WEBVTT 00:00:04.879 --> 00:00:06.839 And it goes back to that part of the country 00:00:06.839 --> 00:00:10.359 where a hibberly father sent his son off to college. 00:00:11.439 --> 00:00:17.339 And his son came home on break to see Pa. And 00:00:17.339 --> 00:00:19.179 Pa says, well, they're learning you there at 00:00:19.179 --> 00:00:22.839 their college. He said, well, I'm taking English. 00:00:24.620 --> 00:00:28.019 He said, what else are you learning? He said, 00:00:28.059 --> 00:00:32.359 well, we're taking algebra. Pa said, well, say 00:00:32.359 --> 00:00:36.630 something to me in algebra. Well, his son didn't 00:00:36.630 --> 00:00:39.049 want to embarrass his hillbilly pa, who's very 00:00:39.049 --> 00:00:42.429 proud. So he thought for a moment and he said, 00:00:42.590 --> 00:00:48.969 Pi R square. And the hillbilly pa that jumped 00:00:48.969 --> 00:00:51.049 out of his chair said, Is that what they're teaching 00:00:51.049 --> 00:00:54.350 in that bar school? Everybody knows that pi are 00:00:54.350 --> 00:01:01.090 round and cornbread are square. Boy, we didn't 00:01:01.090 --> 00:01:02.850 fill it long enough. They haven't found the outline 00:01:02.850 --> 00:01:09.950 yet. Did you hear the one? No. We'll open up 00:01:09.950 --> 00:01:13.549 to Revelation chapter 1, and perhaps we'll come 00:01:13.549 --> 00:01:15.730 up with the outlines yet. And if so, if whoever 00:01:15.730 --> 00:01:17.569 finds them, pass them out, and there'll be a 00:01:17.569 --> 00:01:23.810 prize at the end of the service. Revelation chapter 00:01:23.810 --> 00:01:26.129 1. We're going to look at verses 1 through 8. 00:01:26.530 --> 00:01:29.030 I'll be reading from the New King James Version. 00:01:31.280 --> 00:01:34.019 The revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave 00:01:34.019 --> 00:01:38.140 him to show his servants, things which must shortly 00:01:38.140 --> 00:01:42.420 take place. And he sent and signified it by his 00:01:42.420 --> 00:01:46.400 angel to his servant John, who bore witness to 00:01:46.400 --> 00:01:48.579 the word of God and to the testimony of Jesus 00:01:48.579 --> 00:01:53.140 Christ and to all things that he saw. Blessed 00:01:53.140 --> 00:01:55.620 is he who reads and those who hear the words 00:01:55.620 --> 00:01:59.000 of this prophecy and keep those things which 00:01:59.000 --> 00:02:02.989 are written in it. for the time is near. John, 00:02:03.049 --> 00:02:05.510 to the seven churches which are in Asia, grace 00:02:05.510 --> 00:02:08.990 to you and peace from him who is and who was 00:02:08.990 --> 00:02:12.469 and who is to come and from the seven spirits 00:02:12.469 --> 00:02:16.150 who are before his throne and from Jesus Christ, 00:02:16.289 --> 00:02:18.530 the faithful witness, the firstborn from the 00:02:18.530 --> 00:02:21.229 dead and the ruler over the kings of the earth. 00:02:21.849 --> 00:02:26.030 To him who loved us and washed us from our sins 00:02:26.030 --> 00:02:29.889 in his own blood. and has made us kings and priests 00:02:29.889 --> 00:02:33.189 to his God and Father. To him be glory and dominion 00:02:33.189 --> 00:02:37.930 forever and ever. Amen. Behold, he is coming 00:02:37.930 --> 00:02:41.909 with clouds, and every eye will see him. And 00:02:41.909 --> 00:02:45.090 they also who pierced him, and all the tribes 00:02:45.090 --> 00:02:48.210 of the earth will mourn because of him. Even 00:02:48.210 --> 00:02:52.870 so, amen. I am the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning 00:02:52.870 --> 00:02:56.270 and the end, says the Lord, who is and who was 00:02:56.270 --> 00:03:01.639 and... who is to come, the Almighty. This final 00:03:01.639 --> 00:03:04.379 book in the Bible brings us full circle from 00:03:04.379 --> 00:03:07.759 where the story begins in the book of Genesis. 00:03:08.699 --> 00:03:12.659 In Genesis, the book opens with God, and as the 00:03:12.659 --> 00:03:17.979 Bible closes, God is its final subject. In Genesis, 00:03:18.000 --> 00:03:21.000 we have presented to us the first heaven and 00:03:21.000 --> 00:03:24.379 earth. In Revelation, we have the new heaven 00:03:24.379 --> 00:03:29.250 and the new earth. In Genesis, we find the story 00:03:29.250 --> 00:03:34.949 of paradise lost. In Revelation, we have paradise 00:03:34.949 --> 00:03:39.770 regained. Recall that in Genesis, we read about 00:03:39.770 --> 00:03:45.330 a tree, a tree of life and a river. Genesis, 00:03:45.389 --> 00:03:49.969 Revelation concludes talking about another tree 00:03:49.969 --> 00:03:55.969 of life and a river. In Genesis, we have banishment. 00:03:56.479 --> 00:03:59.900 from the garden, whereas in Revelation we have 00:03:59.900 --> 00:04:03.639 invitation to come to the tree and to eat of 00:04:03.639 --> 00:04:08.099 its fruit. Genesis tells us of the first husband 00:04:08.099 --> 00:04:13.599 and wife. Revelation tells us about the lamb 00:04:13.599 --> 00:04:19.139 and his bride. In Genesis we have Satan victorious, 00:04:19.660 --> 00:04:26.220 but in Revelation we have Satan defeated. In 00:04:26.220 --> 00:04:30.279 Genesis, we have judgment promised, and in Revelation, 00:04:30.579 --> 00:04:35.800 judgment executed. In Genesis, we have the gates 00:04:35.800 --> 00:04:40.540 shut when God closed up the garden so that Adam 00:04:40.540 --> 00:04:43.759 and Eve could not reenter it. But as we come 00:04:43.759 --> 00:04:46.120 to Revelation, we have a city where the gates 00:04:46.120 --> 00:04:51.399 are never closed. In Genesis, death enters human 00:04:51.399 --> 00:04:58.689 history, and in Revelation, death exits. In Genesis, 00:04:58.750 --> 00:05:03.149 we have exiles from an earthly garden. In Revelation, 00:05:03.449 --> 00:05:07.209 I presented the inheritors of a heavenly city. 00:05:08.389 --> 00:05:12.389 And so the story comes full circle as we come 00:05:12.389 --> 00:05:16.009 to the close of the Bible. There are two extremes 00:05:16.009 --> 00:05:21.250 to beware of as you approach the book of Revelation. 00:05:21.269 --> 00:05:26.019 One of them is to avoid Revelation. Saying that 00:05:26.019 --> 00:05:29.620 it cannot be understood or that it's not practical 00:05:29.620 --> 00:05:35.579 to study. The other extreme is to abuse Revelation. 00:05:36.920 --> 00:05:41.439 To abuse it by fanciful interpretations and setting 00:05:41.439 --> 00:05:43.939 of dates and that sort of thing. These extremes 00:05:43.939 --> 00:05:48.100 of avoidance or abuse should be avoided. And 00:05:48.100 --> 00:05:51.699 instead, we are to study this book. And why? 00:05:52.480 --> 00:05:55.839 Well, because in the first place, it is the word 00:05:55.839 --> 00:06:00.540 of God. And all scripture is given for our benefit, 00:06:00.759 --> 00:06:05.500 including the book of Revelation. That it is 00:06:05.500 --> 00:06:08.000 the word of God is witnessed to and attested 00:06:08.000 --> 00:06:11.879 by Jesus himself. He validates this book in verse 00:06:11.879 --> 00:06:19.000 2. It also reveals the culmination of the work 00:06:19.000 --> 00:06:22.360 of our wonderful Savior. In Genesis, we have 00:06:22.360 --> 00:06:25.600 his work predicted. But as we come to the book 00:06:25.600 --> 00:06:27.959 of the Revelation, we have his wonderful work 00:06:27.959 --> 00:06:31.939 culminated. And then, as the title for tonight's 00:06:31.939 --> 00:06:35.339 message suggests, one reason to study the book 00:06:35.339 --> 00:06:38.519 of the Revelation is because it promises blessing 00:06:38.519 --> 00:06:44.720 to its readers, its hearers, and its readers, 00:06:44.980 --> 00:06:49.079 in verse 3. Blessed is he who reads. And those 00:06:49.079 --> 00:06:51.839 who hear the words of this prophecy and keep 00:06:51.839 --> 00:06:56.100 those things which are written in it. Now the 00:06:56.100 --> 00:06:58.339 outlines are being passed out. Thank you to whoever 00:06:58.339 --> 00:07:00.660 found it. You can claim your prize at the end 00:07:00.660 --> 00:07:04.160 of the service. And I'll not tell you yet what 00:07:04.160 --> 00:07:14.660 it is, but it's wonderful. We have not surpassed 00:07:14.660 --> 00:07:16.720 anything yet on the outline. All of this has 00:07:16.720 --> 00:07:19.360 been introductory remarks, so don't worry about 00:07:19.360 --> 00:07:21.459 that. We'll come to the outline in just a moment. 00:07:23.000 --> 00:07:25.379 I want you to notice the three categories here 00:07:25.379 --> 00:07:28.139 because it gives us some insight into how the 00:07:28.139 --> 00:07:31.540 early church handled an epistle like this. And 00:07:31.540 --> 00:07:35.420 remember, this is an epistle in that it's addressed 00:07:35.420 --> 00:07:38.639 to some churches. This is much as Paul wrote 00:07:38.639 --> 00:07:41.350 letters to churches. The churches are named. 00:07:41.550 --> 00:07:45.509 There are seven of them in Asia Minor. Now, he 00:07:45.509 --> 00:07:47.470 mentions, first of all, blessed are the leaders. 00:07:47.629 --> 00:07:49.990 And so we understand from this that the custom 00:07:49.990 --> 00:07:53.490 was in the early church for one person to stand 00:07:53.490 --> 00:07:59.509 up and to read from the scroll. Now, this was 00:07:59.509 --> 00:08:03.149 something like the Jewish custom in the synagogues. 00:08:03.490 --> 00:08:06.230 The early church continued that. Of course, not 00:08:06.230 --> 00:08:09.629 everybody had a copy. In fact, there were very 00:08:09.629 --> 00:08:13.430 few copies. And so there was one who was assigned 00:08:13.430 --> 00:08:16.790 the responsibility of reading, and blessing is 00:08:16.790 --> 00:08:20.550 pronounced upon the one who would read what is 00:08:20.550 --> 00:08:23.589 contained in the book of the Revelation. And 00:08:23.589 --> 00:08:26.629 then those who hear. Obviously, that's everyone 00:08:26.629 --> 00:08:30.050 who's gathered. And those who heed, that is, 00:08:30.050 --> 00:08:33.049 those who put into practice the practical application 00:08:33.049 --> 00:08:36.340 of the truths that are found in this book. It's 00:08:36.340 --> 00:08:38.360 rather amusing when you hear people say, well, 00:08:38.419 --> 00:08:40.860 I don't like to read Revelation because it's 00:08:40.860 --> 00:08:43.600 not practical. There are some wonderful practical 00:08:43.600 --> 00:08:47.039 applications in this book. And blessing is promised 00:08:47.039 --> 00:08:51.360 to those who not only hear it, but who heed what 00:08:51.360 --> 00:08:55.080 God has to say in this book. And so it's a key 00:08:55.080 --> 00:08:59.460 book for the Christian to study. And it promises 00:08:59.460 --> 00:09:03.389 blessing to those who do so. And tonight we're 00:09:03.389 --> 00:09:05.590 going to look at the prologue of the book, which 00:09:05.590 --> 00:09:09.330 means those introductory words, that first paragraph 00:09:09.330 --> 00:09:12.429 that sets the stage for the rest of the book. 00:09:12.450 --> 00:09:14.309 It's verses 1 through 8, and we've read that. 00:09:15.970 --> 00:09:17.870 And now we come to the outline that you have 00:09:17.870 --> 00:09:19.809 in your hands. It's the introduction that we 00:09:19.809 --> 00:09:21.669 want to look at first tonight, the first three 00:09:21.669 --> 00:09:24.789 verses, which introduce to us the book, and there 00:09:24.789 --> 00:09:26.649 are several statements I'd like to make that 00:09:26.649 --> 00:09:29.269 come out of these first three verses. that will 00:09:29.269 --> 00:09:31.610 help us get an introductory understanding of 00:09:31.610 --> 00:09:34.690 what this book is like. In the first place, it 00:09:34.690 --> 00:09:39.289 is a book of apocalypse. Now, you may know how 00:09:39.289 --> 00:09:41.110 to spell that, or you may not. You can substitute 00:09:41.110 --> 00:09:43.769 the word revelation because it's the same idea. 00:09:44.490 --> 00:09:46.929 The Greek word, though, is apocalypse, and that's 00:09:46.929 --> 00:09:50.950 how John began writing. Apocalypse of Jesus Christ. 00:09:52.850 --> 00:09:57.190 The English word revelation. Apocalypse means 00:09:57.190 --> 00:10:01.899 to take... the veil away from something. It is 00:10:01.899 --> 00:10:08.460 to uncover, so as to expose what is hidden. It 00:10:08.460 --> 00:10:11.600 is a manifestation of what was formerly secret. 00:10:12.600 --> 00:10:16.340 And so God in this book is going to manifest 00:10:16.340 --> 00:10:20.580 some things that have been hidden up to this 00:10:20.580 --> 00:10:24.639 period of time. It is an apocalypse, a book of 00:10:24.639 --> 00:10:29.200 revelation, of apocalypse. Now let me insert 00:10:29.200 --> 00:10:33.860 here that in the day that John wrote this, there 00:10:33.860 --> 00:10:38.039 was a genre of literature being written called 00:10:38.039 --> 00:10:42.919 apocalyptic literature. There were writers who 00:10:42.919 --> 00:10:47.860 would write books that were termed apocalyptic 00:10:47.860 --> 00:10:52.019 for a period of two or three hundred years. This 00:10:52.019 --> 00:10:57.059 was a very common genre of writing. And John, 00:10:57.120 --> 00:11:04.200 in some way, picks up some of those ideas, those 00:11:04.200 --> 00:11:06.740 ways of writing, would be a better way to say 00:11:06.740 --> 00:11:10.460 it. And some have said that actually this book 00:11:10.460 --> 00:11:14.440 is nothing more than somebody writing a book 00:11:14.440 --> 00:11:17.460 like human authors in those days. Just another 00:11:17.460 --> 00:11:21.379 apocalyptic book that happens to be in the New 00:11:21.379 --> 00:11:25.399 Testament. But in fact... There are some significant 00:11:25.399 --> 00:11:29.340 differences between the apocalyptic literature 00:11:29.340 --> 00:11:32.679 of that day and this book of apocalypse. Among 00:11:32.679 --> 00:11:35.659 them, and I'll just mention one, this book claims 00:11:35.659 --> 00:11:40.039 to be the word of God. You can search through 00:11:40.039 --> 00:11:43.639 all of the other apocalyptic books that remain 00:11:43.639 --> 00:11:46.340 to our day that were written at that time, and 00:11:46.340 --> 00:11:49.179 none of them make the claim that this book makes 00:11:49.179 --> 00:11:56.480 to be, in fact, the word of God. It is a book 00:11:56.480 --> 00:11:59.539 that is meant to be understood. Undoubtedly, 00:11:59.659 --> 00:12:03.120 the first century believers were more familiar 00:12:03.120 --> 00:12:05.559 with this style of writing than we are today 00:12:05.559 --> 00:12:09.539 and could have perhaps understood portions of 00:12:09.539 --> 00:12:13.240 it more clearly than we might, but we can grasp 00:12:13.240 --> 00:12:16.960 what this book says. It is possible to understand 00:12:16.960 --> 00:12:20.840 at least the big picture here because this book 00:12:20.840 --> 00:12:26.509 is authored by the Holy Spirit. And he is sent 00:12:26.509 --> 00:12:30.950 to be our teacher. Would he offer a book that 00:12:30.950 --> 00:12:33.389 we could not understand and that he could not 00:12:33.389 --> 00:12:37.669 illumine to our hearts? Of course not. He is 00:12:37.669 --> 00:12:40.070 going to aid us and be our teacher. And that 00:12:40.070 --> 00:12:43.289 is our confidence as we begin to study. It is 00:12:43.289 --> 00:12:45.429 a book of apocalypse. Secondly, it is a book 00:12:45.429 --> 00:12:48.809 belonging to Christ. It is said to be the revelation 00:12:48.809 --> 00:12:58.480 of Jesus Christ, gave him to show his servants. 00:12:58.980 --> 00:13:03.139 Isn't that interesting? So it is a book that 00:13:03.139 --> 00:13:07.620 belongs to Jesus Christ, and the content of it 00:13:07.620 --> 00:13:13.960 was given to him by God the Father. And notice 00:13:13.960 --> 00:13:18.700 that he, the Lord Jesus then, showed it to his 00:13:18.700 --> 00:13:24.779 servants through the work of an angel. It says 00:13:24.779 --> 00:13:27.120 at the end of verse 1, And he sent and signified 00:13:27.120 --> 00:13:30.899 it by an angel to his servant John. And so the 00:13:30.899 --> 00:13:34.039 process of the book is this, that God the Father 00:13:34.039 --> 00:13:39.779 gave this content to his son Jesus Christ, who 00:13:39.779 --> 00:13:43.539 in turn committed it to an angel, who then gave 00:13:43.539 --> 00:13:48.299 it to John. And then from John it has come to 00:13:48.299 --> 00:13:53.259 us. But it is a book belonging to Christ. Thirdly, 00:13:53.259 --> 00:13:55.259 we can say, from what is said in this introduction, 00:13:55.500 --> 00:13:59.519 there's a book revealing Christ. That's tied 00:13:59.519 --> 00:14:03.279 together with this idea that belongs to him. 00:14:03.399 --> 00:14:10.139 It reveals him. It unveils him to us. For example, 00:14:10.240 --> 00:14:13.899 in chapters 2 and 3, we see him as the head of 00:14:13.899 --> 00:14:18.100 his church. And he walks among the golden lampstands, 00:14:18.100 --> 00:14:21.720 and he speaks to each of the congregations. a 00:14:21.720 --> 00:14:26.740 word of commendation and condemnation and instruction, 00:14:27.000 --> 00:14:31.399 and we'll study that. So he is revealed to us 00:14:31.399 --> 00:14:33.440 as the head of his church. In chapters 4 and 00:14:33.440 --> 00:14:36.019 5, he is revealed as the Lamb who was slain, 00:14:36.019 --> 00:14:40.620 the Lamb of God who was slain and who is worthy 00:14:40.620 --> 00:14:46.320 to open the seals that lead to the events that 00:14:46.320 --> 00:14:50.679 fall out then from this book of Revelation. In 00:14:50.679 --> 00:14:54.480 chapters 6 through 18, we see him as the instrument 00:14:54.480 --> 00:14:59.200 of God's wrath as he opens the seals, which lead 00:14:59.200 --> 00:15:03.320 then to the trumpets and to the bowls that are 00:15:03.320 --> 00:15:05.779 poured out upon the earth, bowls and judgments, 00:15:06.100 --> 00:15:09.580 bowls and trumpets and seals of God's wrath. 00:15:10.899 --> 00:15:13.960 In chapters 19 and 20, he is revealed as the 00:15:13.960 --> 00:15:20.539 judge of the nations, and he comes. to judge 00:15:20.539 --> 00:15:24.480 the earth and to establish his kingdom. And finally, 00:15:24.480 --> 00:15:28.840 in chapters 21 through 22, we see him revealed 00:15:28.840 --> 00:15:33.220 as the eternal king. And so it is a book that 00:15:33.220 --> 00:15:37.460 reveals Jesus Christ in these offices that we've 00:15:37.460 --> 00:15:40.799 talked about and many others. Number four, we 00:15:40.799 --> 00:15:45.200 see that it is a book of symbols. Now, the new 00:15:45.200 --> 00:15:51.009 King James puts it this way. that he sent and 00:15:51.009 --> 00:15:57.649 signified it by his angel. I think the NASV puts 00:15:57.649 --> 00:16:00.590 it, he communicated it, but the signified really 00:16:00.590 --> 00:16:03.950 does bring the idea, because another way to pronounce 00:16:03.950 --> 00:16:06.450 the word that gets to what John really writes 00:16:06.450 --> 00:16:12.110 is that he signified it. He signified it. That 00:16:12.110 --> 00:16:15.789 is, he communicates through signs and symbols 00:16:15.789 --> 00:16:20.789 the content of the book. And so it is an unusual 00:16:20.789 --> 00:16:24.149 book. It's distinct from all of the other literature 00:16:24.149 --> 00:16:28.629 of the New Testament. If you were going to compare 00:16:28.629 --> 00:16:30.649 it to other books in the Bible, you might think 00:16:30.649 --> 00:16:34.649 of Daniel, which uses a lot of symbolic language 00:16:34.649 --> 00:16:39.269 and signs. You might compare it to Ezekiel, both 00:16:39.269 --> 00:16:42.769 prophetic books as well. But here we have a New 00:16:42.769 --> 00:16:46.389 Testament prophetic book, in fact, the only prophetic 00:16:46.389 --> 00:16:51.190 book in the New Testament. And it is signified 00:16:51.190 --> 00:16:55.129 to us. It involves signs and symbols. That doesn't 00:16:55.129 --> 00:16:57.149 mean that words aren't used. Obviously they are. 00:16:57.509 --> 00:17:01.029 But in the communication of its content, we will 00:17:01.029 --> 00:17:04.769 see many signs and symbols. And as we pointed 00:17:04.769 --> 00:17:07.970 out, these are mediated by an angel to John's 00:17:07.970 --> 00:17:13.170 senses. Now whether John, there on the Isle of 00:17:13.170 --> 00:17:17.690 Patmos, had a vision, and all of this unfolded 00:17:17.690 --> 00:17:23.130 to him, But whether, in fact, he left the realm 00:17:23.130 --> 00:17:29.329 of time and space and sought, took a trip into 00:17:29.329 --> 00:17:33.210 the future, is not real clear. I rather think 00:17:33.210 --> 00:17:36.210 the latter happened, that when it says in chapter 00:17:36.210 --> 00:17:40.089 4, when Jesus says, a voice from heaven says 00:17:40.089 --> 00:17:43.569 to John, come up here, that John is liberated 00:17:43.569 --> 00:17:49.160 from this realm that we know. and is taken up 00:17:49.160 --> 00:17:53.279 into the realm of the heavenlies, and from there 00:17:53.279 --> 00:17:57.279 he sees and personally witnesses, not just by 00:17:57.279 --> 00:18:00.839 vision, but he personally sees the events that 00:18:00.839 --> 00:18:04.740 he describes through signs and symbols in this 00:18:04.740 --> 00:18:10.940 book. It is a book, number five, with promises. 00:18:11.519 --> 00:18:13.839 And we've seen the first one here. There are 00:18:13.839 --> 00:18:18.079 seven Beatitudes in this book. As you know, Beatitudes 00:18:18.079 --> 00:18:22.619 are blessings that are spoken. We're familiar 00:18:22.619 --> 00:18:25.099 with the Beatitudes of Matthew, for example. 00:18:25.660 --> 00:18:28.460 But here we have the first of seven Beatitudes 00:18:28.460 --> 00:18:30.519 in the book of the Revelation. We'll talk about 00:18:30.519 --> 00:18:34.380 them as we work our way through the book. And 00:18:34.380 --> 00:18:37.160 number six, and finally, it is a book of actual 00:18:37.160 --> 00:18:41.200 events. Now, some people, as they approach the 00:18:41.200 --> 00:18:43.240 book of Revelation, say, my, my, you missed a 00:18:43.240 --> 00:18:46.319 point here. These are events that took place 00:18:46.319 --> 00:18:49.980 in the first century. And we ought not to expect 00:18:49.980 --> 00:18:52.960 that there's anything in this book that is going 00:18:52.960 --> 00:18:56.460 to be fulfilled in our day or in some future 00:18:56.460 --> 00:19:00.279 period. These are events that John understood 00:19:00.279 --> 00:19:04.640 that occurred right there in the first century. 00:19:04.640 --> 00:19:09.980 It's all history. And then there are others who 00:19:09.980 --> 00:19:13.410 approach the book and... and say that we should 00:19:13.410 --> 00:19:19.809 look at it allegorically, that it's kind of an 00:19:19.809 --> 00:19:24.630 ideal book. And so they read into the signs and 00:19:24.630 --> 00:19:30.029 symbols all kinds of weird things. And then there 00:19:30.029 --> 00:19:32.309 are others who say, well, no, actually this book 00:19:32.309 --> 00:19:38.849 outlines history throughout this whole age. It 00:19:38.849 --> 00:19:42.119 seems to me that the very best way... of understanding 00:19:42.119 --> 00:19:47.220 the book is to let it speak for itself, to approach 00:19:47.220 --> 00:19:51.359 the book with the idea of letting it literally 00:19:51.359 --> 00:19:57.299 say what it says. And when we do that, we understand 00:19:57.299 --> 00:19:59.740 that when it talks about a sign, it's literally 00:19:59.740 --> 00:20:04.000 talking about a sign. When it describes Jesus 00:20:04.000 --> 00:20:07.819 as a lamb, we ought not to picture him as a sheep 00:20:07.819 --> 00:20:13.769 up in heaven. That's symbolic. But John saw something 00:20:13.769 --> 00:20:16.609 literally, and he uses that symbol to communicate 00:20:16.609 --> 00:20:20.549 to us what he saw in heaven. So we approach the 00:20:20.549 --> 00:20:24.289 book literally, and when we do that, as we'll 00:20:24.289 --> 00:20:27.809 get to in a couple of weeks, what will happen 00:20:27.809 --> 00:20:30.789 is that we'll see that most of this book really 00:20:30.789 --> 00:20:34.349 does talk about actual events that are yet to 00:20:34.349 --> 00:20:38.369 come. Actual events that are yet to come upon 00:20:38.369 --> 00:20:42.680 the earth. And Jesus says regarding these that 00:20:42.680 --> 00:20:47.160 they must shortly take place in verse 1. Must 00:20:47.160 --> 00:20:52.539 shortly take place. Not maybe, but they must. 00:20:54.480 --> 00:20:57.500 There's absolutely no doubt that what John saw 00:20:57.500 --> 00:21:00.940 is someday going to happen. And when he says 00:21:00.940 --> 00:21:03.480 shortly take place, he doesn't mean that from 00:21:03.480 --> 00:21:06.460 his day until they were fulfilled was a short 00:21:06.460 --> 00:21:09.369 period of time. But the word that he uses means 00:21:09.369 --> 00:21:13.670 that once these things begin to unfold, they 00:21:13.670 --> 00:21:17.430 will unfold quickly. It will happen just like 00:21:17.430 --> 00:21:21.670 that. And so, as I understand the book of the 00:21:21.670 --> 00:21:23.529 Revelation, the way that we're going to approach 00:21:23.529 --> 00:21:28.009 it in these months together, it is that there 00:21:28.009 --> 00:21:31.769 are some things that, yes, refer to past churches, 00:21:32.069 --> 00:21:36.450 chapters 2 and 3, but most of the book is on 00:21:36.450 --> 00:21:42.559 hold. waiting for God's signal when these events 00:21:42.559 --> 00:21:46.440 will then begin to very quickly unfold in human 00:21:46.440 --> 00:21:49.500 history. Let us come to the salutation where 00:21:49.500 --> 00:21:52.559 I take quite so long on this. In verses 4 and 00:21:52.559 --> 00:21:56.279 5, we have the greeting. It is from John. And, 00:21:56.359 --> 00:21:58.440 of course, there are liberal scholars who like 00:21:58.440 --> 00:22:02.640 to argue whether this was John or not. From the 00:22:02.640 --> 00:22:05.599 earliest traditions of the church, They simply 00:22:05.599 --> 00:22:07.920 accepted what the book said, one of John the 00:22:07.920 --> 00:22:11.640 Apostle's disciples said it was John who wrote 00:22:11.640 --> 00:22:14.460 the book. There's all kinds of internal evidence 00:22:14.460 --> 00:22:17.299 to say that John wrote the book, and so we accept 00:22:17.299 --> 00:22:19.519 simply what it says, that the John who wrote 00:22:19.519 --> 00:22:24.700 it was the Apostle John, the one of the Apostles, 00:22:24.700 --> 00:22:27.640 the only one of the Apostles, as far as we know, 00:22:27.799 --> 00:22:32.680 who was not martyred, but who died as an old 00:22:32.680 --> 00:22:38.480 man. Now, he greets the readers with these common 00:22:38.480 --> 00:22:42.259 words, grace and peace, a wonderful bicultural 00:22:42.259 --> 00:22:46.720 expression, because grace is a Gentile concept, 00:22:46.940 --> 00:22:50.839 whereas peace is Jewish. And so he addresses 00:22:50.839 --> 00:22:53.880 the bicultural readers using words that would 00:22:53.880 --> 00:22:57.779 be equally meaningful to them, grace and peace. 00:22:58.319 --> 00:23:03.470 He says that grace and peace come from... The 00:23:03.470 --> 00:23:06.210 Holy Trinity. Now, he doesn't use the word Trinity. 00:23:06.289 --> 00:23:10.069 The word Trinity is not used in doctrine until 00:23:10.069 --> 00:23:14.910 a couple hundred years after this. But the concept 00:23:14.910 --> 00:23:18.670 of the triunity of God is very clear in these 00:23:18.670 --> 00:23:22.130 verses. He says, grace to you and peace from 00:23:22.130 --> 00:23:30.130 him who is, who was, and who is to come. Question, 00:23:30.349 --> 00:23:33.849 who is he talking about? The answer is he's talking 00:23:33.849 --> 00:23:38.029 about God the Father. And that will become more 00:23:38.029 --> 00:23:40.089 clear as we go through the book and see the numerous 00:23:40.089 --> 00:23:43.890 times when this very same phrase is used. Him 00:23:43.890 --> 00:23:47.650 who is, who was, and who is to come is God the 00:23:47.650 --> 00:23:51.490 Father. It speaks of the eternity of God. No 00:23:51.490 --> 00:23:55.890 beginning, no ending. God always is eternally 00:23:55.890 --> 00:24:01.009 existent. But then he mentions the seven spirits. 00:24:02.000 --> 00:24:06.279 who are before his throne. It's a strange expression, 00:24:06.799 --> 00:24:11.039 the seven spirits. And we immediately think of 00:24:11.039 --> 00:24:13.480 the Holy Spirit, but what does it mean, the seven 00:24:13.480 --> 00:24:17.240 spirits? Well, some understand this to mean the 00:24:17.240 --> 00:24:22.180 sevenfold spirit, talking about the fullness, 00:24:22.299 --> 00:24:27.299 the completeness, because the number seven symbolically 00:24:27.299 --> 00:24:31.369 represents completeness. That is talking about 00:24:31.369 --> 00:24:34.069 the fullness, the completeness of the ministry 00:24:34.069 --> 00:24:36.890 of the Holy Spirit. And that may well be the 00:24:36.890 --> 00:24:40.490 best way to understand it. But I like the thought 00:24:40.490 --> 00:24:44.069 of Dr. Alan Johnson who writes that this name 00:24:44.069 --> 00:24:48.789 represents the activity of the risen Christ through 00:24:48.789 --> 00:24:53.890 the Holy Spirit to the seven churches. Now the 00:24:53.890 --> 00:24:56.609 word, or the number seven is going to appear 00:24:56.609 --> 00:24:59.500 over and over again. in the book of revelation 00:24:59.500 --> 00:25:03.160 i didn't write down all the different times that 00:25:03.160 --> 00:25:07.619 it's used but there are seven seals there are 00:25:07.619 --> 00:25:11.960 seven trumpets there are seven bowls of wrath 00:25:11.960 --> 00:25:15.539 there are seven final signs there are seven churches 00:25:15.539 --> 00:25:18.799 here we have the sevenfold spirit of god and 00:25:18.799 --> 00:25:24.640 so seven is a significant number in this book 00:25:24.640 --> 00:25:27.980 and it It represents the fullness of something. 00:25:28.160 --> 00:25:31.200 And here we have the fullness of the Holy Spirit's 00:25:31.200 --> 00:25:34.839 ministry in the churches. And when we get over 00:25:34.839 --> 00:25:36.940 to the letters, perhaps we'll have time to talk 00:25:36.940 --> 00:25:39.279 a little more about that. But let me mention 00:25:39.279 --> 00:25:42.180 now the third person of the Trinity that's mentioned, 00:25:42.259 --> 00:25:48.319 verse 5. He says, and from Jesus Christ. Jesus 00:25:48.319 --> 00:25:53.359 Christ. He mentions now a threefold. a description 00:25:53.359 --> 00:25:58.099 of Jesus Christ. Notice what he says. He names 00:25:58.099 --> 00:26:04.940 him first the faithful witness. Here, John is 00:26:04.940 --> 00:26:09.579 pointing back to Christ's earthly ministry, his 00:26:09.579 --> 00:26:16.019 life on earth as the faithful revealer of God's 00:26:16.019 --> 00:26:20.319 revelation. And we see him here in his role as 00:26:20.319 --> 00:26:25.319 the prophet. The one who would bring the word 00:26:25.319 --> 00:26:28.819 of God. He delivers God's word in his earthly 00:26:28.819 --> 00:26:33.980 life. The second name is the firstborn from the 00:26:33.980 --> 00:26:39.259 dead. Here we have a description of his present 00:26:39.259 --> 00:26:45.799 work as the risen lamb of God. The one who is 00:26:45.799 --> 00:26:50.740 supreme in authority over all. the dead, the 00:26:50.740 --> 00:26:54.579 firstborn from the dead. And it refers to his 00:26:54.579 --> 00:26:59.099 work as priest. And so we have his work as prophet 00:26:59.099 --> 00:27:03.339 in the name faithful witness. And we have his 00:27:03.339 --> 00:27:07.180 work as priest in the name the firstborn from 00:27:07.180 --> 00:27:11.039 the dead. He ever lives as the firstborn from 00:27:11.039 --> 00:27:13.680 the dead to intercede on our behalf before the 00:27:13.680 --> 00:27:17.160 throne of God. And then we have the third name, 00:27:17.299 --> 00:27:22.450 the ruler. over the kings of the earth. And here 00:27:22.450 --> 00:27:27.650 we have his role as what? As king. Prophet, priest, 00:27:27.849 --> 00:27:32.829 and king. The one who is the ruler over all of 00:27:32.829 --> 00:27:36.410 the other rulers or the kings of the earth. It 00:27:36.410 --> 00:27:40.250 is his future place when he will come and establish 00:27:40.250 --> 00:27:45.829 his kingdom. So we have him represented to us 00:27:45.829 --> 00:27:50.460 as prophet, priest, and king in this three -fold 00:27:50.460 --> 00:27:56.359 description. And so as John gives us the salutation 00:27:56.359 --> 00:27:59.559 and the greeting in the book, he says, grace 00:27:59.559 --> 00:28:04.539 to you and peace from each member of the Godhead, 00:28:04.700 --> 00:28:09.640 the Father who was, who is, who is to come, and 00:28:09.640 --> 00:28:13.579 the Holy Spirit who in his completeness and in 00:28:13.579 --> 00:28:17.000 his fullness ministers to the seven churches 00:28:17.000 --> 00:28:20.220 and by extension to all of the churches in this 00:28:20.220 --> 00:28:25.619 age, and from Jesus Christ, the prophet, the 00:28:25.619 --> 00:28:31.180 priest, and the king. Now in the last part of 00:28:31.180 --> 00:28:33.480 verse 5 and through verse 6, we have the dedication 00:28:33.480 --> 00:28:37.680 of the book. John pauses for a moment as he talks 00:28:37.680 --> 00:28:40.480 about Jesus Christ, and he dedicates this book 00:28:40.480 --> 00:28:48.329 to Jesus Christ. He says, That is to Jesus Christ. 00:28:48.970 --> 00:28:52.490 And again we have a three -fold description. 00:28:52.809 --> 00:28:55.230 Before it was a three -fold description of his 00:28:55.230 --> 00:28:58.750 person, prophet, priest, and king. And here we 00:28:58.750 --> 00:29:03.829 have a three -fold description of his work and 00:29:03.829 --> 00:29:08.430 his relationship to believers. It says, to him 00:29:08.430 --> 00:29:13.369 who loved us. I think that it's better in the 00:29:13.369 --> 00:29:15.730 present tense. That seems to be the better reading. 00:29:16.700 --> 00:29:19.240 I would differ with the New King James translators 00:29:19.240 --> 00:29:26.680 here, to him who loves us. To him who loves us. 00:29:27.500 --> 00:29:33.339 Despite our unloveliness and our unfaithfulness, 00:29:33.440 --> 00:29:39.140 he loves us. And as you read about the early 00:29:39.140 --> 00:29:42.720 church, as described in these churches in chapters 00:29:42.720 --> 00:29:45.349 2 and 3, you're going to see that there are some 00:29:45.349 --> 00:29:48.509 pretty disappointing things among God's people. 00:29:49.210 --> 00:29:54.049 But he loves us anyway. You're going to see that 00:29:54.049 --> 00:29:56.250 there's some unfaithfulness among God's people. 00:29:56.890 --> 00:30:01.069 But he loves us anyway. We're going to learn 00:30:01.069 --> 00:30:04.869 that the church is undergoing persecution. And 00:30:04.869 --> 00:30:06.930 we may be tempted in the midst of persecution 00:30:06.930 --> 00:30:10.890 to wonder, does he really love us? John says, 00:30:11.150 --> 00:30:16.299 to him who loves us. He loves us through our 00:30:16.299 --> 00:30:19.140 distresses. He loves us through our persecutions. 00:30:20.819 --> 00:30:23.579 John would be especially appreciative of the 00:30:23.579 --> 00:30:27.019 fact that he loves us through our banishments, 00:30:27.019 --> 00:30:31.599 our exiles, our times of loneliness, because 00:30:31.599 --> 00:30:36.759 John had been exiled away from other believers 00:30:36.759 --> 00:30:41.039 and placed on this lonely island in the Aegean 00:30:41.039 --> 00:30:44.480 Sea, the Isle of Patmos. That he loves us, says 00:30:44.480 --> 00:30:48.619 John, to him who loves us. Now, the second description 00:30:48.619 --> 00:30:53.440 of his relationship is that he washed us. He 00:30:53.440 --> 00:30:59.380 washed us from our sins in his own blood. Now, 00:30:59.480 --> 00:31:01.900 there are some manuscripts, again, that read 00:31:01.900 --> 00:31:05.140 this verb differently. The NIV reads it, for 00:31:05.140 --> 00:31:09.980 example, who freed us. The point is, in either 00:31:09.980 --> 00:31:13.809 one of the verbs, that Jesus Christ has delivered 00:31:13.809 --> 00:31:20.910 us from our sins. He has cleansed us. He has 00:31:20.910 --> 00:31:26.230 washed us. He has freed us so that no longer 00:31:26.230 --> 00:31:29.769 are we in bondage to sin. We have been delivered 00:31:29.769 --> 00:31:34.470 from that slavery and exalted to serve Jesus 00:31:34.470 --> 00:31:38.950 Christ. And so he dedicates the book to Jesus 00:31:38.950 --> 00:31:43.319 Christ who loves us. and who freed us or who 00:31:43.319 --> 00:31:50.940 washed us from our sins in his own blood. Let 00:31:50.940 --> 00:31:54.640 us never be ashamed of the blood of Christ or 00:31:54.640 --> 00:31:58.240 shrink from the beauty of the blood of the Lord 00:31:58.240 --> 00:32:02.519 Jesus Christ shed for our sins. And then the 00:32:02.519 --> 00:32:05.880 third description of the relationship as he dedicates 00:32:05.880 --> 00:32:09.720 the book is that he has made us kings and priests. 00:32:10.480 --> 00:32:14.900 to his God and Father. Or he made us a kingdom 00:32:14.900 --> 00:32:21.980 of priests. Or he made us a kingdom, even priests, 00:32:22.240 --> 00:32:26.920 unto his God and Father. The point is here that 00:32:26.920 --> 00:32:30.619 we have been exalted to serve God. That is part 00:32:30.619 --> 00:32:34.460 of God's plan for us. Not only that he has liberated 00:32:34.460 --> 00:32:38.619 us from sin, but he has made us to be a kingdom. 00:32:40.460 --> 00:32:44.500 of those who are set apart to serve God in the 00:32:44.500 --> 00:32:49.180 priesthood. Here we have a hint at the priesthood 00:32:49.180 --> 00:32:53.220 of all believers. We need not a priest to go 00:32:53.220 --> 00:32:57.019 on our behalf before God, but we are all made 00:32:57.019 --> 00:33:01.660 to be priests unto God. And in that role, we're 00:33:01.660 --> 00:33:06.440 made a kingdom. We are the royalty of God's new 00:33:06.440 --> 00:33:11.049 heaven and new earth. We are a kingdom. And we 00:33:11.049 --> 00:33:14.990 are set aside to do priestly service unto God 00:33:14.990 --> 00:33:20.329 forever and forever. And he goes on to say, to 00:33:20.329 --> 00:33:23.250 him be glory and dominion forever and ever. Amen. 00:33:23.529 --> 00:33:25.650 You know, there is absolutely nothing that can 00:33:25.650 --> 00:33:30.130 diminish the glory of Jesus Christ. We may fret 00:33:30.130 --> 00:33:34.789 and worry and stew about the way that our Lord 00:33:34.789 --> 00:33:38.809 has spoken about in our world. and the demeaning 00:33:38.809 --> 00:33:42.470 of his saving work and his person by those who 00:33:42.470 --> 00:33:45.890 are unregenerate and in darkness, but they cannot 00:33:45.890 --> 00:33:49.829 rob him of his glory. They can blaspheme him, 00:33:49.930 --> 00:33:53.369 and we'll answer for it, but they can never rob 00:33:53.369 --> 00:33:56.390 him of his glory, because his glory is secure 00:33:56.390 --> 00:34:00.829 forever and forever and forever. Eternally, we 00:34:00.829 --> 00:34:03.509 will be glorified as the Son of God, and by his 00:34:03.509 --> 00:34:07.900 grace, we will be glorified with him. to serve 00:34:07.900 --> 00:34:11.780 as a kingdom of priests unto God. And so John, 00:34:11.900 --> 00:34:13.820 after introducing the book, telling us a little 00:34:13.820 --> 00:34:17.420 bit about what it's like, then gives us a greeting, 00:34:17.579 --> 00:34:20.400 a salutation, and then he dedicates the book. 00:34:21.360 --> 00:34:27.280 In verse 7, he talks about the theme of the book, 00:34:27.340 --> 00:34:32.159 the dissertation of it. He says, Behold, he is 00:34:32.159 --> 00:34:36.760 coming with clouds. Now, if you wanted to just 00:34:36.760 --> 00:34:38.980 say, what is the book of Revelation about, turn 00:34:38.980 --> 00:34:41.360 to verse 7 and you see where it's all heading. 00:34:42.559 --> 00:34:46.800 It is the coming of the Lord Jesus Christ. And, 00:34:46.840 --> 00:34:49.420 of course, those events that precede and lead 00:34:49.420 --> 00:34:53.400 to his coming. But the dissertation or the theme 00:34:53.400 --> 00:34:55.980 of the book is found right there in verse 7. 00:34:56.500 --> 00:34:59.980 He is coming. Literally, the Greek says, come. 00:35:00.599 --> 00:35:06.170 Come and see. Here we have a climactic invitation 00:35:06.170 --> 00:35:11.190 that implies that there has never been anything 00:35:11.190 --> 00:35:15.670 like this before. Come, come and see this. Behold, 00:35:15.690 --> 00:35:20.210 look at this glory. There's been nothing that 00:35:20.210 --> 00:35:23.269 human eyes have ever seen like this. Behold, 00:35:23.309 --> 00:35:26.929 he is coming. He says he's coming with clouds. 00:35:28.460 --> 00:35:31.840 This alludes to what Daniel saw and records in 00:35:31.840 --> 00:35:36.659 Daniel chapter 7, verse 13. It is the exact fulfillment 00:35:36.659 --> 00:35:39.739 of what the angel said on the day that our Lord 00:35:39.739 --> 00:35:42.199 ascended back to heaven. The same Jesus who has 00:35:42.199 --> 00:35:45.219 taken up from you in heaven will so come in like 00:35:45.219 --> 00:35:48.719 manner as you have seen him go into heaven. And 00:35:48.719 --> 00:35:52.400 Luke says, when they saw him go up, he disappeared 00:35:52.400 --> 00:35:57.280 into the clouds. And it is with clouds that our 00:35:57.280 --> 00:36:01.050 Lord... will come. There's a marvelous illusion 00:36:01.050 --> 00:36:05.750 here to the glory that will accompany his reappearance. 00:36:05.909 --> 00:36:09.489 Here is an incomparable glory. There has been 00:36:09.489 --> 00:36:12.809 nothing like this that the world has ever, ever 00:36:12.809 --> 00:36:16.190 seen. I'll tell you, the world can put on some 00:36:16.190 --> 00:36:20.809 magnificent shows. You think back a few weeks 00:36:20.809 --> 00:36:27.750 to the opening of the Olympics in Spain. Or to 00:36:27.750 --> 00:36:31.110 the closing ceremonies. In a certain way, that 00:36:31.110 --> 00:36:35.230 was quite spectacular. It was also quite pagan. 00:36:36.349 --> 00:36:39.670 And I thought it was an interesting exposure 00:36:39.670 --> 00:36:42.849 of the direction that Western culture is taking 00:36:42.849 --> 00:36:47.929 into pagan concepts and ideas. But I'm telling 00:36:47.929 --> 00:36:51.789 you, it's spectacular. And even over the television, 00:36:51.909 --> 00:36:54.849 with a limitation of 19 inches, you could see 00:36:54.849 --> 00:36:58.920 that this was something. to be there but there 00:36:58.920 --> 00:37:00.800 is nothing i mean it's just absolutely nothing 00:37:00.800 --> 00:37:03.699 you can't even compare what that was like to 00:37:03.699 --> 00:37:06.699 the majesty and the pomp that will accompany 00:37:06.699 --> 00:37:10.260 this day when he comes with the clouds and it 00:37:10.260 --> 00:37:16.619 says that every eye will see him and they also 00:37:16.619 --> 00:37:21.280 who pierced him now notice it says every eye 00:37:21.280 --> 00:37:26.010 will see him that is His coming will be visible 00:37:26.010 --> 00:37:30.329 to the whole earth. Now, I've heard some people 00:37:30.329 --> 00:37:32.510 say, well, isn't it wonderful we have television 00:37:32.510 --> 00:37:35.809 today so that every eye will be able to see him? 00:37:37.489 --> 00:37:39.230 Well, I don't know if it's wonderful we have 00:37:39.230 --> 00:37:42.030 television or not. The more time goes on, the 00:37:42.030 --> 00:37:46.090 more I think it's not very wonderful. And besides 00:37:46.090 --> 00:37:48.050 that, I'm not sure everybody's going to have 00:37:48.050 --> 00:37:51.900 a television set when Jesus comes. Beyond that, 00:37:51.920 --> 00:37:53.820 do you think Jesus needs television cameras? 00:37:54.920 --> 00:37:57.960 I do not know the exact manner of how every eye 00:37:57.960 --> 00:38:01.659 will see him, but the fact is that he will be 00:38:01.659 --> 00:38:05.039 visible to every person on earth when he comes. 00:38:06.119 --> 00:38:09.639 Now, does that mean that his coming, which is 00:38:09.639 --> 00:38:14.480 described as sudden and like lightning that appears 00:38:14.480 --> 00:38:19.079 in the sky, that once he appears, that his coming... 00:38:19.480 --> 00:38:23.079 will, in fact, take a period of hours or days. 00:38:23.260 --> 00:38:26.699 But when he first appears, until he arrives on 00:38:26.699 --> 00:38:29.099 the earth, can you imagine the terror in the 00:38:29.099 --> 00:38:32.760 hearts of human beings, unregenerate human beings, 00:38:32.800 --> 00:38:35.099 as they would look into the sky and see extraterrestrial 00:38:35.099 --> 00:38:40.300 beings coming to the earth? Every eye, it says, 00:38:40.360 --> 00:38:44.280 will see him. And there is a response that we'll 00:38:44.280 --> 00:38:46.300 see in Revelation that just makes you shudder. 00:38:48.480 --> 00:38:51.079 cry for the rocks to fall upon them and hide 00:38:51.079 --> 00:38:55.380 them from his face but then he especially points 00:38:55.380 --> 00:39:00.739 out that those who pierced him will see him now 00:39:00.739 --> 00:39:05.159 that could well refer to the the jewish people 00:39:05.159 --> 00:39:09.219 obviously those exact people who pierced him 00:39:09.219 --> 00:39:14.050 are dead they will not see him at this time as 00:39:14.050 --> 00:39:16.550 he returns to the earth, because they will be 00:39:16.550 --> 00:39:18.909 resurrected later to stand before him in judgment. 00:39:20.030 --> 00:39:22.409 But it may well be that he's talking here about 00:39:22.409 --> 00:39:25.829 the Jewish nation, the descendants of those who 00:39:25.829 --> 00:39:28.989 pierced him. We live in an interesting day, and 00:39:28.989 --> 00:39:30.769 I just kind of insert this, it doesn't really 00:39:30.769 --> 00:39:34.309 apply to Revelation, but a couple of years ago, 00:39:34.429 --> 00:39:37.949 as they were building a road in a part of Jerusalem, 00:39:38.190 --> 00:39:40.010 the southern part of the city of Jerusalem, called 00:39:40.010 --> 00:39:44.139 the Peace Forest, there was a cave -in. as they 00:39:44.139 --> 00:39:47.380 were excavating for this road, and they looked 00:39:47.380 --> 00:39:53.000 down into a tomb that they had accidentally uncovered. 00:39:53.820 --> 00:39:56.300 And so they called archaeologists, and they'd 00:39:56.300 --> 00:40:01.360 been investigating, what is this tomb? And inside 00:40:01.360 --> 00:40:04.579 the tomb were several ossuaries, which are small 00:40:04.579 --> 00:40:14.059 casket -like stone containers. And one of them, 00:40:14.119 --> 00:40:17.119 it was obvious because of the tomb that this 00:40:17.119 --> 00:40:19.820 was a very important family. The tomb had never 00:40:19.820 --> 00:40:23.940 been disrupted. And as they found one of these 00:40:23.940 --> 00:40:26.460 ossuaries or caskets, it had the name on it, 00:40:26.559 --> 00:40:31.019 Caiaphas. They can't say for sure that those 00:40:31.019 --> 00:40:34.480 are the bones of Caiaphas that are found inside 00:40:34.480 --> 00:40:37.059 their ossuary, but it's very likely that those 00:40:37.059 --> 00:40:39.599 are literally the bones of the man who was the 00:40:39.599 --> 00:40:43.860 high priest and condemned Jesus. 2 ,000 years 00:40:43.860 --> 00:40:49.280 ago. Well, the descendants of those people will 00:40:49.280 --> 00:40:52.980 see him. Those who pierced him will see him. 00:40:53.380 --> 00:40:56.980 And it says, all the tribes of the earth will 00:40:56.980 --> 00:41:02.139 mourn because of him. The word mourn here means 00:41:02.139 --> 00:41:07.019 strong wailing. It denotes absolute horror and 00:41:07.019 --> 00:41:10.920 agony of soul, so much so as to literally cut 00:41:10.920 --> 00:41:15.250 oneself. To take a knife and to cut oneself because 00:41:15.250 --> 00:41:19.329 one is in such agony. Well, that's what we have 00:41:19.329 --> 00:41:21.869 to anticipate as we look into the book, the coming 00:41:21.869 --> 00:41:24.750 of the Lord Jesus Christ and those events that 00:41:24.750 --> 00:41:29.070 lead up to and bring that incomparable day when 00:41:29.070 --> 00:41:32.369 he will return to the earth. And then in verse 00:41:32.369 --> 00:41:36.690 8 we have the authentication of the book. It's 00:41:36.690 --> 00:41:41.610 sort of a seal that says, yes, John is right. 00:41:42.219 --> 00:41:46.619 but is going to be told as the imprimatur of 00:41:46.619 --> 00:41:51.460 Almighty God upon it. My Red Letter edition of 00:41:51.460 --> 00:41:55.579 the Bible puts these words in red, which I think, 00:41:55.579 --> 00:41:59.000 personal opinion, is incorrect. Because usually 00:41:59.000 --> 00:42:02.400 the red is signified through the words of Jesus, 00:42:02.480 --> 00:42:06.000 right? I think here it's really the word of God 00:42:06.000 --> 00:42:09.559 the Father. I believe it is God the Father who 00:42:09.559 --> 00:42:12.619 says, I am the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning 00:42:12.619 --> 00:42:16.179 and the end, says the Lord, who is, who was, 00:42:16.440 --> 00:42:20.599 and who is to come, the Almighty. And so we have 00:42:20.599 --> 00:42:25.139 eternal God saying here, he who is unchangeable 00:42:25.139 --> 00:42:29.199 in all of his purposes, he who is over all, who 00:42:29.199 --> 00:42:34.179 has his hand in everything, the Almighty, that's 00:42:34.179 --> 00:42:37.150 what it means. He has everything under control. 00:42:37.210 --> 00:42:41.929 He says, this is it. What you are about to read 00:42:41.929 --> 00:42:46.110 is the way that is going to be, and I authenticate 00:42:46.110 --> 00:42:51.730 this book. And so as we commence our study of 00:42:51.730 --> 00:42:55.889 this book of the Revelation, we are going to 00:42:55.889 --> 00:42:59.590 study the capstone of God's Revelation, the final 00:42:59.590 --> 00:43:04.610 word that he gives to humanity before the... 00:43:05.070 --> 00:43:08.110 The work of Revelation stops. It is a book that 00:43:08.110 --> 00:43:11.969 is meant to be studied and understood. Now, what 00:43:11.969 --> 00:43:15.030 should you expect to gain from a study in the 00:43:15.030 --> 00:43:19.070 book? What blessing? Well, first, I trust that 00:43:19.070 --> 00:43:23.050 God will give us all a better grasp of the loveliness 00:43:23.050 --> 00:43:28.369 of our Savior. This is a book that unveils Him 00:43:28.369 --> 00:43:32.090 to us. It's a book that belongs to Him. And I 00:43:32.090 --> 00:43:34.070 trust that as we work our way through the book, 00:43:34.110 --> 00:43:37.949 we will see him in his glory. But a second blessing 00:43:37.949 --> 00:43:40.170 that we should have is that we will have increased 00:43:40.170 --> 00:43:43.289 insight into future things. Now, some of you 00:43:43.289 --> 00:43:45.750 have been through the book of the Revelation 00:43:45.750 --> 00:43:49.409 before, maybe even several times. But others 00:43:49.409 --> 00:43:52.050 of you are trying to piece together, well, when 00:43:52.050 --> 00:43:53.949 does this happen and how does that fall out? 00:43:54.050 --> 00:43:56.849 And we will put some of those things into perspective. 00:43:57.289 --> 00:43:59.670 I'm sorry we won't answer all of your questions. 00:44:01.680 --> 00:44:04.380 because there will still be questions as we come 00:44:04.380 --> 00:44:07.699 to the end of the book. But hopefully you'll 00:44:07.699 --> 00:44:11.320 have some increased insight, and then I trust 00:44:11.320 --> 00:44:16.159 that all of us will have an enlarged faith in 00:44:16.159 --> 00:44:19.039 God's sovereign control of all of human history. 00:44:19.519 --> 00:44:22.980 I think that that is the underlying message of 00:44:22.980 --> 00:44:28.019 the book, that God's in charge. And as the old 00:44:28.019 --> 00:44:32.110 song said, He's got the whole world in his hands. 00:44:33.050 --> 00:44:37.070 Everything. John is writing to people who are 00:44:37.070 --> 00:44:44.070 suffering under Domitian, one of the cruel dictators 00:44:44.070 --> 00:44:46.929 of the Roman Empire. They were going through 00:44:46.929 --> 00:44:49.849 a great deal. He wants them, as they read the 00:44:49.849 --> 00:44:52.510 book, to be reassured in their suffering that 00:44:52.510 --> 00:44:55.570 God's in control. While it may look pretty dark 00:44:55.570 --> 00:44:57.489 from where they're living, where they're standing, 00:44:58.090 --> 00:45:01.630 There is a bright, shining day up in the future 00:45:01.630 --> 00:45:04.769 when Jesus Christ is going to come and he's going 00:45:04.769 --> 00:45:08.050 to set things right. And he will rule and reign 00:45:08.050 --> 00:45:13.289 forever and forever. And so pray with me, study 00:45:13.289 --> 00:45:16.889 with me, and let's ask God the Holy Spirit to 00:45:16.889 --> 00:45:20.250 be our teacher as we look together in this wonderful 00:45:20.250 --> 00:45:23.610 book. Would you stand with me, please, as we 00:45:23.610 --> 00:45:24.570 come to a close?