur with the word of God and the Holy Spirit will never contradict the word of God. Theology will help you know about God. But it does not mean that you know God.

A person can know about God without knowing him. But a person cannot really know God without knowing about him.

The apostle is someone who knows about God, but more than that, he is someone who knows God.

There must be a head knowledge and a heart experience.

Module 7 Lesson 6 - The Judgment upon the Antichrist

by Bro Koay Kheng Hin

Lesson 6 - The Judgment upon the Antichrist

Note: These are the physical notes that were given for the bible study. I was absent and did not transcribe the lesson itself.

The Great Tribulation is a time of unparalleled distress and suffering in human history. This 7- year period is a time when the wrath of God being poured out upon the whole earth (Rev 6:17) and the permission of God for the ripening of evil results in unprecedented persecution of Christians and upheavals in nature with intense human suffering. At the end of this period ,as the armies of the Antichrist and the nations gather at Armageddon, Christ Jesus descends from heaven with the armies of heaven (Rev 19:14) to engage the armies of the earth in the great battle of Armageddon. The battle will be swift and the total  victory of the heavenly armies is a foregone conclusion. The death toll from the battle is unprecedented (Rev 19:21) as the judgment of God falls upon the armies of the earth. The beast and the false prophet are both captured and thrown alive into the fiery lake of burning sulfur (Rev 19:20). However ,another fate awaits the Devil. He is seized by an angel and bound for a thousand years. He is thrown into the Abyss , locked and sealed to keep him from deceiving the nations anymore until the thousand years was ended (Rev 20:1-3). Then follows the Judgment in the Valley of Jehoshaphat (Valley of Decision)(Joel 3:12). Those survivors of the earth after the great battle of Armageddon are then judged. The separation between the sheep and the goats is effected (Mat 25:31,32). The surviving believers enter into the millennial kingdom of God (Mat 25:34,46) while the surviving unbelievers are judged and sent into eternal punishment (Mat 25:46). The visible kingdom of God is established with Jesus and the glorified saints ruling for a thousand years(Rev 20:4).

Rev 19:20

But the beast was captured, and with him the false who had performed the miraculous signs on his behalf. With these signs he had deluded those who had received the mark of the beast and worshiped his image. The two of them were thrown alive into the fiery lake of burning sulfur.

Rev 20:2-3

He seized the dragon, that ancient serpent, who is the devil, or Satan, and bound him for a thousand years. He threw him into the Abyss, and locked and sealed it over him, to keep him from deceiving the nations anymore until the thousand years are ended. After that he must be set free for a short time.

Questions

1. Who is the great harlot of Rev 17:1 ?
2. Compare and contrast The First Coming with the Second Coming of Christ.

Doctrines of the Bible Module 2B - God’s Special Agents: Angels Lesson 4

Lesson 4 God’s Special Agents: Angels

“They overcame him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony; they did not love their lives so much as to shrink from death.”   (Rev 12:11)

A. What are angels?

Angels are created spiritual beings with moral judgment and high intelligence, but without physical bodies.

1. Created spiritual beings

(Neh 9:6) The host of heaven refers to angels. They were created by God.
(2 Pet 2:4) Angels have moral judgment because some of them sinned and fell from their positions.
(Mat 28:5) They are intelligent as can be seen from their speech.
(Heb 1:14) Angels are spiritual creatures and do not ordinarily have physical bodies.

2. Rank and order among angels

(Jude 9) One angel, Michael, is called an archangel, a title that indicates rule and authority over other angels.
(Rev 12:7-8) The archangel Michael is mentioned and appears to be a leader in the angelic army.

3. The power of angels

Angels apparently have very great power.
(Ps 103:20) Angels are known as mighty ones.
(Col 1:16) Angels are known as “powers” and “authorities”.

B. The place of angels in God’s purpose

1. Angels show the greatness of God’s love and plan for us.
God created two groups of intelligent, moral creatures. Among the angels, many sinned but God decided to redeem none of them. This was perfectly just for God to do, and no angel can ever complain that he has been unfairly treated by God.

Now, among the other group of moral creatures, human beings, we also find that all have sinned and turned away from God. As with the angels that sinned, God could have let all of us go on our chosen path toward eternal condemnation. Had God decide to save no one out of the entire human race, he would be perfectly just to do so, and no one could complain of unfairness on his part. But God decided to do more than merely meet the demands of justice. He decided to redeem out of sinful mankind a great multitude whom no one can number, “from every tribe and tongue and people and nation (Rev 5:9). This demonstrates his incomprehensible mercy and love and grace. The striking contrast with the fate of angels brings this truth home to us

2. Angels remind us that the unseen world is real

(2 Kings 6:17) When the Lord opened the eyes of Elisha’s servant, he saw a great angelic army.

3. Angels carry out some of God’s plans
(Like 1:11-19) An angel brings God’s message to Zechariah.
(2 Sam 24:16-17) An angel carries out God’s judgment , bringing a plague upon Israel.
(Dan 10:13) The archangel Michael wars against demonic forces.

4. Angels directly glorify God.
(Ps 103:20) Angels glorify God for who he is, for his excellence.

C. The origin of demons

Demons are evil angels who sinned against God and who now continually work evil in the world.
(2 Pet 2:4) Demons are these angels who sinned and rebelled against God.
(Is 14:12-15) Possibly referring to the fall of Satan, the prince of demons. The sin of Satan is described as one of pride and attempting to be equal to God in status and authority.

D. Satan as head of the demons

(Job 1:6) Satan (meaning adversary) is the personal name of the head of the demons.
Other names for Satan are : devil(Mat 4:1) “the serpent”(Gen 3:1) Beelzebub(Mat 10:25) “the prince of this world”(John 12:31) “the ruler of the kingdom of the air”(Eph 2:2) “the evil one”(Matt 13:19)

E. The activity of Satan and demons

1. Satan was the originator of sin
Satan sinned before any human beings did. The devil’s characteristic has been to originate sin and tempt others to sin.

2. Demons oppose and try to destroy every work of God
Just as Satan tempted Eve to sin against God(Gen 3:1-6), so he tried to get Jesus to sin as thus fail in his mission as the Messiah(Matt 4:1-11). The tactics of Satan and his demons are to use lies(John 8:44), deception(Rev 12:9), murder(John 8:44)) and every other kind of destructive activity to cause people to turn away from God and to destroy themselves. They will try to blind people to the gospel(2 Cor 4:4) and keep them in bondage to things that hinder them from coming to God(Gal 4:8).

3. Yet demons are limited by God’s control and have limited power
The story of Job makes it clear that Satan could only do what God gave him permission to do and nothing more.(Job 1:12; 2:6). Demons are kept in “eternal chains”(Jude 6) and can be successfully resisted by Christians through the authority that Christ gives them(James 4:7). Moreover the power of demons is limited and weakened because of their sin. Their power is probably less than the power of angels.

F. Jesus gives believers authority to rebuke demons and command them to leave

The work of Christ on the cross is the ultimate basis for our authority over demons (Heb 2:14; Col 2:15; Rev 12:11).
Our position as children of God is the firm spiritual position from which we engage in spiritual warfare(Gal 3:26).
1 John 4:4 affirms that “…..he who is in you is greater than he who is in the world.”

G. The destiny of Satan and the demons

(Rev 20:10) Satan will finally be thrown into the lake of burning sulphur to be tormented forever.
(Mat 25:41) Satan and his angels will burn in eternal fire which God has prepared for them.

Review questions

1. How many angels are there?
2. Are we higher or lower than angels in terms of our standing before God?
3. It does seem that when people go to see fortune- tellers there are instances when the fortune-teller can tell people accurate details of their lives. How is this possible?
4. Can a Christian be demon possessed?
5. What conclusion can we draw from the following verses? Luke 9:1; Luke 10:17-20