Does Revelation 19 Say that Jesus Has a Tattoo?

Does Revelation 19 say that Jesus has a tattoo? That's just one of the questions we'll be answering on today's edition of Core Christianity. Hi, it's Bill Meyer, along with Pastor Adriel Sanchez, and this is the radio program where we answer your questions about the Bible and the Christian life every day.

And as you can tell, we get some interesting ones. You can call us right now with your question at 833-THE-CORE. That's 1-833-843-2673. Our phone lines will be open for 25 minutes, so now's the time to call. You can also post your question on one of our social media sites. And of course, you can always email us anytime at questionsatcorechristianity.com. First up today, let's go to Larry calling in from Oregon. Larry, what's your question for Adriel?

Yeah, thank you, Bill and Adriel. My question has to do with free will. So, I know there are many pastors and teachers that teach that free will is a...that salvation is a cooperative effort between man and God. And we know, however, Scripture says that we are dead spiritually, that we need to be made alive for us to believe. And we also know that God, before, ordains everything to come to pass, including the fall of Satan and the fall of man, the Garden of Eden. So my question is, Adriel, since God is sovereign overall and foreordains everything to come to pass, isn't free will a fallacy?

Well, I think it depends on what an individual means. When they're talking about free will, if somebody says, I have the freedom to, you know, sort of pull myself up by the bootstraps and make these spiritual decisions, go from death to life, that sort of a thing. Well, the Bible says that we do, as human beings, have a will, but our will has been affected by the fall.

Every single part of us has been affected by the fall. And so that doesn't mean that our will has been erased or that we don't make decisions now, even as non-believers, even as those who are outside of Christ. It just means that we can't save ourselves.

That we're prone to evil, evil desires, evil intentions. And so we need the work of the Holy Spirit in our lives to renew us and illuminate our hearts so that we might embrace and even long for the right things. And according to the purpose of him who works all things according to the counsel of his will. So God is sovereignly at work in the world today, according to the counsel of his will. We don't know his hidden will, you know, everything that's going to happen. But we do know what God has revealed to us in Scripture. He's revealed to us that he's calling all people everywhere to repent, that we are responsible as human beings for the decisions that we make and that we're called to believe. And yet at the same time, we recognize that that faith even is a gift that comes from the Lord. And so I wouldn't want to go as far as to say, you know, well, we just don't have a will as human beings.

No, that's a part of humanity. It's recognizing that our will is in bondage because of sin and that apart from the work of the Holy Spirit, we would continue to turn away from the Lord and rebel against God. And so we pray, O Lord, renew our will, strengthen us, help us, O Lord, to long for the right things and to pursue you.

Thanks for reaching out, Larry. Always one of those thorny issues whenever we're talking about God's sovereignty and free will. And you always answer them so well, Adriel. I don't know that everybody agrees, but it is a thorny issue. And the fact of the matter is it's going to continue to be debated for a long time. And some of it is just, I think, naturally and culturally even. It's sort of ingrained in us. You know, I'm the master of my own destiny.

We live in this society, you know, very autonomous, very, you know, you chart your own course. And we don't like, many of us don't like the idea that there is a sovereign God in heaven who's in more control than we oftentimes think, who is all powerful. We want to be in that position.

We want to sit on the throne. And so in one sense, this is a very humbling doctrine and should lead to our gratefulness, our humility, you know, being humbled, but also praising the Lord because he is able to cause all things to work together for the good of those who love him and are called according to his purpose. And he is at work even in and through the sinful actions of men. And so something to be grateful for.

Good thought. Thanks for that, Adriel. You're listening to Core Christianity with Pastor Adriel Sanchez. If you have a question about the Bible, the Christian life, doctrine, theology, or something in your church life that you are confused about or concerned about, hey, we're always open to your call. Here's the number. It's 833-THECORE.

That's 1-833-843-2673. Had this question come in from Ignacio in Illinois, and he says, I've heard stories of people who have died and come back to tell a message from Jesus. What are the best verses to use to refute these stories? Well, look, I don't know that there's one particular verse or group of verses that you can go to. Of course, Paul in 2 Corinthians chapter 12, he talks about when he was carried up to the third heaven in the presence of the Lord. And he doesn't share a lot of details.

So I think that's really interesting there specifically. It's not like this was something where it's like, okay, somebody went into the third heaven and they've got these secret messages that they're now going to give to us. God, when he speaks to his people, does so in a manner that is clear. It's not like one individual has the special insight or the telephone to God. God has revealed his word to all of us, his revelation to us, so that we might grow and benefit from it. So anytime an individual or a small group of people say, I have this special insight, this new revelation, I've died and seen Jesus, that kind of a thing, red flags should be going off in our minds. Now, of course, it's hard to argue against a person's personal experience.

I mean, we can have all sorts of suspicions and say, okay, this doesn't seem right. But at the end of the day, we have to stick with the Scriptures. And so what I would say, Ignacio, is first and foremost, as believers, we need to say the Word of God, the Holy Scriptures, which have been given to us, are the ultimate authority for us when we think about faith and what we should believe and how we should live. So if somebody comes along and they say, I've had this mystical experience or this prophetic word, well, look, I'm not going to try to tell you what experience you had, but I'm going to say, if it's out of accord with what the Scriptures teach, then you're just wrong.

That didn't happen. I don't know what was going on there, but it's not a message that you received from God. And if it's just sort of like, well, it's not necessarily out of accord with what the Bible teaches, but it's, you know, I saw Jesus or I saw Mary or the angels and it was just so awesome. Well, okay, fine. But here's the thing. The ordinary Christian life, I think what God calls each and every one of us to, that's not what it is.

It doesn't look like that. It doesn't look like, you know, we're having these visions of Jesus and getting all these prophetic words and insights. It looks like just being a faithful member of a local church, studying the Scriptures, being committed to a life of prayer. That's where we need to really grow. And I feel like one of the concerns I have, Ignacio, when people talk about this, you know, stories about people who had these mystical experiences, supernatural experiences, we begin to chase that, to really want that. When in reality, what we need is to grow deeper in the Word of God, to grow deeper in our commitment to others, the people that God has put around us, our family, our church family, our neighbors even.

And that might not be very exciting. That might not feel very spiritual. But at the end of the day, that's what God has called us to and what God has called us to pursue. And so a lot of these stories and these experiences that, you know, people will share, I just don't know how helpful they are in terms of that everyday discipleship and growth in grace.

And so I think, you know, you confront them when they contradict Scripture and you encourage those same people to dig into the Word and to grow in that Christian maturity, because that's what we all need. You know, I had this dream that the angel Gabriel came to me the other night, but then I realized it was just the pizza that I had earlier. Bill, you need to find a new pizza place, man, because I feel like that happens every time you have pizza, whatever this spot is that you're talking about. Yeah.

Or maybe it's, you know, the pizza has been blessed. There you go. We'll think about that. This is Core Christianity with Pastor Adriel Sanchez. Our phone lines are open. If you have a question about the Bible, the Christian life, or dreams, 833-THE-CORE, that's 1-833-843-2673. We have a great new offer we want to tell you about, and it has to do with the ascension of Jesus Christ as King.

Yeah. Thanks, Bill. You know, we'd like to invite everyone to think about getting a hold of this resource. The resource is basically an amazing look at this doctrine that so many times we don't discuss within the church. The resource is called The King is Crowned, 10 Ways Jesus's Ascension Matters for You.

And especially as we approach Easter and we think about all of the blessings that we've experienced as the people of God, as Christians, peace, assurance, growth and grace, the gift of the Holy Spirit, all of that has come through the ascension of the Lord Jesus. And so head over to corechristianity.com forward slash offers to get your free digital copy of The King is Crowned. By the way, that's going to be available as of this coming Monday.

We're just putting the final touches on that. It's an awesome resource, one of our core guides. Again, it's The King is Crowned, 10 Ways Jesus's Ascension Matters for You. That will be available as of Monday at corechristianity.com. By the way, when you go to our website, check out some of the other great resources we have. We have core guides, we have core questions, and of course, our core Bible studies on books from both the Old and the New Testament. If you are a Sunday school teacher, if you lead a small group, check out some of those Bible studies, some great curriculum, especially if you're getting ready to kick off maybe a new series for the spring or even something this summer. Well, this is Core Christianity with Pastor Adriel Sanchez.

We do receive voicemails here at the Core, and you can leave us a voicemail 24 hours a day at 833-THE-CORE. And here's one that came in from one of our listeners named Cynthia. My question is regarding tattoos. I have a son who never had tattoos before, but now he has so many. His justification is that in the Revelation, it says that the Lord had tattoos. It says, Revelation 19, 16, and he has on his vesture and on his thigh a name written, King of Kings and Lord of Lords. But Leviticus 19, 28, I believe, it says, Ye shall not make any cuttings in your flesh for the dead, nor print any marks upon you.

I am the Lord. I'm trying to have some clarification on that because it sounds like inconsistency, so that maybe I can give my son a good explanation. Thank you very much.

Okay, well, Cynthia, thank you for that question. Two things. One, I don't think Leviticus 19, 28 is a good proof text to forbid people from getting tattoos. This is a part of the ceremonial civil law in Israel as she's entering into the Promised Land and God is giving her these rules and regulations for how to be distinct from the pagan nations. It seems like tattooing there, the cuttings and markings for the dead, were part of pagan rituals. Now, that doesn't mean that all tattoos are okay or honoring to the Lord, but I don't think that this is a text that we should point to to say it's just flat out forbidden. If a Christian gets a tattoo, then they're sinning.

I don't think that that's the case. Again, that doesn't mean it's the best thing to do, but I don't think that's properly handling that passage, and I also don't think it's a proper way to look at Revelation 19 to say, well, look, this is a justification for why I have tattoos all over my body. Even the Son of God Himself had a tattoo. Revelation 19, 16, you already read it, on His robe and on His thigh, He has a name written, King of Kings and Lord of Lords. And of course, we have to remember that Revelation, the book of Revelation, is an apocalyptic, prophetic book with a lot of imagery. Earlier, Jesus is depicted as a lamb slain, that was slain and is now standing. That doesn't mean that Jesus is literally a lamb. I don't think that this means that Jesus literally has a tattoo in the sense that we think about tattoos. In fact, what's really interesting is that title there that's on our Lord in Revelation 19, 16, King of Kings and Lord of Lords, comes from the Greek translation of an Old Testament passage in the Septuagint, Daniel 4, verse 37.

And this is something that a lot of people miss. It says, this is Nebuchadnezzar, Now I, Nebuchadnezzar, praise and extol and honor the King of heaven, for all his works are right and his ways are just, and those who walk in pride he is able to humble. And so in one sense, this is taking something we see in the Old Testament, and by the way, in the book of Revelation, there's so many allusions to the Old Testament, so much Old Testament imagery in the book of Revelation. What's being emphasized here is the absolute sovereignty of the Lord Jesus, that he is in control of the kings of the earth. He's able to humble whoever he wants.

He is the King of Kings and Lord of Lords. And so I think that the question of tattoos really is not at the heart of either of those passages, at least the way we think about it today. And so I wouldn't use Revelation 19 as a justification for them, and I wouldn't use Leviticus 19 as a passage to forbid them altogether. So, Cynthia, thank you for your question, and God bless you and your son. This is Core Christianity with Pastor Adriel Sanchez. We're taking your calls on questions regarding the Bible or the Christian life, doctrine, theology, maybe a passage of scripture that's always kind of confused you. Hey, give us a call at 833-THE-CORE. Well, let's go to Justin in Oklahoma.

Justin, thanks for holding on so long. What's your question for Adriel? Hey, Mike, my question is, and give me a second to word it right, I'm Catholic and my little brother is more evangelistic. He's going to be a preacher and he's always talking about getting, you know, revelations from the Lord. You know, like he'll ask God for guidance and he'll say he'll see something in the dream or whatever he does. But me being Catholic, where I just stay kind of in the Word and I just ask God to guide me and have his angels protect me, I guess what I'm saying is I don't feel like I'm worthy to ever ask God for a revelation for anything. I feel like I'm just happy that God's taking care of stuff. I don't, I don't, you know, like, you know how it says like right before whenever the, you know, whenever Jesus, whenever David stopped the angel and then he ended up, you know, seeing, you know, he asked for revelation. I just, I understand why David and some of those other guys get asked for stuff like that. But me just being a regular person, I don't know how I could ever, I'm afraid it's a sin to ask for something like that. I guess is my question. I'm sorry. Hey, Justin, no need to apologize. And boy, there's a lot there.

A couple of things though. First, as a regular guy, as a regular Christian, I don't think you need to feel bad about saying, Lord, guide me. Now, it sounds to me like you're already on the right track in terms of saying, you know, for me, guidance comes primarily from studying the scriptures because God has very clearly revealed his will for us in the scriptures. And so when people, you know, talk about like, oh, I'm seeking God's will for my life and it seems like it's this hidden thing that we're trying to figure out, we just, oh, I don't know. I think we have to be careful because God has spoken to us very clearly in his word. God doesn't always say, here's exactly what you should do in your life in this particular situation. Now, if it's a matter of sin, then yeah, obviously we know, okay, I shouldn't do that and I should do this. But if it's like, okay, do I take this job or do I take that job?

Both of them seem good. God give me guidance. I don't think we should expect God to, you know, part the clouds and say, you're supposed to work for that company instead.

Maybe he can, but ordinarily the way he works is just through, you know, imparting wisdom to us in our hearts, through godly counselors, through doors opening and closing, you know, the circumstances and God's providence changing. And I think that that's fine, but I do want to encourage you and just say, it's good to pursue that personal relationship with the Lord. It's good to be able to say, God, I do need your guidance.

I do need your help, your wisdom in making these decisions or in trying to figure out, you know, what direction you want me to go. Paul in Ephesians chapter one, verse 17, listen to how he prayed for the Ephesians. He says that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the father of glory may give you the spirit of wisdom and of revelation in the knowledge of him. Having the eyes of your hearts enlightened that you may know what is the hope to which he has called you, what are the riches of his glorious inheritance in the saints and what is the immeasurable greatness of his power toward us who believe. And the saints that he's talking about there, he's not talking about the beatified saints of the Catholic church. He's talking about you and me, those who have trusted in Jesus Christ by faith.

And so we can, you can come boldly to God through Jesus. Now that doesn't mean we're being presumptuous. You're being presumptuous.

You're being arrogant. You're just, you're just recognizing through Jesus, my great high priest, the one who has died for my sins, justified me by faith alone. I have access to the good father and I can come to him as a child comes to his dad and say, father, help me, guide me, lead me.

That's yours. That's yours through Jesus. And so don't, don't neglect that and don't feel bad about calling upon the name of the Lord and asking for that guidance and wisdom.

Great response. And Justin, thanks so much for your call, for listening to Core Christianity. By the way, if you're a regular listener of the Core, we have something we call our inner Core.

Those are people that support this ministry on a regular basis. And if you believe in what we do and you listen on a regular basis, we'd encourage you to go to our website and check out the inner Core. Just go to corechristianity.com forward slash inner Core. And for those folks that joined that wonderful group, we'll send you a copy of the book by Dr. Michael Horton called Core Christianity. By the way, we are going to be recording a second episode of the Core here in just a few minutes when our live program ends. So if you weren't able to get through in the last half hour or so, you can still call for another half hour or so at 833-THE-CORE.

That's 1-833-843-2673. Let's go to Brian calling in from Oklahoma. Brian, what's your question for Adriel? Hey, Pastor Adriel and Bill.

Thanks for taking my call. I have struggled for most of my Christian walk with having assurance of salvation. I've always believed in my heart that the true believer is secure in the Lord.

Jesus said he would lose none of those that were given to him. But I came across the passage in Romans chapter 11 verses 21 and 22 that concerned me and it says, For if God did not spare the natural branches, neither will he spare you. Note then the kindness and severity of God, severity toward those who have fallen with God's kindness to you, provided you continue in his kindness. Otherwise you too will be cut off. I'd love to hear your comment on that. Brian, thank you for that question. And I think so many of us, you know, can say, boy, we know what that's like, that struggle for security, and having confidence that, do I really belong to the Lord?

So one, you're not alone in that. And I think the things that you were saying leading up to your question, you know, you just write on, we truly are secure in Jesus, not because we're sinless or not because we're going to, you know, not struggle anymore as believers, but because we're preserved and kept by the Good Shepherd. And I think Jesus makes that clear in places like John chapter 10. And there are many other passages that we could go to, you know, even just earlier in the book of Romans in chapter 8 verse 29, Paul says, those whom he foreknew, he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his son in order that he might be the firstborn among many brothers. And those whom he predestined, he called. And those whom he called, he justified. And those whom he justified, he also glorified. Which I think is to say that those who are justified will indeed be glorified.

It's not like, you know, you're called and justified, predestined, but then you lost it. But there are those who make a profession of faith and don't have a true saving faith, a relationship with the Lord Jesus. And there, that passage that you're bringing up in Romans chapter 11, at the heart of it is faith or unbelief. And that's what he says in the very next verse, verse 23, you read up to verse 22, and even they, if they do not continue in their unbelief, will be grafted in, for God is the power to graft them in. We're united to Jesus by what? Not by, you know, the perfection of our good works, but by faith in his name.

And so this is really a call to believe. And those who believe, those who have faith, again, I believe that they're kept by the Lord. Those who were broken off, and here Paul is speaking in Romans 11 about the unbelieving Jews. You think of Jesus' earthly ministry, you know, he came to his own, John says in John chapter 1, and his own did not receive him. And so they had this sort of visible relationship to the people of God, the covenant people. And yet, because they rejected Jesus, they were cut off from that, from that body, we might say. And for those who are in the church but don't believe, truly believe, that's the same thing. I mean, there is a danger here, but what we're called to is faith. And I think, you know, John will say in 1 John, the one who believes, I'm writing these things to you who believe in the name of the Son of God that you might know that you have eternal life. And so that's one of the great hopes that we have. He wants us to know that we have eternal life, to have that confidence, and that comes solely through Jesus and through his work, resting and receiving in him. God bless. .