WEBVTT 00:00:00.320 --> 00:00:05.919 Today we are kicking off the final series of our entire year through scripture. 00:00:06.080 --> 00:00:09.279 If you're just joining us, great. 00:00:10.480 --> 00:00:12.240 It's been a year, it's been awesome. 00:00:12.480 --> 00:00:14.720 We did this thing this year called the whole story. 00:00:14.800 --> 00:00:19.600 We took the entire story of Scripture and we broke it down into 14 different series. 00:00:19.920 --> 00:00:24.000 We want to understand the whole story, the full picture, because this is a story that we're part of. 00:00:24.160 --> 00:00:25.199 This is our story. 00:00:25.359 --> 00:00:32.399 And we've been making our way through it bit by bit, and today we get to our final series, number 14 of 14. 00:00:32.479 --> 00:00:35.840 It's a series called How It Ends. 00:00:36.079 --> 00:00:36.960 How it ends. 00:00:37.119 --> 00:00:44.159 And we are going to spend the next four Sundays, counting today, going through the book of Revelation, which is how it ends. 00:00:44.240 --> 00:00:45.280 That's how the Bible ends. 00:00:45.439 --> 00:00:48.320 If you didn't know that, if you've never read the end, uh, this is how it ends. 00:00:48.479 --> 00:00:51.439 The book of Revelation, that's the end, and it's a beautiful end. 00:00:51.520 --> 00:00:52.560 It is a fitting end. 00:00:52.640 --> 00:00:53.600 It's a powerful end. 00:00:53.679 --> 00:01:03.920 It is also very often a confusing end, a frustrating end, uh, an end that if you don't really know how to approach it, uh, it can, it can really, it can be intimidating. 00:01:04.159 --> 00:01:08.560 Like, does anyone want to be vulnerable enough to say I am a bit intimidated by the subject of Revelation? 00:01:08.640 --> 00:01:10.879 Like, it's just not something I want to, okay. 00:01:11.280 --> 00:01:19.760 In a room this size, and especially with everyone watching online, there is a crazy variety of experiences that we have with the book of Revelation. 00:01:20.000 --> 00:01:21.840 Some of us were like, I'm fresh. 00:01:22.079 --> 00:01:24.079 I've never read it, I don't know much about it. 00:01:24.239 --> 00:01:34.560 Maybe you've seen some like fictionalized depictions, some movies or something with aspects of revelation, uh, but you're like, I don't really know that much about it, and that's fine. 00:01:34.799 --> 00:01:36.719 That's gonna change over the course of the next few weeks. 00:01:36.799 --> 00:01:38.000 That's really exciting. 00:01:38.239 --> 00:01:47.680 Now, many of us, many of us maybe grew up in church, and if you grew up in church, depending on what your church background is and all that, you may have had a lot of revelation. 00:01:47.840 --> 00:01:50.079 You may have had too much revelation. 00:01:50.719 --> 00:01:51.120 Right? 00:01:51.200 --> 00:01:53.840 Like some of us have family members that talk about this a lot. 00:01:54.000 --> 00:01:57.359 Some of us are the family members that talk about this a lot. 00:01:58.000 --> 00:02:08.319 I I grew up in the 90s, you know, 80s, 90s, early 2000s, and it was a it was a time when there was just a huge fixation on revelation. 00:02:08.400 --> 00:02:10.240 I think the Y2K stuff, all that. 00:02:10.400 --> 00:02:21.680 There was the Left Behind series, if you guys remember those books, the Left Behind books, this sort of very Americanized version of like an end times story, and it was just kind of a constant. 00:02:21.840 --> 00:02:23.520 It was it was everywhere, it was all the time. 00:02:23.599 --> 00:02:27.439 And I'm gonna be honest, I got kind of burned out on end times. 00:02:27.599 --> 00:02:37.039 By the time I was in college, I love scripture, I love the word, but like if you would have if you would have had me rank the books of the Bible that I would want to read, Revelation would have absolutely been the last. 00:02:37.360 --> 00:02:42.719 Because I was just like, I'm just tired of all this end times fascination and fixation. 00:02:42.879 --> 00:02:47.280 There were all kinds of books being written, a lot of money being made, kind of fear-mongering, that kind of stuff. 00:02:47.360 --> 00:02:49.199 So some of us, maybe that's your experience. 00:02:49.280 --> 00:02:51.360 You got a little burned out on Revelation. 00:02:51.520 --> 00:02:54.639 Some of us, maybe there's an intimidation factor or even a fear. 00:02:54.800 --> 00:03:00.719 Especially when you look at the world and you see things happening that make revelations seem pretty relevant. 00:03:00.960 --> 00:03:05.759 I mean, like, like honestly, much of Revelation, if you don't know this, has to do with Israel. 00:03:05.919 --> 00:03:07.520 Okay, with Jerusalem. 00:03:07.599 --> 00:03:18.400 And man, if you would have gone back 2,000 years ago when this was first written and asked someone, hey, 2,000 years from now, what city do you think is going to be more consequential on the world stage? 00:03:18.639 --> 00:03:20.639 Rome or Jerusalem? 00:03:21.120 --> 00:03:25.759 Like everyone would have said, no, see, that's Europe, but no, everyone would have said Rome. 00:03:26.000 --> 00:03:29.199 Because like Jerusalem was was just this Jewish city. 00:03:29.360 --> 00:03:33.039 I mean, it got flattened, it got destroyed in 70 AD. 00:03:33.439 --> 00:03:36.159 I mean, Rome was the center of the world. 00:03:36.400 --> 00:03:48.639 Rome was it was the capital of the Roman Empire, the largest, the longest spanning empire in the history of the world, and anyone logically would have said, man, Rome is far more consequential, far more important. 00:03:48.800 --> 00:04:00.960 The statistical odds, the probability that 2,000 years later it would be Jerusalem, that all of the eyes of the world are looking at, and Rome is just this, oh yeah, that's this city and it's got ruins in it. 00:04:01.039 --> 00:04:02.400 I mean, that's crazy. 00:04:03.439 --> 00:04:15.439 There's clearly something to this when here we are 2,000 years later, and all of the eyes of the world are fixated on this same place that Scripture focuses on so much. 00:04:16.399 --> 00:04:18.800 So it's very timely, very interesting. 00:04:19.439 --> 00:04:22.720 Now, I want you to kind of today's a little different. 00:04:22.879 --> 00:04:28.480 Um I'll be honest, I was not excited about this at all until about two months ago. 00:04:28.560 --> 00:04:29.759 I started to get excited. 00:04:29.920 --> 00:04:32.079 This last week I got like super excited. 00:04:32.160 --> 00:04:41.439 I really felt like as I was reading some stuff and praying and fretting and worrying and stressing out, um, I felt like God gave me something that helped map out for me the next few weeks, and I'm super excited about that. 00:04:41.600 --> 00:04:44.000 So by the time I got to today, I'm like hyped. 00:04:44.079 --> 00:04:46.879 Um I actually I wanted to like play a walkout song. 00:04:46.959 --> 00:04:48.480 That's how hyped I was this morning. 00:04:48.639 --> 00:04:49.519 I don't ever do that. 00:04:49.600 --> 00:04:53.199 I was thinking maybe like the final countdown from the 80s would be appropriate. 00:04:53.360 --> 00:04:55.120 Wouldn't that be appropriate for revelation? 00:04:55.680 --> 00:05:02.560 Number one, I love the 80s as far as music goes, and I think the final countdown is like the most 80s of 80s songs, so that would be great. 00:05:02.720 --> 00:05:05.199 But I just, it's just like it's a big day. 00:05:05.279 --> 00:05:06.000 It's revelation. 00:05:06.079 --> 00:05:17.120 Here we are, we're rounding the corner, we're entering the home stretch, and we're dealing with one of the most magnificent and powerful and inspiring, but also mysterious sections of scripture that we have. 00:05:17.600 --> 00:05:19.360 It's a big day. 00:05:19.680 --> 00:05:23.839 And so what we're gonna do today is a little different. 00:05:24.480 --> 00:05:25.439 Today's a primer. 00:05:26.399 --> 00:05:31.680 The actual planned revelation series that I have is three weeks. 00:05:31.920 --> 00:05:51.839 And I decided to add today on the front end to give us a fourth week because I feel like there's just so many different ideas and assumptions, and or maybe for a lot of us just complete and total lack of knowledge about this because of all those different factors, that we need a Sunday to kind of get us all on the same page. 00:05:52.319 --> 00:05:55.839 So today the title of the message today is A Primer and a Purpose. 00:05:56.079 --> 00:06:04.480 I want us to understand what revelation is, maybe what it isn't, and ultimately to understand the purpose of revelation. 00:06:04.720 --> 00:06:15.920 Because if you understand the purpose of this book, it does not fill you with dread, it does not fill you with fear, it does not make you go, oh man, I I hope, I hope that I never have to experience that. 00:06:16.000 --> 00:06:17.439 It would be the exact opposite. 00:06:17.680 --> 00:06:21.680 It should fill us with a longing and a desire to see God's world made right. 00:06:21.839 --> 00:06:29.759 It should fill us with an expectation, like a joyful expectation to say, man, I want what Revelation talks about to happen. 00:06:29.839 --> 00:06:32.240 I want that to be reality because it's so beautiful. 00:06:32.319 --> 00:06:33.600 It is so good. 00:06:33.759 --> 00:06:36.240 And so today we're gonna do a primer and a purpose. 00:06:36.399 --> 00:06:37.600 All right, it's a lot of information. 00:06:37.680 --> 00:06:39.600 You're gonna have to nerd out with me a little bit, okay? 00:06:39.759 --> 00:06:43.600 I every once in a while we've got to nerd out, and I hope you guys are okay with that. 00:06:43.839 --> 00:06:52.959 Again, a lot of info, but I want this to be something that after today we feel more equipped to think about this and to engage with it. 00:06:53.680 --> 00:06:58.160 Like, when we teach on books of the Bible, we don't teach on it so that you don't have to read it. 00:06:58.399 --> 00:07:00.000 It's not like, oh, Justin taught on that. 00:07:00.160 --> 00:07:01.040 Now I don't have to read it. 00:07:01.120 --> 00:07:01.600 I got it. 00:07:01.759 --> 00:07:02.639 That would be sad. 00:07:02.879 --> 00:07:18.000 It should actually be that we're more equipped to open up our scriptures on our own and engage with God and feel less intimidated and more understanding of what's going on, what it's about, so that we can have a more personal connection with these scriptures because they are for us. 00:07:18.399 --> 00:07:22.879 Okay, so today we're gonna go through a lot of detail, a lot of information. 00:07:23.120 --> 00:07:26.560 I'm gonna trust you guys to just like stick with me today. 00:07:26.800 --> 00:07:27.360 All right? 00:07:27.519 --> 00:07:28.639 And we'll have some fun with it. 00:07:28.720 --> 00:07:29.839 So let's start with a word. 00:07:29.920 --> 00:07:30.720 Let's start with a word. 00:07:30.800 --> 00:07:32.720 It is the word apocalypse. 00:07:32.959 --> 00:07:34.639 That's a that's a word everyone likes. 00:07:34.879 --> 00:07:36.560 Apocalypse, it's a fun word. 00:07:36.959 --> 00:07:41.040 You know, it's amazing how many movies are about the apocalypse. 00:07:41.279 --> 00:07:45.839 Like you think about just how many movies that come out every single year are about the end of the world. 00:07:46.079 --> 00:07:49.519 There's a different uh view on how the end's gonna happen. 00:07:49.600 --> 00:07:56.639 Usually with movies, okay, and this is like almost half the movies that come out, you've got a few different categories of apocalypse scenarios, right? 00:07:56.720 --> 00:07:59.199 You've got you've got your aliens, right? 00:07:59.680 --> 00:08:02.079 Aliens come way more advanced than us. 00:08:02.240 --> 00:08:10.800 We're toasts, we usually barely eek it out, but you know, there's aliens, there's that kind of apocalypse, you've got the global warming, like we've we've ruined the earth, and now it's mad at us. 00:08:10.879 --> 00:08:13.279 You have a lot of apocalypse movies about that. 00:08:13.439 --> 00:08:15.920 You've got zombies, that's a staple, right? 00:08:16.079 --> 00:08:21.680 Uh you've got like nuclear war, you've got just some type of plague, some type of disease. 00:08:21.839 --> 00:08:29.360 There's just so many different varieties of apocalyptic movies, and it's amazing to me how obsessed the world is with the end. 00:08:30.000 --> 00:08:32.639 And I'm not talking about like the Christian world. 00:08:32.879 --> 00:08:38.879 I'm talking about like the world, like the secular, like the movie industry is obsessed with the end. 00:08:39.120 --> 00:08:41.679 So many movies are either apocalyptic or post-apocalyptic. 00:08:41.840 --> 00:08:46.080 It's like something inside of us knows that there's gonna be an end. 00:08:47.279 --> 00:08:49.919 Something deep down inside of us understands this. 00:08:50.799 --> 00:08:55.600 Now, the interesting thing about the word apocalypse is we tend to think apocalypse means the end of the world. 00:08:55.759 --> 00:09:00.080 And that's actually not what this word ultimately means. 00:09:00.639 --> 00:09:08.320 And so the very first verse of Revelation, the first two, says this is a revelation from Jesus Christ. 00:09:08.480 --> 00:09:15.840 It could also say of Jesus Christ, which God gave him to show his servants the events that must soon take place. 00:09:16.080 --> 00:09:20.960 He sent an angel to present this revelation to his servant John, who faithfully reported everything he saw. 00:09:21.120 --> 00:09:27.840 This is how the report of the Word of God and the test, this is his report of the Word of God and the testimony of Jesus Christ. 00:09:28.000 --> 00:09:29.840 So you see that word revelation. 00:09:30.240 --> 00:09:32.000 This is a revelation. 00:09:32.240 --> 00:09:36.799 Now, in the Greek language, the word for revelation is apocalypsis. 00:09:36.960 --> 00:09:40.000 And it doesn't mean end, it means revealing. 00:09:40.080 --> 00:09:41.759 It means unveiling. 00:09:42.399 --> 00:09:46.080 It's like the curtains get pulled back and you see something you could have never seen before. 00:09:46.240 --> 00:09:47.679 That is what the word apocalypse means. 00:09:47.759 --> 00:09:52.240 It means an unveiling, a revealing, or as we call it, a revelation. 00:09:53.440 --> 00:09:59.679 This book is God pulling the curtain back for us and showing us things we can never observe on our own. 00:09:59.840 --> 00:10:02.559 We can never discern on our own. 00:10:02.960 --> 00:10:05.679 And it's it's powerful, it's amazing. 00:10:05.759 --> 00:10:13.279 At times it is confusing, at times it can even be intimidating or scary, but it is, oh, if we can see it the way it's meant to be seen, it is beautiful. 00:10:13.759 --> 00:10:15.039 So I want to keep going. 00:10:15.519 --> 00:10:16.559 Another term, right? 00:10:16.639 --> 00:10:22.799 We have apocalypse, it means unveiling, but then we have this very important term we've got to understand called apocalyptic literature. 00:10:23.039 --> 00:10:24.320 Apocalyptic literature. 00:10:24.480 --> 00:10:28.639 The book of Revelation is an example of what is called apocalyptic literature. 00:10:28.720 --> 00:10:40.080 It is a very, very specific niche form of literature that was very popular in the Jewish world in about the 100, 200 years before Jesus and after Jesus. 00:10:40.720 --> 00:10:42.080 It's very unique. 00:10:43.600 --> 00:10:46.240 It has a lot of uh symbolism. 00:10:46.320 --> 00:10:55.039 We'll talk about some characteristics of apocalyptic literature, but what you have to understand is when you read Revelation, you are reading a very specific type of literature written to a specific audience. 00:10:55.200 --> 00:11:07.279 And if you don't understand what was happening in the world or what that original audience was living in, you can really miss out on the purpose and the meaning, the deeper meaning behind Revelation. 00:11:07.360 --> 00:11:08.799 Let me give you a weird example. 00:11:08.960 --> 00:11:10.879 Um, the movie Godzilla. 00:11:11.200 --> 00:11:11.519 Okay? 00:11:12.080 --> 00:11:16.080 Original old school 1950s Godzilla. 00:11:16.399 --> 00:11:25.679 Uh, this movie is an example of what we would call uh mid-20th century Japanese monster movies. 00:11:25.840 --> 00:11:37.919 So just like apocalyptic literature is a very specific niche genre, uh, mid-20th century's Japanese monster movies are a very niche, very niche uh form of movie. 00:11:38.080 --> 00:11:40.320 Okay, so we've probably all seen Godzilla. 00:11:40.399 --> 00:11:44.320 Godzilla is like, or at least you've you know Godzilla, it's iconic. 00:11:44.879 --> 00:11:52.480 And if if you're like us, from our vantage point, you see a Godzilla movie, and it's like just, you know, big lizard, cool. 00:11:52.799 --> 00:11:54.879 You know, Godzilla's been around for a long time. 00:11:55.039 --> 00:12:02.559 Now Godzilla is usually like the good guy in the movie, but in the original 1950s Godzilla movies, Godzilla is just a menace. 00:12:02.960 --> 00:12:04.879 But here's what we have to understand. 00:12:05.919 --> 00:12:11.440 The Japanese people, when these movies began to come out, were living about 10 years after World War II. 00:12:11.919 --> 00:12:20.080 And that's a war where they were defeated by ultimately the the bombing of Nagasaki and Hiroshima, right? 00:12:20.240 --> 00:12:26.720 Atom bombs were dropped on those cities, completely destroyed, and the trauma and just can you just imagine? 00:12:27.120 --> 00:12:34.639 Like, forget about even the culpability and all of that, because Japan, you know, attacked us and started that conflict. 00:12:34.799 --> 00:12:47.039 Just imagine being in Japan in two of your cities, and the national trauma and fear and all of those types of emotions that that would define an entire generation. 00:12:47.120 --> 00:12:57.840 And it was actually out of that that this sort of giant monster showing up and destroying an entire city, Godzilla wasn't just a stupid monster movie. 00:12:57.919 --> 00:13:03.759 Godzilla for that culture was like this symbolic embodiment of all of their trauma and fear. 00:13:04.080 --> 00:13:10.000 Now, if if you don't understand that, if if you've never thought about it that way, it's like, well, I just thought it was a big lizard. 00:13:11.840 --> 00:13:26.240 But if you if you can kind of connect those dots, you recognize how that group of people could have could have symbolized a beast emerging from the sea, destroying entire cities, and how that would have meant something different to them. 00:13:26.399 --> 00:13:28.480 It's like that with apocalyptic literature. 00:13:29.600 --> 00:13:34.720 This is a very specific form of literature written to a very specific group of people, going through very specific things. 00:13:34.879 --> 00:13:38.639 So let's kind of let's let's look at a few of the characteristics of apocalyptic literature, okay? 00:13:38.879 --> 00:13:39.840 This is kind of like a class. 00:13:39.919 --> 00:13:41.200 I feel like this is more like a class today. 00:13:41.279 --> 00:13:43.360 So you guys just put your put your thinking caps on. 00:13:43.440 --> 00:13:43.759 Here we go. 00:13:43.840 --> 00:13:44.399 Let's look at a few. 00:13:44.480 --> 00:13:45.679 Number one, it's prophetic. 00:13:45.840 --> 00:13:48.399 Apocalyptic literature is prophetic. 00:13:48.639 --> 00:13:52.720 And what that ultimately means is it is God speaking to us. 00:13:53.759 --> 00:13:57.039 Prophecy is when God is speaking directly to us. 00:13:57.200 --> 00:13:59.200 We see this in Revelation chapter 1, verse 3. 00:13:59.360 --> 00:14:04.320 God blesses the one who reads the words of prophecy to the church. 00:14:04.559 --> 00:14:10.080 And he blesses all who listen to its message and obey what it says, for the time is near. 00:14:10.480 --> 00:14:12.559 So this is a prophetic book. 00:14:12.720 --> 00:14:15.759 This is God, we kind of talked about this already, don't need to go into a lot of detail. 00:14:15.840 --> 00:14:18.720 This is God unveiling, God revealing, God pulling the curtain back. 00:14:18.799 --> 00:14:25.279 This is not man, this is not people observing things and thinking it through and going, you know, it kind of reminds me of this. 00:14:26.159 --> 00:14:27.360 So it's prophetic. 00:14:27.519 --> 00:14:29.840 It is also very future-focused. 00:14:30.000 --> 00:14:34.000 Apocalyptic literature is extremely future-focused. 00:14:34.159 --> 00:14:36.559 Now there were prophets in the Old Testament. 00:14:37.039 --> 00:14:42.480 And when prophets would teach and speak, very often it would include some futuristic things. 00:14:42.720 --> 00:14:47.679 But the primary purpose of a prophet, especially in the Old Testament, was never to talk about the future. 00:14:47.759 --> 00:14:49.759 That was like an added feature. 00:14:50.000 --> 00:14:59.120 But prophecy was always about talking to people in the current day, and usually what prophets were doing was giving a warning, like saying if things don't change, stuff's about to go down. 00:14:59.200 --> 00:15:00.320 Like we all understand that dynamic. 00:15:00.480 --> 00:15:02.080 Those of you with kids understand that dynamic. 00:15:02.240 --> 00:15:05.360 The other day I was looking for a remote control to our TV. 00:15:05.519 --> 00:15:08.480 I made the mistake of pulling some couch cushions off to try to find it. 00:15:08.639 --> 00:15:16.159 I didn't find the remote, but what I did find were forks, spoons, uh, so many empty bags of chips, socks. 00:15:16.480 --> 00:15:21.360 I found cups, like entire cups, that just like we've been missing. 00:15:21.600 --> 00:15:30.960 And like I yelled, I yelled for my kids, like, get down here, and I just, if this doesn't change, like I went old school prophet for a minute. 00:15:31.039 --> 00:15:33.279 I'm like, y'all, I almost exiled two of my children. 00:15:33.440 --> 00:15:36.080 Like it was that level of frustration, right? 00:15:36.159 --> 00:15:37.200 Because that's what a prophet was. 00:15:37.360 --> 00:15:39.919 A prophet was someone who says, look, this is a mess. 00:15:40.000 --> 00:15:41.440 You guys have made a mess. 00:15:41.600 --> 00:15:42.799 And it better change. 00:15:42.879 --> 00:15:44.879 And if it doesn't change, things are gonna go down. 00:15:45.039 --> 00:15:47.440 That was what the prophets primarily did in the Old Testament. 00:15:47.519 --> 00:15:51.759 Well, apocalyptic literature is a little different, it's a different kind of prophecy. 00:15:51.840 --> 00:15:58.000 It's extremely future focused because it's written at a time when the stuff's already gone down. 00:15:58.720 --> 00:16:04.639 Like the Old Testament prophets were saying, hey, if you guys change, the current age can be preserved. 00:16:04.960 --> 00:16:08.720 But apocalyptic literature is written when the current age is lost. 00:16:09.120 --> 00:16:12.159 You know, it's judgment has already happened. 00:16:12.480 --> 00:16:14.799 Like for the Jewish people, they've already been conquered. 00:16:14.879 --> 00:16:16.240 Rome is already in charge. 00:16:16.399 --> 00:16:20.000 This is not a scenario where if they just make a few adjustments, they're gonna be good. 00:16:20.080 --> 00:16:24.399 No, it's like everything that's current needs to just go away. 00:16:24.720 --> 00:16:26.639 And something new has to be ushered in. 00:16:26.799 --> 00:16:32.720 So it's it's prophecy, it's very future focused, and it is highly, highly symbolic. 00:16:32.960 --> 00:16:35.759 That's the other thing you've got to understand about Revelation. 00:16:35.919 --> 00:16:40.399 It is any type of apocalyptic literature, it is heavy on symbolism. 00:16:40.720 --> 00:16:41.679 Just all over the place. 00:16:41.759 --> 00:16:44.399 Let me give you a classic example. 00:16:44.799 --> 00:16:46.799 Um, I'm gonna read this. 00:16:46.879 --> 00:16:58.240 And he said, Look at the levels which are under the expanse on which you are brought, and see that on no single level is there any other but the one whom you've searched for, or who has loved you. 00:16:58.320 --> 00:17:14.799 And while he was still speaking, and behold, the levels opened, and there are the heavens under me, and I saw on the seventh firmament upon which I stood a fire spread out and light and dew, and a multitude of angels, and a power of the invisible glory of the living creatures, which I had seen above, but I saw no one else there. 00:17:15.039 --> 00:17:17.839 Now, this is actually not from Revelation. 00:17:17.920 --> 00:17:24.720 This is from an entirely different, non-biblical apocalyptic book from about the same time period called The Apocalypse of Abraham. 00:17:24.880 --> 00:17:27.839 But it sounds like it could be Revelation. 00:17:28.640 --> 00:17:30.240 Because it has the same language. 00:17:30.400 --> 00:17:36.559 Like if you're familiar with Revelation, you'd be like, man, I don't know if I remember reading that, but it sounds like Revelation because it's the same form of literature. 00:17:36.640 --> 00:17:39.519 There were a lot of apocalyptic books written at this time. 00:17:40.240 --> 00:17:42.480 And it's all about like cosmic imagery. 00:17:42.559 --> 00:17:52.319 It's often about the stars, and everything is symbolized in a really heavy way, and sometimes those symbols get a little crazy, a little freaky, like Revelation chapter 13, verses 1 and 2. 00:17:52.640 --> 00:17:56.400 Then I saw a beast rising up out of the sea, and this is not Godzilla. 00:17:56.720 --> 00:18:04.640 It said, uh, it had seven heads and ten horns, and with ten crowns on its horns, and written on each head were names that blaspheme God. 00:18:04.799 --> 00:18:08.880 The beast looked like a leopard, but it had the feet of a bear and the mouth of a lion. 00:18:09.039 --> 00:18:13.279 And the dragon gave the beast his own power and throne and great authority. 00:18:13.440 --> 00:18:17.759 As you read Revelation, you read a lot of stuff like this, and you're like, I have no idea what this means. 00:18:18.799 --> 00:18:32.079 And we just have to understand it is it is highly symbolic, incredibly symbolic, and it's tough for us to read that as people living 2,000 years later in a very different culture and just go, oh, I get what all these symbols mean. 00:18:32.720 --> 00:18:37.359 And that's actually not the point of Revelation, is for you to understand every single symbol and what it means. 00:18:37.519 --> 00:18:43.759 Some of it is meant to just induce wonder, mystery, awe. 00:18:44.400 --> 00:18:47.680 Some of it's designed to actually make you go, I wonder what that is. 00:18:47.920 --> 00:18:51.039 And that might be the point of much of the symbolism. 00:18:51.200 --> 00:18:54.559 Okay, so we've got it's prophetic, it's future focused, it is highly symbolic. 00:18:54.640 --> 00:18:55.359 Now we're gonna move on. 00:18:55.440 --> 00:18:56.720 All right, I'm trying to go through this fast. 00:18:56.799 --> 00:18:58.319 Today's a crash course on Revelation. 00:18:58.480 --> 00:19:05.039 So we're gonna look at kind of the main components of Revelation, and this is where stuff, this is where we get into the weeds a little bit, okay? 00:19:05.119 --> 00:19:10.799 This is the stuff that you're either like, yeah, or oh no, depending on how you've you've grown up or how you think about Revelation. 00:19:10.880 --> 00:19:14.240 So, Revelation begins with this amazing vision of Jesus. 00:19:15.279 --> 00:19:24.799 And and it starts in the first few chapters with Jesus giving a message to seven different churches that were around at the time and really what would be modern-day Turkey. 00:19:25.039 --> 00:19:31.759 And the cool thing about those churches is the messages he gives to those churches, even though it's for those churches at that time, it also totally applies to the church in the world today. 00:19:31.839 --> 00:19:32.319 It's really cool. 00:19:32.400 --> 00:19:34.000 We're not gonna spend a lot of time talking about that. 00:19:34.079 --> 00:19:37.920 That's usually not where people start having arguments and lots of discussion about Revelation. 00:19:38.160 --> 00:19:40.559 After you get through the church part, you get to the weird stuff. 00:19:40.799 --> 00:19:41.200 All right? 00:19:41.359 --> 00:19:42.720 And it's this weird stuff. 00:19:42.880 --> 00:19:43.200 Okay? 00:19:43.519 --> 00:19:50.000 And here's sort of the the four, I'm kind of making some categories to understand some of the major movements in Revelation. 00:19:50.160 --> 00:19:55.519 You've got, number one, you've got tribulation, and there's judgments happening. 00:19:55.759 --> 00:20:02.799 And so if you've read Revelation before, it's like, okay, there's there's there's trumpets and there's bowls and there's seals, and stuff is it's crazy. 00:20:02.960 --> 00:20:08.000 It's like the moon turns to blood and the sky is dark, and there's just, it's insane. 00:20:08.480 --> 00:20:13.359 So you've got that section of Revelation, the tribulation and the judgments. 00:20:13.440 --> 00:20:21.119 And then you have this interesting section where you've got Satan being bound and this thousand-year reign of Jesus. 00:20:21.440 --> 00:20:23.119 Satan being bound, thousand-year reign. 00:20:23.200 --> 00:20:28.079 Now, remember, Revelation is highly symbolic, actually, especially when it comes to numbers. 00:20:28.400 --> 00:20:33.599 So very often in apocalyptic literature, numbers have meanings, and it's not meant to be read literally. 00:20:33.759 --> 00:20:36.960 A thousand doesn't necessarily mean a thousand, seven doesn't necessarily mean seven. 00:20:37.039 --> 00:20:39.920 Seven is a number that means completeness in apocalyptic literature. 00:20:40.000 --> 00:20:41.759 And you're just supposed to like know all that, so great. 00:20:41.920 --> 00:20:53.839 So you've got Satan being bound, there's a thousand-year reign, and then you have this other section where Satan is loosed, he is unbound, and you have the second coming of Jesus, and then you have the eternal kingdom. 00:20:54.079 --> 00:21:03.440 Now, what's interesting is this is how I've sort of categorized it, but there's not agreement on the order of how all that happens and how it all goes down. 00:21:03.599 --> 00:21:04.880 Which comes first. 00:21:05.680 --> 00:21:08.799 Revelation isn't necessarily presented chronologically. 00:21:09.119 --> 00:21:12.720 Like John, who wrote it, he doesn't say, and then this happened. 00:21:12.799 --> 00:21:14.559 He says, and then I saw. 00:21:15.119 --> 00:21:15.440 Right? 00:21:15.519 --> 00:21:16.160 It's it's different. 00:21:16.240 --> 00:21:21.200 He's seeing things here and there, and we don't necessarily know what happens first, what happens second. 00:21:21.279 --> 00:21:30.799 There's all kinds of theories about that, but these are sort of the major categories, and most of the major sort of understandings of Revelation have to do with how we break all this down. 00:21:31.039 --> 00:21:39.920 Okay, so just out of curiosity, how many of you grew up, and this is not like some type of dividing line of who's better than anyone else, because for some of us this means I grew up messed up with a lot of trauma. 00:21:40.079 --> 00:21:44.079 How many of us grew up in like Southern Evangelical Church? 00:21:44.640 --> 00:21:44.960 Okay? 00:21:45.440 --> 00:21:46.880 Not that many of us, wow. 00:21:47.119 --> 00:21:51.920 I don't know if we've imported a lot of people from the north, or if you don't want to raise your hands, or whatever, okay? 00:21:52.240 --> 00:21:59.759 So what I'm gonna do for the next few minutes is I'm gonna kind of look at two major, these are probably the two biggest. 00:22:00.640 --> 00:22:04.160 Sort of scholarly understandings of how to read the book of Revelation. 00:22:04.240 --> 00:22:09.920 We're going to look at it, we're going to look at the positives, we're going to look at some of the negatives, and at the end of it, we're going to be like, what's the point of all this? 00:22:10.319 --> 00:22:16.480 It's hopefully to get us to understand that there's a deeper purpose behind Revelation than just trying to decode all the things that are in it. 00:22:16.559 --> 00:22:17.599 Are you guys still with me? 00:22:18.000 --> 00:22:18.640 Alright, cool. 00:22:18.799 --> 00:22:29.440 So if you grew up in sort of Southern evangelical church, you are probably someone who's been raised to have what is called a premillennial view of the book of Revelation. 00:22:29.759 --> 00:22:31.039 Premillennial. 00:22:31.200 --> 00:22:34.640 Okay, it's one of the major ways of reading the book of Revelation. 00:22:34.799 --> 00:22:37.119 Premillennial would basically mean this. 00:22:37.920 --> 00:22:44.079 You believe that you're living before the thousand-year reign, the millennial reign of Jesus. 00:22:44.480 --> 00:22:49.920 And typically what we believe if we're premillennial is that everything in Revelation, for the most part, hasn't happened yet. 00:22:50.240 --> 00:22:51.200 It's pretty much all future. 00:22:51.359 --> 00:22:57.920 You've got Jesus, and he talks to these churches, and then after that, everything else is, we're waiting on all that stuff to happen. 00:22:58.160 --> 00:23:00.640 And when it happens, it's going to happen, and it's going to happen fast. 00:23:00.799 --> 00:23:05.039 Usually premillennial views of Revelation are a little bit more literal. 00:23:05.599 --> 00:23:09.680 And so if you grow up, if you grew up that way, that's kind of like I mentioned the left behind series. 00:23:09.759 --> 00:23:11.279 If you're not familiar with that, don't worry about it. 00:23:11.359 --> 00:23:12.880 If you are, you know what I'm talking about. 00:23:13.039 --> 00:23:14.640 So, like, that's premillennial. 00:23:14.720 --> 00:23:20.240 It's like, man, we're waiting, and when it hits, when it hits, boom, it's gonna be like bam, bam, bam, bam. 00:23:20.480 --> 00:23:21.359 This quick succession. 00:23:21.440 --> 00:23:29.599 And so the way a premillennial person would view things would be to say that we're living in this time or we're just waiting, we've been waiting for 2,000 years for all this stuff to happen. 00:23:30.240 --> 00:23:31.519 It's gonna happen soon. 00:23:31.599 --> 00:23:34.640 Generally, if you're premillennial, you're like, it's it's gonna happen any moment. 00:23:35.039 --> 00:23:40.240 It's gonna happen soon, and we're kind of looking at the world and all these current events and going, man, is this it? 00:23:40.319 --> 00:23:40.880 Is that it? 00:23:41.039 --> 00:23:42.960 And it's really, really interesting. 00:23:43.279 --> 00:23:48.640 But we believe that there's gonna be a tribulation, all these judgments happening, this tribulation period. 00:23:48.960 --> 00:23:53.440 And then we've got the the millennium coming. 00:23:53.759 --> 00:23:54.079 Okay? 00:23:54.319 --> 00:24:02.319 And here's one of the big positives of this view is it tends to be something that leads us, if we take on this view of revelation, it leads us to be very watchful. 00:24:02.480 --> 00:24:04.079 We're meant to be watchful. 00:24:04.319 --> 00:24:11.039 We're actually told by Jesus to be on the lookout, to be living with eager anticipation for his return. 00:24:11.279 --> 00:24:14.000 And if you have this view, you tend to be a pretty watchful person. 00:24:14.079 --> 00:24:22.079 And you tend to be someone that can look at the world and you see things happen, and you're like, whoa, that's that's a phrase that I like to use with revelation stuff. 00:24:22.160 --> 00:24:23.119 That's not nothing. 00:24:24.079 --> 00:24:26.319 I don't know what that means, but I know it's not nothing. 00:24:26.640 --> 00:24:27.920 Let me give you an example. 00:24:28.559 --> 00:24:29.519 Revelation. 00:24:30.160 --> 00:24:33.599 Let's go to Revelation 16, verse 12. 00:24:34.160 --> 00:24:36.319 Revelation 16, 12. 00:24:37.440 --> 00:24:49.359 It says, Then the sixth angel poured out his bowl on the great Euphrates River, and it dried up, so that the kings from the east could march their armies toward the west without hindrance. 00:24:49.519 --> 00:24:54.079 This is one of the depictions of judgments, the kind of tribulation period happening. 00:24:54.319 --> 00:24:56.319 And you read that and you're like, okay, the Euphrates River. 00:24:56.400 --> 00:24:57.440 That's very specific. 00:24:57.759 --> 00:25:00.079 Alright, I'm gonna show you guys an interesting news article. 00:25:00.160 --> 00:25:01.759 Some of you may have seen this, but maybe not. 00:25:01.920 --> 00:25:04.960 Um, so right now the Euphrates River is drying up. 00:25:05.200 --> 00:25:06.559 Like as we speak. 00:25:06.799 --> 00:25:10.079 Like, in a in a degree that's to a degree that's incredible, right? 00:25:10.160 --> 00:25:13.039 So, why is the Euphrates River drying up and what does it mean? 00:25:13.599 --> 00:25:19.039 That's a picture of the Euphrates River, and you know, those boats are not doing what boats are meant to do, which is being water. 00:25:19.279 --> 00:25:22.079 And so that's not nothing. 00:25:22.640 --> 00:25:22.960 Right? 00:25:23.039 --> 00:25:26.319 Like it's it's not just this general river. 00:25:26.480 --> 00:25:31.839 It speaks specifically about the Euphrates River and not even the Jordan River, which was more pertinent to the people of Israel. 00:25:31.920 --> 00:25:36.400 It's this very specific moment in the book of Revelation that's like the Euphrates River will dry up. 00:25:36.480 --> 00:25:39.519 And then you you pull up a news article, you're like, oh, the Euphrates River's drying up. 00:25:39.599 --> 00:25:41.519 Well, uh oh. 00:25:41.680 --> 00:25:44.720 You know, like, what do you that's not nothing, right? 00:25:44.799 --> 00:25:46.880 I don't know what I don't know if that does that mean that this is happening? 00:25:46.960 --> 00:25:48.640 Has the Euphrates River ever dried up before? 00:25:48.720 --> 00:25:50.640 I don't know, but it's not nothing. 00:25:51.119 --> 00:25:52.640 Let me show you guys another picture. 00:25:52.720 --> 00:25:56.720 This is a picture of a statue that is outside the United Nations. 00:25:56.880 --> 00:25:58.559 I believe it's this is in New York. 00:25:58.720 --> 00:26:06.000 Now we just read about this beast that looks like a leopard and it has, you know, feet like a bear and it has a mouth like a lion. 00:26:06.240 --> 00:26:11.839 And, you know, I don't know if they were trying to like, if that was their inspiration. 00:26:11.920 --> 00:26:23.359 I actually looked up the artist who did this a few years ago, and nothing in the artist's bio or in his description says that this came from, this was inspired by some of the imagery in the New Testament about this crazy beast. 00:26:23.519 --> 00:26:30.799 If you've ever read some of this language in the Bible, maybe the book of Daniel, even, there's a lot of like a beast with this face, but this and wings, all this crazy stuff, right? 00:26:30.960 --> 00:26:33.599 But it looks like, that kind of looks like you're trying. 00:26:33.759 --> 00:26:35.519 Here's where it gets even crazier. 00:26:35.839 --> 00:26:42.799 Okay, the the title, the name of this statue is the guardian of international peace and security. 00:26:43.200 --> 00:26:45.359 Okay, that's the name of this statue. 00:26:45.839 --> 00:26:48.559 1 Thessalonians, chapter 5. 00:26:48.960 --> 00:26:58.160 It's another, 1 Thessalonians has a section of apocalyptic descriptions, and it says, Now concerning how and when all this will happen, dear brothers and sisters, we don't really need to write you. 00:26:58.319 --> 00:27:02.400 For you know quite well that the day of the Lord's return will come unexpectedly like a thief in the night. 00:27:02.480 --> 00:27:11.599 When people are saying everything is peaceful and secure, then disaster will fall on them as suddenly as a pregnant woman's labor pains begin, and there will be no escape. 00:27:11.839 --> 00:27:14.880 So peace and security. 00:27:15.359 --> 00:27:19.200 The name of that statue is the International Guardian of Peace and Security. 00:27:19.440 --> 00:27:24.240 And it's like, hey guys, that's a little freaky. 00:27:24.480 --> 00:27:27.759 You could have at least named it something different, you know. 00:27:28.559 --> 00:27:29.680 Like, what does that mean? 00:27:29.759 --> 00:27:31.039 Does that mean we're living in the end times? 00:27:31.119 --> 00:27:33.440 I don't know, but again, it's not nothing. 00:27:33.519 --> 00:27:48.559 Now, what we have to understand when we take a premillennial view of the Bible, it tends to lead us to kind of hunt for things happening in the world and seeing those as maybe the fulfillment of specific prophecies and revelation, and that's a really cool thing to do. 00:27:48.799 --> 00:27:54.319 And again, I think it has tremendous value because we should be watchful. 00:27:54.640 --> 00:28:02.000 The challenge is that you could actually look at many things that have happened throughout history and do some of the same things. 00:28:02.319 --> 00:28:17.920 So, for example, for example, um, Revelation chapter 8, verse 12 says, Then the fourth angel blew his trumpet, and one third of the sun was struck, and one third of the moon, and one third of the stars, and they became dark, and one third of the day was dark, and also one third of the night. 00:28:18.079 --> 00:28:20.960 There's another section of Revelation that talks about the sun being darkened. 00:28:21.039 --> 00:28:32.960 In the year 536, long time ago, in the year 536, multiple uh people living in multiple parts of the world wrote about how the sky became dark for a period of about a year. 00:28:33.359 --> 00:28:44.640 And today, like modern uh archaeologists and scientists believe there was a massive volcanic eruption somewhere that ended up covering a huge portion of the civilized world at that time with like ash in the sky. 00:28:44.799 --> 00:28:50.079 And for almost a year, the sun was like basically blotted out. 00:28:50.319 --> 00:28:52.319 And it led to tremendous calamity. 00:28:52.400 --> 00:28:55.920 I mean, whole harvest of crops failed, and there was mass starvation. 00:28:56.000 --> 00:28:59.279 It's actually viewed as one of the worst years to have ever been alive. 00:28:59.839 --> 00:29:08.880 And I imagine if you were someone living in 536 and you wake up one morning and it's like, oh, the sun is dark, and you're reading Revelation, you're like, I don't know, guys. 00:29:09.039 --> 00:29:11.359 I feel like maybe, I feel like maybe this is it. 00:29:11.599 --> 00:29:12.559 It would feel like that. 00:29:12.720 --> 00:29:27.599 Or if you were living in the 1500s during the bubonic plague and you read parts of Revelation that talk about a plague that kills huge percentages of people, and the bubonic plague killed about 40% of the population of Europe, it'd be very easy to be like, guys, I feel like this has got to be it. 00:29:27.839 --> 00:29:34.400 And so the challenge with that is that, yes, we should be watchful and we can see things happening and go, man, that's not nothing. 00:29:34.480 --> 00:29:36.000 That is something, that is interesting. 00:29:36.160 --> 00:29:43.680 But recognize that we gotta be careful because you could actually do that with multiple events throughout history. 00:29:44.720 --> 00:29:49.839 The premillennial view has a lot of strengths, it does have some challenges. 00:29:50.079 --> 00:29:52.640 All the views of Revelation, all the major views do. 00:29:52.720 --> 00:29:58.400 One of the challenges that it has is that it kind of puts us in this weird sort of waiting period. 00:29:58.559 --> 00:30:02.319 Like Revelation 1 says these are things that will take place soon. 00:30:03.039 --> 00:30:09.839 And so if we believe that everything in Revelation hasn't happened yet for the most part, it's like, well, that's soon, you know, it's been a while. 00:30:10.240 --> 00:30:15.759 And it feels a little odd that, you know, we would say, hey, these things are gonna happen soon, and then we're still 2,000 years waiting. 00:30:16.000 --> 00:30:18.559 But then you could say, well, but yeah, soon from whose perspective? 00:30:18.640 --> 00:30:22.720