Worship & Loyalty in the End Times
Who and/or what do you worship? Someone has opined that if you do not have a god to worship, you will make or manufacture a god to worship. Human beings are born to worship something, to venerate something or someone. In the English dictionaries, worship is considered: reverent love and devotion accorded a deity, an idol, or a sacred object. One can have ardent admiration or love, or adoration of a deity or object. The earliest recorded civilizations worshipped idols. The Egyptians maintained a pantheon of 60,000 plus deities, as did the Roman civilization. They worshipped the sun, the moon, the stars, the animals, trees, nature, just about everything around them. Every religion in the world has deities. Primitive societies worship nature, advanced societies add figures to worship. Buddhists, Hindus, Zoroastrians, Animists, Christianity, Islam; all have someone or something they worship.
The Scriptures are different from all the others religions and belief systems. we have briefly mentioned that God proclaims himself in the Scriptures as the only one who should be worshipped.
Psalm 95:1-7 O come, let us sing unto the LORD: let us make a joyful noise to the rock of our salvation. 2 Let us come before his presence with thanksgiving, and make a joyful noise unto him with psalms. 3 For the LORD is a great God, and a great King above all gods. 4 In his hand are the deep places of the earth: the strength of the hills is his also. 5 The sea is his, and he made it: and his hands formed the dry land. 6 O come, let us worship and bow down: let us kneel before the LORD our maker. 7 For he is our God; and we are the people of his pasture, and the sheep of his hand.
In the Hebrew, worship, (שָׁחָה) (shaw-khaw) means universally in the OT to “bow down.”
In the New Testament, worship (προσκυνέω) means to prostrate oneself. to express in attitude or gesture one’s complete dependence on or submission to a high authority figure, (fall down and) worship, do obeisance to, prostrate oneself before, do reverence to, welcome respectfully
In the codification of His law, which is His character, God said the following:
Exodus 20:2-6 KJV I am the LORD thy God, which have brought thee out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage. 3 Thou shalt have no other gods before me. 4 Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image, or any likeness of anything that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth: 5 Thou shalt not bow down thyself to them, nor serve them: for I the LORD thy God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children unto the third and fourth generation of them that hate me; 6 And shewing mercy unto thousands of them that love me, and keep my commandments.
It was not any time, while Moses went up into Mount Sinai that the Children of Israel said to Aaron:
Exodus 32:1-4 And when the people saw that Moses delayed to come down out of the mount, the people gathered themselves together unto Aaron, and said unto him, Up, make us gods, which shall go before us; for as for this Moses, the man that brought us up out of the land of Egypt, we wot not what is become of him. 2 And Aaron said unto them, Break off the golden earrings, which are in the ears of your wives, of your sons, and of your daughters, and bring them unto me. 3 And all the people brake off the golden earrings which were in their ears, and brought them unto Aaron. 4 And he received them at their hand, and fashioned it with a graving tool, after he had made it a molten calf: and they said, These be thy gods, O Israel, which brought thee up out of the land of Egypt.
The Scriptures speak in particular of idols. God tells Israel that if they obey, they shall live in the land and worship him. Notice Moses’ instruction to the Children of Israel before he died.
Deut. 4:25-29 KJV When thou shalt beget children, and children’s children, and ye shall have remained long in the land, and shall corrupt yourselves, and make a graven image, or the likeness of any thing, and shall do evil in the sight of the LORD thy God, to provoke him to anger: 26 I call heaven and earth to witness against you this day, that ye shall soon utterly perish from off the land whereunto ye go over Jordan to possess it; ye shall not prolong your days upon it, but shall utterly be destroyed. 27 And the LORD shall scatter you among the nations, and ye shall be left few in number among the heathen, whither the LORD shall lead you. 28 And there ye shall serve gods, the work of men’s hands, wood and stone, which neither see, nor hear, nor eat, nor smell. 29 But if from thence thou shalt seek the LORD thy God, thou shalt find him, if thou seek him with all thy heart and with all thy soul.
Notice what John says in Revelation about the same thing. Despite the trumpet judgments on their apostasy, John observes the following:
Rev. 9:20-21 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.
Matthew 4:10 Then saith Jesus unto him, Get thee hence, Satan: for it is written, Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God, and him only shalt thou serve.
Matthew 6:24 No man can serve two masters: for either he will hate the one, and love the other; or else he will hold to the one, and despise the other. Ye cannot serve God and mammon (treasure, riches).
God claims to be the God above all other alleged gods! He claims this worship of Him by virtue of being the Creator God and by virtue of being the Savior of humankind. This gives Him the right to be Lord and Master, Savior and King, and the judge of the world. This is the only God worth serving. Worshiping a god who can neither, see, hear, smell or interact with you is folly and will end in death.
- Worship & Loyalty in the End times
- Revelation all about worshipping Jesus as opposed to the Dragon & Sea-beast
Revelation is about worship. Revelation calls end-time human beings to worship the Creator and Redeemer. At the heart of the book, at the blowing of the seventh trumpet announcing the pre-advent judgment, the call is to fear God and give glory to Him, and “worship him that made heaven, and earth, and the sea, and the fountains of waters (14:7).”
Rev. 14:7 contains a direct allusion to Exodus 20:11; 34:14. Under Inspiration John sees that to worship the Creator of the Universe by keeping the seventh-day Sabbath holy is the only kind of true worship there is.
Satan tempted Jesus to worship him for all the kingdoms of this world and avoid the cross. (Matthew 4:8, 9) Satan wanted worship. He craved worship by Jesus of himself. This same story is repeating itself again. If we will not fall down and worship Satan, he will force us to worship him if he can. Satan is beside himself because a little group of people insist on worshipping Jesus and keeping his seventh-day Sabbath.
Who you worship was a major theme throughout the Dark Ages (A.D. 538–1798). Satan lost the great controversy war at the cross, so he went after the “woman” (church). Could he force them to worship him? In 13:5-8, Satan gives power to the sea beast to force people of all nations to worship him during the Dark Ages. “And all that dwell upon the earth shall worship him, whose names are not written in the book of life of the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world.” This was a most horrible time for the true believers. As a result of this apostasy by the church, the seven trumpet judgments began to sound.
The wayward New Testament Church worshipped other gods and other doctrines, just as did its Old Testament counterpart. They chose new gods, and then there was war in the gates (Judges 5:8). After these divine but partial judgments upon an apostate people under the fifth and sixth trumpets during the Dark Ages, John records that they “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: Neither repented they of their murders, nor of their sorceries, nor of their fornication, nor of their thefts (9:20, 21).” Despite the call to worship God, they refused and worshiped their own gods.
Worship at the end time is most important. Satan lost the great controversy war at the cross, but he is still fighting a last battle for all the souls he can destroy. He is angry and goes after God’s end-time people. Can he force them to worship him? In 13:11, 12, Satan gives power to the earth beast, who “causeth the earth and them which dwell therein to worship the first beast, whose deadly wound was healed.” In the end time, AFTER the deadly wound of the sea beast is healed, starting in (A.D. 1929), a powerful nation shall arise that makes everyone worship the sea beast. Everyone, that is, except the 144,000 people of God.
The fearful warnings of chapter 14:6–12 are proclaimed by the 144,000. This final message to the apostate Christian people warns them that worship of the beast and receiving the mark of the beast shall result in their being thrown into the lake of fire at the executive judgment. They issue a call to worship the true God, not the other gods of this world. If you worship Satan, you will be able to “buy and sell,” but you will join Satan in the lake of fire at the end. If you worship Jesus, you will not be able to “buy and sell,” but you will be with Jesus in heaven eternally. Who you worship and how you worship is of great importance.
- All about the garment (character)
Revelation is about the character; of Jesus, and of his people. Revelation is an unveiling of the character of Jesus Christ. In chapter 1, we see the risen, exalted, and triumphant Jesus Christ. This symbolic picture of Christ reveals the character attributes He desires to give each person in the Seven Churches. “Christ is waiting with longing desire for the manifestation of Himself in His church. When the character of the Saviour shall be perfectly reproduced in His people, then He will come to claim His own.”[1]
At the close of the book, Jesus affirms that character is the entire issue. “He that is unjust, let him be unjust still: and he which is filthy, let him be filthy still: and he that is righteous, let him be righteous still: and he that is holy, let him be holy still. And, behold, I come quickly; and my reward is with me, to give every man according as his work shall be.” (Rev 22:11-12 KJV) The destiny of all souls will be determined by their character, as demonstrated by their deeds or works. When everyone has chosen or been forced to choose whom to worship, their character will be revealed for good or for evil.
Chapter 22:11 alludes directly to Daniel 12:10. “Many will be purified, made spotless and refined, but the wicked will continue to be wicked. None of the wicked will understand, but those who are wise will understand.” Both apocalyptic writers recognized the importance of character in being found faithful at the end. Character is all-important! In 2 Corinthians 6:2 we hear the clarion call: “Behold, now is the accepted time; behold, now is the day of salvation.” As events of the era move rapidly to a close, do not delay in accepting Christ’s offer of a character that will go through to the end.
We must reprise on Rev. 10:7, where John states, “But in the days of the voice of the seventh angel, when he shall begin to sound, the mystery of God should be finished, as he hath declared to his servants the prophets.” What is this mystery that will be finished in the last church time period, the blowing of the seventh trumpet, during the 6th seal? According to Paul in Col. 1:25-27, “…God is making known what is the riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles, which is Christ in you, the hope of glory.”
Jesus looks at those who have covenanted with Him to be their Saviour and Lord. As He did with Joshua the high priest in Zechariah 3:3, 4, He took away the filthy garment and gave him a change or raiment or a new garment. With your new garment, Christ’s righteousness, you will show to the Gentiles that Christ is in you, He is the hope of glory! This last Laodicean church (3:18) is urged to accept the “white raiment” of Jesus’ character.
Our review of the garment would not be complete without this parable of Jesus: “And when the king came in to see the guests, he saw there a man which had not on a wedding garment: And he saith unto him, Friend, how camest thou in hither not having a wedding garment? Matthew 22:11-13? And he was speechless. Then said the king to the servants, Bind him hand and foot, and take him away, and cast him into outer darkness; there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth.”
Each guest was given a wedding garment and was not to wear his own clothing. When Jesus came to the time of the judging, one person did not have on the wedding garment. He did not have on the free gift of Christ’s righteousness; he was trying to wear his own right doing. No place will be found in heaven for those who would insist on wearing their own robes of righteousness. Conversely, there is room in heaven for everyone who would avail themselves of the wedding garment or take upon themselves the character of Jesus.
Romans 12:1, 2 I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service. (Rom. 12:1 KJV)And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.
Hebrews 12:1, 2 Wherefore seeing we also are compassed about with so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which doth so easily beset us, and let us run with patience the race that is set before us, 2 Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith; who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God.
- He who overcomes shall reign and sit with Jesus on his throne
We come to a word in Revelation that gives believers great pause to think. The word is “overcome.” In your life right now, do you prefer struggling or overcoming? I think much of Christianity, SDA’s included, think that the Christian life is only about struggling and that will take care of the overcoming. Nothing could be further from the truth.
Jesus knew about struggling and overcoming. He said to his disciples, “These things I have spoken unto you, that in me ye might have peace. In the world ye shall have tribulation: but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world. (Joh 16:33-17:1 KJV) Well, you say, that was great for Jesus but what about me?
Read on in 1 John 5:4, 5. “For whatsoever is born of God overcometh the world: and this is the victory that overcometh the world, even our faith. 5 Who is he that overcometh the world, but he that believeth that Jesus is the Son of God?” Do you believe? Jesus asked many people that question while on earth. Those who believed received their request from Jesus. Can you imagine the Paralytic at the Pool of Bethesda, who upon hearing some man tell him to take up his bed and walk, didn’t believe the command? Are we like that today, we simply don’t believe Jesus forgives our sins and cleanses us from all unrighteousness? Unbelief is an eternally deadly thing!
As we follow on step by step to know the Lord, we need not expect that the way will be free from hindrances. Just as surely as we strive to serve the Lord, so surely will Satan put forth every effort in his power to accomplish our ruin. But help has been laid upon One that is mighty, and to every struggling child of His who asks Him for grace, believing, He comes with the needed aid. We have an all-powerful Saviour who was victorious in His assumed humanity, and we are to press forward in the work of overcoming in the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth. In His strength, which we claim by faith, we are gaining the victory over sin.—Manuscript 27, 1886. {CTr 364.6}
We pointed out earlier that in every church in Ch. 2 and 3, Jesus says they can overcome. (Rev. 2:7, 1, 17, 26; 3:5, 12, 21) Is that not Good News for you? I hope so! And, if they overcome, Jesus promises something to everyone in every church period.
To Ephesus is to eat of the Tree of Life
To Smyrna is given eternal life and will not be hurt by the second death
To Pergamos is given hidden manna, white stone, and a new name. New Character
To Thyatira is given to reign with Christ with power over the nations
To Sardis is given white raiment or the character of Christ
To Philadelphia is given a new name (character) made a pillar in the temple and a place in the New Jerusalem
To Laodicea is given to sit with Jesus on His throne
And in summary in 21:7, “he that overcometh shall inherit all things; and I will be his God and he shall be my son.” Can you find a better promise than that? Why struggle anymore?
Paul knows of this struggle in Romans 7. He wants to do good but his sinful nature does evil. Read the account. He ends by saying in verse 24, “O wretched man that I am! Who shall deliver me from the body of this death?” Is Paul struggling or what?
The only other place in the Bible where the word “wretched” appears is where? You guessed it, Rev. 3:17. The Laodicean end time believers are wretched, besides being poor, miserable, blind and naked. What do they need? They need victory. They are advised of the fact that should they accept the eye salve, they will see their condition. Their faith and love will be perfected in the Refiner’s Fire. They will receive that “white raiment” or Jesus’ character. These overcomers, as will all the overcomers in all of the New Testament church time periods, will be with Jesus in heaven, wearing his righteousness, and being totally devoted to him. Sounds like the 144,000 doesn’t it. And, the Redeemed of all ages from Adam and Eve to the last person who accepts Jesus on this earth will be with Him on the Sea of Glass around the throne. Is that Good News or what?
EGW—Dangers of Associating With the Ungodly.—“The world is not to be our criterion. We are not to associate with the ungodly and partake of their spirit, for they will lead the heart away from God to the worship of false gods. The steadfast soul, firm in the faith, can do much good; he can impart blessings of the highest order to those with whom he associates, for the law of the Lord is in his heart. But we cannot willingly associate with those who are trampling upon the law of God, and preserve our faith pure and untarnished. We shall catch the spirit, and unless we separate from them, we shall be bound up with them at last, to share their doom.” {AH 459.4}
“It was by associating with idolaters and joining in their festivities that the Hebrews were led to transgress God’s law and bring His judgments upon the nation.
So now it is by leading the followers of Christ to associate with the ungodly and unite in their amusements that Satan is most successful in alluring them into sin.
Come out from among them, and be ye separate, saith the Lord, and touch not the unclean.” God requires of His people now as great a distinction from the world, in customs, habits, and principles, as He required of Israel anciently.” {AH 460.1}
Our devotional exercises should not consist wholly in asking and receiving. Let us not be always thinking of our wants and never of the benefits we receive. We do not pray any too much, but we are too sparing of giving thanks. We are the constant recipients of God’s mercies, and yet how little gratitude we express, how little we praise Him for what He has done for us. . . . {CSA 28.2}
Our God is a tender, merciful Father. His service should not be looked upon as a heart-saddening, distressing exercise. It should be a pleasure to worship the Lord and to take part in His work. . . . {CSA 28.3}
We must gather about the cross.
Christ and Him crucified should be the theme of contemplation, of conversation,
and of our most joyful emotion. We should keep in our thoughts every blessing
we receive from God, and when we realize His great love we should be willing to
trust everything to the hand that was nailed to the cross for us. 52 {CSA 28.4}
[1] Ellen G. White. Counsels to Parents, Teachers and Students Ch. 43, pg. 324.
Special thanks to Ken Mathews, MD
