Welcome to the King James Bible Seminary. My name is Myron Boffman and I'll be your instructor today in the Word of the Lord. And we are still in the last chapter of the book of Revelation. We'll be looking at Revelation chapter 22 verses 8 through 17. However, it's mostly about verse 17. So if you turn Revelation 22. We'll get started with the lesson. And the title of today's lesson is Messages from Beyond the Grave. Messages from Beyond the Grave. Revelation 22 17 is also your memory verse for those of you who are involved with this class. Not just auditing. Anyways, Revelation 22, 17 is, And the Spirit and the Bride say, Come, and let him that heareth say, Come, and let him that is athirst come. And whosoever will, let him take the water of life freely. Revelation 22, 17. Amen. That's a wonderful verse. Next week we will probably be doing the last lesson on the Book of Revelation and thus closing up this series, Lectures in Scripture series that entail the entire Bible starting with Genesis chapter 1 and going all the way up to the close here. So we We'd like to see you here, at least for the last lesson in Revelation, especially for those who are taking the classes. Let's go ahead and finish the course. There are several places in the Bible where there has been messages more or less, by those who have passed on to their just reward. Probably first that should be mentioned, and this little passage that we're getting into struck me as rather important, so we're not gonna bypass this. Is the voice of Abel's blood from the ground where he was murdered? That says quote and the Lord said unto Cain Where is Abel thy brother and He that is Cain and he said I know not am I my brother's keeper I? and he that is the Lord said, what hast thou done? the voice of thy brother's blood crieth unto me from the ground and now art thou cursed from the earth which hath opened her mouth to receive thy brother's blood from thy hand This is found in Genesis chapter 4, 9 through 11. Now, to get the entire context of all this, read starting with Genesis chapter 4 verse 1. Now, so you see what was going on here between the two brothers. Now as we see here in this passage, the Lord already knew what had happened and where Abel was. He was in heaven. He was in paradise. Now God questioned Cain, probing him for a contrite heart. It's not like God didn't know what had happened. God probed Cain for a contrite heart, confession of the truth, and a willing repentance. What Cain revealed in his answer was a cold, uncaring heart full of self-defense, self-justification, pride, and especially rebellion. What was Cain's message to God as he stood there in front of him? He was lying to God in his face. Am I my brother's keeper? How do I know where he's at? That type of thing. He had a lot of nerve. Apparently he really didn't know who God was. Abel's message was a cry. This is in contrast to Cain's lie. It was a cry which I would take to be an unhappy message. Now Hebrews chapter 11 verse 4 has something to say about this, so let's take a look at it. Hebrews 11 4, quote, by faith, by faith, that's important, by faith Abel offered unto God a more excellent sacrifice than Cain, by which he, that is Abel, obtained witness that he was righteous. God, that is God himself, testifying of his gifts. And by it he, being dead, yet speaketh. That brings us to passage in Genesis chapter 4 verses 9 through 11. He being dead yet speaketh. So, at that time, at the writing of Hebrews, there was a message being referred to from beyond the grave. So next question is, what was the message that God heard from Abel's blood? The answer to that is found in Revelation chapter six verses nine through 11. Revelation six, nine through 11, which we covered in previous lesson. And that says, quote, And when he had opened the fifth seal, I saw under the altar the souls of them that were slain for the word of God and the testimony which they held. And they cried with a loud voice saying How long O Lord holy and true dost thou not judge and avenge our blood on them that dwell on the earth? end quote Well, let's finish that and white robes were given Unto every one of them and it was said unto them that they should rest yet a little season I So that is the message that was in heaven. Now along with this, we see that people's sins and crimes committed here on earth just don't go away. But there are witnesses, there are people who testify to these things and cry out for justice, even in heaven. Now this is part of the record that is found in Revelation chapter 20 verses 12 and 15 which says in regard to this quote and I saw the dead small and great stand before God and the books were opened and another book was open which is the book of life. And the dead were judged out of those things which were written in the books according to their works, according to what they've done. And whosoever was not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire. Those people whose names are written in the book of life are one and the same as believers. you believe God, if you believe His Word, your name is written in the Book of Life. Probably the next and most profound time a message was delivered from beyond the grave is found in 1st Samuel chapter 28 verses 7 through 20, which is also a passage we had in a previous lesson. So those of you who are going through the Bible with us, or have gone through it, or are presently going through, can find that lesson in 1 Samuel 28, seven through 20. And it concerns King Saul of Israel. King Saul was the king before King David. It concerned King Saul of Israel visiting a witch one night, W-I-T-C-H, a witch, one night to find out the outcome of his approaching battle with the Philistines. The Philistines were coming in large numbers. Their army was massive. They were surrounding King Saul's forces and Saul therefore was worried. and he decided to consult a witch about the future. All right, let's take a look at this passage in 1st Samuel 28. Let me start off with reading the text. The Bible is the most important part of any Bible lesson. So let's take a look at 1st Samuel 28, we're going to start with verse 7 and just stop at verse 20. Then said Saul unto his servants, seek me a woman that hath a familiar spirit that I may go to her and inquire of her. and his servant said to him, behold there is a woman that hath a familiar spirit at Endor. And Saul disguised himself and put on other raiment, put on other clothes, he's gonna try to look like somebody else so he's not identified. And he went, and two men with him. And they came to the woman by night, and he, that was Saul, said to the woman, I pray thee divine unto me by the familiar spirit and bring me him up whom I shall name unto thee. And the woman said unto him, Behold thou knowest that what Saul hath done, how he hath cut off those that have familiar spirits. In other words, to be cut off would be, you can't do business anymore. Hath cut off those who have familiar spirits and the wizards out of the land. Wherefore, when then layest thou a snare for my life, to cause me to die? And Saul swear to her by the Lord, saying, the Lord liveth there shall no punishment happen to thee for this thing that in itself should have gave away his identity besides him being the tallest man in Israel anyways then said the woman whom shall I bring up unto thee And he said, bring me up Samuel, the prophet. Samuel, he was a prophet. I'm not really sure how many years he had been dead when this occurred. But anyways, it wasn't all that recent. But anyway, let's see. And when the woman saw Samuel, all right, King Saul has asked the woman to bring up from the dead, from the grave, Samuel. And when the woman saw, notice it says, the woman saw, Samuel saw at this point, doesn't see what she sees. When the woman saw Samuel, she cried with a loud voice. And the woman spake to Saul saying, Why hast thou deceived me? For thou art Saul." And the king said unto her, Be not afraid, for what sawst thou? And the woman said unto Saul, I saw gods ascending out of the earth. And he said unto her, What form what form was he of? And she said, an old man cometh up, and he is covered with a mantle, a prophet's mantle. And Saul perceived that it was Samuel, and he stooped with his face to the ground and bowed himself. And Samuel said to Saul, Why hast thou disquieted me to bring me up? And Saul answered, I am sore distressed, for the Philistines make war against me, and God is departed from me, and answereth me now no more, neither by prophets nor by dreams. Therefore I have called thee, that thou mayest make known unto me what I shall do. Then said Samuel, Wherefore then dost thou ask of me, seeing the Lord is departed from thee, and is become thine enemy? And the Lord hath done to him as he spake by me, for the Lord hath rent the kingdom out of thine hand. and given it to thy neighbor, even to David, because thou obeyest not the voice of the Lord, nor executeth his fierce wrath upon Amalek, upon King Amalek. Therefore hath the Lord done this thing unto thee this day. Moreover, and here comes the answer he was looking for, Moreover the Lord will deliver Israel with thee into the hand of the Philistines Then Saul fell straightway all along on the earth in other words after he heard that he he lost all his strength and he couldn't even stand up and Was sore afraid because of the words of Samuel And let's just stop there and quote I Now we know that witchcraft in all forms, including necromancy, which is what we just read about, is condemned as satanic in scripture and carries with it severe penalties. And let's take a look at what the law says here concerning witchcraft, which is a law King Saul was willing to break. quote, there shall not be found among you anyone that maketh his son or daughter to pass through the fire. We're talking about sacrificing babies and children to the false god. In modern times, I would say this is probably abortion. Or that useth divination, or an observer of times. That would be probably people who are involved in a horoscope. Observer of times, or an enchanter, or a witch, or a charmer, or a consulter with familiar spirits, or a wizard, or a necromancer, as somebody consults the dead. For all that do these things are an abomination unto the Lord. Deuteronomy 18 verses 10 through 12. Well that ought to be some advice for those who enjoy Halloween so much and the witchcraft movies. Notice, witchcraft is part of a group of related sins. One often sees where drugs, satanic worship, loose morals, witchcraft, and abortion being prevalent in a certain same group of people in a society. Where one of these sins is known, be suspicious that others are also somehow involved. It was for the breaking of this very law that King Saul, the predecessor of King David, died in battle, as testified in 1 Chronicles chapter 10 verses 13 and 14. Very important passage. Let's take a look at that. 1 Chronicles chapter 10 verses 13 and 14 says, for Saul died for his transgression which he committed against the Lord even against the word of the Lord which he kept not and began and also for asking counsel of one that had a familiar spirit to inquire of it, and inquired not of the Lord. Therefore he that is God slew him." From this interesting yet shocking passage we can see the importance of obeying the obvious will of God and not turning to what is often called the dark side, not even for entertainment. Next, let us consider the sad but true life and death event that Jesus related in Luke chapter 16 verses 19 through 31 and it's intended message from beyond the grave. There was a certain rich man which was clothed in purple, in other words he was royalty, was clothed in purple and fine linen and fared sumptuously every day. And there was a certain beggar named Lazarus which was laid at his gate full of sores and desiring to be fed with the crumbs which fell from the rich man's table. If he was laid at the gate, that means this man could not walk. He was crippled. Moreover, the dogs came and licked his sores. It came to pass that the beggar died. It came to pass that the beggar died and was carried by the angels into Abraham's bosom. In other words, he went to paradise. Now the rich man also died and was buried. Wait a minute, there's no mention of angels carrying him to paradise. The rich man also died and was buried. And in hell he lifted up his eyes, being in torments. That's plural. And seeth Abraham afar off, and Lazarus in his bosom. other words Lazarus was having close was in fellowship with faithful Abraham in paradise and he cried that is the rich man in hell cried and said father Abraham have mercy on me and send Lazarus that he may dip the tip just the tip of his finger in water and cool my tongue for I am tormented in this flame. I ask for a little mercy. A drop of water is not much for I am tormented in this very real flame. But Abraham said, Son, remember that thou in thy lifetime receivest thy good things, and likewise Lazarus evil things. But now he is comforted, and thou art tormented. And beside all this between us and you there is a great gulf fixed. The gulf is a word that means like a deep, wide, unpassable ravine. It's a big deep valley in the earth. So, that they which would pass from hence to you cannot, neither can they pass to us that would come from thence. Then he said I pray thee therefore father that thou wouldst send him to my father's house. You notice this man has no claim, this man in hell has no claim really to salvation because he is a Jew. This man is in hell. I say that because there are those who trust in their family heritage for their entrance into heaven. That is something you're not to do. If you're relying on your family heritage, you're not relying on anything. You can only rely on the blood of Christ, His work, and have faith in it. Then he said, I pray thee, therefore, Father, that thou wouldst send him to my father's house. So the rich man, who is no longer rich but in hell, asked Abraham to send Lazarus back to his father's house. For I have five brethren that he, that is Lazarus, may testify unto them, lest they also come to this place of torment. Abraham saith unto him, they have Moses and the prophets, let them hear them. And he said, nay, Father Abraham, but if one went unto them from the dead, they will repent. And he said unto him, if they hear not Moses and the prophets, neither will they be persuaded. The one rose from the dead, end quote. So if one doesn't believe the Bible, One is not going to believe in somebody who is miraculously there, somebody who's come back from the dead, somebody who doesn't believe in the Bible, like the Old Testament, what he's referring to here. If they don't believe in that word, they're certainly not going to believe in Jesus. All right, there is much to be learned and heeded from this passage. message is clear, however you look at it. Send someone to tell of the punishment of sin that repentance may occur. That was the desire of the once rich man. Now his message was not a message of invitation, but the exact opposite. Stay away from this place. Now this message Was actually never sent It was a plea that was never Audibly heard on this side of the grave by Lazarus But the next message that we are going to look at as both seen and heard by those who read the book of Revelation is Now we could say that the message of the rich man in hell was related to all who read this passage. Alright, so let's look at what the last message is from beyond the grave. Revelation chapter 22 verse 17. which says, quote, and the spirit and the bride say, come, and let him that heareth say, come, and let him that is a thirst come, and whosoever will, let him take of the water of life freely, end quote. Let's examine this a little bit. The spirit referred to here is not just any spirit, but the Holy Spirit. So God says, come on, come to me. Come ye all who are burdened and heavy laden. I'll give you rest. The bride says, come. Who is that? The bride made up of the saved, those who are believers, those who believe the Word of God and trust Christ and His Word as to what He did for us on the cross. The Bride says, come on, what are you waiting on? And, by the way, they're waving us even as we speak to come to them. We are welcome and let him that heareth." If you hear the message, then obey it, and repeat the message to others. Let him that heareth say, come. And not only that, if you have a need, let him that is a thirst come. And whosoever will, that is anybody, whosoever will, let him take of the water of life freely. So we have read now the record of Abel who sought justice at the judgment, the record of one who has justice enacted in hell, and those who have been redeemed from justice by the grace of God. We are of the last group who trust in Jesus' righteousness and not our own. Notice what our verse says, quote, and the Spirit, that would be God, the Holy Spirit, as a recap here, the bride, both presently say, come, and the bride is the church, past, present, and future. That means those of our loved ones who were believers, who have gone on to glory, are part of this group that we're talking about, inviting us, saying, come on. They are calling and waving us to themselves and God. We are invited and are waited for. This also means us in the future. If we are part of the Bride, when we go on to Glory, we will be there. We will be one of them calling others. Come on! We will be there encouraging others to come and join the group. So, that is our today and yet future message of invitation from Beyond the Grave, and I invite you all to share invitation to glory. And you get there by faith in Christ, by believing and trusting His Word, and nothing in ourselves. You give up what you have for God's promises, and you rely not on yourself and what you have, but you rely on God. He will take care of you. He will make sure you get to glory. So you can trust Him for not only your daily things, but also for your eternal things. May His name be praised. Let's close with a word of prayer. Gracious Father, we come to Thee, thanking Thee so much for this Thy Word and Thy promises. Thank Thee for sending Thy Son to die on a cross for us. Thank Thee for that precious blood that was shed on our behalf. Also, we thank Thee for the Holy Spirit, sending Him to teach us and guide us, protect us. We pray now that You'll help us, Lord, to rely upon Thee and upon Thee alone. And we ask help in inviting others to come to Thee. And it's just by simple faith, just by believing Thee. And we thank Thee that it's easy, that there's nothing, there's not a bunch of things for us to do. We pray now that you'll give us courage and encouragement as we spread thy word and we pray that thy word will not be hindered by anyone in any way. Pray also that thou guide and guard and protect each one of us in these trying times. Pray for the peace of Jerusalem. We pray that thy word will also go out in a mighty way through thy Holy Spirit. Pray for our nation that it will turn back and repent and that it will rid itself of corruption. We pray for real repentance on a massive scale. And we pray also now that you'll be with thy church, that you'll strengthen us as we seek to do thy will. And we pray also for the other requests, the salvation of the lost in our families and our acquaintances. And we pray that you'll help us to be good witnesses of thine and pray for the sick. You'll strengthen each one, help us all to rely more and more upon thee and grow in the grace and knowledge of Jesus Christ. For we pray these things with thanksgiving in Christ's precious name.