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of the Bible for over 30 years, I'm glad that you can spend some time with me today.

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Now if you're new to this channel, would you please like and subscribe and turn on the

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notifications.

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I have 258 free Bible teachings for you to learn from.

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And again, thank you for joining us today.

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Now this past week we met at Sir Coffee in San Clemente, California.

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That's where our church meets.

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We meet the second Friday of the month from 7 to 10 p.m.

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Next time is Friday, October 13th for prayer and worship.

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And this last Friday we heard from 10 different people making disciples in different places,

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in different spaces, with different approaches through our annual Beach House time.

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It was awesome.

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I want to say thank you to Adam, to Nico, to Kevin, Jeff, Joey, Richie, Shane, Drew,

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Dustin, Brad, Charlie, Michael, and Curtis.

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Your friendships and your energy keep me going.

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I'm honored to know you guys.

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And I'd also like to thank my good friends, Ralph, Kurt, and especially Ed, who flew all

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the way out from Indiana, took time away from his family to help us.

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They serve as my advisors and thanks for guiding me over the years as I've kept plugging away

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at Ocean Water with my Bible teachings.

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I look up to you guys and again, thank you.

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Now today we're going to look at Revelation chapter 1 verses 9 through 18.

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This is a vision of Jesus.

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Now it's a pivotal and a symbolic passage in the book of Revelation.

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And this perspective suggests that much of the book of Revelation, including this vision,

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as I've been pointing out, was already fulfilled in the past in the first century, much of

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it revolving around the fall of Jerusalem as we've been looking.

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This is our fourth teaching now.

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This is in the early context of the Christian church, the first hundred years.

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In the writer of this book, John is explaining a vision in this passage that he had of Christ.

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Now before delving into Revelation chapter 1 verses 9 through 18, it's essential to understand

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the history, some of the historical and the literary context of this book.

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The book of Revelation is very symbolic and it uses apocalyptic language to convey the

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intentions of the writer.

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And it was written by the apostle John.

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He was exiled on an island called Patmos, most likely during the reign of Emperor Domitian.

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It was written in a genre that was common in Jewish and Christian literature at the

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time.

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And it was characterized by vivid and symbolic visions that convey spiritual truths.

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Now we really want to take our time understanding this, which is why this is part 4 of 36 teachings

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on this.

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Now this perspective gained a lot of prominence in the 17th century with theologians like

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Hugo Grotius and later with John Stuart Russell and F.W.

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Farrar, they assert that much again the book of Revelation was mostly fulfilled in the

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first century.

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And it was in connection with the Jewish and the Roman war that was fought in 66 through

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73 and then of course the subsequent destruction of the temple in 8070.

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Now John's visions were not primarily prophesying of distant future events, but they were relevant

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to the immediate concerns of the early Christian church and those are the lessons that we want

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to pull out of this book.

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It provided encouragement and hope and warnings during times of intense persecution and turmoil.

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Now let's focus on the passage that we're going to look at today.

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It's again Revelation chapter 1 verses 9 through 18 and it shows us a vision of Jesus.

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It reads like this, it says, I John, your brother and partner in the tribulation and

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the kingdom and the patient endurance that are in Jesus, was on the island called Patmos

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on account of the word of God and the testimony of Jesus.

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I was in the spirit on the Lord's day and I heard behind me a loud voice like a trumpet

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saying write what you see in the book and send it to the seven churches, to Ephesus,

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and to Smyrna, and to Pergamum, and to Thyatira, and to Sardis, and to Philadelphia, and to

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Laodicea.

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Wow.

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He goes on, he says, then I turned to see the voice that was speaking to me and on turning

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I saw seven golden lampstands and in the midst of the lampstands one like a son of man clothed

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with a long robe and a golden sash around his chest.

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The hairs on his head were white like white wool, like snow.

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His eyes were like a flame of fire.

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His feet were like burnished bronze, refined in a furnace.

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And his voice was like the roar of many waters.

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In his right hand he held seven stars and from his mouth came a sharp two-edged sword

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and his face was like the sun shining at full strength.

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Wow.

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What an incredible picture.

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He says when I saw him I fell at his feet though dead but he laid his right hand on

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me saying, fear not I am the first and the last and the living one.

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I died and behold I am alive forevermore and I have the keys of death and Hades.

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Okay, so let's break this down verse by verse so that we can understand what's going on

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here.

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Now the opening verse of this passage where John states that he was on the island of Patmos

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sets the historical context.

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John's exile to Patmos is traditionally understood to have occurred during the reign of Domitian

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which I pointed out before which places the writing of this book late in the first century.

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It suggests that this exile may have occurred earlier during the reign of Nero making the

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composition of Revelation maybe a little closer to the events that they believe it is describing.

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So, what are we talking about when we say the seven churches?

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Well, the letter is addressed to seven specific churches in Asia Minor, modern day Turkey,

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which were real, they were historical congregations that existed at the time of this writing.

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The message to these churches is seen as immediately relevant to their situations and challenges

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much like ours are today.

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This perspective contends that the warnings and the exhortations and promises to these

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churches were intended to address the unique circumstances.

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Think about your circumstances which included persecution and moral challenges.

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Now look at verse 10, John mentions that he was in the spirit on the Lord's Day.

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Now this phrase, the Lord's Day, it could be a reference to a significant day during

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the Jewish-Roman war, perhaps the day of Jerusalem's fall in 8070.

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In this interpretation, John's visionary experience is connected to these events.

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Now when it says the vision of Christ, it says the description of Christ in verses 12

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through 16 symbolically represent his presence and authority during times of crisis.

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Yes, God can help us in times of crisis.

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The seven golden lampstands are interpreted as representing the seven churches and the

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role as bearers of the light of Christ.

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Christ's appearance with white hair, his eyes like fire, and feet of bronze is seen

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as conveying his divine wisdom, discernment, and judgment.

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The sharp two-edged sword from his mouth represents his powerful word and his face shining like

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the sun symbolizes his glory and his authority in our lives.

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Now the seven stars in the keys of death in Hades, the seven stars in Christ's hand was

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the angelic or pastoral leadership of the seven churches.

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The keys of death in Hades signify Christ's sovereignty over life and death.

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These symbols are reassuring to us in the same way that they were reassuring to the

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early Christians that Christ is in control even in the face of persecution and death.

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Now let's look at John's reaction.

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When John falls at Christ's feet in verse 10, quote, as though dead, this represents

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the fear and awe that the early Christians experienced during times of persecution and

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uncertainty the same way that we feel them today.

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Its words of comfort and assurance are seen as addressing the concerns and the anxieties

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of the persecuted believers.

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So in Revelation chapter 1 verses 9 through 18, the vision of the glorified Christ is

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seen as a symbolic depiction of Christ's presence and authority during these tumultuous times

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in the early church, particularly in the context of a war.

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We have similar circumstances today.

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This perspective emphasizes the immediate relevance of the message to the seven churches

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that are outlined that we're going to talk specifically about each one in the weeks to

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come and it seeks to ground the symbolism in the historical events in which they happened.

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Now while today provides a historical and contextualized understanding of this passage,

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Revelation as a whole remains a complex, multifaceted book with diverse theological and prophetic

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elements.

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Now we'll be taking time this year, actually the whole school year, through 36 teachings.

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This was just number four, shedding light on the different aspects of the book's meaning

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and relevance for our faith and practice today.

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The Book of Revelation invites an ongoing exploration and reflection within the Christian

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tradition.

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Thank you so much for being with me today.

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Until next time, I hope you have a beautiful day.