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The Book of

Revelation LTS

The letter to the Church of

PergamosChapter 2:12 – 17

Session 7April 4, 2009

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Oh, Kelly…

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44

18 18

5

The Olivet Discourse

Review:

Matthew 24

Mark 13LUKE 21

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Group of Signs

• False Christs 24:4-5 21:4 6:1-2

• Wars 24:6 21:9,10 6:3-4

• Famines 24:7a 21:11 6:5-6

• Death 24:7b-8 21:12 6:7-8

• Martyrs 24:9 21:24 6:9-11

• Global chaos 24:10-13 21:25 6:12-17

Matthew Luke Revelation

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Then shall they deliver you up to be afflicted, and shall kill you: and ye shall be hated of all nations for my name's sake.

And then shall many be offended, and shall betray one another, and shall hate one another.

And many false prophets shall rise, and shall deceive many.

Matthew 24:9-11

hi

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And great earthquakes shall be in divers places, and famines, and pestilences; and fearful sights and great signs shall there be from heaven.

But before all these, they shall lay their hands on you, and persecute you, delivering you up to the synagogues, and into prisons, being brought before kings and rulers for my name's sake.

And it shall turn to you for a testimony.

Luke 21:11-13

hi

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Different Emphasis?

• “But before all these…” Luke 21:12

• “All these are the beginning of sorrows.” • “Then shall they…” Matthew 24:8,9

[False Christs, Wars, Famines, Earthquakes]

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Different Emphasis?

• “But before all these…” Luke 21:12

• “All these are the beginning of sorrows.” • “Then shall they…” Matthew 24:8,9

[False Christs, Wars, Famines, Earthquakes]

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Different Emphasis?

Fall of Jerusalem

Great Tribulation

70 AD

Desolation #2Desolation #1

Luke 21

Matthew 24

“Time of Jacob’s Trouble”W

ars,

Fam

ines

, Ear

thqu

akes

, etc

.Ab

omin

ation

of D

esol

ation

7Ltrs

“Before”

“Then [After]”

?

Cosm

ic U

phea

val

First Generation Last Generation

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1. Name

2. Title

3. Commendation

4. Concerns

5. Exhortation

Ephe

sus

Smyr

na

Perg

amos

The Churches’ Report Cards:

“He that hath an ear, hear what the Spirit says to the Churches”7.

6. Promise to the Overcomer

6. Promise to the Overcomer

“He that hath an ear, hear what the Spirit says to the Churches”7.

X

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Prophetic Profile?

Ephesus

Smyrna

Pergamos

Thyatira

Sardis

Philadelphia

Laodicea

Apostolic Church?

Persecuted Church?

The Letter to theChurch of Pergamos

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Levels of Application

1. Local2. Admonitory (to all churches)3. Personal (Homiletics)4. Prophetic

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PergamosThe City of the Serpent

• Pergamos is the feminine form• Pergamum is the neuter form of the name

–both were used • Pergamos was located about 48 miles north

of Smyrna – Ephesus, the great political center – Smyrna was the great commercial center–Pergamos, the great religious center

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Early History• Prior to Alexander the Great, Pergamos was little

more than a castle on top of a hill• Its foundation is ascribed to Arcadian colonists

under the Heracleid Telephus (who routed the Achaeans on their landing in Mysia to attack Troy)

• Its name is said to have been derived from the son of Pyrrhus and Andromache who made himself king of Teuthrania by killing the king in combat

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Early History• Early ally with Rome• Became an extremely wealthy and

prosperous city• Official capital of the Roman province of

Asia for two centuries • Lacking proximity to the key trade routes, it

eventually yielded to its better located rival: Ephesus

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Aesclepium

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Aesclepium• The god of healing, Aesclepius received

worship in cultic centers around the Greek and Roman world

• This large complex at Pergamos was originally constructed in the 4th century B.C. and became an official center in the 3rd c.

• In the 2nd c. A.D., Hadrian further developed the center and it was added to the list of "wonders of the world"

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Serapeum

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Serapeum • A temple to the ancient Egyptian god of the

underworld was erected in the lower city of Pergamos

• The Serapis cult was founded by Ptolemy I and was centered in Alexandria

• Held to be a god of healing, particularly of blindness, Serapis was one of a number of Egyptian deities worshiped in ancient Greece and Rome

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Temple of Trajan

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Temple of Trajan• Some impressive remains of this 2nd c. A.D.

marble temple dedicated to the emperor have been restored

• It sits next to the library which housed 200,000 volumes and was the second largest in the ancient world after Alexandria

• Parchment was invented in Pergamos after relations with Egypt soured and papyrus became difficult to obtain

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Theater

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Theater• This theater is one of the steepest ones

preserved in Turkey today• Sits on the edge of the city's acropolis• Built in the Hellenistic period and altered in

the Roman period• Seating capacity of this theater estimated at

10,000 people

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White Stone

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White Stone• This white stone at Pergamos with names

inscribed reminds of Messiah’s words:"And to the angel of the church in

Pergamos write...He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches; To him that overcometh will I give to eat of the hidden manna, and will give him a white stone, and in the stone a new name written, which

no man knoweth saving he that receiveth it"

Rev 2:12, 17

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The Seat of Satan

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The Seat of Satan• The gigantic 'Altar of Pergamon' dominates

Germany's Pergamon Museum in former East Berlin

• Originally sited in Asia Minor, the Temple at Pergamon with its altar was the centre of Emperor worship– The price of refusal to acknowledge the

Emperor as God - ritual murder on the altar!• Revelation 2:13 calls it 'Satan's Seat' or 'the

Throne of Satan'

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The Seat of Satan• On its steps early Christians were martyred

for their unswerving faith in Messiah• German archaeologist Carl Human found it

in almost perfect condition in the late 1800's and carefully shipped every stone to Berlin

• In 1902 Kaiser Wilhelm II celebrated its erection in Berlin as the 'proudest monument to his reign' - with an extravagant festival to the pagan gods!

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The Seat of Satan• It is significant that within a short time of

this, the history of Germany was to be dominated by a sequence of events which could only be attributed to Satanic control

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Ishtar Gate == Gate to Hell

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Ishtar Gate == Gate to Hell• Yet another relic from the past is the Ishtar Gate

again brought back to Germany stone by stone– Said to be one of the gates into Babylon– Originally had around it 337 images of the dragon god– Today you can still see some of the images– 337 in numerology is the number of sheol or hell

• These gates to the occult represent the entrance or gates to hell

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The Defiance of Europe Today

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The Defiance of Europe TodayThe European

Union is rebuilding what

YHWH destroyed in Genesis 11:5 - 9

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The Defiance of Europe Today

The slogan inverts YHWH’s judgment

Babel

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The Defiance of Europe Today

The stars are inverted to

represent the horns, ears, and beard of Lucifer

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Tower of Babel

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EU Building in Strasbourg, France

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Side-by-Side

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EU Building in Brussels, Belgium

Outside EU Building in Brussels

This symbol of the European Union is printed on stamps, phone cards, and currency. Her name is Europa, from Greek mythology

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Geography• Pergamos is about 18 miles from the sea,

about 48 miles north of Smyrna. – The present city of Bergama has a population

of only 42,000 (vs. almost 200,000 of old)• Zeus is said to have been born there

– The great altar stood on a foundation 125 ft by 115 ft, over 50 ft high, set in a colonnaded enclosure

Satan’s throne? Rev 2:13

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Ephesus

Pergamos

Istanbul

Athens

Smyrna

Patmos

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Aesculapius• The Caduceus was the official emblem of

the city

• Originally emerged from the brazen serpent of Moses Num 21:8, 9 – Explained by Messiah John 3:14 –Destroyed by Hezekiah 2 Kings 18:4

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And the LORD sent fiery serpents among the people, and they bit the people; and much people of Israel died.

Therefore the people came to Moses, and said, We have sinned, for we have spoken against the LORD, and against thee; pray unto the LORD, that he take away the serpents from us. And Moses prayed for the people.

Numbers 21:6,7

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And the LORD said unto Moses, Make thee a fiery serpent, and set it upon a pole: and it shall come to pass, that every one that is bitten, when he looketh upon it, shall live.

And Moses made a serpent of brass, and put it upon a pole, and it came to pass, that if a serpent had bitten any man, when he beheld the serpent of brass, he lived.

Numbers 21:8-9

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And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of man be lifted up:

That whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have eternal life.

John 3:14-15

hi

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And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of man be lifted up:

That whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have eternal life.

For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.

John 3:14-16

hi

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Now it came to pass in the third year of Hoshea son of Elah king of Israel, that Hezekiah the son of Ahaz king of Judah began to reign.

Twenty and five years old was he when he began to reign; and he reigned twenty and nine years in Jerusalem. His mother's name also was Abi, the daughter of Zachariah.

2 Kings 18:1,2

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And he did that which was right in the sight of the LORD, according to all that David his father did.

He removed the high places, and brake the images, and cut down the groves, and brake in pieces the brasen serpent that Moses had made: for unto those days the children of Israel did burn incense to it: and he called it Nehushtan.

2 Kings 18:3,4

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Aescalapius

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Aesculapius• Aesculapius had been recognized as a god (the

son of Apollo and the virgin Cornois)– It was claimed that he had the power to avert death

He was originally represented by the Anatolians as a serpent

• The Greeks later depicted him holding Hermes’ staff (the Caduceus) with the two-headed snake– Hermes is the god of commerce– The Caduceus was the official emblem of the city

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Caduceus

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Aesculapium• Health institutions before the scientific medical

practice begun by Hippocrates—prospered for eight centuries

• Functioning mostly by psychiatry and suggestion– sleep was induced and priests using drugs and other

methods to cause patients to dream, and then interpret, etc.

– Bathing, whispered consultations, music, plays, and other techniques were employed as therapeutic aids

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Letter to Pergamos

And to the angel of the church in Pergamos write;

These things saith he which hath the sharp sword with two edges;

Revelation 2:12

Title of Messiah:

Pergamos Per == mixed, objectionableGamos == marriage

hi

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I know thy works, and where thou dwellest, even where Satan's seat is: and thou holdest fast my name, and hast not denied my faith, even in those days wherein Antipas was my faithful martyr, who was slain among you, where Satan dwelleth.

Revelation 2:12-13

Commendation:

Antipas “Against All”

hi

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Satan is Real!• Character

– Murderer John 8:44

– Deceiver Rev 12:9; 2 Cor 11:3

– Liar John 8:44

– Sinner 1 John 3:8

• Domain– Vast demonic kingdom Matt 25:41; Rev 12:7

– World System 1 John 5:19• Throne somewhere in the heavenliesEphesians 2:2• Throne somewhere on Earth John 12:31

– Locality; not omnipresent

Prince of the Power of the Air

Prince of this World

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Satan’s Titles• “Adversary” 1 Tim 5:14; 1 Pet 5:8 • “Accuser of the Brethren” Rev 12:10 • “god of this world” 2 Cor 4:4 • “prince of the power of the air” Eph 2:2 • “the spirit that now works in the

children of disobedience” Eph 2:2 • “the enemy that sowed tares” Matt 13:39

• “the wicked one” 6 times

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Spiritual Geography• The Locality of Satan & his demons

–Not omnipresent– Territorial Dan 10; Rev 9:14; 16:12

• The Migration – from Babylon to Pergamos to Rome

• “Holdest fast my name” – always singular– 3rd Commandment: Ambassadorship

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But I have a few things against thee, because thou hast there them that hold the doctrine of Balaam, who taught Balac to cast a stumblingblock before the children of Israel, to eat things sacrificed unto idols, and to commit fornication.

So hast thou also them that hold the doctrine of the Nicolaitans, which thing I hate.

Repent; or else I will come unto thee quickly, and will fight against them with the sword of my mouth.

Revelation 2:14-16

Concern:

Exhortation:

hi

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The Prophet Balaam• Gentile

– “Soothsayer” Josh 13:22

– From Mesopotamia Deut 23:4,5

–By Euphrates, Aram Num 22:5; 23:7

• Hired by Balak, King of Moab–Rebuked by his donkey Num 22

–Refused to curse Israel Num 23, 24

– Taught how to defeat Israel Num 31:16

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The Prophet Balaam

• "Doctrine of Balaam" Rev 2:14

– Spiritual unchastity; marriage with the world• "Way of Balaam" II Peter 2:15

–Hireling = making a "market" for his gift• "Error of Balaam" Jude 11

– Sacrificing eternal riches for temporal gain

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He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches;

To him that overcometh will I give to eat of the hidden manna, and will give him a white stone, and in the stone a new name written, which no man knoweth saving he that receiveth it.

Revelation 2:17

Promise to the Overcomer:

hi

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Manna• “What is it?”• Collected daily for 6 days only Exodus 16

• Described poetically – "food from heaven" & "bread of the mighty"

Ps

78:24f – "bread of heaven" Ps 105:40

• “I Am the Bread of Life” John 6:26-58

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1. Name

2. Title

3. Commendation

4. Concerns

5. Exhortation

Ephe

sus

Smyr

na

Perg

amos

The Churches’ Report Cards:

“He that hath an ear, hear what the Spirit says to the Churches”7.

6. Promise to the Overcomer

6. Promise to the Overcomer

“He that hath an ear, hear what the Spirit says to the Churches”7.

X

67

Levels of Application

1. Local2. Admonitory (to all churches)3. Personal (Homiletics)4. Prophetic

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Application to All Churches• Ephesus• Smyrna• Pergamos• Thyatira• Sardis• Philadelphia• Laodicea

• Devotion, not just doctrine• Endure Persecution• Purify Ambassadorship

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Levels of Application

1. Local2. Admonitory (to all churches)3. Personal (Homiletics)4. Prophetic

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Personal Application• Ephesus• Smyrna• Pergamos• Thyatira• Sardis• Philadelphia• Laodicea

• Neglected Priorities• Satanic Opposition• Spiritual Compromise

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Promises to the Overcomer• Ephesus• Smyrna• Pergamos• Thyatira• Sardis• Philadelphia• Laodicea

• Eat of Tree of Life• Not hurt of 2nd death• Manna, Stone, Name

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For whatsoever is born of God overcometh the world: and this is the victory that overcometh the world, even our faith.

Who is he that overcometh the world, but he that believeth that Jesus is the Son of God?

1 John 5:4,5

Who is the “Overcomer”?

hi

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Levels of Application

1. Local2. Admonitory (to all churches)3. Personal (Homiletics)4. Prophetic

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Prophetic Profile?

Ephesus

Smyrna

Pergamos

Thyatira

Sardis

Philadelphia

Laodicea

Apostolic Church?

Persecuted Church?

Married Church?

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Constantine• 312 AD: Constantine set out to defeat the forces

of Maxentius, his rival, for supreme power in the empire– His father had prospered when he had prayed to the

God of the Christians, and Constantine, in his extremity, resorted to the same action

– It is said that on the next day he saw a shining cross in the sky with an inscription above it: • in hoc signo vinces : “In this sign thou shalt conquer.”

– He defeated Maxentius at the Milvan bridge, and immediately declared his conversion to Christianity

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Constantine• 325 AD: Edict of Toleration established

freedom of religion;– Favored Christians at court–exempted Christian ministers from taxes – Issued a general exhortation to all his subjects

to become Christians • 330 AD: Moved the capital of the empire to

Byzantium, calling it Constantinople

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Constantine• Ceased the gladiatorial fights• Reduced the killing of unwelcome children• Abolished crucifixion as form of execution• Repealed the persecution edicts of Diocletian • Assumed headship of the church• Advanced Christians to high offices• Declared Sunday a day of worship

– Forbid work on Sunday• Reduced slavery

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Perverted Marriage• Heathenism was Christianized

–pagan temples became Christian churches –heathen festivals were converted into Christian

ones• Pagan priests slipped into office as Christian

priests• Change was mostly nomenclature• What persecution didn’t accomplish,

marriage to the world did…

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Next Session• Read Chapters 2 & 3• Analyze the Letter to Thyatira

–Revelation 2:18-29 (the longest letter)• Who was Jezebel?

Read 1st Kings 21

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?

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• Most Christians who believe that Messiah did away with the Old Covenant requirements (that they were “nailed to the cross”) cite Galatians 3:10-13

Nailed to the Cross?

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hiFor as many as are of the works of the law are under the curse: for it is written, Cursed is every one that continueth not in all things which are written in the book of the law to do them.

But that no man is justified by the law in the sight of God, it is evident: for, The just shall live by faith.

Galatians 3:10-11

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And the law is not of faith: but, The man that doeth them shall live in them.

Christ hath redeemed us from the curse of the law, being made a curse for us: for it is written, Cursed is every one that hangeth on a tree:

Galatians 3:12-13

hi

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• Many who read this conclude (or have been taught)– that the law itself is the curse– Messiah’s sacrifice rendered it null and void

• So what did Paul mean by “the curse of the law”

Hosea 13:14

Nailed to the Cross?

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I will ransom them from the power of the grave; I will redeem them from death: O death, I will be thy plagues; O grave, I will be thy destruction: repentance shall be hid from mine eyes.

Hosea 13:14

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• Messiah redeemed us from the

death penalty!• How did we incur this penalty in the first

place?

Nailed to the Cross?

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Whosoever committeth sin transgresseth also the law: for sin is the transgression of the law.

For the wages of sin is death

For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God;

1st John 3:4

hiRomans 6:23

Romans 3:23

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The soul that sinneth, it shall die.

Ezekiel 18:20

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• Messiah did NOT come to Earth– As a physical human being,– Live a sinless life, and– Suffer a horrible, excruciating, humiliating death…

…just so that you and I would be free from having

to keep God’s laws!

Nailed to the Cross?

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• So what was Messiah’s purpose?

• Want more?

For even hereunto were ye called: because Christ also suffered for us, leaving us an example, that ye should follow his steps:

hi1st Peter 2:21

Nailed to the Cross?

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He died so that all mankind would have an opportunity for salvation!

For it became him, for whom are all things, and by whom are all things, in bringing many sons unto glory, to make the captain of their salvation perfect through sufferings.

hiHebrews 2:10

Nailed to the Cross?

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• Messiah did not do away with the books of the law

• Today’s Christians profess “I can’t possible continue in all things, so to avoid being cursed, I must not be bound to anything.”

• Many take an “all or nothing” or “pick and choose” approach to the law– They arbitrarily decide which laws apply to them

Nailed to the Cross?

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• Efei has given us a way to remember His law

Let’s keep it

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