TEXT: REVELATION 9: 20, 21 20 And the rest of the men which were not killed by these plagues yet repented not of the works of their hands, that they should not worship devils, and idols of gold, and silver, and brass, and stone, and of wood: which neither can see, nor hear, nor walk:
21 Neither repented they of their murders, nor of their sorceries, nor of their fornication, nor of their thefts. (KJV)
Today I would like to deliver a message entitled “A CHAIN OF PAPABLES.”
The Bible is a book of parables. But that does not mean everything is in a parable, but there is some definite pattern.
It is written in Ecclesiastes as below.
ECCLESIASTES 12: 11 The words of the wise are as goads, and as nails fastened by the masters of assemblies, which are given from one shepherd. (KJV)
The wise is God Himself, and His words seem to be the words of the Bible. So, this seems to write about the Bible. It is said that the Bible is;
1. Assembled
2. Given from one shepherd (Christ).
It is written as above.
Therefore, as long as it is assembled, it is not written out of order but has consistency in each book of the Bible.
And as long as it is given from one Shepherd, it has consistency in the meaning from Genesis to Revelation.
So, each parable has a chain, because the Bible is assembled by one Person.
Well, it is written on the above text, “idols of stone, and of wood: which neither can see, nor hear, nor walk.” What does it mean?
Though we do not know the meaning by looking at Revelation alone, we will understand it when we bear consistency of the Bible in mind and a chain of parables.
“Stone”, “rock” and “sand” are in a chain of parables. Why can we say that? It is because the Bible is assembled by one Person with His intention and will.
These have relation like below.
Sand; The descendants of Abraham: GENESIS 22: 17 That in blessing I will bless thee, and in multiplying I will multiply thy seed as the stars of the heaven, and as the sand which is upon the sea shore; and they seed shall possess the gate of his enemies. (KJV)
Therefore the spiritual descendants of Abraham, who are the Christians, are expressed as sand.
Stone, Rock; About stone: MATTHEW 16: 18 And I say also unto thee, That thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it. (KJV)
His disciple, Peter (the name means stone), is also called as “rock”. Therefore, we know “stone” and “rock” refer to the disciples and workers who serve our Lord more than ordinal believers.
We know that “vine” and “olive tree” refer to God’s people, when we look at the Bible concerning trees.
Each parable of the Bible has a link and a chain to others in this way. As the Word is produced by a “person of wisdom”, there is natural consistency in the meaning.
Therefore, once we know that there is a link set by God amongst the parables, the meaning of “idols of stone” and “wood” are revealed. These signify the sins of placing the workers and servants of men in the position of idols instead of God.
And God says, “The workers neither can see, nor hear, nor walk.”
God says that they cannot see the true warning for the end time that the Bible indicates, or hear the true voice of God, or act according to the Word, that is, walking in the path of the Word.
So, we should hear the voice of the true God, Jesus Christ, who came as the Holy Spirit. For, God’s jealousy and wrath on those who worship idols of devils (vessel worship) are tremendously great.
Well, there are many chains of parables in the Bible.
· Walk
Let us see about walk as below.
ROMANS 6: 4 Therefore we are buried with him by baptism into death: that like as Christ was raised up from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life. (KJV)
GALATIANS 2: 14 But when I saw that they walked not uprightly according to the truth of the gospel, I said unto Peter before them all, If thou, being a Jew, livest after the manner of Gentiles, and not as do the Jews, why compellest thou the Gentiles to live as do the Jews? (KJV)
GALATIANS 5: 16 This I say then, Walk in the Spirit, and ye shall not fulfill the lust of the flesh. (KJV)
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. (KJV)
The Bible mainly talks about the faith of believers concerning the walk.
Then, what does the following passage mean?
MATTHEW 9: 6 But that ye may know that the Son of man hath power on earth to forgive sins, (then saith he to the sick of the palsy,) Arise, take up thy bed, and go unto thine house. (KJV)
When Lord said to arise and walk, sin of the “sick of the palsy” was forgiven, he then rose and walked. When we are given His word, we are forgiven and healed so that we will be able to start walking in the faith though we are down in sins like the palsy and are not able to walk. Well, let us see another example.
· A lame
LEVITICUS 21: 18 For whatsoever man he be that hath a blemish, he shall nor approach: a blind man, or a lame, or he that hath a flat nose, or any thing superfluous. (KJV)
Well, what does a lame mean? It never meant to write about the people who have some difficulty in their body in discrimination. This is a parable. A lame is a man who cannot walk properly, and so it refers to a man who does not walk in the faith. Such men cannot stand to serve God.
· A rod
Well, in relation to walk, expression of a rod is used in the Bible. A rod means to help walking. Concretely, a rod seems to refer to a teacher or a pastor who help Christians to walk in the faith. Let us look at the following word.
EZEKIEL 21: 13 Because it is a trial, and what if the sword contemn even the rod? It shall be no more, saith the Lord God. (KJV)
This verse talks about what will happen if, not only ordinal believers but also the rod, that is, teachers and pastors are rejected before God in time of temptation or trial.
NUMBERS 17: 8 And it came to pass, that on the morrow Moses went into the tabernacle of witness; and, behold, the rod of Aaron for the house of Levi was budded, and brought forth buds, and bloomed blossoms, and yielded almonds. (KJV)
Here it talks about the teachers and pastors who are truly acknowledged before God. The rod for the house of Levi was different from others and yielded fruits. So, God set condition for teachers and pastors that they should be like Levi (means stick), that is, they should stick to God and produce fruit of the Holy Spirit.
Then, what does the following passage say?
EXODUS 7: 19 And the Lord spake unto Moses, Say unto Aaron, Take thy rod, and stretch out thine hand upon the waters of Egypt, uon their streams, upon their rivers, and upon their ponds, upon all their pools of water, that they may become blood. (KJV)
What is signified by rivers turning to blood when the rod is stretched out? It should mean this: It is written when the Church becomes the city called Sodom or Egypt, mentioned on Revelation in the end time. Rivers, that is, the work of the Holy Spirit, will turn to blood, that is, demonic spirits through the teachers and workers of God.
This is actually happening now before our eyes. The phenomenon of the revival in Toronto and Pensacola really came from the demonic spirits and it is said that those who have relation from this became irregular in the mentality. And these revivals have been brought into the Church through the people of the rod. Surely the work of the Holy Spirit is turned into blood, that is, the work of the demonic spirits by the rod.
We should discern the spirits.
Let us do the will of the Lord in the end time.
End.