Bible Study Seattle

Believers are not to seek martyrdom, but it certainly happens. Some try to force God’s hand thinking that martyrdom guarantees them a preeminent spot in heaven. But remember what Jesus said. “Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father in heaven. Many will say to Me in that day, ‘Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in Your name, cast out demons in Your name, and done many wonders in Your name?’  And then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness!’” Matthew 7:21-23

“But the Lord said to Samuel, “Do not look at his appearance or at his physical stature, because I have refused him. For the Lord does not see as man sees; for man looks at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart.” 1 Samuel 16:7

“Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ravenous wolves.  You will know them by their fruits. Do men gather grapes from thornbushes or figs from thistles?   Even so, every good tree bears good fruit, but a bad tree bears bad fruit.  A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, nor can a bad tree bear good fruit.   Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire.   Therefore by their fruits you will know them.” Matthew 7:15-20

“Fruit trees of all kinds will grow on both banks of the river. Their leaves will not wither, nor will their fruit fail. Every month they will bear fruit, because the water from the sanctuary flows to them. Their fruit will serve for food and their leaves for healing.” Ezekiel 47:12

“Then the angel showed me the river of the water of life, as clear as crystal, flowing from the throne of God and of the Lamb down the middle of the great street of the city. On each side of the river stood the tree of life, bearing twelve crops of fruit, yielding its fruit every month. And the leaves of the tree are for the healing of the nations.” Revelation 22:1-2

Fruit trees usually produce fruit once a year, sometimes two or three times. Mango and avocado trees can produce continually. How do these trees produce fruit every month? Are they new kinds of fruit trees? Yes, they are the trees of Life. These trees will most likely appear after Armageddon – the start of the Jubilee. Will they produce fruit in synch with the moon’s phases? Will the same tree yield twelve different kinds of fruit in different months? Will we eat the leaves or use them for ointments? We can’t know for sure, but something different from our current experience will happen with these trees.

Many of us can think of the best teacher we ever had. Maybe an elementary school teacher or a Sunday school teacher that was particularly kind and effective. But the best teacher of them all is Pain. Once we have experienced a burn or a bad cut we do our best to avoid a repeat. And the most painful experience most of us will have is death itself. God wants to give us a powerful incentive to avoid repeating death a second time. Second Death is mentioned four times in Revelation:

“Whoever has ears, let them hear what the Spirit says to the churches. The one who is victorious will not be hurt at all by the second death.” Revelation 2:11

“Blessed and holy are those who share in the first resurrection. The second death has no power over them, but they will be priests of God and of Christ and will reign with him for a thousand years.” Revelation 20:6 (We actually think this verse may not be original, but there’s no direct proof.)

“Then death and Hades were thrown into the lake of fire. The lake of fire is the second death.” Revelation 20:14

“But the cowardly, the unbelieving, the vile, the murderers, the sexually immoral, those who practice magic arts, the idolaters and all liars—they will be consigned to the fiery lake of burning sulfur. This is the second death.” Revelation 21:8

Many Christians are familiar with John 3:16:

“For God so loved the world, that he gave his only born Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish, but have eternal life.”

Note that it does not say “For God so loved the believers…” or “For God so loved the elect…” God so loved the world; that’s everybody! “For as in Adam all die, so also in Christ all will be made alive.” 1 Corinthians 15:22

“Whoever believes in him should not perish, but have eternal life.” Belief isn’t mere intellectual agreement but belief and actions that aligns with Jesus. “You believe that there is one God.  Good! Even the demons believe that—and shudder.” James 2:19

“And with that he breathed on them and said, “Receive the Holy Spirit.  If you forgive anyone’s sins, their sins are forgiven; if you do not forgive them, they are not forgiven.” John 20:22-23 NIV

“For if you forgive other people when they sin against you, your heavenly Father will also forgive you.  But if you do not forgive others their sins, your Father will not forgive your sins.” Matthew 6:14-15 NIV

How do we square these two scriptures? One is general, the other specific. The Church will be given positions to judge:

“Jesus said to them, “Truly I tell you, at the renewal of all things, when the Son of Man sits on his glorious throne, you who have followed me will also sit on twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel.” Matthew 19:8 NIV

If a person won’t repent under any circumstance, the heavenly Father also will not forgive them. But the Church will be given discernment during Jesus’ thousand-year reign. They will be able to tell when repentance isn’t genuine. In that case fake repentance will not be forgiven. They will not be granted the right to eat from the trees of life in Israel.

“Blessed are those who do his commandments, that they may have the right to the tree of life, and may enter in by the gates into the city.” Revelation 22:14 WEB

“If you follow my decrees and are careful to obey my commands, I will send you rain in its season, and the ground will yield its crops and the trees their fruit.  Your threshing will continue until grape harvest and the grape harvest will continue until planting, and you will eat all the food you want and live in safety in your land.

“‘I will grant peace in the land, and you will lie down and no one will make you afraid. I will remove wild beasts from the land, and the sword will not pass through your country.  You will pursue your enemies, and they will fall by the sword before you.  Five of you will chase a hundred, and a hundred of you will chase ten thousand, and your enemies will fall by the sword before you.

“‘I will look on you with favor and make you fruitful and increase your numbers, and I will keep my covenant with you.  You will still be eating last year’s harvest when you will have to move it out to make room for the new.  I will put my dwelling place among you, and I will not abhor you.  I will walk among you and be your God, and you will be my people.  I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of Egypt so that you would no longer be slaves to the Egyptians; I broke the bars of your yoke and enabled you to walk with heads held high.” Leviticus 26:3-13 NIV

These commands that were spoken to the Israelites 3,600 years ago are really a prophecy that will unfold fully in Christ’s Millennial Reign. There were partially fulfilled before the Babylonian Exile; their complete fulfillment will be amazing.

Our new book is out, dealing with many subjects from this blog: