We are told in Scripture that there is coming a shepherd who many people will follow after hearing his voice.
He is not the Good Shepherd. He is referred to as a little horn in Daniel 7:8. It also says he will have a mouth uttering great boasts…
…and people will listen to him, and follow him.
In chapter thirteen of Revelation, this boastful shepherd is referred to as a beast and it is said that there was given to him a mouth speaking arrogant words and blasphemies against God…
…and people will listen to him, and follow him.
In chapter thirteen of Revelation we are told by John that he sees another beast besides this arrogant beast. He is a deceiving beast performing great signs and wonders. He uses his voice to tell those who dwell on the earth to make an image to the boastful shepherd, the arrogant beast, and to worship it…
…and people will listen to him, and do as he says.
Why do those who dwell on the earth listen to, follow after, and worship this boastful shepherd, this arrogant beast?
In Revelation 13:8 it tells us it is because their names have not been written from the foundation of the world in the book of life of the Lamb who has been slain.
Here we find a nugget regarding God’s eternal plan. The Lord Jesus, referred to here as the Lamb, died to purchase the salvation of those whom God has chosen. According to God’s eternal, electing purpose before creation, the death of Christ seals the redemption of the elect forever. This coming boastful shepherd, this arrogant beast, can never take away the salvation of the elect. John MacArthur refers to the book of life as “the eternal registry of the elect.” I love that. Since it is eternal it will never be altered or changed or edited.
Even more wonderful yet, the elect WILL NOT LISTEN to the boastful shepherd, the arrogant beast, because…
…the Good Shepherd’s sheep hear the Good Shepherd’s voice only. The Good Shepherd knows His sheep, and they will only follow the Good Shepherd…a stranger they simply will not follow, but will flee from him, because they do not know the voice of strangers. (John 10:5,27)
And the elect WILL NOT LISTEN to the boastful shepherd, the arrogant beast, because…
…the Good Shepherd’s Father who has given the Good Shepherd the sheep (from before the foundation of the world!) is greater than all (100% word!); and no one is able to snatch them out of the Father’s hand. (John 10:29)
…not one sheep of the Good Shepherd will be lost!
(One final thought, with the mention of the book of life containing the names of all believers, the church, placed right in the middle of Antichrist's reign, I believe we are seeing a direct reference to the church still being around at this time.)
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18 comments:
You know we don't agree on a few points but I sense (whatever that may be worth) that there is something relevant to both views.
You right. Jesus sheep do hear His voice. Sometimes sooner & sometimes later.
I'm so delighted to hear of your boldness in witnessing! We have to keep calling out for those stray sheep!! Even if in our perception they appear hopeless-God knows who will respond.
Lisa
Thanks for reading my post Lisa. I would really appreciate your prayers for continued boldness. God knows who are His, whose names He recorded in the book of life, before He even created the world. Faith comes by hearing and hearing by the word of God. We need to be spreading the seed, the results are up to the Master Gardener.
Blessings friend,
Kathy
Hi Kathy, perhaps everyone gets a chance to have their names in the book of life and we play a part in it. In my case, I can attest that the Good Shepherd does go out of His way for the errant lost sheep.
BTW, I especially enjoyed your Thanksgiving post. Good articles!
1Jn 2:2 and He Himself is the propitiation for our sins; and not for ours only, but also for those of the whole world.
Rev 3:5 "He who overcomes will thus be clothed in white garments; and I will not erase his name from the book of life, and I will confess his name before My Father and before His angels.
Hi Mac,
Thanks to you too for your thoughts! (And for reading my other posts and for the kind words.)
Rev. 3:5 says that he who overcomes will be clothed in white garments. My thoughts then went to Rev. 12:11 - my blog’s theme verse. This verse tells how we overcome. It’s by the blood of the Lamb. Once that blood is applied, I don’t see anywhere in the word where God “unapplies” it. Just as our goodness (we don’t have any anyway) cannot gain us entrance into heaven, we cannot sin our way out of the arms of God, just into His loving discipline! My sheep hear my voice and I know them, and they follow me; and I give eternal life to them, and they shall never perish; and no one shall snatch them out of My hand…with those 100% words of no one this means even the Good Shepherd will not remove them. I don’t think there are going to be any erasers or names blotted out of the book of life of the Lamb. I see all His sheep as overcomers. (And He always goes after His errant ones!)
As for 1 Jn. 2;2, there are a number of verses that tell us that Christ died for the world - Jn. 1:29; 3:16; 6:51; 1 Ti. 2:6; Heb. 2:9. Wouldn’t you say though that Christ actually paid the penalty only for those who repent and believe? Most of the world will be eternally condemned to pay for their sins, so they could not have been paid for by Christ. (There are “few” that will pass through the narrow gate – Mt. 7:14.) Christ’s death is sufficient for every single person who will ever live, but His blood will not be applied to every single person who ever lived.
I am overwhelmed when I think of His grace and mercy to me!
Blessings to you too Mac!
Kathy
Mac,
Two more verses just came to mind. Jn. 6:37,39 - "All that the Father gives Me shall come to Me, and the one who comes to Me I will certainly not cast out...And this is the will of Him who sent Me, that of all that He has given Me I lose nothing, but raise it up on the last day."
Kathy,
Hi! I also agree, that "my sheep hear my voice." But they have to be listening. That's key.
Sharing 101 in witnessing, from my experience:
Allow the Holy Spirit to guide you, as to what He would have you say, or not say, for that matter. Planting seed is excellent. However, sometimes, it's better to pray a prayer for that person, (seed Faith) and that God softens their heart to receive from Him. And also praying that God leads other Christians into their life, as additional witnesses.
From my own experience, in the early '70's I was pretty much in a backslidden condition. I was in the Student Senate at Tacoma Community College, and buying into the "secular" mindset. But my Mom was praying for me :) And I kept bumping into one Christian, and into the next Christian, here and there, in my everyday travels. (For Tacoma we KNOW that is pretty unusual!) And these believers were so gracious and loving! The love of God is a GREAT draw for the backslidden/lukewarm believer! Along with the unsaved, or as I often refer to them, Pre-Christians :) I LOVE that term. (stolen from Pastor Wolfson, CFAN, Tacoma, WA. I dunno who he stole it from, LOL)
Also, I read in the TNT yesterday, Southsound, The Nose:
Tacoma is the 39th-most dangerous city in America.
Seattle is 165th-most dangerous city in America.
Kinda weird, isn't it? Being that Seattle and Tacoma are what? 30 miles apart?
Anyhow, I found that interesting.
Our area needs prayer, and a lot of it! So remember to pray, along with your witnessing :)
Have a wonderful weekend! (I'm almost retired. I will be after tonight! YAH!)
God bless,
Love,
Marge
Marge, my NW Sister-in-the-Lord! I love it when you drop in and say hi. You are always so encouraging! And congratulations on retiring, but we never retire from the Lord's work, do we? (I didn't know I was living so close to such a dangerous city.)
"My sheep hear my voice."
So many nuggets packed into those four words.
Right before that Jesus said, "You do not believe, because you are not of My sheep." Then He says, "My sheep hear my voice."
His sheep are gifts from the Father, right? All that the Father gives me shall come to me..." His sheep will hear His voice, at some point in time His calling will become effective. He removes the blinders Satan has over our eyes (and ears!).
We spread the seed, others water, still others may actually see the harvest. And I agree with you...prayer is a big part of seed spreading!
Blessings to you dear sister...and have a great weekend yourself!
Love from Kathy
Hi Kathy.
Wouldn’t you say though that Christ actually paid the penalty only for those who repent and believe?
I think the Lord paid the penalty for all sinners as per the verses you mentioned and others - even for those who don't repent. For example, I can buy someone dinner and it is all paid for. That person can refuse to eat it yet it is still paid for. But the fact that I have paid for someone’s food will not do that person any good until they have accepted and eaten it. So there is a requirement for sinners to actually accept the Lord’s free (paid for) gift.
Mac,
Isaiah 59:2 says our iniquities have made a separation between us and God. Because of ours sins He has hidden His face from us. A question for you...Without repentance, is there forgiveness of sin? I don't believe there is. What is God's wrath against? Isn't it against those who don't repent? Romans 1:18 says the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness. Romans 2:5 says those who are stubborn and have unrepentant hearts are storing up wrath for themselves. Therefore, I see those who never repent and put their faith in Christ as paying the penalty for their own sin. If the penalty was paid for all sin wouldn't everyone then go to heaven?
Your thoughts?
Therefore, I see those who never repent and put their faith in Christ as paying the penalty for their own sin. If the penalty was paid for all sin wouldn't everyone then go to heaven?
I was trying to make a distinction between Limited and Unlimited Atonement. The Lord’s intention (IMO) was to save ANYONE who would take advantage of His work on the cross. This does not mean automatic salvation for us all as it still requires us to place our faith in Him and repent. What I meant was that the Lord’s work on the cross is sufficient to anyone who accepts it. So the Lord potentially paid the sin debt for the entire world, and not just a select few, but some never accept the offer. We have free will and we are free not to accept. As you aptly pointed out, not repenting will eventually incur the wrath of God. So, yes, in that sense, if one rejects the Lord’s offer of payment, one is lost because we cannot pay our own debt – therefore in that case the sin hasn’t been paid for.
Isa 53:6 All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way; and the LORD hath laid on him the iniquity of us all.
Joh 3:14-15 And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of man be lifted up: That whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have eternal life.
Num 21:8-19 And the LORD said unto Moses, Make thee a fiery serpent, and set it upon a pole: and it shall come to pass, that every one that is bitten, when he looketh upon it, shall live. And Moses made a serpent of brass, and put it upon a pole, and it came to pass, that if a serpent had bitten any man, when he beheld the serpent of brass, he lived.
Christ's sacrifice was of great value, wasn't it Mac?! And of course it could pay the penalty for the sins of the whole world. Here's my take: When we stand before the Father, the ledger is going to say, "Paid in Full." Christ paid the payment directly to God for those who repent and believe. Christ’s payment isn’t routed through us. We don't present a voucher at the gates of heaven. His blood was applied by the Everlasting Bookkeeper. If He paid the penalty for all, then all accounts would be wiped clean.
Kathy,
I thought I'd check in on this rainy day, before Mike and I leave for the surgeon's office.
Maybe Mike will get his gall bladder scheduled to be taken out? I hope so!
Anyway, I agree. We are completely forgiven. However, we all (believers) must stand before the Bema seat of Christ. To receive, or not, from the deeds done in the flesh. (I Cor. 3: 12-15) So, it is important to be about doing the works of Jesus, while it is still day.
Have a great day, and stay dry :)
Love to you, and God bless,
Your western WA. sis,
Marge
Hi Marge,
Let me know how it goes with Mike, ok? Are you enjoying retirement?!
I do believe our salvation is secure and God secured it from before the foundation of the world, but He also created us in Christ Jesus for good works! We are not to coast in this life with a fruitless existence. We are to live full out for His glory...and when we do this oh the joy that is ours!
That coming bema seat judgment should remind us to always be working for Him! I'm so excited, I'm giving the lesson at youth group on Wednesday night.
Say, our church is putting on our Living Nativity this Friday, Saturday, and Sunday evening - from 6-8pm. Discovery Baptist in Gig Harbor. We will have over 200 people participating. Why don't you think about coming? I'll the one with the camera hanging around my neck! You can either walk through or drive through.
I'm so looking forward to meeting you someday! You know, we are so close by, we really should plan on meeting sometime. Tim and I are headed to So. Cal. for a month on Monday, but when we get back, let's think about getting together. What do you think?! That would be so much fun!
Love from Kathy
Kathy,
Seeing each other sounds good to me :)
I am enjoying not having to schedule my life around a work schedule :) It's been great!
Mike's surgeon wants him to lose weight on a low fat diet. Because any surgery at this point, would be too much of a risk. So, that's what I am going to be doing; checking out low fat diets, menus and such. Then making sure Mike eats the right foods, etc.
Your Christmas Nativity sounds great! But, I'll have to pass for this year. However I will be praying for decent weather for it. This weekend's weather forecast (so far) sounds cold, and chilly :(
Enjoy your time in CA. And have fun!
Also have a wonderful Christmas! And may God continue to bless you, and your entire family!
Love,
Marge
Marge,
Thanks for letting me know about Mike.
It is supposed to be cold this weekend. We would prefer cold over rain however! A couple of years ago we had to cancel because of wind. Do you remember that? So many were without power for several days. We went four days without power.
Have a blessed Christmas!
Love,
Kathy
Kathy,
I do remember that storm! Yikes! We lost power for over 24 hours, as I recall.
I just went over to read some of Judy's mom's poems. And I saw you had been there, as well :) Great minds, huh? LOL!
Wishing you a blessed weekend!
Love,
Marge
Did you hear Marge? They are forecasting high winds on Friday and then freezing temps! Our Living Nativity, it's all in the Lord's hands!
Kathy,
Yes! I heard! Yikes! It's C-O-L-D here, too :( Brrr! (we had an inch of snow last night!)
I just wanted to stop by, and wish you a Happy Month in So. CA. :)
Remember us in WA., that can't escape to warmer climates, okay? (smile)
Have fun, and God bless!
Love,
Marge
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