Participants: James Rafferty
Series Code: AOT
Program Code: AOT000086
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00:12 Welcome to Anchors Of Truth from the 3ABN Worship Center.
00:17 Decoding Apocalyptic Prophecy with James Rafferty. 00:22 Hell friends and welcome to the 3ABN Worship Center 00:26 for the beginning of another Anchors series. 00:29 If you've visited us before or have tuned in for an 00:33 Anchors series, you know that we are anchored on the Rock, 00:35 Christ Jesus, first and foremost. 00:37 And secondly, anchored on the truth of God's Word. 00:40 And I'm particularly excited about the speaker because 00:43 my name is James, his name is... 00:44 My name is John, sorry, his name is James. 00:48 I just gave myself a new name. 00:49 James and John. 00:51 According to the Bible, the son's of thunder. 00:52 And tonight, he's going to thunder forth the Word of God. 00:56 The title of the message tonight is, The Lamb. 00:58 But the focus is the book of Revelation, encased not in just 01:02 the symbols and the signs there, but the most powerful focus; 01:06 the gospel of Jesus Christ. 01:08 And so invite your friends and family members 01:10 to join you for this broadcast. 01:12 You will not be disappointed. 01:14 Also tomorrow night at seven o'clock, 01:16 and then Friday evening. 01:18 And so for the next four nights after this one, a total of five, 01:23 Pastor James Rafferty will share with us from the 01:26 book of Revelation the gospel of Jesus Christ. 01:29 So thank you for tuning in tonight. 01:31 Before we go any further though, we always like to invite the 01:33 presence of God to continue with us. 01:35 So bow your heads as we seek the Lord's power this evening. 01:40 Heavenly Father, we thank You for the goodness of Your Word. 01:44 We thank You for the power that is found therein. 01:48 We also pray, Lord, tonight that You'll connect our hearts and 01:50 lives through the work of Your Holy Spirit. 01:54 Go forth and reach around the world and unify us 01:59 under the unction of the power that is only capable 02:03 as we open our hearts and make ourselves available. 02:06 We pray also a blessing on Your manservant tonight. 02:09 Anoint his lips, open his mind, may he connect with heaven 02:14 that earth may be blessed. 02:15 And as we are blessed, Father, we pray also a blessing 02:18 on Your manservant that Your name may be 02:20 glorified and honored. 02:22 In Jesus name we pray, amen. 02:25 I'm also privileged tonight to be able to share the music. 02:28 I thought about a number of songs, and one that comes to 02:31 my mind, as a few days ago I was reading the book of Ecclesiastes 02:35 specifically the second chapter. 02:37 And it talks about how frivolous life is. 02:40 All the accomplishments, all the things we gather to ourselves, 02:44 all the material wealth. 02:45 When you really think about it, the wise man says, 02:48 "It's all vanity, vanity. And a chasing after the wind." 02:52 And so tonight as I minister in music, I pray that your 02:55 first decision and your first choice outside of the 02:59 wealth of this world will be to give yourself to Christ 03:02 and gain salvation, and not the chasing of the wind. 03:27 Every heart is filled with longing 03:35 to be free from all life's pains. 03:42 Yet the search through earthly treasures 03:51 always ends in vain. 03:57 Only God who made the heavens 04:06 can satisfy our souls. 04:13 Apart from Him and all His meaning 04:21 all things fade as they begin. 04:29 And hearts deceived can only know 04:38 the chasing of the wind. 04:49 All achievements, all possessions; 04:57 all with time will turn to dust. 05:05 But only God will be our reason 05:13 for deep and quiet trust. 05:20 He will guard us from the dangers 05:29 that will gladly make men fools. 05:37 Apart from Him and all His meaning 05:45 all things fade as they begin. 05:53 And hearts deceived can only know 06:02 the chasing of the wind, 06:11 the chasing of the wind. 06:24 Why do we live without Jesus? 06:33 Why do we face another day? 06:41 He is the life that sustains us, 06:49 the only hope for us today. 06:55 So tell me, why do we live, 07:02 why do we live without Him? 07:34 Amen. 07:37 Why do we live without Jesus? 07:40 Why do we live without Jesus? 07:42 We don't, do we. 07:46 Good evening. 07:47 It is good to be here this evening. 07:49 I hope you brought some Bibles with you. 07:52 And you'll want to open up to the last book of the Bible, 07:54 the book of Revelation. 07:56 We're going to be studying that all week long. 07:59 Revelation is the final book of the New Testament. 08:04 And I believe this book has a very important message 08:09 for the world today. 08:11 What do you think? 08:12 It sure does. 08:14 Our series is called, Decoding Apocalyptic Prophecy. 08:19 Does that sound pretty intense? 08:22 Decoding Apocalyptic Prophecy? 08:24 I like that title. 08:26 It seems a little complicated, but basically what we're 08:28 going to be doing this week for the next five meetings together, 08:32 sessions together, on pillars of truth is we're going to be 08:35 looking at the book of Revelation and emphasizing 08:40 specifically certain symbols. 08:42 We don't have time to go through all of the 08:44 symbols in the book of Revelation. 08:46 So I've chosen just a few choice ones. 08:48 Tonight, we're going to be looking at the 08:50 symbol of the lamb. 08:51 Tomorrow, we're going to look at beasts and dragons. 08:55 It can be scary unless you've understood the 08:57 symbol of the lamb first. 08:59 Then we'll look at the everlasting gospel. 09:00 That will give us kind of a reprieve 09:02 from the beasts and the dragons. 09:04 Then we'll look at Babylon. 09:05 And then we'll look at marks and seals. 09:09 All of this, I think, is going to come together 09:11 in the context of what we're going to be looking at tonight. 09:16 Well let's begin with our title, shall we? 09:18 I think that's a good place to start decoding. 09:20 What does that word mean? 09:22 To decode means to translate from a code into the original 09:27 language or form. 09:29 The book of Revelation was written in code. 09:32 A secret code, if you will. Symbols. 09:34 And so we want to decode it. 09:36 We want to take those symbols and find out what they 09:38 actually mean in the original language. 09:41 Alright, that's pretty simple. 09:44 Apocalyptic. 09:46 Now that's a little bit more challenging. 09:48 But the word is actually the basis for "revelation." 09:54 The word "revelation" is "apocalypse" in the Greek. 09:59 And "apocalyptic" comes from that. 10:01 Now there's a different understanding of the 10:04 word "apocalypse" today, "revelation" today. 10:08 It's kind of like... 10:09 Well, I'm 50 years old. 10:13 And when I say, "That person is sick," 10:19 that means that the person isn't feeling well. 10:22 There's something wrong with them. 10:24 Their health is down. 10:25 But my son, who's 20, when he says, "That person is sick," 10:32 he has a completely different meaning. 10:35 He means, "That person is cool. 10:38 Those guys are really something." 10:41 Words take on different meanings even with different generations. 10:44 I might say, "That looks really tight." 10:48 Meanings that you need to loosen it up a little bit. 10:51 Maybe the belt is too tight. 10:53 My son would say, "That is tight." 10:57 He again means something totally different. 10:59 "That is cool. That is really something." 11:02 It's the same with this word "apocalypse." 11:06 The original meaning, "revelation," is to uncover. 11:09 It's to reveal, it's to show us something. 11:12 But when you look at "apocalypse" or "apocalyptic" 11:16 in relation to the way the world views it today, 11:19 well it means, widespread devastation or ultimate doom. 11:25 It is catastrophic in its meaning 11:29 in the minds of many people. 11:30 So, many times when people think about the book of 11:33 Revelation, that's what they think about. 11:34 They think about doom, they think about gloom. 11:36 They think about very negative events taking place 11:39 on planet earth. 11:41 So decoding, getting to the original meaning of apocalyptic, 11:48 the unveiling of or the revelation of prophecy. 11:51 Now what does that word "prophecy" mean? 11:53 Well, this third word is probably the easiest 11:57 to understand among the three. 11:59 But it still needs definition in context of the Bible. 12:02 It simply means, to foretell. 12:05 It means, to predict something about the future 12:09 under divine inspiration. 12:11 We want to, in other words, we want to go back to the original 12:15 meaning of what God has revealed about the future. 12:21 Decoding apocalyptic prophecy. 12:24 Pretty simple, isn't it? 12:25 I think if we can get that, we can pretty much 12:27 get the whole series. 12:29 We want to basically understand what God has originally show us 12:32 about the future, what He has unveiled to us about the future. 12:38 Now, one of the ways that we could summarize 12:42 everything that we're going to be covering this week 12:45 is by looking at a verse in the first book of the Bible. 12:49 We're in the last book, but if you go all the way back 12:51 to the first book, Genesis 3 and verse 15. 12:55 If you look at this verse, you're going to find that 12:59 this verse is a summary, if you will, if you want to be that 13:02 simple, of the entire message of the book of Revelation. 13:09 Now what do I mean by that? 13:11 Well, I believe the book of Revelation is a summary 13:14 of the entire Bible, of the plan God has laid out 13:18 and revealed to us in the Bible. 13:20 And I believe that plan began in Genesis chapter 3 and verse 15. 13:27 So when we go back to Genesis chapter 3 and verse 15, 13:30 we have what most of us understand to be the very 13:34 first promise given to us in the Bible. 13:39 And this is a prophetic promise. 13:41 Notice what it says here in Genesis 3:15. 13:45 God is speaking, "And I will put enmity between thee 13:52 and the woman..." 13:54 "Thee," being Satan or the serpent. 13:57 "...between thy seed and her seed; 14:00 it shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise his heel." 14:05 Now this prophecy, the very first one given in the Bible 14:09 after the fall of Adam and Eve, this prophecy is speaking 14:12 specifically about the conflict that was to take place 14:17 between the woman; God's church, God's people, 14:21 Adam and Eve, and the serpent; the devil, the one that led 14:25 them into sin. 14:27 And the enmity that is promised... 14:29 Well that word actually might surprise you. 14:31 It means hatred. 14:35 Hatred. 14:36 God has put a place in the Christian experience, 14:42 in the experience of men and women, for hatred 14:44 towards things, certain things in this earth. 14:47 Now I think that all of us listening tonight can 14:51 understand this if we think about what's 14:53 going on in our world today. 14:54 There are certain things that most of us just naturally hate. 14:58 I hate the fact, on a smaller level, that I went to the 15:04 gas station a week ago and paid two dollars and twenty cents... 15:10 ...and 20 cents... 15:13 ...and a... ...two... 15:15 Three dollars and twenty cents. 15:16 Whoa, wait a minute. 15:18 That was 2006, wasn't it. 15:21 No, I know that because I moved to Oregon in 2006 15:23 and gas was $2.15 a gallon. 15:26 I'll never forget that. 15:29 Maybe I will. 15:30 But anyway, last week I paid $3.20, and now 15:34 I'm looking at $3.79, $3.89, and $4.00 plus. 15:40 In a week's time. 15:42 So I hate that. 15:44 Why do I hate that? 15:45 Well not just because it's taking money out of my 15:47 pocket that I need for other things. 15:48 That's not the only reason. 15:50 The reason I hate that is because I don't know what 15:52 the reason for it is. 15:54 And therefore, it makes me think, "You know, this is pure 15:57 greed and selfishness." 15:59 And that's what I hate. 16:01 I hate selfishness, I hate greed, 16:03 I hate pain, I hate evil, I hate suffering. 16:06 I hate all the terrible things that are going on 16:08 on planet earth today. 16:10 That is supernatural. 16:13 That hatred, that enmity is supernatural. 16:17 God has promised to put that in our hearts. 16:20 And there are many people in this world today 16:22 who are looking out on this world and they're saying, 16:23 "I hate the things that are going on." 16:26 And sometimes we come to the conclusion that we 16:29 must therefore hate God, because He's the one that's 16:32 allowing all of these things. 16:34 But that's not the case. 16:35 God looks at us as we hate the things that are evil and 16:39 wrong and unjust, and He says, "Yes, now you know how I feel. 16:44 I hate those things too." 16:46 So this is what God has promised in Genesis chapter 3 verse 15. 16:51 He's promised to put this supernatural hatred, 16:54 because we love evil after the fall naturally, in our hearts. 16:58 And He's promised to do that. 17:00 And also, He has promised to bruise the head 17:04 of Satan, the serpent... 17:06 That means crush, destroy. 17:08 ...while he afflicts the heel. 17:11 Now this promise is fulfilled in Jesus Christ. 17:15 Genesis chapter 3 and verse 15 is actually speaking 17:19 in broad terms, in big brush strokes, of the entire 17:24 plan of salvation that we have in the Bible that 17:27 summarizes or comes together in the book of Revelation. 17:31 In the book of Revelation, you have a basic picture 17:34 of Jesus, the devil, and us. 17:38 You have Jesus rescuing us from the devil. 17:42 You have Jesus putting enmity in our hearts against the devil. 17:45 You have Jesus pulling us out of this horrible miry pit of sin 17:50 and placing us with Him in heavenly places 17:53 and crushing the devil under our feet. 17:55 That's what the book of Revelation is all about. 17:58 That's what it's communicating to us. 18:00 Now when we see this picture in Revelation 18:06 everything else comes into place, everything else settles 18:10 in its proper perspective. 18:11 We begin the book of Revelation in Revelation chapter 1 18:15 and verse 3. 18:17 Excuse me, Revelation chapter 1 and verse 1. 18:19 But we're going to look at Revelation chapter 1 18:21 verses 1 through 3. 18:22 Revelation 1:1-3 18:26 Let's open our Bibles there, Revelation 1:1-3. 18:30 "The Revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave unto him, 18:37 to shew unto his servants things which must shortly come to pass; 18:42 and he sent and signified it..." 18:44 That is, He symbolized it, He encoded it. 18:47 "...by his angel unto his servant John. 18:51 Who bare record of the word of God, and of the testimony 18:56 of Jesus Christ, and of all things that he saw." 19:00 Verse 3, "Blessed is he that readeth, and they that hear 19:06 the words of this prophecy, and keep those things 19:08 which are written therein: for the time is at hand." 19:16 These first three verses begin our introduction 19:21 into this last book of the Bible that is called, 19:23 the Revelation of Jesus Christ. 19:27 These first three verses set the tone for what we should 19:30 except in this book. 19:32 What should we expect? 19:33 Well we should expect that it's the revelation of... 19:37 ...Jesus Christ. 19:38 However, because this book is so vitally important to us 19:43 and the world, Satan has sought to conceal it, 19:49 to mask it, to confuse it, to give misunderstanding of it. 19:56 I was reading a blog on CNN just recently. 20:02 They post a religious blog on CNN. 20:04 And this blog was an interview with a biblical scholar, 20:09 an expert on the Bible. 20:11 Specifically on the book of Revelation. 20:12 And this expert was quoted as saying that the book of 20:15 Revelation was literally forced into the Bible, 20:19 into the canon. 20:22 That the book of Revelation doesn't even talk 20:26 about Jesus Christ dying for our sins. 20:30 That's what the scholar said. 20:32 That we don't even know who wrote the book of Revelation. 20:37 And I thought to myself, there is so much confusion 20:40 about the book of Revelation. 20:42 I have traveled, for the last 30 years of ministry, 20:44 I have traveled to South America and to Europe, 20:47 and I have traveled to the Middle East and to Asia. 20:51 And everywhere I go, people are afraid of 20:54 the book of Revelation. 20:55 Recently I was part of a training school, 20:57 a three and a half month training school with the 20:59 ARISE Institute, which is part of Light Bearers Ministry. 21:01 And there was a young student there who came to me and 21:03 she basically told me, she said, "You know," 21:06 she was raised a Christian, she said, "You know, 21:08 I've never read the book of Revelation." 21:13 Do you know why she's never read the book of Revelation? 21:16 Do you know why people... 21:17 Because people are afraid of the book of Revelation. 21:20 It's a scary book. 21:21 To a lot of people it's a scary book. 21:23 And yet it says, it's the revelation of Jesus Christ. 21:28 I got a tweet recently from a friend of mine who works as a 21:33 mission outreach, campus outreach at Harvard 21:35 out there in Boston. 21:37 And he said Al Gore was there. 21:38 He was standing right next to Al Gore's security guy. 21:41 He said he felt really safe. 21:43 And Al Gore was preaching, you know, sharing, talking about 21:46 climate control, global warming. 21:50 And Al Gore said something like this; 21:53 the current disasters, natural disasters taking place in our 21:57 world today is like a nature walk through the 22:00 book of Revelation. 22:02 See, everyone is just down on the book of Revelation. 22:04 Now I think there's a reason for that. 22:08 I believe that there is a certain somebody 22:13 who would rather not have us read and study and understand 22:17 this book that God has blessed. 22:19 Once? No. Twice? No. 22:21 But three times. 22:23 That word "blessed," by the way, is really interesting. 22:25 If you look up the original word there in the Greek, it means, 22:28 to be happy, to have joy. 22:31 Now my wife was raised in a Christian home. 22:34 And she was raised believing in Jesus, baptized as a young girl. 22:39 And she remembers her first Revelation seminar. 22:41 And when she went to that Revelation seminar, 22:43 from that point on she starting having nightmares 22:45 about beasts, about dragons. 22:47 I was in Pakistan and my translator told me that 22:49 when he started reading the book of Revelation, 22:51 his father, who was an elder in the church, 22:54 and the local pastor came to him and said, 22:56 "Listen, don't read the book of Revelation. 22:59 If you read this book, scary beasts will come 23:01 to take you at night." 23:04 True, I heard it with my own hears. 23:06 So I believe that this book has been misunderstood. 23:10 Have you ever been misunderstood? 23:13 You know what it's like to be misunderstood? 23:15 You know what it's like when you communicate something 23:17 and your husband says, "What was that you said to me?" 23:20 "Honey, honey, honey. Careful, careful." 23:22 I was sitting in St. Louis late last night. 23:25 I got rerouted because our plane had mechanical problems. 23:29 No, it was weather problems. 23:30 No. What kind of problems it was, I don't know. 23:32 They don't tell us anymore. 23:34 And so I missed that connection and so I got in really late. 23:37 You know, you get into the airport late and you start 23:39 observing people and you see some really cranky people. 23:41 There was this one guy and he was asking this baggage guy 23:45 about where to find his bag. 23:47 And the guy misunderstood him and this guy got really upset. 23:50 Pretty soon voices were raised, tempers were flaring, you know. 23:54 And I thought, oh it is so easy to be misunderstood. 23:58 Now I believe that is what's going on in the 24:01 book of Revelation. 24:02 It's not the revelation of Jesus to many people. 24:04 It's the revelation of the dragon. 24:06 It's the revelation of the beast. 24:07 It's the revelation of the antichrist. 24:08 It's the revelation of beasts and dragons and 24:11 judgments and plagues. 24:12 "Stay away from that book, it's scary." 24:16 So what I'm thinking is that tonight we can begin 24:21 our journey through the book of Revelation with a 24:24 completely different emphasis. 24:26 One that I think is going to change our 24:28 understanding of the book. 24:30 And then in that context we can focus on these other symbols, 24:39 these other prophetic pictures that are also in there and 24:41 very vital, like dragons and beasts and marks and seals. 24:45 I think that... 24:47 Well let me put it in words of that hymn. 24:50 Anywhere with Jesus I can safely go. 24:56 Anywhere with Jesus I can safely go. 24:58 So if we can find Jesus first in the book of Revelation, 25:03 then we can safely go anywhere else. 25:05 And it won't be difficult. 25:07 I don't know if you're aware of this, but the first time 25:10 that a beast is mentioned in the book of Revelation 25:12 is close to the second half of the book. 25:14 Revelation 11, then Revelation 12 and 13. 25:16 There's no beast, at least not a bad one, mentioned in 25:19 the first half of the book. 25:21 The first half of the book of Revelation is really 25:23 all about Jesus. 25:26 That's really what it's about. 25:28 In fact, the symbol of the lamb is the most repeated symbol 25:32 in the book of Revelation. 25:33 I don't know if you knew that. 25:35 The beast is mentioned, at least the bad ones, 25:37 26 times in the book of Revelation. 25:41 The lamb is mentioned 29 times in the book of Revelation. 25:45 And that's not all. 25:48 You see, one of the reasons why we've misunderstood this book... 25:51 And I think any one of us can misunderstand this book. 25:54 In fact, Martin Luther who was a Catholic monk, 25:58 and then found the Bible chained to a pulpit, 26:00 began to read it and became the herald of the Reformation, 26:05 the Protestant Reformation. 26:07 Martin Luther once said in his commentary, 26:11 introductory commentary to the book of Revelation, 26:13 this was in about the year 1522, he said, 26:16 "The book of Revelation," very similar to the CNN blog, 26:20 "does not belong to the canon. 26:22 It shouldn't be there. 26:24 Because Christ is neither known in it nor taught in it." 26:30 That's what he said. 26:31 And then he went on to expand, you know, 26:34 about the book of Revelation. 26:35 I don't know what he said in the commentary, but I do know this. 26:37 Eight years later in 1530, Martin Luther completely 26:42 changed his opinion. 26:45 He wrote that Christ is in it and He is with His people 26:50 all the way through the book of Revelation. 26:52 Now that is what I'm hoping that we're going to 26:53 experience this week. 26:55 In fact, I'm hoping we can experience that tonight. 26:58 That we can experience that Christ is 27:00 in the book of Revelation. 27:01 And not only in it, but He is all through 27:04 the book of Revelation. 27:06 Now I think one of the reasons why Martin Luther may have 27:08 struggled to understand this is because... 27:12 Well, if you look up the word "Jesus Christ," 27:15 you're going to find that He's only mentioned 27:18 about 13 times in the book of Revelation. 27:20 And four of those times are in Revelation chapter 1 27:23 in the introduction. 27:25 And another three times is in the last chapter, chapter 22, 27:28 in the epilogue, in the close. 27:30 So between the prologue and the epilogue, 27:32 you only have six mentions. 27:34 Because you take those seven out; 27:35 four in the beginning, three in the end; 27:36 four and three is seven, take those, deduct those 27:39 from thirteen, you've only got six left. 27:40 So between Revelation chapter 2 and Revelation 21, you only have 27:45 Jesus Christ mentioned six times. 27:47 That's once every three chapters. 27:48 Well no wonder people don't think it's about Jesus. 27:52 Ha, but wait a minute. 27:54 Jesus is represented all through the book of Revelation 27:57 as the Lamb. 28:00 Twenty-nine times. 28:01 So you add Jesus Christ to the 29 and you've got 42. 28:04 Then He's mentioned again and again in different forms. 28:08 He is described as the Son of man in Revelation chapter 1. 28:12 He is described as a Messenger in Revelation chapter 8 28:16 and in Revelation chapter 10. 28:17 And He that lightens the earth with the glory of God 28:20 in Revelation 18. 28:22 He is described as the Word of God in Revelation chapter 19. 28:25 And so you've probably got at least 50 mentions 28:28 of Jesus Christ in symbols as well as in name 28:32 in the book of Revelation. 28:33 He begins to swallow up beasts and dragons, friends. 28:37 He consumes all of that. 28:40 I have learned over the years that you find 28:42 what you're looking for. 28:44 And we need to look for Jesus in the book of Revelation. 28:51 That's what we're going to do here. 28:52 We're going to look for Jesus. 28:54 Now we begin our journey with... 28:58 Well before we get there, let me just give you a number. 29:01 And I want you to write this down. 29:03 The number is 29:05 145/715/2122. 29:18 You got that? 145/715/2122. 29:22 Now, if you call that number in the U.S., you're going to 29:25 hear a message, first in English and then in Spanish, 29:27 and it's going to say, "Your number cannot be 29:30 completed as dialed. 29:31 Please check the number and dial again." 29:33 Because the number I gave you is not a telephone number. 29:37 It's not a telephone number. 29:39 So don't call that number as if you're calling 29:41 a telephone number. 29:44 This number is a special code that is going to help 29:49 anyone who is afraid of the book of Revelation. 29:53 It's going to help them to see the book of Revelation 29:56 in a different way. 29:58 Now what does that code, 145/715/2122, mean? 30:08 Well for those of you who like to figure out mysteries, 30:10 I'm going to give you 24 hours. 30:14 It's a challenge. 30:15 You've got 24 hours to figure out what the code, 30:17 145/715/2122, means. 30:22 If you can figure it out, do it. 30:25 And when you do it, you're going to see the book of Revelation 30:27 in a completely different light. 30:29 It has something to do with reading the book of Revelation. 30:33 Alright, enough mysteries. 30:36 If you're afraid of the book of Revelation, 30:38 you're in the right place at the right time. 30:40 Why? 30:41 Because our focus is going to be to figure out the lamb. 30:47 The first most prolific, most consistent symbol 30:52 in the book of Revelation. 30:54 What does the symbol of the lamb mean? 30:58 Well let's open our Bibles to another book actually written 31:01 by the same author. 31:03 And that book is the book of John. 31:06 John chapter 1. 31:09 And I want you to look here in John chapter 1 at verse 29. 31:14 The context of this verse is John the Baptist. 31:19 John the Baptist is baptizing in the river Jordon. 31:23 The people are coming to him, he's giving a message of 31:25 repentance and baptism for the taking away of sins, 31:30 the cleansing of sins. 31:31 And on a specific day, John sees Jesus coming to be baptized. 31:39 John chapter 1 verse 29, "The next day John sees Jesus 31:42 coming unto him, and saith, 'Behold the Lamb of God, 31:47 who takes away the sin of the world.'" 31:53 So this verse is really clear, crystal clear. 31:57 John sees Jesus, Jesus Christ, coming to him and he says, 32:01 "Behold the Lamb of God." 32:05 So who's the Lamb of God? 32:07 Jesus is the Lamb of God. 32:08 And what does it mean that He is the Lamb of God? 32:12 What does that signify? 32:14 What is the symbol of the Lamb of God? 32:17 He's come, John says. 32:19 "Behold the Lamb of God who takes away..." What? 32:23 "...the sins of the world." 32:25 This was a fulfillment of the Old Testament sanctuary types. 32:29 All of those sacrifices for sin pointed to Jesus. 32:33 All of those animals that were slain, 32:35 that were slain, that were slain. 32:36 All of that blood that was spilled, spilled, spilled. 32:40 All pointed to Christ. 32:42 You know, there are times when people asked me this question. 32:45 "Why did God require all of those animal sacrifices? 32:52 Why did God require that? 32:54 It just seems like such a bloody God, you know, 32:56 with all that blood. 32:58 He just wants all that blood." 33:00 And my response is, "Well honestly, 33:03 God didn't require that at all. 33:06 Sin required that." 33:09 See, God was simply showing us, "This is what sin does. 33:13 And this is not what sin does primarily to these animals. 33:16 These animals are a symbol of Me, 33:19 the Lamb of God that's coming to take away the sins of the world. 33:23 Sin requires that of Me. 33:25 Actually, it requires it of you, but I'm going to 33:28 take your place. 33:30 Sin requires you to die. 33:32 And I want to show you what that looks like. 33:34 And if you hate the fact that all those animals had to be 33:37 slaughtered and all that blood had to be drained out and 33:40 all that blood had to be let loose, if you hate that idea, 33:44 I'm with you. 33:46 Because I hate it too. 33:48 I hate sin and I hate what sin has caused, 33:50 what sin has brought. 33:51 And I'm so thankful that you hate it too. 33:53 That's the enmity that I promised to put in your hearts. 33:56 That enmity towards sin and its results." 34:00 So Jesus is this Lamb. 34:02 Jesus is symbolized by the Lamb of God. 34:05 Now this is really profound. 34:07 Because when you get into the book of Revelation, 34:09 you have this revelation of Jesus Christ. 34:10 And by the way, just for the record, Revelation 1 verse 5... 34:14 You remember that scholar, that Bible scholar, 34:17 that Revelation scholar talking about the book of Revelation 34:20 that says that Jesus didn't even die for our sins; 34:22 the book of revelation doesn't say that. 34:23 Well Revelation chapter 1 and verse 5. 34:28 Verse 5, "And from Jesus Christ, who is the faithful witness, 34:32 and the first begotten of the dead, and the prince of 34:35 the kings of the earth. 34:37 Unto him who loved us, and washed us from our 34:41 sins in his own blood." 34:44 So there you have it right there in the very introduction of the 34:47 book of Revelation you have the gospel of Jesus Christ. 34:50 He has washed us from our sins in His own blood. 34:55 No, God did not require those sacrifices. 34:57 Sin did. 34:58 And today, we kill animals just to eat them. 35:02 And God says, "You know, that breaks my heart. 35:04 Sin breaks My heart. Death breaks My heart." 35:07 In fact, 1 Corinthians chapter 15 tells us that 35:10 death is an enemy of God, and God is going to destroy it. 35:14 Now that's the God I like. 35:15 That's the kind of God I like. 35:17 And this is what the book of Revelation indicates 35:20 as you read chapter by chapter and verse by verse. 35:25 The problem with, I think, our approach to Revelation 35:28 many times is that we jump right in the middle of 35:30 the beasts and the dragons. 35:31 Boom. 35:33 Revelation 13. 666. 35:34 What's it all about? Who is the beast? 35:36 Is it a computer? Is it a microchip? 35:38 Is it going to go in the hand or the forehead? 35:39 Let's figure it all out. 35:41 The only way we can figure it all out 35:43 is to start at the beginning. 35:45 If God wanted us to start in Revelation 13, He would have 35:48 put that as the first chapter. 35:50 But He didn't. 35:51 It's Revelation 1, then Revelation 2, 35:53 then 3, then 4, then 5. 35:54 Why? Well, anywhere with Jesus I can safely go. 36:01 Now one of the places that we need to go with Jesus 36:05 before we get into the beasts... 36:07 Because we're going to find that the beast is really 36:09 the composite... 36:11 How can I say this nicely? 36:14 The beast that we're going to encounter later on in 36:18 Revelation is a summary or a composite of... 36:23 ...you and me. 36:26 It's a composite of us. 36:28 The beast is us. 36:29 It's selfishness. 36:31 And that's what we are in essence. 36:33 So it's the conglomeration of all of the powers of the world, 36:38 the greedy selfish powers of the world, 36:40 into one monopoly that is going to force and control 36:43 everyone to go along. 36:45 And the only way that we can actually opt out of that? 36:49 It's not going to be by how much money we have. 36:51 If you're rich, you're going to have to receive the mark. 36:54 It's not about how much ammunition or strength you have. 36:57 If you're mighty and strong, you're going to have to 36:59 receive the mark. 37:00 It's not about escaping, per se, into this little... 37:04 if you're poor, in poverty, you're still going to have to 37:07 receive the mark. 37:08 It's really about our connection with Jesus. 37:13 But part of the problem with our need to connect with Jesus 37:17 is the revelation that comes when we see Jesus; 37:22 the revelation of Him and the revelation of us. 37:26 Have you noticed that? 37:28 Well Jesus understands that. 37:30 And so as we begin our journey in the book of Revelation, 37:32 we encounter first and foremost, the seven churches. 37:35 This is the first part of the book of Revelation. 37:37 And it's a very important part of the journey. 37:40 Revelation introduces us to ourselves 37:43 in relation to these churches. 37:44 Now when I say "ourselves," I'm not 37:46 just talking about Christians. 37:47 I'm talking about people who aren't Christians. 37:49 All of us are introduced in some form or another 37:52 in the seven churches. 37:54 And what Jesus says to us there, first and foremost, is this, 37:58 "I am with you no matter what I show you about yourself." 38:06 Now there are a lot of people who aren't going to be with us 38:08 if they really knew how we thought and how we were inside. 38:12 But God is not like that at all. 38:13 And that's what the book of Revelation 38:15 reveals in the churches. 38:16 Before John is given the specific messages of 38:19 rebuke and counsel and correction and affirmation 38:21 of the churches, he's shown a picture of Jesus 38:23 among the seven candlesticks. 38:25 Those lamp stands represent the seven churches. 38:28 Now two of those churches stand without rebuke; 38:31 Smyrna the second church, and Philadelphia the sixth church. 38:34 They have no rebuke. 38:36 These guys are doing pretty good. 38:37 But Jesus doesn't stand with just those two churches. 38:41 He doesn't say, "Well I'm going to be with these two. 38:43 When all you five other churches, when you get 38:45 your act together you can join us over here 38:47 in the winner's circle." 38:48 I mean, Christians sometimes do that. 38:50 Churches sometimes do that. 38:51 We have our denominational circles and we're better 38:53 than those guys, and those guys are better than those guys. 38:55 But Jesus doesn't. 38:57 Jesus is standing among all of the churches. 39:00 Get the picture now. 39:02 Because it is a picture of His unconditional 39:04 love and acceptance. 39:06 He knows and tries the reigns of the heart. 39:10 "I know your works." "I know your works." 39:12 "I know your works." 39:13 Nothing can be hidden. 39:17 In fact, some of the conditions of these churches 39:20 is pretty bleak. 39:23 I get around quite a bit and at times I talk to people 39:27 in evangelism who I'm visiting. 39:30 Maybe they're not members of the church. 39:32 And they point out to me, and rightly so, that 39:34 the church is just full of a bunch of hypocrites. 39:39 And I have to be honest with them and I have to say, 39:41 "Yea you're right, you know. 39:42 There are a lot of hypocrites in the church, that's true." 39:47 However, I want you to look at this vision in 39:51 Revelation chapters 2 and 3. 39:53 Because Jesus says that He still loves the hypocrites. 39:58 In fact, there are people in the church that are in such 40:00 bad condition that they make Jesus want to throw up. 40:05 They make Him sick. 40:06 That's the Laodicean church, Revelation chapter 3. 40:10 But Jesus says in the context of that church... 40:12 And it's only one of two churches that He actually 40:15 emphatically says this to. 40:16 He says it to Philadelphia and He says it to Laodicea. 40:21 He says to Laodicea, "I love you." 40:23 "As many as I love, I rebuke and chasten." 40:27 Now I love that because that's talking about 40:29 unconditional love. 40:30 Jesus is saying, "I love you even though you make Me sick." 40:33 "I love you even though you make Me want to throw up." 40:36 And so in that context, here's something really interesting. 40:41 Jesus says, "You know, I'd rather you were hot or cold." 40:45 Now when I'm talking to someone out in the world 40:47 and they're saying, "The church is full of hypocrites," 40:49 I'm saying, "Well you're kind of cold, you know. 40:52 And Jesus says that He'd rather have a hypocrite like you 40:57 in your condition than in the condition they're in. 41:00 He's rather have them cold than lukewarm. 41:02 So definitely you're on target here. 41:05 But what He'd really like is for you to be hot." 41:08 Are you with me? 41:09 In other words, the message of the book of Revelation 41:12 is not a message of condemnation. 41:14 It's not a message of denomination. 41:17 It's a message of the gospel and the 41:19 unconditional love of Christ. 41:20 And wherever Christ went, whatever He did, 41:23 He was seeking to break down barriers. 41:25 I'm not here to tell Christians that they're 41:27 better than worldlings. 41:28 I'm not here to tell worldly people that they're 41:30 better than Christians. 41:32 I'm not here to tell anyone they're better than anyone else. 41:34 The ground is even at the foot of the cross. 41:37 I'm here to say that we have a need for a Savior. 41:41 Everyone has that need. 41:43 If you're a hypocrite, you have that need. 41:44 If you're a religious hypocrite, you have that need. 41:46 If you're cold, you have that need. 41:47 And if you're hot, well if you want to remain hot, 41:49 you have that need. 41:50 Jesus makes this very clear in this first vision in Revelation. 41:57 It makes it safe to approach Jesus. 42:00 Revelation's seven churches gives us the ability 42:04 to come into His presence without feeling condemnation. 42:07 And to know that here's somebody who will accept us, 42:10 here's somebody who loves us, in spite of ourselves. 42:14 We need that in the world today. 42:16 And people in the world need that from us. 42:18 And we can have that from Jesus if we just ask for it. 42:21 If we expect it, if we look for it, He can give us that gift. 42:24 Now the next thing we see in Revelation is beautiful, 42:27 it's so significant and so powerful. 42:29 It's in Revelation chapters 4 and 5. 42:31 It's a picture of the throne room of God. 42:34 Revelation chapter 4 sets the throne in heaven. 42:37 And here's where we first find, in Revelation 4 and 5, 42:41 the symbol in the book of Revelation of the lamb. 42:46 Now I love this symbol because it's not just used 42:49 in the context that we've already identified, 42:52 but it's interpreted in that context. 42:55 In other words, when John said, "Behold, the Lamb of God 42:58 who takes away the sins of the world," 42:59 we knew that was talking about Jesus. 43:01 We knew that meant that the symbol of the lamb 43:03 represents Christ dying for our sins. 43:07 In Revelation chapter 5, we have the same vision taking place. 43:13 John sees on the throne, which begins in chapter 4, 43:17 this being, God, sitting. 43:19 In Revelation 5, he sees that there is in His right hand 43:22 a scroll or a roll. 43:24 It's sealed up with seven seals. 43:26 Okay? 43:27 And this roll cannot be opened by anyone, 43:32 any man, in heaven or on earth or under the earth. 43:35 Now I believe that is specifically talking about 43:40 the gospel of salvation. 43:43 And why do I mean that? 43:44 Well because we know today that there are people in heaven, 43:47 men in heaven. 43:49 Now I believe that when you die, you rest in the grave. 43:54 That's why we put that, you know, epithet, "Rest In Peace." 43:59 There is no such thing, I don't believe, 44:02 the Bible doesn't teach, that when you die 44:04 you go directly to heaven. 44:05 Now the Bible does indicate that death is like a sleep. 44:09 Jesus calls it a sleep in John chapter 11. 44:12 And I know last night when I got into St. Louis, 44:14 I was suppose to drive right here because I was suppose to 44:16 get in at 6, but I got in at 12. 44:19 And I picked up a rental car and I went right to a hotel. 44:22 And I thought, you know, it's a lot colder here 44:25 than from where I'm at. 44:26 It was the 40's and 50's in Oregon. 44:29 And when I got here, it was in the 20's. 44:32 And my wife told me, you know, to pack a jacket. 44:35 And I didn't listen to her. 44:44 I got more amen's from the ladies out of that one. 44:48 So when I stepped out of St. Louis, 44:50 I immediately woke up. 44:52 When I stepped out of the airport, I woke up. 44:53 And I was awake. I was awake, awake, awake. 44:56 I mean, the car couldn't get warm. 44:58 From the rental car place to the hotel, it couldn't get warm. 45:01 So I pulled into the parking lot and I ran in there, 45:03 and I went and parked and I got in my room. 45:05 And I was wide awake and I thought, I'm just going to be, 45:07 I'm just going to have to spend some time reading and studying, 45:09 because I'm not going to fall asleep. 45:11 And so I jumped into the bed and I was grabbing a book. 45:13 And I was just getting ready to say a prayer. 45:16 Just a short prayer, you know, before I read and study. 45:18 And so pretty soon I'm just feeling it, 45:20 and it just hits me like, boom. 45:23 And I turned off that light and I hit the pillow. 45:25 And the next thing I knew it was eight o'clock in the morning. 45:27 That's how it went. 45:31 Death it like that. It's like a sleep. 45:33 And that's why Paul says, "I don't know if I 45:35 want to be present in the body, or absent from the body, 45:37 and present with the Lord." 45:38 Because that sleep is that time that we're unconscious of. 45:42 The next thing we know, we're with Jesus. 45:45 This is what the Bible teaches. 45:47 And I love that whole idea, because it's so beautiful 45:50 in how it pictures God. 45:52 And so you have people, in Revelation chapter 5, 45:55 that are under the earth. 45:58 People like Daniel who are resting until Jesus comes. 46:01 Now Daniel was a man who was blameless. 46:04 Talk about an incredible experience 46:07 in a political climate. 46:09 Daniel was a man who was blameless before God. 46:11 And he was a politician. 46:13 They couldn't find any dirt on him. 46:17 Is he worthy to open the book? 46:20 No, he's not worthy to open it. 46:22 There are men in heaven. Who's in heaven? 46:25 Enoch is in heaven. 46:27 Elijah is in heaven. 46:29 How did Enoch get to heaven, by the way? 46:31 He walked so closely with God that God said, 46:34 "Hey Enoch, we're closer to My house today 46:36 than we are to your house. 46:37 Why don't you just come home with Me?" 46:39 He wasn't found, for God took him. 46:41 Is he worthy to open the book? 46:43 No. 46:45 There are men on earth, powerful men. 46:49 Quote unquote, holy men. 46:50 Are they worthy to open the book? 46:52 Now man in heaven, no man in earth, 46:54 no man under the earth in worthy. 46:55 John begins to weep, but as he's weeping an elder comes to him 46:58 and taps him on the shoulder and says, "Weep..." 47:01 What's the next word? 47:02 "...not." 47:07 See, John is weeping because he knows this book is important. 47:10 He knows it's significant. 47:11 He knows this scroll needs to be opened. 47:14 This scroll, I believe, represents the history 47:20 of the entire world from beginning to end. 47:22 God's counsel, His commandments, the prophetic roll, the life 47:25 and the history of nations and individuals. 47:27 It's all recorded in this scroll and it cannot be altered. 47:31 And you could summarize that history, 47:33 the history of this world this way. 47:34 "All have sinned and come short of the glory of God," 47:37 and, "The wages of sin is death." 47:41 And that's why John is weeping. 47:42 Because it can't be altered. 47:44 It can't be changed. 47:49 But then the elder comes to him and the elder says, 47:51 "Dry your eyes, John. 47:53 I've got some good news for you. 47:54 There's no man in heaven or earth or under the earth 47:56 that can alter this history. 47:58 But behold... 48:00 And I'm reading right here, Revelation chapter 5 verse 5. 48:03 "...the Lion of the tribe of Judah, the Root of David, 48:06 has prevailed..." 48:10 Amen. 48:11 He's prevailed. 48:13 Jesus has prevailed where we have failed. 48:18 He's prevailed to open the book. 48:20 And John looks around for this lion. 48:21 You know, a lion symbolizes king, power, authority. 48:25 By the way, here is one of the first beast symbols 48:29 of the book of Revelation. 48:30 A lion is a beast. 48:32 In Daniel, one of the beasts is a lion. 48:35 Here in Revelation, this lion is a symbol, a beast symbol. 48:39 And who is it a symbol of? Jesus. 48:42 Don't be afraid of all the beasts in Revelation. 48:47 There are a couple you should be afraid of in a good sense. 48:49 We'll get to that. Maybe. 48:52 I don't know, we might spend the whole series just on the Lamb. 48:54 We'll see how it goes. 48:56 I don't want to cut this short. 48:57 We need to be grounded and rooted in the Lamb. 48:59 So John's looking around for this lion, verse 6. 49:04 "And I beheld, and lo, in the midst of the throne 49:06 and of the four beasts, and in the midst of the elders, 49:09 stood a Lamb as it had been slain..." 49:18 I love that verse in Isaiah that says, the lion and the lamb 49:22 shall lay down together. 49:25 You know what that's talking about? 49:27 It's talking about two opposites that are going to be reconciled. 49:32 A lion is going to eat a lamb now, but someday 49:34 they're going to lay down together. 49:36 In Christ, the lion and the lamb have come together. 49:39 Justice and mercy have come together. 49:41 God's throne is set in heaven. 49:43 The rainbow is there. 49:44 The rainbow symbolizes the two opposites coming together; 49:47 sunshine and rain coming together, 49:48 mercy and justice coming together. 49:50 And all of that comes together in the slain Lamb on the cross. 49:54 Because when you look to the cross, you see 49:56 the prerogatives of God's love, His heart, His kingdom. 50:01 You see them meeting together and kissing together. 50:03 You see justice, you see mercy. 50:04 I mean, when you look at the cross, you see justice. 50:07 When you look at the cross, you see mercy. 50:09 Both of them. 50:11 I could ask you the question, what do you see at the cross? 50:13 Justice or mercy? 50:15 And you could say, "Yes." 50:19 They are both there. 50:20 Powerfully demonstrated in the death of Jesus Christ. 50:24 We thought they were opposites. They're not. 50:26 The Old Testament is not contradictory to the 50:28 New Testament. 50:30 But both of them meet together in Jesus. 50:31 And this is why I love Revelation chapter 5. 50:34 Because this sets the stage for the rest of the book. 50:36 Revelation 5 identifies the lamb, the symbol of the lamb. 50:40 It tells us what it represents. 50:41 It represents Jesus slain for our sins. 50:43 It represents the fact that He is worthy to take the book 50:46 and to unseal its seals, to unroll this scroll. 50:53 Powerful when you think about it. 50:55 And so He comes, verse 7, and He takes the book 50:59 out of the right hand of Him that sits on the throne. 51:02 Why? Because He's prevailed. 51:04 Now that word "prevailed" is really powerful, 51:05 it's really interesting. 51:06 The word "prevailed" is the same word that is used 51:09 in the Greek, nikaó, for the word "overcome." 51:15 Every single one of the churches is admonished. 51:18 "To him who overcomes..." "To him who overcomes..." 51:24 Anyone tried that? 51:26 Overcoming? 51:29 30 years, 30 years, overcoming. 51:34 You ever get frustrated? 51:36 You ever feel like you're not really making progress? 51:39 It's not that we're necessarily doing the same exact things. 51:42 I mean, I was raised in a good Catholic home. 51:44 I went to church every Sunday, etc. 51:47 But when I learned about the Sabbath, fourth commandment, 51:50 I said, "Oh, I've been breaking the law." 51:54 Started going to church on Sabbath. 51:55 It's not that I stopped going to church on Sabbath, 51:57 but then there are other things that had escaped my notice. 52:02 Like the way I talk to my wife, at times. 52:07 Like the way I think at times. 52:10 Overcoming. 52:12 "To him that overcomes..." 52:14 It can be so frustrating that we want to just 52:16 throw up our hands and give up. 52:17 Well this is why Revelation 5 comes to our rescue. 52:20 Because Revelation 5 points us to the One who has overcome, 52:24 the One who has prevailed. 52:25 It points us to Christ as the One who is worthy 52:28 when none of us are worthy. 52:29 Understand this. 52:31 Revelation 5 is saying, "No one in heaven, 52:32 no one in the earth, and no one under the earth 52:34 is worthy, but Jesus has prevailed where we have failed." 52:38 And because of that, we have hope. 52:41 Now this is a great mystery. 52:42 Ephesians talks about this mystery of godliness. 52:46 But look in Revelation chapter 6. 52:48 Because from this point on... 52:49 And we only have five minutes left tonight. 52:50 But we're going to pick this up tomorrow. 52:52 We're going to pick up right where we left off. 52:53 We're not going to get to beasts and dragons 52:55 tomorrow, sorry about that. 52:56 We're going to pick up right where we left off. 52:58 Revelation chapter 5. 52:59 I want to show you something here 53:01 that's really intriguing to me. 53:02 In Revelation chapter 6... Did I say 5? 53:06 6, Revelation 6 verse 1. 53:09 "And I saw when the Lamb opened one of the..." 53:15 Okay. 53:17 The book is sealed, which means it's a mystery there. 53:21 There's something we can't understand. 53:22 It's sealed up, we can't understand it. 53:23 We can't read it, we can't get it. 53:25 Okay? 53:26 It needs to be unsealed. 53:28 We need to get this mystery, we need to understand this. 53:29 But no one in heaven or earth or under the earth can unseal it. 53:33 Then we see this lamb. 53:36 Which represents Jesus dying for our sins, 53:39 prevailing where we failed. 53:41 It represents the cross. 53:42 From now on, whenever you see the lamb in the book of 53:44 Revelation, think cross, think Calvary. 53:48 And if someone tells you that there's no Calvary 53:50 in Revelation, tell them it's in there 29 times. 53:54 It's beautiful. 53:57 And then it says in verse 1 of Revelation 6, 54:00 "I saw when," Calvary, the cross, 54:03 "opened one of the seals." 54:06 In other words, it is in the mystery of the cross that 54:09 all other mysteries are understood. 54:13 That's how we understand the things that are sealed. 54:17 It's through the cross, it's through Calvary. 54:19 All of our questions are going to be answered 54:20 through the cross and through Calvary. 54:22 The Lamb is going to open up to us the mysteries 54:25 that have been sealed and hidden. 54:26 He's going to show us everything we need to know. 54:28 This is why it's key for us to connect with Jesus. 54:32 We've got to do that in the beginning. 54:35 Because as we connect with Jesus in the beginning of 54:36 the book of Revelation, friends, everything else is 54:39 going to come together; 54:41 our understanding of prophecy, 54:43 how we relate to other people, 54:46 other Christians, other religions, 54:48 people in the world, life in general, 54:51 trials, evil, pain, suffering. 54:53 All is going to come together when we understand Calvary. 54:57 When we understand the deep unending love of God for us 55:04 it's all going to come together. 55:07 Take a deep breath tonight. 55:13 That breath is a revelation of God's unconditional love 55:20 for the entire world. 55:22 That breath cost God everything He has. 55:27 Everything. 55:29 God poured out all heaven to give you that breath of air. 55:33 God poured out all heaven to give us the gift of life. 55:37 Everything has been given to us in Jesus Christ. 55:41 And not just to us. 55:43 It's been given to the world. 55:45 We have this message, this everlasting gospel, 55:50 this good news message of how incredibly awesome 55:55 God's love is for the entire world. 55:58 We have this message to share with every nation, 56:01 kindred, tongue, and people. 56:04 And the adversary is doing everything he can to 56:07 get us off track, off focus, distracted, 56:10 to get us all caught up in things that are 56:15 almost insignificant when you look at this one truth 56:19 that unseals, that unlocks every other mystery; 56:23 this truth of Calvary. 56:27 And so it is that God is giving a message, 56:30 again tonight, maybe this whole week, 56:34 that must be the very pillar of truth. 56:41 And that message is Jesus Christ. 56:45 Paul says, "I would know nothing among you but Jesus Christ." 56:48 So with Luther, let the reformation continue. 56:53 Let us continue where Luther left off. 56:56 Let us make this paradigm shift in our minds. 56:59 Let us recognize that the book of Revelation is not about 57:01 beasts and dragons and judgments and plagues, 57:04 but it's about Jesus. 57:07 And let us pursue that with all of our hearts 57:11 and all of our strength and all of our soul. 57:13 Shall we do that tonight? 57:15 Amen. 57:17 Father in heaven, thank You so much for Jesus Christ. 57:20 Thank You for the revelation He's given us. 57:22 Thank You that He is the One that has unsealed 57:28 the mysteries of Revelation. 57:30 And thank You that He loves us, that He's given Himself for us 57:35 and for the entire world. 57:36 May this be our mode, motive, our theme, our purpose... |
Revised 2014-12-17