We must understand that our liberties and freedoms have nothing to do with the Supreme Court or the Constitution. You can give the Supreme Court credit for our freedoms all you want, but the Bible tells us that if we do not have God's commandments, we will not have freedom of any kind.
First, we don't have freedom without the Word of God. And we definitely don't have freedom without Christ. So, the first place we have to go for our freedoms is God's Word, because it is there that we will find the instruction and mandate as to how we will function in this nation.
I hope you will understand that this is not a political statement, because in the New Testament there is no political freedom that is mentioned. They were citizens of an Empire where the whole nation was ruled by the Emperor, and at the end of a long list of government officials, we see, "And there was a prefect who served under Rome."
One of the charges against Jesus Christ was that He claimed to be a king. Another charge was that He claimed to be God. That is what the Pharisees came to Jerusalem for. This is why they told Pilate, "He is our king." And this is why Pilate asked Jesus, "Are you the king of the Jews?"
Pilate's answer was, "He's not a king; but the truth is, the reason why I le Him go out of fear."
Then Pilate wanted to see what the people had to say, because they were the ones who were crying, "Crucify Him! Crucify Him! We have a law and it says that if He says He's a king we will crucify Him." So, Pilate wanted to see what they thought about this whole issue. So, he let the Roman guard take Him out and scourge Him.
Jesus Christ was beaten with a Roman scourge, which is a rope with little metal balls tied to them, and they took a switch and whipped Him with the balls hanging off of the switch. Then they took His clothes off, put a purple robe on Him, put a wreath on His head, and they said, "Hail, King of the Jews." Then they had Him carry the cross, and when He got too tired to carry it, they made Him carry the cross.
They didn't have the power to kill Him, but they could certainly torture Him. The Bible does not say that Pilate handed Jesus Christ over to the Jews, but it does say that the Roman guard gave Him over to the Jews.
When Christ was in the Garden with His disciples, He prayed, "Father, if Thou be willing, take this cup away from Me, yet not My will but Thine be done." And then He prayed again, "My Father, if this cup cannot pass away except I drink it, yet not My will but Thine be done."
As He looked at His disciples, He said, "You should pray for faith that is like mine, that you might never fall into temptation."
They asked Him if He had ever tasted death and then He said, "No, yet I will." And He said, "The chief priests and the scribes will arrest Me, but you must not be concerned about this."
"And here I will make a covenant with the people of the world, and with all of the nations of the world, so that they will not use me for religious purposes."
John 14:30 (NKJV) "I will no longer speak much with you, for the prince of the world has come. And he has nothing in Me."
So, Pilate let the Jews judge Him. And of course, they found Him guilty. The Bible says that Jesus was crucified by the Romans. So, the Romans brought Him up to the top of the hill, and at the very top of the hill we see the cross.
So, Pilate goes back to Herod and says, "I sent you this Jesus Christ, but He didn't talk about your kingdom. He didn't talk about my kingdom. But He talked about God's kingdom, which is the only kingdom that matters."
It was Herod who came to Pilate to have Him killed because He didn't talk about his kingdom.
The Cornerstone
What does it mean to be a Christian? Do we say that to be a Christian we need to love, and we need to go out and witness, but we have to know the Word? Absolutely!
So what makes you a Christian? What makes you a Christian is if you are resting on the cornerstone that is Jesus Christ. It doesn't matter whether you are rich or poor. It doesn't matter whether you are educated or illiterate. It is the same for all.
The Doors to the Kingdom
There were certain things that we had to know. What happens if one of those doors is not open? Then what? Well, we can just go to another door.
But this is not the way it is with Jesus Christ. His door is the only door of the kingdom. So, if that door is not open you are shut.
No Other Names
Now there are many religions which claim to be the only true way, but the Word of God says, "Jesus Christ is the only name under Heaven given to men, whereby we can be saved." That's the only name.
There are many names in the Bible that the people of the world worship, but they don't actually believe in.
The Testimony of God
Jesus said, "God sent Me to do what you didn't do. He sent Me to tell you about His kingdom, but you don't want to hear it, so you want Me killed because I go to the Gentiles as well."
Jesus said, "My Father's house is wide, and I don't need to go there. I'm not going there, because if you can't find Me there, you won't find Me there either."
And He said to His disciples, "Don't pray to the Father, and don't pray to the Holy Spirit. Only pray to Jesus."
Now, at the end of the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus said, "Therefore whoever hears these words of Mine, and believes in He who sent Me, has eternal life. And I will raise him up at the last day."
The Eternal Light
Jesus said, "I am the light of this world."
The Rock
"And He is the rock who will endure, and on Him you build your life."
The Door
"And He is the door to the kingdom, and He is the only door."
The Good Shepherd
And he said, "I am the door; if anyone enters in by Me he will be saved."
The Bread
"I am the bread of life."
The Way
"I am the way, the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father except through Me."
Now, these are the claims of Jesus Christ, and the Bible is the first place we go. We don't go to the Supreme Court, but we go to the Bible.
Therefore, if these things are not true, then we don't have any chance at all. But if they are true, then we've got something.
A New Heaven and a New Earth
Revelation 21 (NKJV) 1 Now I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away. Also there was no more sea. 2 Then I, John, saw the holy city, New Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. 3 And I heard a loud voice from heaven saying, "Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and He will dwell with them, and they shall be His people. God Himself will be with them and be their God. 4 And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes; there shall be no more death, nor sorrow, nor crying. There shall be no more pain, for the former things have passed away."
God Speaks
This is so amazing; it is so astounding to know that God is coming back with us. We have heaven with us and it is heaven on earth.
Now, where do we get this understanding? We get this understanding through the Word of God. It is because Jesus Christ spoke the word and gave it to us.
The Prophecies of Revelation
So, I want to show you from the book of Revelation how it all works together. We are going to look at a few of the prophecies that God gave us.
First of all, I want you to understand that Revelation is the last chapter of the Bible. It is the last chapter in the book of God, and it is what