Salvation in Symbols and Signs

The Sealed Book -part 2

Three Angels Broadcasting Network

Program transcript

Participants: Ivor Meyers (Host), James Rafferty (Host), Jason Bradley, Yvonne Lewis

Home

Series Code: SISS

Program Code: SISS000018A


00:31 That was rich... rich, rich, rich...
00:34 rich in faith and hope and love, I got more than my share,
00:38 that's how I feel right now, I just feel filled up...
00:40 filled up... we looked at Revelation chapter 5
00:43 and we didn't get all the way through
00:46 but I think it will be good for us to kind of summarize
00:48 what we do have... as we go in and finish it up
00:50 because there's so much there... it is worth going over again
00:54 and just saying, "Okay, where did...
00:55 what have we got, what have we got...
00:57 I don't know... maybe we should, maybe we should...
00:58 Yvonne: Oh no... pop quiz...
01:01 James: Boom... fill in the details...
01:04 see where our Viewers are, you know,
01:07 well, let's pray at least first, shall we? All right, Ivor...
01:10 Ivor: "Heavenly Father, we want to ask you
01:12 that you bless us as we open your Word,
01:14 Father, we thank you for the
01:16 bread of life that you give to us,
01:18 that you feed us Lord, you ask us to pray,
01:21 'give us our daily bread' and so we're praying that today Lord,
01:23 give us this day our daily bread,
01:26 fill us with your love, with your grace
01:29 and we just pray this in Christ's name, amen. "
01:32 All: "Amen... "
01:33 James: So, we got a problem and we got a solution,
01:36 we got a response to the solution, what's the problem?
01:38 What's the problem in Revelation chapter 5?
01:41 Jason: No man could open the seal.
01:44 James: Hmmm... hmmm... so what?
01:46 What is that... what's the seal, what do you mean,
01:48 "No man can open the seal?" What does that mean?
01:50 What is that... what is that... what is it talking about?
01:53 Jason: Foretelling the future of humanity.
01:55 James: Yes, our future is sealed up,
01:57 our fate is sealed up and no one can alter it,
02:00 no one in heaven, no one in earth,
02:01 no one under the earth, we looked at Enoch, I mean,
02:03 he had a close walk with God, he's in heaven,
02:05 he was so close with God
02:07 that God said, "Hey, come on home with me"
02:09 he cannot alter our destiny with death,
02:11 this scroll is the history of Planet Earth,
02:14 it's written inside and outside,
02:16 there's nothing missing and it's sealed up
02:18 and it's in the hands of the Lord because
02:19 "the earth is the Lord's and the fullness thereof... "
02:22 but Satan is contending for it,
02:24 he's contending for us and this planet, he wants it,
02:26 and so there has to be an answer
02:29 but John doesn't see an answer and how do we relate...
02:32 what was the Old Testament story related to that?
02:34 Ivor: So we connected it to the story of Ruth
02:36 because we see it at a term, "the Root of David... "
02:39 which we saw... points us back
02:42 to that story of Ruth in which Ruth and Naomi...
02:47 don't have a future because their spouses have died
02:51 and so, they have no hope of a lineage,
02:57 that's the problem in that story
02:59 and we saw that there was a beautiful parallel
03:02 between the story of Ruth
03:04 and Boaz... who steps up to be the redeemer,
03:08 he's the nearest of kin,
03:09 that word literally means redeemer,
03:11 so the problem... just going with the problem...
03:14 is... they have no future, they have no future,
03:18 no lineage, no offspring, that's the problem
03:21 which is the same problem of humanity
03:23 in Revelation chapter 5, there's no future,
03:26 our future is sealed,
03:27 doomed... death... destruction, that's the problem.
03:30 James: And then we went into the solution
03:32 and the solution is... the Lamb, the Lion of the Tribe of Judah,
03:36 the Root of David,
03:38 He has prevailed where we have failed,
03:41 He has done for us what we couldn't do for ourselves
03:44 and it's really powerful because one of the elders...
03:47 and we identified the elders in Chapter 4
03:49 as one of those who's been redeemed,
03:50 one of those who is raised with Christ,
03:52 one of the elders comes to John and taps him on the shoulder
03:55 and says, "Hey, John, weep not... "
03:57 answer... solution... "behold the Lion of the Tribe of Judah,
04:01 behold the Lion of the Tribe of Judah...
04:03 you're not called to prevail, you're not called to overcome,
04:06 you're called to connect with Christ,
04:08 He's the One who has prevailed and as you connect with Him,
04:10 you will overcome...
04:12 as you connect with Him, you will prevail,
04:13 because He's the prevailer, He's the overcomer. "
04:16 Ivor: We parallel that again back to the story of Ruth
04:19 and Boaz is the answer to Ruth's problem,
04:23 right, Boaz comes... he calls... remember in the story
04:27 he brings the elders together in the gate...
04:30 where is Jesus gone?
04:32 He's gone into the gates of heaven,
04:34 He gathers the elders and then...
04:36 He's making this purchase not only of Ruth
04:38 but of the land that was part of the whole package,
04:43 if you will, and so... here you have Christ saying,
04:47 I'm going to redeem the woman, by-the-way... that woman...
04:50 is a Gentile woman with a Hebrew mother-in-law,
04:52 this New Testament Church...
04:54 but her mother-in-law... Hebrew... Old Testament church.
05:00 James: She was a Gentile...
05:02 Ivor: Exactly, and what does she say?
05:03 "Your God will be my God... " right,
05:05 this is exactly what the people in these churches,
05:07 "You're people will be my people... "
05:09 so, and it's interesting because
05:12 Ruth's job is to work in the field,
05:16 to bring in the sheaves, that's what she's doing
05:20 and that's what attracts Boaz's eye there,
05:23 "Who is this woman who is working in the field?"
05:25 Right, and so, in a greater sense,
05:28 that "working in the field" is bringing in the sheaves
05:31 and that's... that's what Christ wants to happen
05:33 within His church, He wants her to multiply
05:35 multiply seed... offspring... and so,
05:38 it is because of Christ's redemption...
05:40 Christ saying... "I'm going to take this woman as my own,
05:42 and if you take the woman, you got to take the land too. "
05:45 "Yes, I'm going to take the land too... "
05:46 He's redeeming...
05:48 and that's why the chapter uses that verse...
05:51 "they're excited because He has redeemed us... "
05:54 our Boaz has stepped in...
05:56 so it's like Christ saying, "Look... "
05:59 we were talking about this earlier,
06:01 that He set up that story of Ruth and Boaz,
06:04 because if that did not happen, Jesse would not have come,
06:08 David would not have come,
06:09 and the Messiah would not have come, technically speaking,
06:12 so He's... He's saying,
06:13 "Look, just as there would be no hope for the Messiah
06:17 if that redemption did not happen,
06:19 so I stand before you now, as the Root of David,
06:22 remember, remember, so I'm showing you now
06:26 that had I not stepped in, mankind would have no future. "
06:30 James: And it's inclusive, God is inclusive...
06:33 so, we don't just go to the New Testament
06:35 and try to argue that... "Yeah, after the... the...
06:38 the crucifixion of Christ and the gospel went to the Gentiles,
06:41 and they were included... "
06:43 the Gentiles were already included,
06:44 they were always included,
06:45 the story of Ruth as well as others proves that,
06:48 because it shows us the lineage of Christ, Messiah,
06:51 Redeemer Himself as connected to the lineage
06:54 that is bringing us back to the Gentiles as well as the Jews.
06:57 Ivor: Absolutely...
06:58 James: So we have it right there in the history,
07:00 we have it right there in the lineage of Christ Himself
07:01 and it's a beautiful picture if you think about it.
07:03 Ivor: It's a love story...
07:05 James: It's a love story...
07:06 and that's what I like about this
07:08 because the Book of Revelation is going from one love story
07:10 to tell us the ultimate love story...
07:13 Ivor: The verse we talked about, we used 1st Peter chapter 1,
07:17 tells us that we're born again by the Word of God
07:20 right, and we see there the first seal,
07:24 is a rider on a white horse
07:25 which Revelation 19 identifies His name...
07:28 the name of the rider on that horse is "the Word of God,"
07:32 and so James one...
07:34 James: Yeah, it's twelve tribes scattered abroad,
07:36 Ivor: The twelve tribes scattered abroad...
07:37 James: That's who James is writing to...
07:39 Ivor: Right, and he says, of... what does the verse say?
07:42 James: "of his own will begat he us with the word of truth,
07:45 that we should be a kind of firstfruits of his creatures. "
07:48 Ivor: So, we're "begotten... by the word"
07:51 that's what Christ was saying in Revelation 5 demonstrating,
07:54 "Listen, I'm going to take this woman to myself
07:56 and raise up the name of the dead... "
07:59 James: Yes...
08:00 Ivor: that's what was happening in the story of Boaz
08:02 and it literally says,
08:03 "Boaz came to her to raise up the name of the dead... "
08:06 so Jesus says, "Okay, we're going to produce now... "
08:09 how does He produce? By His Word...
08:11 born again, born again,
08:13 a great multitude is being formed
08:15 that are... the Bible tells us "redeemed... "
08:18 these are they which were redeemed,
08:20 there's that word again, there's a kin...
08:22 redeemed from the earth, so it's a beautiful picture
08:25 that Christ is showing us in Revelation chapter 5
08:28 which, again, sets the stage for our understanding
08:32 of what the seven seals are all about.
08:34 James: Hmmm... hmmm... Yvonne: Hmmm...
08:35 James: And the 144,000... of Revelation 7 are called
08:37 the first fruits in Revelation 14...
08:39 they're the first fruits.
08:40 Ivor: Absolutely, so now you begin to see why these words...
08:43 they're not just thrown in there,
08:44 why is it calling them "the first fruits?"
08:46 Why does it say in Revelation 14,
08:48 "These are they which were redeemed... "
08:49 because Revelation 5 is trying to prep our minds,
08:55 "go back to the story of Ruth...
08:57 see what's happening there so that you can understand... "
09:01 look, if there was no Ruth...
09:03 we kind of talked about this a little bit earlier...
09:05 jumping a little bit into the seals but
09:08 the second seal is a rider on a red horse
09:10 which represents death, without Christ, right?
09:16 James: That's our destiny... Ivor: That's our destiny...
09:17 James: There's no white horse...
09:18 Ivor: There's not white horse...
09:20 James: There's a red horse, there's a black horse...
09:23 there's a pale horse, but there's no white horse.
09:25 Ivor: But because of what Christ does...
09:27 when the seals are opened up, you see a white horse first.
09:30 Yvonne: Hmmm...
09:33 James: So, history just got altered.
09:34 Ivor: "I jumped in between you and death"
09:36 James: Yes, yes, history has been altered.
09:39 James: So now, no man can alter history
09:41 but Christ is able to take and alter history,
09:43 He has altered history, so now when He opens the seals,
09:45 we see a different history and we see a different destiny,
09:47 we see... we see... what could have been
09:49 and what will be for some...
09:50 but we see something different taking place.
09:52 Ivor: He's our Prince on the white horse.
09:54 James: Yes... we have a whole...
09:56 He has re-written the history of the human race in Himself,
09:58 He's the second Adam...
09:59 He's the second head of the human race,
10:01 and in Him... we have a different destiny,
10:03 in Him, every human being has a different destiny.
10:05 When we talk to...
10:07 to Sister So-and-so... and Brother So-and-so...
10:09 because every person at the gas station,
10:10 every person at the grocery store,
10:12 every person that we meet is a brother or a sister,
10:14 we talk to them and say, "You have a destiny in Christ,
10:16 Christ has re-written your history
10:18 your history is bleak according to...
10:20 the scroll of this world...
10:22 but your history is rich
10:24 according to the destiny of Jesus Christ. "
10:26 James: And that is why we have response now,
10:31 okay, now we're going to do response,
10:32 that is why we see the response that we see,
10:34 the response that we see first comes,
10:36 let's just look at it again in Revelation chapter 5,
10:39 Ivor: You just said that Christ is the second Adam
10:43 and that's just such a beautiful picture because
10:46 He's the second Adam that marries the church
10:49 and the first Adam was death,
10:52 the first Adam... you know...
10:55 we're under that sentence of death,
10:57 almost like Boaz coming in to replace that...
11:00 that fallen husband... Christ comes in and says,
11:03 "Listen, I'm the second Adam...
11:05 just as the first Adam was put to death
11:08 and the bride came from his side,
11:10 so I have stepped in now, I die on the cross
11:12 and from my open side... comes forth... a new Eve... "
11:17 James: Wow! the water and the blood...
11:18 Ivor: The water and the blood, so, it's... it's... it's...
11:21 again this is a love story
11:22 from like so many different angles He's saying,
11:26 "Look, I'm coming in because your first husband led to death,
11:28 first husband... there was no hope...
11:30 but in me... you have a future.
11:33 James: Hmmm... hmmmm... yeah, that wound in the side...
11:35 at Calvary... that brought forth water and the blood...
11:38 the heart of Christ was broken
11:40 and that broken heart brings forth a new Bride,
11:43 we are created out of that broken heart,
11:44 we're created out of that water and that blood,
11:46 we're cleansed and we're empowered,
11:48 we're forgiven... it's a beautiful picture...
11:51 the story goes on... so the response...
11:53 the response... oh! in verse...
11:57 chapter 5 in verse 7,
12:00 now, I just want to touch on verse 6 again
12:03 because it talks about how "he beheld and lo,
12:06 in the midst of the throne and of the four beasts,
12:07 and in the midst of the elders,
12:09 stood a Lamb as it had been slain... " Calvary...
12:10 "having seven horns and seven eyes... "
12:13 and when we look at that seven... we're talking about
12:16 all inclusive... complete or perfect...
12:19 horns represent power,
12:21 eyes represent God's ability to see,
12:23 He's all powerful, He's omnipotent...
12:26 and He's all seeing, He's omniscient...
12:28 He's all powerful and all seeing okay, so this power...
12:32 all power... all-seeing God...
12:34 is now going to send this power out into all the earth,
12:37 the Holy Spirit is the third person of the Godhead
12:39 that's going to come to represent God
12:41 and fill His disciples on earth... Planet Earth.
12:44 Yvonne: What is "seven horns?"
12:45 James: Seven horns represent God's power... God's power...
12:49 the eyes represent His seeing, His omniscience...
12:52 the horns represent His power, horn is power,
12:55 so seven is just complete or perfect,
12:57 God is complete in perfect power...
12:58 and He's complete in perfect omniscience...
13:00 and He's sending all that power through His Holy Spirit to us...
13:03 on Planet Earth, then there's this response,
13:06 we are a little bit overwhelmed but can you imagine
13:11 the elders that are there
13:12 and the living creatures that are there,
13:14 you got to put yourself in their place in a sense
13:15 because the living creatures,
13:18 the representatives of all the unfallen universe,
13:20 the angels, the living beings that are there
13:23 are just... they've been sitting through this
13:26 for thousands of years, they're watching... watching...
13:28 and finally, it's come... finally it's come...
13:31 victory has come... and they are just...
13:34 notice the response... "And he came and took the book,"
13:36 verse 7, "out of the right hand of him that sat upon the throne"
13:39 Jesus is not taking the book,
13:42 the Lamb is not taking the book from God,
13:43 because God and the Lamb are one
13:45 but He's taking possession of Planet Earth
13:48 because God has been allowing Satan's accusation to continue
13:52 and there it sits in His hand untouched
13:54 but there's still controversy over it...
13:55 "No, no more controversy now, we have been given to the Lamb
13:59 we are the possession of Jesus Christ. "
14:01 Yvonne: So when He took the book
14:04 from the hand of Him that sits on the throne,
14:07 He... it wasn't that He was snatching the book,
14:10 He was accepting his assignment is that it?
14:12 James: Yes, He was accepting the reward...
14:14 He was accepting the fact that He has redeemed us,
14:17 "It's yours... here you go... "
14:19 it's kind of like when you go and you pay off your car,
14:22 you pay off your house and you go to the Bank
14:25 and they give you the title deed,
14:26 are they doing you a favor?
14:27 Are you ripping it out of their hand?
14:29 No, they're giving you what is yours.
14:31 Yvonne: Right... I got it...
14:33 James: So God is giving Christ what is His...
14:35 and that that is His... is us...
14:37 it's not just a piece of paper, no, this is us,
14:41 this is the whole planet, "What? know ye not
14:45 that you are bought with a price. "
14:47 Ivor: Yes, that's right.
14:49 James: "You've been redeemed by the blood of the Lamb,
14:50 you are not your own, yes, you're not your own. "
14:54 Ivor: That's exactly what Boaz does,
14:55 it actually says, "He purchases Ruth... "
14:58 that's what Christ did for us, He purchased us with His blood,
15:02 I want you to think about that... that excitement...
15:05 think about how bleak it must have looked
15:07 for Naomi and for Ruth and then think about the joy that...
15:13 it says the women named this...
15:16 so there was happiness in the Community,
15:17 "oh... " you know, women like go... "Oh... oh... "
15:21 well, this is the whole universe, sometimes like,
15:24 I don't know like... women are different than men,
15:27 and women love to know, I think,
15:31 what's going on in other people's lives
15:34 and they really, really, really get excited about it,
15:36 the genuinely get... "Oh... " you know...
15:38 and they get excited... and I'll be like...
15:39 "Oh great... " but they are...
15:42 "Oh... Susie got married... oh... "
15:43 and everyone's excited and I'm like,
15:46 "Okay, yeah, Susie got married, great...
15:48 what about the Bible... "
15:50 and it's almost like the universe is watching
15:56 the days of our lives... and they're genuinely like...
16:01 "Huh... because of Christ... look, humanity now has a future,
16:08 and there is genuine excitement,
16:11 you see what I'm saying... in heaven?
16:12 They're not excited for like... themselves...
16:15 they're excited because of us, you know what I'm saying,
16:19 that look... that lost sheep out of the one hundred
16:22 that now has a future again that is not returned
16:25 because of what Christ has done for them.
16:28 James: I love that, that's beautiful,
16:31 so... so... " he came and took the book out of the right hand
16:34 of him that sat on the throne.
16:35 And when he had taken the book," here it comes...
16:37 "the four beasts and the four and twenty elders
16:39 fell down before the Lamb,
16:43 having every one of them harps, and golden vials full of odors,
16:47 which are the prayers of the saints.
16:49 And they sung... " verse 9... "a new song, saying,
16:51 Thou art worthy to take the book,
16:53 and to open the seals thereof: for thou wast slain,
16:56 and has redeemed us to God by thy blood
17:00 out of every kindred, and tongue, and people,
17:03 and nation;" it's not done there...
17:05 "And hast made us unto our God
17:06 kings and priests: and we shall reign on the earth. "
17:11 Now, this is incredible, when you look at this picture
17:15 because we're not only redeemed, God doesn't leave us there,
17:18 sometimes, you know... oh yeah, "I'll accept Christ,
17:21 I'm redeemed and now I'll just go on living... "
17:23 no, God has made you kings and priests,
17:26 now a king... has dominion, he reigns...
17:32 he has sovereignty, you... on this earth...
17:36 you are king... you're not a servant,
17:38 you're not a slave to Satan or to sin...
17:41 you are a king now, you have sovereignty,
17:43 you're in charge and you're a priest,
17:46 now, priests point to the other side of that coin
17:50 in the Old Testament there were kings
17:51 and there were priests, but we're both...
17:53 we're both... we are kings, we have power,
17:55 we have sovereignty and we are priests,
17:57 in that... we are called to specifically connect with God
18:01 on a spiritual level, intercede for ourselves and for others,
18:05 we're called to this experience that God wants us to have
18:08 that is outlined in all the Old Testament
18:12 and even in the New Testament as priesthood...
18:14 you have priesthood... and you have kingship...
18:16 and this is what God wants to do beyond
18:19 simply forgiving us and redeeming us,
18:21 He wants us to step into a new relationship with Him,
18:25 it's identified as being kings and priests.
18:26 Ivor: It's interesting that what God calls us here
18:30 and what He desires... this king... kingship...
18:34 and priesthood... are spiritual, He wants us to be kings
18:38 and priests through the Holy Spirit...
18:41 it's very interesting that Satan is seeking to counterfeit
18:46 this kings and priests with his concept of
18:49 Church and State... which is outward control,
18:53 you know... outward force and it's quite amazing...
18:56 Satan seeks to counterfeit everything... every good thing
19:00 that God wants to do
19:01 so He says, "kings and priests...
19:03 I've made you kings and priests,"
19:04 what is Satan going to do? As we read through the book,
19:08 he's going to try to counterfeit this... this combination
19:12 and make it so... that it is external... outward
19:16 while nothing
19:17 is happening on the inside.
19:19 James: And he's going to make it singular.
19:21 Ivor: Yes.
19:22 James: And in fact, some translations of the Bible
19:23 will say, "I've made you a kingdom of priests... "
19:25 now that is not what God is talking...
19:28 because in a kingdom, there's one king...
19:31 there's one president, there's one head
19:33 and we all look to him,
19:35 "No, I've made you kings and I've made you priests... "
19:37 each one of us has responsibility over ourselves,
19:41 we don't give that responsibility
19:42 to another human being,
19:44 that responsibility is ours before God,
19:46 "I've made you kings and priests...
19:48 not a king... but kings and priests... "
19:49 so it's individual in our relationship with Him
19:52 and it's powerful... really.
19:54 Yvonne: It's also interesting to me...
19:56 when... when people... are going through hard times
20:00 and everything... know that God wants to elevate us,
20:04 to a different position not just you know...
20:08 not... not feeling lower than
20:10 but to elevate us to a different position,
20:13 we are kings which means the head of something
20:15 and priests which is the spiritual head
20:18 so... it's... it's like God is saying,
20:21 "I'm taking you to a new level... "
20:24 James: And I like that because
20:26 even though we are under presidents
20:30 and under government, there is a sense in which
20:34 each one of us has a sovereignty
20:38 and I think this Country of America stands for that
20:42 at least in its Constitution
20:43 that there's this individuality that we have
20:45 that does not come under the dominion
20:47 of any government or any king...
20:48 and there's this individuality we have
20:51 that does not come under the... the... the...
20:53 control of any religious system
20:56 or pastor or priest or anyone like that...
20:58 we ourselves are to connect with God in prayer...
21:02 in confession, in intercession,
21:04 and we ourselves are to be accountable to God
21:07 in our understanding our beliefs when it comes to
21:10 the things that have to do with our internal salvation
21:13 with the Kingdom of God...
21:15 we have to obey the laws of the land...
21:17 we have to obey the kings and the presidents...
21:19 that's important... but in these in these areas where we know
21:23 it's eternal and it's spiritual, we have one person
21:27 that we give account to and we are sovereign
21:29 in our relationship with that person
21:31 and that's really important here
21:33 because the blood of Jesus Christ
21:35 has freed us to be able to do that
21:36 and that's why we can't allow anything to step in
21:40 between us and the blood of Jesus Christ,
21:42 there's no other atonement... no other sacrifice...
21:45 nothing else... that can step in between that place
21:47 because it frees us to be the kings and priests
21:49 that we're called to be.
21:50 Yvonne: Right... right...
21:51 James: Okay, so then it goes on here and it says,
21:53 and this is where it gets even more intense,
21:56 in the last few verses
21:58 and I'm just going to be honest with you,
22:00 these last few verses 11, 12, 13 and 14...
22:03 when I first started studying the Book of Revelation,
22:06 I was just all about prophecy, all about it,
22:09 oh man! I had a cassette tape... now...
22:13 Jason, you may not know what a cassette tape is...
22:17 Jason: I was around... I was around for the 8 track...
22:21 James: It's okay, all right... and I would put that tape in
22:23 and I would listen to the half the Book of Revelation,
22:25 flip it over... and I just went through that
22:27 till it quit working, I mean... it...
22:29 I loved the Book of Revelation but I really got bored
22:31 like, "Okay, why do they have all these... "
22:34 I'm just going to say these "praise interruptions"
22:37 interruptions of praise I call them,
22:38 I mean, there are four verses and it is... it's four verses...
22:41 but when we look at the word count
22:43 it's probably half of the chapter is praise
22:45 and in chapter 4... same thing...
22:47 you know, "Holy, holy, holy," and they're all praising God
22:49 and they're all praising God, and they're all praising God...
22:51 and I'm like... "What about prophecy,
22:52 what about the beast, what about the Mark,
22:54 what about... you know... what is all...
22:56 why are we wasting... and I'm thinking,
22:58 "Wow... " now that I look back I am realizing,
23:01 because I missed the point, I missed the purpose of praise,
23:05 I missed the response because like Ivor said,
23:09 when you're... when you're going to a wedding,
23:11 when you're seeing people married...
23:14 you're excited and you're happy and you're just...
23:16 you're loving it and you want to just savor the moment
23:19 because... and it's just this time of rejoicing and praise,
23:22 and I wasn't going to the wedding...
23:24 I was looking for the prophecies...
23:26 I was looking for the history
23:27 but I wasn't going to the wedding
23:29 and when we actually step into the wedding,
23:31 we realize the bleakness of our situation...
23:33 we recognize in chapter 4 God's throne is set finally,
23:38 it's set... the rainbow is there,
23:40 justice and mercy has been reconciled,
23:41 the elders are there... down payment in earnest,
23:44 when we realize and we see this big picture...
23:46 and how it took place and...
23:47 and the impossibility for us and yet...
23:49 what God has accomplished for us... we get excited.
23:52 Ivor: There's a serious danger here because...
23:55 there's a Bible principle that says,
23:57 "By beholding... we become changed... "
24:00 and what we behold... in the Book of Revelation...
24:04 I mean, think about it, if our focus is on the beast,
24:08 the beast, the beast, the beast, the beast,
24:11 right... and "I just want to see the beast... "
24:14 James: Yeah, we're escaping...
24:16 Ivor: I want to see the beast, what begins to happen is
24:20 you may not realize it but your character
24:22 is not balanced by beholding the beast
24:24 and so, we can become very...
24:26 "You know what... I mean, just... "
24:29 James: beastly... Ivor: beastly...
24:32 man that guy is a beast... you know...
24:34 but so... so the Book of Revelation
24:36 is not the revelation of the beast
24:38 it's the revelation of the Lamb...
24:40 right, so the Lamb is the focus and the beast is secondary
24:44 it's important... we need to understand the beast
24:46 but if we don't have the character,
24:49 we might end up becoming like the beast, right,
24:54 knowing the truth but our hearts are very beastly.
24:59 James: This is really important because
25:01 in Revelation it says
25:02 there's this group of people who follow the Lamb wherever He goes
25:04 and the rest follow the beast... Ivor: Hmmm... hmmm...
25:06 James: and the way we are tells
25:08 whether we're following the Lamb or we're following the beast,
25:09 are we following the Lamb on a daily basis
25:11 or are we following the beast
25:12 because ultimately, we follow one or the other
25:14 because of the decisions we're making daily.
25:16 The other things I love about these verses is
25:18 they give us a little bit of a picture...
25:20 a little bit of a taste of eternity...
25:23 Revelation's seven churches does that, you know, you have...
25:25 "I want to make you a pillar in the temple,
25:27 I'm going to give you a new name with a white stone"
25:29 and... and... here we see...
25:31 it says here... let's just read the verses again
25:35 "And... and I... " verse 11...
25:37 "And I beheld, and I heard the voice of many angels
25:39 round about the throne and the beasts and the elders:
25:41 and the number of them was ten thousand times ten thousand,
25:43 and thousands of thousands;
25:45 Saying with a loud voice,
25:46 Worthy is the Lamb that was slain
25:48 to receive power, and riches, and wisdom,
25:50 and strength, and honour, and glory, and blessing.
25:51 And every creature... " verse 13...
25:53 "which is in heaven, and on the earth, and under the earth,
25:56 and such as are in the sea, and all that are in them,
25:58 heard I saying, Blessing... "
25:59 this is pointing all the way to the very end of times
26:03 see... it's going to give us a little taste,
26:05 a little taste of what it's going to be like
26:08 when everything is made new,
26:09 that's what Revelation does in the churches, in the seals,
26:13 it's a little taste of...
26:14 all the way down to the very end.
26:15 Yvonne: This also gives a little taste of the
26:18 fourth commandment too
26:19 "the earth and under the earth and such as are in the sea,
26:22 and all that in them is... " you know...
26:24 James: And verse 14... "and worshipped him... "
26:29 Ivor: Remember the location... right, the Table of Shewbread,
26:33 where is the Table of Shewbread? It's in the sides of the north,
26:36 what's happening there? That's where, every Sabbath,
26:39 the priests change the bread
26:41 showing that the Table of Shewbread
26:43 reveals Christ as Creator, that's why it's His throne,
26:46 because He's creating so... this context of redemption...
26:50 the Sabbath also is a sign of redemption...
26:52 it falls right in line with everything we're looking at
26:56 in chapter five... preparing us for the seals,
26:59 it's all about redemption... redemption... redemption.
27:03 Yvonne: Wow! James: Beautiful... beautiful...
27:04 We...
27:05 we are ready to open the seals,
27:08 yes, we are ready to open the seals... now because see...
27:11 understanding the seals is predicated upon
27:13 understanding chapters four and five of Revelation,
27:16 this is all about... what is this all about...
27:18 and when we get this figured out,
27:19 we start opening the seals, "Oh! wow, yes, got it now
27:22 now it makes sense because we got this...
27:24 we got... so... this... this is beautiful...
27:27 this is... it's in our pocket, God has blessed
27:29 and now we're ready for the seals,
27:31 now there may be some people who have some questions
27:33 that they want to ask video questions,
27:35 where are they going to send those questions, Jason?
27:37 Jason: To sss@3abn. org
27:40 that's "s" as in Salvation in Symbols and Signs,
27:43 @3abn. org video submissions, of course.
27:46 James: Yvonne, close us out with prayer, would you?
27:49 Yvonne: Yes, sure... "Oh Father God...
27:51 what a rich study in your Word,
27:53 thank you for being the divine designer,
27:55 we know that this is not by happenstance but by design
27:58 so we praise you and thank you so much
28:01 and as we continue to study your Word...
28:03 we pray for continued guidance
28:05 for your anointing and your power and your presence Lord,
28:09 thank you, in Jesus' name, amen. "
28:10 All: "Amen... "


Home

Revised 2016-09-01