WEBVTT 00:00:00.619 --> 00:00:04.139 Hey guys, hey, welcome back. We are still on 00:00:04.139 --> 00:00:06.639 rethinking the end times and this week we're 00:00:06.639 --> 00:00:10.880 jumping into understanding the book of Revelation 00:00:10.880 --> 00:00:13.560 I hope this would be a shorter one. It may not 00:00:13.560 --> 00:00:17.120 be maybe my typical I think roughly around 30 00:00:17.120 --> 00:00:20.460 to 40 minutes is what we usually run but I want 00:00:20.460 --> 00:00:24.059 to talk about understanding the book of Revelation 00:00:24.059 --> 00:00:26.600 you see many people were taught that revelations 00:00:26.600 --> 00:00:30.219 mainly about the end of the world that predicts 00:00:30.219 --> 00:00:32.780 modern events and should make us afraid a lot 00:00:32.780 --> 00:00:36.240 of times. A lot of people, if you ask them if 00:00:36.240 --> 00:00:39.240 they've read Revelation and kind of how they 00:00:39.240 --> 00:00:41.899 feel about Revelation, a lot of times you're 00:00:41.899 --> 00:00:45.299 going to hear things such as confused, scared, 00:00:45.700 --> 00:00:48.560 overwhelmed, that type of thing. But Revelation 00:00:48.560 --> 00:00:52.119 was written to encourage suffering believers 00:00:52.119 --> 00:00:57.079 not to confuse future readers, so not to confuse 00:00:57.079 --> 00:01:02.299 you and I. And I want to read to you just the 00:01:02.299 --> 00:01:05.819 opening up of Revelation just to help us understand 00:01:05.819 --> 00:01:10.019 something. It's Revelation chapter 1 verse 1. 00:01:10.620 --> 00:01:13.140 And as soon as I get there, I'm going to read 00:01:13.140 --> 00:01:17.700 this verse to you. It says, this is the unveiling 00:01:17.700 --> 00:01:24.900 of Jesus Christ. So the first seven words of 00:01:24.900 --> 00:01:28.599 Revelation tells you what Revelation is about. 00:01:28.840 --> 00:01:31.879 And it says, which God gave him to share with 00:01:31.879 --> 00:01:35.180 his loving servants what must occur swiftly. 00:01:35.939 --> 00:01:41.400 So what kind of book is Revelation? And again, 00:01:41.420 --> 00:01:43.159 I wish I could put slides up. I've not figured 00:01:43.159 --> 00:01:46.099 that out. This is still very new to me. For the 00:01:46.099 --> 00:01:48.200 podcast part, it's very simple because it's just 00:01:48.200 --> 00:01:53.099 voice. But I wish I could do more visually. I'm 00:01:53.099 --> 00:01:56.079 just I'm still learning. I'm on a very learning 00:01:56.079 --> 00:01:58.599 path. This is all new for what I'm doing and 00:01:58.599 --> 00:02:01.799 all that but This is this is critical revelation 00:02:01.799 --> 00:02:05.420 is not a newspaper It's not science fiction. 00:02:05.420 --> 00:02:08.900 It belongs to a special kind of writing called 00:02:08.900 --> 00:02:13.860 apocalyptic literature And it simply it uses 00:02:13.860 --> 00:02:17.680 things like symbols visions numbers images cosmic 00:02:17.680 --> 00:02:21.460 language not because it's fake, but because it's 00:02:21.460 --> 00:02:25.780 symbolic storytelling about real events. I want 00:02:25.780 --> 00:02:29.939 you to think about, I teach teenagers a lot of 00:02:29.939 --> 00:02:33.319 times and a couple of them play football and 00:02:33.319 --> 00:02:35.699 that kind of thing. If you go to a football game 00:02:35.699 --> 00:02:38.659 and you say the team crushed their opponent, 00:02:39.900 --> 00:02:44.340 did they literally crush them? No, it's symbolic 00:02:44.340 --> 00:02:47.900 language and that's the same way that Revelation 00:02:48.080 --> 00:02:51.860 works revelation is picture language and not 00:02:51.860 --> 00:02:56.439 always literal language i want you to think about 00:02:56.439 --> 00:02:59.000 um i may mention this later but i want you to 00:02:59.000 --> 00:03:02.520 think about john is writing this and it's going 00:03:02.520 --> 00:03:05.479 out in in scrolls and letters and all that and 00:03:05.479 --> 00:03:08.900 it's these people may be stopped by the roman 00:03:08.900 --> 00:03:12.300 army and so when they enroll this and they read 00:03:12.300 --> 00:03:14.840 stuff like beasts and stars falling they they're 00:03:14.840 --> 00:03:18.469 just thinking you know, these weirdos, whatever, 00:03:18.729 --> 00:03:22.030 continue on. But those people that received these 00:03:22.030 --> 00:03:24.830 letters would have understood exactly what John 00:03:24.830 --> 00:03:28.310 was trying to say. The analogy I used when I 00:03:28.310 --> 00:03:31.270 taught this in our Bible study, I used one of 00:03:31.270 --> 00:03:34.349 our teenagers who plays football. I said, give 00:03:34.349 --> 00:03:38.689 me a play that you guys use that if you were 00:03:38.689 --> 00:03:41.090 to say the name, the other team would not know 00:03:41.090 --> 00:03:43.830 it. And he gave me the name, I can't remember 00:03:43.830 --> 00:03:48.710 what it is now. But it's the same way as that, 00:03:48.810 --> 00:03:51.689 because when they call that play, when they're 00:03:51.689 --> 00:03:54.969 going on that field, their team knows what they're 00:03:54.969 --> 00:03:57.629 saying, but the other team would not have a clue 00:03:57.629 --> 00:04:01.310 as to what that meant. Now, he told me, he said, 00:04:01.590 --> 00:04:04.349 some plays are kind of similar across all football 00:04:04.349 --> 00:04:08.469 teams. that each football team has certain plays 00:04:08.469 --> 00:04:11.550 that's special to them that they run that they 00:04:11.550 --> 00:04:14.449 know the name of and that's what it is it could 00:04:14.449 --> 00:04:16.290 be something and i can't remember the name of 00:04:16.290 --> 00:04:18.389 it exactly but it could be like catapult okay 00:04:18.389 --> 00:04:21.149 let's just use catapult if your team knows what 00:04:21.149 --> 00:04:23.990 catapult means and you're on the field and you 00:04:23.990 --> 00:04:26.149 want to play that and you just yell that the 00:04:26.149 --> 00:04:29.230 other team does not know what that means but 00:04:29.230 --> 00:04:33.050 your team does it's the same way revelation works 00:04:33.050 --> 00:04:37.639 in a similar fashion So who was Revelation written 00:04:37.639 --> 00:04:41.060 to? So it was written to seven churches in Asia 00:04:41.060 --> 00:04:47.240 Minor, Ephesus, Smyrna, Pergamum, Thyatria, Sardis, 00:04:47.560 --> 00:04:50.879 Philadelphia, Laodicea. These were not imaginary 00:04:50.879 --> 00:04:54.160 people. These were actually real believers under 00:04:54.160 --> 00:04:57.740 pressure. And so if Revelation was written to 00:04:57.740 --> 00:05:02.300 them, it had to make sense to them and not to 00:05:02.300 --> 00:05:06.439 us 2 ,000 plus years later. So Revelation was 00:05:06.439 --> 00:05:09.959 written for us but was first written to them 00:05:09.959 --> 00:05:12.720 and that order really matters when you're trying 00:05:12.720 --> 00:05:16.519 to read and study a lot of this. So why Revelation 00:05:16.519 --> 00:05:20.439 uses symbols? This is one of the most important 00:05:20.439 --> 00:05:25.279 parts because Revelation uses a lot of symbols. 00:05:25.800 --> 00:05:28.500 It connects to a lot of Old Testament imagery. 00:05:28.540 --> 00:05:32.060 If you remembered when we talked about how Daniel 00:05:32.060 --> 00:05:36.860 and Daniel I just drew a blank. Daniel, Isaiah, 00:05:37.060 --> 00:05:40.519 some different books like that use a lot of imagery. 00:05:42.139 --> 00:05:45.000 It's tying back into that same thing so that 00:05:45.000 --> 00:05:47.540 the people writing it would understand the language 00:05:47.540 --> 00:05:50.459 because they knew the Old Testament. They knew 00:05:50.459 --> 00:05:55.040 what that symbolism was for. So Revelation contains 00:05:55.040 --> 00:05:58.129 hundreds of Old Testament references like beasts, 00:05:58.430 --> 00:06:03.149 horns, stars, thrones, fire, etc. These images 00:06:03.149 --> 00:06:11.290 already meant something in Jewish prophecy. Give 00:06:11.290 --> 00:06:14.389 me just a moment. Let me check something here. 00:06:21.240 --> 00:06:23.680 Sometimes your wife messages messages you while 00:06:23.680 --> 00:06:26.019 you're doing a teaching and your wife is important 00:06:26.019 --> 00:06:29.139 So I'm replying to her for just a second and 00:06:29.139 --> 00:06:37.879 then we'll jump back into this Anyhow back to 00:06:37.879 --> 00:06:41.670 our teaching now So it could contain a lot of 00:06:41.670 --> 00:06:44.069 Old Testament references because that's what 00:06:44.069 --> 00:06:47.189 those readers, the people reading these notes 00:06:47.189 --> 00:06:49.310 and these letters would have understood. They 00:06:49.310 --> 00:06:51.470 understood Daniel, they understood Isaiah, they 00:06:51.470 --> 00:06:54.949 understood all the biblical prophecy that John 00:06:54.949 --> 00:06:57.149 was using in writing these letters and trying 00:06:57.149 --> 00:07:01.449 to communicate what was coming. And it's communicating. 00:07:02.339 --> 00:07:05.399 To Christians who were under Roman pressure. 00:07:05.800 --> 00:07:08.839 So the symbolic language allowed truth to spread 00:07:08.839 --> 00:07:12.300 without being immediately shut down If they would 00:07:12.300 --> 00:07:14.399 have used language, the wrong would have been 00:07:14.399 --> 00:07:17.740 familiar with and actual Trying to tie certain 00:07:17.740 --> 00:07:20.480 things together where the Roman soldiers understood 00:07:20.480 --> 00:07:22.360 that Roman guard would have read that letter 00:07:22.360 --> 00:07:24.459 and be like I ain't going no further You're not 00:07:24.459 --> 00:07:26.839 doing this mess, but that's not what happened. 00:07:26.839 --> 00:07:32.040 They're using Imagery in this whole thing And 00:07:32.040 --> 00:07:35.740 so that's really important. Think of it like 00:07:35.740 --> 00:07:38.740 a coded communication. That's what it is. They're 00:07:38.740 --> 00:07:44.379 speaking in code. Okay, so this came to me. Think 00:07:44.379 --> 00:07:46.939 of it as if you're a parent and have small children. 00:07:49.060 --> 00:07:51.620 There's times when they're younger that you communicate 00:07:51.620 --> 00:07:57.339 to each other by spelling. So you spend a lot 00:07:57.339 --> 00:07:58.879 of time really having to think about what you're 00:07:58.879 --> 00:08:01.600 spelling out. and that way your kid does not 00:08:01.600 --> 00:08:06.259 understand it. It's the same process that they 00:08:06.259 --> 00:08:14.180 would have been doing then. And we went through 00:08:14.180 --> 00:08:17.120 this but it bears repeating just to keep us going 00:08:17.120 --> 00:08:21.279 here. Simple examples of symbols are like the 00:08:21.279 --> 00:08:24.120 stars falling and we went over this but we'll 00:08:24.120 --> 00:08:26.769 go over it again. so stars falling would typically 00:08:26.769 --> 00:08:30.189 mean fall of rulers or nations not literal cosmic 00:08:30.189 --> 00:08:33.850 stars falling out of the sky beasts typically 00:08:33.850 --> 00:08:36.669 would represent empires or governments not a 00:08:36.669 --> 00:08:40.330 literal beast like in a sci -fi movie horns represent 00:08:40.330 --> 00:08:43.929 power and authority so these symbols are not 00:08:43.929 --> 00:08:46.789 random they're meaningful pictures to those who's 00:08:46.789 --> 00:08:49.769 reading these letters that's being penned and 00:08:49.769 --> 00:08:53.539 so The main theme of Revelation this is where 00:08:53.539 --> 00:08:56.159 clarity begins because many think revelation 00:08:56.159 --> 00:08:59.220 is about Antichrist and tribulation and destruction, 00:08:59.259 --> 00:09:01.700 but can I help you understand? And we'll get 00:09:01.700 --> 00:09:05.480 into some of this later, but the term Antichrist 00:09:05.480 --> 00:09:09.419 is not mentioned anywhere in Scripture Nowhere, 00:09:09.919 --> 00:09:12.340 but the true central message and it starts often 00:09:12.649 --> 00:09:15.929 Revelation 1 .1, the central message is that 00:09:15.929 --> 00:09:19.950 Jesus is king, not a barely a king that he just 00:09:19.950 --> 00:09:23.669 barely skated by. No, he is already victorious 00:09:23.669 --> 00:09:28.509 right now and will always be victorious. It begins 00:09:28.509 --> 00:09:32.269 with the revelation of Jesus Christ, not the 00:09:32.269 --> 00:09:34.429 revelation of catastrophe or the revelation of 00:09:34.429 --> 00:09:38.009 doom or none of that. But the theme is that Jesus 00:09:38.009 --> 00:09:41.169 wins, the lamb reigns, and the kingdom advances. 00:09:41.690 --> 00:09:44.309 If you look at it, there's some lamb imagery 00:09:44.309 --> 00:09:47.610 here. Jesus appears as the lamb who was slain, 00:09:47.610 --> 00:09:50.870 but also the reigning king. And that contrast 00:09:50.870 --> 00:09:53.389 always matters. So if you look at Revelation 00:09:53.389 --> 00:09:58.370 chapter five, verses five through seven, let 00:09:58.370 --> 00:10:02.710 me see here. And pulsing from the throne were 00:10:02.710 --> 00:10:05.730 blinding flashes of lightning, crashes of thunder 00:10:05.730 --> 00:10:08.029 and voices, and burning before the throne were 00:10:08.029 --> 00:10:12.090 seven blazing torches. which represent the seven 00:10:12.090 --> 00:10:15.909 spirits of God, and in front of, I'm in Revelation 00:10:15.909 --> 00:10:18.850 four, I am so sorry, Revelation chapter five, 00:10:18.950 --> 00:10:21.470 verses five, I knew that wasn't right. Then one 00:10:21.470 --> 00:10:23.649 of the elders said to me, stop weeping. Look, 00:10:23.750 --> 00:10:26.409 the mighty lion of Judah's tribe, the root of 00:10:26.409 --> 00:10:30.289 David, he has conquered. He is worthy one who 00:10:30.289 --> 00:10:33.090 can open the scroll and its seven seals. Now, 00:10:33.169 --> 00:10:35.870 I find this fascinating because it says, the 00:10:35.870 --> 00:10:39.230 mighty lion of Judah's tribe, the root of David. 00:10:39.610 --> 00:10:42.149 Then he said, I saw a young lamb. So when he 00:10:42.149 --> 00:10:45.649 turns to see the lion, he sees a young lamb standing 00:10:45.649 --> 00:10:48.070 before the throne and circled by the four living 00:10:48.070 --> 00:10:50.889 creatures and the 24 elders. He appeared to have 00:10:50.889 --> 00:10:53.970 been slaughtered, but was now alive. He had seven 00:10:53.970 --> 00:10:55.950 horns, seven eyes, which are the seven spirits 00:10:55.950 --> 00:11:00.330 of God sent out to the ends of the earth. So 00:11:00.330 --> 00:11:02.490 then I saw the young lamb approach the throne 00:11:02.490 --> 00:11:05.090 and take the scroll from the right hand of the 00:11:05.090 --> 00:11:08.600 one who sat there. So he's not a warrior, he's 00:11:08.600 --> 00:11:11.559 not a general, he's not a political figure. No, 00:11:11.559 --> 00:11:14.320 he was the lamb that was slain. And the lamb 00:11:14.320 --> 00:11:17.240 represents sacrifice, redemption, and faithfulness 00:11:17.240 --> 00:11:21.460 unto death. If you look at John chapter one, 00:11:22.220 --> 00:11:24.919 let me flip over there. John chapter one verse 00:11:24.919 --> 00:11:30.320 29. And it says this, when I get there. The very 00:11:30.320 --> 00:11:32.759 next day John saw Jesus coming to him to be baptized 00:11:32.759 --> 00:11:36.159 and John cried out, look. There he is, God's 00:11:36.159 --> 00:11:41.860 lamb. He takes away the sin of the world. Jesus 00:11:41.860 --> 00:11:45.679 conquers not by killing enemies, but by giving 00:11:45.679 --> 00:11:47.940 himself. I think I mentioned this previously. 00:11:48.480 --> 00:11:51.200 They wanted Jesus, they wanted the Messiah to 00:11:51.200 --> 00:11:55.360 come in as a warlord, if you will. They wanted 00:11:55.360 --> 00:11:59.139 him to have political might to really overthrow 00:11:59.139 --> 00:12:02.379 Rome. And their enemies was not his enemies. 00:12:02.659 --> 00:12:05.360 I want you to hear that clearly. The lamb may 00:12:05.360 --> 00:12:08.580 look weak, but it is not. The lamb is enthroned. 00:12:08.600 --> 00:12:11.220 He's worthy not because he fought harder, but 00:12:11.220 --> 00:12:15.220 because he loved deeper. And my friend, love 00:12:15.220 --> 00:12:18.759 wins every single time. Light always overcomes 00:12:18.759 --> 00:12:21.820 darkness. You see, again, the world expects victory 00:12:21.820 --> 00:12:24.700 through violence. It expects power through domination. 00:12:24.980 --> 00:12:29.179 It expects kings who conquer by force. But Revelation 00:12:29.179 --> 00:12:33.179 shows that a victory through sacrifice, authority 00:12:33.179 --> 00:12:36.009 through love. kingship through resurrection. 00:12:37.509 --> 00:12:41.769 The Lamb wins and reigns and that flips everything. 00:12:42.370 --> 00:12:46.110 The throne of heaven is not occupied by a warlord, 00:12:46.169 --> 00:12:49.909 it's occupied by a slain lamb. And if the lamb 00:12:49.909 --> 00:12:52.409 reigns, then the kingdom advances the same way 00:12:52.409 --> 00:12:55.289 the lamb conquered. Not through fear, not through 00:12:55.289 --> 00:12:57.690 violence, not through domination, but through 00:12:57.690 --> 00:13:00.570 faithfulness, through sacrifice, and through 00:13:00.570 --> 00:13:04.149 love. So revelation is not about fear, revelation 00:13:04.149 --> 00:13:08.250 is about victory. So what's the historical setting 00:13:08.250 --> 00:13:10.919 of revelation? This ties back into what we talked 00:13:10.919 --> 00:13:14.000 about last week, the whole 70 AD. Revelation 00:13:14.000 --> 00:13:17.019 was written during a time of persecution, in 00:13:17.019 --> 00:13:19.740 a time of political pressure, cultural compromise. 00:13:20.299 --> 00:13:23.419 Christians faced Roman authority, they faced 00:13:23.419 --> 00:13:26.860 emperor worship, they faced social pressure. 00:13:27.379 --> 00:13:29.860 Much more than we do here in America, okay? Let 00:13:29.860 --> 00:13:33.059 me get that out of the way here. So there's a 00:13:33.059 --> 00:13:36.059 major tension here. Rome demanded loyalty, but 00:13:36.059 --> 00:13:38.360 Jesus also demands allegiance, and you cannot 00:13:38.360 --> 00:13:42.240 serve both. So while Revelation mattered, it 00:13:42.240 --> 00:13:45.899 told believers Rome is not ultimate, Jesus is. 00:13:46.879 --> 00:13:49.120 So let's look back. Let's tie some of this together. 00:13:49.440 --> 00:13:51.840 Jesus warned about Jerusalem's fall. The temple 00:13:51.840 --> 00:13:55.639 system did collapse. A new covenant reality was 00:13:55.639 --> 00:13:58.679 emerging. So Revelation is revealing God judging 00:13:58.679 --> 00:14:01.620 corrupt systems and establishing his kingdom. 00:14:02.120 --> 00:14:06.340 Revelation shows that earthly empires do fall, 00:14:06.559 --> 00:14:12.139 but Christ's kingdom remains. So let's look at 00:14:12.139 --> 00:14:14.860 some of the structure of Revelation quickly here. 00:14:15.820 --> 00:14:19.679 It's not complicated. I'm not going to go too 00:14:19.679 --> 00:14:22.840 much in depth here, but just enough for you to 00:14:22.840 --> 00:14:28.679 grab hold of the idea. Part one would be the 00:14:28.679 --> 00:14:30.679 letters to the churches. This is gonna be Revelation 00:14:30.679 --> 00:14:33.340 chapter one through chapter three. This is Jesus 00:14:33.340 --> 00:14:35.740 speaking to real churches. He's encouraging, 00:14:36.200 --> 00:14:39.080 he's correcting, he's calling them to remain 00:14:39.080 --> 00:14:42.360 faithful. And then we have part two, it's conflict 00:14:42.360 --> 00:14:45.559 and judgment in Revelation four through 18. So 00:14:45.559 --> 00:14:47.899 here you have a lot of symbolic battles. You 00:14:47.899 --> 00:14:50.259 have the beast, you have judgment imagery, and 00:14:50.259 --> 00:14:53.950 you have collapse of corrupt systems. And then 00:14:53.950 --> 00:14:57.049 the final part would be victory and renewal from 00:14:57.049 --> 00:15:01.610 Revelation 19 through Revelation 22, expressing 00:15:01.610 --> 00:15:04.850 that Jesus is victorious, that the kingdom is 00:15:04.850 --> 00:15:08.049 established, and now new creation imagery is 00:15:08.049 --> 00:15:11.350 being spoken. So Revelation moves from a struggle 00:15:11.350 --> 00:15:16.169 to victory. So what's the purpose behind Revelation? 00:15:16.909 --> 00:15:19.769 What is the heart? This is the heart. Purpose 00:15:19.769 --> 00:15:22.809 number one, it's meant to encourage believers. 00:15:23.080 --> 00:15:26.919 not to terrify them. It's to encourage endurance. 00:15:28.259 --> 00:15:30.940 Think about a sports team sometimes. If your 00:15:30.940 --> 00:15:32.740 kids ever played sports and you're up against 00:15:32.740 --> 00:15:35.259 a tough team, and you're trying to just encourage 00:15:35.259 --> 00:15:37.980 them, keep going, keep plowing. I know this is 00:15:37.980 --> 00:15:41.179 hard, keep going. That's what this is. Purpose 00:15:41.179 --> 00:15:44.259 number two, it's to reveal Jesus clearly. Not 00:15:44.259 --> 00:15:47.279 just as savior, but as king, as judge, and as 00:15:47.279 --> 00:15:51.220 victorious lamb. And what is he judging? Not 00:15:51.220 --> 00:15:55.539 people, he's judging systems. Purpose number 00:15:55.539 --> 00:16:00.259 three is to call believers to faithfulness. Even 00:16:00.259 --> 00:16:04.919 under pressure and even when culture resists, 00:16:05.159 --> 00:16:09.259 he's calling believers to remain faithful. Why? 00:16:09.360 --> 00:16:13.740 Because faithfulness speaks volume. So Revelation 00:16:13.740 --> 00:16:17.799 was written to strengthen courage. not to create 00:16:17.799 --> 00:16:20.779 panic, not to create fear, not to create this 00:16:20.779 --> 00:16:24.360 feeling of being overwhelmed. So maybe you're 00:16:24.360 --> 00:16:26.360 asking, well, how should I read Revelation then? 00:16:26.779 --> 00:16:29.419 Number one, with the Holy Spirit. And read it 00:16:29.419 --> 00:16:31.100 through the lens of Christ. It is one of the 00:16:31.100 --> 00:16:33.320 most complicated books of the Bible to read, 00:16:33.659 --> 00:16:35.340 but yet I find it fascinating that the thing 00:16:35.340 --> 00:16:38.639 it says to study and all that kind of stuff, 00:16:38.639 --> 00:16:40.879 we take it very literal at times with certain 00:16:40.879 --> 00:16:42.620 things that we're going to address later down 00:16:42.620 --> 00:16:44.899 the road, such as the Mark of the Beast, Antichrist, 00:16:45.179 --> 00:16:49.659 that kind of thing. but The first rule is start 00:16:49.659 --> 00:16:52.679 with the audience who first heard this message 00:16:52.679 --> 00:16:55.659 because that matters. How would the reader have 00:16:55.659 --> 00:16:59.639 gotten this? How would they have understood this? 00:16:59.879 --> 00:17:02.399 Rule number two look for the Old Testament imagery 00:17:02.399 --> 00:17:05.240 Most symbols are not new go back and look at 00:17:05.240 --> 00:17:08.019 the Old Testament. What did it mean to them again? 00:17:08.039 --> 00:17:10.339 It's not talking about literal stars far in the 00:17:10.339 --> 00:17:13.400 sky or literal like sci -fi beasts coming up 00:17:13.519 --> 00:17:16.660 They are reused pictures and he's using that 00:17:16.660 --> 00:17:18.599 to communicate when he's writing these letters 00:17:18.599 --> 00:17:21.259 to these churches. Number three, and I think 00:17:21.259 --> 00:17:22.859 this is probably the most important part, is 00:17:22.859 --> 00:17:26.799 focus on Jesus. Don't focus on speculation. Don't 00:17:26.799 --> 00:17:28.799 go in there with a predetermined notion of what 00:17:28.799 --> 00:17:31.240 this is about. Go in there clear -minded and 00:17:31.240 --> 00:17:34.519 ask Holy Spirit, Holy Spirit, teach me what this 00:17:34.519 --> 00:17:38.890 book means. Okay? It's that simple. It's not 00:17:38.890 --> 00:17:42.490 timelines, it's Jesus. It's always Jesus. See, 00:17:42.490 --> 00:17:44.589 Jesus in the middle of everything that you're 00:17:44.589 --> 00:17:48.470 reading. If revelation pulls your focus away 00:17:48.470 --> 00:17:52.069 from Jesus, you're reading it wrong. In fact, 00:17:52.089 --> 00:17:54.549 I would apply that to any scripture that you 00:17:54.549 --> 00:17:57.309 read. If it pulls your focus away from Jesus, 00:17:57.670 --> 00:18:04.849 you're reading it wrong. So, just a couple summary 00:18:04.849 --> 00:18:08.849 here. Reveal, resist, and reign. Reveal that 00:18:08.849 --> 00:18:12.569 Jesus is revealed as king here Believers resist 00:18:12.569 --> 00:18:16.170 compromise and then Christ reigns victorious. 00:18:16.750 --> 00:18:19.769 I want you to think about When you think about 00:18:19.769 --> 00:18:22.589 Revelation think of a movie trailer because Revelation 00:18:22.589 --> 00:18:26.529 can be I can compare it to a movie trailer Showing 00:18:26.529 --> 00:18:29.509 the final victory even if battles happen throughout 00:18:29.509 --> 00:18:32.990 the movie. You already know the ending Makes 00:18:32.990 --> 00:18:37.940 sense Think about storm versus anchor the world 00:18:37.940 --> 00:18:41.700 shakes, but Christ is the anchor storms pass 00:18:41.700 --> 00:18:48.980 anchors remain That's it guys, I mean it's it's 00:18:48.980 --> 00:18:50.920 really it's not supposed to be a complicated 00:18:50.920 --> 00:18:53.119 It is a complicated book to some degree because 00:18:53.119 --> 00:18:56.460 there's a lot of imagery But it should not be 00:18:56.460 --> 00:19:00.019 producing fear and anxiety and worry and overwhelming 00:19:00.019 --> 00:19:03.579 this and all that look Look for Jesus. In the 00:19:03.579 --> 00:19:06.319 middle of it all, look for Jesus. Revelation 00:19:06.319 --> 00:19:09.099 is not a book meant to terrify believers about 00:19:09.099 --> 00:19:12.000 the future. It's a book meant to strengthen believers 00:19:12.000 --> 00:19:17.519 in the present. It reveals Jesus as the victorious 00:19:17.519 --> 00:19:22.089 king and calls us to remain faithful. If these 00:19:22.089 --> 00:19:24.589 people can remain faithful, then certainly we 00:19:24.589 --> 00:19:27.269 can remain faithful. And it reminds us that no 00:19:27.269 --> 00:19:31.289 empire, no system, no power can overthrow the 00:19:31.289 --> 00:19:35.309 kingdom of God. The lamb wins and those who follow 00:19:35.309 --> 00:19:39.170 him share in his victory. Guess what, friends? 00:19:39.289 --> 00:19:42.930 That's you and I. We get to share in the victory 00:19:42.930 --> 00:19:46.609 of Jesus. I told you guys this would be very 00:19:46.609 --> 00:19:49.750 simple. I just wanted to take just a little bit 00:19:49.750 --> 00:19:52.369 to just kind of give you a broad overview of 00:19:52.369 --> 00:19:55.250 the book of Revelation. Certainly you can go 00:19:55.250 --> 00:19:58.289 much, much, much deeper into the book of Revelation 00:19:58.289 --> 00:20:01.250 and I would challenge you study it for yourself. 00:20:01.329 --> 00:20:05.150 Go into it. This is not what this particular 00:20:05.150 --> 00:20:07.509 teaching is about. It's more on rethinking the 00:20:07.509 --> 00:20:09.950 end times. Revelation plays a lot of part in 00:20:09.950 --> 00:20:14.539 that. But I just really wanted to take a section, 00:20:14.559 --> 00:20:16.220 a session, whatever you want to call it, and 00:20:16.220 --> 00:20:19.319 really help some people understand what is the 00:20:19.319 --> 00:20:21.880 book of Revelation meant to do? What is it for? 00:20:22.180 --> 00:20:25.859 It's not meant to be a scary book, okay? No part 00:20:25.859 --> 00:20:28.720 of scripture should cause you fear. Go read it 00:20:28.720 --> 00:20:30.859 with the heart of the Father in mind. Look for 00:20:30.859 --> 00:20:33.839 Jesus in the middle of everything you read and 00:20:33.839 --> 00:20:36.900 take it from there. It's really that simple. 00:20:37.380 --> 00:20:41.160 So my friends, till next time. Look next time 00:20:41.160 --> 00:20:43.880 we'll be diving into let's see what we do go 00:20:43.880 --> 00:20:49.099 into next week Oh next week. We're talk about 00:20:49.099 --> 00:20:53.039 The Rapture question So we get into the rapture 00:20:53.039 --> 00:20:54.539 and then we talk about the tribulation after 00:20:54.539 --> 00:20:56.420 that and then the Antichrist and some other fun 00:20:56.420 --> 00:20:58.900 things. This is getting really fun for me because 00:20:58.900 --> 00:21:00.799 now we're getting into some of the stuff that 00:21:00.799 --> 00:21:03.920 I've unlearned and have a different viewpoint 00:21:03.920 --> 00:21:06.740 on. So I'm looking forward to teaching you about 00:21:06.740 --> 00:21:09.079 the rapture question and let's dive into that 00:21:09.079 --> 00:21:12.400 some but until then be blessed. Listen, keep 00:21:12.400 --> 00:21:15.460 your focus and keep your thoughts on the heavenly 00:21:15.460 --> 00:21:17.980 things. Don't get distracted by all this other 00:21:17.980 --> 00:21:19.940 stuff. Be blessed my friend.