Without God, without hope in Jesus Christ, we are pitifully unable to protect ourselves from those who want to cause nothing but chaos and destruction for their own selfish pride. Jesus is our constant comfort to all who place their trust in Him.
Hebrews 7:22 by so much more Jesus has become a surety of a better covenant. 23 Also there were many priests, because they were prevented by death from continuing. 24 But He, because He continues forever, has an unchangeable priesthood. 25 Therefore He is also able to save to the uttermost those who come to God through Him, since He always lives to make intercession for them.
To enter into this great gift of salvation we first need to realize that we are sinners in need of a Savior and Jesus is that Savior.
Romans 3:21 21 But now the righteousness of God apart from the law is revealed, being witnessed by the Law and the Prophets, 22 even the righteousness of God, through faith in Jesus Christ, to all and on all who believe. For there is no difference; 23 for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, 24 being justified freely by His grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, 25 whom God set forth as a propitiation by His blood, through faith, to demonstrate His righteousness, because in His forbearance God had passed over the sins that were previously committed, 26 to demonstrate at the present time His righteousness, that He might be just and the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus.
Jesus is THE savior and the only way to the Father.
Romans 5:12 12 Therefore, just as through one man sin entered the world, and death through sin, and thus death spread to all men, because all sinned—13 (For until the law sin was in the world, but sin is not imputed when there is no law
1 Corinthians 15:45 And so it is written, “The first man Adam became a living being.” The last Adam became a life-giving spirit. 46 However, the spiritual is not first, but the natural, and afterward the spiritual. 47 The first man was of the earth, made of dust; the second Man is the Lord from heaven.
Romans 1:16 16 For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ, for it is the power of God to salvation for everyone who believes
1 Corinthians 1:17 For Christ did not send me to baptize, but to preach the gospel, not with wisdom of words, lest the cross of Christ should be made of no effect. 18 For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God.
When God saves a sinner it is His power that defeats the power of satan to kill, steal and destroy us.
Christ the Power and Wisdom of God!
James 5:16b (ESV) "The prayer of a righteous person has great power as it is working."
2 Corinthians 5:21 says that for all believers in Christ, our righteousness comes from Him. On the cross, Jesus took our sins and exchanged them for His righteousness. So being a righteous person is not about being perfectly sinless on our own. Rather, a righteous person is wholeheartedly committed to trusting in Jesus' perfect sinlessness. For those who love Him and obediently follow His ways, 1 Peter 3:12 tells us God's ears are attentive to our prayers. First5
“I know whom I have believed and am persuaded that He is able to keep what I have committed to Him until that Day” (2 Timothy 1:12 NKJV).
God does not need our help, counsel, or assistance. (Please repeat this phrase: “I hereby resign as ruler of the universe”). And when he is ready for us to reengage, he will let us know. Until then, replace anxious thoughts with grateful ones. Max Lucado
Jude 4
4 For certain men have crept in unnoticed, who long ago were marked out for this condemnation, ungodly men, who turn the grace of our God into lewdness and deny the only Lord God and our Lord Jesus Christ.5 But I want to remind you, though you once knew this, that the Lord, having saved the people out of the land of Egypt, afterward destroyed those who did not believe. 6 And the angels who did not keep their proper domain, but left their own abode, He has reserved in everlasting chains under darkness for the judgment of the great day; 7 as Sodom and Gomorrah, and the cities around them in a similar manner to these, having given themselves over to sexual immorality and gone after strange flesh, are set forth as an example, suffering the vengeance of eternal fire. 8 Likewise also these dreamers defile the flesh, reject authority, and speak evil of dignitaries. 9 Yet Michael the archangel, in contending with the devil, when he disputed about the body of Moses, dared not bring against him a reviling accusation, but said, “The Lord rebuke you!” 10 But these speak evil of whatever they do not know; and whatever they know naturally, like brute beasts, in these things they corrupt themselves. 11 Woe to them! For they have gone in the way of Cain, have run greedily in the error of Balaam for profit, and perished in the rebellion of Korah. 12 These are spots in your love feasts, while they feast with you without fear, serving only themselves. They are clouds without water, carried about by the winds; late autumn trees without fruit, twice dead, pulled up by the roots; 13 raging waves of the sea, foaming up their own shame; wandering stars for whom is reserved the blackness of darkness forever. 14 Now Enoch, the seventh from Adam, prophesied about these men also, saying, “Behold, the Lord comes with ten thousands of His saints, 15 to execute judgment on all, to convict all who are ungodly among them of all their ungodly deeds which they have committed in an ungodly way, and of all the harsh things which ungodly sinners have spoken against Him.” 16 These are grumblers, complainers, walking according to their own lusts; and they mouth great swelling words, flattering people to gain advantage. 17 But you, beloved, remember the words which were spoken before by the apostles of our Lord Jesus Christ: 18 how they told you that there would be mockers in the last time who would walk according to their own ungodly lusts. 19 These are sensual persons, who cause divisions, not having the Spirit. 20 But you, beloved, building yourselves up on your most holy faith, praying in the Holy Spirit, 21 keep yourselves in the love of God, looking for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ unto eternal life. 22 And on some have compassion, making a distinction; 23 but others save with fear, pulling them out of the fire, hating even the garment defiled by the flesh. 24 Now to Him who is able to keep you from stumbling, And to present you faultless Before the presence of His glory with exceeding joy, 25 To God our Savior, Who alone is wise, Be glory and majesty, Dominion and power, Both now and forever. Amen. The New King James Version
False teachers could also have arisen within the community, established themselves as trustworthy, and then brought in destructive teachings from the outside. Either way, it appears these people were acting as leaders and in the process were leading others astray. God’s judgment for sin has already been decided. Since the false teachers mentioned here are intentionally and unrepentantly leading others astray, Jude is sure of their fate. The NT employs the Greek term, asebēs, to describe “ungodly” conduct. Jude uses the word here to describe the shameless deeds and illicit desires of the false teachers. Jude goes on to describe the specific activities that exemplify their ungodly actions. It implies sexual debauchery, which the false teachers were engaging in. The misrepresentation of the gospel of Jesus by these false teachers was tantamount to denial of Jesus Himself. Faithlife Study Bible
The heretics were subtle. Their primary tactics were to pervert God’s grace and to deny the authority of the Lord. They were clever enough to have infiltrated the Christian community, even though they were ungodly. Jesus anticipated this kind of people when He spoke about wolves in sheep’s clothing. They turn the grace of our God into lewdness. The teaching of grace can be dangerous when perverted by false teachers or carnal people who believe that because they have been saved by grace they may live as they please. These false teachers not only lived immorally, they rejected the authority of Christ. The first Greek word translated Lord here means “Master.” It identifies one who possesses absolute power and thus commands obedience. The NKJV Study Bible
Revelation 1:4 Grace to you and peace from Him who is and who was and who is to come, and from the seven Spirits who are before His throne, 5 and from Jesus Christ, the faithful witness, the firstborn from the dead, and the ruler over the kings of the earth. To Him who loved us and washed us from our sins in His own blood, 6 and has made us kings and priests to His God and Father, to Him be glory and dominion forever and ever. Amen. 7 Behold, He is coming with clouds, and every eye will see Him, even they who pierced Him. And all the tribes of the earth will mourn because of Him. Even so, Amen. 8 “I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End,” says the Lord, “who is and who was and who is to come, the Almighty.”
This book is the Revelation of Jesus Christ; the whole Bible is so; for all revelation comes through Christ, and all relates to him. Its principal subject is to discover the purposes of God concerning the affairs of the church, and of the nations as connected therewith, to the end of the world. These events would surely come to pass; and they would begin to come to pass very shortly. Though Christ is himself God, and has light and life in himself, yet, as Mediator between God and man, he receives instructions from the Father. To him we owe the knowledge of what we are to expect from God, and what he expects from us. The subject of this revelation was, the things that must shortly come to pass. On all who read or hear the words of the prophecy, a blessing is pronounced. Those are well employed who search the Bible. It is not enough that we read and hear, but we must keep the things that are written, in our memories, in our minds, in our affections, and in practice, and we shall be blessed in the deed. Even the mysteries and difficulties of this book are united with discoveries of God, suited to impress the mind with awe, and to purify the soul of the reader, though he may not discern the prophetic meaning. No part of Scripture more fully states the gospel, and warns against the evil of sin. Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
John addressed Revelation to seven churches in the Roman province of Asia, which today is southwestern Turkey. The churches fit within a square 50 miles on each side, and their names are given in order going clockwise from the southwest. Grace is the Christian version of a common Greek greeting; peace is a common Hebrew greeting. Him who is and who was and who is to come describes God, who not only exists now, but always has and always will exist. The seven Spirits may refer to the angels of the seven churches), to seven other angels, or to the fullness of the Holy Spirit. The NKJV Study Bible
While these seven churches were not the only ones in Asia (a western region of modern-day Turkey), they were influential and located on a well-known circular route. The number seven often denotes fullness or completion in the Old Testament. John uses the number in this way throughout Revelation—most notably in the judgment sequences (seven bowls, seven trumpets). The seven churches would have been understood as representing all the churches of Asia, and perhaps the entire worldwide Church. Seven Churches Possibly alludes to the sevenfold spirit of God in Isaiah 11:2. The number seven indicates the fullness of the Holy Spirit’s work. Faithlife Study Bible
Revelation 4:5 And from the throne proceeded lightnings, thunderings, and voices. Seven lamps of fire were burning before the throne, which are the seven Spirits of God.
Revelation 1:8–9 |“I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End,” says the Lord, “who is and who was and who is to come, the Almighty.”I, John, both your brother and companion in the tribulation and kingdom and patience of Jesus Christ, was on the island that is called Patmos for the word of God and for the testimony of Jesus Christ.
Revelation 4:8 The four living creatures, each having six wings, were full of eyes around and within. And they do not rest day or night, saying:“Holy, holy, holy,Lord God Almighty,Who was and is and is to come!”
Revelation 3:1 “And to the angel of the church in Sardis write,‘These things says He who has the seven Spirits of God and the seven stars: “I know your works, that you have a name that you are alive, but you are dead.
Revelation 5:6 And I looked, and behold, in the midst of the throne and of the four living creatures, and in the midst of the elders, stood a Lamb as though it had been slain, having seven horns and seven eyes, which are the seven Spirits of God sent out into all the earth.
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