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If you will, open your Bibles to the book of Revelation, chapter 1.

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That's where we're going to begin ah this morning.

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We're grateful to have Bill McDonough and his wife Marie Claire, who they're with us.

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They came uh via Little Rock.

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They spend a few weeks.

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Every year there, but they do mission work in Austria and in Cambodia and in a number of
other places around the world and so Brother Bill is going to be preaching to us this

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morning during the the worship period but he has been uh Fundamental in helping me go both
to Albania and Hungary as well as to the Philippines this last summer And so we were glad

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that they got a chance to come over and visit with us ah And we're also grateful to have
curry

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his wife with us tonight or this morning.

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ah Of course, he does the work in Budapest and his missionary there, and so we're grateful
that she was able to come over and make it, and they've known each other for a long time.

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ah So we're grateful to have them.

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Let's begin with a word of prayer, and then we'll get into the book of Revelation.

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Our gracious Father in heaven, we come before your throne grateful for the day that you've
blessed us with, grateful for your tender love, your mercy, your kindness, for your grace

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that has brought salvation to humanity, for the blood of your Son that was paid on the
cross for our sins when we never could have earned that redemption.

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We're grateful for your

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church and for the body of Christ that exists throughout the world that we might have
fellowship with those around the world, that we might have fellowship with those who

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strive diligently and faithfully for the truth.

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Lord, we pray that you will be with us as we go through this period of study, looking at
this book of Revelation, that we might know better how to deal with the difficulties that

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arise in this life and how to be prepared for the hardships that we

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will face and be prepared for eternity.

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Lord, we pray that you will help us to overcome when difficulties arise.

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We also pray that we might look to you and truly recognize the worthy nature and the glory
and the power that you have with your Son and with the Spirit.

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We pray that we might always worship you in a way that is in spirit and in truth.

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All this we pray and ask in Jesus' name, amen.

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Last week we opened up Revelation and we started looking at the introductory verses.

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I'm going to just rehash that for just a moment as we read these first few verses of
Revelation chapter one.

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And we're doing this a little bit differently than what I've done it before.

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Usually I spend the first few lessons in the book of Revelation talking about the timing
of the book and when it was written and my understanding of what it's dealing with.

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But I wanted to focus a little bit differently this time

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starting with really where the book focuses.

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We'll get into some of those details shortly uh as we get into further into the book, but
I want us to notice that the first three chapters, quite often we think the first three

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chapters are centered around the seven churches.

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They're not.

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The first three chapters are centered around Christ.

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There are so many different descriptions of Christ in the first three chapters of
Revelation that these first three chapters are here to tell us why Christ is on the throne

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and who He is.

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John begins with the revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave him to show his servants
things which must shortly take place, and he sent and signified it by his angel to his

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servant John, who bore witness to the word of God and to the testimony of Jesus Christ to
all things that he saw.

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Blessed is he who reads and those who hear the words of this prophecy and keep those
things which are written in it for the time is near." And we pointed out not only does

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John begin as he's writing this saying that these things must shortly take place, but he
further says that this message, this revelation, singular, it's one revelation, it's not

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many revelations, it's not

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revelations plural.

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And if somebody says it that way, it's okay.

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You don't have to correct them, but it's one revelation.

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It's one series of visions that John sees so that he might be able to deliver this to the
church in the first century because the things that he saw, the things which they were

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speaking of, the things that they were symbols of, the things that were going to occur
were shortly to come to pass because he says that

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The things which are written are near.

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They are at hand.

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Revelation chapter 1 verse 4, John to the seven churches which are in Asia.

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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

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from the dead and the ruler over the kings of the earth to him who loved us and washed us
from our sins in his own blood." John establishes at the very outset of the book that

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number one this is the

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the revelation, the revealing of Jesus Christ.

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This is what He desires to reveal to the Church.

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But furthermore, He points out that Jesus Christ is King and He is reigning over the kings
of the earth.

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There is no one who is superseding the authority of Christ on the earth.

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When John writes this, he does not write about a future date where Jesus Christ will reign
on a throne over the kings of the earth for a thousand years someday in the future.

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He speaks of this as present tense.

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He speaks of Jesus Christ who is king at that very moment in time.

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Of course, know from Matthew chapter 28 verses 18 through 20 that Jesus said to His
disciples before He ever ascended back to heaven, that all authority has been given unto

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Me in heaven and where?

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On earth.

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And yet there are some who will argue and who will claim that someday in the future Jesus
will return to the earth and finally establish his kingdom and finally reign on this

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earth.

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And John says, no, no, he's already reigning.

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And notice he not only says that,

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but he says he is the firstborn from the dead.

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Now the idea of firstborn is not always the idea of the one who is first in birth, but
also carries the idea of one who is preeminent.

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He is the one who is superior over all others.

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Were there those who were raised from the dead before Jesus ever was born on this earth?

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Yeah, absolutely.

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You read all the way back into the Old Testament about events during the days of Elisha
and Elijah of someone being raised back to life from the dead.

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Jesus wasn't the first one resurrected, as a matter of fact, while Jesus was on the earth.

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Jesus resurrected people from the dead.

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Lazarus was resurrected not long before Jesus was killed.

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Jesus wasn't the first one to be resurrected, but He is by far the first one in
preeminence of all those who will be

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resurrected and he is the firstborn by way of authority and power from which our
resurrection comes.

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When Jesus resurrected Lazarus from the dead, did Jesus then make it possible for Lazarus
to go around and resurrect anybody else he wanted to?

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Not at all.

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Were there apostles who had the ability to resurrect someone from the dead?

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Yes, there were.

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Peter did.

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ah

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applications in the book of Acts where that occurs and yet the point is that they
attributed that power and that authority to who?

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To Jesus Christ and so Jesus has preeminence and authority in resurrection He also has
preeminence and authority over the kings of the earth, but he also points out that he is

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one who loved us and

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and washed us from our sins in His own blood.

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If someone asks, how are your sins washed away?

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If someone poses the question, how is it that you think that just by being buried in
water, you're going to wash away your sins?

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The answer is because it is in baptism that we are told we come in contact with the blood
of Christ.

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It is not that we come into physical contact with the blood of Christ, but are our sins
physical?

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Do we carry them around like a coat?

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Are they born on our skin?

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No.

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Peter tells us that baptism isn't the removal of the filth of the flesh, but rather the
answer of a good conscience towards God.

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And that baptism doth also now save us, 1 Peter chapter 3 verse 21.

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And so, when you put these things together, you have Jesus who washes us in His blood when
we are obedient to Him in baptism.

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It's the reason why Jesus said to those same apostles, those same disciples in Mark
chapter 16, verses 15 and 16, go ye into all the world and preach the gospel to every

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creature.

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He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved.

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If you stopped right there, would you have spoken the truth?

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Yes.

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He who believeth and is baptized shall be saved.

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How are they going to be saved?

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Well, they're going to be saved by the blood

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Christ.

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The blood of Christ is that which washes away our sins and it occurs when we are baptized
into that watery grave of baptism.

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He says to him who loved us and washed us from our sins in his own blood and made us kings
and priests to his God and Father.

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When we become Christians, we become the children of God.

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John writes in John chapter 1, as he speaks concerning the coming of Christ, and as he
speaks to that fact, he says that through Christ, God gave power for us to become the

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children of God.

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but the children of God are the children of a king.

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And as a result of that, he has made us to be kings and priests.

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Now, under Moses' law, could there be any Israelite who was both a king and a priest?

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No, why not?

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All right, wrong tribe.

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What tribe did the kings come from?

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Judah, what tribe did the priest come from?

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Levi.

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You could not be a king and a priest under the Old Testament law.

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And the book of Hebrews points that out, that had he been under the Old Testament law, he
could never have been priest.

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And yet, the book of Hebrews calls him a priest after the order of Melchizedek.

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Melchizedek lived and died before the...

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old law, the law of Moses was given before God gave that law to the Israelites.

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And as you see Christ appear, so you see Melchizedek in the Old Testament, he shows up,
you're not given his lineage, he doesn't become high priest because we've identified, well

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his father was a high priest and his father was a high priest and therefore Melchizedek...

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No, we're just introduced to Melchizedek and he is a high priest of the Lord.

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and he is the king of Salem.

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And so here is this individual who is both king and priest.

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Now which one was greater according to book of Hebrews?

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Abraham or Melchizedek?

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Melchizedek.

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Now we have all this text in scripture about Abraham.

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We've got chapters written about the life of Abraham.

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We've got one

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section in one chapter written about Melchizedek and yet the Hebrew writer says that
Melchizedek was greater than Abraham.

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Why does he come to that conclusion?

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All right, the Hebrew writer points out that the lesser pays tithes and honor to the
greater and not the other way around.

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One who is greater does not give tribute to one who is lesser.

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And you see in the text that Abraham gave tithes a tenth of the spoils that came from

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defeating the kings who had taken uh Sodom and the people of Sodom, including Lot and his
wife and his family captive.

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When Abraham and his servants went and defeated those five kings, they came back and they
met Melchizedek on the way and they gave a tenth of the spoils to Melchizedek in tribute.

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And the Hebrew writer points out that the lesser gives honor to the greater and not the
other way around.

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So here the Hebrew writer has pointed out that the priesthood of Christ is greater than
the priesthood of Aaron because Aaron was the descendant of Abraham, therefore Abraham was

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greater than Aaron, if you think about it from a lineage perspective.

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Aaron was of less degree than Abraham, but Abraham was of less degree than Melchizedek,
therefore Christ's priesthood is greater than Aaron's.

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because Christ is a priest after the order of Melchizedek.

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Now, all of this is to point out as John is opening this book that we, as he's writing to
these Christians, he's writing to the church in the first century, the church, the

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Christians in the first century and by nature ourselves, are not insignificant to God.

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We are not forgotten by God.

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We are not inconsequential to God.

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We rather are those who have a place in the very kingdom and reign of Jesus Christ.

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When a person goes through difficulties, when they go through trials, when they go through
hardships, when they go through persecution, the biggest struggle for them to deal with

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mentally is, does anyone care?

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Am I going through it alone?

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Am I going to get through this or not?

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And as the church was about to go into persecution, as these seven churches of Asia were
going to head into persecution from the Roman Empire, John is writing to them to let them

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know, oh yes, God very much cares.

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And as a matter of fact, not only does God care, but Christ is on the throne, and as the
one who died for you,

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shed his blood to purchase your redemption and has made you kings and priests in his
kingdom, he will deal with your persecutors." So John writes, he has made us kings and

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priests to his God and Father.

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To him be glory and dominion forever and ever.

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Amen.

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Is Christ's throne

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and his dominion and his reign temporary?

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No.

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His authority is unending.

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He's not going to reign for a thousand years.

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He's reigned since he took the throne.

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And to his reign there will be no end.

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We're told that in prophecy.

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You go all the way back to the days of David when David was

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spoke, had made the decision to build the temple for God, and God set David on the correct
path for what he would and would not do.

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But God promised David that his seed would sit on a throne, and not that he would reign
for a thousand years, but that he would reign forever, and that to his throne there would

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be no end.

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So,

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He is the one who has dominion forever and ever.

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Behold, verse 7, he is coming with clouds.

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And every eye will see him, even they who pierced him and all the tribes of the earth will
mourn because of him, even so, amen.

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As John opens up the book, he begins to speak of the coming of Christ.

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But as we mentioned recently, and we're going to remind ourselves as we go through the
text, not every coming of Christ that is spoken of in Scripture is speaking of the final

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day of judgment.

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Not every coming of Christ that is spoken of in the New Testament is speaking concerning
the day when all of this earth will be burned up and when we will go up to receive our

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reward in heaven.

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And this one isn't.

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This coming is one of judgment.

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This coming is one where Christ is coming and the judgment will be clear, it will be
visible, it will be apparent to all that this was not circumstance.

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This was not happenstance that came against the enemies of God.

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This was God's hand that came against the enemies of God.

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it is going to be a coming and a judgment of such nature that the text says every eye is
going to observe this.

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Here's the picture because as we mentioned last week the things and the attributes of the
book of Revelation are borrowed from the Old Testament.

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One of those pictures that's borrowed from the Old Testament is when God brought judgment
on Egypt.

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When God brought judgment on Egypt as He brought His people out of Egypt, He brought them
out of persecution and out of suffering and delivered them out of the hand of Pharaoh,

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initially He sent Moses into the land and said, you go tell Pharaoh to let My people go.

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What was Pharaoh's response?

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is this God that I should obey his voice?" And God proceeded to teach Pharaoh who he was.

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And the text is incredibly clear from Exodus chapter 4 all the way through Exodus chapter
12 that all the nations around Egypt were being informed who God was.

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that everyone would see what God was doing with those ten plagues and would know and
understand that God alone is Jehovah and no one else is like God.

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And so God delivered through the Egyptian experience there in the book of Exodus a message
to the entire world

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I'm in charge.

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I am God.

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Ra is not God.

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The Nile is not God.

204
00:22:23,490 --> 00:22:25,710
The frogs are not God.

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I am God.

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And from that, all the world was to know that Israel belonged to God.

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Well, you come forward 40 years later,

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Raise your hand if you remember a lot from 40 years ago.

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I wasn't born, wouldn't know.

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All right.

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Some of us do, some of us don't.

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Forty years later, as Israel was about to come into Jericho,

213
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There was a woman in Jericho who testified that the entire city was from top to bottom was
trembling and in fear because they knew what God had done to Egypt.

214
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and it was forty years before when it happened.

215
00:23:31,318 --> 00:23:32,898
Same picture here.

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00:23:33,580 --> 00:23:48,890
John is saying when Christ comes in judgment on Rome as the persecutor of his church, all
the eyes are going to see it and everyone's going to know this wasn't just happenstance.

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This is the judgment of God coming against his persecutors.

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00:23:54,754 --> 00:23:56,355
Eddie, did you have a comment?

219
00:23:56,996 --> 00:23:58,556
Okay, thought I saw a hand.

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00:23:58,717 --> 00:24:00,518
So notice he says,

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00:24:00,640 --> 00:24:14,143
behold, he is coming with the clouds." Now, when Christ returns according to those who
were there in the presence of the apostles when Jesus ascended and they are staring up

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into the clouds and Jesus goes up and ascends with the clouds, when those individuals,
those messengers spoke to the apostles, how did they say Jesus would return?

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Same way it's ended.

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You have the picture of Christ's return.

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00:24:39,074 --> 00:24:42,815
But have you ever seen a picture that was similar to another picture?

226
00:24:43,636 --> 00:24:45,377
But it wasn't the same picture?

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00:24:45,817 --> 00:24:51,960
You ever see someone recreate a picture that they had taken 10 years or 20 years or 30
years before?

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Sure!

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00:24:53,801 --> 00:25:02,244
Just because it's the same picture, just because it's the same visual image, doesn't mean
it's the same occasion.

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Matter of fact, if you go back to Daniel chapter 7,

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Daniel in his visions, which by the way connect directly to, some of them connect directly
to the book of Revelation, and we'll get into that as we go through our study.

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Daniel writes in Daniel chapter 7 verse 9, I watched till thrones were put in place, and
the ancient of days was seeded.

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His garment was white as snow, and the hair of his head was like pure wool.

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00:25:40,374 --> 00:25:45,299
His throne was a fiery flame and its wheels a burning fire.

235
00:25:45,299 --> 00:25:49,283
A fiery stream issued and came forth from before him.

236
00:25:49,283 --> 00:25:52,407
A thousand thousands ministered to him.

237
00:25:52,407 --> 00:25:56,070
Ten thousand times ten thousand stood before him.

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The court was seated and the books were opened.

239
00:26:02,454 --> 00:26:03,955
What's about to happen?

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Judgment.

241
00:26:08,503 --> 00:26:10,024
Is it the last judgment?

242
00:26:10,024 --> 00:26:11,365
Is it the final judgment?

243
00:26:11,365 --> 00:26:13,746
Is this the final judgment scene?

244
00:26:13,746 --> 00:26:14,586
Nope.

245
00:26:15,327 --> 00:26:16,467
It's not.

246
00:26:17,849 --> 00:26:28,575
What you have in chapter 7, as you have the events leading up to this, is you have four
beasts that are pictured.

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And they're identified too.

248
00:26:32,737 --> 00:26:34,046
The first one,

249
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is the same, and by the way, they're the same four that are part of the image that
Nebuchadnezzar sees in Daniel chapter 2.

250
00:26:44,171 --> 00:26:49,513
Same four things, except it's four beasts instead of four parts of an image.

251
00:26:49,833 --> 00:26:54,215
The first one is Babylon, and it comes to an end.

252
00:26:54,355 --> 00:26:58,277
And the second one is the Medo-Persian Empire, and it comes to an end.

253
00:26:58,277 --> 00:27:01,718
And the third one is the Grecian Empire, and it comes to an end.

254
00:27:01,750 --> 00:27:09,922
and the fourth one is an indescribable beast and it's going to come to an end but not
before it persecutes the people of God.

255
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But as that beast is pictured, Daniel sees in the vision the throne of God and it's
ambivalent or apathetic to what's going on to the people of God.

256
00:27:27,870 --> 00:27:34,556
It's rather going to demonstrate quite clearly who actually rules in the kingdoms of men.

257
00:27:34,556 --> 00:27:36,674
Now you go back to Daniel chapter 2.

258
00:27:36,674 --> 00:27:38,095
And we don't have any problem with this vision.

259
00:27:38,095 --> 00:27:39,897
We understand exactly what's going on.

260
00:27:39,897 --> 00:27:43,330
We've got the Grecian Empire that gives way to the Roman Empire.

261
00:27:43,330 --> 00:27:53,249
The Roman Empire is there and Daniel tells us, the days of these kings shall the God of
heaven set up a kingdom which shall never be destroyed.

262
00:27:53,249 --> 00:27:59,774
But in the vision, what happens when God sets up that kingdom?

263
00:28:01,783 --> 00:28:02,823
You remember?

264
00:28:04,854 --> 00:28:13,684
It begins like a stone cut out without men or without men's hands and it grows until it
encompasses the earth.

265
00:28:13,684 --> 00:28:15,778
And what does it do to the image?

266
00:28:18,420 --> 00:28:23,513
It dashes it in pieces and crumbles it to fine powder.

267
00:28:24,754 --> 00:28:28,907
God says, this nation is not greater than my kingdom.

268
00:28:28,907 --> 00:28:30,648
This nation is not greater than my kingdom.

269
00:28:30,648 --> 00:28:32,209
This nation is not greater than my kingdom.

270
00:28:32,209 --> 00:28:43,857
This nation and in the days of this nation, that fourth kingdom, Rome, I will set up my
kingdom and it will never be destroyed and I will grind to pieces all these other

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kingdoms.

272
00:28:45,509 --> 00:28:48,170
Well, Daniel chapter 7 is the same picture.

273
00:28:48,717 --> 00:28:59,469
This indescribable beast comes forth and it terrifies Daniel, and yet God immediately
switches to a judgment scene and says, I will judge that nation.

274
00:29:01,068 --> 00:29:05,159
and you have in the book of Revelation the fulfillment of that vision.

275
00:29:05,640 --> 00:29:08,881
But notice what we read, verse 11.

276
00:29:08,881 --> 00:29:18,425
First thing you have, verses 9 and 10 of Daniel 7, is this picture of the throne room of
God and the Ancient of Days sitting on the throne and how's he arrayed?

277
00:29:18,425 --> 00:29:21,426
Pay attention to the picture of the one who's on the throne.

278
00:29:21,426 --> 00:29:30,958
He's arrayed in white garments and hair, white like wool, and he's got this authority and
he surrounded all

279
00:29:30,958 --> 00:29:34,480
over the place by those who are ministering to him.

280
00:29:34,480 --> 00:29:42,363
You're going to have a hard time missing the picture in the book of Revelation because the
same picture is going to show up again and again and again.

281
00:29:42,403 --> 00:29:47,706
But notice he's seated, that is in judgment, and the books are open.

282
00:29:47,706 --> 00:29:49,186
What are the books for?

283
00:29:51,810 --> 00:29:52,931
Judgment!

284
00:29:54,953 --> 00:30:10,838
The message was delivered to Babylon this way when the grandson of Nebuchadnezzar is now
on the throne and Daniel is now an old man and the Medo-Persian Empire is literally

285
00:30:10,838 --> 00:30:12,850
outside the walls of Babylon.

286
00:30:14,348 --> 00:30:24,863
The message was declared to the king of Babylon, you've been weighed in the balances and
you have been found wanting.

287
00:30:25,643 --> 00:30:30,585
And that very night, that first kingdom came to an end.

288
00:30:31,386 --> 00:30:39,890
Well, God is saying here in Daniel 7, here's how kingdom number four is going to come to
an end.

289
00:30:40,024 --> 00:30:46,659
So notice what he says, watched then because of the sound of the pompous words which the
horn was speaking.

290
00:30:46,679 --> 00:30:48,761
I watched till the beast was slain.

291
00:30:48,761 --> 00:30:58,007
Here's this beast that was so fearful and indescribable that Daniel could not describe him
and was afraid because of him and what happens to the beast?

292
00:30:59,288 --> 00:31:00,429
He's slain.

293
00:31:01,970 --> 00:31:07,284
It's like here's this great image that is so fearful and yet God's like done.

294
00:31:08,844 --> 00:31:14,502
And he says, saw the beast, or I watched till the beast was slain and his body destroyed
and given to the burning flame.

295
00:31:14,502 --> 00:31:18,386
Now if the beast was a nation, what happened?

296
00:31:20,758 --> 00:31:22,139
It was destroyed.

297
00:31:23,040 --> 00:31:24,821
God put an end to it.

298
00:31:25,382 --> 00:31:34,790
But notice, and for the rest of the beasts, they had their dominion taken away, yet their
lives were prolonged for a season and a time.

299
00:31:34,790 --> 00:31:44,598
I was watching in the night vision, and behold, one like the Son of Man, watch the phrase,
coming with the clouds of heaven.

300
00:31:46,488 --> 00:31:49,760
But notice where he's coming to.

301
00:31:51,141 --> 00:31:52,091
Is he coming to the earth?

302
00:31:52,091 --> 00:31:54,382
Uh-uh.

303
00:31:55,343 --> 00:32:00,166
And I watched in the night visions of behold one like the Son of Man coming with the
clouds of heaven.

304
00:32:00,166 --> 00:32:04,568
He came to the ancient of days.

305
00:32:04,809 --> 00:32:07,691
And they brought him near before him.

306
00:32:07,691 --> 00:32:13,452
Then to him was given dominion and glory and a kingdom.

307
00:32:13,452 --> 00:32:29,753
that all peoples, nations, and languages should serve him, his dominion is an everlasting
dominion which shall not pass away in his kingdom, the one which shall not be destroyed."

308
00:32:31,174 --> 00:32:40,980
What is the kingdom that the one who ascended with the clouds to the Ancients of Days set
up?

309
00:32:42,222 --> 00:32:43,362
The Church.

310
00:32:44,894 --> 00:32:57,906
And Daniel says as he sees in the vision the one who judges sitting on his throne
surrounded by his messenger, surrounded by his minister, surrounded by his servants, that

311
00:32:57,906 --> 00:33:10,858
one comes to the throne who is going to reign in his kingdom, who is going to put an end
to these four kingdoms.

312
00:33:11,958 --> 00:33:16,765
who is going to slay the beast which is the fourth kingdom.

313
00:33:18,774 --> 00:33:23,435
and he is going to reign forever and ever.

314
00:33:24,516 --> 00:33:28,097
The picture in Daniel 7 isn't of the final day.

315
00:33:28,757 --> 00:33:32,778
It is of Christ coming to power.

316
00:33:32,998 --> 00:33:45,622
And the fact that when Christ comes to power and when his kingdom is established, there is
a process that begins that will inevitably end in the destruction of the kingdom.

317
00:33:45,622 --> 00:33:49,684
that was in power at the time, and that's Rome.

318
00:33:50,846 --> 00:33:58,702
And John is writing the concluding prophecy of Daniel 7.

319
00:33:59,312 --> 00:34:12,090
John is saying in Revelation chapter 1 and in verse 7, "'Behold, he is coming with the
clouds, and every eye will see him, even they who pierced him and all the tribes of the

320
00:34:12,090 --> 00:34:14,432
earth will mourn because of him.'" Notice

321
00:34:14,432 --> 00:34:20,686
the coming here is not one of rejoicing, it is one of judgment.

322
00:34:21,207 --> 00:34:25,250
It is one of judgment, and you're going to see that throughout the book.

323
00:34:25,250 --> 00:34:32,016
The coming is of judgment, and the nations are going to grieve because of it.

324
00:34:32,016 --> 00:34:32,856
Why?

325
00:34:32,856 --> 00:34:36,118
Because Rome was their cash cow.

326
00:34:36,819 --> 00:34:40,762
As long as Rome was in power, they were getting rich.

327
00:34:43,308 --> 00:34:53,111
And the picture later on, as Rome is pictured as being brought down in the form of
Babylon, you have the nation standing afar off and mourning.

328
00:34:53,778 --> 00:34:58,137
The merchants are crying because she was great.

329
00:35:02,060 --> 00:35:16,101
Verse 8, I am the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end, says the Lord, who is
and who was and who is to come.

330
00:35:16,923 --> 00:35:23,468
God declares through John, I have all authority.

331
00:35:24,129 --> 00:35:27,031
I've always had all authority.

332
00:35:27,031 --> 00:35:30,934
I will always have all authority.

333
00:35:32,362 --> 00:35:34,149
I never went anywhere.

334
00:35:36,758 --> 00:35:38,898
And I've never given up my authority.

335
00:35:40,448 --> 00:35:49,647
Over in Daniel chapter 4, Nebuchadnezzar was wandering around the great things that
Nebuchadnezzar had built.

336
00:35:50,249 --> 00:35:55,554
And looking out over his kingdom, he thought how amazing Nebuchadnezzar was.

337
00:35:57,162 --> 00:36:03,455
What did God do to Nebuchadnezzar to help convince Nebuchadnezzar of his actual status?

338
00:36:07,276 --> 00:36:15,434
made him to live and behave as a beast of the field for seven periods, assume it's seven
years.

339
00:36:16,275 --> 00:36:27,336
But not only does he do that, cause Nebuchadnezzar to become uh and function like a beast
of the field, but he also holds on to his kingdom for him.

340
00:36:28,856 --> 00:36:32,778
So that when the time was over, where does God put Nebuchadnezzar?

341
00:36:35,138 --> 00:36:38,399
right back in the kingdom, right back on his throne.

342
00:36:38,399 --> 00:36:39,059
Why?

343
00:36:39,059 --> 00:36:44,040
Because Nebuchadnezzar was never the greatest authority and power in Babylon.

344
00:36:44,541 --> 00:36:45,761
God was.

345
00:36:47,041 --> 00:36:49,702
God was reigning, not Nebuchadnezzar.

346
00:36:50,402 --> 00:37:03,586
And Nebuchadnezzar will write a decree to that very nature that the God of heaven rules in
the kingdoms of men and gives power to whomever he will.

347
00:37:05,102 --> 00:37:17,727
And John is making it clear as he opens this book who's on the throne, who is in
authority, who has been in authority, just like all the way back in the days of Daniel.

348
00:37:17,727 --> 00:37:26,591
So now all the way today in the first century as John is writing to the churches of Asia,
Caesar's not on the throne.

349
00:37:27,571 --> 00:37:29,572
Caesar's not the one in power.

350
00:37:30,192 --> 00:37:34,894
The Roman Empire is not the one who is the final authority on the earth.

351
00:37:34,894 --> 00:37:36,134
Christ is.

352
00:37:37,155 --> 00:37:39,557
And so he says, am the Alpha and the Omega.

353
00:37:39,557 --> 00:37:52,604
Now, Revelation is the only place where that term is found because Alpha is the first
letter in the Greek alphabet, Omega is the last letter in the Greek alphabet, but Isaiah

354
00:37:52,604 --> 00:38:04,840
uses the terminology over in Isaiah speaking concerning the one who was to come and
speaking concerning Jehovah, and he uses it from the Hebrew alphabet.

355
00:38:05,198 --> 00:38:08,720
Okay, so there's also that picture from the Old Testament.

356
00:38:08,720 --> 00:38:24,470
But he says, is and who was and who is to come, the Almighty, I John, both your brother
and companion in the tribulation and kingdom and patience of Jesus Christ, was on the

357
00:38:24,470 --> 00:38:30,604
island that is called Patmos for the word of God and for the testimony of Jesus Christ.

358
00:38:30,912 --> 00:38:37,527
John, as he is writing this, is by all indications of history and the text in exile.

359
00:38:38,489 --> 00:38:39,850
He is in exile.

360
00:38:39,850 --> 00:38:41,501
He is writing this message.

361
00:38:41,501 --> 00:38:54,142
you know, one thing that Brother Jim McGuiggan pointed out about so many of the visions
that you see in Scripture and from the prophets in the Old Testament and the New Testament

362
00:38:54,142 --> 00:38:59,826
is that their visions of consequence came when they were in the midst of tribulation,

363
00:39:00,066 --> 00:39:01,557
when they were in the midst of exile.

364
00:39:01,557 --> 00:39:04,569
You have Daniel who sees his visions where?

365
00:39:04,569 --> 00:39:05,330
In Babylon.

366
00:39:05,330 --> 00:39:08,372
You have Ezekiel who sees his visions where?

367
00:39:08,372 --> 00:39:10,193
In exile, in Babylon.

368
00:39:10,193 --> 00:39:13,314
You see John who sees his vision where?

369
00:39:13,595 --> 00:39:14,935
In exile.

370
00:39:15,016 --> 00:39:24,606
So many occasions we find that we try to avoid all the tribulation, all the trial, all the
persecution we can, we try to avoid

371
00:39:24,606 --> 00:39:33,681
all the difficulties in life that we can and yet we find over and over in the Old and the
New Testament that it is in the midst of tribulation

372
00:39:35,768 --> 00:39:40,373
that so many of the most important things that God does with individuals occur.

373
00:39:42,220 --> 00:39:45,915
We should not be those who fear tribulation.

374
00:39:45,915 --> 00:39:59,053
Now, one thing that's important when we go through the text is that we don't take a whole
lot of modern concepts of terminology and insert them into the text where they cannot be

375
00:39:59,053 --> 00:39:59,894
found.

376
00:40:00,278 --> 00:40:09,923
And so if you sit down and talk with friends and family members and individuals who are
steeped in premillennialism, the moment you say the word tribulation, they're gonna have a

377
00:40:09,923 --> 00:40:14,084
whole bunch of things come to mind that they think have to do with tribulation.

378
00:40:14,485 --> 00:40:17,115
The tribulation, and they'll call it.

379
00:40:18,702 --> 00:40:21,122
and yet they're waiting for the tribulation to occur.

380
00:40:21,122 --> 00:40:23,362
They say it hasn't happened yet.

381
00:40:24,242 --> 00:40:27,982
Now, they're also waiting for the Kingdom to occur.

382
00:40:27,982 --> 00:40:29,442
It hasn't happened yet.

383
00:40:29,522 --> 00:40:31,382
It's going to happen one of these days.

384
00:40:31,382 --> 00:40:36,742
The tribulation is going to begin, then the rapture is going to happen, and then the
Kingdom is going to be established.

385
00:40:39,424 --> 00:40:44,995
It is so important that when we read the text, we actually read the text.

386
00:40:45,396 --> 00:40:55,178
Notice what it said, I John, both your brother, now was he currently the brother to the
churches in Asia Minor?

387
00:40:55,979 --> 00:41:00,840
Was he their brother in the present tense actively right at that moment?

388
00:41:00,840 --> 00:41:02,100
Yes, he was.

389
00:41:02,580 --> 00:41:05,641
How about their companion?

390
00:41:05,981 --> 00:41:08,876
Was he the companion of the churches in Asia Minor?

391
00:41:08,876 --> 00:41:10,171
Yes, he was.

392
00:41:10,518 --> 00:41:12,848
But what does he say he's the companion in?

393
00:41:15,116 --> 00:41:16,547
in tribulation.

394
00:41:17,328 --> 00:41:27,924
If the tribulation isn't coming until some far reaching time forward from John's day, then
how is he their companion in tribulation?

395
00:41:33,406 --> 00:41:42,474
Oh, that's right, he also says he's not only their companion in tribulation, but also in
the kingdom.

396
00:41:44,448 --> 00:41:56,186
John doesn't say one of these days Christ is going to come back and the kingdom is finally
going to be established, the one he promised us all that many years, all those many years

397
00:41:56,186 --> 00:41:57,026
ago.

398
00:41:57,707 --> 00:42:03,370
That kingdom that we asked about on the very day that he ascended back to the Father.

399
00:42:03,691 --> 00:42:09,364
The kingdom that he said it's not for you to know the times or the things that God has in
store.

400
00:42:10,691 --> 00:42:17,334
but also the kingdom that he said, some of you standing here shall not taste death until
you see the kingdom of God come with power.

401
00:42:18,355 --> 00:42:20,115
John says the kingdom's here.

402
00:42:20,816 --> 00:42:27,900
I'm your brother and I'm your companion in this tribulation that was going to occur in
their lifetime.

403
00:42:27,900 --> 00:42:29,641
It was shortly to come to pass.

404
00:42:29,641 --> 00:42:34,083
The time was at hand for this difficulty to arrive.

405
00:42:34,703 --> 00:42:40,460
But he also said, I'm also your companion in the kingdom and the kingdom was al

406
00:42:40,460 --> 00:42:42,047
ready there.

407
00:42:43,660 --> 00:42:45,671
The tribulation was coming.

408
00:42:45,671 --> 00:42:48,492
It was at hand and they were going to live through it.

409
00:42:48,593 --> 00:42:51,654
The kingdom was coming and they were already in it.

410
00:42:51,975 --> 00:42:54,116
And John was too.

411
00:42:54,296 --> 00:43:00,880
But he also says the tribulation, the kingdom and the patience of Jesus Christ.

412
00:43:00,880 --> 00:43:10,495
The term patience here isn't the idea of one who sits and waits for the doctor to finally
call them back and they're sitting patiently.

413
00:43:10,495 --> 00:43:12,156
That's not the patience here.

414
00:43:12,770 --> 00:43:16,806
The patience here is the one who stands up under a burden.

415
00:43:16,806 --> 00:43:28,394
This is the beast of burden who stands up under his load for as long as he has to and
carries it wherever it must go.

416
00:43:30,112 --> 00:43:38,646
John says, I'm your companion in the trials that you're going to go through.

417
00:43:39,486 --> 00:43:47,169
I'm your companion and brother in the kingdom of our Lord.

418
00:43:47,590 --> 00:43:49,731
And it's here right now.

419
00:43:50,871 --> 00:43:56,814
And I'm your companion in bearing the burden

420
00:43:58,144 --> 00:44:02,026
and bearing up under the load of what's coming.

421
00:44:03,958 --> 00:44:11,860
You're not going through this alone is John's message to the church.

422
00:44:12,821 --> 00:44:21,123
He says, I'm here and I'm already going through it as he sits in exile in Patmos.

423
00:44:22,043 --> 00:44:32,106
But as he tells them that he is there for the testimony or for his testimony of Jesus
Christ,

424
00:44:33,378 --> 00:44:43,106
He also reassures them that when the tribulations come that he's writing about, when the
difficulties arise that he's writing about, when these things which must shortly take

425
00:44:43,106 --> 00:44:52,414
place and are about to be at hand arrive, he said, I'm already going through them, and
I'll show you how you can too.

426
00:44:54,028 --> 00:44:58,140
because we're going through it together.

427
00:44:58,901 --> 00:45:07,685
The last thing as we close, he says, I was in the Spirit on the Lord's Day, and I heard
behind me a loud voice as if it was a trumpet.

428
00:45:08,766 --> 00:45:22,814
John, in the midst of exile, in the midst of tribulation, in the midst of persecution, as
a result of his testimony for the name of Jesus Christ, was worshipping.

429
00:45:23,106 --> 00:45:26,307
That's what it means to be in the Spirit on the Lord's Day.

430
00:45:27,028 --> 00:45:29,048
John was worshipping.

431
00:45:29,849 --> 00:45:42,405
No matter where life takes us, no matter who goes with us, no matter what place on this
planet we are, no matter where life has brought us to or the hardships that we're

432
00:45:42,405 --> 00:45:47,817
enduring, worship is where we should be on the Lord's Day.

433
00:45:48,257 --> 00:45:50,668
And that's exactly where John was.

434
00:45:51,564 --> 00:45:55,813
Now, was there anyone there with him on the Isle of Patmos?

435
00:45:55,813 --> 00:45:58,569
Were there any other Christians worshipping with him on that?

436
00:45:58,569 --> 00:45:59,540
Don't know.

437
00:46:01,464 --> 00:46:04,879
But you know where John was on the Lord's Day?

438
00:46:05,481 --> 00:46:09,728
He was worshiping exactly where we should be on the Lord's Day.

439
00:46:09,728 --> 00:46:12,032
Thank you for your attention and we'll be dismissed.