Gerald E. Weston | Page 3 | Tomorrow's World

Gerald E. Weston

The Mark of the Beast Revealed

The Mark of the Beast is a subject that fascinates people and generates many speculations—most of them totally wrong. Yet, this special mark will, one way or another, affect your life and that of your loved ones. In fact, unbeknown to you, you may have already accepted it.

Seven Letters to Seven Churches

Learn four keys to understanding Bible prophecy in the book of Revelation. In this video, Gerald Weston explains the visions of Revelation and how to interpret the symbols of Jesus Christ’s instruction to His churches.

[The text below represents an edited transcript of this Tomorrow’s World program.]

The Meaning of Revelation’s Churches—Revealed!

The Book of Revelation is a mystery for many. Yet, the word revelation means “revealing, making known something previously unknown.” Are you intimidated by it, finding it impossible to understand, preferring rather to put it on that proverbial shelf? If so, today’s Tomorrow’s World program is for you.

Many are familiar with the four horsemen of Revelation, the book often referred to as “The Apocalypse,” but what about the seven letters to the seven churches in Asia, as recorded in chapters 2 and 3? These letters have puzzled scholars and lay members alike for more than 1,900 years. Do these letters have some special meaning for you and me?

The answer is, yes, and that is the subject of today’s program. Now stay with me, as I’ll be back in five seconds to explain the seven letters to the seven churches of Revelation.

Five Vital Questions for Understanding Revelation

A warm welcome to all of you from those of us here at Tomorrow’s World, where we bring you the good news that Jesus proclaimed of the Kingdom of God, explain the prophecies of the Bible, and make sense of the world in which we live. On today’s program, we’ll open the biblical book of Revelation, and discover the significance of the seven messages given to seven churches.

The first verse of this book gives us answers to five vital questions:

Who can open our understanding of the book?

What is the source of its message?

Who is the intended audience?

When do its prophecies begin?

And,

Who is commissioned to take the message to its intended audience?

So, let’s begin by reading Revelation 1, verse 1, where we read the answers to our five questions:

The Revelation of Jesus Christ [Jesus Christ is the One who reveals the message], which God gave Him [God the Father is the Originator of the message] to show His servants [so the message is not primarily to the world, but to the servants of God]—things which must shortly take place [the events prophesied would soon begin]. And He sent and signified it by His angel to His servant John [the Apostle John is to take the message to God’s servants] (Revelation 1:1).

We see from these opening verses that Jesus Christ is the One who unveils the message, that the message comes from God the Father, that the message is intended for God’s servants, and that John is given the responsibility to carry the message to those servants. But, as rich as this opening verse is, it does not reveal the theme of the book. For that, we must turn to verse 10, where John writes:

I was in the Spirit on the Lord’s Day, and I heard behind me a loud voice, as of a trumpet (Revelation 1:10).

What is the meaning of being “in the Spirit on the Lord’s Day”? Almost all translators and commentaries erroneously promote the idea that, “in the Spirit on the Lord’s Day,” means that John was worshiping on Sunday; but there is a huge problem with this. To claim the expression “Lord’s day” means Sunday, is flawed on multiple fronts. If it were talking about a day of the week, which it’s not, it could not be Sunday.

If the Bible is our source, we find that not once does it identify Sunday, the first day of the week, as belonging to the Lord. On the contrary, it tells us three times that Jesus is “Lord of the Sabbath.” Notice:

Matthew 12:8—For the Son of Man is Lord even of the Sabbath.

Mark 2:28—Therefore the Son of Man is also Lord of the Sabbath.

and

Luke 6:5—The Son of Man is also Lord of the Sabbath.

So, according to the Bible, if the Lord’s day is a day of the week, it is not the first day of the week—not Sunday; but the seventh day—Saturday. However, the statement, “I was in the Spirit on the Lord’s Day,” has nothing to do with any day of the week. The book shows that John was projected forward in vision to the day of the Lord, a time referred to more than 30 times in the scriptures, in both the Old and New Testaments.

The first six chapters of Revelation set the stage for the theme. In Chapter 4, John sees a vision of God, the Originator of the Revelation, on His heavenly throne. Chapter 5 describes Revelation written on a scroll that is locked with seven seals. It also explains in this chapter that the Lamb of God, Jesus Christ, is the only one capable of opening these seals. We then read in the sixth chapter how He opens six of the seven seals. The first four seals are the famous four horsemen. The fifth seal pictures a martyrdom of some of God’s servants. Then comes the sixth seal—the terrifying heavenly signs:

And the stars of heaven fell to the earth, as a fig tree drops its late figs when it is shaken by a mighty wind. Then the sky receded as a scroll when it is rolled up, and every mountain and island was moved out of its place. And the kings of the earth, the great men, the rich men, the commanders, the mighty men, every slave and every free man, hid themselves in the caves and in the rocks of the mountains, and said to the mountains and rocks, “Fall on us and hide us from the face of Him who sits on the throne and from the wrath of the Lamb! For the great day of His wrath has come, and who is able to stand?” (Revelation 6:13–17).

These six seals, all opened within a short chapter, are preludes to the theme of Revelation, the day of God’s wrath on rebellious mankind. This wrath is explained by the seventh seal, which is made up of seven trumpet plagues.

So we see in chapter 4 and 5 the Originator of Revelation, the One who can open the scroll to our understanding, and the opening of six seals that bring us to the theme of the book, but what about the servants of God? Who are they?

The Churches in Asia Minor—Their Symbolic Meaning

In this portion of the program, I’ll show that those servants are defined by the seven churches as described in chapters two and three.

William Ramsay wrote a highly respected book titled—The Letters to the Seven Churches of Revelation. There is a lot of excellent information in it, but Professor Ramsay missed the key element. Instead of realizing that the seven churches define that intended audience, and are an integral element for the entire book, he sees the letters as an afterthought. As he writes on page 35:

In this work, Jewish in origin and general plan… there is inserted this episode of the Seven Letters, which appears to be almost entirely non-Jewish in character…. The reason was that the form of letters had already established itself as the most characteristic expression of the Christian mind, and as almost obligatory on a Christian writer. (Ramsay, The Letters to the Seven Churches, pp. 35–36)

Ramsay goes on to speculate as to the reason for inserting these letters, suggesting that they were an afterthought, rather than critical to understanding the book.

In the subsequent development of St. John’s thought it is plain that he had recognized the inadequacy and insufficiency of the fashionable Jewish literary forms. It seem highly probable that the perception of that fact came to him during the composition of the Revelation, and that the Seven Letters, though placed near the beginning and fitted carefully into that position, were the last part of the work to be conceived (Ramsay, The Letters to the Seven Churches, p. 36).

He then makes this incredible statement on page 37:

The Apocalypse [Revelation] would be quite complete without the Seven Letters (Ramsay, The Letters to the Seven Churches, p. 37).

In other words, Ramsay speculates that the letters were an afterthought, that John realized that the composition of Revelation lacked the most common means of transmitting information in the New Testament—that is by written letters. But were these letters an afterthought as Ramsay speculates? Is the book, as he wrote:

… quite complete without the Seven Letters?

John is told to take the revealed message to the servants of God. So, where are these servants to be found? Even if scholars don’t understand, you can! Does that sound too arrogant? Or is that not what Jesus tells us in Matthew 11:25:

At that time Jesus answered and said, “I thank You, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, that You have hidden these things from the wise and prudent and have revealed them to babes (Matthew 11:25).

Here are four keys that reveal the mystery of the seven letters.

Key #1: The servants of God and the Seven Churches are the same.

Notice once again John’s commission found in chapter one and in verse 1:

The Revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave Him to show His servants [that is the audience]—things which must shortly take place. And He sent and signified it by His angel to His servant John (Revelation 1:1).

Yes, the message is to go to the servants of God. So where does John go? The answer is found in verse 4:

John, to the seven churches which are in Asia (Revelation 1:4).

So, even before we know which churches these are, John immediately addresses them. Furthermore, John is commanded to record in a book what he sees, and send it to these seven churches—that is, the whole message of Revelation, not the letters only.

“I am the Alpha and the Omega, the First and the Last,”

and

What you see, write in a book and send it to the seven churches which are in Asia: to Ephesus, to Smyrna, to Pergamos, to Thyatira, to Sardis, to Philadelphia, and to Laodicea” (Revelation 1:11).

In other words, the message is to go to the servants of God, and John is to take it to seven churches in Asia. Is it not obvious that the servants of God and the seven churches are the same? This is confirmed in the last chapter of Revelation. In a sense, the connection between the servants of God and the Seven Churches is bookended by the first and last chapters. Notice Revelation 22, and verses 6 and 16:

Then he said to me, “These words are faithful and true.” And the Lord God of the holy prophets sent His angel to show His servants the things which must shortly take place….

And then in verse 16:

I, Jesus, have sent My angel to testify to you these things in the churches (Revelation 22:6, 16).

So, key #1 is:

Key #1: The servants of God and the Seven Churches are the same.

Servants and churches are used interchangeably—they are synonymous—but note that not all Christian congregations in Asia are mentioned. Nowhere does the book introduce any other congregation than these seven. Obviously, there is something special or significant about them.

So we must wonder: Why these churches? Why only seven if they are the servants of God? Does that mean that none of the other congregations of the first century were God’s servants? What about today? Are we somehow left on the outside of being God’s servants? Not at all.

Key #2: There is a special relationship between these seven and Jesus Christ.

We now come to a remarkable vision. Following a trumpet sound and the listing of the seven churches, we read, beginning in verse 12:

Then I [John] turned to see the voice that spoke with me. And having turned I saw seven golden lampstands, and in the midst of the seven lampstands One like the Son of Man, clothed with a garment down to the feet and girded about the chest with a golden band…. He had in His right hand seven stars, out of His mouth went a sharp two-edged sword, and His countenance was like the sun shining in its strength (Revelation 1:12–13, 16).

What does this vision mean? We can be thankful that we don’t have to speculate, because verse 20 explains it:

The mystery of the seven stars which you saw in My right hand, and the seven golden lampstands: The seven stars are the angels [or messengers] of the seven churches, and the seven lampstands which you saw are the seven churches (Revelation 1:20).

As we have seen, the churches and the servants of God are synonymous, and Christ is seen walking amongst them. Mysterious? Yes. Impossible to comprehend? No.

A Prophetic Message for Future Christians

In the previous portion of this program, we saw two vital keys to understand these prophecies.

Key #1: The servants of God and the Seven Churches are the same.

And it is evident from the vision of the glorified Christ walking in the midst of seven lampstands that represent the churches, that:

Key #2: There is a special relationship between these seven and Jesus Christ.

There’s a third key that should be obvious by now, something that William Ramsay, who speculated that the letters to these churches were an afterthought, clearly missed. So,

Key #3: The entire book of Revelation is addressed to the seven churches.

John is instructed to take the message of the book to the servants of God. As we’ve seen, the servants and the churches are the same. It therefore follows, that the whole book of Revelation is for the seven churches. This is confirmed, as we saw earlier, in the last chapter of Revelation. For review, I’ll repeat that here:

Then he said to me, “These words are faithful and true.” And the Lord God of the holy prophets sent His angel to show His servants the things which must shortly take place…. I, Jesus, have sent My angel to testify to you these things in the churches (Revelation 22:6, 16).

There is a fourth important key, but before I give that, let’s notice two easy to understand lessons that are generally understood about these letters. The first one is that these were real church congregations and the messengers to each of them described conditions that existed at that time. So, when Ephesus is told that it had lost its first love, that was a problem in that first century congregation located in Ephesus.

The second takeaway is understood from this refrain that is given to each of them:

He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches (Revelation 2:7).

The admonition is not to that church alone, but to the churches—plural. A condition that exists in one congregation could also affect congregants in any of the others. The difference being that the condition mentioned dominated that church. In the example of the church in Laodicea, a lukewarm spirit prevailed, but the admonition to “hear what the Spirit says to the churches,” indicates that this same lukewarm attitude could be found among some in the other congregations. This is mostly how ministers down through the centuries have understood these letters. As a teenager, I remember a chaplain giving a seven-part series of sermons on this subject.

But, our fourth key is something that has not been generally understood and is perhaps the most important of all the keys. Let’s go back to the last part of verse 1 and all of verse 2, where John is given three sources of information that he was to record.

And He [God] sent and signified it by His angel to His servant John, who [#1] bore witness to the word of God, and [#2] to the testimony of Jesus Christ, [and #3] to all things that he saw (Revelation 1:1–2).

We have already seen that John was commanded to do number three—write in a book what he saw and send it to the Seven Churches. But he was also to record the word of God [that is, references to the Old Testament scriptures], and the testimony of Jesus Christ.

The testimony of Jesus Christ, is of course, what Jesus spoke, but what He spoke in Revelation is prophetic in nature. We read in chapter 19:10:

Worship God! For the testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy (Revelation 19:10).

If you have a red-letter Bible, the red letters are what the translators believe were the direct words of Jesus. And where do you find the overwhelming majority of Christ’s words in Revelation? If you guessed the letters to the seven churches—you guessed correctly. In other words, these letters have prophetic significance.

And it is evident from studying the book that the subject matter began in John’s day and yet ends in our future. So, in addition to recording conditions in the very real first century congregations, and warnings of attitudes that can apply to anyone,

Key #4: The letters to the seven churches are prophetic.

Why is this important to understand?

Living in the Last Days

Our resource—God’s Church Through the Ages—describes seven stages through which the true church of God would progress from the first century until the return of Christ. As the author of this resource, the late John Ogwyn, explains:

When we look at the context of the book of Revelation, we must recognize that it is primarily intended as a prophecy. Revelation 1:1 shows that the book’s purpose is to show to God’s servants things that would soon begin to happen. Thus the seven churches should primarily be understood as representing the entire history of God’s Church in seven successive eras (pp. 20–21).

Why is this not generally understood? It’s not that others have not tried to trace the history of the Church through seven distinct stages, but they fail in these efforts. Why? The answer is simple. They try to shoehorn mainstream Christianity into these scriptures, and mainstream Christianity simply does not fit. Put another way, they are looking for the answer in the wrong place.

We here at Tomorrow’s World want to bring you the good news that Jesus proclaimed, explain the prophecies of the Bible, and make sense of the world in which we live.

So if you found this video helpful and want to learn more about this subject, be sure to get your free copy of our study guide God’s Church Through the Ages. Just click the link in the description and it will be sent to you completely free of charge.

And remember to like and subscribe to our channel so you can watch more videos on different Bible topics.

Thanks for watching! See you next time.



Do You Fear God?

What does it mean to fear God? Using Bible examples, Gerald Weston explains what the fear of God is, how fearing God is fundamental to Christian identity, and why it’s a major key in how to build a relationship with God.

[The text below represents an edited transcript of this Tomorrow’s World program.]

What Makes Us Afraid?

Fear is an emotion experienced by both man and beast. It can be a powerful motivator to escape danger. We often see this in nature films, where impalas and other herd animals flee from becoming a hungry lion’s dinner. Caribou instinctively run from wolf packs, sensing that it’s not a good idea to stick around to see what these canines are up to.

Fear also motivates us. We fear volcanic eruptions. Those who aren’t moved by fear may learn the danger too late. Such was the case when Mount Vesuvius erupted on August 24, 79 A.D., spilling hot ash into the city of Pompeii and turning those who failed to take warning into statues depicting first century life in the licentious Roman city.

Who or what do you fear? Heights? Water? Public Speaking? Death? Or are you one who claims to fear nothing? What about God? Do you fear Him? Should you fear Him? The answer may surprise you. Stay with me and I’ll give you the answer straight from the pages of the Bible!

Good Reasons to Fear

A warm welcome to all of you from all of us here at Tomorrow’s World, where we look to the God of the Bible for answers to life’s most important questions: What is man? What is the purpose of life? Why death? And where is our world headed? On this program, I’ll be discussing the important subject of fear, and specifically: Should you fear God?

There are many references that speak of the fear of God in the Bible, but what exactly does this expression mean? Psalm 111:10 tells us:

The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom; A good understanding have all those who do His commandments. His praise endures forever (Psalm 111:10).

Note that the Psalmist connects fearing God with understanding God’s commandments, which results in giving praise to God. In Proverbs 1:7 it explains that:

The fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge, but fools despise wisdom and instruction (Proverbs 1:7).

Note here that fearing God is contrasted with the rejection of wisdom and instruction. Clearly, the fear of God is depicted as good. It’s the very foundation for true wisdom and knowledge. God calls those who reject Him, who hate His commandments, and who refuse to acknowledge his rule in their lives, as fools. Note Psalm 53:1:

The fool has said in his heart, “There is no God.” They are corrupt, and have done abominable iniquity; there is none who does good (Psalm 53:1).

It should be obvious, even from these few verses, that fearing God has something to do with how we behave, how we conduct our lives. But what exactly does it mean to fear God? We often hear people soft-pedal the fear of God by saying it simply means to respect Him. Now while fear involves respect, we must not make the mistake of thinking that fearing God is limited to a nebulous “respect” for Him. The Bible, for very good reasons, makes the contrast between fearing God and fearing man. Notice Jesus’ warning found in Matthew 10:28:

And do not fear those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. But rather fear Him who is able to destroy both soul and body in hell (Matthew 10:28).

Yes, it is God who has the power of life and death, and while it is natural to fear men, it is God that we must fear the most. When called before the council and threatened, we read how the apostles reacted to the questioning they were given in Acts 5:29:

But Peter and the other apostles answered and said: “We ought to obey God rather than men” (Acts 5:29).

Another example of having right priorities is found in the book of Daniel, where King Nebuchadnezzar had set up a giant statue and commanded all his subjects to bow down before it. The penalty for not doing so was to be burned alive. Now what rational person would not be fearful of such a threat? It is our nature to fear getting too close to a fire, and for good reason. Probably all of us have made that mistake at one time or another and learned a painful lesson.

Three associates of Daniel refused to bow before the idol. Anyone who thinks that Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-Nego did not have a natural fear of the king would be naïve. After all, Nebuchadnezzar held the power of life and death over them, and he gave them this choice that we read of in Daniel 3:15:

Now if you are ready at the time you hear the sound of the horn, flute, harp, lyre, and psaltery, in symphony with all kinds of music, and you fall down and worship the image which I have made, good! But if you do not worship, you shall be cast immediately into the midst of a burning fiery furnace. And who is the god who will deliver you from my hands? (Daniel 3:15).

What would you have done if you had been in their shoes? Remember, you know the end of the story. They did not! While they feared the king, they had a greater fear, and that was of God. Here is their bold response to Nebuchadnezzar’s challenge, beginning in verse 16:

Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-Nego answered and said to the king, “O Nebuchadnezzar, we have no need to answer you in this matter. If that is the case, our God whom we serve is able to deliver us from the burning fiery furnace, and He will deliver us from your hand, O king. But if not, let it be known to you, O king, that we do not serve your gods, nor will we worship the gold image which you have set up” (Daniel 3:16–18).

As I’m sure you can imagine, this reply was not what the dictatorial king expected. He was not used to anyone defying a direct command from him. We read of his rage in verse 19:

Then Nebuchadnezzar was full of fury, and the expression on his face changed toward Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-Nego. He spoke and commanded that they heat the furnace seven times more than it was usually heated (Daniel 3:19).

As any Bible student knows, Nebuchadnezzar wasn’t bluffing. The three young men were thrown into the furnace, but God supernaturally spared them. Do you believe this, my friends? Do you realize that many of today’s clergy reject Biblical miracles such as this, and even reject the resurrection of the One they claim to worship? No wonder many mainstream churches are teaching doctrines contrary to the Bible. One doctrine some reject is the law of God, claiming it no longer needs to be kept. Yet, as we have seen, Daniel and his three friends kept the law against idolatry.

Respect for God’s Laws

The late Dr. Roderick C. Meredith wrote the following in a 2004 Tomorrow’s World article titled, “The Fear of God”:

All professing-Christian churches and ministers know Jesus’ foundational teaching of living by every word of God…. Why do they directly contradict this inspired command [to live by every word of God]? … Why do they persist in calling themselves “Christian,” yet directly contradict dozens of the clear teachings of the very Founder of Christianity?

Why?

Frankly, they do this because God seems “far off” to most of them. He is an unreal or vague intellectual concept to many—including some who are highly educated in the colleges and seminaries of this world. Put simply, they do not have what the Bible calls “the fear of God” (Meredith, “The Fear of God,” November/December 2004, Tomorrow’s World).

Now, I must ask: Could that be you, my friend? Note this passage from the prophet Isaiah in the 66th chapter and in verse 2, and ask yourself: Is this the way I study the word of God?

But on this one will I look: On him who is poor and of a contrite spirit, and who trembles at My word (Isaiah 66:2).

In other words we fear to distort or take lightly what it says. Instead of trembling at the word of God, the vast majority of so-called Christians reason around clear and unambiguous statements. When Jesus said he was “Lord of the Sabbath,” they reason that He really meant that it is okay to choose whichever day we want to. When He said in Matthew 5:17,

Do not think that I came to destroy the Law or the Prophets. I did not come to destroy but to fulfill (Matthew 5:17).

They reason that He kept the law for us so that we don’t have to—the Law and the Prophets were nailed to the cross, they reason, and they effectively do the exact opposite of what He said. Anyone who reads the verses that follow should understand that, rather than doing away with the law, Jesus raised it to a higher standard, saying:

You have heard that it was said to those of old, “YOU SHALL NOT MURDER, and whoever murders will be in danger of the judgment.” But I say to you that whoever is angry with his brother without a cause shall be in danger of the judgment (Matthew 5:21–22).

Not only did He say it was wrong to harbor hatred toward another (the 6th of the Ten Commandments), but He went on to explain how His servants would strive to keep the 7th commandment, the one about adultery, to a higher standard:

You have heard that it was said to those of old, “YOU SHALL NOT COMMIT ADULTERY.” But I say to you that whoever looks at a woman to lust for her has already committed adultery with her in his heart (Matthew 5:27–28).

How is it that many mainstream professing Christians, including ministers, certainly not all, but many, believe that the Ten Commandments no longer need to be kept? What is it about these commandments that people find offensive?

Fear God Above all Else

Dennis Prager makes this insightful observation in the context of the midwives who chose to go against Egypt’s Pharaoh by not drowning the Hebrew babies in the Nile River:

People fear those who are more powerful than they are. Therefore, the only way not to fear powerful people is to fear God…. Fear of God is a liberating emotion, freeing one from a disabling fear of evil, powerful people. This needs to be emphasized because many people see fear of God as onerous rather than liberating (Prager, The Rational Bible, Exodus, p. 11).

He went on to say:

Those who feared God saved Hebrew babies. Those who feared Pharaoh helped drown Hebrew babies (Prager, The Rational Bible, Exodus, p. 12).

Our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ showed us the importance of putting Him first in our lives above all others. I have often said Luke 14:26 is the most frightening scripture in the Bible. It separates the pretenders from the true followers of Christ:

If anyone comes to Me and does not hate his father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters, yes, and his own life also, he cannot be My disciple (Luke 14:26).

We understand from many passages that we are not to “hate,” as is commonly understood today by that word. We can show that from scripture, but it should be obvious to anyone with an open mind and common sense that what Jesus was saying was that we are to put Him first above all others. He gives as examples, those who are closest to us—such as family and even our own life. Yet, how many put family, friends, business associates, neighbors, this world in general, and yes, even the fear of death, before Christ? Let me give you a simple example.

It is an easy task to show from the Bible that Jesus, His apostles, and first century Christians all set aside the seventh day Sabbath as the day of rest and worship, but for the sake of time, I’ll only mention two [examples]. The first is found in Luke 4:16:

So He [Jesus] came to Nazareth, where He had been brought up. And as His custom was, He went into the synagogue on the Sabbath day, and stood up to read (Luke 4:16).

The second is found in Acts 13, where the Apostles Paul and Barnabas came to Antioch in Pisidia and went into the Synagogue on the Sabbath day. Both Jews and Gentiles were present—verse 42:

So when the Jews went out of the synagogue, the Gentiles begged that these words might be preached to them the next Sabbath (Acts 13:42).

This would have been a perfect time for Paul to explain that the Sabbath was replaced by Sunday and they could simply meet the next day, but neither Paul nor Barnabas did so. Now let’s continue with verses 43 and 44:

Now when the congregation had broken up, many of the Jews and devout proselytes followed Paul and Barnabas, who, speaking to them, persuaded them to continue in the grace of God. On the next Sabbath almost the whole city came together to hear the word of God (Acts 13:43–44).

Scripture after scripture demonstrates that it was the seventh day Sabbath that was kept by Jesus and the first century Church. It’s equally easy to prove from history that the change to Sunday came, not from the Bible, but from Emperor Constantine in the 4th century A.D. The record is abundantly clear to anyone with an open mind. So why are there so relatively few willing to follow Christ’s example, and instead follow pagan tradition by choosing the day set aside by a heathen Roman Emperor? Note this quote from Eerdmans’ Handbook to the History of Christianity:

It is important to understand Constantine’s previous religion, the worship of the Unconquered Sun…. When in 321 Constantine made the first day of the week a holiday, he called it “the venerable day of the Sun” (Sunday)…. The Christian church took over many pagan ideas and images. From sun-worship, for example came the celebration of Christ’s birth on the twenty-fifth of December, the birthday of the Sun (Eerdmans’ Handbook to the History of Christianity, p. 131).

Sadly, many would rather follow Constantine than Christ. Why? Is it not because they reason around the Scriptures, thereby not going against family, friends, and society in general? Who is it that they fear? God or man? What about you dear friend?

Our free resource—The Ten Commandments—explains the spiritual intent of all ten of the commandments, not just eight or nine. As Dr. Roderick C. Meredith wrote in his introduction to this resource:

Even secular scholars recognize that the very first Christians based their lives on following the great spiritual law of God—the Ten Commandments. When they said, “The Lord Jesus Christ,” they recognized that the word “Lord” means “Boss”—the One you should obey! Jesus reminded them again and again of this vital relationship, as in Luke 6:46: “But why do you call Me ‘Lord, Lord,’ and not do the things which I say?” (Meredith, The Ten Commandments, p. 1)

God’s Wrath Will Humble Mankind

I’ll show you two ways to fear God. The first way is to voluntarily and humbly submit our will humbly and voluntarily to our Creator by putting Him first in our lives—not only with our words, but also with our actions. That’s the best way, but you will not like the second way.

God spoke to Israel through His prophet Amos and showed how He tried to get their attention through weather upsets, plagues, war, and more; but they were stubborn. They refused to accept the message. Amos 4 explains, And let’s begin in verse 11:

“I overthrew some of you, as God overthrew Sodom and Gomorrah, and you were like a firebrand plucked from the burning; yet you have not returned to Me,” says the LORD. “Therefore thus will I do to you, O Israel; because I will do this to you, prepare to meet your God, O Israel!” For behold, He who forms mountains, and creates the wind, who declares to man what his thought is, and makes the morning darkness, who treads the high places of the earth—the LORD God of hosts is His name (Amos 4:11–13).

God WILL get mankind’s attention. Jesus is very different from the way many see Him. Yes, He is loving, patient, and caring, and He gave His life for us, but He will not put up with rebellion and disrespect forever. Have we not read what is ahead for unrepentant humanity? Students of the Bible are familiar with what are called the four horsemen of the Apocalypse, but notice what follows. The next event is a future martyrdom of some of God’s people, followed by terrifying signs in the heavens and on the earth. Here will be the effect of those signs on rebellious mankind, as we read in Revelation 6:15:

And the kings of the earth, the great men, the rich men, the commanders, the mighty men, every slave and every free man, hid themselves in the caves and in the rocks of the mountains, and said to the mountains and rocks, “Fall on us and hide us from the face of Him who sits on the throne and from the wrath of the Lamb! For the great day of His wrath has come, and who is able to stand?” (Revelation 6:15–17).

Now, that’s a side of the Son of God that most fail to recognize! Yes, the Day of the Lord, the day of Christ’s wrath is coming. This day is also spoken of in the book of Isaiah. Notice how arrogant mankind will learn to fear God the hard way. Turn to Isaiah 2 and we’ll begin in verse 10:

Enter into the rock, and hide in the dust, From the terror of the LORD And the glory of His majesty. The lofty looks of man shall be humbled, The haughtiness of men shall be bowed down, And the LORD alone shall be exalted in that day. For the day of the LORD of hosts Shall come upon everything proud and lofty, Upon everything lifted up—And it shall be brought low…. The loftiness of man shall be bowed down, And the haughtiness of men shall be brought low…. They shall go into the holes of the rocks, And into the caves of the earth, From the terror of the LORD And the glory of His majesty, When He arises to shake the earth mightily (Isaiah 2:10–12, 17, 19).

Maybe the best way to understand the fear of God is to understand the relationship of a father and his son. Respect and fear go together. When a son respects his father, he obeys the rules of the house, he feels safe and comfortable, he understands his father’s love, he communicates freely with his father, and even asks favors from him from time to time. But, if he flagrantly breaks his father’s rules, becomes arrogant and forgets whose house it is, he may very well have reason for a different kind of fear. This is good, as children don’t always know what is best for them. It’s important for children to both respect, and at times, fear their parents. That can keep them out of a whole lot of trouble.

God has given us the rules of the house—ten easy to understand, but not always easy to keep—commandments.

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