Messianic Viewpoint

Guest (Male): Welcome to Shalom Ariel and to the second part of this third sermon on the book of Revelation. We are still in chapter one and we will be starting at verses nine and ten. He who makes a pathway in the wilderness is the one who heals and changes us. But sometimes our growth comes at a cost. Look at those men who did receive great revelation. Much was given to them, yet in such dire circumstances. Daniel was a captive in Babylon most of his life and never returned home to see the demolished temple rise again. Jeremiah, who also received great revelation, saw his temple destroyed.

And Yohanan, our brother John, also witnessed the destruction of the temple in 70 AD. It seems then that it is often during these difficult circumstances that the best of man comes out. You know, there's an ancient Jewish document of the first century that makes this great contrast. It says that when the temple stood, it brought forth wicked men like Ahaz and Manasseh. But when the temple was ruined, righteous men were brought forth to carry the word and the hope. As we learned in an earlier sermon about the character of faith, we consider once again the great fruits that are produced by perseverance in the midst of our tribulation.

Romans 5:3-4 says, not only that, but we also rejoice in our suffering because we know that suffering produces perseverance. Perseverance, character. And character, hope. And hope does not disappoint. So we thank you, Lord, that you have poured out your love so that in every desert you make a river run through it. Welcome to Shalom Ariel and to our study in the book of Revelation with Messianic leader Jacques Isaac Gabizon. Be blessed as you listen in and Shalom.

Jacques Isaac Gabizon: Let me tell you something else that happened at that time. Let me tell you something which tells us how the forces of evil are always at work. You know that right before the coming of the Messiah, just before his birth in Bethlehem, a new title suddenly appeared in the Roman society. A name that would describe the Roman emperor. You know what that name is? Son of God. Son of God. It had become a name reserved for the Roman emperor and would officially designate the new emperors as the offspring of deity. It was a process which began, do you know with whom?

With Augustus when he deified Julius Caesar and then was himself also deified. See the coincidence? You know that Augustus was the emperor at the time when Yeshua was born and he died in 14 AD. Is there not an attempt here to usurp the identity of the true son of God, who is called the son of God in the book of Psalm, in the book of Proverbs and in many parts of the Scriptures? It is the anointed one, the servant of Jehovah and no other. It is Yeshua salvation himself who is the true and only son of God.

Now knowing Satan's purposes, it is not strange that at that very time when the son of God prophesied in the Hebrew Scriptures was about to come to Earth, they hijacked the title in order to lessen that message. I want to tell you something else. You know, in these churches we're about to look into, we read that in Ephesus, right at the entrance of the city, there was a monumental gate, okay, where we find the words, the emperor Caesar Augustus, the son of God and high priest. You know, all this was to water down the message of the Bible.

Maybe this is why they had so much problem preaching the word of God there. When the believer would proclaim that Yeshua is the Messiah, son of God and high priest, the uniqueness of that title became belittled in many people's eyes being now one among others. The believers would have lost much of this power of persuasion. History also tells us that there was a stale in Pergamum, another of the seven churches, which read emperor Caesar, son of God, God Augustus, right? And in Smyrna as well, another of the seven churches, there was a coin, okay, coin everywhere, right?

Showing Tiberius dress in a priestly garb, similar to how John will describe Yeshua. This is what the believers of the time were facing. And things have not changed much. The opposition to the Bible had not subsided and I believe it will even increase as we move towards the end of time. The Scriptures tells us that the forces of evil are copycats of what is truth, just in Revelation by the way. We will see that Satan has his own synagogue, right? That his throne is there wherever wickedness finds a place. That he has his own Trinity.

We're going to see this in chapter 13, the devil, the Antichrist and the false prophet. He has his own system of theology of false doctrines. This is Paul who talks about the doctrines of demons. He has his own ministers which is with his own gospel, with his false spirit. This we read in second Corinthians 11. He has his own communion service called the cup of demons and the table of demons. And there is nothing original, new about the evil. We have the Scriptures, the Scriptures which is completely the word of God. One thing we are learning in Revelation, stay close to the word of God, especially in these times.

And let us keep it holy without altering anything. Let me tell you a story about a beautiful gem, one of my favorite by the way. It's called an emerald. I don't know if you saw a beautiful emerald. They could be as more expensive than diamonds by the way. It's a stone with such deep green. It was so beautiful that there were so many imitations made of it. And so one day a young man wanted to offer an emerald to his soon to be bride. And so he went to his teacher for advice. Then the teacher, what he did, actually he put a piece of the stone into the young man's hand and told them just hold on it.

Close your hand, hold on it. Then he began to talk about philosophy, about men, women, the sun and almost everything under it. After an hour, he took back the stone and sent the young man home. So the procedure was repeated for weeks. The boy became frustrated. When would he be told about the emerald? But he was too polite to interrupt his respected teacher. Then one day when the teacher put a stone in his hand, the young man cried, hey, that's not an emerald. That's not an emerald. He had learned how to recognize an emerald because he held it to his hand day after day.

For weeks he was holding it and knowingly he was getting so acquainted with it, recognizing its worth and focusing on it even though all the stories of distraction that the teacher was giving to him. We too, we too need to hold on that gem that is the Scriptures and recognize its preciousness even though sometimes we don't understand, but God said, he promised in Isaiah 55, my word never comes back in vain. Just get there and read it. Another important point. Do you know that the time of the writing, John must have been what? Over 90 years old.

I always wonder, why would the Lord often wait for the person to have reached an old age in order to reveal such important information? Moses was 80 when he received the law. Aaron was 83 when he began to perform miracles. By the way, in the system of priests, you know, when you're 50, that's done. Joshua was 85 when he led Israel into the promised land. Abraham was 100 years old when Isaac was born and perhaps 125 years old for the final test of the Akedah and the sacrifice of Isaac. Why did the Lord then wait until these men of God became old?

Perhaps he waits until the person has proven through the many tests of his lifetime that he is worthy of such rewards. All of them had an amazing curriculum vitae to show that they were trustworthy, dependable, secure and tried. God knows how and when to choose his subjects. And all of them were given such spiritual and you know what? Physical powers as well. Right? They receive. I believe God will do this even today. You want to be healthy, get the word of God. You never know. It's now that we are about to read an extraordinary description of the Messiah as he stands for his people.

All his people, Jews and Gentiles during the days of judgment. Even John by the way is so surprised by the power of his presence. It is here where we're going to realize that the book of Revelation is like a blossomed flower whose roots are embedded in all of the Scriptures revelations. Its petals give a scent of the fullness of the word of God. I never realized that by the way until I had to read this book, this chapter over and over. Let us begin by reading verses 10 to 13 and see how the Ruach HaKodesh pulls from the other prophecies to produce this new revelation of Yeshua HaMashiach.

Verses 10 to 13. I was in the spirit in the Lord's day and I heard behind me a loud voice like the sound of a trumpet saying write in a book what you see and send it to the seven churches to Ephesus and to Smyrna and to Pergamum and to Thyatira and to Sardis and to Philadelphia and to Laodicea. And I turned to see the voice that was speaking with me. And having turned, I saw seven golden lampstands. And in the middle of the lampstand I saw one like the son of man clothed in a robe reaching to the feet and girded across his chest with a golden sash.

We will discuss verse 11 with all its details when we reach the seven churches. For now, let's gather information that we have in verse 10 and 12. John hears behind him a loud voice and there we read in verse 12 that he turned to see the voice. Did you realize what he said? Can you see a voice? But this is, I want to tell you this is the same language we find in Exodus when for the first time we hear of trumpet sound that sounded like a voice. The sound inaugurated God's presence. And there we are told that the Israelites as well, they turned to see the voice.

See the passage in Exodus 20:18. All the people perceived the thunder and the lightning flashes of the sound of the trumpet and the mountain smoking. And when the people saw it, they trembled and stood at the distance. You know, the Hebrew actually literally says that the people saw the voices instead of perceive the thunder. Just like John when he turned to see the voice, even the rabbis were baffled by this saying. Rashi in his commentary on Exodus wrote that to see the voices is something impossible in any situation. It must have been so out of this world to see God.

It was of another kind of encounter, if you want for Moses and John to describe seeing a voice. Great things are coming by the way. And see how the spirit correlates John's visions with that of the Exodus. In both instances we see the coming of the Lord in his glory. And perhaps it is from this instance in Exodus 2018 where we can find the root of one of the names of the Ruach HaKodesh, the spirit of God. They directly named him Bat Kol, that is the daughter of the voice. The Jews at that time of Jesus had three names for the spirit of God which we recognize in Revelation.

The spirit of God is called like I said Bat Kol that is the daughter of the voice, the voice of God which is personified here in Revelation 112 and in Exodus. In the Targums and rabbinical writings, the spirit of God is also called the Shekhinah glory or the Shekhinah in Aramaic. The words come from the Hebrew to dwell which gave rise to the Greek word skene which John uses in Revelation 7:15 and Revelation 21:3 when God will dwell with men forever. The spirit of God is also called Dibburah which simply means the word as we find it in our Scriptures.

And also John gave it. He gave it as a reason for him being there, if you remember, for the word of God and the testimony of Jesus Christ. The believers today can identify with these three titles, God, the spirit in us, the Shekhinah glory, the spirit speaking to us, the Bat Kol and all this done through his word, the Dibburah. In all these appellations, Shekhinah, Bat Kol, Dibburah, these Jews understood and understood that is the the the omnipresence of the Ruach HaKodesh. And in both of these powerful comings in Exodus and in Revelation, we hear what?

Trumpet sound. Okay, we're going to hear by the way a lot of trumpet sound in Revelation. Okay, as it was in the Hebrew Scriptures. You know, it is said in the Talmud that they were all together from 21 to 48 trumpet blasts to have been sounded daily at the temple. So they knew, they knew. And each has its significance. Here the first trumpet sound is God's voice and he calls us to hear and to heed his word. So as John hears the voice, he turns around. What does he see? Seven golden lampstands. Here we are confronted with a never heard before symbol that is being seven itself, right?

What do this seven lampstands represent? We don't have to look any further. Yeshua explains it to us in verse 20. By the way, it's very nice. He says the seven lampstands which you saw are the seven churches. That's you. You in your work in producing fruit. It is a significant. The lampstand in the temple represented Israel's service to God. Each of the six branches were daily lit by the central eternal light as the believer today. Jew and Gentile who belong to the ecclesia is fed by the power of the spirit of God every day so that we can be a light and to the world.

Furthermore, this is the third time we encounter the word church, ecclesia. You know, it's so too bad that so many have given such a bad name to such a precious congregation of the people of God. But for the Jewish people of the time, it must have been a name which triggered joy with a long historical trail there. This term ecclesia church was used by the Septuagint in the Greek translation of the Hebrew Scriptures to describe Israel. In the Hebrew Scriptures, Israel was the ecclesia. So for them, it was like Israel coming back, reviving. However, in time the two entities were divided when in fact they were really like twin sisters.

They are like twin sisters. And so in verse 10 to 12 we are brought to the Exodus and to the temple with the mention of the lampstand or the menorah, right? But this is just the beginning where John is going to pull from the Hebrew Scriptures. Let's keep on reading from verse 13 and see how he gathers all these many prophecies in there. 13 to 16. And in the middle of the lampstand I saw one like the son of man clothed in a robe reaching to the feet and girded across with chest with a golden sash.

His head and his hair were like white wool like snow and his eyes were like flame of fire. His feet were like burnished bronze when it had been made to glow in a furnace. And his voice was like the sound of many waters and his right hand he held seven stars. And out of his mouth came a sharp two edged sword and his face was like the sun shining in his strength. Wow. In verse 13 we read of the son of man. Son of man, you know, this is a Jewish designation of the Messiah which brings us to Daniel 7:13.

There we read that he's clothed with a robe reaching to his feet. You know, this is a priestly robe and reminds us of Isaiah's vision when he saw the Lord sitting on the throne high and lifted up and the train of his robe filled the temple. But then John actually tells us that the Lord was actually Yeshua. In John 12:41 these things as Isaiah said when he saw his Yeshua's glory and spoke of him. How could the Lord This is the only the beginning where we're going to see that both are one. They are and right after we read that with a priestly robe he is girded across his chest with what?

A golden sash. You know, the last time we read about the priestly sash was with Jeremiah. In chapter 13, you know, seven times this sash is mentioned in this chapter. There Jeremiah, who was considered the high priest, was asked to go to Babylon twice. The first time the Lord asked him to take the sash in its original form and just bury it, it says. Bury it in Babylon. And he says, go back. And then when he went back, we read in Jeremiah 13:7 says and I took the sash from the place where I had hidden it.

And there was the sash ruined. It was profitable for nothing. What was the message? This was such a powerful illustration of the lost opportunity to be the priestly nation, a temporary loss by the way, only temporary. A loss we will see the first church of Ephesus was threatened as well actually to lose if they do not repent. The sash worn by the high priest was gold mixed with blue, purple, scarlet linen fabric around his chest. But here it is only pure gold because it is the Messiah, the high priest who takes it. By the way, do you know why Jeremiah went twice to Babylon?

I mean it was far. It was about two weeks walk, you know. I believe he went there twice because the diaspora happened twice. And so as if God said, you know, Jeremiah, I want you to walk with Daniel the first time and I want you to walk with the others the second time because he cares. And Jeremiah was strong and he was liked by Nebuchadnezzar. Somehow he liked him. And so he had the power. He has his power. He was with them to protect them. If any of these soldiers will mistreat a Jew, he would say, I'm going to tell Nebuchadnezzar.

And believe me, he would stop. But the spirit of God did reveal the same vision about the golden sash to Daniel. Daniel saw it as well in Daniel 10:5. He says, I lifted it up and looked and beheld an individual clothed in linen whose waist was girded with the gold of Ukhaz. This is the same vision as that of John. This must have been such a relief for the believers of the time of Jeremiah and Daniel knowing that the Lord himself is the high priest. And then in John's description, something beautiful is said. Okay, I don't want you to miss this.

This is great. In verse 14 he says that his head, Yeshua's head and his hair were white like white wool like snow. But this is the description of God, the Ancient of Days in Daniel when the Son of Man came to him. And there they are different, but in John they are one and the same. Daniel says, and I watched till thrones were put in place and the Ancient of Days was seated. His garment was white as snow and his hair of his head were like pure wool. His throne was a fiery flame. Its wheels are burning fire.

You know, the Ancient of Days, this is God. The Aramaic word for ancient is eternal, the eternal of time, if you want. And then in verse 13 we read, and behold one like the Son of Man coming with the clouds of heaven. He came to the Ancient of Days. But do you see that they were distinct in Daniel, but here in John they are one and the same. This is such a great revelation we have here. The divinity of the Messiah is clearly stated here. As Daniel saw his eyes with torches of fire, John saw his eyes like a flame of fire.

This is the outflow by the way of holiness. His eyes like a flame of fire as God witnesses of the evil of this world. And as his patience demands and he waits until sin has reached its completeness. And as Daniel saw his arms and feet like burnished bronze, John saw his feet like fine brass as if refined in the furnace. And the words, his voice was like the sound of many waters. Here it is not only Daniel who uses the same terminology to describe the voice of God, but Ezekiel as well. He said, I saw the voice of the Almighty like many waters.

And I want to tell you a thorough comparison of the two will take too much time. But it seems that both Daniel and John saw the same thing and perhaps at the same time. For both were given a glimpse of the time preceding the tribulation. In fact, as we move on, it seems that even Isaiah and Ezekiel saw the same thing at the same time for they going to describe the same colors. It's crazy by the way what I'm saying, but this is it. I will close by reminding us of some of the many admonitions found in this book.

We've seen that it encourages us to hear, read and heed all the words of God especially in this book. Furthermore, to each of the seven congregation God will see that Yeshua repeats the same phrase. He says to them, he who has an ear, let him hear what the spirit says to the churches. Even though there's a message for each one, the message is for all of us. There is then so much to hear and to read in this great book. You know, an ancient rabbinical story found in the speaks of four kinds of listeners in the Scriptures which I want to bring to you.

One who listens but suffers loss, one who listens but gained reward, one who did not listen but suffered loss, then one who did not listen and won great reward. Who are these in the Scriptures? The one who listen and suffered loss was Adam. God told him because you have heeded the voice of your wife, right? Genesis 3:15. And because of this the ground was cursed and he was to toil all the days of his life. Then there was the one who listen and gained reward. Who was this? Abraham our father. God said, all that Sarah says unto you, listen to her voice.

And what great reward did he win? The continuation of his line through an exemplary son in Isaac. He says, you shall the seed be called. And the Messiah came from Isaac. Now there was the one who did not listen and won great reward. Who was this? Joseph. He did not listen unto Potiphar's wife to lie by her and even to be with her. What reward did he gain? God rewarded him for blessing and saving his brothers and his father from famine. And like the Messiah, he did not keep a grudge against his own brother. But at the end he even fed them and he loved them so much.

And finally, there were those who did not listen and who suffered great loss. Who was this? Israel. Israel themselves. God said through Jeremiah, yet they did not listen unto me nor inclined their ears. Jeremiah 7:26. And what a loss did this suffer? So much suffering through these last 2,500 years and praise God not for much longer. Who are we going to be like Abraham and Joseph? Let us listen to what is true, holy, perfect. That is the word of God. Let us bow head in prayer. Our great and glorious God, remind us today of those old and sturdy words of Psalm 46.

God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble. Therefore we will not fear. Even though the earth will be removed and though the mountains be carried into the midst of the sea, though its waters roar and be troubled, though the mountains shake with its swelling, Lord reminds us to be still and know that you are God. Reminds us that the Lord of hosts is with us. The God of Jacob is our refuge. And for those here today, Lord, needing this very present help in trouble, I ask that you display yourself to them, dislodge fear from them and detect from them multiply grace and peace unto them.

And may the evil be soon crushed under their feet. We pray in Yeshua's name. And to the congregation, the Lord bless you and keep you. The Lord makes his face shine upon you and be gracious to you. The Lord lift up his countenance upon you and give you peace. Amen and amen. May the Lord bless you all.

Guest (Male): Shalom Ariel is a daily radio program emphasizing the Jewish perspective of Scripture. God is not through dealing with Israel nor will he renege any of the promises he has made to her. Our teacher for this program, Jacques Isaac Gabizon, is a Messianic Jewish believer and Messianic leader at Beth Ariel congregation right here in Montreal. If you've been encouraged by the messages, we'd love to hear from you. Give us a call at 1-888-685-5902 or you may write us at info at Beth Ariel, b e t h a r i e l all one word dot c a.

You are also welcome to join us for our Saturday morning services. We are located at 6297 Monkland Boulevard, corner of Madison in NDG. The message is given in English, but we do offer simultaneous translation into French and Russian. Services begin at 11 a m. We have Shabbat school for children of all ages up to and including teens. You may also download audio messages from our website at bethariel.ca and enjoy other in-depth teaching from Jacques Isaac. If you would like to sign up for informative newsletters, log on to our website and add your name to our email list.

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