Revelation 4:9: “And when those beasts give glory and honour and thanks to him that sat on the throne, who liveth for ever and ever,
10 The four and twenty elders fall down before him that sat on the throne, and worship him that liveth for ever and ever, and cast their crowns before the throne, saying,
11 Thou art worthy, O Lord, to receive glory and honour and power: for thou hast created all things, and for thy pleasure they are and were created.”

Do you see how the elders are using their crowns? They are casting them before the throne and using them to bring glory to God. Notice, too, who the elders are focused on. They’re not concerned with glorifying themselves or boasting about all the great things they’ve done; instead they are giving all the glory to God. They are saying that He is worthy “to receive glory and honor and power”. And why is He worthy? “For thou hast created all things, and for thy pleasure they are and were created”.

The Westminster Catechism says the chief end of man is to glorify God and enjoy Him forever. We can see this illustrated in verse 11: the elders are glorifying God, honoring Him as creator. He is the one that has created all things, and they were created for His pleasure.

What is the meaning of life? To glorify God. That is what we will spend all of eternity doing.

One common belief that most Christians seem to share is that polygamy is a sin. In fact, the only group that promotes the idea of a man having multiple wives is the Mormons (along with various weird fringe cults). People have this firm belief that polygamy is evil and that God hates it. Even non-Christians believe this, which is why polygamy has been illegal in many countries for a rather long time.

If polygamy really is a terrible sin then you would think it would be easy to find proof of this in the Bible, but that’s not the case. In fact, what the Bible actually has to say about polygamy is quite unexpected – and I would like to spend some time talking about it.

Some people have argued that since God gave Adam just one wife, that proves that polygamy is wrong. After all, Genesis does say that the man shall cleave to his “wife”, not “wives”:

Genesis 2:23: “And Adam said, This is now bone of my bones, and flesh of my flesh: she shall be called Woman, because she was taken out of Man.
24 Therefore shall a man leave his father and his mother, and shall cleave unto his wife: and they shall be one flesh.”

That being the case, you would naturally expect there to be some provision in the Mosaic Law that prohibited polygamy. The Mosaic Law contains hundreds of laws, many of them prohibiting various types of sexual relations (such as incest and homosexuality, for example). There are regulations about leprosy, about what to do if you find mold in your house, about the types of food you were allowed to eat, and even about the type of clothing that you could wear. Nothing was too small to escape notice – yet, despite all of that, there is nothing that prohibits polygamy. In fact, the Mosaic Law actually allows for cases where a man might have multiple wives:

Deuteronomy 21:15: “If a man have two wives, one beloved, and another hated, and they have born him children, both the beloved and the hated; and if the firstborn son be hers that was hated:
16 Then it shall be, when he maketh his sons to inherit that which he hath, that he may not make the son of the beloved firstborn before the son of the hated, which is indeed the firstborn:
17 But he shall acknowledge the son of the hated for the firstborn, by giving him a double portion of all that he hath: for he is the beginning of his strength; the right of the firstborn is his.”

Notice that the passage does not say “No man should ever have two wives, period.” Instead it assumes that will happen and talks about the inheritance ramifications. Nowhere does it ever imply that having multiple wives is somehow bad.

The closest that the Mosaic Law ever comes to prohibiting the accumulation of wives is found in its regulations regarding kings:

Deuteronomy 17:14: “When thou art come unto the land which the Lord thy God giveth thee, and shalt possess it, and shalt dwell therein, and shalt say, I will set a king over me, like as all the nations that are about me;
15 Thou shalt in any wise set him king over thee, whom the Lord thy God shall choose: one from among thy brethren shalt thou set king over thee: thou mayest not set a stranger over thee, which is not thy brother.
16 But he shall not multiply horses to himself, nor cause the people to return to Egypt, to the end that he should multiply horses: forasmuch as the Lord hath said unto you, Ye shall henceforth return no more that way.
17 Neither shall he multiply wives to himself, that his heart turn not away: neither shall he greatly multiply to himself silver and gold.”

This may seem like a clear prohibition on having more than one wife, but it’s actually not. King David had quite a few wives, and at one point God said that He was the one who gave them to David:

2 Samuel 12:7: “And Nathan said to David, Thou art the man. Thus saith the Lord God of Israel, I anointed thee king over Israel, and I delivered thee out of the hand of Saul;
8 And I gave thee thy master’s house, and thy master’s wives into thy bosom, and gave thee the house of Israel and of Judah; and if that had been too little, I would moreover have given unto thee such and such things.”

Let me repeat that: God Himself is the one who said that He gave King David his many wives – and He then said that if they had not been enough He would have given him more. Deuteronomy 17:17 clearly does not limit a king to having just one wife.

Now, that does not mean that the prohibition had no meaning. King Solomon had 700 wives and 300 concubines, and the Bible criticized Solomon for that:

1 Kings 11:1: “But king Solomon loved many strange women, together with the daughter of Pharaoh, women of the Moabites, Ammonites, Edomites, Zidonians, and Hittites:
2 Of the nations concerning which the Lord said unto the children of Israel, Ye shall not go in to them, neither shall they come in unto you: for surely they will turn away your heart after their gods: Solomon clave unto these in love.
3 And he had seven hundred wives, princesses, and three hundred concubines: and his wives turned away his heart.”

Solomon’s 700 wives were a serious problem – but David’s multiple wives were not. David’s great sin was not polygamy; it was taking someone else’s wife and murdering her husband. That is an entirely different matter.

You can look from the beginning of the Bible to its end and you will not find any verses that prohibit polygamy. The closest you will find are these verses from the New Testament:

1 Timothy 3:2: “A bishop then must be blameless, the husband of one wife, vigilant, sober, of good behaviour, given to hospitality, apt to teach;”

1 Timothy 3:12: “Let the deacons be the husbands of one wife, ruling their children and their own houses well.”

Titus 1:5: “For this cause left I thee in Crete, that thou shouldest set in order the things that are wanting, and ordain elders in every city, as I had appointed thee:
6 If any be blameless, the husband of one wife, having faithful children not accused of riot or unruly.”

There is a great deal of controversy over what the phrase “husband of one wife” means. I side with those who believe it is addressing faithfulness, and that its real concern is that church leaders should be faithful men who are not given to fornication or adultery. However, even if the verse is talking about polygamy (which I do not believe), these verses are listing the qualifications for bishops, deacons, and elders. That means that, whatever that phrase may mean, it applies only to bishops, deacons, and elders. Anyone who is not a bishop, deacon, or elder is not affected.

You might argue that “everyone should live that kind of life”, but that is impossible; one of the other qualifications is being male, and half the human race cannot meet that criteria. Bishops are also supposed to be “apt to teach”, and many people do not have that ability. On top of that, we are told that church leaders should not be new to the faith. That cannot possibly mean that being a new Christian is a sin! The simple fact is that some Christians simply do not meet the necessary criteria for being church leaders, and that does not automatically make them a bad person.

There are many times throughout the Old and New Testament where fornication and adultery are condemned, along with a great many other sins – but polygamy is never mentioned. The Bible simply does not condemn it. The fact remains that one of the blessings that God gave King David was multiple wives. That pretty much rules out the idea that polygamy is a sin.

That being said: just because polygamy is not a sin does not mean that it is a good idea, nor does it mean that there are no problems associated with having multiple wives. There are quite a few people in the Bible who had multiple wives, and in each case it seemed to be a guaranteed ticket to a life of endless problems. There is also the very important fact that polygamy is illegal – not just in this country, but in many countries around the world (although that may change in time).

If you want to argue that polygamy is a bad idea, or that it leads to strife, or that it causes problems, then that is fine. In a world where there are roughly the same number of men as women, it seems impractical for everyone to have multiple wives; that would be a mathematical impossibility. I can certainly see a lot of potential problems with polygamy. However, the one thing you cannot do is argue that polygamy is a sin, that it has always been a sin, and that God hates it. The Bible simply does not support that assertion.

One of the common sayings in the Church today is that “God loves the sinner but hates the sin”. In other words, while God doesn’t like what the wicked are doing, He loves them personally; God has a problem with their actions but He doesn’t have a problem with them as people.

If you have been taught to think that then you might be shocked when you come across verses like this one:

Psalm 5:5: “The foolish shall not stand in thy sight: thou hatest all workers of iniquity.”

Notice that this verse does not say “God loves everyone; He just doesn’t like their sin”. Nope. Instead it is quite blunt: God hates all workers of iniquity.

That is not the only place where we find this idea. Take this verse, for instance:

Psalm 7:11: “God judgeth the righteous, and God is angry with the wicked every day.”

Does this verse say that God is angry with sin every day? Nope. It says that God is angry with the wicked.

You see, in the Church today we have lost sight of the fact that God is actually angry with the wicked. We have forgotten that the wrath of God is piled up against those who have rejected Him. The lost are actually God’s enemies, not His friends:

James 4:4: “Ye adulterers and adulteresses, know ye not that the friendship of the world is enmity with God? whosoever therefore will be a friend of the world is the enemy of God.”

That is what makes the Cross so amazing: God was not dying for His friends, but for His enemies. God showed His awesome love by dying for those He was angry with:

Romans 5:6: “For when we were yet without strength, in due time Christ died for the ungodly.
7 For scarcely for a righteous man will one die: yet peradventure for a good man some would even dare to die.
8 But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.”

Let me repeat that: Christ did not die for His friends, but for His enemies. He showed love and compassion to people who deserved His wrath.

We do the lost a great disservice when we hide the fact that God is actually angry with them. The message of the gospel is not “You need to come to Jesus because God loves you and wants to do wonderful things in your life.” None of the apostles ever preached that message to anybody. Their message was quite different: they told people to save themselves from the coming wrath of God. Jesus Himself told people that if they did not repent and believe then they would perish. The message was clear and direct: God is angry with you because of all of your sins, and if you do not repent you will be damned. God, in His love, has made a way for you to be saved, and you need to run to Jesus and save yourself from the wrath to come.

These days the lost are not being told that God has something against them. All they hear is “God loves you”. They don’t understand that they are in a lot of trouble because preachers aren’t telling them that; instead pastors are saying that “God wants to make your life better”. The message that the apostles preached is not what is being preached from pulpits across the country.

It is a terrible, terrible thing to walk up to a lost person and say “God loves you and wants to give you a better life”, and then not say anything else. The lost must be told about the wrath of God. They must be made to understand that they have wronged an infinite God and that if something is not done they will face His infinite wrath. They must be told that they are in very great trouble. That is what Jesus did and that is what the apostles did – and that is what we must do as well.

Revelation 4:4: “And round about the throne were four and twenty seats: and upon the seats I saw four and twenty elders sitting, clothed in white raiment; and they had on their heads crowns of gold.”

The 24 elders are symbolic of the Church – the whole Church, with no one missing. (When Jesus returns for His Bride, He is not going to leave any of it behind.) Since the entire Church is in Heaven when this passage starts, that means that this passage happens after the Rapture.

This brings up a couple different points. First of all, as we’ve discussed extensively elsewhere, the Church does not go through the Tribulation. There will be believers that go through it but they will be the Tribulation saints, not the Church. The Church started on Pentecost and will end at the Rapture.

Second, we see that the Church has been given crowns of gold. These are not crowns of authority, but awards – crowns earned by finishing the race well. Since they have already been given out, that means that the Bema Seat Judgment (where the righteous are judged and rewarded) has already occurred. That gives us an outline of events:

Rapture -> Bema Seat Judgment -> Tribulation -> Millennial Kingdom -> Great White Throne Judgment -> Eternal State

What this doesn’t tell us is how much time there is between the Rapture and the Tribulation. It could be a very short amount of time or a very long time. No one knows. Enoch was “raptured” several generations before the Flood happened. That may mean that we will be raptured several generations before the Tribulation begins – or it may mean nothing. It’s impossible to say. We will just have to wait and find out.

Revelation 4:3: “And he that sat was to look upon like a jasper and a sardine stone: and there was a rainbow round about the throne, in sight like unto an emerald.”

Here John describes the glory that surrounds the throne – and the glory of the One who is on it. My guess is that the one that sat upon the throne is God the Father, not God the Son. I think this because in chapter 5 the Lamb approaches the throne and takes a book out of the right hand of the Person on the throne. It seems unlikely that Jesus is both the Lamb in front of the throne and the Person sitting on the throne.

According to the dictionary, jasper is “a compact, opaque, cryptocrystalline variety of quartz, usually colored red:”. Sardine stones are also red.

Aside from saying that God looked “like a jasper and a sardine stone”, the verse doesn’t offer any other description. It is glorious and yet vague at the same time. It’s also interesting to note that when you read books written by people who supposedly had personal tours of Heaven, no one ever describes it like this. You would expect people to bring back reports that correspond to Biblical descriptions, but that doesn’t seem to happen – which is more evidence that the accounts are false.

In the last chapter of Proverbs there is a poem that extols the characteristics of a virtuous woman. One of the interesting things about this poem is that it is an acrostic: the first verse starts with the first letter of the Hebrew alphabet, the next verse starts with the next letter, and so forth. (Another example of this is Psalm 119, but that is a topic for another time.)

I’d like to take a few moments and go over what this poem has to say. Its message is really quite striking – and rarely heeded. Even though people today talk about being a “Proverbs 31 woman”, the truth is that this passage puts forth a standard that is radically different from anything our culture is familiar with. There is a tremendous amount that we can learn from these verses – and we would do well to learn from it, instead of simply ignoring it.

The passage starts out with an unexpected statement:

Proverbs 31:10: “Who can find a virtuous woman? for her price is far above rubies.”

Notice that the passage does not say “Boy, there sure are a lot of virtuous women out there!” Instead it starts off by saying that virtuous women are almost impossible to find. In fact, it’s so difficult to find a virtuous woman that their price is “far above rubies”. In other words, your odds of coming across someone who exemplifies Proverbs 31 is incredibly small. There simply aren’t many virtuous women out there.

That may seem rather harsh, but unfortunately it is true. The standard that this passage sets is quite high, and it goes against our culture’s sensibilities. Many women today don’t want to be a Proverbs 31 woman – and as we go over the passage you’ll see why.

The first quality of a virtuous woman is that she is completely trustworthy. She will do her husband good, and not evil, all the days of her life:

Proverbs 31:11: “The heart of her husband doth safely trust in her, so that he shall have no need of spoil.
12 She will do him good and not evil all the days of her life.”

A virtuous woman is completely trustworthy. Her husband never has to worry that she’s cheating on him, or taking advantage on him, or that she has fallen in love with someone else and is about to divorce him. He doesn’t have to worry that she’s going to try to blackmail him in order to get her way (“If you don’t do X I will make your life miserable!!!”). He knows that she is on his side; she will do everything she can for him, and he has no need to worry. He doesn’t have to wonder if one day she’ll just empty his bank account and run off, just because she feels like it. She is a dependable rock and he can trust her. She’s not going to undermine his authority, or try to make him look bad in public, or run him down, or abuse him just for kicks. She is devoted to one thing: doing good for her husband.

I strongly suspect that many husbands don’t have that kind of confidence in their wives, and the reason they don’t is because their wives work so hard to manipulate and blackmail them. Instead of being loving and supportive, many wives use all sorts of underhanded tactics (including denying sex) in order to force their husbands to obey them. There is no genuine peace and love between husband and wife; instead there is distrust, anger, bitterness, and fear.

The next quality of a virtuous woman is that she works hard for the good of her family. She gets up early and works long hours:

Proverbs 31:13: “She seeketh wool, and flax, and worketh willingly with her hands.
14 She is like the merchants’ ships; she bringeth her food from afar.
15 She riseth also while it is yet night, and giveth meat to her household, and a portion to her maidens.”

There are two key points here: first, she a hard worker, and second, she is working for her family. There are some women who work hard, but their work is only for their own benefit and is actually at the expense of her family. They put their own careers, wants, and desires ahead of their husband and children, and they make them suffer so that they can get what they want. They spend their income on themselves, not caring about what their family might need. Their loyalty is to themselves and themselves alone. The virtuous woman, however, is not like that. The reason she rises up early and works hard is so that she can feed her family and her servants. She is working to meet her family’s needs, not her own desires. The difference is crucial.

The other point here is that she is a hard worker. She rises up early in the morning and works long hours. She is not afraid to get her hands dirty. She is not lazy; she does not lie around, doing nothing and demanding that everyone else serve her. There are some women who believe that the whole world revolves around them, and that everyone’s job is to cater to their every whim. They refuse to do anything and demand that others do all the work so they can sit at home and do nothing. They are parasites, feeding off the family while giving nothing back. The virtuous woman is not like that; she is not lazy and shiftless. She works hard for the good of her family. There is nothing selfish or self-centered about her.

The virtuous woman is also a small business owner:

Proverbs 31:16: “She considereth a field, and buyeth it: with the fruit of her hands she planteth a vineyard.
17 She girdeth her loins with strength, and strengtheneth her arms.
18 She perceiveth that her merchandise is good: her candle goeth not out by night.
19 She layeth her hands to the spindle, and her hands hold the distaff. . .
24 She maketh fine linen, and selleth it; and delivereth girdles unto the merchant.”

The virtuous woman is not barefoot and pregnant in the kitchen, as some have ludicrously claimed. She is out there working – she buys fields, plants vineyards, makes merchandise, and even sells her own line of clothing. She is engaged in commerce. Notice, once again, that she is a hard worker; in fact, this woman is actually working many jobs at once. She is working for the good of her family – but she does not forget about the poor:

Proverbs 31:20: “She stretcheth out her hand to the poor; yea, she reacheth forth her hands to the needy.”

She is so industrious that she is able to provide for her family and for the poor. She is a blessing to her husband, her children, and her community. She takes what she has earned and bestows it upon her family, so that her and her family might be richly dressed:

Proverbs 31:21: “She is not afraid of the snow for her household: for all her household are clothed with scarlet.
22 She maketh herself coverings of tapestry; her clothing is silk and purple.”

On top of that, she brings honor to her husband:

Proverbs 31:23: “Her husband is known in the gates, when he sitteth among the elders of the land.”

She doesn’t try to humiliate her husband in public or make him look bad in front of others. She doesn’t bring up old arguments in front of her husband’s friends in order to make him look like an unreasonable jerk. She doesn’t ridicule him in front of others, or run him down, or tell everyone that she thinks he is a stupid fool. Instead, the virtuous woman brings her husband honor. She doesn’t run him down; instead she lifts him up. She is trying to elevate him, not ruin him. Her husband never has to wonder what she is saying behind his back.

The virtuous woman is characterized by strength, honor, wisdom, and kindness:

Proverbs 31:25: “Strength and honour are her clothing; and she shall rejoice in time to come.
26 She openeth her mouth with wisdom; and in her tongue is the law of kindness.”

The virtuous woman is not a jerk. She is not hateful, arrogant, mean-spirited, selfish, or rude; she does not enjoy stirring up trouble, and she does not start fires just to watch the world burn. She does not abuse other people just for the fun of causing pain, nor is she a liar or a fool. Instead she is honorable and wise, and is characterized by love and kindness. She does what she says she will do, and she keeps her promises. She cares deeply about her household and works long hours in order to take care of it:

Proverbs 31:27: “She looketh well to the ways of her household, and eateth not the bread of idleness.”

The virtuous woman does not say “I am Queen; bow down and worship me.” She is not a selfish monster who abuses her power to get what she wants, nor does she destroy her own household if she cannot have her way. She cares about her household and tries to enrich it; she sees herself as a servant, not as a god to be worshiped.

In response, her husband and her children heap praise upon her:

Proverbs 31:28: “Her children arise up, and call her blessed; her husband also, and he praiseth her.
29 Many daughters have done virtuously, but thou excellest them all.”

The virtuous woman exceeds all other women; there are none like her. Her family praises her because she outdoes them all. She is the cream of the crop; she is a priceless jewel whose value exceeds that of the finest gems. She is a true treasure.

Why does she do these things? Because she fears the Lord:

Proverbs 30:30: “Favour is deceitful, and beauty is vain: but a woman that feareth the Lord, she shall be praised.
31 Give her of the fruit of her hands; and let her own works praise her in the gates.”

She knows what many people have forgotten: that we will all stand before God and be judged for the things we have done. Christians are no different; we will have to stand before the judgment seat of Christ and give an account of the way we lived our lives:

Romans 14:10: “But why dost thou judge thy brother? or why dost thou set at nought thy brother? for we shall all stand before the judgment seat of Christ.
11 For it is written, As I live, saith the Lord, every knee shall bow to me, and every tongue shall confess to God.
12 So then every one of us shall give account of himself to God.”

The virtuous woman works hard because she knows she will have to give an account of what she has done to God, and she wants to give a good report. She wants to tell God that she has worked hard for her family, that she did what was right, and that she was trustworthy and honorable. She fears God, and so she lives her life with wisdom.

There are a great many people today who have no fear of God – and that includes Christians. So many people live abusive, self-centered lives, not caring about tomorrow and not caring who they hurt or what they do with their time. They live as if it doesn’t really matter. They foolishly think that God will never call them to account for the things they have done. Yet, their unbelief will not make the day of judgment go away. Just because they don’t believe it doesn’t mean it will not happen. Whether we like it or not, and whether we believe it or not, we will have to give an account of ourselves to God. Both the foolish and the wise will one day find themselves standing before God, and when that day comes the fool will deeply regret what he has done.

Am I saying that Christians who live poorly will go to Hell? Absolutely not. But I am saying that faithfulness matters. If you live a wretched life then you will enter Heaven empty-handed and will see others receive rewards while you get nothing. When you stand before God Himself you will have to admit that yes, you didn’t care very much about Him and you totally wasted your life. You will also have to live with the fact that when you had your one chance to serve God in a fallen world, you chose to ignore God and live as a self-centered jerk. For all of eternity, when people ask you “How did you serve God during your lifetime?”, you will have to tell them that you didn’t serve God; you served yourself instead and lived a life of dishonor.

You may not care very much about that now, but when you stand before God it is all that you will care about. When that day comes, honoring God is the only thing that will matter to you. The fact that you had your chance and didn’t take it will devastate you. You will be ashamed and heartbroken, and there will be no way to go back and undo what you had done. God will wipe away your tears, but He will not undo your past.

I strongly urge you to live for the Lord now, while there is still time. Be a virtuous person. Live with honor and wisdom and kindness. Fear the Lord. If you do not you will bitterly regret it – and I am warning you now, while you can still do something about it. The day is rapidly coming when you will run out of time.

People today love to say that children are innocent. Children don’t understand good and evil, they claim; since they’re young, God doesn’t hold them responsible for the things that they do. God holds adults responsible, but not children.

If you believe that, then you might find this verse a bit shocking:

II Chronicles 36:9: “Jehoiachin was eight years old when he began to reign, and he reigned three months and ten days in Jerusalem: and he did that which was evil in the sight of the Lord.”

An eight-year-old “did that which was evil in the sight of the Lord”. An eight-year old. Let that sink in for a minute: God Himself called an eight-year-old child evil.

How could God do such a thing? Because God is no respecter of persons. Nowhere in the entire Bible does God ever say that children are incapable of sin or that God doesn’t hold children responsible. In fact, He says quite the opposite:

Proverbs 20:11: “Even a child is known by his doings, whether his work be pure, and whether it be right.”

This idea that “children don’t sin”, or that if they do “God doesn’t hold them responsible”, is not at all Biblical. A graphic illustration of this can be found in 2 Kings. Elijah had just been taken up to Heaven, and Elisha encountered a mob of little children. These children told Elisha that they wanted him to “go up” as Elijah had – in other words, they wanted him to die. God’s response to this was quite brutal:

2 Kings 2:23: “And he went up from thence unto Bethel: and as he was going up by the way, there came forth little children out of the city, and mocked him, and said unto him, Go up, thou bald head; go up, thou bald head.
24 And he turned back, and looked on them, and cursed them in the name of the Lord. And there came forth two she bears out of the wood, and tare forty and two children of them.”

In other words, these “little children” mocked one of God’s prophets and told him that they wanted him to die. In response, God sent two bears to tear the children limb from limb. I repeat: the passage says that these were little children – and God brutally slaughtered them for their sin.

This idea that God doesn’t hold children responsible for what they do is utter nonsense. God did not hesitate to call an eight-year-old child evil, nor did He hesitate to judge the sins of children who were threatening Elisha. It’s high time that we started believing what the Bible actually says about children, instead of just making things up.

(I have written more about the mythical “age of accountability” here.)

Revelation 4:2: “And immediately I was in the spirit: and, behold, a throne was set in heaven, and one sat on the throne.”

When the apostle Paul was caught up to the ‘third heaven’ he didn’t know if he was in the body or not. Here John makes it clear that he was in the spirit. He did not ascend bodily into Heaven and then come back.

Notice also that John goes right to the throne room of Heaven, which is where all the action takes place. One would assume that there are other parts of Heaven as well (all those homes have to be somewhere!) but those other areas are not dealt with.

There is a great deal that we have been told about Heaven, but there is also a great deal that has been left untold. I suspect that when we finally reach Paradise we will discover a great many surprises. It’s going to be a very exciting time!

Since we have so many unanswered questions, a lot of people have come forward with books about their own personal visits to Heaven. I strongly urge you to stay away from these books: I believe they are not only false, but dangerous. God is not in the business of supplying new direct revelation, which is what those books represent. When someone offers us a Book of Mormon we immediately know there is a problem, but somehow books on the afterlife slip past our radar completely – even though they’re the exact same type of thing. Both books on Heaven and the Book of Mormon claim to be new revelations of Christ, and both should be avoided. If you want to know about Heaven then stick to the Bible.

Revelation 4:1: “After this I looked, and, behold, a door was opened in heaven: and the first voice which I heard was as it were of a trumpet talking with me; which said, Come up hither, and I will shew thee things which must be hereafter.”

In chapter 4 a significant shift takes place. Back in chapter 1 Jesus provided an outline for the book of Revelation:

Revelation 1:19: “Write the things which thou hast seen, and the things which are, and the things which shall be hereafter;

“The things which thou hast seen” would be chapter 1 – the appearance of Jesus. The “things which are” would be chapters 2 and 3 – the letters to the churches, which give an overview of the entire church age. (As of this moment we are still in that period of history.)

In chapter 4, however, the scene changes. From this point on until the end of the book, we are seeing “things which shall be hereafter”. This refers to things that happen after the church age (meaning after the Rapture), and which are still in our future. The rest of the book will talk about the Tribulation, the Millennial Kingdom, and the Eternal State.

All of the things that John was about to see were still in his future, and so far they are still in our future as well.

One thing I’ve noticed over the years is that Christians like to claim that God personally told them to do whatever it is they’re doing. It’s quite common to hear things like “God told me to preach this message” or “God told me to phone that person” or “God told me to make that decision”. In each case, people are claiming that they were not acting of their own accord; instead, God Himself ordered them to do whatever it was they did. They were acting under Divine Command.

This phenomenon greatly disturbs me. Whenever someone begins a sentence with “God told me…” I inwardly wince. As soon as a person claims that they were acting under the direct command of God they instantly make themselves unaccountable. Any criticism of their actions becomes impossible. After all, it wasn’t their idea; they were just doing what God told them to do! God said jump, so they jumped. You can’t even have a rational discussion about what they just did, because any criticism of them instantly becomes criticism of God. Saying “God made me do it” is an easy way to make sure that no one can question your actions; it grants complete immunity.

However, does God actually speak to people in that manner? Does God really talk to people today and send them Divine messages telling them what to do and when to do it? I am convinced that the answer is no. God speaks to us through His Word, and although He does guide our lives and watch over us, He does not speak to us directly. He may use our consciences to convict us and He may use our friends to remind us of the truth, but God is no longer in the business of talking directly to His people. That is not how He is working in this era of history.

What a lot of people don’t realize is that the Bible is all the divine revelation that we need:

2 Timothy 3:16: “All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness:
17 That the man of God may be perfect, thoroughly furnished unto all good works.”

This passage says that the Scriptures have been given to us so that we can be perfect. It tells us that the material it contains within its pages is enough to thoroughly furnish us for all good works. In other words, there are no good works that are outside its scope. The Bible says that it has 100% of the divine revelation that we need in order to live in this Age. No other revelation is necessary.

Now, that statement is either true or it is false. If it is true then we do not need a “personal word from God”. We do not need God to divinely speak to us because He has already told us everything we need to know in His Word. God has already spoken; all we need to do is read what He has said.

However, if God does speak to His people today then 2 Timothy 3:17 is a lie. It means that the Bible is not enough and that we need additional information that God failed to supply. It means that the Bible does not fully equip us for life and leaves us unprepared for many situations, and our only hope is for God to speak to us directly and fill in the critical information that was left out of the Bible. Since this train of thought is utterly ridiculous (every word in the Bible is true, including 2 Timothy 3:17), then that means that there are no such things as personal words from God.

But, some may say, isn’t it true that God used to speak directly to His people? Didn’t God speak to men through dreams, and angels, and so forth? Yes He did, but the Bible tells us that He no longer does that. His method of speaking to us has changed:

Hebrews 1:1: “God, who at sundry times and in divers manners spake in time past unto the fathers by the prophets,
2 Hath in these last days spoken unto us by his Son, whom he hath appointed heir of all things, by whom also he made the worlds;”

As you can see, things are different now. In the past God spoke in many ways, but now God only speaks to us through His Son, Jesus Christ. The words and teachings of His Son can be found written in the New Testament. What was written is complete; we do not need anything more than what the Scripture provides.

People have this idea that all throughout time God has led His people by speaking directly to them, but that is not the case. Very few people in the Bible were ever spoken to directly by God. According to Dr. Sam Kurien, “The only individuals who heard from God more than twice in the Old Testament are Noah, Abraham, Moses, Jacob, Aaron, Joshua, David and Solomon. These eight and no more!” Hearing from God was not common; it was rare. There are large numbers of prominent Bible characters who never heard from God even one time, as Gary Gilley points out:

“Below are some of the important characters found in the Old Testament who never heard directly from God as far as we know: Caleb, Esther, Mordecai, Ruth, Joab, Hezekiah, Josiah, Jehoshapat, Jonathan, most of the judges, Ezra, Nehemiah, Shadrack, Meshach and Abd-nego (although they may have been comforted by the Son in the fire). In addition whole categories of key leaders never heard from God personally, including none of Jacob’s sons except Joseph, none of the kings of Judah after Solomon, none of the judges except for Gideon, none of the returning exiles and none of David’s mighty men or military leaders. This is just a sampling; many more could be cited.” (Gary Gilley)

On top of that, when God did speak He did so in a very direct and obvious manner. As Dr. Sam Kurien pointed out, “When God spoke, it was in an audible voice, or on occasions through a vision or dream. There is not a single instance of God speaking to the mind or heart inaudibly through an inner voice.” People today like to say that “God spoke to my heart”, but never one time in the entire Bible did God ever speak to anyone in that manner. There is zero Biblical evidence that God communicates that way. The Holy Spirit does convict sinners and does help us understand the Scriptures, but even the Spirit is never depicted as whispering to a person’s heart. There is not one case of that anywhere in the Bible.

Moreover, when God did speak in times past He talked about big-picture issues, not personal life decisions:

“When God did speak in Scripture it almost always dealt with the big picture of what God was doing in the outworking of His redemption program or the life of His people in general. You will search in vain to find God telling people what job to take, how many donkeys to buy, or what land to purchase — except as it was related to the bigger issue of God’s dealings with His people.” (Gary Gilley)

People today have this idea that, when they are faced with a decision, they can ask God what to do and God will divinely speak to them and tell them what decision to make. The problem with this idea is that the Bible simply does not support it. This type of divine advice was exceedingly rare in the Bible. There were a few men – like King David – who inquired of God, but extremely few people had that privilege, and those who did it used it only in the most extreme of circumstances. It has never been an ordinary experience for the average believer.

You will simply not find any verses in the Old or New Testament that say “When you are faced with a decision, ask God about it and He will divinely impress upon your heart the correct decision.” God guides us, yes, but not through direct revelation; instead He speaks to us through His Word. God does shape our lives, but He does so by His divine power – the same power He uses to raise up nations and cast them down. God is not sitting in Heaven hoping that you will make the right decision so that His plans will work.

But, you might say, isn’t all of this negated by the fact that person words really do exist? After all, God really does speak to people and tell them to do things – sometimes even audibly! People pray for guidance, and then in their minds they suddenly know what to do. Sometimes people suddenly get the urge to call someone, and lo and behold something good comes of it. Isn’t that proof that God really does speak to His children today?

I’m afraid not. You see, there is an enormous difference between “I suddenly knew what to do” and “God Himself told me which choice was right and commanded me to take it”. Likewise, there is a big leap between “I heard an audible voice” and “That voice was definitely God”. In each case, you are deciding that the voice must be from God. You are ruling out the notion that it might be your own idea, and the reason you are ruling it out is because you believe that God talks directly to His children. Therefore, if you ask God what to do and you suddenly think of something, you are deciding that whatever you thought of must have come from God. But that is not the only possible explanation.

You see, God cannot lie, and God cannot be wrong. Whenever God speaks He speaks authoritatively. In fact, the way prophets were tested was by evaluating the outcome of their predictions. If they got anything wrong then they were false prophets and were to be executed:

Deuteronomy 18:20: “But the prophet, which shall presume to speak a word in my name, which I have not commanded him to speak, or that shall speak in the name of other gods, even that prophet shall die.
21 And if thou say in thine heart, How shall we know the word which the Lord hath not spoken?
22 When a prophet speaketh in the name of the Lord, if the thing follow not, nor come to pass, that is the thing which the Lord hath not spoken, but the prophet hath spoken it presumptuously: thou shalt not be afraid of him.”

So what about these “personal words from God”? Are they 100% accurate? I’m afraid not. Sometimes they work out and sometimes they don’t. When something good happens then people “know” it was from God, but when things go terribly wrong then they say that they “misunderstood” – or they blame God for giving them bad advice! These “personal words from God” cannot be trusted 100% of the time – and that is bad news. A prophet that had that kind of track record was labeled a false prophet and was not to be trusted at all.

In other words, the Bible has a lot of negative things to say about these “personal words from God”. The Bible says that it is all we need to thoroughly furnish us for all good works and that no other revelation is required. It says that God has stopped speaking to people through dreams and visions and direct revelation, and now speaks to us through His Son. It says that very few people in all of history have heard directly from God Himself, and that God has never talked to anyone by directly impressing something upon their mind. It also said that anything that was not accurate 100% of the time was not the voice of God.

All of this very strongly implies that “personal words from God” are just our attempt to dodge responsibility for our own actions. Instead of being honest and saying “I decided to do that”, we claim that it was God’s doing and we can’t be held responsible. Instead of admitting that perhaps the vision was not from God or that perhaps the dream really was just a dream, we claim that God is giving us extra information that He did not include in the Bible – information that we somehow have to have, even though 2 Timothy 3:17 says the Bible is enough to cover all situations that we will ever encounter.

That last point often gets overlooked. If personal words from God exist, then the Bible is an open book that can be added to at any time by anyone who claims to have heard from God. It means that the Bible isn’t finished, but is a work in progress that is being constantly enlarged. After all, it’s impossible for Jesus to speak with anything less than absolute authority! If Jesus Christ, the King of Kings and Lord of Lords, told someone something, then whatever He said is absolute truth and we should add it to our Bibles. If Jesus gave someone a tour of Heaven and revealed all kinds of new information, then we should add a new book to the Scriptures because Jesus has spoken, and every one of His words is flawless. It means that we should be busy collecting all of this new revelation and adding it to our Bibles, so that everyone can know what else Jesus has to say.

The Bible does not support the idea that it is an open book that can be added to as the need arises. We are told that we should contend for the faith that was once delivered to the saints:

Jude 1:3: “Beloved, when I gave all diligence to write unto you of the common salvation, it was needful for me to write unto you, and exhort you that ye should earnestly contend for the faith which was once delivered unto the saints.”

You can search your Bible from cover to cover and you will never find any verse that says “The Scripture is a work in progress and there is a whole lot more stuff to add as time goes on, so stay tuned for more.” The Bible is a closed book; you cannot add to it a Book of Mormon or a Book of Things That Jesus Told Me Directly.

This is how one person put it:

“The doctrine of the sufficiency of Scripture does not imply that God cannot add any more words to those he has already spoken to his people. It rather implies that man cannot add on his own initiative any words to those that God has already spoken. Furthermore, it implies that in fact God has not spoken to mankind any more words which he requires us to believe or obey other than those which we have now in the Bible.” (Grudem)

Does this mean that God will never speak to His people again? Of course not. But it does mean that for now, in this Age and in this life, the Bible is all that we need. When we crave a “personal word from God”, we are telling God that His Word is not enough – that God left out important information that we cannot live without. We are telling Him that His Word does not thoroughly equip us for all good works; we need something more in order to get by. That does not honor God and it does not honor His Word.

In conclusion, I think it is a bad thing to say “God told me to make that decision”, and I think it is a grave error to claim new divine revelation. There are no personal words from God; the Bible is all that we have been given, and it really is all that we need.

Sometimes the most famous verses in the Bible are the very verses that we have the most trouble understanding. We have become so familiar with them that we overlook what they actually have to say – and that is unfortunate.

Take this verse, for example:

Ephesians 6:12: “For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.”

What does the verse say we wrestle against? Spiritual wickedness in high places. If that isn’t ringing any bells, then what if we were to render the phrase as “spiritual wickedness in Heavenly places”?

Job 1:6: “Now there was a day when the sons of God came to present themselves before the Lord, and Satan came also among them.
7 And the Lord said unto Satan, Whence comest thou? Then Satan answered the Lord, and said, From going to and fro in the earth, and from walking up and down in it.
8 And the Lord said unto Satan, Hast thou considered my servant Job, that there is none like him in the earth, a perfect and an upright man, one that feareth God, and escheweth evil?
9 Then Satan answered the Lord, and said, Doth Job fear God for nought?
10 Hast not thou made an hedge about him, and about his house, and about all that he hath on every side? thou hast blessed the work of his hands, and his substance is increased in the land.
11 But put forth thine hand now, and touch all that he hath, and he will curse thee to thy face.
12 And the Lord said unto Satan, Behold, all that he hath is in thy power; only upon himself put not forth thine hand. So Satan went forth from the presence of the Lord.”

What destroyed Job’s life and took away everything that he had, including his health? Spiritual wickedness in high places. What brought about the biggest trial Job ever faced in his life? Spiritual wickedness in high places. What caused Job to cry out that he wished he had never been born (Job 3:11)? Spiritual wickedness in high places.

When we read the book of Job, the message we usually get out of it is “Sometimes God allows things to happen to us to try our faith”. Somehow we overlook another key message from the book: “Satan tells God we are awful people, and sometimes God gives Satan permission to torture us”. The book of Job graphically demonstrates that we have an adversary and that adversary can actually go to Heaven itself and accuse us before God Himself.

How much suffering and pain is caused by this? The apostle Paul is pretty blunt: he actually said that our real problem is not flesh and blood, but spiritual wickedness in high places. That is the real challenge that we face – just as it was the real challenge that Job faced.

The point is that we have a very powerful enemy who has access to Heaven and who uses that access against us. The word “Satan” actually means adversary, and Satan is called that because he is our adversary. The real battle that we face in life is the battle against this monstrous, demonic army.

The worst part about all of this is that many modern Christians think that demonic activity was something that happened back in Bible times, but isn’t really a problem anymore. This idea that demons are a threat to us and actually cause us real problems doesn’t even cross our minds. It is a battle that we are not fighting, or even aware of – but it is very real, and Paul warns us about it time and time again:

Ephesians 2:2: “Wherein in time past ye walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that now worketh in the children of disobedience:”

There is a spirit who works in the children of disobedience. The lost are not “free moral agents”; they are slaves to darkness. They are under the control of the forces of evil, and only the power of God can set them free. Notice how clearly Paul says that there is a spirit who works in them – and it is not the Holy Spirit! The prince of the power of the air is not there to help you. He is actively attacking the gospel and snatching it away from people:

Matthew 13:19: “When any one heareth the word of the kingdom, and understandeth it not, then cometh the wicked one, and catcheth away that which was sown in his heart. This is he which received seed by the way side.”

There is a great deal to say about fighting these forces, but that is a topic for another time (although Ephesians 6:9-18 is a good place to start). The point I want to make is that we do have an opponent, and that is something we urgently need to keep in mind.

One day, however, this opponent will fall. Jesus told us that the day is coming when something momentous will happen:

Mark 13:25: “And the stars of heaven shall fall, and the powers that are in heaven shall be shaken.”

Will God be shaken? Nope. Will the holy angels be shaken? Nope. The heavenly powers that will be shaken are the evil ones. For the time being Satan has access to Heaven, but during the Tribulation that access will be revoked:

Revelation 12:7: “And there was war in heaven: Michael and his angels fought against the dragon; and the dragon fought and his angels,
8 And prevailed not; neither was their place found any more in heaven.
9 And the great dragon was cast out, that old serpent, called the Devil, and Satan, which deceiveth the whole world: he was cast out into the earth, and his angels were cast out with him.
10 And I heard a loud voice saying in heaven, Now is come salvation, and strength, and the kingdom of our God, and the power of his Christ: for the accuser of our brethren is cast down, which accused them before our God day and night.”

This event is not in the past, but is in the future – and we, the church, will be right there in Heaven when it happens. A day is coming when Satan and his unholy angels will be forcibly removed from Heaven, and will forever lose their ability to accuse us before God. Satan will be trapped on Earth – and ultimately doomed. After the Millennial Kingdom the devil will make one last attempt to overthrow God, but he will fail:

Revelation 20:10: “And the devil that deceived them was cast into the lake of fire and brimstone, where the beast and the false prophet are, and shall be tormented day and night for ever and ever.”

We have an adversary, but his days are numbered. His doom is sure, and it is coming.

Revelation 3:14: “And unto the angel of the church of the Laodiceans write; These things saith the Amen, the faithful and true witness, the beginning of the creation of God;”

And now, at last, we come to modern times. The church of Laodicea represents the modern church (1900 to present). This, sadly, is the state of the church at the end of the Church Age, just before the Rapture. It is not a glorious, powerful church; it is a dead one. Unlike all of the other churches, God has nothing positive to say about it. It disgusts Him. Jesus is described as “the faithful and true witness”, which is appropriate given that the church He is writing to is neither faithful nor true. In fact, the modern church no longer believes that Jesus’ words are faithful or true. It believes that the Bible is corrupt, full of myths and errors, untrustworthy, and a product of cultural bias. Jesus is not at all pleased about this. He is the faithful and true witness, not a liar! There is nothing at all commendable about this church.

Revelation 3:15: “I know thy works, that thou art neither cold nor hot: I would thou wert cold or hot.
16 So then because thou art lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will spue thee out of my mouth.”

Those who are cold are unbelievers, who make no claim to be saved. Those who are hot are believers. This church, however, is full of lukewarm people: those who claim to be saved, but really aren’t. They may go the motions but they don’t actually care about God. They don’t honor His Word and they aren’t concerned about their sins. What is God’s response to this? Basically, they make Him want to vomit.

Revelation 3:17: “Because thou sayest, I am rich, and increased with goods, and have need of nothing; and knowest not that thou art wretched, and miserable, and poor, and blind, and naked:
18 I counsel thee to buy of me gold tried in the fire, that thou mayest be rich; and white raiment, that thou mayest be clothed, and that the shame of thy nakedness do not appear; and anoint thine eyes with eyesalve, that thou mayest see.”

This is an apt description of the modern church! It’s quite wealthy and it thinks it knows everything. It has no idea that it’s spiritually bankrupt, morally blind, and ignorant of God’s Word. Since clothing is symbolic of righteousness, a naked person would be someone who has no righteousness at all. This church thinks that they’re covered, but they are not. God urges them to repent before it’s too late:

Revelation 3:19: “As many as I love, I rebuke and chasten: be zealous therefore, and repent.
20 Behold, I stand at the door, and knock: if any man hear my voice, and open the door, I will come in to him, and will sup with him, and he with me.”

Things have become so desperate that Jesus is actually standing outside this church, knocking on its door! He isn’t a part of it and He isn’t in their midst. He is actually outside, looking in. Things have become so bad that Jesus says if any one opens the door, He will dine with them. The relationship is no longer between Jesus and the church as a whole, because the church is lost. Instead Jesus fellowships with the individual. The church is lost; all that is left is Jesus and the one person who would listen. This paints a picture of a church that is overwhelmingly lost, with few members who are truly saved.

Yet the promise of God is still true. If any individuals repent and believe, Jesus will save them and have a relationship with them. We do not have to join the church in its headlong flight to destruction.

It does make me wonder, though, how many people will be caught up in the Rapture. It may be a very small percentage indeed, as this polling data suggests.