WEBVTT 00:00:06.339 --> 00:00:10.380 Hey friend, welcome back to the Semi -Seminarian. 00:00:10.400 --> 00:00:15.300 Here we are, another week, another episode of 00:00:15.300 --> 00:00:17.879 our Bible study. We're calling the Bible for 00:00:17.879 --> 00:00:22.420 Grownups. This week we conclude our series. We're 00:00:22.420 --> 00:00:25.600 calling the end, I guess you might say this is 00:00:25.600 --> 00:00:29.920 the end of the end. We conclude this series by 00:00:29.920 --> 00:00:33.679 taking a look at the book of Revelation. As I 00:00:33.679 --> 00:00:37.039 approached this subject this last week and really 00:00:37.039 --> 00:00:40.500 thinking and studying about it, one of the things 00:00:40.500 --> 00:00:43.759 I think is just so important when we get a basic 00:00:43.759 --> 00:00:47.359 understanding of the Bible is to have a basic 00:00:47.359 --> 00:00:51.520 understanding of this book of Revelation. There 00:00:51.520 --> 00:00:56.020 are so many particulars of the... that is contained 00:00:56.020 --> 00:01:00.240 within Revelation and so open to interpretation 00:01:00.240 --> 00:01:05.040 that it's just not possible in this medium to 00:01:05.040 --> 00:01:09.120 truly delve into every particular, but rather, 00:01:09.219 --> 00:01:12.680 as we want to do in the Christian tradition, 00:01:13.000 --> 00:01:17.579 we look at this book and hope that we can find 00:01:17.579 --> 00:01:22.099 Jesus and the gospel message of Jesus, the good 00:01:22.099 --> 00:01:26.159 news of Jesus. contained within that message. 00:01:27.219 --> 00:01:30.340 It's what I hope to do by trying to highlight 00:01:30.340 --> 00:01:35.500 who is Jesus throughout the book of Revelation. 00:01:35.599 --> 00:01:39.700 I hope that you will enjoy this episode. We'll 00:01:39.700 --> 00:01:51.060 see you on the other side. I wasn't really trying 00:01:51.060 --> 00:01:53.040 to talk about this kind of stuff in relation 00:01:53.040 --> 00:01:56.519 to Halloween and stuff like that. But you have 00:01:56.519 --> 00:01:58.480 to admit, some of the stuff in Revelation can 00:01:58.480 --> 00:02:03.099 be kind of spooky. Sometimes it can be scary. 00:02:03.640 --> 00:02:05.680 But you know what? Whether you think that or 00:02:05.680 --> 00:02:07.780 not, let me just ask you this. How many of us 00:02:07.780 --> 00:02:10.680 would say the book of Revelation is intriguing 00:02:10.680 --> 00:02:15.939 but confusing, exciting but sometimes scary? 00:02:16.419 --> 00:02:22.639 Right? Right. everybody will say, man, why would 00:02:22.639 --> 00:02:26.060 you preach out of Revelation? Because it has 00:02:26.060 --> 00:02:28.319 all of that weird stuff in there. There's dragons 00:02:28.319 --> 00:02:31.120 and there's beasts. There's multiple heads. There's 00:02:31.120 --> 00:02:34.539 this number 666. There's all sorts of numbers 00:02:34.539 --> 00:02:36.900 and symbols throughout the Revelation. You could 00:02:36.900 --> 00:02:40.680 read about 12 stars and 10 horns and 7 heads 00:02:40.680 --> 00:02:43.860 and 6 wings and 4 bowls of incense and 2 olive 00:02:43.860 --> 00:02:46.639 trees and a partridge and a pear tree all in 00:02:46.639 --> 00:02:51.159 this one book. A lot of different stuff. A partridge 00:02:51.159 --> 00:02:54.159 in a pear tree. I don't even get a chuckle. I 00:02:54.159 --> 00:03:00.560 don't even get a groan. Thank you. And the challenge 00:03:00.560 --> 00:03:03.620 is so many people, the truth is, myself included. 00:03:04.819 --> 00:03:07.099 But when we think about it, when we read the 00:03:07.099 --> 00:03:09.620 book, when we try to read it, sometimes we can 00:03:09.620 --> 00:03:13.259 get creeped out. Problem is, one of the reasons 00:03:13.259 --> 00:03:16.490 why I think that we... will often have people 00:03:16.490 --> 00:03:18.250 get creeped out whenever they think about the 00:03:18.250 --> 00:03:21.050 Revelation is because they don't know how to 00:03:21.050 --> 00:03:25.370 read it. They don't actually know what is the 00:03:25.370 --> 00:03:30.229 book even talking about? Why is it even being 00:03:30.229 --> 00:03:33.569 said? Right? We're going to answer these questions 00:03:33.569 --> 00:03:37.930 tonight, and I hope that as you read it and begin 00:03:37.930 --> 00:03:41.430 to understand it, that you actually experience 00:03:41.430 --> 00:03:45.039 something that's actually said, In the book, 00:03:45.080 --> 00:03:48.620 the very beginning of Revelation 1 says that 00:03:48.620 --> 00:03:51.800 you are blessed if you read it and you're blessed 00:03:51.800 --> 00:03:55.819 if you hear it. I know it might sometimes be 00:03:55.819 --> 00:03:59.840 confusing. All of the symbology can seem weird. 00:04:00.099 --> 00:04:04.439 But the reason for the revelation is to build 00:04:04.439 --> 00:04:09.379 your faith. God gives us the revelation of Jesus 00:04:09.379 --> 00:04:13.340 Christ. That's verse 1, chapter 1. I just said 00:04:13.340 --> 00:04:15.539 that, right? The revelation of Jesus Christ. 00:04:16.240 --> 00:04:19.399 And God is showing us what is to come at the 00:04:19.399 --> 00:04:21.800 end of time. And if you're a follower of Jesus 00:04:21.800 --> 00:04:24.980 Christ, and again, I am teaching this tonight 00:04:24.980 --> 00:04:30.680 from the mainline Protestant Christian perspective 00:04:30.680 --> 00:04:35.240 here. Again, these images, these images that 00:04:35.240 --> 00:04:39.879 come to us from Hebrew tradition, Things that 00:04:39.879 --> 00:04:42.899 are borrowed from the Hebrew scripture or what 00:04:42.899 --> 00:04:45.819 we might call the Old Testament, they might have 00:04:45.819 --> 00:04:48.259 different interpretation through the lens of 00:04:48.259 --> 00:04:53.199 the Jewish faith. And I do not mean to deny that 00:04:53.199 --> 00:04:56.379 interpretation. That's just not the purpose of 00:04:56.379 --> 00:05:00.040 my teaching tonight. My teaching is, my purpose 00:05:00.040 --> 00:05:03.860 is to teach this from the Christian tradition. 00:05:04.560 --> 00:05:08.769 Right? Through the Christian context. So please 00:05:08.769 --> 00:05:11.990 keep that in mind. Maybe not you, but maybe if 00:05:11.990 --> 00:05:14.350 you're listening on the podcast, maybe you might 00:05:14.350 --> 00:05:16.189 hear something and think, well, I didn't know 00:05:16.189 --> 00:05:18.529 that that's how Jewish people interpreted this 00:05:18.529 --> 00:05:20.990 imagery or that imagery. And that might not be 00:05:20.990 --> 00:05:23.310 the case in the Jewish tradition. I'm making 00:05:23.310 --> 00:05:26.009 a Christian argument, okay? So let me begin with 00:05:26.009 --> 00:05:28.910 a little bit of backstory about the Revelation 00:05:28.910 --> 00:05:32.269 and then break it down in a way that I hope that 00:05:32.269 --> 00:05:35.790 we can embrace it and understand it. So the book 00:05:35.790 --> 00:05:40.730 is written by John. who was the last living of 00:05:40.730 --> 00:05:45.430 the 12 original disciples of Jesus. Now, what's 00:05:45.430 --> 00:05:48.589 very interesting is if you know about what happened 00:05:48.589 --> 00:05:55.870 to the apostles, the disciples who then become 00:05:55.870 --> 00:06:00.290 the apostles, what actually happens to them after 00:06:00.290 --> 00:06:04.860 the resurrection. Because they actually all experience 00:06:04.860 --> 00:06:08.379 persecution. Each one of them willing to die 00:06:08.379 --> 00:06:11.360 for their faith. And okay, Judas kills himself. 00:06:12.339 --> 00:06:16.540 John dies, but he had been exiled. He's the only 00:06:16.540 --> 00:06:18.920 one that dies of an old age, but he's been exiled 00:06:18.920 --> 00:06:21.579 to Patmos. I've got another story from early 00:06:21.579 --> 00:06:24.180 Christian tradition tonight that I would tell 00:06:24.180 --> 00:06:27.420 you about John that might allow you to put him 00:06:27.420 --> 00:06:32.870 in this martyr category. if you believe this 00:06:32.870 --> 00:06:34.930 tradition I'm going to tell you about in a minute. 00:06:36.370 --> 00:06:39.850 Ten of the original disciples were willing to 00:06:39.850 --> 00:06:43.810 die rather than renounce the fact that they saw 00:06:43.810 --> 00:06:47.850 Jesus die and they saw Jesus alive. And to me, 00:06:47.870 --> 00:06:51.670 that's just remarkable. Put yourself in their 00:06:51.670 --> 00:06:54.230 shoes. I mean, I look at my own life and think, 00:06:54.350 --> 00:06:57.790 man, I am a nobody. I'm just a fisherman. I'm 00:06:57.790 --> 00:07:03.279 nobody. Who am I against the Roman Empire? And 00:07:03.279 --> 00:07:05.879 you know what? If I just admit to them, yeah, 00:07:05.899 --> 00:07:10.560 we made it up, Jesus really died, right? But 00:07:10.560 --> 00:07:14.040 I believe in my heart still that I saw Jesus 00:07:14.040 --> 00:07:16.720 resurrected, then what difference does it make 00:07:16.720 --> 00:07:18.600 if I tell the Romans what they want to hear? 00:07:19.100 --> 00:07:23.939 I don't want to be killed for it. These ten dudes... 00:07:24.360 --> 00:07:28.079 were so convicted by the fact that they did see 00:07:28.079 --> 00:07:31.000 Jesus alive, they weren't willing to fake anything. 00:07:31.959 --> 00:07:35.259 Ten of them died the death of a martyr rather 00:07:35.259 --> 00:07:39.519 than just admitting when we said that we saw 00:07:39.519 --> 00:07:43.800 Jesus alive after his death, we lied. Right? 00:07:43.879 --> 00:07:47.740 And they just weren't willing to do that. Well, 00:07:47.819 --> 00:07:50.990 there's one guy left. His name is John. And this 00:07:50.990 --> 00:07:54.110 is about 62 or so years after the resurrection 00:07:54.110 --> 00:08:00.310 of Jesus, about the year 95 AD. So we're going 00:08:00.310 --> 00:08:03.610 to get to 100 and it's going to become the next 00:08:03.610 --> 00:08:07.970 century. First century, second century. 95, right 00:08:07.970 --> 00:08:11.850 at the end of the first century. John is living 00:08:11.850 --> 00:08:18.180 in Ephesus, right here, Ephesus. And there was 00:08:18.180 --> 00:08:20.019 an emperor by the name of Domitian who says, 00:08:20.079 --> 00:08:24.100 I want you all to worship me as God. And John, 00:08:24.139 --> 00:08:28.740 like his buddies, said, no, I've actually seen 00:08:28.740 --> 00:08:33.059 the Lord and you ain't it. I'm not going to worship 00:08:33.059 --> 00:08:36.679 you. John is considered to have been exiled to 00:08:36.679 --> 00:08:39.559 Patmos during a time of persecution, a wider 00:08:39.559 --> 00:08:42.679 persecution of Christians by this Roman ruler 00:08:42.679 --> 00:08:48.399 here, Domitian. Revelation 1 and 9 says, I, John, 00:08:48.639 --> 00:08:50.919 both your brother and companion in tribulation, 00:08:51.100 --> 00:08:54.220 was on the island that is called Patmos for the 00:08:54.220 --> 00:08:57.139 word of God and for the testimony of Jesus Christ. 00:08:57.299 --> 00:09:02.899 I was put on the island in exile because of my 00:09:02.899 --> 00:09:05.899 preaching the word of God and the testimony of 00:09:05.899 --> 00:09:08.840 Jesus Christ. That's how we know that's how he 00:09:08.840 --> 00:09:12.820 got there. A biblical scholar from Yale Divinity, 00:09:14.090 --> 00:09:17.450 Adela Yarborough Collins, she writes these words. 00:09:17.809 --> 00:09:20.070 Early tradition says that John was banished to 00:09:20.070 --> 00:09:23.549 Patmos by the Roman authorities, and this tradition 00:09:23.549 --> 00:09:26.429 is credible because banishment was a common punishment 00:09:26.429 --> 00:09:30.370 used during the imperial times for a number of 00:09:30.370 --> 00:09:33.629 offenses, and among those were the practices 00:09:33.629 --> 00:09:38.769 of magic or astrology and prophecy. John was 00:09:38.769 --> 00:09:43.740 prophesying about the return of Jesus. The Roman 00:09:43.740 --> 00:09:47.320 Empire saw that. Look, he had a sizable following 00:09:47.320 --> 00:09:52.559 by 95. How do we know? Because he writes his 00:09:52.559 --> 00:09:56.100 gospel account of Jesus Christ, and he was so 00:09:56.100 --> 00:10:01.379 important about probably 80, 85, 80, and he was 00:10:01.379 --> 00:10:04.139 important enough at that time that his memoir 00:10:04.139 --> 00:10:07.259 gets saved and passed around. That's how we know 00:10:07.259 --> 00:10:10.220 that guy was important and had a sizable following. 00:10:10.809 --> 00:10:13.230 He had to have people who had to make copies 00:10:13.230 --> 00:10:17.669 of these writings and then distribute them. When 00:10:17.669 --> 00:10:19.490 you think about that kind of stuff, it's like, 00:10:19.529 --> 00:10:22.950 oh, okay, I can see how. Even though there was 00:10:22.950 --> 00:10:27.009 this Roman emperor, Domitian, who has control 00:10:27.009 --> 00:10:30.450 over your life, John still has a certain amount 00:10:30.450 --> 00:10:33.570 of power. The emperor can't just go and cut his 00:10:33.570 --> 00:10:36.669 head off. He's got enough size following here. 00:10:37.480 --> 00:10:40.679 Ephesus, which is what used to be called Anatolia, 00:10:40.720 --> 00:10:45.580 that's modern -day Turkey today. Northern part 00:10:45.580 --> 00:10:49.480 of the Middle East, where Europe ends and the 00:10:49.480 --> 00:10:53.159 Middle East begins, or vice versa. Right here 00:10:53.159 --> 00:10:56.299 in modern -day Turkey. He had enough size following, 00:10:56.379 --> 00:10:57.980 he couldn't just kill him, because it would have 00:10:57.980 --> 00:11:01.799 caused an uprising within the province. So you 00:11:01.799 --> 00:11:04.059 can't kill him, you put him in jail, essentially. 00:11:04.730 --> 00:11:07.009 Right. So they banish him to the Isle of Patmos. 00:11:07.769 --> 00:11:12.429 Right. Now, there was a Christian community here 00:11:12.429 --> 00:11:15.850 in Ephesus. John, that's why John's here, because 00:11:15.850 --> 00:11:19.149 of the Christians that live here. It's also Christian 00:11:19.149 --> 00:11:22.110 tradition that you guys remember that it's John 00:11:22.110 --> 00:11:26.470 that Jesus from the cross entrusts his mother 00:11:26.470 --> 00:11:30.690 Mary to John. Right. You guys know that Christian 00:11:30.690 --> 00:11:35.639 tradition says that they moved to. Ephesus. And 00:11:35.639 --> 00:11:37.340 there was an early church there. This church 00:11:37.340 --> 00:11:42.679 actually was started before Paul. So when Paul 00:11:42.679 --> 00:11:45.759 shows up in the 18th chapter of the Acts of the 00:11:45.759 --> 00:11:47.899 Apostles, there's already a burgeoning church 00:11:47.899 --> 00:11:51.320 there in Ephesus. Right. A lot of it having to 00:11:51.320 --> 00:11:53.960 do with the fact that this is where John had 00:11:53.960 --> 00:11:56.980 settled. I'm making this point that John's still 00:11:56.980 --> 00:11:59.460 kind of a powerful guy here. Right. That's why 00:11:59.460 --> 00:12:02.220 he wasn't just right. He wasn't just killed. 00:12:03.960 --> 00:12:08.500 And according to Christian tradition for sure, 00:12:08.620 --> 00:12:11.980 after the assumption of Mary, the assumption 00:12:11.980 --> 00:12:16.419 of Mary is the euphemistic way of saying when 00:12:16.419 --> 00:12:22.320 Jesus' mother Mary died and went to heaven. Right? 00:12:22.360 --> 00:12:25.279 That's called her assumption. It's just that's 00:12:25.279 --> 00:12:28.080 what they call it. John was definitely in Ephesus. 00:12:28.559 --> 00:12:35.120 Okay? So he's in this place. John the disciple. 00:12:36.559 --> 00:12:41.820 It's very close to Patmos in these islands here, 00:12:42.000 --> 00:12:45.259 right? Here's Patmos on this map. There's Patmos 00:12:45.259 --> 00:12:48.659 over there in the blue on the other map. And 00:12:48.659 --> 00:12:54.460 people like John were kicked off off of the mainland 00:12:54.460 --> 00:12:58.259 and onto these islands. So the idea that maybe 00:12:58.259 --> 00:13:02.429 John the apostle Is the same John who writes 00:13:02.429 --> 00:13:06.870 and is John of Patmos? There seems to be quite 00:13:06.870 --> 00:13:08.629 a bit of evidence that this is who we're talking 00:13:08.629 --> 00:13:12.389 about, right? And so we have John, the apostle, 00:13:12.690 --> 00:13:16.230 the beloved apostle, is the one who actually 00:13:16.230 --> 00:13:21.549 gives the full revelation of Christ. Because 00:13:21.549 --> 00:13:26.009 it's in John's vision where the fullness of God's 00:13:26.009 --> 00:13:33.250 time is finally realized. Revelation is the conclusion 00:13:33.250 --> 00:13:37.309 to the story. You guys in these seven churches 00:13:37.309 --> 00:13:44.009 are under a lot of persecution. I, John, I am 00:13:44.009 --> 00:13:46.529 writing this letter to you guys to encourage 00:13:46.529 --> 00:13:49.370 you. And how I'm going to encourage you is I'm 00:13:49.370 --> 00:13:51.850 going to tell you how Jesus ends up winning this 00:13:51.850 --> 00:13:55.669 whole thing in the end. But before I do that, 00:13:55.769 --> 00:13:59.049 seven churches. I need to tell you some things 00:13:59.049 --> 00:14:02.029 you guys are doing good about yourself. And I 00:14:02.029 --> 00:14:03.629 need to tell you some things you're doing bad 00:14:03.629 --> 00:14:06.789 about yourself and fix them. Okay? That's actually 00:14:06.789 --> 00:14:09.450 what Revelation is. It's a part of these letters 00:14:09.450 --> 00:14:13.429 to these seven churches. Okay? Here's what's 00:14:13.429 --> 00:14:15.370 good about you. Here's what's bad about you. 00:14:15.409 --> 00:14:19.529 But guys, buck up. Chin up, he says. John says, 00:14:19.649 --> 00:14:22.850 because let me tell you how the story ends. That's 00:14:22.850 --> 00:14:26.360 what Revelation is. So what is it? It is a revelation 00:14:26.360 --> 00:14:32.139 of the fullness of who Jesus Christ fully is. 00:14:32.580 --> 00:14:35.379 And so how I would like to explain that is by 00:14:35.379 --> 00:14:39.899 breaking Jesus Christ down into five visions 00:14:39.899 --> 00:14:42.779 of Jesus Christ throughout the revelation. But 00:14:42.779 --> 00:14:45.399 before we get that, I want to tell one cool story 00:14:45.399 --> 00:14:48.179 about John. Remember how it's like John is like, 00:14:48.259 --> 00:14:50.840 except for Judas, he's the only one who wasn't 00:14:50.840 --> 00:14:54.500 martyred, but he was sent to an island. He was 00:14:54.500 --> 00:14:57.559 probably only on the island of Patmos maybe a 00:14:57.559 --> 00:15:01.080 year or two. No, no, no, no. Before he actually 00:15:01.080 --> 00:15:05.419 returned to Ephesus and died. And not only that. 00:15:05.720 --> 00:15:09.139 Guys, this is in the Aegean Sea. This is basically 00:15:09.139 --> 00:15:13.480 the Mediterranean Ocean. How bad is being banished 00:15:13.480 --> 00:15:17.600 to an island in the Mediterranean? Hey, John, 00:15:17.820 --> 00:15:21.830 take a couple of years off. Right? All right. 00:15:21.870 --> 00:15:25.190 Sounds like John's kind of like compared to his 00:15:25.190 --> 00:15:27.549 other 10 buddies and Judas. Well, Judas is Judas. 00:15:28.289 --> 00:15:30.389 John's getting the easy way out. But let me tell 00:15:30.389 --> 00:15:34.269 you, there is this famous theologian, church 00:15:34.269 --> 00:15:38.309 father, early church, second century church father, 00:15:38.450 --> 00:15:43.389 Tertullian. Tertullian writes these stories. 00:15:44.750 --> 00:15:47.409 Down about the early church stories that have 00:15:47.409 --> 00:15:49.929 been transmitted orally to him as someone who'd 00:15:49.929 --> 00:15:54.090 grown up in the church. And so at 200, he's kind 00:15:54.090 --> 00:15:58.889 of writing a memoir about the last 200 years 00:15:58.889 --> 00:16:01.330 through stories he had heard as Christianity 00:16:01.330 --> 00:16:04.289 had developed over those years. Right. So that 00:16:04.289 --> 00:16:06.730 those things, these early things in the early 00:16:06.730 --> 00:16:10.950 church could be memorialized. The story or the 00:16:10.950 --> 00:16:14.509 name of this work is. The Prescription of Heretics. 00:16:15.309 --> 00:16:20.250 Crazy title, right? But he says that John was 00:16:20.250 --> 00:16:22.769 indeed banished to the island of Patmos. And 00:16:22.769 --> 00:16:25.929 this is the same John. But in case you think 00:16:25.929 --> 00:16:30.289 that he's getting off easy, Tertullian says he 00:16:30.289 --> 00:16:35.730 was only banished to Patmos after they had a 00:16:35.730 --> 00:16:40.110 spectacle in the Colosseum. in which there was 00:16:40.110 --> 00:16:44.710 a vat of oil brought out, and the apostle John 00:16:44.710 --> 00:16:50.070 was dipped in the boiling oil, and rather than 00:16:50.070 --> 00:16:53.909 boil and die, preached from the boiling oil. 00:16:54.090 --> 00:16:57.929 And everybody in the Colosseum that saw it was 00:16:57.929 --> 00:17:01.750 instantly converted. How about that for a story, 00:17:01.850 --> 00:17:04.769 right? So maybe John, if you want to believe 00:17:04.769 --> 00:17:08.690 that kind of story, maybe John did suffer. In 00:17:08.690 --> 00:17:11.930 the way that the others. Anyway. John's exiled 00:17:11.930 --> 00:17:14.750 to Patmos. And he's actually lived in a cave. 00:17:14.910 --> 00:17:18.470 That you can visit today. Right. The place where 00:17:18.470 --> 00:17:21.509 it's reported. That an angel of the Lord. Visited 00:17:21.509 --> 00:17:24.630 John. And gives him visions. That are recorded 00:17:24.630 --> 00:17:29.230 in the revelation. The revelation of Jesus. If 00:17:29.230 --> 00:17:32.309 you read chapters 2 and 3. Again. In chapters 00:17:32.309 --> 00:17:34.829 2 and 3. We're going to find that what revelation. 00:17:35.009 --> 00:17:39.049 The revelation actually is. is a letter to these 00:17:39.049 --> 00:17:43.390 seven churches. So, like I mentioned just a second 00:17:43.390 --> 00:17:46.289 ago, what I'd like to do is break the book into 00:17:46.289 --> 00:17:48.950 five specific sections, and then I want to encourage 00:17:48.950 --> 00:17:52.609 you also, again, to not just listen to me tell 00:17:52.609 --> 00:17:56.150 you what Revelation means and what's in it, but 00:17:56.150 --> 00:17:59.009 read it for yourself. It'll only take about 45 00:17:59.009 --> 00:18:04.029 minutes. Read it for yourself. Don't just take 00:18:04.029 --> 00:18:06.910 in just, well, the pastor said blah, blah, blah. 00:18:07.859 --> 00:18:09.759 Well, guys, the pastor says blah, blah, blah 00:18:09.759 --> 00:18:13.059 all the time. Go make sure you figure it out 00:18:13.059 --> 00:18:17.500 for yourself. Okay? But you can take out your 00:18:17.500 --> 00:18:19.019 Bible app. If you've got that on your phone, 00:18:19.079 --> 00:18:21.079 you can start it right now. But I'd like for 00:18:21.079 --> 00:18:24.599 you to read the Revelation in the light of these 00:18:24.599 --> 00:18:27.740 five sections. The five main themes that we're 00:18:27.740 --> 00:18:30.339 going to cover, and I want you to look at who 00:18:30.339 --> 00:18:36.519 Jesus is in the Revelation. By examining who 00:18:36.519 --> 00:18:40.500 Jesus is in each of these sections. Remembering 00:18:40.500 --> 00:18:44.779 that ultimately the revelation is a story about 00:18:44.779 --> 00:18:49.420 Jesus. Right? And when you read the revelation 00:18:49.420 --> 00:18:53.740 in light of who Jesus is, hopefully you're not 00:18:53.740 --> 00:18:55.960 going to get freaked out. It's going to build 00:18:55.960 --> 00:18:59.440 your faith. Because that was exactly why the 00:18:59.440 --> 00:19:02.799 letter was written in the first place. To build 00:19:02.799 --> 00:19:05.940 the faith of these early Christians in the light 00:19:05.940 --> 00:19:09.740 of their present circumstances, which as a Christian 00:19:09.740 --> 00:19:17.420 in 95 AD was not very good. So remember, before 00:19:17.420 --> 00:19:20.539 it, it's about scaring you into becoming a Christian, 00:19:20.579 --> 00:19:24.160 about trying to convince you that UPC codes are 00:19:24.160 --> 00:19:27.619 really the mark of the beast, that whatever left 00:19:27.619 --> 00:19:30.750 behind craziness that you might think of, When 00:19:30.750 --> 00:19:33.230 it comes to the revelation, first and foremost, 00:19:33.509 --> 00:19:37.410 the purpose of the revelation is to give we Christians 00:19:37.410 --> 00:19:43.210 hope in light of a world that is falling down 00:19:43.210 --> 00:19:47.369 around us. And that's exactly how these churches 00:19:47.369 --> 00:19:51.750 felt during this time under Roman rule. And it's 00:19:51.750 --> 00:19:56.549 exactly how we feel today. Right? And why is 00:19:56.549 --> 00:20:01.630 that the case? Book of Revelation is not some 00:20:01.630 --> 00:20:05.150 secret code. It's not some puzzle to predict 00:20:05.150 --> 00:20:08.829 the end of the world. Rather, again, it's this 00:20:08.829 --> 00:20:12.589 message to these churches and ultimately what 00:20:12.589 --> 00:20:16.309 it says to them and to us today is it's an indictment 00:20:16.309 --> 00:20:20.250 that every earthly kingdom you can think about, 00:20:20.410 --> 00:20:23.869 even church kingdoms that are founded for the 00:20:23.869 --> 00:20:29.579 good reasons, every earthly kingdom, right? We'll 00:20:29.579 --> 00:20:33.759 eventually become Babylon. That's the point. 00:20:33.859 --> 00:20:40.400 That's why Christ has to return. We cannot make 00:20:40.400 --> 00:20:46.579 the world perfect. No matter how hard we try 00:20:46.579 --> 00:20:51.599 in our own earthly kingdoms, we will fail. So 00:20:51.599 --> 00:20:54.740 if we really believe that there is such a thing 00:20:54.740 --> 00:20:59.029 as complete restoration in God, then at some 00:20:59.029 --> 00:21:06.269 point the earthly kingdoms must fall all to God's 00:21:06.269 --> 00:21:10.049 heavenly kingdom. Yes? That's what this discussion 00:21:10.049 --> 00:21:12.730 is all about. So I'm going to break the whole 00:21:12.730 --> 00:21:16.750 book down in five sections, so get ready and 00:21:16.750 --> 00:21:21.750 listen fast. Okay? Dive in section one. This 00:21:21.750 --> 00:21:23.869 includes chapter one through chapters three. 00:21:24.009 --> 00:21:27.359 And I want you to, once again, read. One through 00:21:27.359 --> 00:21:31.599 three. And as you do, think of this theme. Jesus 00:21:31.599 --> 00:21:35.160 is the Alpha and the Omega. The theme of the 00:21:35.160 --> 00:21:37.920 first three sections, this overarching idea, 00:21:38.200 --> 00:21:41.559 right, in your notes there, is that Jesus is 00:21:41.559 --> 00:21:45.319 returning soon. That's the overarching theme, 00:21:45.559 --> 00:21:49.400 the source of hope for these Christians. Okay? 00:21:49.480 --> 00:21:51.319 Let's look at what the Bible says. Revelation 00:21:51.319 --> 00:21:55.220 chapter 1, verse 7. John has this vision. John 00:21:55.220 --> 00:21:58.960 says, look, he... Jesus is coming with the clouds 00:21:58.960 --> 00:22:02.980 and every eye will see him. This is not the first 00:22:02.980 --> 00:22:05.920 return. This is the rapture part. This isn't 00:22:05.920 --> 00:22:08.220 what we looked at in week one when he comes back 00:22:08.220 --> 00:22:11.619 like as a thief. Those who are left behind don't 00:22:11.619 --> 00:22:15.400 even know what happened. This is the second coming. 00:22:16.099 --> 00:22:19.700 The first he comes for his church. This time 00:22:19.700 --> 00:22:23.819 he comes with his church. Remember how we talked 00:22:23.819 --> 00:22:26.720 about that to establish? a new heaven and a new 00:22:26.720 --> 00:22:31.039 earth. And every eye will see Him, even those 00:22:31.039 --> 00:22:34.500 who pierced Him. And all of the peoples of the 00:22:34.500 --> 00:22:38.319 earth will mourn because of them. So shall it 00:22:38.319 --> 00:22:42.440 be. Amen. And then it goes on to say, Jesus' 00:22:42.460 --> 00:22:47.579 words, I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Lord 00:22:47.579 --> 00:22:55.880 God who is and who was and who is to come. Almighty. 00:22:56.740 --> 00:23:01.099 I am the Alpha and the Omega. Alpha is the first 00:23:01.099 --> 00:23:04.480 letter in the Greek alphabet. You guys see me 00:23:04.480 --> 00:23:07.519 bringing up Greek in these lessons all the time. 00:23:07.559 --> 00:23:09.380 It's because the New Testament is originally 00:23:09.380 --> 00:23:13.440 written in Greek by Greek speakers for Greek 00:23:13.440 --> 00:23:17.279 speakers. So they use the Greek alphabet. I am 00:23:17.279 --> 00:23:20.460 the Alpha and the Omega. And in what we would 00:23:20.460 --> 00:23:23.700 say, I'm A to Z, right? And I'm everything in 00:23:23.700 --> 00:23:26.380 between. I was there before the beginning of 00:23:26.380 --> 00:23:29.599 the world. Now hear me out. He's saying two things. 00:23:29.660 --> 00:23:34.299 Listen, I am here at the beginning of the world 00:23:34.299 --> 00:23:41.960 and I am already in the end. Right? I am here 00:23:41.960 --> 00:23:45.579 in the beginning of the world. Do you guys hear 00:23:45.579 --> 00:23:49.500 how I'm using the verb tense there? Because God 00:23:49.500 --> 00:23:56.420 is. Right? God is. Where is, what is, who is, 00:23:56.519 --> 00:24:00.240 how is, yes, and everything you couldn't even 00:24:00.240 --> 00:24:05.579 think of. Every data point in between, from east 00:24:05.579 --> 00:24:10.279 to west, God is. I am already in the end. I'm 00:24:10.279 --> 00:24:13.920 the beginning, and I'm the end. And if you want 00:24:13.920 --> 00:24:17.500 to know, early Christians, modern day Christians, 00:24:18.160 --> 00:24:20.160 If you want to know what's going to happen, you 00:24:20.160 --> 00:24:22.779 don't need to worry because I've already written 00:24:22.779 --> 00:24:27.380 the last page of the book. And if you're a Christian, 00:24:27.539 --> 00:24:30.819 is that something we should be afraid of and 00:24:30.819 --> 00:24:33.700 acknowledging? Of course not. I'm the Alpha and 00:24:33.700 --> 00:24:35.619 the Omega, the first and the last, the beginning 00:24:35.619 --> 00:24:39.160 of the end. I will show you how it ends. And 00:24:39.160 --> 00:24:44.460 it ends with good news. Because I, Jesus, the 00:24:44.460 --> 00:24:49.799 love of God. am there in the beginning, and I 00:24:49.799 --> 00:24:54.279 am there in the end. John goes on in his vision, 00:24:54.380 --> 00:24:57.940 verse 14 and 15. He describes Jesus this way. 00:24:58.700 --> 00:25:01.740 His head and hair were white like wool, as white 00:25:01.740 --> 00:25:05.720 as snow. His eyes were like blazing fire. His 00:25:05.720 --> 00:25:08.559 feet were like bronze in the furnace. And his 00:25:08.559 --> 00:25:11.380 voice was like that, like the sound of rushing 00:25:11.380 --> 00:25:14.940 waters. He goes on to say, in his right hand, 00:25:15.400 --> 00:25:17.960 were held seven stars. Now I'm going to just 00:25:17.960 --> 00:25:21.460 use this very weak example as an example that 00:25:21.460 --> 00:25:24.359 you're going to encounter all throughout the 00:25:24.359 --> 00:25:28.799 reading of Revelation. Whenever it says Jesus 00:25:28.799 --> 00:25:34.319 is holding seven stars, is Jesus literally holding 00:25:34.319 --> 00:25:37.980 seven stars? No. We'll actually find that he's 00:25:37.980 --> 00:25:42.059 referring to the angels of these seven churches. 00:25:42.890 --> 00:25:45.230 There is tons and tons and tons and tons and 00:25:45.230 --> 00:25:51.029 tons and tons of symbolism in Revelation. Don't 00:25:51.029 --> 00:25:55.309 take everything in Revelation literally. There 00:25:55.309 --> 00:26:00.130 is tons of imagery here, right? And again, John 00:26:00.130 --> 00:26:02.730 actually explains that these aren't stars. They're 00:26:02.730 --> 00:26:04.910 the seven angels of the seven churches of Jesus 00:26:04.910 --> 00:26:09.130 Christ. The purpose of this book, if you were 00:26:09.130 --> 00:26:12.960 to hear one sentence, The whole night. As a matter 00:26:12.960 --> 00:26:14.519 of fact, you hear this sentence, if you don't 00:26:14.519 --> 00:26:16.660 want to hear me back this up, you can go home. 00:26:17.720 --> 00:26:21.299 The purpose of the book is to strengthen the 00:26:21.299 --> 00:26:25.299 faith of the members of these churches and through 00:26:25.299 --> 00:26:28.940 the power of the Holy Spirit to we today by giving 00:26:28.940 --> 00:26:34.640 to them and us the assurance that deliverance 00:26:34.640 --> 00:26:41.599 from evil powers is certain. And it's close at 00:26:41.599 --> 00:26:46.660 hand. The book is written so that we Christians 00:26:46.660 --> 00:26:51.859 may know that the ultimate defeat of evil, that 00:26:51.859 --> 00:26:56.140 the ultimate coming of God's justice, one, is 00:26:56.140 --> 00:27:02.619 certain, and two, is close at hand. Okay? He 00:27:02.619 --> 00:27:05.420 says, In his hand he held seven stars, and out 00:27:05.420 --> 00:27:07.900 of his mouth came a sharp, double -edged sword. 00:27:08.079 --> 00:27:11.529 Again, Don't take this literally. This is not 00:27:11.529 --> 00:27:15.009 some circus trick, right? Jesus doesn't pop off 00:27:15.009 --> 00:27:17.809 of the, you know, the sideshow and goes, all 00:27:17.809 --> 00:27:21.029 right, watch, ready. And I pull swords out of 00:27:21.029 --> 00:27:25.150 his mouth. No, the double -edged sword is actually 00:27:25.150 --> 00:27:27.589 referring to the word of God. It's symbolism, 00:27:27.829 --> 00:27:31.549 right? A double -edged sword was a symbol to 00:27:31.549 --> 00:27:34.869 Hebrew people of scripture, of the word of God. 00:27:36.490 --> 00:27:41.250 So, out of his mouth comes the word of God. Right? 00:27:41.289 --> 00:27:45.349 A theme over and over again. His face was like 00:27:45.349 --> 00:27:48.710 the sun shining in all of its brilliance. And 00:27:48.710 --> 00:27:51.789 it goes on to say, when I saw him, John says, 00:27:52.130 --> 00:27:55.430 I fell at his feet though dead. Now, I think 00:27:55.430 --> 00:27:58.069 this is interesting because remember, John is 00:27:58.069 --> 00:28:01.890 the beloved disciple. Now, obviously Jesus loved 00:28:01.890 --> 00:28:08.490 all of his disciples. Right? But Christian tradition 00:28:08.490 --> 00:28:12.809 at least generally confirms that he and John 00:28:12.809 --> 00:28:17.450 had some special relationship. That John was 00:28:17.450 --> 00:28:21.009 considered the beloved disciple by Jesus, not 00:28:21.009 --> 00:28:26.490 just calling himself in his own book. So John 00:28:26.490 --> 00:28:31.309 was this friend of Jesus, a special friend of 00:28:31.309 --> 00:28:34.410 Jesus. But what's interesting is when John sees 00:28:34.410 --> 00:28:40.240 him, it's not like, Bro! Right? Because John's 00:28:40.240 --> 00:28:45.240 not encountering in Revelation his bro, Jesus. 00:28:46.039 --> 00:28:50.660 Right? He's encountering the Alpha and the Omega. 00:28:51.759 --> 00:28:55.619 This isn't buddy -buddy. He's in the presence 00:28:55.619 --> 00:28:58.940 of the first and the last. John falls on his 00:28:58.940 --> 00:29:02.480 face in awe, in worship as though he was dead. 00:29:02.700 --> 00:29:06.390 But what does Jesus do? He places his right hand 00:29:06.390 --> 00:29:10.589 on John and said, as angelic beings have said 00:29:10.589 --> 00:29:14.410 throughout Scripture, do not be afraid. Why is 00:29:14.410 --> 00:29:16.490 the book of Revelation written? So that these 00:29:16.490 --> 00:29:20.309 Christians and so that you Christians don't be 00:29:20.309 --> 00:29:22.990 afraid. Hear that message. Why? Why should I 00:29:22.990 --> 00:29:26.130 not be afraid? Because Jesus, your Savior, is 00:29:26.130 --> 00:29:29.710 the first and the last. He goes on to say, I 00:29:29.710 --> 00:29:32.240 am the living one. And here's where we'll see 00:29:32.240 --> 00:29:35.680 the gospel message, the good news of Jesus, repeated 00:29:35.680 --> 00:29:38.000 over and over and again through the revelation. 00:29:38.740 --> 00:29:42.420 Jesus says, he actually says it outright. He 00:29:42.420 --> 00:29:45.599 says, I was dead, but they couldn't keep me dead. 00:29:45.759 --> 00:29:49.460 And I came back. And behold, I am alive forever 00:29:49.460 --> 00:29:53.799 and ever. And I hold the keys to death and Hades. 00:29:54.240 --> 00:29:56.859 I am the Alpha and the Omega, the first and the 00:29:56.859 --> 00:29:59.730 last, the beginning and the end. I am back. And 00:29:59.730 --> 00:30:04.130 I hold the keys of death and Hades. If you see 00:30:04.130 --> 00:30:08.769 Jesus in the Revelation, it'll build your faith. 00:30:09.289 --> 00:30:12.430 Section 1 shows us Jesus is the Alpha and the 00:30:12.430 --> 00:30:16.269 Omega. He is the soon -returning King of Kings 00:30:16.269 --> 00:30:20.289 for His church, the Bride. The second section, 00:30:20.470 --> 00:30:24.509 chapters 4 and 5, these are two good chapters 00:30:24.509 --> 00:30:27.539 to kind of read together, 4 and 5. And when you 00:30:27.539 --> 00:30:30.099 read these two chapters, 4 and 5 together, ask 00:30:30.099 --> 00:30:34.920 yourself, who is Jesus in 4 and 5? And the answer, 00:30:35.039 --> 00:30:40.259 Jesus is the Lamb of God. 28 times in Scripture, 00:30:40.420 --> 00:30:43.400 in Revelation, Jesus is referred to as the Lamb 00:30:43.400 --> 00:30:47.140 of God. 28 times. What's the main theme of this 00:30:47.140 --> 00:30:52.000 section? Jesus is the Lamb of God worthy to open 00:30:52.000 --> 00:30:56.329 the scroll. You might ask yourself, rightly so, 00:30:56.430 --> 00:30:59.470 what in the world does that mean? Well, read 00:30:59.470 --> 00:31:02.210 for yourselves, chapter 4 and 5. And what you'll 00:31:02.210 --> 00:31:07.289 see is this. That God is on the throne, and in 00:31:07.289 --> 00:31:10.029 God's hand, he holds a giant scroll that's sealed 00:31:10.029 --> 00:31:14.109 with seven seals. And the scroll is kind of like 00:31:14.109 --> 00:31:19.299 the last will and testament of humankind. It's 00:31:19.299 --> 00:31:22.140 kind of a declaration of all that is to come 00:31:22.140 --> 00:31:25.400 and that all is to happen for the people of the 00:31:25.400 --> 00:31:29.339 earth. And John is like, I want to see what's 00:31:29.339 --> 00:31:34.039 on this scroll. And so an angel says, well, who's 00:31:34.039 --> 00:31:37.980 worthy to open up this scroll? And everybody's 00:31:37.980 --> 00:31:41.099 kind of looking around heaven. And they're kind 00:31:41.099 --> 00:31:42.779 of freaking out because they can't find anybody. 00:31:43.920 --> 00:31:46.740 John starts to get freaked out. He panics. John 00:31:46.740 --> 00:31:50.119 actually starts to cry. Because they can't find 00:31:50.119 --> 00:31:53.500 anyone who's worthy. When suddenly John looks 00:31:53.500 --> 00:31:57.299 up and he sees a lamb. You can read about it. 00:31:57.319 --> 00:32:00.099 It says this way in scripture. Verse 6 of chapter 00:32:00.099 --> 00:32:05.759 5, John. Then I saw a lamb, which is Jesus, looking 00:32:05.759 --> 00:32:09.359 as if it had been slain. Remember, Jesus was 00:32:09.359 --> 00:32:13.099 slain for the forgiveness of our sins. Standing 00:32:13.099 --> 00:32:15.759 in the center of the throne, encircled by the 00:32:15.759 --> 00:32:18.660 four living creatures and elders. Let me read 00:32:18.660 --> 00:32:23.279 on. And they sang a new song to Jesus, the Lamb 00:32:23.279 --> 00:32:27.119 of God. You are worthy to take the scroll and 00:32:27.119 --> 00:32:31.019 open its seals. And here again, the good news. 00:32:31.079 --> 00:32:35.019 The gospel message in Revelation. The gospel 00:32:35.019 --> 00:32:38.259 of Jesus being proclaimed once again. Because 00:32:38.259 --> 00:32:42.680 you, Lamb of God Jesus, because you were slain, 00:32:42.700 --> 00:32:46.380 and with your blood you purchased men and women 00:32:46.380 --> 00:32:51.079 for God, From every tribe and language and people 00:32:51.079 --> 00:32:56.160 and nation, Jesus is the Lamb of God. Now, some 00:32:56.160 --> 00:32:58.500 of us might go, I don't get that imagery. And 00:32:58.500 --> 00:33:01.660 you might not. I get that, right? This is one 00:33:01.660 --> 00:33:03.359 of those things where I don't want to get into. 00:33:03.880 --> 00:33:05.799 Jewish interpretation. I want to stick to Christian 00:33:05.799 --> 00:33:09.099 interpretation. And the reason why is because 00:33:09.099 --> 00:33:11.579 this would have been incredibly powerful imagery 00:33:11.579 --> 00:33:14.220 for the people who would have read John the first 00:33:14.220 --> 00:33:17.700 time. His original readers, they would have remembered 00:33:17.700 --> 00:33:21.180 first what John the Baptist had said about Jesus. 00:33:21.980 --> 00:33:24.160 Some of you might know who John the Baptist was. 00:33:24.559 --> 00:33:26.799 And you might know what he says whenever he sees 00:33:26.799 --> 00:33:30.799 Jesus for the first time. What's he say? Behold 00:33:30.799 --> 00:33:34.920 the Lamb of God. Calls him the Lamb of God who 00:33:34.920 --> 00:33:38.039 takes away the sins of the world. John's readers 00:33:38.039 --> 00:33:41.259 here in the apocalypse would have also been very 00:33:41.259 --> 00:33:43.799 aware of what would have been known as the Passover. 00:33:44.299 --> 00:33:46.839 Right from Hebrew scripture. When an angel of 00:33:46.839 --> 00:33:50.559 death would pass over all of the households and 00:33:50.559 --> 00:33:53.039 destroy all of the households unless they took 00:33:53.039 --> 00:33:56.640 an innocent lamb without blemish and sacrificed 00:33:56.640 --> 00:33:59.019 the lamb and then took the blood of that lamb 00:33:59.019 --> 00:34:04.619 and painted the doorposts. of the house on the 00:34:04.619 --> 00:34:08.239 top and on the sides of the house and then when 00:34:08.239 --> 00:34:10.039 their homes were covered with the blood of the 00:34:10.039 --> 00:34:12.139 lamb the death angel would pass over the homes 00:34:12.139 --> 00:34:15.420 and everybody in the home would be spared this 00:34:15.420 --> 00:34:19.280 is to me amazing incredible to think about all 00:34:19.280 --> 00:34:24.179 the way back right to the passover in the right 00:34:24.179 --> 00:34:27.780 at the beginning of the exodus story right we 00:34:28.679 --> 00:34:31.320 This is the very, very beginning of the whole 00:34:31.320 --> 00:34:35.800 story of these people being freed from the Pharaoh, 00:34:35.920 --> 00:34:39.920 finding their way to the promised land. And it's 00:34:39.920 --> 00:34:42.260 a foreshadowing of ultimately what's to come 00:34:42.260 --> 00:34:46.480 in the New Testament of Jesus of Nazareth, the 00:34:46.480 --> 00:34:51.579 Lamb of God. And when John says, I saw the Lamb 00:34:51.579 --> 00:34:56.750 of God who was worthy to open up. Sorry. To open 00:34:56.750 --> 00:35:00.170 up the scrolls, everyone there in heaven is filled 00:35:00.170 --> 00:35:03.650 with hope. Yes, our Jesus is worthy. He is the 00:35:03.650 --> 00:35:06.269 Lamb of God. So who is Jesus in the Revelation? 00:35:06.989 --> 00:35:09.409 He's the Alpha and the Omega. He is the Lamb 00:35:09.409 --> 00:35:12.869 of God. The third section is where it gets crazy. 00:35:13.909 --> 00:35:17.389 Chapter 6 through 18. If you're wondering, where's 00:35:17.389 --> 00:35:19.429 this stuff that I always hear about, the mark 00:35:19.429 --> 00:35:24.389 of the beast, Antichrist, and the 666? Read chapter 00:35:24.389 --> 00:35:28.809 6 -18. This is where it is. If you want to freak 00:35:28.809 --> 00:35:30.489 out a little bit right before you go to bed, 00:35:30.630 --> 00:35:33.969 eat a piece of pepperoni pizza and read chapter 00:35:33.969 --> 00:35:37.429 6 -18. You'll have all kinds of crazy dreams 00:35:37.429 --> 00:35:43.489 all night long. Who is the Jesus in this section? 00:35:44.090 --> 00:35:47.530 Jesus is the righteous judge. When you read 6 00:35:47.530 --> 00:35:51.630 -18, remember that Jesus is the righteous judge 00:35:51.630 --> 00:35:55.889 and the main theme, is that one of Jesus' commission 00:35:55.889 --> 00:35:59.730 is that He is to righteously judge the earth. 00:36:00.329 --> 00:36:05.269 Okay? Now you watch TV shows that have these 00:36:05.269 --> 00:36:09.150 kind of prophetic voiced guys or gals, right? 00:36:09.210 --> 00:36:13.150 With their poofy weird hair. Let me tell you 00:36:13.150 --> 00:36:16.030 about Israel and let me tell you about the whore 00:36:16.030 --> 00:36:18.409 of Babylon and all that kind of stuff, right? 00:36:18.829 --> 00:36:22.170 When they're reading and doing that stuff, generally, 00:36:22.969 --> 00:36:25.650 they are either probably referring to stuff you 00:36:25.650 --> 00:36:29.510 would find in Daniel or in this section, Revelation 00:36:29.510 --> 00:36:33.789 6 through 18. This is the kind of stuff that 00:36:33.789 --> 00:36:36.329 people, this is the gory detail stuff that people 00:36:36.329 --> 00:36:39.849 for some reason like. I have a few bonus thoughts 00:36:39.849 --> 00:36:43.010 about this section, though. It's not in your 00:36:43.010 --> 00:36:45.469 notes. I just want to hit these. You can jot 00:36:45.469 --> 00:36:47.510 down if you hear something you find of interest. 00:36:49.019 --> 00:36:50.360 If this is the kind of stuff you're interested 00:36:50.360 --> 00:36:53.840 in. Revelation 1 and 2 shows us that the temple 00:36:53.840 --> 00:36:56.719 of Israel will be rebuilt. We don't know how. 00:36:57.539 --> 00:37:02.860 We don't know for sure why or how. But it's to 00:37:02.860 --> 00:37:05.539 be built there. It's to be rebuilt. Why would 00:37:05.539 --> 00:37:09.000 that matter, we as Christians? Rebuild the temple? 00:37:09.639 --> 00:37:12.139 Why do we need to rebuild the temple? Why do 00:37:12.139 --> 00:37:16.219 we not need to rebuild the temple? Where does 00:37:16.219 --> 00:37:20.579 God tabernacle with you now? In your heart, by 00:37:20.579 --> 00:37:23.800 way of the Holy Spirit. You become the living 00:37:23.800 --> 00:37:27.139 tabernacle, goof. Right? We don't need to rebuild 00:37:27.139 --> 00:37:30.860 that big Solomon thing. God's right. God, why 00:37:30.860 --> 00:37:33.280 do we need a temple? So that we can encounter 00:37:33.280 --> 00:37:37.300 God. You need a building to encounter God? Heck 00:37:37.300 --> 00:37:40.239 no. We know that. You don't need me to tell you 00:37:40.239 --> 00:37:44.760 that. Right? But, we don't know how, why, whatever. 00:37:45.139 --> 00:37:47.420 But it's going to be rebuilt. If you're interested 00:37:47.420 --> 00:37:51.090 in the Antichrist, That's Revelation 13, 14 through 00:37:51.090 --> 00:37:55.829 16. The Antichrist, the beast, rises and institutes 00:37:55.829 --> 00:37:59.090 the mark of the beast. Now, if you go looking 00:37:59.090 --> 00:38:01.349 for the word Antichrist in Revelation, you're 00:38:01.349 --> 00:38:05.130 not going to find it. But the Antichrist is synonymous 00:38:05.130 --> 00:38:08.250 with the beast. And if you read carefully, you'll 00:38:08.250 --> 00:38:10.630 see a woman give birth to a beast. And some of 00:38:10.630 --> 00:38:13.190 you ladies might say, I've already done that 00:38:13.190 --> 00:38:16.010 two or three times. Right? Not that kind of beast. 00:38:17.359 --> 00:38:19.719 And if you're going to see in Revelation 13, 00:38:19.880 --> 00:38:22.880 3 and 4, the Antichrist is killed and then raised 00:38:22.880 --> 00:38:26.059 to life again. All right. Now, this is the one 00:38:26.059 --> 00:38:28.059 thing I do kind of one of these weird details 00:38:28.059 --> 00:38:30.239 I want to pull out just because I think this 00:38:30.239 --> 00:38:32.699 is the one I think is neat. And if you want to 00:38:32.699 --> 00:38:34.679 do the Bible study next week and you want to 00:38:34.679 --> 00:38:36.739 pull out the one that you think is neat, we'll 00:38:36.739 --> 00:38:39.820 trade places and you can do this. Right. So if 00:38:39.820 --> 00:38:41.780 this one isn't the neat one for you, I'm sorry, 00:38:41.840 --> 00:38:44.159 but this one's the neat one for me. You also 00:38:44.159 --> 00:38:46.579 will read it in Revelation 11 about the two witnesses. 00:38:47.260 --> 00:38:49.659 that God uses to perform miracles and preach, 00:38:49.860 --> 00:38:51.739 they will be killed and also raised to life. 00:38:51.940 --> 00:38:54.420 These guys are pretty cocky. You guys should 00:38:54.420 --> 00:38:56.940 read about the two witnesses. When they prophesy, 00:38:57.059 --> 00:38:59.539 they can shut up the heavens so that it doesn't 00:38:59.539 --> 00:39:01.880 rain. They can issue any kind of plague they 00:39:01.880 --> 00:39:05.619 want at any time all over the earth. And if somebody 00:39:05.619 --> 00:39:09.219 wants to try to kill the two witnesses, they 00:39:09.219 --> 00:39:11.179 have this really cool trick to defend themselves. 00:39:11.360 --> 00:39:14.400 And it's so cool that I'm not even going to tell 00:39:14.400 --> 00:39:17.679 you what it is. because I want you to go and 00:39:17.679 --> 00:39:20.599 read it for yourself and say, dude, that's cool. 00:39:21.000 --> 00:39:24.199 No, no, no, no. First of all, I can't even, my 00:39:24.199 --> 00:39:26.420 wife hates me because when I buy her Christmas 00:39:26.420 --> 00:39:28.900 present, the moment I buy it, I call and tell 00:39:28.900 --> 00:39:31.940 her what it is. I can't hold, I just can't keep 00:39:31.940 --> 00:39:35.400 a secret. I can't keep a secret. I hate it. But 00:39:35.400 --> 00:39:37.019 don't necessarily, so I'm going to talk about 00:39:37.019 --> 00:39:39.360 the two witnesses for a second. These two dudes 00:39:39.360 --> 00:39:42.039 who show up in Jerusalem and they start prophesying, 00:39:42.139 --> 00:39:44.659 right? And they have these powers. They start 00:39:44.659 --> 00:39:46.280 preaching about the coming of the end of the 00:39:46.280 --> 00:39:48.820 world. Now, does anybody know who they're supposed 00:39:48.820 --> 00:39:55.420 to be? Moses and Elijah. Revelation 11, 3 through 00:39:55.420 --> 00:39:58.119 6. And I will appoint my two witnesses, and they 00:39:58.119 --> 00:40:01.360 will prophesy for 1 ,260 days, clothed in sackcloth. 00:40:01.500 --> 00:40:04.280 They are the two olive trees. I mentioned that 00:40:04.280 --> 00:40:07.679 earlier. The two lambs stands, and they stand 00:40:07.679 --> 00:40:10.579 before the Lord of the earth. Here's how they 00:40:10.579 --> 00:40:13.630 get to kill people. If anyone tries to harm them, 00:40:13.670 --> 00:40:15.750 fire will come from their mouths and devour their 00:40:15.750 --> 00:40:17.670 enemies. Have you guys ever played Super Mario? 00:40:17.789 --> 00:40:21.230 What's the fire Yoshi? And he hops along and 00:40:21.230 --> 00:40:24.369 he spits out fire and it sucks people up, kills 00:40:24.369 --> 00:40:27.110 them, right? That's what the two witnesses can 00:40:27.110 --> 00:40:29.409 do. They could just spit out fire and devour 00:40:29.409 --> 00:40:33.150 you. You can do that anytime they want, right? 00:40:33.269 --> 00:40:36.429 They could turn the water into blood. It's crazy. 00:40:37.050 --> 00:40:42.900 Now, why Moses and Elijah, right? This is very, 00:40:42.940 --> 00:40:44.920 very interesting to me. Let me just read to you 00:40:44.920 --> 00:40:48.539 Exodus chapter 7, 17 through 21. This is talking 00:40:48.539 --> 00:40:51.440 about Moses. This is what the Lord says. By this 00:40:51.440 --> 00:40:53.619 you will know that I am the Lord. With the staff 00:40:53.619 --> 00:40:55.639 that is in my hand, I will strike the water of 00:40:55.639 --> 00:40:58.340 the Nile, and it will be changed to blood. Remember, 00:40:58.480 --> 00:41:00.639 I just said these guys have the power to turn 00:41:00.639 --> 00:41:03.420 water to blood. The fish will die in the Nile, 00:41:03.480 --> 00:41:04.980 the river will stink, and the Egyptians will 00:41:04.980 --> 00:41:09.360 not be able to drink the water. Moses and Aaron 00:41:09.360 --> 00:41:12.440 did as the Lord commanded. Moses raised his staff 00:41:12.440 --> 00:41:14.239 in the presence of Pharaoh and his officials 00:41:14.239 --> 00:41:16.239 and struck the water of the Nile and all the 00:41:16.239 --> 00:41:17.980 water was changed in the blood. The fish in the 00:41:17.980 --> 00:41:20.079 Nile died. The river smelled so bad that the 00:41:20.079 --> 00:41:21.739 Egyptians couldn't drink its water and blood 00:41:21.739 --> 00:41:24.559 was everywhere in Egypt. How do we know it's 00:41:24.559 --> 00:41:26.360 Moses? Well, we know that one of the things that 00:41:26.360 --> 00:41:28.820 one of these dudes can do is take a stick and 00:41:28.820 --> 00:41:31.719 make rivers turn to blood. Hey, there's one other 00:41:31.719 --> 00:41:36.719 dude in this book that does that. Moses, right? 00:41:36.820 --> 00:41:41.570 Check this out. Second Kings. Chapter 1, verse 00:41:41.570 --> 00:41:45.070 10, Elijah answered the captain, If I am a man 00:41:45.070 --> 00:41:47.250 of God, may fire come down from heaven and consume 00:41:47.250 --> 00:41:50.789 you and your 50 men. Then fire fell from heaven 00:41:50.789 --> 00:41:53.170 and consumed the captain and his men. Remember 00:41:53.170 --> 00:41:55.010 when we had the Bible study about how Elijah 00:41:55.010 --> 00:41:57.489 had this show off on top of this mountain with 00:41:57.489 --> 00:42:01.750 all of the prophets of Asherah, Baal, right? 00:42:01.869 --> 00:42:03.769 And they start dancing. They're trying to figure 00:42:03.769 --> 00:42:07.150 out which God could start the fire first. Yeah? 00:42:07.760 --> 00:42:10.559 And then whenever Elijah, God starts the fire 00:42:10.559 --> 00:42:14.280 for Elijah, then he sends fire down upon the 00:42:14.280 --> 00:42:18.599 prophets of Baal and consumes them. Fire fell 00:42:18.599 --> 00:42:20.460 from heaven and consumed the captain and his 00:42:20.460 --> 00:42:23.480 men. Something Elijah has the power to do. It's 00:42:23.480 --> 00:42:25.159 kind of interesting that we just didn't open 00:42:25.159 --> 00:42:28.420 up our, you know, pack of Old Testament Hebrew 00:42:28.420 --> 00:42:31.800 characters in the Bible. Who should the two witnesses 00:42:31.800 --> 00:42:36.730 be? Let's go Moses and Elijah. It's kind of cool 00:42:36.730 --> 00:42:38.210 that somebody took the time to think, well, who 00:42:38.210 --> 00:42:40.809 does these things? Hey, Moses can do these things. 00:42:40.989 --> 00:42:44.750 Elijah can do these things. Also, Moses and Elijah 00:42:44.750 --> 00:42:48.329 represent the law. Moses is the bringer of Torah, 00:42:48.570 --> 00:42:53.949 right? And prophecy, the importance of the law 00:42:53.949 --> 00:42:59.429 and the prophecy of which Jesus becomes both 00:42:59.429 --> 00:43:03.980 the law and the prophecy, right? And this comes 00:43:03.980 --> 00:43:06.460 from an old Hebrew tradition held that at least 00:43:06.460 --> 00:43:09.739 two witnesses were needed to establish legal 00:43:09.739 --> 00:43:13.019 testimony. So why are there two witnesses there 00:43:13.019 --> 00:43:15.699 in Jerusalem at the end of time proclaiming the 00:43:15.699 --> 00:43:18.039 coming of God? Because, in Hebrew tradition, 00:43:18.239 --> 00:43:22.199 you need two witnesses to provide legal testimony, 00:43:22.320 --> 00:43:25.619 and that's what that is. Revelation 17, verses 00:43:25.619 --> 00:43:30.679 12 and 13, Daniel 7, 24. Many people will mention 00:43:30.679 --> 00:43:32.980 this is our part about the Antichrist being raised 00:43:32.980 --> 00:43:35.800 up to assassinate world leaders, moving towards 00:43:35.800 --> 00:43:39.099 a middle one world government, globalist, Alex 00:43:39.099 --> 00:43:42.360 Jones. And then Revelation 16 through 19 shows 00:43:42.360 --> 00:43:45.099 us the beast, the Antichrist, is defeated at 00:43:45.099 --> 00:43:46.559 the Battle of Armageddon. We talked about that 00:43:46.559 --> 00:43:49.789 last week. But as you read through these chapters, 00:43:49.849 --> 00:43:52.469 remember the theme is Jesus is righteous judge, 00:43:52.469 --> 00:43:54.769 and let me show you three different judgments 00:43:54.769 --> 00:43:58.789 that are issued upon the earth. The first of 00:43:58.789 --> 00:44:01.429 the judgments is known as the seal judgments, 00:44:01.489 --> 00:44:03.170 and this is the four riders in the apocalypse 00:44:03.170 --> 00:44:06.809 part. That's where we see the moon turn to blood, 00:44:06.889 --> 00:44:10.050 bloodshed for more about a quarter of the world's 00:44:10.050 --> 00:44:13.489 population, dies from famine, plagues, and beasts 00:44:13.489 --> 00:44:16.320 as a result of that judgment. The second set 00:44:16.320 --> 00:44:18.019 of judgments are known as the trumpet judgments. 00:44:18.880 --> 00:44:22.039 And this is with hail and fire mixed with blood 00:44:22.039 --> 00:44:26.000 falling from the sky. This is where we see poisonous 00:44:26.000 --> 00:44:28.559 locusts. And can I just pause right here for 00:44:28.559 --> 00:44:30.980 a second and just say how creepy that one is 00:44:30.980 --> 00:44:34.760 to me? Because man, dead locusts creep me out. 00:44:35.699 --> 00:44:38.599 Can you imagine? It's a crunchy thing, you know? 00:44:39.519 --> 00:44:44.519 And man, can you imagine poisonous locusts? No 00:44:44.519 --> 00:44:47.500 thanks, right? I'm glad I'm not going to be around. 00:44:47.719 --> 00:44:49.860 A third of the vegetation destroyed. A third 00:44:49.860 --> 00:44:51.559 of the water contaminated. A third of the sea 00:44:51.559 --> 00:44:53.260 creatures die. A third of the light is lost. 00:44:53.519 --> 00:44:57.219 A third of the world dies. Bad time to be on 00:44:57.219 --> 00:45:00.760 earth. Remember that all during this time, God 00:45:00.760 --> 00:45:04.440 still is giving people a chance to repent of 00:45:04.440 --> 00:45:08.219 their sins. There is still grace even in the 00:45:08.219 --> 00:45:10.880 midst of these judgments. The extent of God's 00:45:10.880 --> 00:45:14.000 love. The third set of judgments is the bold 00:45:14.000 --> 00:45:16.639 judgments. This is where sores will appear on 00:45:16.639 --> 00:45:19.920 people with the mark of the beast on them. Water 00:45:19.920 --> 00:45:22.820 turns to blood again. At some point, we're just 00:45:22.820 --> 00:45:25.980 going to get used to blood 2 -0 is what we drink. 00:45:26.300 --> 00:45:28.840 I mean, it seems like every time you turn the 00:45:28.840 --> 00:45:30.480 page in Revelation, the water's turning to blood 00:45:30.480 --> 00:45:32.159 again. I can't imagine working for the water 00:45:32.159 --> 00:45:34.920 treatment plant during the apocalypse. Sun scorches 00:45:34.920 --> 00:45:37.480 people. Devastating earthquakes hit. 100 -pound 00:45:37.480 --> 00:45:41.400 hail falls from the sky. And as I described this 00:45:41.400 --> 00:45:43.219 part, this is the part where a lot of people 00:45:43.219 --> 00:45:46.000 will say, I don't like this part. This is the 00:45:46.000 --> 00:45:49.159 gross part. This is the part that is stupid. 00:45:49.400 --> 00:45:51.320 This is the part that isn't fair. I don't like 00:45:51.320 --> 00:45:53.699 this part of the judgment part of the Bible. 00:45:54.139 --> 00:45:56.639 And admittedly, you can read this and go, this 00:45:56.639 --> 00:46:00.380 is some pretty serious stuff. And a lot of people 00:46:00.380 --> 00:46:02.320 would hear me say this and say, that's not fair. 00:46:02.519 --> 00:46:05.420 This is important. If you missed last week, I 00:46:05.420 --> 00:46:09.099 want to cover again, a very, very important principle. 00:46:09.639 --> 00:46:13.079 And that principle is, this actually is indeed 00:46:13.079 --> 00:46:17.199 fair. We talked last week. I asked the question, 00:46:17.320 --> 00:46:19.900 how many of you know someone who did something 00:46:19.900 --> 00:46:23.699 wrong, something horrible, and got away with 00:46:23.699 --> 00:46:27.500 it? They were not punished. There was no penalty. 00:46:27.800 --> 00:46:30.800 There was no reconciliation for the horrible 00:46:30.800 --> 00:46:34.619 deed that they had done. They hurt someone, something 00:46:34.619 --> 00:46:36.679 violent, something horrible, and they didn't 00:46:36.679 --> 00:46:40.079 have to pay. Whenever that happens, what do we 00:46:40.079 --> 00:46:46.239 say? That's not fair. Because inwardly, we know 00:46:46.239 --> 00:46:50.500 that wrongdoing should be punished. And this 00:46:50.500 --> 00:46:54.039 is the time in history where God says, I am now, 00:46:54.119 --> 00:46:57.960 through Jesus, judging the world for its sinfulness. 00:46:58.920 --> 00:47:02.579 And it's almost as if you might sense that God 00:47:02.579 --> 00:47:06.519 might be sensing our skepticism, right? Is that 00:47:06.519 --> 00:47:10.909 really fair? An angel affirms this to John. Revelation 00:47:10.909 --> 00:47:13.530 16, verse 5. Then I heard the angel in charge 00:47:13.530 --> 00:47:16.150 of the water say, Jesus, the righteous judge, 00:47:16.429 --> 00:47:20.550 you are just in these judgments. You who are 00:47:20.550 --> 00:47:24.829 and who were the Holy One, because you have so 00:47:24.829 --> 00:47:28.329 judged. Who's Jesus in Revelation? He is the 00:47:28.329 --> 00:47:30.690 Alpha and the Omega, the Lamb of God. He is the 00:47:30.690 --> 00:47:33.650 righteous judge. Number 4, 19 and 20, chapters 00:47:33.650 --> 00:47:36.420 19 and 20. Read these together. He's the king 00:47:36.420 --> 00:47:39.239 of kings, and he's the Lord of lords. If you 00:47:39.239 --> 00:47:40.940 want to take notes to the main theme of this 00:47:40.940 --> 00:47:44.559 section, it's when Jesus returns with his church. 00:47:45.019 --> 00:47:47.860 Let me read this with you guys. Revelation 19 00:47:47.860 --> 00:47:50.639 and 11, John says, he has this vision. I saw 00:47:50.639 --> 00:47:52.420 heaven standing open, and there before me was 00:47:52.420 --> 00:47:54.920 a white horse. His rider's called Faithful and 00:47:54.920 --> 00:47:58.159 True. With justice he judges and makes war. His 00:47:58.159 --> 00:48:00.019 eyes are like that of blazing fire, and on his 00:48:00.019 --> 00:48:02.340 head are many crowns. He has a name written on 00:48:02.340 --> 00:48:05.650 him that no one knows but himself. The text continues. 00:48:05.829 --> 00:48:08.769 He is dressed in a robe that is dipped in blood 00:48:08.769 --> 00:48:13.530 and his name is the word of God. Remember John 00:48:13.530 --> 00:48:16.750 1 says in the beginning was the word and the 00:48:16.750 --> 00:48:20.690 word was God and the word was with God and the 00:48:20.690 --> 00:48:24.909 word was God. Verse 14 says the word became flesh 00:48:24.909 --> 00:48:29.400 in John's gospel. Jesus. His name is the word 00:48:29.400 --> 00:48:31.800 of God. The armies of heaven were following him, 00:48:31.900 --> 00:48:34.420 riding on white horses, dressed in fine linen, 00:48:34.440 --> 00:48:37.760 white and clean. Out of his mouth comes a sharp 00:48:37.760 --> 00:48:41.260 sword. Again, this is the word of God, which 00:48:41.260 --> 00:48:43.579 to strike down the nations. He will rule them 00:48:43.579 --> 00:48:46.539 with an iron scepter. He treads in the winepress 00:48:46.539 --> 00:48:49.460 of the fury of the wrath of God Almighty, who 00:48:49.460 --> 00:48:52.260 is our Jesus. On his robe and on his thigh he 00:48:52.260 --> 00:48:55.179 has the name written, King of kings and Lord 00:48:55.179 --> 00:48:59.909 of lords. He is not running for the office of. 00:49:00.210 --> 00:49:04.550 He is not a candidate for King of Kings and Lord 00:49:04.550 --> 00:49:08.519 of Lords. He wears that because He is. the King 00:49:08.519 --> 00:49:11.139 of King and the Lord of Lords. And when you read 00:49:11.139 --> 00:49:14.440 the revelation and who Jesus is in this book, 00:49:14.519 --> 00:49:16.840 it should build your faith because he is the 00:49:16.840 --> 00:49:19.579 Alpha and the Omega. He is the Lamb of God, the 00:49:19.579 --> 00:49:22.519 righteous judge. He is the King of King, the 00:49:22.519 --> 00:49:24.559 Lord of Lords. And in the final section tonight, 00:49:24.739 --> 00:49:28.579 chapters 21 and 22, the last two books, we see 00:49:28.579 --> 00:49:32.119 Jesus as the bridegroom. And we, friends, as 00:49:32.119 --> 00:49:35.219 the church, we as the body believers are the 00:49:35.219 --> 00:49:39.579 bride. The Bible teaches us the principle that 00:49:39.579 --> 00:49:43.460 Jesus takes us, the church, his bride, to the 00:49:43.460 --> 00:49:47.000 heavenly city. Revelation 21, verse 9. One of 00:49:47.000 --> 00:49:49.199 the seven angels who had the seven bowls full 00:49:49.199 --> 00:49:51.340 of seven last plagues came and said to me, Come, 00:49:51.579 --> 00:49:54.059 and I will show you the bride. That's the church. 00:49:54.480 --> 00:49:57.989 That's we Christians. I will show you the bride, 00:49:58.130 --> 00:50:00.869 the wife of the lamb. It goes on to say, and 00:50:00.869 --> 00:50:02.809 he carried me away in the spirit to a mountain 00:50:02.809 --> 00:50:05.409 great and high and showed me the holy city Jerusalem 00:50:05.409 --> 00:50:08.869 coming down out of heaven from God. This is the 00:50:08.869 --> 00:50:11.110 new heaven and the new earth we're talking about. 00:50:11.269 --> 00:50:13.150 This is what we were talking about last week. 00:50:13.510 --> 00:50:16.230 Jesus, the bridegroom, comes back for us, the 00:50:16.230 --> 00:50:19.190 bride, and takes us to the new heaven and the 00:50:19.190 --> 00:50:21.510 new earth. Where there's no crying, there's no 00:50:21.510 --> 00:50:23.869 more mourning, there's no more pain. In fact, 00:50:24.030 --> 00:50:26.329 this new heaven and this new earth doesn't even 00:50:26.329 --> 00:50:30.170 need a sun or a moon. Because in verse 23 it 00:50:30.170 --> 00:50:32.190 says, The city does not need the sun or the moon 00:50:32.190 --> 00:50:35.349 to shine on it, for the glory of God gives its 00:50:35.349 --> 00:50:39.929 light. And the lamb is its lamp. That's hard 00:50:39.929 --> 00:50:43.230 to say. And what does the king say? What does 00:50:43.230 --> 00:50:44.989 he say at the end of the book of Revelation? 00:50:45.349 --> 00:50:49.300 The same thing he said from Genesis. To Revelation. 00:50:49.599 --> 00:50:52.460 What is he saying to people today that don't 00:50:52.460 --> 00:50:56.460 know him? From the very beginning, at the very 00:50:56.460 --> 00:50:59.820 end, he's saying the same thing. Revelation 22 00:50:59.820 --> 00:51:04.579 and 17. Come. And let him who hears say, come. 00:51:05.320 --> 00:51:09.659 Whoever's thirsty, let him or her come. Whoever 00:51:09.659 --> 00:51:12.739 wishes, let him or her take the free gift of 00:51:12.739 --> 00:51:15.920 the water of life. What does the spirit and the 00:51:15.920 --> 00:51:19.869 bride? Christ. And us. What do we say today? 00:51:20.530 --> 00:51:24.010 Come. Are you thirsty? Let me give you this living 00:51:24.010 --> 00:51:27.250 water. Jesus says, I am the living water. If 00:51:27.250 --> 00:51:30.010 you taste me, you will never thirst again. And 00:51:30.010 --> 00:51:33.010 there are those of you, even now, maybe you're 00:51:33.010 --> 00:51:35.630 spiritually parched. And maybe you're thirsty. 00:51:36.889 --> 00:51:39.210 Searching for something and you know it. You 00:51:39.210 --> 00:51:41.989 spent your lifetime searching. For somebody, 00:51:42.130 --> 00:51:44.869 somewhere, something that fills that emptiness 00:51:44.869 --> 00:51:48.269 inside. And the Spirit says, come, whoever you 00:51:48.269 --> 00:51:51.050 are, wherever you are, and taste the living water, 00:51:51.090 --> 00:51:54.190 and you'll never thirst again. The good news, 00:51:54.289 --> 00:51:58.809 friends, is this. He who testifies to these things 00:51:58.809 --> 00:52:04.010 says, yes, Jesus, I am coming soon. Jesus offers 00:52:04.010 --> 00:52:07.570 these Christians, we Christians hope by saying 00:52:07.570 --> 00:52:10.530 yes. I am coming soon. Remember that phrase, 00:52:10.710 --> 00:52:15.230 Maranatha. Lord, come. Maranatha. Come, Lord 00:52:15.230 --> 00:52:19.789 Jesus. How does the book end? The great, the 00:52:19.789 --> 00:52:22.349 unmerited favor, the grace of the Lord, Jesus 00:52:22.349 --> 00:52:26.030 be with God's people. Amen. May the grace of 00:52:26.030 --> 00:52:29.449 our God be with God's people. That's why when 00:52:29.449 --> 00:52:31.449 you read the book of Revelation in light of who 00:52:31.449 --> 00:52:33.699 Jesus is, You're a Christian. You don't need 00:52:33.699 --> 00:52:35.760 to be afraid of the weird stuff in this book 00:52:35.760 --> 00:52:38.739 because he is coming soon, and that is good. 00:52:39.179 --> 00:52:42.000 The Alpha and the Omega, the Lamb of God, the 00:52:42.000 --> 00:52:43.960 righteous judge, the King of kings, the Lord 00:52:43.960 --> 00:52:46.480 of lords, the bridegroom to take his church to 00:52:46.480 --> 00:52:49.659 be with him forever. Friends, may the grace of 00:52:49.659 --> 00:52:52.400 God be with God's people forever and forever. 00:52:53.039 --> 00:53:03.780 Amen. Any questions? Yes. You know, as I listen 00:53:03.780 --> 00:53:10.380 back to tonight's episode, I can't help but continue 00:53:10.380 --> 00:53:15.579 to hope that as you've listened, you can hear 00:53:15.579 --> 00:53:19.960 the hope that's contained within the revelation 00:53:19.960 --> 00:53:25.480 according to John. I had referenced Revelation 00:53:25.480 --> 00:53:29.159 22 earlier whenever I talked about how there 00:53:29.159 --> 00:53:33.590 wasn't even going to be a need. For light. In 00:53:33.590 --> 00:53:36.690 the new heaven and the new earth. But that last 00:53:36.690 --> 00:53:42.389 chapter. Of Revelation. Subtitled Eden restored. 00:53:44.849 --> 00:53:48.909 And I just think it is such an incredible testimony. 00:53:49.829 --> 00:53:54.510 To God's faithfulness that this entire. Work 00:53:54.510 --> 00:53:58.699 that we have this collaboration. Between human 00:53:58.699 --> 00:54:02.519 faith and divine interaction that we call the 00:54:02.519 --> 00:54:07.699 Holy Bible, this book that we study, begins with 00:54:07.699 --> 00:54:10.900 God entering the world, creating the universe, 00:54:10.980 --> 00:54:16.360 creating a place in which we might dwell with 00:54:16.360 --> 00:54:21.380 the Creator. And through all of the ups and through 00:54:21.380 --> 00:54:25.139 all of the downs and perhaps If you're honest, 00:54:25.300 --> 00:54:28.019 if you go from page one to the very end, maybe 00:54:28.019 --> 00:54:32.280 there's more down than up in the story of God 00:54:32.280 --> 00:54:35.940 and his people. The faithfulness of God shines 00:54:35.940 --> 00:54:40.500 through with chapter 22 as Eden is restored. 00:54:42.199 --> 00:54:47.940 That through it all, through the sin, the deception, 00:54:48.280 --> 00:54:54.559 the tears, and the heartache, Through the entire 00:54:54.559 --> 00:55:01.300 human experience. Eden is restored. But the creation 00:55:01.300 --> 00:55:07.820 of God. Returns to the creator. It's a wonderful 00:55:07.820 --> 00:55:13.539 story. It's one that should give us hope. Amen. 00:55:15.019 --> 00:55:18.400 Hey friends. We'll see you next week. And until 00:55:18.400 --> 00:55:19.960 then. Be well.