Craig

Jesus Christ, the Lamb of God, opens the first seal upon the earth. God's judgment is always just.

As a Christian, Christ's second coming and our bodily resurrection is exciting, wonderful, amazing, etc. All Christians should look forward to this event. I believe many Christians have lost their active expectation because they are not connected with God. They do not have the type of faith that encourages the expection of anything spiritual. They need to redicate your lives to Jesus Christ and get spiritually re-energized.

The quality of worship being offered to the Father and Son signifies that the Father and Son are one and are to be worshiped as one.

This song of redemption (verses 9-10) reiterated the fact of that believers are a kingdom of priests, thus having the priviledge of representing themselves and others to God. Some interpret the statement "and they shall reign on earth" to be positive proof that Christians will participate with Christ in a literal reign on earth. Yet others maintain that the reign on earth is spiritual in nature and is presently taking place. Believers are members of, and identify with, the Kingdom of God in and through Jesus Christ our Lord and savior. Our loyality and alliegiance is with our Lord God. Heaven is our destination. Jesus taught us to focus on the Kingdom of God and not the world.

Jesus' obediance to God in His trial, punishment, death, burial and resurrection in atonement for human sin, coupled with His divinity make Him worthly of opening the scroll. This singuar act was noteworthly and praiseworthly because Almighty God did not have to do this for humanity. Out of His great love and compassion did He do it.

Worship in Revelation chapters 4 & 5 included: 1. Acknowledging God's Holiness 2. Acknowledging God's awesomeness and might 3. Acknowledging God's eternalness 4. Giving God glory 5. Giving God honor 6. Falling down before Him in worship 7. Casting crowns before before the throne of God 8. Acknowledging God as Creator 9. Singing songs or hymns to God 10. The lifting up of prayers 11. Blessing the Lamb 12. Giving thanks to God 13. Humbling themselves before God 14. Acknowledging God's worthiness to be praised 15. Weeping over the human condition 16. Playing musical instruments to honor and praise God 17. Offering bowls of incense to God 18. Corporate worship 19. Reading the Word of God 20. Acknowledging Jesus death and resurrection

Holy, Holy, Holy (Rev. 4:8-11) and Come, Let Us Join Our Cheerful Songs (Rev. 5:11-13);

Christians will be present with Jesus upon their bodily death where they will await the resurrection.

Resurrection is used in the Scripture vice rapture. After Jesus appears in the heavens, the angel's trumpet call will summon all God's people. Then Christians will be gathered, both dead and alive with Him (Matt. 13:24-30; 37-43; 47-50; 25:31-46; 2 Thess. 2:1. Then the Great White Throne Judgment will take for the unbelievers (Rev 20:11-13). The saved will enter into glory and the unsaved will go to hell and the lake of fire along with satan and the fallen angels.

Be steadfast and immovable in the work of the Lord means being consistent in, and committed to service to the Kingdom of God regardless of any obstactle. All the work we do for Christ will be rewarded (2 Cor. 5:10 & Rev 22:12).

Jesus Christ ... the firstborn from the dead (Rev 1:5) guarantees the believer's future bodily resurrection through His own resurrection (I Cor. 15:20&23). Jesus is the proto-type, the first, of those God will bodily/physically resurrect from the dead.

Paul uses the common experience of believers being baptized as a picture of being identified with Jesus Christ. Water baptism is a symbol of the spiritual union of Christ and the believer. When a person trusts Christ , he/she is incorporated into, united to, Jesus Christ, which includes being united to His death. Jesus' death becomes our death. Christian baptism makes these spiritual realities vivid. If the believer's identification with Christ means being identified with His death, then it logically follows that the believer also identifies with Jesus' resurrection. Having died and having been raised with Christ, the believer should live a new kind of life. Out of His mercy, God gave His Son for us while we were yet His enemies. He loved us long before we loved Him. In addition to making us spiritually alive, He determined that we would sit in heavenly places with out Savior, Jesus Christ.

It is in Christ's resurrection that we have proof that God has completed our salvation. As a result of Jesus' resurrection, Christians have an expectation of resurrection. If Jesus did not resurrect from the dead as He said He would, then other things that Jesus taught may not be true. This could create alot of uncertainty regarding Jesus.

Jesus went to the cross for our sins and raised by God to for our justification/salvation. If Jesus' resurrection did not take place, then it would cast doubts about other things that Jesus and the Apostles said about our salvation.

Jesus' credibility would be nothing if He did not rise from the dead as He said He would. As Paul wrote in Romans 1:3&4: "concerning His son Jesus Christ our Lord, who was born of the seed of David according to the flesh, and declared to be the Son of God with power according to the spirit of holiness, by the resurrection from the dead."

The churches are criticized for compromising the faith; sexual immorality; abandoning Jesus Christ; permitting false teachers to teach false doctrines within the church; and being lukewarm and dead in their faith. They are praised for practicing patent endurance, toil; sound doctrine; hard work in the faith; enduring tribulation; holding fast to Jesus and the faith; love; and service. The 21st century needs to use the critiques of these churches as a model. As Jesus said: "He who has ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches."

I believe so many churches are a "hotbed of apathy" because they are filled with non-believers. They have a form of Godliness, but not genuine faith. Many church members need to accept Jesus Christ as their savior and Lord and abandon themselves to God Almighty instead sitting in a pew as dead drift wood. Then apathetic churches will come alive with the Holy Spirit.

I cannot grow in the grace and knowlege of Jesus Christ into spirit maturity; be fully committed to the church; be an effective witness and minister (all saints), and be sound in Biblical doctrine if I am actively participating in false religion for my economic and social welfare. What does that say about my faith in God Almighty and His ability to provide for me. Real compromises by Christians today are familiar. Many put work before church, worship and spiritual growth. Many put God on the back burner because "we just have to get ahead." Many put materialism and the world's priorities before spiritual priorities. Many will work severn days week, but think its too much trouble or tiring to participate in God's activities. They become dead, ineffective Christians. Many wonder why?

"Therefore, I urge you, brother, in view of God's mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God -this is your spiritual act of worship. Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind ..." Romans 12:1-2b (NIV) Loosening of moral standards is conforming to the pattern of this world and destroys the witness of the Christian. Christians should be reflecting the Holiness of the Lord God in our lifes. Un-Godly sexual behavior, again our witness. If Christian behavior is no different from the worlds, why be a Christian? Sex and violence is so "in your face" in our culture that it is easy to be de-sensitized to it. To tolerant it.

A local congregation can can lose sight of the great commission as well as spreading the gospel in word and deed making a difference for the Kingdom of God on this planet by turing inward focused. Many congregations lose the sense of urgency in spreading the gospel and have endless Bible studies and fellowship within the walls of the church. The church then becomes a Bible club, not an agent for spreading the gospel to a lost world. Church members get comfortable and become "scared to death" to present the gospel to someone else and that's what we're about. Genuine love for Christ is shown when we follow His commands. When we, with passion, spread the gospel in word and deed. When the church makes a difference in the world around it for Jesus Christ. When we, with enthusiasm, look for ministry opportunities for Jesus Christ. When we give our lives to Jesus. When we touch the lifes of others in love for Jesus Chirst. The lack of love for Jesus Christ shows itself in Christian apathy. A congregation can regain its love by returning to its first love -- Jesus Christ. By redicating itself to Jesus Christ and permitting the Holy Spirit to fill, lead, guide and direct its vision, direction and efforts. By giving itself up to Jesus Christ.

One of the most powerful proofs of the resurrection of Jesus Christ is the psychological state of the disciples. They didn't really understand or believe in what Jesus told them about His death, burial and resurrection. What an incredible witness as to the validity of the resurrection of Jeus in the disciples action after His resurrection. They claimed to have seen and interacted with the risen Jesus Christ. Many of them were killed in proclaiming the resurrection of Jesus Christ. They preached the gospel of Jesus Christ with a unique and dynamic sense of urgency and commitment. Even the threat of torture and death did not deter them from preaching what they witnessed. The disciples, as with the vast majority of people, would not have knowingly given up their lives for a lie.

The disciples phychological state after the cruifixion was one of depression, despair, discouragement and confusion. On top of this they didn't really have a handle on Jesus' resurrection. In fact, they didn't believe they would see Him again on this planet, in this life. So Jesus' appearance and interaction with the disciples and others after His burial and prior to His ascension lends strong credibility to Jesus' resurrection.

The disciples would not have a motive for stealing Jesus' body. The disciples were depressed, dazed and confused after Jesus' trial, death and burial. John tells us in John 20:8&9: "Then the other disciple, who came to the tomb first, went in also; and he saw and believed. For as yet they did not know the Scripture, that He must rise again from the dead." So why would the disciples steal Jesus' body? What would have been the point? There was no motivation for them to steal Jesus' body. In fact, the theft of Christ's body would not have benefited the Romans, Jews or Joseph of Arimathea. For the Jews and Romans, Jesus buried was the best thing. The probem has gone away. Joseph of Arimathea like the other disciples didn't have a handle on the resurrection and there would have been no motivation for Him to steal the body. And if the disciples did have a handle on the resurrection, then they would have waited for Jesus to appear to them. So the bottomline is, that no one would have really benefited from stealing Jesus' body.

Liberal scholars are uncomfortable with what they cannot prove using the western scientific method. The resurrection of Jesus Christ cannot be proved using this closed worldview. The resurrection of Jesus Christ becomes unhistorical because it cannot be proved using the western scientific method or explained in naturalistic terms. So to the liberal scholar, it didn't happen the way the gospel writers recorded the event.

Jesus is in the midst of the churches. The Lord God is working through the Church in bringing salvation to the world. Jesus is the Head of the Church and is in the midst of the church. The Church is the bride and Jesus Christ is the Groom. Jesus loves and cares for the Church and is concerned for its well-being.