Title: The Heavenly Experience of John
2012. 9. 9 Sunday morning worship service
Bible: Revelation 4:1-2
Title: John's Heavenly Experience
Revelation 4:1-2 ‘1. After these things I looked, and there was a door open in heaven, and the first voice I heard, like the sound of a trumpet, said to me, "Come up here, and I will show you what must happen after this."
2. Immediately I was moved by the Holy Spirit, and behold, a throne was set in heaven, and there was one sitting on the throne' - Amen.
1. The soul of John led by the Holy Spirit
There are various interpretations of the book of Revelation, however, if you deviate from the universal truth and the way of the cross, you can easily fall into the spirit of mysticism or heresy, so in the past you did not even want to read this book. You must enjoy the grace of the gospel.
Dan 12:9 “He said, Go, Daniel, for these words will be kept and sealed up until the time of the end.”
Revelation 22:10 And he said to me, "Do not seal up the words of the prophecy of this scroll, for the time is near."
Matthew 24:45 “…who will distribute the bread in due season?”
Here, when interpreting the words 'Come up here' in verse 1, it is not the Apostle John, but the scene of the whole earthly church being raptured into the air, and that only those who believe well in Jesus will be raptured. claim. But, in a word, there is no basis.
The Rapture Theory was claimed by John Nelson Darby and spread this false doctrine in the American church, and many scholars were deceived (Moody, Edward Irving, John Walbird).
Even in the Korean church, many people are misunderstood because of the rapture theory. It is said that Dr. Sang-geun Lee's commentary on Revelation in the New Testament interpreted the text of Revelation 4 as the rapture theory, but before he died, he told his disciples to correct the interpretation because it was wrongly interpreted as the rapture.
Obviously, only the apostle John was speaking of his spiritual experience when he heard the voice to come up, and Paul said that he had the same experience.
2 Corinthians 12:2 “I know a man in Christ, who was taken up to the third heaven fourteen years ago (whether he was in the body or out of the body I do not know, but God knows)”
The rapture theorists interpret the spiritual experience of the apostle John as the rapture of the church, raising tensions, but the gospel is not terrifying in that way.
2. The Raptureists' Mistakes
Teaching with the wrong interpretation of the Bible will result in ruining the soul. So no one wants to be a teacher
James 3:1 “My brethren, do not become many teachers, knowing that we who are teachers will receive a greater judgment.”
It's the rapture's fault...
1) You are misunderstanding the Holy Spirit
After Chapter 4, the word “Spirit” was raptured and disappeared. However, the Holy Spirit will be with the saints forever as long as they are on earth. However, the Holy Spirit has not disappeared because there are saints continuously after Revelation 4 (Rev 14:12).
2) Discrimination was placed on salvation
The most pernicious problem is the discrimination against salvation.
Romans 3:22 “that is, the righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ to all who believe, without distinction” (1 Corinthians 15:51-51).
3) demeaning martyrdom
Martyrdom is not for everyone (Matthew 20:22-23)
You must be filled with the Holy Spirit and have the Holy Spirit to testify. For example, in Acts 6, the deacon Stephen was said to be a man filled with the Holy Spirit (Acts 6:10; 7:55) and he was martyred (Acts 7:55-60).
John 15:26 “He will testify to me when the Counselor whom I will send to you from the Father, the Spirit of truth, who proceeds from the Father.”
When we look at the words of Paul comforting the early Christians while witnessing the gospel while they were so persecuted,
Acts 14:22 “He strengthened the hearts of the disciples, admonishing them to remain in the faith, and saying that we must go through many tribulations to enter the kingdom of God.”
We are saddened that the theory of the rapture, which interprets that the Apostle John was spiritually called to heaven to receive the prophecies of the last days in the future, as the lifting up of the earthly church, is still prevalent in the world and the Korean church.
Sometimes, when we have completely spiritual and deep spiritual experiences, I think we can have a mystical experience as if ascending to heaven. I believe that the voice of Revelation 4:1 and its interpretation should only be interpreted with the Apostle John in mind as it is a time of personal spiritual experience under the influence of the Holy Spirit.