Participants: Ivor Myers (Host), James Rafferty (Host), Jason Bradley, Yvonne Lewis
Series Code: SISS
Program Code: SISS000030A
|
00:30 Here we go... we're in the seven trumpets...
00:33 we're in the seven trumpets, we are in the seven trumpets 00:35 but you're not going to get that feeling 00:37 when we read the first verse of Revelation chapter 8 00:40 because the first verse of Revelation 8 00:41 is actually the 7th Seal, 00:43 now what it's doing in chapter 8 is a mystery, 00:47 it's not a really mystery but it's just mysterious, 00:50 like why didn't they just leave that with the seven seals? 00:52 Why did they put it in with the seven trumpets? 00:54 We've got to remember in this context that 00:56 the chapter divisions of the Bible are not always accurate, 01:00 they're not inspired... the Bible was all written just 01:03 in one document, just one word after another 01:05 one chapter after another, we divided it up 01:07 to make it easier and sometimes when we divide, 01:10 we don't quite get it right, we think we do... we don't. 01:13 Some people have been led to the conclusion 01:15 that the seven trumpets must be part of the seven seals, 01:17 the seven seals open and then there are the seven trumpets. 01:19 Now, the seven seals are part of the six seals 01:22 the seven trumpets start a whole new epic, 01:24 a whole new picture and we'll see that as we get into it 01:27 but we want to start with prayer 01:29 and then, we'll jump right in. 01:30 Jason, you want to open us up with prayer? 01:32 Jason: Sure... "Dear Heavenly Father, 01:34 thank you for the opportunity to study your Word once again, 01:38 please be with us as we take a look at the trumpet scenes 01:42 and help us to understand what we are reading, 01:45 in Jesus' name we pray, amen. " 01:46 All: "Amen... amen... " 01:48 James: So Yvonne, let's just read 01:50 Revelation chapter 8 verse 1. 01:52 Yvonne: "And when he had opened the seventh seal, 01:54 there was silence in heaven 01:56 about the space of half an hour. " 01:58 James: Okay now, this seventh seal 02:00 is connected with the six other seals, 02:02 even though it's a new chapter, 02:04 I've actually crossed my chapter 8 out, 02:05 and I put it... it's the next verse to where it starts, 02:08 how do we know that? 02:09 Well, remember when the sixth seal was opened 02:11 and there were all these signs in the heavens 02:14 and all these people were hiding 02:15 and running for the rocks and the mountains 02:17 and saying, "Fall on us and hide us 02:18 from the face of Him that sits on the throne 02:20 and the wrath of the Lamb 02:21 for the great day of His wrath is coming, 02:23 who's going to be able to stand?" 02:24 Who shall be able to stand? 02:26 Okay, after that, we have chapter 7, 02:29 chapter 7 was an interlude, it was an interruption 02:32 and its specific purpose was to answer the question, 02:35 "Who shall be able to stand?" 02:36 Who's going to be able to stand? 02:38 those who are sealed... a great multitude that no man can number 02:42 answered the question... 02:43 we spent four sessions answering that question, 02:46 why? 02:48 Because it's an important question to answer, right? 02:49 Who's going to be able to stand? 02:51 Yvonne: Hmmm... hmmm... 02:52 James: So, if you are just going through the 02:53 succession of the seals... 02:55 just flowing from the early Apostolic Age 02:58 and you're moving through persecution, the Dark Ages 03:00 and the sealing and then the Millerite Movement, 03:02 you come into these signs and then the second coming of Jesus, 03:04 if you're flowing like that, once you get to chapter 7 03:08 the seal of God on the redeemed 03:11 has already taken place because Jesus is coming, 03:14 so you can take chapter 7, 1 through 8 03:15 and take those verses out of the way, 03:17 just put them aside, they've already taken place, 03:18 they fit back here, 03:20 the next verse is chapter 7 verses 9 through 17... 03:23 that's a picture of the redeemed around the throne in heaven 03:27 that's future to the Second Coming, 03:29 He's coming to get them and He's going to take them to heaven 03:31 and there's going to be this throne, 03:33 so, all those verses can be taken aside 03:34 and they can be put into the future, 03:36 in the succession... you understand, 03:37 the next verse we will read then will be Revelation 8 verse 1. 03:41 Ivor: So what you're saying is, if you just... if you... 03:44 just kind of shrunk Revelation chapter 7 03:47 and just looked at Revelation 8, verse 1 03:50 occurring right after chapter 6, the last verse, 03:54 "Who shall be able to stand?" And no one answers. 03:57 James: Right... and then there's silence... 03:59 and, of course, no one answers 04:02 because you can tell the inference is, 04:04 "Who's going to be able to stand?" 04:06 No one is saying, "I can stand... 04:09 I can... hey... I can do it" 04:11 not the righteous and not the wicked. 04:13 There's just this silence as the seventh seal is opened, 04:17 now, I want you to look at a verse with me, 04:18 this one's found in Zechariah and this one will basically 04:22 describe this whole scenario, Zechariah chapter 2 04:26 and Zechariah is right next to the Book of Matthew, 04:29 and Malachi... so you've got, 04:31 Matthew, Malachi and then Zechariah, 04:32 so its two books away from the New Testament Book of Matthew. 04:36 Zechariah chapter 2 and... can you read Yvonne, 04:41 are you there yet? Yvonne: Yeah. 04:43 James: Could you read 10 through 13? 04:44 Yvonne: Sure... "Sing and rejoice, 04:46 O daughter of Zion: for, lo, I come, 04:48 and I will dwell in the midst of thee, saith the Lord. 04:51 And many nations shall be joined to the Lord in that day, 04:54 and shall be my people: 04:55 and I will dwell in the midst of thee, 04:57 and thou shalt know that the Lord of hosts 04:59 hath sent me unto thee. 05:00 And the Lord shall inherit Judah his portion in the holy land, 05:04 and shall choose Jerusalem again. 05:07 Be silent, O all flesh, before the LORD: 05:10 for he is raised up out of his holy habitation. " 05:13 Wow... 05:15 James: You see that? "Be silent... be silent, 05:18 he is raised up out of his holy habitation. " 05:20 When Jesus comes... right now Jesus... 05:23 and we got to look at this in... as we get into this... 05:25 the trumpets... right now, 05:26 Jesus is wearing garments of priestly ministry, 05:28 when He comes, He's going to be wearing different garments, 05:31 and He's going to come 05:33 to deliver His people from their enemies... 05:36 we looked at Revelation 19:11, you know, 05:38 He comes on the horse with armies, okay, 05:41 so He's clad in vestures of righteousness, 05:43 He's clad in vestures of judgment, okay, 05:46 when He comes with the sword et cetera, 05:48 the whole world is going to be captive 05:50 because the Bible tells us, in fact Revelation 1:7 says, 05:53 "Every eye shall see Him... even those that pierced Him... " 05:56 "every... " and so everyone's just going to see that, 05:59 at first they're going to fight 06:00 and then they're going to stop and they're going to say, 06:01 "Who is going to be able to stand?" 06:03 And then there is silence, when the silence is broken 06:05 it's going to be broken by the voice of Jesus. 06:07 You know what Jesus is going to say? 06:11 "My grace is sufficient for thee" 06:13 that's... that's who's going to be... 06:16 whoever trust in my grace, you're going to be able to stand 06:19 that's going to be a glorious day 06:22 because right when we hear that, we're going to feel something 06:25 strange take place at our feet, 06:27 see, normally, you feel your feet on something, 06:30 you're either walking or what... but in that day, 06:34 our feet are going to feel like they're not on anything 06:37 because they're actually going to be 06:40 lifting up from terra firma and going up into the air, 06:43 we're going to meet the Lord... the Bible says, 06:45 "we're going to meet the Lord in the air in that day. " 06:47 Yvonne: That's exciting. 06:49 Ivor: I think there are a couple of things 06:51 as I'm looking at this chapter 06:54 talking about the seals 06:57 and specifically the sixth seal going into the seventh seal, 07:00 there seems to be a great failure 07:08 on the part of the wicked to understand who God is 07:10 because the question that's asked... 07:14 they're the ones that ask the question, 07:15 "Who shall be able to stand?" 07:17 and in their mind they're thinking, 07:18 "This God is so like... no one's going to be saved... " 07:23 and God... then the Book shows us 07:25 there's a great multitude... 07:27 James: that no man can number... Ivor: that no man can number... 07:29 "I don't know what you guys were thinking about me... 07:31 but my mission was never to destroy... 07:35 my mission was to save... " 07:36 so they misunderstand the character of God in that way 07:39 number two, sin deranges people 07:44 and what I mean by that is... as you look at Revelation 6 07:48 and again, this goes into the silence of Revelation chapter 7 07:51 but in Revelation 6... you have the wicked crying out, 07:55 "Hide us from the wrath of the Lamb," 07:57 from... you know, 07:58 "the wrath of the Lamb... " so they're crying out... 08:00 I want you to just think about that for a moment, 08:02 like, if you are leaving your house one day 08:05 you're walking down the street and you see someone... 08:07 James: Freaking out... 08:10 Ivor: burst around the corner, "run for your lives... " 08:13 and you're like... "what, what...?" 08:16 "run... it's a Lamb... a Lamb... " 08:18 you'd be like... you'd get ready to run... 08:21 James: And then you'd look at baa... baa... baa... baa. 08:25 Ivor: A Lamb? Right... they are crying out, 08:31 "hide us from the wrath of the Lamb. " 08:33 Yvonne: Hmmm... 08:35 Ivor: Jesus is not coming because He's seeking to destroy, 08:38 that's going to happen 08:40 but it's a misunderstanding of His character... 08:42 that shows that the wicked have misunderstood... 08:45 the character of Christ, 08:46 that He's trying to seek and save as many as He can 08:50 and so I think when that moment of silence comes, 08:53 a couple of things are happening, 08:55 number one, the Word has been gong forth, 08:58 He's been sending His people to preach, 09:00 "Come on preach, preach, while it is yet day... 09:02 preach, preach, preach... " 09:03 but now... silence... 09:05 there's no more... you've cut off the limit of... 09:08 of mercy and forgiveness has been reached 09:11 and there's nothing more for you to hear 09:13 and number two... there's nothing more for you to say. 09:15 These people who have been giving hard speeches 09:18 and "God, yeah... if God is real, then let Him do" 09:21 and now comes this time where nobody speaks, 09:24 because there's just this awe... this realization... 09:30 the Bible says that the wicked 09:32 who have given all these hard speeches, 09:35 there's going to come that time where there's total silence, 09:39 no one's going to have an accusing finger against God, 09:41 against His people, the probation has closed, 09:45 there's no more good news to be shared to the rebellious 09:51 in order to have them saved, 09:52 and so all these things come to play, 09:54 there's a lot there in that silence, 09:56 even though it's just one verse, 09:57 there is a lot there in that silence 10:00 that just really reflects the gospel of the character of God 10:03 and the character of the wicked 10:05 as well as the character of the righteous. 10:06 James: And you know, Ivor, as you were talking there, 10:09 I was thinking about this, there is wrath in the Lamb, 10:12 the wrath of the Lamb is the fact that it's a Lamb 10:15 and that's just overwhelming to these... 10:18 I mean, we think about that because, oh, I think about... 10:20 I picture Jesus cleansing the Temple... 10:21 Ivor: Yeah. 10:23 James: He was Jesus... you know, 10:24 but He was angry 10:26 at those who were there, why they were there 10:29 and what they were doing, those who weren't there... 10:31 those who weren't allowed to come in there 10:32 and when you have a meek and lowly person like a lamb, 10:37 when you have that kind of representation, 10:40 when you see that person standing up 10:43 for those who have been downtrodden, 10:45 and standing up against abuse and cruelty, 10:48 you know, when you have a just cause, 10:50 no matter how powerful a person is that you are opposing, 10:53 no matter how... you know... much they... 10:55 when you're... you're cause is just, 10:57 there is something to fear, 10:58 there is something to fear and so, 11:00 the Lamb's cause is just and right 11:02 and so that wrath, to us... it's like... 11:05 "that's the Lamb, that's the Lamb... " 11:08 so... because it's so just and so right 11:10 it's like, "Whoa, that is... it's just too much... " 11:13 it's just too much for them, and so that... 11:16 we see that in the context of this, 11:18 it's powerful when you think about it 11:19 in the context of Jesus on this earth 11:21 and it's going to be even more powerful 11:22 when we see it in the context of Jesus coming the second time. 11:25 This is kind of a digression but... 11:27 when the Lord Jesus returns, 11:31 if we have not been changed, in a moment, 11:35 in the twinkling of an eye, 11:36 we cannot stand before a righteous, holy God, 11:39 we'll be consumed by the brightness of His coming, 11:42 correct? so, that's... 11:44 it's not so much Him doing some vengeful thing, 11:49 it is man's nature to not be able to stand 11:53 in the presence of a holy God. 11:55 James: That's the very thing we're talking about here. 11:56 Yvonne: Okay. 11:58 James: See, sometimes we think, 11:59 "Oh, that must be some kind of supernatural event... " 12:00 no, it's the reality of not being... 12:02 not being able to bear it, 12:03 we can actually give some practical examples of that 12:07 but if you are a person who's used to being in bad company 12:12 and doing wicked things... 12:13 it is uncomfortable to be in good company, 12:17 when I came out of the world, 12:19 I started going to church 12:21 and I felt uncomfortable in church 12:22 and it wasn't because people didn't want me to be there 12:25 or because they were judging me, 12:27 they were glad I was there but I just had this discomfort, 12:30 I was looking around like, 12:31 "everyone is sprouting wings under their suit jacket, 12:34 right, and I'm a sinner" and that's what we see here, 12:37 people who have kept themselves in the dark 12:40 and now they face the Lamb, pure innocence, pure holiness, 12:44 pure love... and it's just overwhelming to them 12:46 so yeah, you're right. 12:47 Jason: And they would be miserable in heaven 12:49 if they were living that lifestyle 12:53 and they didn't want to change, they never wanted to change, 12:56 they don't... imagine them having to spend an eternity... 12:59 James: Eating from the Tree of Life. 13:02 Jason: Yeah, living the great life but it's not great to them 13:06 because they just want to sin 13:08 and they're comfortable in their sins. 13:09 James: And I see this, I mean this is power packed right here 13:14 because we're looking at it in the context... 13:15 of the Book of Revelation... but I see this in a practical way 13:19 in our life today, I mean, when I became a born-again Christian, 13:23 I was living in a party house with my friends 13:27 and it was uncomfortable for them... for me to be around, 13:31 it was uncomfortable that I was there, 13:33 I wanted to be with them, I wanted to witness to them, 13:35 but I was drinking my pop while they were drinking their alcohol 13:38 and it was uncomfortable to them 13:40 and they were like... they'd give me a hard time 13:41 and they'd... "take it... " you know... 13:42 and they just didn't want me there... just... 13:44 and I had that experience within a lot of places, 13:47 and I think, with Christ... it's just, it's just multiplied, 13:50 okay, let's move in now to the trumpets, 13:53 the trumpets begin in Revelation chapter 8 and verse 2 13:56 and what we're going to see here is, 13:57 we're going to see a verse that talks about the trumpets 14:00 and then immediately we're going to take a detour 14:02 for a few verses and we're going to go in a different direction 14:06 and then we're going to come back to these trumpet verses 14:08 and then we've got to understand what all that means 14:10 so what I'd like us to do, Jason, you can start us out here 14:12 read verse two 14:14 and then we'll talk about that just a little bit 14:17 and then we want to read verses 3 through 5 14:20 and really get into what's going on there, 14:23 so let's start with chapter 8 verse 2. 14:25 Jason: Okay, "And I saw the seven angels 14:28 which stood before God; 14:29 and to them were given seven trumpets. " 14:31 James: Okay, trumpets in the Bible, 14:33 what do they represent, what do they represent? 14:36 Now there are a number of verses 14:37 and stories I want us to go to because it's huge... 14:40 trumpets are huge, okay, 14:42 one of the things we know about trumpets, 14:44 in the Old Testament, 14:45 trumpets were blown in preparation for destruction, 14:49 Jericho... march around... blow the trumpet, 14:52 march around... blow the trumpet, 14:54 seven days they marched around, 14:55 seven days they blew the trumpet, 14:57 on the seventh day... seven times 14:58 and the trumpets blew and down came the walls, 15:01 in Joel chapter 2, trumpets are symbolically 15:05 representing the call of alarm, 15:07 "Look out, war, alarm... " so, war, destruction, alarm... 15:12 Paul talks about it and I've got a verse here 15:14 in 1st Corinthians chapter 14 verse 8, he says, 15:17 "For if the trumpet makes an uncertain sound, 15:19 who will prepare himself for battle?" 15:22 So you've got battle, you've got war, you've got alarm 15:26 but you also have trumpets that were sounding 15:28 on the Day of Atonement, calling people to repentance, 15:32 calling people to a day of atonement, 15:34 in other words, in battle, in judgment, in war, 15:37 you've also got a call to repentance... 15:39 it's taking place in the background, 15:40 the call to repentance, 15:42 and we're going to see this in the context of the trumpets 15:44 because there's a place there 15:45 where it says, "And they didn't repent... " 15:47 in other words, God was calling to repentance through judgments 15:49 in Joel... it wasn't judgments but they were called... 15:52 it was a call to repentance. 15:53 Jason: Didn't we read a verse that compared... 15:56 it said something as of trumpet... 15:58 so like, someone heard the Lord's voice 16:01 and it sounded like... "as a trumpet. " 16:03 James: That's Revelation chapter 1 verse 10. 16:04 Jason: Okay. James: "I heard a voice 16:06 behind me and it sounded like a trumpet" 16:07 which is another verse and we didn't read that 16:10 but there's another verse that helps us to identify 16:11 the trumpets are... the call of Christ, 16:14 calling us, trying to get our attention, 16:16 trying to call us back to repentance, 16:18 trying to warn us... alarm us about things that are happening 16:22 in the world... or in our own hearts 16:24 and calling us to that Day of Atonement... 16:26 that reconciliation and calling us to understand 16:29 you know... the judgments are coming. 16:31 Ivor: Let's point out as well 16:32 that you guys would know the story of Gideon, 16:35 and when the trumpets were blown in that story, 16:37 you remember what happened, the adversaries of God's people 16:41 actually turned their swords upon one another, 16:43 so we pull all these stories together, 16:45 you know, the falling of the enemies of God's people, 16:49 the enemies of God turning themselves on one another, 16:52 warning... in Numbers chapter 10 16:56 when the trumpets were blown, it was a symbol... 16:59 it was a sign for them to advance, 17:01 you know, to move forward, 17:04 so when we look at... 17:05 it's good for us to look at all these instances 17:08 where trumpets are involved, 17:09 so that when we get to the Book of Revelation, 17:12 we get to the seven trumpets, we can see, okay, 17:14 which one of these stories applies, 17:17 you see what I'm saying... to these trumpets... 17:19 and we can begin to find some kind of theme 17:22 as we begin to go through the trumpets 17:24 so we can expect probably to see 17:27 some kind of powers falling, 17:29 or we can probably expect to see judgment, 17:32 we can probably expect to see advancing... war... 17:37 things of this nature and maybe even hostile forces 17:41 turning upon each other, yeah, 17:43 so all these things give us a little bit of insight... 17:47 kind of set the ground for, 17:48 "Okay, what should we be looking for in these trumpets?" 17:51 Yeah... yeah. 17:52 James: I love that... 17:54 and the other thing that it gives us insight is, 17:55 the seven churches and the seven seals, 17:57 where did they start historically? 18:00 Did they start with Babylon, 18:02 did they start in the future somewhere, 18:04 what is the historical setting for the first church? 18:07 What is the historical setting for the first seal? 18:10 What is the succession of events, 18:12 where are we staring in history, 18:14 where are we ending in history? we know where are we ending... 18:16 we are ending in the new heaven and the new earth 18:17 but where are we starting? 18:19 Where's the beginning? That's a pop quiz. 18:21 Jason: I was hoping that was a rhetorical question. 18:26 Yvonne: Laughing... 18:27 James: We want to know... where we start, 18:29 where was the first church, what did it represent, 18:31 what age did it represent? 18:32 Yvonne: Ephesus was the first church. 18:34 James: Ephesus was the first church. 18:35 Jason: They lost their first love... 18:37 James: And what was the first seal... the white-horse rider, 18:39 what age and time in history did that represent? 18:41 Yvonne: Oh, I'm bad with this... Jason: Yeah, I don't remember... 18:47 Ivor: Okay, let's do it like this. 18:48 The seven trumpets unfold at the altar of incense, 18:54 the seven churches unfold at the seven-branched candlestick, 18:58 the seven seals unfold at the Table of Shewbread, 19:02 all those articles of furniture are found where? 19:05 Yvonne: In the Holy Place. 19:07 Ivor: In the Holy place which means 19:08 that the priests that ministered in the Holy Place, 19:12 was to minister at these articles of furniture, how? 19:14 Simultaneously, right, so if the first church 19:18 represents the early church period... 19:22 Yvonne: Right... 19:23 James: You show them... first church represents 19:25 the early church period... da, da, da, da, da... 19:26 Ivor: The first seal, right, 19:28 represents the early church period, 19:30 then... 19:32 the first trumpet... 19:33 Yvonne: Early church... 19:35 James: We're in early church period... 19:37 that's where we are. Ivor: Absolutely. 19:38 James: Here's another way we can know because 19:39 let's read now, Yvonne, let's read verses 3, 4 and 5. 19:43 Yvonne: Okay, "And another angel came 19:46 and stood at the altar, having a golden censer; 19:48 and there was given unto him much incense, 19:50 that he should offer it with the prayers 19:53 of all saints upon the golden altar 19:55 which was before the throne. 19:57 And the smoke of the incense, 19:58 which came with the prayers of the saints, 20:01 ascended up before god out of the angel's hand. 20:04 And the angel took the censer, 20:06 and filled it with fire of the altar, 20:07 and cast it into the earth: and there were voices, 20:11 and thunderings, and lightnings, 20:12 and an earthquake. " 20:14 James: Okay, we have sanctuary symbols yet again, 20:16 and the sanctuary symbols we have here... 20:18 there are two articles, 20:19 there's the altar... and then there's the golden altar, 20:21 well, actually... there are three, 20:22 there's the censer, there's the altar, 20:24 the censor and the golden altar, 20:25 now, the golden altar was in the Holy Place, 20:29 so we know we're in pre-1844... before 1844... 20:33 we believe we're in Apostolic Age 20:35 simply because... that's where we started in churches 20:38 and that's where we started in the seals 20:39 and then we have this altar, 20:41 now, the only other altar other than the golden altar 20:44 was the altar in the Courtyard where the sacrifices were made, 20:48 the Lamb was slain for the sins of the individual 20:51 that would come and that altar represents Calvary, 20:54 so what we see in symbolic language here 20:56 is we see this angel that's standing at Calvary, 20:59 Calvary's altar... 21:00 and he's taking incense from Calvary's altar 21:03 to the Holy Place in the Sanctuary... 21:06 and mingling it there with the prayers of the saints, 21:08 so what we have here in symbolic language 21:10 is these articles of furniture 21:12 representing the ministry of Christ 21:14 first at Calvary... His death there 21:16 and then taking the death... the incense... 21:19 the righteousness of Christ 21:20 from Calvary into heaven, into the Holy Place 21:23 and mingling it with the prayers of God's people, 21:25 now, let's break that down, 21:28 let's look at a couple of verses 21:29 that will help us with that because, 21:32 the incense in Revelation chapter 5 21:35 is identified as the prayer of the saints, 21:36 now we're saying this incense represents 21:39 the righteousness of Jesus Christ 21:41 and the reason we say that is because 21:42 it's mingled with the prayers of the saints, 21:44 it won't make sense to have the prayers of the saints 21:46 mingled with the prayers of the saints... 21:47 so, look up a verse, Jason, Ephesians chapter 5 and verse 2, 21:52 and then, I think we referenced this verse, Yvonne, 21:56 already, but could you look up Hebrews chapter 13 21:59 verses 10 through 12 is the reference we're going to give. 22:03 So, Ephesians 5 verse 2, and then, 22:07 Hebrews chapter 13 verses 10 through 12. 22:13 Yvonne: Okay. 22:15 Jason: Ephesians 5:2, okay, "And walk in love, 22:23 as Christ also hath loved us, and hath given himself for us 22:26 an offering and a sacrifice to God 22:28 for a sweet-smelling savour. " 22:30 James: Okay, that "sweet-smelling savour" 22:33 is the incense, that incense in Revelation 22:36 is the sacrifice of Jesus, 22:37 "walk in love as Christ has loved us 22:40 and given himself as a sweet-smelling savour... " 22:42 as a sacrifice that's like incense, 22:44 so in Revelation chapter 8, that incense represents 22:47 the sacrifice of Jesus on the altar in the Courtyard, 22:50 the sacrifice of Christ on that altar, 22:52 and now it's been taken from that altar 22:54 and it's being offered in the heavenly sanctuary 22:57 so that means we have Christ going to the Holy Place 23:00 in the heavenly sanctuary 23:01 and it's being mingled with the prayers, 23:03 now, let's look at that in the context of Hebrews chapter 13. 23:06 Yvonne: Verse 10 right? James: Starting with verse 10. 23:08 Yvonne: And going...? James: To 12... 23:11 Yvonne: To 12... okay, "We have an altar, 23:13 whereof they have no right to eat 23:18 which serve the tabernacle. 23:20 For the bodies of those beasts, whose blood is brought 23:24 into the sanctuary by the high priest for sin, 23:26 are burned without the camp. 23:28 Wherefore Jesus also, 23:30 that he might sanctify the people 23:32 with his own blood, suffered without the gate. " 23:35 James: All right, let's stop right there, 23:37 that's good... so Paul is saying, 23:38 there's an altar in the earthly sanctuary system 23:40 and then we have an altar 23:42 and our altar is where Christ was sacrificed 23:44 that He might sanctify us with His blood, 23:46 so the picture here... God is basically saying, 23:49 "Okay, I've got judgments, I've got alarm, I've got warning 23:52 I've got call to repentance, et cetera, 23:54 but before those judgments sound... 23:56 before I let those judgment loose, 23:58 I want you to see a picture of what God is doing, 24:00 what I'm doing for you, 24:02 I'm taking the sacrifice to Jesus 24:04 and I'm mingling with your prayers, 24:06 so what are you praying for, 24:07 pray... what are you praying for?" 24:09 And that's where... that's where we leave off... 24:10 Ivor: Yeah, and I think it's good that we... 24:12 you look at the seven seals 24:15 and it opens up with a Lamb that had been slain, 24:18 right, and you look at the seven churches... 24:21 the one who was dead and... you know... 24:23 the first and last... was dead and is alive 24:25 so each of these... lets us know that... 24:29 that the focus that keeps everything off 24:32 is the sacrifice of Christ, 24:34 and that's another very important key because 24:36 what ends up happening is that 24:39 as we were talking a little bit earlier that... the seven... 24:43 some people think that the seven trumpets 24:47 start in connection with the seventh seal, 24:50 so when the seventh seal opens up, 24:52 then we have the seven trumpets unfolding 24:55 so the seven trumpets are yet... future... 24:57 James: In the future somewhere. 24:58 Ivor: Right, but when we understand 25:00 that each of these opening visions are 25:01 bringing our attention to the sacrifice of Christ, the cross 25:05 and then seeing that, 25:07 "Yeah, we know that from the Old Testament 25:09 when the priest ministered... 25:10 he was to minister these articles simultaneously, 25:13 we can know church one, seal one, 25:16 trumpet one... simultaneous... 25:19 church two... seal two... trumpet two... simultaneous 25:23 and we just go down the list 25:25 and it's not that they're going to match perfectly like... 25:28 but we have a general outline, what know what we're looking for 25:31 we know the general time frame and at least that helps us 25:35 to avoid making some mistakes with the trumpets 25:37 that... you know... a lot of people do make. 25:40 James: Absolutely, good point... so basically, the opening vision 25:44 is giving us that connection with the churches and the seals 25:47 and the connection we're seeing here is... 25:49 the sacrifice of Jesus 25:51 so that takes us all the way back to the Apostolic Age, 25:54 Jesus is sacrificed, He goes to heaven, 25:56 He starts mediating, 25:58 what does He tell His disciples before He leaves? 26:00 "I want you to pray, I want you to pray... " 26:02 what are they praying for? 26:04 The Comforter, the Holy Spirit, 26:06 the Comforter... and so their prayers come up... 26:08 but what kind of prayers are they praying? 26:10 When He talks about that in Acts chapter 2, 26:12 it talks about how they were praying 26:15 and they all came together with one accord... in one place, 26:18 they must have been praying prayers of, 26:20 "Hey, Ivor, you know... 26:21 I was making fun of your beard the other day 26:25 and I just want to say, 'I'm sorry it's cool... 26:28 it really is cool... '" 26:29 and Ivor was like, "Yeah, well... 26:30 James, I got something that I need to tell you, 26:32 I can't really tell you on the Set, 26:34 because it's really bad 26:35 but it's obviously a flaw you have 26:37 but I really feel bad... " 26:39 and so they're praying these... 26:40 they're praying these prayers for forgiveness 26:43 and their prayers... all these faults are coming up 26:45 but they're mingled with the sacrifice of Jesus 26:48 and then something incredible happens 26:51 as a result of those prayers, 26:53 now, I wish we had time to talk about it... 26:54 Ivor: Incredible cliffhanger... 26:56 Yvonne: Oh, another cliffhanger. 26:57 Ivor: I was looking at you hoping... don't say it... 26:59 James: I was so excited to say that... but that's the point 27:04 we were talking earlier about faults, 27:05 God loves to have us come to Him just the way we are, 27:09 sinful, helpless, dependent, it is His glory, 27:13 take us up in the arms of faith, 27:14 to heal our wounds and to just give us His Spirit, 27:17 that's what He wants and when we get that... boom! 27:19 We've got... and that's the picture we have right here, 27:21 faulty people asking for the gift of the Holy Spirit. 27:24 Yvonne: Hmmm... 27:26 James: All right, what do we have? Who is... who is... 27:28 Jason: Well, I think people should send their e-mails 27:29 if they have questions to sss@3abn. org 27:33 James: Amen... amen... 27:34 who wants to close us out with prayer? 27:36 Yvonne: I will... "Father, thank you so much 27:37 for your presence, your power, your anointing, 27:40 Lord, we just praise your name 27:41 and we ask you to continue to guide us 27:43 as we open up these wonderful chapters in Revelation, 27:49 thank you, in Jesus' name, amen. " 27:50 All: "Amen... " 27:52 James: So we left on a cliffhanger 27:53 but we're going to come back, right back to Revelation 8 here 27:56 and we're going to see what the rest of the story gives us. 27:58 Yvonne: Great. Jason: Amen. |
Revised 2016-10-05