WEBVTT 00:00:01.280 --> 00:00:02.640 Well, good morning. 00:00:03.520 --> 00:00:05.200 It's good to be with you. 00:00:05.759 --> 00:00:06.559 My name is Joe. 00:00:06.639 --> 00:00:07.599 I'm one of the pastors here. 00:00:07.679 --> 00:00:08.000 Welcome. 00:00:08.080 --> 00:00:19.120 If you're new, I want to especially welcome you, and especially for those of you who have come back to church, or maybe you're trying church for the first time as we dig into Revelation. 00:00:19.199 --> 00:00:23.600 I've seen some people in the hall today that I haven't seen in quite some time. 00:00:23.839 --> 00:00:26.160 So I'm grateful for that. 00:00:29.039 --> 00:00:42.640 In 1988, a retired NASA engineer named Edgar Weisenant published a book called 88 Reasons Why the Rapture Will Be in 1988. 00:00:43.840 --> 00:00:59.039 If you're not familiar with that word, rapture, it is actually not used in the book of Revelation, but the idea is that God will rapture or take his people out of the earth. 00:00:59.840 --> 00:01:04.079 And Wise and Ant was convinced that it would happen in 1988. 00:01:04.239 --> 00:01:08.239 300,000 copies of his book were shipped to pastors all over the world. 00:01:08.400 --> 00:01:10.640 Another 4.5 million were sold. 00:01:10.879 --> 00:01:16.719 And he said, Only if the Bible is in error am I wrong. 00:01:18.560 --> 00:01:23.200 Well, he was wrong. 00:01:24.319 --> 00:01:26.560 Fast forward a little bit, 1995. 00:01:26.640 --> 00:01:28.560 Maybe some of you are familiar with this. 00:01:28.879 --> 00:01:34.159 Tim LaHaye and Jerry Jenkins released a novel called Left Behind. 00:01:34.640 --> 00:01:39.439 In fact, I don't know how many, 14 or something, 13, 14 books in the series. 00:01:39.680 --> 00:01:44.640 And Christianity, and honestly, those outside of Christianity just jumped onto these books. 00:01:44.719 --> 00:01:59.040 I remember I was uh I was in middle school, high school in those years, and my dad had the whole thing, you know, on the uh on our um bookshelf at home, and we were sucked right in with the rest of America. 00:01:59.519 --> 00:02:18.400 And here's the thing they took one view of interpreting Revelation and kind of sensationalized it, and they told the story so well, and it sucked so many people in that people began to presume well, what Jenkins and LaHaye said must be what Revelation says. 00:02:18.960 --> 00:02:24.960 And sort of began to replace this novel or this series of novels with the Bible. 00:02:26.400 --> 00:02:33.039 Maybe you recall 2011, there was a Christian radio host named Harold Camping. 00:02:33.680 --> 00:02:42.879 He spent millions of dollars on billboards across the country that said Judgment Day, May 21st, 2011. 00:02:43.919 --> 00:02:46.159 The Bible guarantees it. 00:02:47.439 --> 00:02:51.520 Well, people who were following camping quit their jobs. 00:02:52.080 --> 00:02:55.919 They sold all their stuff, they gave away their savings accounts. 00:02:56.080 --> 00:03:03.840 Many of them got RVs and they traveled around the country trying to tell people Judgment Day is coming. 00:03:05.439 --> 00:03:09.680 Well, May 21st came and went. 00:03:10.159 --> 00:03:14.560 And camping went back and he tried to redo his calculations from Revelation. 00:03:14.639 --> 00:03:17.599 He said, Ah, I was off by five months. 00:03:17.759 --> 00:03:18.879 I miscalculated. 00:03:19.039 --> 00:03:22.240 New date, October 21st. 00:03:22.400 --> 00:03:24.800 Well, that one didn't pan out either. 00:03:25.120 --> 00:03:31.439 See, whether you're a NASA scientist, and nothing again against all you NASA scientists in the room, we love you. 00:03:32.879 --> 00:03:50.400 Whether you're a NASA scientist with a calculator or a novelist with a bestseller or a radio host with a billboard, the impulse behind all of these responses is the same, namely to try and decode revelation. 00:03:51.520 --> 00:04:06.319 Going at it with this approach that there's something hidden in there, and if I can just figure out the numbers and the timeline, then we'll be able to know exactly what is going to happen and when. 00:05:40.240 --> 00:05:49.040 See, there's this this type of literature, revelation is apocalyptic literature. 00:05:49.279 --> 00:05:53.519 And it only lasted from about 200 BC to 200 AD. 00:05:53.759 --> 00:05:58.160 And so we're not prone to knowing how to read it. 00:05:58.480 --> 00:06:03.199 So we have to do a little bit of work to figure out how to read it. 00:06:03.839 --> 00:06:18.800 The aim of apocalyptic is to give you a different point of view, to pull us out of our earthly point of view and give us a picture of things, history, reality, as God sees them. 00:06:19.279 --> 00:06:28.160 Because when we see things as God sees them, we're not filled with fear and dread and worry. 00:06:28.399 --> 00:06:39.120 When we see things as God sees them, our faith is bolstered, our hope is renewed, and the future is not so scary after all. 00:06:39.759 --> 00:06:43.040 So revelation is a revealing. 00:06:43.279 --> 00:06:45.120 I think we have forgotten that. 00:06:45.360 --> 00:06:47.519 The very name of the book. 00:06:47.839 --> 00:06:50.399 God is disclosing information to us. 00:06:50.480 --> 00:06:57.360 And where it gets hard is understanding the genre and then interpreting the genre correctly. 00:06:57.519 --> 00:07:00.319 Here's a really, or the or the part of speech. 00:07:00.800 --> 00:07:03.519 Here's a very simple example. 00:07:11.279 --> 00:07:18.560 So I remember walking, I was in Indonesia, and I remember walking in and going, whoa, it is raining cats and dogs out there. 00:07:18.639 --> 00:07:21.040 And one of our interpreters goes, What? 00:07:23.600 --> 00:07:26.000 It's raining cats and dogs. 00:07:26.879 --> 00:07:28.800 And I was like, whoa, whoa. 00:07:29.120 --> 00:07:35.519 And then I and well, then I learned from our ministry partners like idioms from the United States don't work. 00:07:37.839 --> 00:07:42.720 In much the same way, we can read Revelation and go, what's happening? 00:07:43.759 --> 00:07:52.319 And the intent is not that we would freak out or be scared or think that we've missed the code or the day of judgment, but that we would understand it rightly. 00:07:52.560 --> 00:08:01.920 And there are tons, so let me just little parentheses, there are tons of sermon notes that are going to be there in print every week in the foyer. 00:08:02.079 --> 00:08:05.600 And you can also get them if you click that QR code on the back of your seat. 00:08:05.920 --> 00:08:11.600 Because I can't dig into all of this stuff, and we don't want Sunday morning to feel like a seminary class. 00:08:11.759 --> 00:08:18.399 But there are some points in there that will help us understand how to read apocalyptic literature. 00:08:18.560 --> 00:08:24.480 One of the keys is that symbolism is a constant through line. 00:08:24.639 --> 00:08:42.320 So when we, whether that's with pick with with characters or with numbers, so when we read about a woman riding a dragon later in Revelation, you ought not walk outside and go, wonder when the dragon's gonna come. 00:08:43.519 --> 00:08:48.559 All of these things are pictures, are symbols that apocalyptic literature uses. 00:08:48.639 --> 00:08:55.679 We'll run into a few of them today, but what I want to do is get into the text. 00:08:56.159 --> 00:09:02.480 If you're not in a life group, like Becca mentioned earlier, we're gonna dig deeper. 00:09:02.559 --> 00:09:11.679 We're building sermon-based study guides for our life groups because we can't possibly dig into every single thing every Sunday. 00:09:11.840 --> 00:09:17.440 So make sure that you're plugged in and make sure that you're visiting our blog, cvconline.org/slash blog. 00:09:17.519 --> 00:09:19.279 We're putting out tons of resources there. 00:09:19.440 --> 00:09:21.120 There are actually already three posts. 00:09:21.279 --> 00:09:31.360 And so if you've not been there, please jump to the blog and it'll help you each and every Sunday as you come in and as you leave. 00:09:32.399 --> 00:09:40.879 I see four things in Revelation chapter one that set the stage for this epic journey. 00:09:41.200 --> 00:09:52.000 Four ways that we need to prepare ourselves for what is to come in the next many months as we walk through this book. 00:09:52.720 --> 00:10:00.080 Here's the first thing that we need to do that I think the text tells us to do is listen up. 00:10:01.519 --> 00:10:02.480 Listen up. 00:10:06.080 --> 00:10:06.960 Excuse me. 00:10:07.840 --> 00:10:08.799 Verse one. 00:10:09.919 --> 00:10:17.519 The revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave him to show to his servants the things that must soon take place. 00:10:17.679 --> 00:10:27.279 He made it known by sending his angel to his servant John, who bore witness to the word of God and to the testimony of Jesus Christ, even to all that he saw. 00:10:27.679 --> 00:10:37.120 Blessed is the one who reads aloud the words of this prophecy, and blessed are those who hear and who keep what is written in it, for the time is near. 00:10:37.840 --> 00:10:44.960 Now, we'll see in verse four in just a moment that John is the one who actually penned this letter. 00:10:45.200 --> 00:10:54.399 Most scholars agree that it is the same John who wrote the Gospel of John, who was a disciple of Jesus, but he's not the author. 00:10:56.559 --> 00:11:03.039 The author, who is the revelation from the revelation of Jesus Christ. 00:11:03.200 --> 00:11:07.440 It's both revealing Jesus Christ, and it is from Jesus Christ. 00:11:07.519 --> 00:11:20.000 And we see that the Father gave it to him to show his servants, to show his people the things that must soon take place. 00:11:21.679 --> 00:11:31.120 Now I've just I've been thinking about, as I've studied this chapter, what it must have been like to be in John's shoes. 00:11:31.679 --> 00:11:39.440 He gets caught up into this supernatural vision and he encounters the risen Jesus Christ. 00:11:40.159 --> 00:11:48.159 Now, John had already encountered the risen Jesus Christ because he was one of the disciples. 00:11:48.399 --> 00:12:08.639 But then Jesus ascends to heaven in the beginning of Acts, and it has been a couple years since John has seen him, but he doesn't see Jesus as the homeless teacher wandering through the wilderness healing people that he left. 00:12:09.360 --> 00:12:13.919 He sees Jesus in an entirely new light. 00:12:15.360 --> 00:12:20.879 And John's response is the only appropriate response to fall down at his feet. 00:12:20.960 --> 00:12:28.879 In fact, you will see throughout the book of Revelation, everybody who encounters Jesus seems to just fall down at his feet. 00:12:29.919 --> 00:12:34.080 It's the only appropriate response when you encounter the King of Kings. 00:12:35.840 --> 00:12:41.840 I've been thinking about my wife got a got a got a scam call this week. 00:12:42.080 --> 00:12:44.320 Thankfully, she was able to sniff it out. 00:12:44.639 --> 00:13:01.440 But we we get, you know, maybe you get a text message, or maybe you get something in the mail, and very quickly, usually we can we can suss out if this is a real letter from someone or if it's one of those letters from a company that used a font that kind of looks like handwriting to try and get you to open the mail. 00:13:01.519 --> 00:13:02.799 You ever have those? 00:13:03.679 --> 00:13:11.679 We can usually sniff out who who the author is, and it tells us immediately whether I'm gonna read this or not. 00:13:11.840 --> 00:13:17.759 Whether it's in your real mail or your email, your text messages, who who this is from matters. 00:13:19.919 --> 00:13:23.279 Well, this is not bulk mail. 00:13:23.440 --> 00:13:25.200 This is not junk mail. 00:13:25.440 --> 00:13:28.879 This isn't something that you rip up and throw in the trash. 00:13:29.120 --> 00:13:32.639 This is the revelation of Jesus Christ. 00:13:33.360 --> 00:13:38.320 And the intent when we hear this is that our ears better perk up. 00:13:39.759 --> 00:13:49.919 There's a song that says, I want to hear you speak, and I'm hanging on every word. 00:13:53.039 --> 00:14:03.679 It goes on to say, because when you speak and when you move, when you do what you do, it changes what we see and what we seek. 00:14:04.399 --> 00:14:10.960 If you got a letter from Jesus in your inbox today, it ought to have changed everything. 00:14:11.200 --> 00:14:13.440 Well, we've got one. 00:14:14.559 --> 00:14:21.519 And it should change everything about what we see and about what we seek. 00:14:22.240 --> 00:14:25.039 There's a blessing right at the front end. 00:14:25.120 --> 00:14:36.000 There's a blessing for those who read the words of this prophecy, for those who hear the words of this prophecy, and for those who keep what is written in it, who respond. 00:14:36.159 --> 00:14:40.240 Now, have you ever said to your kids, hey, I need you to listen to me? 00:14:41.120 --> 00:14:42.320 Now, what do you mean? 00:14:42.480 --> 00:14:46.159 You don't just mean with their ears, you mean with their actions. 00:14:46.559 --> 00:14:47.519 You listen to me. 00:14:47.679 --> 00:14:49.919 You guys do not leave that yard. 00:14:50.399 --> 00:14:54.879 Now they leave the yard and you go, Did you not hear what I said? 00:14:55.840 --> 00:14:58.159 They go, Yeah, we heard what you said. 00:15:00.639 --> 00:15:02.159 And then how do you follow up? 00:15:02.320 --> 00:15:04.639 Well, why didn't you do what I said? 00:15:04.879 --> 00:15:10.240 Oh, you're there's no way your kids are gonna go, I didn't know you wanted me to actually do what you said. 00:15:10.799 --> 00:15:11.600 I heard it. 00:15:11.679 --> 00:15:12.559 It's the same thing here. 00:15:12.720 --> 00:15:28.000 When I say listen up, I don't just mean hear it, I mean what Revelation intends us to see, to keep it, to respond to it, to fall down in worship and to obey the one who is at the center, Jesus Christ. 00:15:28.240 --> 00:15:29.200 Listen up. 00:15:29.440 --> 00:15:32.240 Here's a question for you to consider. 00:15:34.080 --> 00:15:42.960 How am I allowing the hurry and distractions of my life to drown out the voice of Jesus? 00:15:44.559 --> 00:15:48.879 I don't ask these questions to fill anybody with guilt by any means. 00:15:49.679 --> 00:15:53.120 Just ask these questions to begin us thinking. 00:15:53.279 --> 00:15:57.200 Because we can come into church and just listen to the guy preach and go, yeah, that was good. 00:15:57.279 --> 00:16:00.960 But we need to process because we're not only to hear, we're to respond. 00:16:01.200 --> 00:16:12.960 So here's a question: How am I allowing the hurry and distractions of my life to drown out the voice of Jesus, the one to whom I should be listening? 00:16:15.200 --> 00:16:20.720 Four ways in chapter one to prepare ourselves to receive the revelation of Jesus Christ. 00:16:20.879 --> 00:16:21.360 Listen up. 00:16:21.519 --> 00:16:23.279 Number two, bow down. 00:16:25.840 --> 00:16:28.080 Bow down, verse four. 00:16:30.799 --> 00:16:33.679 John to the seven churches that are in Asia. 00:16:34.240 --> 00:16:52.559 Grace to you and peace from him who is, and who was, and who is to come, and from the seven spirits who are before his throne, and from Jesus Christ, the faithful witness, the firstborn of the dead, the ruler of the kings of earth. 00:16:56.080 --> 00:17:02.960 We see here in Revelation immediately, triune language that God is three in one. 00:17:03.200 --> 00:17:11.279 And John greets these seven churches from the Father and the Son and the Spirit. 00:17:11.920 --> 00:17:15.839 Now, a word briefly about these seven churches. 00:17:16.000 --> 00:17:22.559 These are seven churches that were in Asia Minor, modern-day Turkey, and we run into our first bit of symbolism. 00:17:23.119 --> 00:17:30.480 We will learn in apocalyptic literature that numbers have meaning before they have math. 00:17:31.119 --> 00:17:33.680 Numbers have meaning before they have math. 00:17:33.839 --> 00:17:35.039 There is a little bit of math. 00:17:35.119 --> 00:17:41.519 Sometimes the same meaning we will get to with a multiple. 00:17:42.319 --> 00:17:47.920 So we'll see 12, for instance, as representative of the people of God consistently. 00:17:48.079 --> 00:17:51.839 Well, when you get to 144,000, there's a multiple. 00:17:52.000 --> 00:17:57.039 That number carries meaning, but the math supports the meaning. 00:17:57.200 --> 00:17:58.480 The same is true here. 00:17:58.720 --> 00:18:01.519 Seven is symbolic. 00:18:01.920 --> 00:18:08.480 This is not just a letter or only a letter to seven churches in first century Turkey. 00:18:08.720 --> 00:18:14.400 If it were that, I'm not sure how much worth it would have to us. 00:18:15.519 --> 00:18:21.519 But it's not just a letter to Pergamum and Thyatira and Laodicea and Ephesus. 00:18:22.079 --> 00:18:27.279 Seven throughout the Bible indicates wholeness or fullness. 00:18:27.519 --> 00:18:31.039 Seven days of creation and it is complete. 00:18:31.759 --> 00:18:37.759 So the idea of, see, there were far more than seven churches just in Asia Minor in the first century. 00:18:38.640 --> 00:18:44.000 In fact, there were churches, the church in Hieropolis was really, really close to Laodicea. 00:18:44.079 --> 00:18:47.039 And so they may have been like, hey, how come we didn't get a letter? 00:18:48.000 --> 00:18:53.680 The intent is that, yes, they were sent to these seven churches, but that it would be sent to all the churches. 00:18:53.839 --> 00:19:03.039 And the idea of seven symbolically means that this is a word for the whole of God's church across all places and all times. 00:19:03.359 --> 00:19:13.599 So this is as much a letter for Cuyahoga Valley Church as it is for Ephesus or Laodicea. 00:19:15.920 --> 00:19:18.880 So he sends this letter to the church. 00:19:19.519 --> 00:19:24.079 He greets from the Father, the one who is and who was and who is to come. 00:19:24.640 --> 00:19:28.319 You'll see this refrain a couple times. 00:19:29.279 --> 00:19:30.240 Who is? 00:19:30.720 --> 00:19:33.039 God rules and reigns over the present. 00:19:33.680 --> 00:19:44.640 Who was, he rules and reigns into eternity past, and who is to come, he rules and reigns into eternity future. 00:19:45.279 --> 00:19:53.359 All of these things, see, just this that God is revealing to us, these are the things that ought to cause us to take a deep breath. 00:19:53.599 --> 00:19:59.200 If God is ruling and reigning, and it's not some world power or some bank or some. 00:19:59.680 --> 00:20:04.000 I mean, I've got some buddies who send me the goofiest conspiracy theory stuff. 00:20:04.079 --> 00:20:06.559 I actually, I knew that Revelation was starting today. 00:20:06.720 --> 00:20:08.640 I got my first bit of mail. 00:20:10.240 --> 00:20:13.200 I was gonna I was gonna bring it up here and show you guys. 00:20:13.359 --> 00:20:17.200 It is the goofiest conspiracy bunch of nonsense. 00:20:17.359 --> 00:20:21.680 There was no, nobody signed it, nobody put a return address on it, but I'm like, here we go. 00:20:22.079 --> 00:20:24.960 The Looney Tunes are coming out of the woodwork. 00:20:27.920 --> 00:20:36.880 If God is in charge, then I need not fear, and I need not speculate, and I need not freak out. 00:20:38.319 --> 00:20:42.400 And from the seven spirits who are before his throne. 00:20:42.559 --> 00:20:44.960 Again, we run into this symbolic number. 00:20:45.039 --> 00:20:48.079 There aren't literally seven Holy Spirits. 00:20:48.720 --> 00:20:51.279 Seven is wholeness, completeness. 00:20:51.440 --> 00:21:13.599 Greetings from the Father, who is and who was and who is to come, complete order and control and power across all time and all places, and from the seven spirits, or the wholeness, the fullness of the Spirit of God, and from Jesus Christ, who is named, or his, who is uh given three qualities. 00:21:14.000 --> 00:21:19.119 The faithful witness, the firstborn of the dead, and the ruler of the kings of earth. 00:21:20.079 --> 00:21:21.920 First, the faithful witness. 00:21:22.079 --> 00:21:32.079 We get that word, or that that word witness, the the Greek root under it is martis, which is where we get our word for martyr. 00:21:32.480 --> 00:21:39.920 See, a martyr, initially, when when it comes to our mind, we think of somebody who has died for the cause of Christ. 00:21:40.079 --> 00:21:41.920 But it simply means witness. 00:21:42.079 --> 00:21:43.839 You testify to a truth claim. 00:21:43.920 --> 00:21:46.160 That's what happens when you go to court as a witness. 00:21:46.319 --> 00:21:48.720 Here's the truth as I saw it. 00:21:49.279 --> 00:21:58.480 Well, in first century Rome, in the first century Roman Empire, the truth claim that you had to believe was Caesar is Lord. 00:21:58.720 --> 00:21:59.839 Caesar rules and reigns. 00:22:00.559 --> 00:22:01.920 Caesar is in charge. 00:22:02.160 --> 00:22:07.519 Well, the followers of Jesus began to make a contradictory truth claim. 00:22:07.680 --> 00:22:09.759 No, Jesus is Lord. 00:22:11.440 --> 00:22:19.440 And they were thrown into the Colosseum to be devoured by wild animals for saying it. 00:22:21.519 --> 00:22:34.160 So the idea of a martyr, a witness, became synonymous with dying for making the truth claim that Jesus Christ is Lord. 00:22:36.640 --> 00:22:47.920 And no one who has ever died for the kingdom of God has not followed in the footsteps of Jesus himself. 00:22:51.279 --> 00:22:56.000 He is the faithful witness. 00:22:56.480 --> 00:23:03.759 He was the first to stake his life on the fact that Jesus is Lord. 00:23:05.759 --> 00:23:10.319 Pilate says to him, Do you not understand what power I have? 00:23:12.240 --> 00:23:16.640 I have the power to kill you or to keep you alive. 00:23:16.880 --> 00:23:25.519 And Jesus very calmly and respectfully says, You don't have any power that was not given to you from above. 00:23:28.240 --> 00:23:32.880 Pilate asks him, You think you're a king with a kingdom? 00:23:34.000 --> 00:23:40.079 And Jesus very politely and respectfully says, We're on two different pages. 00:23:40.640 --> 00:23:43.200 My kingdom is not of this world. 00:23:44.000 --> 00:23:49.039 See, Jesus sees reality as it truly is. 00:23:50.480 --> 00:23:54.480 And that's why he's able to go to the cross. 00:23:55.759 --> 00:23:58.079 He is the faithful witness. 00:23:58.240 --> 00:24:00.880 He is also the firstborn of the dead. 00:24:01.680 --> 00:24:12.240 He is the one who, with his resurrection, breaks the power of sin and death permanently. 00:24:13.359 --> 00:24:19.759 Guaranteeing, in other parts of the Bible, it says that his resurrection is the first fruits. 00:24:19.839 --> 00:24:22.400 It's the down payment, it's the example. 00:24:22.720 --> 00:24:37.839 So, because Jesus came back out of the ground in a resurrection body, we can have the guarantee that we too will come back out of the ground in a resurrection body, uniquely suited for eternity, just like his. 00:24:38.880 --> 00:24:42.240 Heaven, the new creation, we're gonna see it in Revelation. 00:24:42.480 --> 00:24:51.359 Get out of your mind that it is some weird, disembodied, floating, ghostly, goofy type of thing where you play harps and sit on clouds or whatever. 00:24:53.279 --> 00:25:03.920 You will have a body just like Jesus that sees with your eyes and touches things with your hands and has conversations and tastes good food. 00:25:04.079 --> 00:25:06.880 Jesus has a meal with his disciples. 00:25:07.359 --> 00:25:12.799 He is the down payment of what it will look like in the new creation. 00:25:14.640 --> 00:25:18.799 And this is what God reveals to us so that we would have hope. 00:25:19.119 --> 00:25:21.279 This is not real life. 00:25:23.519 --> 00:25:28.319 This, this, whatever this is, pales in comparison to eternity. 00:25:28.480 --> 00:25:33.440 I think sometimes we don't long for heaven because we think we've got it so good here. 00:25:34.720 --> 00:25:42.079 No eye has seen or ear has heard the glory that awaits us in the new creation. 00:25:43.119 --> 00:25:50.400 Because Jesus is not only the faithful witness, he is the firstborn of the dead, and he is the ruler of the kings of earth. 00:25:50.640 --> 00:25:58.319 Can I just encourage you to know that nobody else is in charge? 00:26:01.039 --> 00:26:24.480 Not anybody in this country, not anybody in another country, not a tyrant, not a political leader, not a banker, not a world power, not an army, from eternity past to eternity future, the one who is and who was and who is to come is in charge. 00:26:25.599 --> 00:26:35.759 Jesus is, not future tense, present tense, is the ruler of the kings of earth. 00:26:36.079 --> 00:26:40.880 Now, when we hear these things, what ought we to do? 00:26:41.039 --> 00:26:47.839 Here's part of my encouragement and my hope as we've been talking and praying was writing down some prayers in my journal this past Monday. 00:26:47.920 --> 00:26:55.359 And I said, Lord, my prayer is that as we encounter these things as a church, that our worship would explode. 00:26:57.200 --> 00:26:59.119 Because here's what happens. 00:26:59.440 --> 00:27:02.799 So I'm not gonna go into a big diatribe. 00:27:03.119 --> 00:27:04.079 I don't have time. 00:27:04.319 --> 00:27:12.400 But sometimes we forget that our bodies, the way that God made us, are intended for worship. 00:27:12.640 --> 00:27:20.240 Yes, it's rooted in the heart, and it ought to come out of our voices, our hands, our legs. 00:27:23.359 --> 00:27:32.400 Sometimes I'm at summer camp with our teenagers and I watch them worship, and I go, man, I wish I could reproduce what's happening here in our adult service. 00:27:32.640 --> 00:27:40.079 What happens when we encounter this Jesus, this power, this strength, this sacrifice? 00:27:40.240 --> 00:27:41.839 Well, worship happens. 00:27:42.000 --> 00:27:43.680 It's what explodes out of John. 00:27:43.920 --> 00:27:54.720 To him who loves us and has freed us from our sins by his blood and made us a kingdom of priests to God his Father, to him be glory and dominion forever and ever. 00:27:54.880 --> 00:27:56.160 That's what happens. 00:27:56.559 --> 00:27:59.839 When John encounters this Jesus, that's what happens. 00:28:00.079 --> 00:28:04.480 Oh, to him be glory and honor and dominion forever. 00:28:04.720 --> 00:28:05.359 Amen. 00:28:05.920 --> 00:28:07.279 That's what happens. 00:28:07.519 --> 00:28:17.119 And that's what I'm hoping as we encounter Jesus, as we receive what he has revealed to us, that we would just explode with worship, just like John does. 00:28:17.359 --> 00:28:24.000 Again, nobody's able to stay on their feet in front of the ruler of the kings of earth. 00:28:24.160 --> 00:28:30.640 Either you will do it willingly, or you will do it by force. 00:28:32.400 --> 00:28:41.759 He is coming on the clouds, and every eye will see him, even those who pierce him, and the tribes of earth will wail on his account. 00:28:42.319 --> 00:28:47.519 I am the Alpha and the Omega, says the Lord God. 00:28:49.119 --> 00:28:53.519 Who is and who was and who is to come, the Almighty. 00:28:53.839 --> 00:28:57.839 See, this is at the center of revelation. 00:28:58.000 --> 00:28:59.440 You have two options. 00:29:00.319 --> 00:29:11.759 Either you will worship the Lamb, Jesus, and you will deal with some of the persecution from the beast, the devil. 00:29:12.400 --> 00:29:14.240 It's not going to be easy. 00:29:15.039 --> 00:29:16.799 Because the devil hates you. 00:29:17.599 --> 00:29:22.319 And he wants you to go to hell forever and be separated from God. 00:29:22.400 --> 00:29:29.599 And so he does everything possible in this life to steal and to kill and destroy. 00:29:30.559 --> 00:29:31.920 That's option one. 00:29:32.160 --> 00:29:39.039 Worship the Lamb, and in this life, you're going to deal with some pain while the devil tries to steal, kill, and destroy you. 00:29:40.640 --> 00:29:44.960 Or worship the beast in this life. 00:29:45.839 --> 00:29:55.039 Enjoy all of the comforts that the world offers in this life, and you will deal with the wrath of the Lamb in the life to come. 00:29:57.839 --> 00:30:01.920 And you will spend eternity in what the Bible calls the lake of fire. 00:30:03.440 --> 00:30:07.599 Separated from God forever in utter misery. 00:30:07.920 --> 00:30:11.119 Those are the only options that revelation gives us. 00:30:12.480 --> 00:30:14.000 Worship the Lamb. 00:30:15.519 --> 00:30:18.079 Some pain in this life and be saved in the next. 00:30:18.160 --> 00:30:19.839 Or worship the beast. 00:30:20.640 --> 00:30:23.839 Experience some of what he offers in this life. 00:30:24.400 --> 00:30:27.839 But experience the wrath of the Lamb in the life to come. 00:30:28.000 --> 00:30:41.680 This is why the tribes of earth will wail on account of him, because there will be a moment when the opportunity for grace ceases. 00:30:43.200 --> 00:30:48.640 And all that will be left for those who are opposed to Jesus Christ is his judgment. 00:30:48.799 --> 00:30:59.200 And so the plea, the call is now, today, bow down before the Lamb willingly and worship him before it's too late. 00:31:01.680 --> 00:31:06.880 Four ways that we need to prepare ourselves to receive all that God intends to reveal in this book. 00:31:07.039 --> 00:31:08.160 Listen up, bow down. 00:31:08.319 --> 00:31:10.400 Third, be strong. 00:31:12.720 --> 00:31:14.079 Be strong, verse 9. 00:31:14.240 --> 00:31:24.960 I, John, your brother and partner in the tribulation and the kingdom and the patient endurance that are in Jesus, was on the island called Patmos on account of the word of God and the testimony of Jesus. 00:31:25.279 --> 00:31:32.880 See, John was exiled to Patmos for making the truth claim that Jesus is Lord. 00:31:33.279 --> 00:31:34.880 He wouldn't stop with it. 00:31:35.039 --> 00:31:42.079 And so the Roman Empire, the beast, the devil put the screws to him. 00:31:42.319 --> 00:31:48.559 They exiled him to this island in the middle of the Aegean Sea to be alone and die. 00:31:48.960 --> 00:31:51.599 And this is where God meets him. 00:31:52.960 --> 00:31:54.799 Don't miss that. 00:31:56.400 --> 00:32:03.440 This is always where God meets his people, right in the middle of when they're being pressed. 00:32:03.759 --> 00:32:13.680 That's another one of the features of apocalyptic literature, it is intended to be a comfort to God's people when they are enduring persecution. 00:32:13.839 --> 00:32:22.799 Notice what he says: I am your partner in the tribulation, in the pain, in the struggle, in the persecution. 00:32:22.960 --> 00:32:27.200 But he connects tribulation and kingdom and patient endurance. 00:32:27.359 --> 00:32:28.079 Why does he do that? 00:32:28.240 --> 00:32:36.079 In the Greek, these are all kind of bundled together like one thing: tribulation, kingdom, patient endurance. 00:32:36.240 --> 00:32:36.799 Why? 00:32:37.119 --> 00:32:47.039 Because the consistent testimony of the Bible is that the kingdom comes through persecution. 00:32:48.559 --> 00:32:58.960 The way that the kingdom of God comes is through pain and through trial and patient endurance in the midst of it. 00:32:59.119 --> 00:33:11.519 This is an, see, when you when you when we get out of the way that we see the world and we see the revelation of God and he changes our viewpoint, whoop, so we can get up and see things as they really are. 00:33:12.000 --> 00:33:25.440 See this world and the life to come as they really are, what it does is it doesn't it doesn't scare us, it actually allows us to see pain and persecution in this life as it really is. 00:33:25.599 --> 00:33:28.000 Namely, temporary and light. 00:33:28.240 --> 00:33:30.319 That's what 2 Corinthians says. 00:33:30.559 --> 00:33:36.079 That our pain and struggle in this life compared to eternity is temporary and light. 00:33:37.519 --> 00:33:42.240 I don't mean to make light of whatever situation you're going through by any means. 00:33:44.000 --> 00:33:48.559 But I'll tell you, compared to eternity, it's nothing. 00:33:51.119 --> 00:33:56.880 And so we are emboldened throughout this book to be strong. 00:33:59.519 --> 00:34:07.519 A few chapters in, the martyrs are there, those who have been killed for the cause of Christ, and they ask, How long, Lord? 00:34:08.320 --> 00:34:11.679 How long until you will bring justice? 00:34:12.239 --> 00:34:21.360 And his answer is the full number of those who will die for the kingdom has not yet been completed. 00:34:23.920 --> 00:34:24.800 Whoa. 00:34:25.199 --> 00:34:27.119 That sounds a little harsh. 00:34:30.480 --> 00:34:32.719 Not to the one who went to the cross. 00:34:35.039 --> 00:34:38.000 See, his point of view is the correct point of view. 00:34:39.280 --> 00:34:53.519 This is why the disciples, when they were beaten and imprisoned, rejoiced at the opportunity to be counted worthy to suffer for the kingdom. 00:34:56.400 --> 00:35:01.840 Revelation is not going to tell you how to escape temporary pain. 00:35:05.599 --> 00:35:12.559 So many people have an interpretation of Revelation that tries to see how much pain can we get the Christians out of. 00:35:15.440 --> 00:35:15.760 No. 00:35:16.480 --> 00:35:29.119 Persecution in this life, in preparation for the life to come, is the way that Christianity has always moved forward. 00:35:30.639 --> 00:35:37.840 And it will be so until Jesus Christ returns and sets all things straight. 00:35:38.000 --> 00:35:45.599 Thomas Watson, a Puritan pastor, said per persecution is the legacy bequeathed by Christ to his people. 00:35:50.880 --> 00:35:52.400 A question to consider. 00:35:54.800 --> 00:35:58.239 Where have I been tempted to compromise my faith? 00:35:59.039 --> 00:36:02.320 Because following Jesus is costly. 00:36:31.280 --> 00:36:34.960 To be worthy, to suffer for the kingdom. 00:36:36.239 --> 00:36:37.519 Listen up. 00:36:38.159 --> 00:36:39.039 Bow down. 00:36:39.440 --> 00:36:40.320 Be strong. 00:36:40.559 --> 00:36:42.559 Finally, fear not. 00:36:44.480 --> 00:36:45.679 Verse 10. 00:36:46.239 --> 00:36:48.239 I was in the spirit on the Lord's day. 00:36:48.320 --> 00:36:50.079 We're going to see that phrase multiple times. 00:36:50.239 --> 00:36:51.119 I was in the spirit. 00:36:51.280 --> 00:36:57.360 And every time we see it, it is an indicator that John is being caught up into the vision. 00:36:58.960 --> 00:37:16.000 So apocalyptic literature, the what what what happens in this type of literature is a person gets caught up into a vision or a trance-like state, and they're and they are given a revelation to share with others. 00:37:16.159 --> 00:37:19.440 So when he says, I was in the Spirit, pay attention to that. 00:37:19.599 --> 00:37:20.960 And it's on the Lord's Day. 00:37:21.039 --> 00:37:23.280 This is Sunday, the first day of the week. 00:37:23.440 --> 00:37:27.039 The early church began to celebrate Sunday as the Lord's Day. 00:37:27.360 --> 00:37:43.679 And I heard behind me a loud voice like a trumpet, saying, Write down what you see in a book and send it to the seven churches, to Ephesus and Smyrna, and Pergamum, and Thyatira and Sardis in Philadelphia and Laodicea. 00:37:44.159 --> 00:37:48.480 Now, James wanted to come in here and blow a trumpet from the balcony. 00:37:48.880 --> 00:37:51.599 I told him, No, you're going to scare everybody. 00:37:53.360 --> 00:37:54.800 You're welcome. 00:37:55.599 --> 00:38:15.920 But we begin to we begin to experience one of hundreds of metaphors that we will encounter because John is trying to communicate in natural terms what he is encountering supernaturally. 00:38:16.320 --> 00:38:20.000 So he hears the voice of Jesus behind him. 00:38:21.440 --> 00:38:25.280 And he's trying to describe to us what it sounds like. 00:38:25.679 --> 00:38:28.239 And maybe he's working in his brain. 00:38:28.400 --> 00:38:31.679 I heard a voice that sounded like a flute. 00:38:33.280 --> 00:38:35.440 Nope, that's not gonna get it done. 00:38:35.920 --> 00:38:40.320 I heard a voice and it was like a banjo. 00:38:40.719 --> 00:38:41.039 No. 00:38:44.320 --> 00:38:45.039 What was it like? 00:38:45.199 --> 00:38:52.079 It was clear and it was loud and it caught my attention and I couldn't help but listen. 00:38:54.400 --> 00:38:59.760 You ever sit in front of a halftime show with a great marching band? 00:39:01.760 --> 00:39:08.880 And they start off, and you're not like, oh, that flute is really coming through nicely. 00:39:09.199 --> 00:39:10.079 No, no, no. 00:39:10.239 --> 00:39:12.320 What you hear is the trumpets. 00:39:12.800 --> 00:39:16.480 Because the trumpets cannot be ignored. 00:39:17.039 --> 00:39:28.079 It's clear, it's attention grabbing, and this is what happens, and he gets instructions from this voice, and then he says in verse 10, and then I turn to see. 00:39:32.480 --> 00:39:35.039 Can you imagine what that turn was like? 00:39:36.320 --> 00:39:43.360 I know there's this whole thing like the first look where a you know a husband turns around to see his bride for the first time or whatever. 00:39:44.159 --> 00:39:49.119 Can you imagine John turning around in that moment? 00:39:52.400 --> 00:39:54.239 This is what we're invited into. 00:39:54.400 --> 00:40:00.880 Don't don't miss the drama of what we're experiencing. 00:40:01.039 --> 00:40:08.239 He turns around and he sees seven golden lampstands. 00:40:08.400 --> 00:40:12.639 So they're stands with probably oil lamps on them. 00:40:13.039 --> 00:40:17.519 And we will see later, we don't need to interpret this, it's interpreted for us. 00:40:17.679 --> 00:40:19.840 The lampstands are representative of the churches. 00:40:20.000 --> 00:40:22.320 The churches are intended to be the light. 00:40:22.960 --> 00:40:29.920 See seven golden lampstands, and in the midst of the lampstands, one like the Son of Man. 00:40:30.079 --> 00:40:32.800 Now, this is a reference from the Old Testament. 00:40:33.039 --> 00:40:34.480 We will do a lot of this. 00:40:34.639 --> 00:40:39.760 There's very few new symbols in Revelation. 00:40:40.000 --> 00:40:42.159 Most of them are from the Old Testament. 00:40:42.239 --> 00:40:43.599 We're going to go back and grab them. 00:40:43.760 --> 00:40:58.559 In Daniel 7, there's a vision of one like a son of man who comes to the ancient of days, which is another Old Testament way to describe God, the Father. 00:40:58.800 --> 00:41:09.760 He comes to the ancient of days, and he is given dominion and glory and a kingdom that will never pass away. 00:41:12.800 --> 00:41:15.920 And John knows his Old Testament. 00:41:16.480 --> 00:41:22.719 So when he sees one as the Son of Man, he knows exactly who this is. 00:41:24.639 --> 00:41:29.039 This is the one, the everlasting King. 00:41:30.239 --> 00:41:33.920 And he's standing in the midst of the churches. 00:41:34.960 --> 00:41:38.079 It's where Jesus can always be found among his people. 00:41:38.639 --> 00:41:45.679 And he's dressed appropriately in a kingly robe and a golden sash. 00:41:46.159 --> 00:41:50.960 And it says that the hair on his head is white like wool, like snow. 00:41:51.440 --> 00:41:55.760 Now it doesn't mean, see, for us, that means he's old. 00:41:56.000 --> 00:41:59.039 That's not what it means in apocalyptic literature. 00:41:59.199 --> 00:42:00.159 See, this is another way. 00:42:00.239 --> 00:42:01.599 We've got to figure this out. 00:42:02.079 --> 00:42:08.800 Well, in Daniel 7, the ancient of days, God the Father, is given the hair of wool. 00:42:09.039 --> 00:42:13.679 Well, now in Revelation, Jesus has the hair like wool. 00:42:13.760 --> 00:42:14.800 What's John doing? 00:42:14.880 --> 00:42:16.480 Or what's Jesus doing? 00:42:16.719 --> 00:42:25.440 He's showing us that the Father and the Son are co-equal in glory and Godness. 00:42:25.679 --> 00:42:32.239 This is not, Jesus is not just somebody who speaks for God, he is God himself. 00:42:34.800 --> 00:42:38.239 And his eyes are like blazing fire. 00:42:40.079 --> 00:42:48.320 They aren't literally blazing with fire, but John's looking into his eyes, and he sees nothing escapes his sight. 00:42:52.239 --> 00:42:54.880 Nothing escapes his sight as he's in the midst of his churches. 00:42:55.199 --> 00:42:56.159 He sees everything. 00:42:58.400 --> 00:43:01.280 And his feet are like bronze. 00:43:01.519 --> 00:43:08.079 He's steady and solid and consistent and immovable. 00:43:08.639 --> 00:43:14.480 And his voice sounds like many waters. 00:43:14.880 --> 00:43:20.320 You ever go down on the mate of the mist into the into Niagara Falls? 00:43:20.800 --> 00:43:23.599