Shabbat shalom kol beit Yisra'el and Mishpachah and welcome back following the autumnal (fall) festivals. My apologies that we are not resuming the regular Bible Studies this week which got interrupted by Sukkot (Tabernacles). This is in part because I have been too ill to do the careful research that's needed to provide quality teaching materials but also because the Ruach (Spirit) has laid an important message on my heart this week that I am bound to share because it is an important preface to my message tomorrow at Rosh Chodesh. Next week, in 8 days' time, we shall resume our study of the Gospel of Mark.

Today will, however, be a Bible Study in spite of the postponment, the title of which is, The True Believer's Goal: Obtaining and Retaining Salvation with the emphasis on 'retaining. I hope you have your NKJV Evidence Bible with you as we shall be referring a lot to it and in particular to the Book of Revelation. So if you open up on p.1823 you'll be all set.

Contrary to the popularly held Christian teaching, the goal of life on earth is not to become a disembodied spirit because that will happen to everyone - the good and the bad alike, the good to 'heaven' and the bad to 'hell'. We will all continue 'living' beyond this physical life in some form or state or another whether we plan for it or not. The goal for the Christian/Messianic isn't even to be physically resurrected because the good and the evil alike will all resurrected prior to judgment and nothing we do can change that. There is nothing we can do about either being disembodied or resurrected in and of themselves because Yahweh has foreordained this. And if you're a Calvinist or a Mormon taking your religion seriously, you can't even know whether you're saved or not until you die and suddenly discover where you end up.

So what is our goal down here? And though I'm sure you all have a pat answer to that question taught you by an evangelist, pastor or populat speaker, we're going to approach the question slightly differently today by looking not at the letters of Paul (which is the reflexive response of most Protestants) but by looking at the last book of the Bible, the Book of Revelation, which is why I have asked you to bookmark it. Hopefully this will open your spiritual eyes to new vistas of understanding.

Let's look at the answer from both negative and positive angles. The negative goal, at any rate, is not to be thrown into the lake of fire, whatever the theological implications of that may be (and we are not going to discuss the competing doctrines of eternal torture, annihilationism or universal salvation tody) for it is written:

"And anyone not found written in the Book of Life was cast into the lake of fire" (Rev.20:15, NKJV; Evidence Bible/EB p.1844).

Our positive goal is what, then? To have our names written in the Book of Life and what that practically means! Calvinists believe that happened before you were born (assuming you are chosen for salvation) without you're making any choices whatsoever, and others believe your name is entered into that Book when you voluntary choose salvation, there to remain, no matter what. However, what I want you to be particularly aware of today is that you can have your name written in that Book now and later have it removed, thus overturning one of the pillars of Calvinism. Oh yes, let's be clear, there is no such thing, as the Calvinists imply, of 'once written in, always written in' the Book of Life, just as there is no such thing as 'once saved, always saved'! How do we know that? Because of what Yah'shua (Jesus) revealed to John the Apostle:

"He who overcomes shall be clothed in white garments, and I will not blot out his name from the Book of Life" (Rev.3:5, NKJV; EB p.1823).

In other words, it would not be inaccurate to say of believers - in other words, those already saved by trusting in Christ, 'once overcome, always overcome', so understanding what 'overcoming' means is surely rather important, don't you think? particularly as the verb means this is something the saved must do to secure their names in the Book of Life once mortality is over.

Putting to one side for one moment how one gets ones name written in the Book of the Life, let us at least conceed that there are ways of having our names erased from that book! Notice that the question is not about having your name entered - and that's obviously not everybody alive at any one moment in time - but ensuring once it's written that it remains there - a bit like qualifying for a club and not losing one's membership by being chucked out. Please note that that the overcomer, who has the privilege of wearing white robes and what they represent, will not have his or her name blotted out of the Book of Life. So what is 'overcoming'? How does one do it? It's obviously pretty important! The Scriptures make it pretty plain.

I am assuimg you all know what the word 'overcoming' means and if you don't, we will devote a little time to that right now. To 'overcome' means to conquer or prevail over, which implies a struggle. One of the best biblical examples is of Jacob, the deceiver, who overcame his darker nature by wrestling with a malak or angel at the River Jabokk until He got a blessing from Yahweh and was renamed 'Israel'. Being a 'Messianic Israelites', which is what believers are supposed to be, means to thus wrestle in the resurrection power of Messiah until we have conquered every sinful disposition. The Book of Revelation speaks of 7 (actually 8) overcomings that every believer must accomplish through trusting in Christ. You can read about these in the 2nd, 3rd and 21st chapters of the Book of Revelation. As a reminder, these are the words Yah'shua (Jesus) spoke to the first century Laodiceans, a congregation of believers - that is to say, saved people - in the Roman Province Asia, now western Turkey:

"I counsel you to buy from Me gold refined in the fire, that you may be rich; and white garments, that you may be clothed, that the shame of your nakedness may not be revealed; and anoint your eyes with eye salve, that you may see. As many as I love, I rebuke and chasten. Therefore be zealous and repent. Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and dine with him, and he with Me. To him who overcomes I will grant to sit with Me on My throne, as I also overcame and sat down with My Father on His throne" (Rev.3:18-21, NKJV; EB p.1825).

We will analyse this fascinating passage in greater depth when we come to our Study of the Book of Revelation. May I at least point out here-and-now, so as to give you something to work with if you are not familiar with the biblical requirement to overcome, that Laodicea was a very rich community economically and regarded itself as self-sufficient, like a lot of believers who feel no need to struggle to overcome their sins because they have been told they don't need to by their peculiar and twisted theology. It's an attitude, unfortunately, all to easily encouraged and embraced in economically wealthy societies like the West, but one that will go into eventual decline as material prosperity declines.

Would you also pay particular attention to frequently quoted verse 20 that evangelicals love to use in evangelism:

"Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and dine with him, and he with Me" (Rev.3:20, NKJV).

This is actually a prophetic picture of the Master of the House who has left the house in charge of his servant while He is way waiting to be let back to see what that servant has done with his stewardship. There is therefore a Final Judgment persepctive to this too and indeed you can look at this symbolism on many interesting and important levels. But let us confine ourselves to those believers - those who have been given responsibilities as servants in the Messianic Community (Church), the House of Elohim (God) which is Messianic Israel, who have neglected their duties and have some issues that they're not dealing with - sins that they are not being overcome, in consequence of which they are unready for the Master's return (yes, this is a picture of the Second Coming too) - which, if they don't deal with, will lead to what? is the question we are asking ourselves.

Let's see what Yah'shua (Jesus) said further to these careless and indifferent believers:

"These things says the Amen, the Faithful and True Witness, the Beginning of the creation of Elohim (God): 'I know your works, that you are neither cold nor hot. I could wish you were cold or hot. So then, because you are lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will vomit you out of My mouth. Because you say, 'I am rich, have become wealthy, and have need of nothing'-- and do not know that you are wretched, miserable, poor, blind, and naked" (Rev.3:14-17, NKJV; EB p.1825).

They've neglected their duty as Christ's representatives and need to get their House in order quickly before He gets back, or the consequences will be deadly serious!

These are 'saved' people who have issues who are risking becoming 'unsaved' people by being metaphorically 'spat out' or 'vomitted out'. If the Saviour 'vomits' or 'spits' someone out metaphorically (because obviously this is symbolic language), what does this mean? It means that they are no longer "in Christ" and I'm sure you can figure out for yourself what being 'in Christ' and 'out of Christ' means in terms of salvation but don't tell a Calvinist that unless you want a long, heated TULIP debate.

Nevertheless, if you're no longer in Messiah's House, no longer serving Him, where does that place you? Outside. And what does that mean in Scripture? Well, He doesn't mince His words:

"But outside are dogs (the unclean) and sorcerers and sexually immoral and murderers and idolaters, and whoever loves and practices a lie" (Rev.22:15, NKJV; EB p.1848).

For those of you who may have forgotten what Calvinists believe, let me remind you of what the man himself, Monsieur Jean (John) Calvin, once said about those condemned to eternal torture (because they have no free will), that is to say, those not predestined to salvation irrespective of the works they did on earth, so that you can see how their teachings are wholly at odds with what the Saviour is teaching here in the Book of Revelation:

"God arranged all things by his sovereign counsel, in such a way that individuals are born, who are doomed from the womb to certain death, and to the glory of him by their destruction."

Clement, one of the early Church Fathers mentioned in the Bible and a co-worker with the Paul (Phil.4:3), who must therefore have been familiar with the apostle's teachings, certainly did not agree with Calvin, and nor did anyone else in about the first five centuries with the exception of Augustine. This is what Clement said:

"Free will" was given because "he who is good by his own choice is really good; but he who is made good by another under necessity is not really good, because he is not what he is by his own choice" (The Anti-Nicean Fathers, Vol.8, BBC CD, p.355).

So, what are those "white robes" of the qodeshim (saints, set-apart ones) - the good people that Clement speaks of - that we read about earlier? Where did they come from? How did the qodeshim (saints, set-apart ones) come to be wearing them? What do they mean symbolically? Let's see:

"'Let us be glad and rejoice and give Him glory, for the marriage of the Lamb has come, and His wife has made herself ready.' And to her it was granted to be arrayed in fine linen, clean and bright, for the fine linen is the righteous acts of the qodeshim (saints, set-apart ones)'" (Rev.19:7-8, NKJV; EB p.1842).

Again we'll look at this whole question in greater depth when we come to study the Book of Revelation but for now be aware that the Phrygian region of Laodicea was famous for its black wool and the Master is using that as a contrast with white robes which are the preferred colour in heaven because of what they represent. They were also famous for their eye salves, Laodicea being a medical centre that specialised in opthalmology!

So, without being too obvious, but in order to keep this simple and not over-complexify what in reality is a very staightforward passage of Scripture, let me ask you this question: When you are not wearing clothes, you are what? Naked. When you are wearing clothes, what are you not? Naked. What did Christ say the Laodicean qodeshim (saints, set-apart ones) were? "...you are wretched, miserable, poor, blind, and naked".

Why were they naked? Because they had ceased doing "righteous acts" which is what to be clothed in white raiment means according to Revelation 19:8. Remember, they were described as "lukewarm", which is usually understood to mean tepid. But actually, no, it's worse than that, and here knowing some history is important because the choice of words is deliberate and would have been perfectly understood by the locals to whom this part of the revelation was addressed.

The Laodicean believers had become "lukewarm" because they had spiritually become like the undrinkable water brought in by aqueducts to the city of Laodicea from the north (which was boiling when it was extracted from a hot spring and so full of chemicals that it was undrinkable) and from the south (which was cold at source but which lost its coolness by being warmed up in the desert sun). So there's a double meaning here. Their lack of doing righteousness - their neglect of the high and qadosh (holy, set-apart) calling in Christ - meant that they were not only lukewarm but also full of noxious chemicals spiritually-speaking. A lukewarm drink isn't very pleasant in a really hot climate but you can get used to it. Worse, were all the revolting dissolved chemicals in the water that must have tasted like sulphur and that was poisonous.

Believers who are spiritually naked are not overcomers because, though saved, they have failed to deal with their sin issues and are just trusting that it won't matter because, as they suppose, 'Christ has done it all for them'. That's a half-truth. Yah'shua (Jesus) has done it all for us it is true, we can never earn our salvation or pay for our own sins but we have an obligation to remain in Christ and not go lukewarm. The point is, if we leave sin issues unresolved, like refusing to repent of a known transgression, we will by the by find ourselves spiritually naked and moving in the direction, however slowly, of apostacy with all the risk that entails. It means our ahavah/agapé-love is drying up which is a tell-tale sign of disobedience to the mitzvot (commandments) as Yah'shua (Jesus) had earlier declared when He was ministering in the flesh. He said to His talmidim (disciples):

"If you love Me, keep My mitzvot (commandments)" (John 14:15, NKJV; EB p.1527).

If we aren't being loving anymore, it's because we are failing to walk in the commandments. If we are failing to obey the Torah, we are no longer loving as we ought to, and if we are failing to do that, we are becoming spiritually disrobed, uncovered - we are becoming naked - and that, if left unattended long enough, will result in us becoming so "lukewarm" and so full of the noxious chemicals of accumulating sin that Messiah says He will unceremoniously spit us out so that we are no longer in Him. In other words, it's not a case of 'once saved, always saved' but remaining in Messiah and in our salvation.

It never seems to have been noticed by Calvinists that Adam and Eve lived in a saved condition in the Garden of Eden. They were innocent, without sin. They lived in Paradise. They walked with Elohim (God) and though they were physically naked, they were clothed in the light of righteousness and therefore knew no shame. Only when they sinned did they become aware that those spiritual robes were suddenly absent and they tried to compensate by sewing fig leaves together and wearing them. But they remained in their guilt. The only solution was repentance which resulted in their being forgiven by Elohim (God).

But notice they did not continue wearing fig-leaves nor did they try to cover themselves with something else that they had made themselves. Now Yahweh provided them with animal skins for a covering which was a prophetic picture of the necesity of the shedding of blood for remission of sins and the fact that Yahweh would provide the sacrfice Himself. This is a picture of the Old and New Covenants rolled into one, as it were. Man would have to offer blood sacrifices to have his sins covered until Messiah Himself came down to provide an eternal covering conditional upon men and women remaining in Him! And he was now required to wear clothes and dress modestly because of sin in the world generally.

This is the basic emet (truth) we must take on board. Yahweh has made provision for our sins provided we accept the condition on which it is offered (repentance and trusting in Christ) and - critically, for the deceived Calvinist - remaining in Christ and not going lukewarm like the Laodiceans. That way we remain spiritually "clothed in white garments". It's still Messiah's work on the cross that enables us to be forgiven and to remain in a saved state provided we do certain things like making confession (1 Jn.1:9) and forgiving those who wrong us.

If we refuse to do that, we have cut ourselves off from Elohim's (God's) forgiveness, as Yah'shua (Jesus) taught in the Master's (Lord's) Prayer (Mt.6:12). It's that important, it's that serious. And, if we continue to exploit grace indefinitely (as many believers wrongly suppose they can without there being consequences in the hereafter), then at length they will be cut off from salvation too and be thrown into the lake of fire. So don't be presumptuous! But rather be filled with godly "fear and trembling"! (2 Cor.7:15, NKJV). You can mess around tweaking theology to suit your carnal disposition.

So this is very serious stuff indeed. We can't save ourselves but we still have to choose Christ of our own free will, we still have to remain in Christ of our own free will after we have chosen Him and got saved, we must still confess our sins daily and forgive those who wrong us of our own free will. Do you see how important free will is? We are not automatons of an imaginary 'irresistable grace'. We are not forced to be good. We truly can walk away into darkness and, if we remain there, find ourselves thrown into the lake of fire for a very painful purging for a very long period of time which will seem like eternity.

A final word, if I may, concerning Revelation 13:8 which is notorious for being twisted by Calvinists:

"All who dwell on the earth will worship him, whose names have not been written in the Book of Life of the Lamb slain from (Gk. apo) the foundation of the world" (Rev.13:8, NKJV, EB p.1835).

To show you how Calvinists twist Scripture to force it into a preconceived doctrine, as all cults do, let's take a quick look at Matthew 19:8 and then we'll finish:

"[Yah'shua (Jesus)] said to them, 'Moses, because of the hardness of your hearts, permitted you to divorce your wives, but from the beginning it was not so" (Matt.19:7-8, NKJV; EB p.1362).

So what does "from the foundation of the world" mean, and what is the impact for adding "before"? And the answer is, very simply, this: Before the foundation of the world indicated before Genesis whereas from the foundation of the world indicates from Genesis to the present. Therefore it is plainly wrong of Calvinists to equate "written from the foundation of the world" with "written [before] the foundation of the world". The names of the saved were not written before man was created. Yahweh did not predetermine who would be saved and who would not be. Enough said.

Brethren and sisters, the message is plain: we cannot be complacent with our salvation or we will go lukewarm like the Laodiceans, lose our white garments which are the works of the saved, and any rewards we might have received, and, worst of all, have our names blotted out from the Book of Life. I repeat, we cannot save ourselves, or earn our salvation, but we can lose it if we are careless and try to exploit Yahweh's generous graciousness. To recap:

"And I saw the dead, small and great, standing before Elohim (God), and books were opened. And another book was opened, which is the Book of Life. And the dead were judged according to their works, by the things which were written in the books. The sea gave up the dead who were in it, and Death and Hades delivered up the dead who were in them. And they were judged, each one according to his works. Then Death and Hades were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death. And anyone not found written in the Book of Life was cast into the lake of fire" (Rev.20:12-15, NKJV; EB p.1843).

So important is this final book of the Bible, so essential is it that we represent it accurately, that Yah'shua (Jesus) warns most severely:

"For I testify to everyone who hears the words of the prophecy of this book: If anyone adds to these things, Elohim (God) will add to him the plagues that are written in this book; and if anyone takes away from the words of the book of this prophecy, Elohim (God) shall take away his part from the Book of Life, from the holy city, and from the things which are written in this book" (Rev.22:18-19, NKJV; EB p.1848).

That is why we have to study this book and not neglect it and indeed we will return to it and systematically work our way through it later on. I hope you enjoyed this brief presentation, that it straightened a few things out for you, and that it will help you in your witness to Calvinists and others who deny free will and man's responsibility. I look forward to seeing you tomorrow for a short Rosh Chodesh meeting. Yahweh bless you all. Amen.