Participants: Ivor Myers (Host), James Rafferty (Host), Jason Bradley, Yvonne Lewis
Series Code: SISS
Program Code: SISS000032A
|
00:30 Revelation 8... the symbols are coming alive,
00:33 they are coming alive, 00:34 we have stepped out by faith in a sense, 00:37 we've said now this is either literal or it's symbolic 00:39 we've said, "It's symbolic" 00:41 and we found the symbols identified 00:43 in other parts of Revelation, specifically Revelation 4, 00:46 the thunders, the lightnings, the voices 00:48 around the throne of God, the seven Spirits, 00:51 we've identified those, 00:52 the fire for example as the Holy Spirit, 00:54 we've looked at the thunders... the voice of God, 00:57 we've looked at the voices as the languages 01:00 and then we've gone to the Bible, 01:02 Bible history... to authenticate or confirm 01:05 the application of those symbols 01:07 and we've seen them when the outpouring of the Holy Spirit 01:10 took place on the Day of Pentecost, 01:12 fire... cloven tongues of fire came down 01:13 and they spake with these languages 01:15 that people could understand, 01:16 and the voice of God came, 01:17 the thunder of God came and spoke 01:19 to Saul and to Peter 01:20 when he had that vision of the sheet and said, 01:22 "Peter, you need to eat with the Gentiles, 01:24 Saul, you need to stop persecuting me... " 01:25 so we've seen in the symbolic language of Revelation... 01:29 the confirmation of that history... 01:33 that early Apostolic History... a Christian church history... 01:35 now, we didn't look at the lightnings, 01:38 it says in Revelation chapter 8 that there were not... 01:41 it was not only fire and it was not only voices and thunderings 01:43 but there was lightnings and there was an earthquake, 01:45 what do the lightnings and the earthquakes symbolize 01:48 and how does that get confirmed in the early Christian Church? 01:51 That's what we want to look at now 01:53 and also, we want to look at a larger picture that we 01:56 are seeing here in relation to prophecy... 01:59 Peter on the day of Pentecost quotes from the Old Testament, 02:02 the Book of Joel, how does that fit in? 02:04 Ivor is going to bring us something there... aren't you? 02:06 How does that fit in? Ivor: Oh boy... 02:08 James: How does that fit in here? 02:09 All: Laughing... 02:11 James: All right, we need to pray... 02:14 we need to pray and then we'll get started with a few verses, 02:16 Yvonne, would you pray for us? Yvonne: Yes, sure, 02:18 "Father God, we just thank you so very much 02:20 for the privilege of studying your Word 02:23 and gaining new insights, Lord, 02:24 they just reinforce how awesome you are 02:27 so we thank you and we praise you 02:30 and we ask for your guidance and your Spirit this day 02:32 in Jesus' name, amen. " All: "Amen... " 02:34 James: And Jason, let's move right into our Bible verses, 02:36 I want us to... there are two verses that I want us to read 02:38 and one of them is in Matthew 28 and verse 3, 02:41 if you can get that for us and then, Yvonne, 02:43 can you get Ezekiel 1 verse 14? 02:46 We're on lightnings... 02:48 what does lightning symbolize or represent? 02:50 It's not literal... 02:51 if it's symbolic... what does it symbolize and represent 02:54 and then we're going to take that and apply it, 02:55 so, we're going to interpret it 02:57 and then we're going to apply it... 02:58 interpretation... application... 02:59 Yvonne: What chapter in Ezekiel? 03:01 James: Ezekiel chapter 1 verse 14 and Matthew 28 verse 3. 03:04 Jason: Okay... Matthew 28 verse 3... reads, 03:07 "His countenance was like lightning, 03:09 and his raiment white as snow... " 03:11 James: This is talking about an angel... 03:13 Matthew 28 is talking about an angel 03:15 that was seen there after the resurrection of Christ 03:18 and the disciples come to the tomb and they're looking around 03:20 and they see this angel, 03:22 and his countenance was like lightning, 03:24 so we're looking at the symbol of lightning... 03:27 we're looking at it... 03:28 representing or symbolizing an angel, 03:29 okay, what have you got? 03:31 Ezekiel 1:14... 03:33 Yvonne: "And the living creatures ran and returned 03:36 as an appearance of a flash of lightning. " 03:39 James: Okay... the living creatures... 03:40 same as the living beasts or the four living beasts 03:43 that were there in Revelation 4... these are angels 03:45 the angels of heaven in Ezekiel chapter 1 03:49 are represented as lightning, 03:51 the appearance of flash of lightning, 03:53 okay, that's the interpretation, we're saying that the lightning 03:57 that's around the throne... represents angels 03:59 okay, and we're told the angels are ministering spirits, 04:02 now what about the application, 04:03 how does that apply to the early Apostolic church? 04:06 Were there angels manifested in that early Christian era? 04:09 Do we hear about them, do we see them, 04:11 are they part of the picture 04:12 when the outpouring of the Holy Spirit takes place 04:15 and the message goes to the world, 04:16 are they part of that picture? 04:17 Here's the application, first of all, we want to look at 04:19 Ivor, can you take us to Acts 5:19 and 20? 04:23 And then also Jason, can you take us to Acts 6:15? 04:28 Ivor: All right, Acts 5:19 and 20, 04:33 the Bible says, "But the angel of the Lord 04:35 by night opened the prison doors, 04:37 and brought them forth, and said, 04:39 Go, stand and speak in the temple to the people 04:42 all the words of this life. " 04:43 James: That's it... so God's people are in prison 04:45 and they're going to be killed, at least, persecuted... 04:49 at least... but killed... and angel rescues them 04:51 and the angel takes them out and says, 04:54 "Now, go and preach... go and preach, go and preach. " 04:56 There is an application of the interpretation 05:00 of lightning... being angels... 05:02 there's an application to the early Apostolic church 05:04 so it wasn't just the disciples, 05:06 they just want to... by themselves... 05:07 it wasn't just them 05:09 and it wasn't just them and the voice of God, 05:10 it wasn't just them and the voice of God 05:11 and the Holy Spirit, it was the disciples, 05:13 it was the voice of God, it was the Holy Spirit, 05:15 speaking in languages, and it was the angels, 05:18 now I want you to think about this, 05:19 because this is building, 05:20 all the power around the throne of God 05:23 is coming down to earth, God is giving His Holy Spirit, 05:26 He is giving them the gift of languages, 05:29 He's speaking words Himself, personally, 05:31 and He's giving them the angels, 05:33 and the reason why this is so significant to me 05:36 is not just because of the history of the early church 05:38 but because that is what God wants to do today, 05:41 we need to look at all these manifestations 05:44 as God's promises for us today, God wants to communicate to us 05:48 and empower us today through these same agencies. 05:51 Ivor: Yeah, and it's interesting because... 05:53 this is what we would consider the "early rain. " 05:55 James: Yes. 05:57 Ivor: Yeah, and in the last days what does God want to do? 06:00 He wants to pour out the latter rain, absolutely. 06:03 Jason: What was that verse that Mark used to always say? 06:05 "The angel of the Lord... " 06:07 Yvonne: "encampeth round about them 06:08 that fear Him, and delivered them. " 06:10 Jason: Yeah, where is it? Yvonne: It is in Psalm isn't it? 06:13 James: It is in Psalms... and... I don't know exactly where 06:16 but that would be another good verse for this 06:19 because the disciples knew 06:20 the angels would encamp about them, 06:22 let's look at a couple more, 06:24 one of them is in Acts 6:15. 06:26 Jason: Okay, "And all that sat in the council, 06:29 looking steadfastly on him, 06:31 saw his face as it had been the face of an angel. " 06:33 James: This is talking about Stephen when he was stoned 06:35 and he had the face as the face of an angel, 06:37 in other words, we have the angelic manifestation again 06:41 in the early Apostolic Age, couple more... 06:44 this one is in Acts chapter 8 verse 26, 06:46 Yvonne, could you read that for us, Acts chapter 8 verse 26 06:48 and then Acts 10 verse 3. 06:51 Yvonne: "And the angel of the Lord spake unto Philip, saying, 06:55 Arise, and go toward the south 06:56 unto the way that goeth down from Jerusalem unto Gaza, 06:59 which is desert. " 07:00 James: Okay and Act 10:3... 07:02 Jason: He saw in a vision evidently about the ninth hour 07:05 of the day an angel of God coming in to him, 07:07 and saying unto him, Cornelius... " 07:10 James: Okay, now, Acts 12 verse 7, Yvonne, 07:12 and then 12:23... 07:15 Yvonne: Chapter 12 verse 7, 07:17 "And behold, the angel of the Lord 07:22 came upon him, and a light shined in the prison: 07:25 and he smote Peter on the side, 07:27 and raised him up, saying, Arise up quickly. 07:29 And his chains fell off from his hands. " 07:32 James: And Chapter 12:23... 07:33 Jason: "And immediately the angel of the Lord smote him, 07:36 because he gave not God the glory: 07:37 and he was eaten of worms, and gave up the ghost. " 07:40 James: Woooo... And then chapter 27 verse 23, 07:44 Jason: That doesn't sound good. Yvonne: Laughing... 07:47 Yvonne: Chapter 27... James: 23 and 24... 07:49 Yvonne: 23 and 24... "For there stood by me 07:54 this night the angel of God, whose I am, and whom I serve. 07:58 Saying, Fear not, Paul; 07:59 thou must be brought before Caesar: 08:02 and, lo, God has given thee all them that sail with thee. " 08:07 James: Okay, verse after verse after verse, 08:10 story after story after story, 08:11 you see, the early Apostolic Age 08:14 confirms the symbol of lightning 08:17 which was around the throne 08:18 as angels which are sent down to earth 08:20 to minister to God's people. 08:22 So we have the Holy Spirit, we have languages, 08:23 we have angels, we have the voice of God 08:25 and then there's the earthquake, and the last one, 08:26 let's just... just a couple of verses on the last one, 08:28 Acts 4:31... Jason... and then... 08:32 I'm just going to give you, first of all, 08:35 I'm going to give you the application... 08:37 which is Acts 4:31... 08:38 Jason: Okay, "And when they had prayed, 08:41 the place was shaken 08:43 where they were assembled together; 08:44 and they were all filled with the Holy Ghost, 08:46 and they spake the word of God with boldness. " 08:49 James: Okay, the presence of God brings a shaking... 08:52 as in an earthquake, we know this because 08:55 the interpretation that we find in... for example, 08:57 Psalm 68... And when God came down 09:00 to Mount Sinai, there was a great earthquake, 09:02 the presence of God brings this earthquake, 09:05 Ivor: The earth shook... James: The earth shook... 09:07 Yvonne: And also with the return of Christ, the earth will shake 09:10 and the elements will melt with fervent heat... 09:12 James: Yes... so we have that in the future, 09:15 we have it in the Apostolic Age, 09:17 we have it in the past, all through the Bible... 09:18 we see this symbol representing God's presence. 09:20 Jason: What happened with the burning bush, though? 09:23 James: Lights fire... 09:25 Jason: Yeah... I mean, was there any shaking then? 09:29 James: No, and sometimes it's different manifestation 09:32 so with Moses... it was this thing that drew Moses 09:35 to ask this question, 09:36 but later when they come back to Sinai 09:38 and God is delivering His Commandments, 09:41 there is darkness, there is thunder 09:43 and there's lightning and there's an earthquake 09:45 which is another manifestation of God's presence. 09:48 So, one draws... and one causes us to tremble 09:50 and say, "Whoa, this is a holy place... " 09:52 and that was the point in the second one. 09:54 Jason: Okay... 09:55 James: And then there's one more in Acts 16:26... 09:57 "And suddenly there was a great earthquake, 09:59 so that the foundations of the prison were shaken: 10:01 and immediately all the doors were opened, 10:02 and everyone's hands were loosed. " 10:04 That's when, Paul, I think... Silas were in prison 10:06 and the angel came to deliver them... God came to deliver them 10:09 and there was a mighty earthquake, 10:10 so, basically, what we have here I'm just going to summarize it, 10:13 after the resurrection of Jesus, He goes to heaven 10:17 and when He goes to heaven, He takes His sacrifice to heaven 10:20 mingles it with the prayers of the disciples 10:23 who were praying for the outpouring of the Holy Spirit 10:24 and Jesus takes fire... 10:26 symbolizing the Holy Spirit from heaven, 10:28 casts it into the earth, 10:29 there is voices, thunders, lightnings 10:31 and a great earthquake 10:32 and we see this manifestation taking place 10:34 in the Apostolic Church. 10:35 Ivor: That's right, so this brings us... 10:37 the trumpets... the opening scene of the trumpets 10:41 were introduced to the Day of Pentecost 10:43 and what happens after that 10:45 now, we've just seen that on the day of Pentecost... 10:48 fire falls... and let's go back to the Book of Acts 10:53 chapter 2 and we're going to notice verse 15... 10:57 Acts chapter 2 verse 15, and the Bible says, 11:01 "For these are not drunken, as ye suppose, 11:05 seeing that it is but the third hour of the day... " 11:07 so they were saying, you know, 11:09 "They are speaking in these languages or they must be drunk" 11:11 then notice the very next verse, 11:13 it says, "But this is that 11:14 which was spoken by the prophet Joel; 11:16 And it shall come to pass in the last days, saith God, 11:20 I will pour out of my Spirit upon all flesh: 11:22 and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, 11:25 and your young men shall see visions, 11:27 and your old men shall dream dreams: 11:30 And on my servants and on my handmaidens 11:33 will I pour out in those days of my Spirit; 11:35 and they shall prophesy... " 11:37 they shall do what? Yvonne: Prophesy... 11:39 Ivor: Prophesy... "And I will show wonders 11:41 in heaven above, and signs in the earth beneath; 11:44 blood and fire and vapor of smoke: 11:47 The sun shall be turned into darkness, 11:49 and the moon into blood, 11:51 before that great and notable day of the Lord... " 11:54 just let me shake my head for a moment, please. 11:57 James: This is amazing... it is amazing... 11:59 Ivor: Okay... "Before the great and notable day of the Lord come 12:02 James: We're ahead on this, we're just apologizing... 12:04 Yvonne: That's all right... that's all right... 12:05 just bring us up there... so... 12:07 Ivor: Yes, we will... we will... "And it shall come to pass, 12:08 that whosoever shall call on the name of the Lord 12:10 shall be saved. " 12:12 So, just imagine for a moment that you are there 12:15 when Peter's preaching the sermon and He's like, 12:17 "Yup, this is what Joel was talking about... 12:20 it's coming to pass... 12:22 blood mingled with fire... the sun's up... " 12:26 and you're looking around going, 12:27 "Hmmm... where is the blood mingled with fire? 12:30 what is he talking about, the sun's going to be darkened" 12:33 None of that happened on that day 12:35 but he's saying, "it's fulfilled... " 12:36 so, in order for us to get... "What is he talking about?" 12:40 it might be a good idea, 12:42 we were just talking a little bit earlier, 12:43 "This is like a scavenger hunt" you know like God says, 12:46 you know, we were reading Revelation 8 12:48 and we see fire falling... 12:49 God's like, "Where else did fire fall 12:51 in answer to the prayers of the saints?" 12:53 "Oh! the day of Pentecost... " 12:55 okay, so we go to the day of Pentecost 12:56 and then we see Peter's sermon... 12:59 "Oh, where does Peter quote from?" 13:01 He quotes from the Book of Joel 13:02 so let's go over to the Book of Joel chapter 2, 13:06 Joel chapter 2... 13:07 James: While you're turning there, I just want to tell you, 13:09 God keeps saying to me in my brain right now, 13:11 "Thou shalt not steal... thou shalt not steal, 13:15 thou shalt not steal... this is his material... " 13:18 Yvonne: That's right... 13:20 James: It's good stuff man, so, this is good. 13:21 Ivor: Joel chapter 2 is where Peter quotes from, right? 13:24 How does Joel chapter 2 begin? 13:28 Whichever one of you finds it, just go ahead and read 13:31 Joel chapter 2 verse 1 and try not to get excited. 13:33 Jason: "Blow ye the trumpet in Zion... " 13:36 Ivor: All right, stop right there... 13:38 Yvonne: Oh... Ivor: What? Do what? 13:40 Yvonne: Blow ye the trumpet... 13:42 Ivor: Now this just affirms to us 13:44 Peter's sermon... he is quoting from the very chapter 13:48 that begins, "Blow ye the trumpet... " 13:50 James: Yes... Ivor: What are the... 13:51 what are the... what do we see as the opening vision... 13:54 the opening vision leads us into the trumpets... 13:57 okay, now, this is amazing because 14:01 we read a little bit earlier, hold your place in Joel 2 14:03 because we're going to stay in Joel 2 for a while, 14:05 but let's go back to Ezekiel 33 verses 1 through 4 14:08 and whoever finds that... just go ahead and read it, 14:11 Ezekiel 33 verses 1 through 4, 14:14 we're going to see here again the reason... 14:17 one of the reasons for the trumpet being blown. 14:20 Jason: Chapter 33 verses 1 through 4... 14:25 "Again the word of the LORD came unto me, saying, 14:28 Son of man, speak to the children of thy people, 14:31 and say unto them, 14:32 When I bring the sword upon a land, 14:34 if the people of the land take a man of their coasts, 14:37 and set him for their watchman: 14:39 If when he seeth the sword come upon the land, 14:42 he blow the trumpet, and warn the people; 14:44 Then whosoever heareth the sound of the trumpet, 14:47 and taketh not warning; 14:48 if the sword come, and take him away, 14:50 his blood shall be upon his own head. " 14:52 Ivor: Okay, you can stop right there, 14:54 so, what we're seeing here is that the trumpet again 14:58 signifies a warning... so what is Peter doing 15:02 on the day of Pentecost? 15:03 He is issuing a warning... he's saying, 15:08 "Listen, whosoever calls upon the name of the Lord, 15:10 will be saved... 15:12 but if you don't, something's coming... " 15:14 Peter is warning that something is coming 15:17 so, let's go back to Joel chapter 2 15:20 and let's figure out the context of Joel chapter 2. 15:23 So, Joel 2 and verse 1, I'm going to read... 15:27 it says, "Blow ye the trumpet in Zion, 15:28 and sound an alarm in my holy mountain... " where? 15:31 James: Holy mountain... Yvonne: In Zion. 15:34 Ivor: Where's His holy mountain? Yvonne: In Zion. 15:35 Ivor: So God's people... sound an alarm, where? 15:37 In Zion... in Israel, 15:39 well evidently something must be coming upon... 15:42 Israel... blow the trumpet, send the warning, 15:45 "let all the inhabitants of the land tremble: 15:47 for the day of the LORD cometh, for it is nigh at hand; 15:50 A day of darkness and of gloominess, 15:52 a day of clouds and of thick darkness, 15:55 as the morning spread upon the mountains: 15:57 a great people and a strong; 15:58 there has not been ever the like, 16:00 neither shall be any more after it, 16:02 even to the years of many generations. " 16:04 Yvonne: Hmmm... 16:06 Ivor: So now he's saying, "Listen, an army is coming... " 16:09 Peter is quoting from the chapter 16:11 that says, "an army is coming... 16:13 because of the sins of Israel," okay, let's read on, 16:17 For... "The appearance of them is as the appearance of horses; 16:21 and as horsemen, so shall they run. " 16:24 Now, we need to put something in context here 16:26 because what Peter is doing is, 16:28 he is quoting from the Book of Joel... 16:29 the Book of Joel... in its original context 16:32 is speaking about the Kingdom Babylon 16:34 that would overthrow Jerusalem, would overthrow Israel, 16:38 people of Israel, but what Peter is doing is, 16:41 he's saying, "Listen, just as Babylon overthrew Israel 16:45 before the time of Christ, because of their sin 16:48 in putting Christ to death, he is warning... 16:50 he's like a trumpet voice warning something's coming, 16:54 if you don't repent, the same thing that happened to us 16:57 back in the day is going to happen again. 17:00 James: It's a judgment. Ivor: It's a judgment. 17:02 James: Babylon is a judgment on old Jerusalem 17:03 and there's another judgment that's going to come upon 17:05 present Jerusalem... Peter's saying. 17:07 Ivor: That's right... so, it's as though Peter is saying, 17:09 "another nation... " right, "is coming upon you 17:12 if you don't learn from what happened the last time, 17:15 if you don't repent... " so now he's quoting these horsemen 17:18 but I want you to notice how Joel chapter 1 verse 6 17:21 describes these same horsemen, all right, 17:24 Joel chapter 1 verse 6, the Bible says here, 17:26 "For a nation is come up upon my land, 17:28 strong, and without number, 17:30 whose teeth are as the teeth of a lion 17:33 and he has the cheek teeth of a great lion. " 17:36 So we've just seen this mighty army great... without number... 17:39 and now they're being compared to having... 17:41 as having Lion's teeth, 17:43 I want you to go to Revelation chapter 9 17:45 and just notice verse 8, 17:47 in fact, one of you can stay in Revelation 9 17:49 because we're just going to jump back and forth 17:51 a little bit to the Book of Joel and Revelation 17:52 so, read Revelation chapter 9 verse 8 17:55 and let's see what that says. 17:56 Yvonne: "And they had hair as the hair of women, 17:58 and their teeth were as the teeth of lions. " 18:01 Ivor: Okay, this is a brief description of an entire... 18:04 an army... an army of horsemen, if you read the whole context 18:08 they're being described as having Lion's teeth 18:11 and so is there a comparison here, 18:12 is there a connection? James: Yes. 18:14 Absolutely, what we're seeing... 18:15 what we're going to see is that the Book of Joel 18:18 is in essence... giving us this outline, as it were, 18:21 symbolically speaking of what's going to happen 18:24 under the seven trumpets, seven warnings, right, 18:28 and notice again with me, Joel chapter 1 verse 19, 18:31 in Joel 1 verse 19, the Bible says here, 18:34 "O LORD, to thee will I cry: for the fire has devoured 18:38 the pastures of the wilderness, 18:40 and the flame has burned all the trees of the field. " 18:44 James: Thou shalt not steal, come on now... 18:47 All: Laughing... 18:49 Ivor: What does Revelation 8 verse 7 say? 18:51 James: It says, "the trees were burned up... " 18:52 the third of all the trees were burned up 18:54 and all the green grass was burned up... 18:56 Ivor: So, in Joel chapter 2... Joel is using symbolism 19:00 to describe a nation being destroyed. 19:02 James: Judgments, judgments, judgments... judgments. 19:04 Ivor: So this is how we know, one of the ways that we know 19:06 that what's happening in Revelation chapter 9 19:08 is not literal, it is symbolic language 19:11 describing judgments coming upon various nations. 19:15 Let's just look at a few more, in Joel chapter 2 verse 10, 19:19 Joel chapter 2 and verse 10, the Bible says here, 19:23 "The earth shall quake before them; 19:26 the heavens shall tremble: 19:28 the sun and the moon shall be darkened, 19:30 and the stars shall withdraw their shining... " 19:32 you know what happens when you open up the... 19:35 the... what is it... the fifth seal or sixth seal? 19:37 James: It's the fifth seal. 19:38 Ivor: Fifth seal... it talks about the sun 19:40 and the air being darkened as a result of this army... 19:44 James: This locust army... 19:45 Ivor: Locust army, this locust army. 19:47 James: And in Joel, it's also locust... 19:49 because the first verses talk about the locust army. 19:51 Ivor: Absolutely, absolutely, 19:52 it mentions the term "Locust" right? 19:54 So now, let's go... let's... 19:56 we're in the Book of Joel, chapter 2, 19:58 let's look at verse 28 and 29 20:01 and in verse 28 and 29 it says this, 20:03 "And it shall come to pass afterward, 20:05 that I will pour out my spirit upon all flesh; 20:07 and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, 20:09 your old men shall dream dreams, 20:12 your young men shall see visions: 20:14 And also upon the servants and upon the handmaids 20:17 in those days will I pour out my spirit. " 20:20 You know what? 20:22 If we follow this pattern and look at what happens 20:24 after the fifth and sixth seal, speaking about this Locust Army, 20:29 you have Revelation chapter 10 20:31 which is the call for God's end-time people 20:34 to prophesy again, 20:36 and He pours out His Spirit upon His people... 20:39 and they begin to have visions and dreams. 20:43 James: It's like the former rain and the latter rain. 20:44 Ivor: Absolutely. 20:46 James: Which is... let's go to Joel chapter 2 and verse... 20:51 now check this out... Joel chapter 2... 20:53 because you didn't get this so I can have this one. 20:55 verse 23... check this out, "Be glad... " 20:58 this is Joel chapter 2 verse 23, 21:00 read it for us Jason, are you there? Joel 2:23... 21:02 Jason: Yes, "Be glad then, ye children of Zion, 21:05 and rejoice in the LORD your God; 21:07 for he hath given you the former rain moderately, 21:10 and he will cause to come down for you the rain, 21:14 the former rain, and the latter rain in the first month. " 21:17 James: Check that out... now he's implied and implicated 21:21 in my thievery right now... so... 21:23 Jason: Oh great... I'm an accessory. 21:25 James: But the Book of Revelation is borrowing 21:28 from the Book of Joel... borrowing from the Old Testament 21:31 the Book of Revelation is really a distillation 21:34 or summary of the entire Bible 21:35 and so when we look at these symbols, 21:37 we identify them and we unpack them, 21:39 by going back to the Old Testament stories 21:41 and we've got to get those stories right, 21:43 we have to understand those stories 21:45 so we know that Joel was a story about 21:46 alarm and trumpet blowing 21:48 that brought judgments and or... repentance 21:51 and that's where we take transfer the Book of Revelation, 21:54 the trumpets bring alarm and warning 21:56 and talk about judgments and that's how we understand 21:59 the Book of Revelation by going back and understanding 22:02 those symbols in the Old Testament. 22:03 Ivor: Absolutely, let's... let's look at verse 31 22:05 and we'll just look at a few more verses 22:07 before we close this connection or establish this connection 22:10 with the Book of Joel and other trumpets, so verse 31... 22:13 Yvonne: In which chapter? 22:14 Ivor: This is chapter 2 and verse 31... 22:17 James: Of Joel? Ivor: Right... 22:18 "The sun shall darkened... turned into darkness, 22:20 and the moon into blood, 22:21 before the great and the terrible day of the Lord. " 22:25 Now, remember, we're talking about 22:26 a sequence of events, you look at the trumpets, 22:28 you look at the trees being burned, 22:32 the first trumpet... 22:33 you go down to the fifth and sixth trumpets, 22:35 this great army... 22:36 and then you see here that the sun and the moon 22:39 shall be darkened before 22:40 the great and terrible day of the Lord, 22:42 that brings us down to the sixth seal 22:44 which parallels the sixth trumpet... 22:46 and so, there are these connections, 22:50 let's jump to chapter 3 and verse 11, 22:53 let's just go to verse 11, it says, 22:55 "Assemble yourselves, and come, all ye heathen, 22:58 and gather yourselves together round about: 23:00 thither cause thy mighty ones to come down, O LORD. 23:03 Let the heathen be wakened, 23:05 and come up to the valley of Jehoshaphat: 23:07 for there will I sit to judge all the heathen round about. 23:12 Put ye in the sickle, for the harvest is ripe... " 23:15 the whole Book of Joel... you have this parallel language 23:19 with the events that are occurring in the seven trumpets 23:23 so it's important for us to understand 23:25 that if we want to unlock... unfold the seven trumpets, 23:30 we've got to take Peter's statement... 23:32 the only way we get to Peter's statement 23:34 is by seeing that fire... fell from heaven on that day, 23:37 Peter quotes the Book of Joel and so, here's what we know, 23:41 that the Book of... the Book of... 23:42 the seven trumpets are going to be a story 23:47 of how warnings were being given 23:49 to the enemies of God's people, remember, who was the... 23:53 who were the... who was the church's first enemy? 23:55 Their first enemy... in the early Christian era 23:58 was not Rome... it was Israel... 24:00 so this trumpet warning is to Israel... 24:04 "Israel, if you don't repent, 24:06 something's going to happen to this nation... " 24:08 Did something happen to that nation? 24:09 It absolutely did and that's what we should be looking for 24:12 in the first trumpet, this is God's mercy call 24:15 the trumpets are about God's mercy... 24:18 His warnings before judgment comes. 24:20 Yvonne: Just expanding on that a little bit... 24:24 in Joel 2 and verse 13 where it says, 24:28 "And rend your heart, and not your garments... " 24:30 don't give a superficial repentance. 24:33 Ivor: Yes, this is genuine repentance 24:36 and by-the-way... what happens at the altar of incense? 24:39 It's intercession... 24:40 what did Jesus do on the cross for His enemies? 24:43 He prays, "Father, forgive them, they know not what they do. " 24:46 What does Jesus say to us? Pray for your enemies, 24:50 so the prayers of the saints are going on 24:53 throughout the duration of the seven trumpets, 24:55 what are they praying for? 24:56 They're not praying, "Lord, destroy my enemy... " 24:58 they're praying... 24:59 "Lord, please open the hearts of our enemies... " 25:03 because that's what they've been called to pray for 25:05 but the time comes where just as they reject this prayer, 25:09 God has to bring probation closing upon them, 25:13 so you have this probation closing 25:15 upon each of these... powers 25:17 as we go through the trumpets in a sense. 25:20 James: And it is... it is a trumpet judgment 25:22 is also mingled with mercy and so God is manifesting mercy 25:27 and that's why He's blowing the trumpet, 25:28 it's kind of like when Ivor and I were sitting at 25:30 dinner the other day, you know, I'm a little older, 25:33 my sense of taste isn't as refined as Ivor's is... 25:35 he's a lot younger than me 25:36 and we were eating this tofu and it's off a little bit 25:39 and I can see Ivor, he's like... "hmmm... " 25:41 I'm like, "what?" he's like, "My tofu is off" 25:43 and I'm like, "Well, is mine off? 25:45 Why don't you taste a piece of mine?" 25:46 I hadn't touched it... so he takes a piece of mine and said, 25:48 "It's off too... " and I'm like, "Ah, thank you" 25:50 in other words... that was a warning, 25:52 that was a blowing of the trumpet... 25:54 Ivor: It's love... James: But it's love because 25:56 "I don't want you to eat all that... 'off tofu'" 25:58 and this is what God is saying, 26:00 that's what God is saying to us, 26:01 the trumpets begin with this message 26:03 of this picture of intercession 26:05 and then the trumpets get ready to be blown 26:07 and as they're blown... they're calling us back to God, 26:09 calling us back to God... 26:10 and the only way that God can do that 26:12 and the only way the He must do that 26:14 and that is sometimes 26:15 during these judgments, they wake us up... 26:16 that make us aware of our situation 26:19 and so I know people are going to have questions 26:21 and we need to let them know how they can ask those questions. 26:23 Jason: And that's exactly why they should e-mail us at 26:26 sss@3abn. org 26:28 sss as in Salvation in Symbols and Signs at 3abn. org 26:32 James: Yvonne, will you pray us out? 26:34 Yvonne: Sure, "Father God, we thank you 26:37 so very much as your presence has been with us Lord 26:39 and we just ask for your continued guidance 26:42 be with all of our Viewers, 26:44 be with us Lord as we continue to study your Word, 26:46 in Jesus' name, amen. " 26:48 All: "Amen... amen... " 26:50 James: So, we're going to continue on... 26:52 and we're going to into the first trumpet 26:54 in our next session, it's going to be good... 26:55 it's going to be good. 26:57 Yvonne: Amen, it's great. |
Revised 2018-08-30