Revelations 22:19
“If any man shall take away from the words of the book of this prophecy, God shall take away his part out of the book of life, and out of the holy city, and from the things which are written in this book.”
Diminish; to make smaller; reduce in size, degree, importance; to lessen
“Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in your name? And in your name cast out devils? And in your name done many wonderful works? And then I will say to them, I never knew you; depart from me you who work iniquity. Therefore whosoever hears these sayings of mine and does them…” Matthew7:22-24.
Once again I have heard a wonderful sermon by Dr Charles Stanley. I like Dr Stanley. He does a wonderful job of clearly setting forth whichever truth is on his heart at the moment. There is not enough time in the time allotted to him to develop a complete thought, which is regrettable, but he makes good use of the time he has. Also, of all the preachers out there today, he stays pretty close to the basic messages of Christianity. He doesn’t get caught up in a lot of peripheral teachings. All in all, he is a good pastor by my opinion.
This week the message I heard tracked right along with my last blog somewhat. Dr Stanley was careful to point out that Jesus paid the price for our sin on the cross, that His death was substitutionary for the price of our sin. The logical conclusion is then that we should no longer define sin by the old covenant’s definition though I don’t think Dr Stanley would go that far. And here is where my doctrine and Dr Stanley’s diverge.
Dr Stanley said that if you have accepted Jesus’ death on the cross as your payment for sins your name is written into the book of life and nothing can remove it. Such is just not the case. Obviously, there will come a day when some professing Christians will stand before the Lord and present their case for why they should be allowed into heaven. Their argument will be that they did “many wonderful works” in Jesus’ name, but the works they did were not the works prescribed by the new covenant. Jesus calls the works they did iniquity.
Now, to anyone who has the least bit of intellectual honesty this scenario should be alarming. What are the works prescribed by the new covenant and how are Christians supposed to perform them if they don’t know what they are? Let’s back up a step or two and analyze just what these verses are saying. The prophesying and casting out of devils is usually associated with the Pentecostal and Charismatic movement but the definition of prophesy is to expound God’s Word; something that every church leader does every service. The doing of wonderful works is most often associated with the mainline denominational churches. Furthermore, Matthew 7:21 states: “Moreover, not every one that says to me, Lord, Lord, will enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that does the will of my Father which is in heaven.” This statement by Jesus places all Christians, every follower of Jesus into this group of souls standing before Jesus arguing why they should be allowed entrance into the kingdom of heaven. In that Paul clearly proclaims that it is a confession of Jesus as Lord that secures salvation, something is missing between Romans 10:10 and Matthew 7:21. We must ask ourselves, “What is the will of the Father in the new covenant age?” and “What are the prescribed works of God in the new covenant age?”
From Revelations 22:19 and Matthew 7:21-24, it should be obvious that you can lose your salvation after having gained it. In order for your name to be removed from the book of life it would first have to be written in. What do Revelations 22:19 and Matthew 7:21-24 have in common? What is this “taking away from the words of the book of this prophecy” and how does it tie in to “doing the sayings of Jesus” and “doing the will of the Father?” Our first question might be, “What is the “book of this prophecy” referred to by the writer of Revelations?” Is he speaking of the book of Revelations alone or is he in a larger sense speaking of the whole Bible to which the book of Revelations is attached at the end? My argument would be that the writer is referring to the whole of the Bible or in the very least the whole of the New Testament because the message of salvation is not clearly defined by the book of Revelations. If Matthew 7:21-24 has anything to do with salvation then the warning of Revelations 22:19 must apply to it.
From my view the warning of Revelations 22:19 is less of a judgment as it is a warning. The only way to gain God’s salvation is to understand God’s Word. If any of God’s Word is changed or taken away or diminished in any way, the truth of how to gain His salvation is likewise changed or taken away or diminished, which is what happened to the people of Matthew 7. These people’s names were written into the book of life. They had real expectations of entering the kingdom of heaven. They are standing before Jesus arguing their case for salvation. As far as they knew they had done what was required but the teachers who taught them had left out critical points, which is what ties Revelations 22:19 and Matthew 7:21-24 together.
As you can tell, I believe Matthew 7:21-24 defines Revelations 22:19. Those of Matthew 7:21-24 did not know what was expected of believers in Jesus. They were doing good works, professing Jesus as Lord, but their good works were not the works God prescribed under the new covenant, nor were they doing the sayings of Jesus. Jesus called them “workers of iniquity.” The word, “iniquity” means, “lacking in righteousness.” The word, “righteousness,” means, “to perform the right act.” If the right act is not calling Jesus Lord and doing wonderful woks, what are they? Jesus said, “I am the way, the truth, and the life” (John 14:6) and in John 10:9 Jesus said, “I am the door: by me if any man enter in, he shall be saved.” Why was their works evil? Because they were trying to enter salvation by another means than the one prescribed by the Father and by Jesus.
Now this is not to say they were not trying to enter through Jesus, they were merely trying to enter in a way not prescribed by Jesus. As I travel about from church to church, there are many teachings about Jesus and much material to glean from. Jesus died to save mankind from their sin; this is how our names are written into the book of life, but salvation is subsequent to being saved from sins. The people of Matthew 7:21-24 had their names written into the book of life and were trying to enter heaven based on a belief in Jesus as Saviour from sins. They glossed over the fact that Jesus was raised from the dead as Lord. Still others acknowledged Jesus was Lord but failed to keep His commandment.
In Romans 10:1, Paul states: “Brethren, my heart’s desire and prayer to God for Israel is that they might be saved. For I bear them record that they have a zeal for God, but not according to knowledge. For they being ignorant of God’s righteousness and going about to establish their own righteousness, have not submitted themselves to the righteousness of God.” The works of those in Matthew 7:21-24 was evil because they sought a righteousness not prescribed by God. The reason they sought this unrighteous path to salvation is because somebody had removed the true path to righteousness from the scripture (Rev.22:19) by diminishing its true importance.
The gospel preached today focuses in on the words spoken by Jesus in the four gospels and salvation is described as belief in Jesus but what if there was more to it than that? What if belief in Jesus got your name written into the book of life but there was a righteousness prescribed by God for believers in Jesus that was being diminished by church leaders? In Dr. Stanley’s message this morning, he mentioned the commandment Jesus issued to the Church in Acts 1:4 but then diminished its importance in the life of believers today. He further watered down the definition of what it means to be baptized with the Spirit by combining the two experiences outlined by John 4 and John 7. In John 4 Jesus tells the woman at the well that He can provide her a well of water that springs up to everlasting life but in John 7 Jesus proclaims before the whole crowd in the temple that all who believe on Him will receive rivers of Living Water flowing out of the belly. Anyone who thinks a well springing up is the same experience as rivers flowing out needs to go back and take a few more English classes. Moreover, do we really need to be told which experience is described by Acts 2:4? In Dr. Stanley’s version, the gift of tongues was irrelevant, but what if the gift of tongues is the prescribed righteousness of the new covenant?
Is it really exceptionally unbelievable that the prescribed righteousness of the new covenant has been diminished by Church leaders till no one practices obedience? In Acts 19, Paul, writer of three quarters of the New Testament, the same man who was caught up to heaven to hear the gospel straight from Jesus’ lips, the same man who persecuted God’s Church for preaching heresy; finds certain disciples of John: who preached belief in Jesus, the same message being preached by a large portion of preachers today. Paul found these disciples missing a key ingredient to salvation and no it was not because they were not believing in Jesus. From John 4 we learn that those who place their faith in Jesus receive the Holy Spirit as a well of water that springs up, but no man can rightfully believe the well springing up and the rivers flowing out to be the same experience. Paul took these men aside, re-baptized them in water and they were filled with the Holy Spirit and spoke in tongues. If speaking in tongues is the righteousness prescribed by the new covenant, these men can now walk in righteousness before the Father, or why did Paul believe the speaking in tongues to be critical to salvation? Why did Paul believe the preaching of John the Baptist to be insufficient to salvation?
Who is this Paul of Tarshish? When we first meet Paul, he is standing as a witness to the stoning to death of Steven by the Jews. This tells us several things about Paul. First, Paul was in complete agreement to the stoning of Steven by the Jewish leaders and second, Paul was a respected member of the men who did the stoning. The men who stoned Steven piled up their coats at Paul’s feet. Paul not only witnessed Steven being stoned, he stood as witness for the men who did the stoning. Paul was proactive; he was not afraid to get involved and he was a man of integrity. Next, we also know that Paul was a great scholar of God’s Word before he got involved in the persecution of the Lord’s Church. In fact, it was his understanding of the scriptures that compelled Paul to try and wipe out this new heresy called Christianity. Paul held his understanding of God’s Word with great integrity. He had studied till he was absolutely convinced and was willing to fight for God. We also know that Paul heard the sermon delivered by Steven and because we know Paul held the Word of God with integrity, we know that Paul’s beliefs were shaken to their core.
In Steven’s sermon, Paul was confronted with an understanding of God’s Word he had not heard before; an understanding that made perfect sense and was without reasonable opposing argument. Paul began to see something he had not seen before in God’s Word and as he compared notes with Steven’s points, his own faith was shaken ever deeper. Which is why on the road to Damascus, Paul did not protest against the blinding light. He had letters of authority to persecute Christians in Damascus but as he rode along the road to his destination his mind was churning. It is called integrity. Should we hold to our beliefs when confronted by irrefutable evidence to the contrary? Paul didn’t, which is why Paul’s behavior at Ephesus when he finds certain disciples of John the Baptist, who are believing in Jesus but not heard of the Holy Spirit, is so critically important to believers today.
There is another man in the scriptures who provides an opposing view to Paul. The Pharaoh of Egypt was confronted with irrefutable evidence that his beliefs were incorrect but he was not moved by the evidence set up against his beliefs. He did not hold the truths that formed his beliefs with integrity and when confronted by a truth that was provable, one that stood in stark contrast to his own, he ignored it. The belief he held was more important to him than the truth was. We are talking about our eternal salvation. Which is more important, your denomination, the teaching of your pastor, that radio or television preacher, or the Word of God? In order to obtain the salvation God promises, we must fulfill the requirements God sets forth in His Word. We must hold the Word of God with intellectual honesty.
No man can offer you salvation; no amount of doctorates before or after his name can guarantee a home in heaven. God is not going to ask you what great teacher or pastor you followed on earth. Just because Dr Charles Stanley says that you don’t have to speak in tongues does not make it so. Consider the parable of the talents. Three men were given the same gift. Two men used the gift and prospered but the one man buried his gift and did nothing with it. If the gift of God is the baptism with the Spirit as Jesus said in Acts 1:4, then it is the using of the gift that is important.
The righteousness prescribed by God is not being performed by those of Matthew 7:21-24. Why? These believers are calling Jesus Lord and doing good works. Does anybody think being delivered from demonic control is not a good work? Are these believers too arrogant to see their mistake or has certain church leaders diminished the righteousness prescribed by God in the new covenant age? In Acts 1:4, the gift of tongues is called God’s gift to the Church by Jesus. Is it reasonable God would expect the Church to utilize His gift? Is it reasonable to think the will of Jesus would align with His father’s? Why would God give a gift to the Church that He did not expect the Church to walk in? These questions beg for answers. Do we have enough intellectual honesty to answer them?
Are you willing to trust your eternal salvation to a doctrine that cannot prove its validity? I’m not. The people Jesus spoke of in Matthew 7:21-24 think they are saved. They have every right to think so. They have called Jesus Lord and done many wonderful works. They are keeping all the sayings of Jesus save one and looking to all Jesus’ commandments but one. Can you imagine getting to heaven only to find your name is removed from the book of life because you failed to perform the righteousness of the new covenant? Can you imagine finding out too late that the one commandment you ignored was the only commandment you needed to keep? I can’t even begin to fathom this scenario but Jesus put Revelations 22:19 in the scripture for a reason. Should we consider these questions at all or cast them aside as so much rubbish? What we believe will only save us if we believe the Word of God.
In the beginning pages of the book of Revelations, Jesus addresses seven churches of the Macedonia region. He expresses differing levels of displeasure with all of them. Jesus is not happy with the direction the Church is headed and at the end of the writings of the New Testament issues a warning. Diminish any of the Word of God and your chances of entering the kingdom of heaven will be diminished. Jesus saw a trend in the Church, a trend that continues today.
The point is; are we really heeding Jesus’ sayings or are we simply giving lip service to Jesus’ sayings? Are we keeping the commandments of Jesus or are we making up commandments to obey Jesus did not leave us? This is what the Jews did. They made up commandments to follow instead of following those God gave them, Mark 7. Just consider this for a moment. Jesus only issued one commandment specifically to the Church. It is the only commandment Jesus issued with all the authority of heaven and earth; an authority He did not receive until His resurrection. This fact alone makes this commandment to be the most important commandment to obey for Christians but, how many Christians are aware of this commandment? Add to this fact that this is the only commandment issued in the Church age; the only commandment issued under the authority of the new covenant and it would seem without question to obey this commandment would be the righteousness of the new covenant. Even so, this commandment is diminished by Church leaders and the description of obedience is diminished as well.
Dr Stanley pointed out how Jesus commanded the disciples to wait in Jerusalem but insinuated they were merely commanded to sit around casually till the Holy Spirit came to baptize them. Nothing could be further from the truth. The word wait Jesus used is a curious word and words have meanings. Most of us understand how the meanings of words change over time and this word, “wait” is a good example. By the time Jesus used the word, it simply meant to stay in a place in anticipation until something expected takes place, but the word is ancient and its older meaning is one of extreme behavior. The apostles understood perfectly well the meaning of the word, its modern meaning and its ancient meaning, exhibited by their behavior. Ten days in fastings and prayers is extreme behavior by most people’s estimation.
If the receiving of the baptism with the Spirit were to be an automatic event, why did the 120 souls gathered in the upper room need to fast and pray to receive it? We are talking about integrity. Dr Stanley’s teaching doesn’t hold water and yet we are supposed to follow his words to our eternal home? Who gave Dr Stanley the authority to change what God said?
The apostles didn’t understand the baptism with the Spirit to be automatic. They felt they needed to prepare for the event. If belief in Jesus’ death for sins saves us, then the apostles were saved before Jesus ever ascended and Jesus had already breathed on them, saying, “Receive ye the Holy Spirit,” John 20:22. Did they receive the Holy Spirit or not? If they did, which is reasonable since it is Jesus breathing on them, the baptism with the Spirit was subsequent to being saved from sins. It sure looks plausible that Jesus is commanding Christians to wait for the baptism with the Spirit in Acts 1, which means there is something subsequent to being saved from sins. No one expects lost souls to prepare for salvation by fastings and prayers today, yet many preachers and teachers equate the baptism with the spirit with salvation. Where are the parallels? What is the truth?
Moreover, the word, “commanded,” Jesus used in Acts 1:4 is a word a general would use to command his troops. Jesus stood in front of the charter members of the Church He founded by His own blood, sweat, and tears, wielding all authority in heaven and earth and issued a commandment that should have reverberated down through history. Every Christian should respond with honor and humility, but along the way its importance was diminished. Believers were instructed not to bother with obedience because the authority of the command had sun downed. Can I ask a question? Does Jesus still set at the right hand of the Father? Does He still wield all authority over heaven and earth? Is He still Lord of Lords and King of Kings; the blessed only potentate? How can the importance of the commandment issued by the Lord to the Church lose any of its potency as Long as the Lord sits on His throne in heaven? We are talking about integrity.
Can some of us exempt ourselves from obedience because we asked and didn’t receive? Show me where God stated that exemption and I’ll believe. Would the 120, who sequestered themselves in the upper room fasting and praying, have received if they had not pursued with extreme behavior? We cannot use personal experience nor conjecture to build Bible doctrine. Did Jesus have exemptions for some of the men He spoke of in Matthew 7:21-24? No, they were all workers of iniquity, they had all failed to keep the new covenant standard for righteousness; they were all engaged in the wrong behavior.
And, what right have we to redefine the experience of the baptism with the Spirit? If those original apostles spoke in tongues, then speaking in tongues is the baptism with the Spirit and we cannot rightfully say we have been baptized until we speak in tongues. If we are to keep the Lord’s commandment, we are going to have to wait for the baptizing of the Spirit each and every day with extreme passion. To fail to do so is to fail to keep the sayings of Jesus and if we fail to keep His sayings we will fail to enter the kingdom of heaven. This is not rocket science. We aren’t doing trigonometry. Jesus warns at the end of the Bible, “Remove anything from this book and your name will be removed from the book of life.” He said this because the only way we can realize God’s salvation is to perform God’s righteousness. If we diminish the importance of any part of the book, we run the risk of diminishing a critical part.
The importance of the commandment Jesus issued to the Church was diminished by Church leaders; otherwise it would be obvious that the only commandment Jesus issued to the Church is the only commandment critical to Christians. Likewise, the experience of the baptism with the Spirit has been diluted by Church leaders. What the 120 waiting in the upper room with extreme passion experienced were obviously the rivers of Living Water flowing out of the belly; clearly not wells of Living Water springing up. It is regrettable that latter translations of the scripture have combined belief in Jesus and belief on Jesus but there is ample evidence remaining to prove something is required of Christians beyond belief in Jesus for washing of sins. The men of Matthew 7:21 were followers of Jesus, as such they could be called Christians, yet “in that day” they were turned away from heaven because they had not done the will of the Father nor kept the sayings of Jesus. The will of the Father is that we keep the sayings of Jesus.
Jesus said, “He that has my commandments and keeps them, he it is that loves me: and he that loves me will be loved of my Father, and I will love him and will manifest myself to him,” John 14:21. Are we not all looking for the manifestation of Jesus? Is this not the cry of our hearts, to see the manifestation of Jesus? The first prerequisite is that we must have Jesus’ commandments. If they have been diluted and diminished by our leaders, it will be impossible to have them and if we cannot have them we cannot keep them which means we will not be loved of the Father nor will Jesus love us nor manifest Himself to us. Should the world not be able to see Jesus in us? But Jesus is no longer the Saviour of the world; He is now the blessed only Potentate, the Lord of Lords and King of Kings, the Almighty Judge. It takes supernatural power to witness of Jesus in this new covenant age, which is what Jesus promised to those who kept His sayings in Acts 1:8.
In order for Christians to be able to perform the righteousness required for salvation, that righteousness must be clearly defined. The beginning of Christianity is clearly defined by Acts 1. Jesus commanded those first Christians to wait for the baptism with the Spirit and ascended into heaven. Waiting for the baptism with the Spirit should be the first act of anyone born again, but it is not enough to be baptized once, we must keep the sayings of Jesus; keep His commandments. This baptism must be a daily occurrence. It is the righteousness of the new covenant.
Look, I have not embellished this commandment at all. I have not added to or taken away from God’s Word in this teaching. I am merely pointing out what God’s Word says without diminishing or embellishing. Others have completely removed the fact that Jesus was raised from the dead with all authority in heaven and earth and it was with this authority that He issued this commandment. They have removed the truth that this is the only commandment Jesus issued to the Church, an organization that did not exist prior to this moment. They fail to point out the extreme nature of the word “wait” and the disciple’s response to the word. Furthermore, this commandment is ignored when talking about the commandments of Jesus we are to keep. Many teachers and preachers diminish the true nature of the event recorded in Acts 2:4. There is no way to keep Jesus’ commandments if their importance is diminished and disobedience is excused. If we are to make it to heaven we must treat the Word of God with respect, we must hold the Word of God with integrity; otherwise Jesus’ death will have been in vain.