1 00:00:03,840 --> 00:00:08,119 This is Living Waters of Grace, the teaching ministry of Clark 2 00:00:08,119 --> 00:00:12,240 Wofford, senior pastor of Calvary Chapel of Westmoreland, 3 00:00:12,240 --> 00:00:16,400 County of Greensburg, PA. Now here's Pastor Clark as he 4 00:00:16,400 --> 00:00:18,720 continues teaching through God's Word. 5 00:00:37,080 --> 00:00:40,360 As we look at this book, Revelation, it is completely 6 00:00:40,360 --> 00:00:43,440 different pretty much than any other book in the Scriptures. 7 00:00:43,920 --> 00:00:46,320 A matter of fact, there was a lot of controversy in the early 8 00:00:46,320 --> 00:00:49,200 church as to whether it should be part of the Canon. 9 00:00:49,200 --> 00:00:53,120 Now, the apostles, obviously they're the forerunners of the 10 00:00:53,200 --> 00:00:56,760 church, and what they were given is what we have today in our 11 00:00:56,760 --> 00:00:59,400 Scriptures. But there was a lot of confusion 12 00:00:59,400 --> 00:01:02,720 back then because of the inability to even begin to 13 00:01:02,720 --> 00:01:05,920 comprehend in the slightest way what this book was saying it 14 00:01:05,920 --> 00:01:08,840 that. I love spring cleaning. 15 00:01:08,840 --> 00:01:12,840 It provides opportunities for reorganization, for getting rid 16 00:01:12,840 --> 00:01:15,480 of excess clutter that I've held on to. 17 00:01:15,480 --> 00:01:19,800 And occasionally I'll rediscover some lost thing that I'd 18 00:01:19,800 --> 00:01:22,600 forgotten about. But sometimes I'll come across 19 00:01:22,600 --> 00:01:25,200 something that I'm not quite sure what to do with. 20 00:01:26,040 --> 00:01:29,800 The church at one point felt similarly about the Book of 21 00:01:29,800 --> 00:01:32,840 Revelation. Unsure if they should even keep 22 00:01:32,840 --> 00:01:36,560 it in the Bible today, Pastor Clark helps to unpack some of 23 00:01:36,560 --> 00:01:40,280 the true intent and purpose of this amazing book. 24 00:01:40,760 --> 00:01:43,920 Now here's Pastor Clark in Revelation chapter one with 25 00:01:43,920 --> 00:01:47,120 today's edition of Living Waters of Grace. 26 00:01:47,760 --> 00:01:51,200 You just can't arbitrarily take what's in this book and try to 27 00:01:51,200 --> 00:01:54,680 make everything literal, because not everything is revealed yet. 28 00:01:54,680 --> 00:01:57,480 We're still waiting for some of these things to develop in the 29 00:01:57,480 --> 00:01:59,640 future. And there's an old term in 30 00:01:59,920 --> 00:02:03,120 seminaries in Bible college called hermeneutics. 31 00:02:03,120 --> 00:02:06,360 And hermeneutics is a study of how to interpret Scripture. 32 00:02:06,360 --> 00:02:09,240 And it says, when the plain sense of Scripture makes common 33 00:02:09,240 --> 00:02:12,760 sense, seek no other sense. But take every word at its 34 00:02:12,760 --> 00:02:14,800 literal meaning. Unless studied in the light of 35 00:02:14,920 --> 00:02:18,240 related passages, something else is indicated wise. 36 00:02:18,600 --> 00:02:22,000 And so when we look at this, we're going to look at it in 37 00:02:22,000 --> 00:02:27,120 regard to the related passages. But as we think about some of 38 00:02:27,120 --> 00:02:30,840 the things that John was going to be writing about, a lot of 39 00:02:30,840 --> 00:02:35,880 these symbols that he's speaking about really relate to personal 40 00:02:35,880 --> 00:02:39,320 and national entities at that time that they were living and 41 00:02:39,320 --> 00:02:41,440 what would eventually develop in the future. 42 00:02:41,680 --> 00:02:44,120 Many of these leaders are portrayed as animals. 43 00:02:44,320 --> 00:02:47,960 We see the symbolism of the Lamb and it refers to our Savior, 44 00:02:47,960 --> 00:02:51,480 Jesus Christ, the Lamb who was slain before the foundation of 45 00:02:51,480 --> 00:02:53,760 the earth. The dragon is referred, Satan 46 00:02:53,760 --> 00:02:57,320 himself and the beast, the demonic spirits and the mutant 47 00:02:57,320 --> 00:02:59,480 locusts, all these things that we'll read in time. 48 00:02:59,800 --> 00:03:03,440 He also discusses cities and they're depicted as harlots and 49 00:03:03,440 --> 00:03:06,000 a bride. And we look at Babylon and Sodom 50 00:03:06,000 --> 00:03:09,200 and Egypt and Jerusalem and in the context of those kind of 51 00:03:09,200 --> 00:03:13,720 things also at that time, as he looks at the symbols that he's 52 00:03:13,720 --> 00:03:17,400 been given, they represent political upheaval that will 53 00:03:17,400 --> 00:03:20,880 eventually occur and also terms of cosmic disruptions. 54 00:03:21,120 --> 00:03:24,120 We read in Matthew about the sun and moon, and also in Revelation 55 00:03:24,120 --> 00:03:27,600 being darkened, the stars falling, every island, the 56 00:03:27,600 --> 00:03:30,920 mountain disappeering. Also, the number 7 is used 57 00:03:30,920 --> 00:03:34,840 throughout this book and #7 refers to completeness and 58 00:03:34,840 --> 00:03:38,080 perfection in the Scriptures and throughout the Scripture, 59 00:03:38,080 --> 00:03:40,640 Deuteronomy, Psalms and Proverbs. 60 00:03:40,640 --> 00:03:42,480 This numbers used many, many times. 61 00:03:42,720 --> 00:03:45,400 In the Book of Revelation. This number is used to refer to 62 00:03:45,400 --> 00:03:48,720 the seven churches, the seven seals, the seven trumpets, the 63 00:03:48,720 --> 00:03:51,880 seven bowls, the seven thunders, and the seven beatitudes. 64 00:03:52,120 --> 00:03:55,000 There are beatitudes in the Book of Revelation and the first one 65 00:03:55,240 --> 00:03:58,160 we read the day about. Those who read this book are 66 00:03:58,160 --> 00:04:00,920 blessed, those who hear the words of the prophecy are 67 00:04:00,920 --> 00:04:03,880 blessed, and those who keep those things which are written 68 00:04:03,880 --> 00:04:05,680 in it. But the time is near. 69 00:04:05,680 --> 00:04:09,200 That's the first beatitude of the seven in the Book of 70 00:04:09,200 --> 00:04:11,400 Revelation. There's also fractions and 71 00:04:11,400 --> 00:04:16,279 numbers given like 1/3 multiples of 12, like the 24 elders before 72 00:04:16,279 --> 00:04:20,200 the throne and 144,000 witnesses during the time of the 73 00:04:20,200 --> 00:04:24,520 tribulation, the thousand year reign. 10 days, one hour, a 74 00:04:24,520 --> 00:04:26,680 little while he uses all these times. 75 00:04:27,200 --> 00:04:30,360 As we look at this book, Revelation, it is completely 76 00:04:30,360 --> 00:04:33,360 different pretty much than any other book in the Scriptures. 77 00:04:33,920 --> 00:04:36,120 Matter of fact, there was a lot of controversy in the early 78 00:04:36,120 --> 00:04:38,920 church as to whether it should be part of the Canon. 79 00:04:38,920 --> 00:04:42,760 Now, the apostles, obviously they're the forerunners of the 80 00:04:42,800 --> 00:04:46,280 church, and what they were given is what we have today in our 81 00:04:46,280 --> 00:04:48,800 Scriptures. But there was a lot of confusion 82 00:04:48,800 --> 00:04:52,040 back then because of the inability to even begin to 83 00:04:52,040 --> 00:04:55,200 comprehend in the slightest way what this book was saying at 84 00:04:55,200 --> 00:04:58,480 that time. But it is truly inspired by God 85 00:04:58,480 --> 00:05:02,080 as a prophecy. It identifies very clearly to us 86 00:05:02,080 --> 00:05:06,000 the name of its true author. It actually predicts the future, 87 00:05:06,480 --> 00:05:10,400 and it's an epistle in the apocalyptic mode that predicts 88 00:05:10,400 --> 00:05:14,520 events of the future under the inspiration of God, the Holy 89 00:05:14,520 --> 00:05:18,720 Spirit. Now, the reign of this emperor, 90 00:05:19,240 --> 00:05:23,720 the mission, he was a very, very terrible, mean ruler. 91 00:05:24,200 --> 00:05:28,960 He wanted to persecute the whole region, and Nero just had the 92 00:05:28,960 --> 00:05:30,760 ability to affect Rome at the time. 93 00:05:30,760 --> 00:05:34,600 But as the church grew, this man who was in charge, the emperor 94 00:05:34,600 --> 00:05:38,680 at the time, had the ability to deal with the whole area and try 95 00:05:38,680 --> 00:05:40,640 to destroy everybody that lived at that time. 96 00:05:41,040 --> 00:05:44,280 We study in history that Nicodemus was one of those who 97 00:05:44,280 --> 00:05:47,360 were martyred during this time of this reign of this evil 98 00:05:47,640 --> 00:05:49,520 emperor. Also Timothy. 99 00:05:49,760 --> 00:05:53,200 Timothy was out in the streets speaking against the ungodly 100 00:05:53,200 --> 00:05:55,760 role this leader and the things that were happening and the 101 00:05:55,760 --> 00:05:59,000 people came upon him and clubbed him and physically beat him in a 102 00:05:59,000 --> 00:06:01,640 couple days after his beating he he died. 103 00:06:01,840 --> 00:06:06,240 It's taught that John the Apostle was boiled in oil before 104 00:06:06,280 --> 00:06:09,040 he was sent an eggs out to this Isle of Patmos. 105 00:06:09,280 --> 00:06:12,680 And so he, as he said in verse 9, I'm your brother and 106 00:06:12,680 --> 00:06:16,000 companion in the Tribulation. He was experiencing the horror. 107 00:06:16,520 --> 00:06:19,640 And so as we look at these churches, they were all at 108 00:06:19,640 --> 00:06:23,920 different levels in their spiritual foundation as to how 109 00:06:23,920 --> 00:06:26,040 they were following Jesus Christ. 110 00:06:26,560 --> 00:06:29,520 As we study the book, you'll see there's a lot of allusion to 111 00:06:29,520 --> 00:06:32,960 other parts of the Bible, but there's not one quote from 112 00:06:32,960 --> 00:06:36,280 another book clearly defined in the Book of Revelation. 113 00:06:36,560 --> 00:06:39,960 There's imagery from hundreds of Old Testament passages, though 114 00:06:40,400 --> 00:06:43,480 it gives a symbol of 2 olive trees referring to the two 115 00:06:43,480 --> 00:06:48,920 witnesses in Chapter 11. It echoes Zechariah 43, 11 116 00:06:48,920 --> 00:06:51,840 through 14, referring to Zerubbabel and Joshua. 117 00:06:52,000 --> 00:06:54,720 There's hundreds of allusions to familiar images in the Old 118 00:06:54,720 --> 00:06:58,840 Testament from the book of Isaiah alone. 79 times alluded 119 00:06:58,840 --> 00:07:03,440 references Daniel 53 times Ezekiel 48 Psalms 43 times 120 00:07:03,920 --> 00:07:09,120 Exodus 27 times Jeremiah 22 Zechariah 15, Amos 9, Joel 8. 121 00:07:09,680 --> 00:07:13,880 The Old Testament was the foundation of what the apostles 122 00:07:13,880 --> 00:07:16,040 taught from. They didn't have everything like 123 00:07:16,040 --> 00:07:19,040 you and I have now, so everything they drew upon was 124 00:07:19,040 --> 00:07:24,400 the Old Testament scriptures. It also gives us the insights of 125 00:07:24,400 --> 00:07:27,720 the matrix that are set up in the book. 126 00:07:27,840 --> 00:07:31,240 Like for example it gives the illustration of the Babylonian 127 00:07:31,240 --> 00:07:35,000 exile and Exodus and also comparing it to the life of 128 00:07:35,000 --> 00:07:37,560 Jesus. We see an evil power in the book 129 00:07:37,560 --> 00:07:41,280 of Exodus persecuting God's people, Pharaoh in Egypt, but we 130 00:07:41,280 --> 00:07:44,320 see an evil power persecuting God's people in the Book of 131 00:07:44,320 --> 00:07:48,000 Revelation, the Antichrist. We see plagues of darkness and 132 00:07:48,000 --> 00:07:51,680 hail and locusts and boils and frogs and water and turn into 133 00:07:51,680 --> 00:07:55,400 blood in the book of Exodus. We also see this revealed in the 134 00:07:55,400 --> 00:07:58,120 Book of Revelation. It talks about being delivered 135 00:07:58,120 --> 00:08:00,560 by the blood of the lamb in the Old Testament. 136 00:08:00,560 --> 00:08:03,240 In the book of Exodus when the blood was put on the doorpost 137 00:08:03,440 --> 00:08:06,800 and the Angel of God spoke to the children of Israel, saying 138 00:08:06,920 --> 00:08:10,520 when God sees the blood, he will pass over that house that the 139 00:08:10,520 --> 00:08:13,600 blood is applied to and they will not lose the life of the 140 00:08:13,600 --> 00:08:16,320 first born. But we also see in Revelation 141 00:08:16,400 --> 00:08:19,560 and that we are delivered by the blood of Jesus Christ talks 142 00:08:19,560 --> 00:08:23,280 about the dragon, referring to the dragon in the Angel, the 143 00:08:23,280 --> 00:08:26,400 demonic forces of the devil in the Book of Revelation. 144 00:08:26,400 --> 00:08:30,200 Also in Ezekiel 29, three talks about the crossing of the Red 145 00:08:30,200 --> 00:08:34,200 Sea where they sang the song of Moses and they're redeemed will 146 00:08:34,200 --> 00:08:38,320 sing in the Book of Revelation the song of Moses and the Lamb. 147 00:08:38,320 --> 00:08:42,360 In Revelation 15, it also discusses the Tabernacle and all 148 00:08:42,360 --> 00:08:45,520 its furnishings in the book of Hebrews, it discusses that the 149 00:08:45,520 --> 00:08:50,680 earthly Tabernacle is a model of the heavenly counterpart. 150 00:08:50,680 --> 00:08:54,040 A matter of fact, when you want to learn about worship, and I 151 00:08:54,040 --> 00:08:56,440 think we all have a lot more to learn about worship. 152 00:08:57,160 --> 00:09:00,600 Even though we worship the Lord here in spirit and truth and we 153 00:09:00,800 --> 00:09:03,920 lift our hearts up to God. We're only we got a glimpse, a 154 00:09:03,920 --> 00:09:06,720 minor glimpse of what it's going to be like to worship in the 155 00:09:06,720 --> 00:09:08,400 Kingdom of heaven. But if you really want to see 156 00:09:08,400 --> 00:09:15,160 pure, divine, holy God centered in God ordained worship, you 157 00:09:15,160 --> 00:09:17,760 read the worship in the Book of Revelation. 158 00:09:17,960 --> 00:09:21,480 John describes the atmosphere, golden lampstands that are 159 00:09:21,480 --> 00:09:25,720 present in chapter 1 verse 12. Hidden man associated with the 160 00:09:25,720 --> 00:09:29,720 Ark of the Covenant in chapter 2 verse 17, the altar of incense 161 00:09:29,720 --> 00:09:33,800 chapter 8 verse 3 through 5, the Holy of Holies in Chapter 11 162 00:09:34,360 --> 00:09:37,960 verse one and 15 verse 8, and the Ark of the Covenant in 163 00:09:38,040 --> 00:09:42,560 Chapter 11 verse 19. We think about the birth of 164 00:09:42,560 --> 00:09:47,640 Christ and the death and the burial and the resurrection and 165 00:09:47,640 --> 00:09:51,320 his victory over Satan. A reference frequently in this 166 00:09:51,320 --> 00:09:53,440 book because it's all about Christ. 167 00:09:54,240 --> 00:09:57,960 His birth and ascension is depicted in chapter 12, verse 5. 168 00:09:58,320 --> 00:10:01,800 What's fascinating is when they talk about the two witnesses 169 00:10:02,360 --> 00:10:05,000 that will be on the earth during the time of the Tribulation, 170 00:10:05,000 --> 00:10:08,520 proclaiming the Kingdom of God and the coming of Christ. 171 00:10:08,760 --> 00:10:12,480 They mirror Christ's earthly ministry almost identically. 172 00:10:12,800 --> 00:10:15,280 Their ministry lasted 3 1/2 years. 173 00:10:15,280 --> 00:10:19,520 Christ's earthly ministry after the baptism was 3 1/2 years. 174 00:10:19,800 --> 00:10:22,360 Revelation 11/3 speaks of these two witnesses. 175 00:10:22,680 --> 00:10:25,560 We believe they are Elijah and Enoch. 176 00:10:25,560 --> 00:10:29,120 Some people believe Elijah and Moses, but Elijah and Enoch, 177 00:10:29,120 --> 00:10:31,880 those two were the ones that never tasted physical death. 178 00:10:32,280 --> 00:10:35,360 They were slain where Christ died, in Jerusalem, in the 179 00:10:35,360 --> 00:10:37,600 streets there in Revelation 11/8. 180 00:10:38,120 --> 00:10:42,000 After three days they resurrect from the dead in the sin in 181 00:10:42,000 --> 00:10:47,480 Chapter 11 verse 11 through 12. So a literal return of Christ at 182 00:10:47,480 --> 00:10:50,600 the end of the age is what we're looking at here and what we're 183 00:10:50,600 --> 00:10:54,520 preparing for as we study this, all four approaches and when we 184 00:10:54,520 --> 00:10:57,720 think about their views and how they look at things, in essence 185 00:10:57,720 --> 00:11:00,560 anticipate this except for the full preterist view. 186 00:11:00,920 --> 00:11:04,120 Now, one of the controversies in this book is the millennial 187 00:11:04,120 --> 00:11:06,760 Kingdom. People usually don't argue about 188 00:11:06,920 --> 00:11:11,040 what 666 means or who these two witnesses are with timing of the 189 00:11:11,040 --> 00:11:12,840 rapture. That's usually not the issue 190 00:11:12,840 --> 00:11:15,840 that divides the body of Christ. It's always surrounding this 191 00:11:15,840 --> 00:11:19,320 issue of a millennial Kingdom. Is it a figurative Kingdom? 192 00:11:19,320 --> 00:11:22,520 Is it a symbolic Kingdom? Or is it a literal 1000 193 00:11:22,520 --> 00:11:25,600 millennial reign? We believe it is a literal 1000 194 00:11:25,880 --> 00:11:29,440 millennial Kingdom. But even in the 2nd century, as 195 00:11:29,440 --> 00:11:31,920 I said earlier when they were debating some of these things 196 00:11:31,920 --> 00:11:35,600 and these centuries were closest to the days of the apostles, 197 00:11:35,760 --> 00:11:38,760 what's the meaning of this thousand year reign? 198 00:11:39,280 --> 00:11:43,920 Revelation 20 is probably the most debated and argued chapter 199 00:11:43,920 --> 00:11:48,040 in the Bible and this chapter mentions 1000 year reign of the 200 00:11:48,040 --> 00:11:50,560 Saints with Christ. Now there's 3 views of the 201 00:11:50,560 --> 00:11:52,720 Millennium. The first view is 202 00:11:53,080 --> 00:11:55,000 premillennialism. That's what we are. 203 00:11:55,000 --> 00:11:59,240 We are a premillennial pre Trib Bible believing church. 204 00:11:59,560 --> 00:12:04,200 We believe in a literal 1000 year reign of Christ on earth 205 00:12:04,600 --> 00:12:08,120 after his second coming. We believe that Christ will come 206 00:12:08,120 --> 00:12:12,520 to take his church one of this earth prior to the days of the 207 00:12:12,520 --> 00:12:14,800 wrath of God being poured out upon the earth. 208 00:12:14,800 --> 00:12:17,520 So we are pre Trib. We believe we will not be in 209 00:12:17,520 --> 00:12:20,640 this tribulation that will eventually come upon the earth 210 00:12:20,640 --> 00:12:22,240 and there's verses to support that. 211 00:12:22,240 --> 00:12:25,560 Like God has not appointed his bride to wrath. 212 00:12:26,240 --> 00:12:29,240 We'll get into that stuff from Thessalonians down the road, but 213 00:12:29,240 --> 00:12:32,360 the millennial Kingdom will be a time of international peace and 214 00:12:32,360 --> 00:12:35,080 justice. Christ will roll with an iron 215 00:12:35,080 --> 00:12:37,040 hand. The greatest ruler of all time 216 00:12:37,040 --> 00:12:40,520 will come and establish his reign on the earth at the end of 217 00:12:40,520 --> 00:12:43,240 that 1000 year period. There will be one last battle 218 00:12:43,240 --> 00:12:47,320 when Satan is released before the final judgment is poured 219 00:12:47,320 --> 00:12:49,840 out. Now there's 2 views of this pre 220 00:12:49,840 --> 00:12:53,680 millennial situation. You have the historic pre 221 00:12:53,680 --> 00:12:56,800 millennial view and the dispensational pre millennial 222 00:12:56,800 --> 00:12:58,720 view. We study the church fathers and 223 00:12:58,720 --> 00:13:02,280 it goes way back in time where the majority of the church 224 00:13:02,280 --> 00:13:06,560 fathers, those who were second to the apostles and some of them 225 00:13:06,560 --> 00:13:10,920 were ordained by the apostles. They believed in a historic pre 226 00:13:11,080 --> 00:13:13,920 millennial view. The dispensational pre 227 00:13:13,920 --> 00:13:16,680 millennial view view is an interesting perspective. 228 00:13:16,680 --> 00:13:19,880 And some of these things have become more alive actually in 229 00:13:19,880 --> 00:13:23,040 the 18th century, but they sort of brought together a lot of 230 00:13:23,040 --> 00:13:26,000 things that weren't really clear in earlier years. 231 00:13:26,000 --> 00:13:30,280 And I believe that as time goes on, as we have more Bible tools 232 00:13:30,280 --> 00:13:33,720 to study the scriptures, as we have more voices down through 233 00:13:33,720 --> 00:13:36,480 the history of time, a lot of the homework has been done for 234 00:13:36,480 --> 00:13:39,200 us already, which is a blessing. You get good commentaries and 235 00:13:39,200 --> 00:13:41,920 you get good scholars and you lay the stuff out and you you're 236 00:13:41,920 --> 00:13:44,440 able to then look at this whole thing and a very objective 237 00:13:44,720 --> 00:13:47,040 manner. Dispensational premillennial 238 00:13:47,040 --> 00:13:48,600 view. It differs from historic 239 00:13:48,600 --> 00:13:51,440 premillennial view and that it has an emphasis on the 240 00:13:51,440 --> 00:13:55,080 continuing centrality of the nation of Israel in God's end 241 00:13:55,080 --> 00:13:59,640 time plan and anticipates a rapture of Christians to heaven 242 00:13:59,640 --> 00:14:01,280 before the beginning of the tribulation. 243 00:14:01,560 --> 00:14:06,000 We would be in that camp. We believe that Israel is very, 244 00:14:06,000 --> 00:14:09,600 very important to the final combination of God's plan on the 245 00:14:09,600 --> 00:14:11,520 earth. People who would not have a 246 00:14:11,520 --> 00:14:14,800 historical pre mill view, people who would be all millennial 247 00:14:14,960 --> 00:14:18,000 would look at the church today as being the fulfillment of 248 00:14:18,280 --> 00:14:21,440 Israel and that the church in the New Testament is the 249 00:14:22,080 --> 00:14:25,440 revelation of what God had always intended because Israel 250 00:14:25,440 --> 00:14:28,840 had rejected Christ. But we know and Revelation 910 251 00:14:28,840 --> 00:14:31,760 and 11, Paul says, has God finished with Israel? 252 00:14:31,760 --> 00:14:34,120 No, he still has a plan for them. 253 00:14:34,840 --> 00:14:38,120 And we know that whenever Christ comes, it says every eye will 254 00:14:38,120 --> 00:14:39,600 see him. Well, how is that possible? 255 00:14:39,600 --> 00:14:43,440 Now we have satellites and we have GPSI mean everything is 256 00:14:43,440 --> 00:14:46,280 happening on the earth can be seen simultaneously by the whole 257 00:14:46,280 --> 00:14:48,360 world. And the Bible says that they 258 00:14:48,360 --> 00:14:50,480 will look up and see him whom they appears. 259 00:14:50,480 --> 00:14:54,760 And many people will we get saved and be born again at the 260 00:14:54,760 --> 00:14:57,760 second coming of Christ, referring to the many of those, 261 00:14:57,880 --> 00:15:00,880 the Jewish descent that will come and believe in him. 262 00:15:01,120 --> 00:15:04,880 So we believe these things. And as we go through the 263 00:15:04,880 --> 00:15:08,360 Scripture, I want to sort of give you the view that we have, 264 00:15:08,360 --> 00:15:11,400 but at the same time help you to understand why people have some 265 00:15:11,400 --> 00:15:13,640 other views so that you might have some friends. 266 00:15:13,640 --> 00:15:15,880 When you talk about these things, you're not ignorant. 267 00:15:15,880 --> 00:15:19,320 You understand why people have some various views and maybe 268 00:15:19,320 --> 00:15:21,720 make you a little stronger in regard to your own personal 269 00:15:21,720 --> 00:15:24,760 convictions about these things. Now the post millennial view, 270 00:15:24,760 --> 00:15:28,160 this is considered eschatology of hope and what they view is 271 00:15:28,160 --> 00:15:30,680 that Christ comes after the thousand year period. 272 00:15:30,680 --> 00:15:32,440 That's when his second coming occurs. 273 00:15:32,840 --> 00:15:35,560 The Kingdom is established by evangelism on earth. 274 00:15:35,560 --> 00:15:38,000 So in other words, all of us have such a great influence, 275 00:15:38,280 --> 00:15:41,400 impact on the world that the world begins to become Christian 276 00:15:41,400 --> 00:15:43,720 and not Pagan. Most people will become 277 00:15:43,720 --> 00:15:47,200 Christians prior to the thousand year reign of peace, before 278 00:15:47,200 --> 00:15:49,080 Christ returns and His second coming. 279 00:15:49,680 --> 00:15:54,880 And so they see the disasters of the past and also the things 280 00:15:54,880 --> 00:15:57,320 that are written in Revelation. They're more preterists in their 281 00:15:57,320 --> 00:16:00,240 view that all those things happened already. 282 00:16:00,400 --> 00:16:02,920 Well, I don't know about you guys, but I've been living on 283 00:16:02,920 --> 00:16:04,480 the face of the earth for 58 years. 284 00:16:04,680 --> 00:16:06,240 I don't see things getting better. 285 00:16:07,200 --> 00:16:10,480 I wish they would, but they're getting worse. 286 00:16:11,440 --> 00:16:14,160 And the Bible declares throughout the Scriptures that 287 00:16:14,600 --> 00:16:15,960 the things are going to get worse. 288 00:16:16,040 --> 00:16:19,680 That doesn't keep us from sharing our faith, bringing hope 289 00:16:19,680 --> 00:16:22,600 to people and seeing people's lives change because of the 290 00:16:22,600 --> 00:16:24,920 Gospel, right? We just don't give up and say 291 00:16:24,920 --> 00:16:27,280 there's nothing we can do. Things are going no, we have to 292 00:16:27,280 --> 00:16:30,680 have faith and believe because it could be another year, could 293 00:16:30,680 --> 00:16:32,920 be 1000 years before these things come to pass. 294 00:16:32,920 --> 00:16:36,720 But I sense that they're much closer than they've ever been 295 00:16:36,800 --> 00:16:39,080 before. Then this all millennial view, 296 00:16:39,080 --> 00:16:42,400 and this is a view of your Catholics and your Orthodox, 297 00:16:42,400 --> 00:16:45,600 your Anglican, some Presbyterians, some Lutheran's. 298 00:16:45,880 --> 00:16:49,640 This view is that the thousand year reign is symbolic, it's 299 00:16:49,640 --> 00:16:53,120 just a long period of time from Christ's initial coming to His 300 00:16:53,120 --> 00:16:55,840 second coming. They believe that the binding of 301 00:16:55,840 --> 00:16:58,920 Satan happened spiritually at the cross at the reign of the 302 00:16:58,920 --> 00:17:02,040 Saints is in the present age, and the loosing of Satan is a 303 00:17:02,040 --> 00:17:04,839 final period of deception coming on the world at the end of the 304 00:17:04,839 --> 00:17:06,960 age. They believe the second coming 305 00:17:06,960 --> 00:17:10,119 is what relates to revelation when it says fire from heaven 306 00:17:10,319 --> 00:17:12,640 that devours the wicked is the second coming. 307 00:17:12,800 --> 00:17:17,280 This is a view of Augustine and many of the reformers, but the 308 00:17:17,280 --> 00:17:19,359 early church fathers. And I've studied a lot of this 309 00:17:19,359 --> 00:17:21,760 stuff because I'm curious about it and why do people have the 310 00:17:21,760 --> 00:17:25,040 views that they have? And you go back and you'll find 311 00:17:25,040 --> 00:17:28,480 that many of those early church fathers were premillennial. 312 00:17:28,480 --> 00:17:32,360 They believed in a literal 1000 year reign and as we study this 313 00:17:32,360 --> 00:17:35,520 book, you'll, I believe, come to some of those same conclusions. 314 00:17:35,880 --> 00:17:40,360 What influenced the amillennial view were the Greek and Roman 315 00:17:40,360 --> 00:17:42,640 influences. They call it the Alexandrian 316 00:17:42,640 --> 00:17:44,600 philosophy at the time. And so that's why a lot of 317 00:17:44,600 --> 00:17:48,760 people began to receive or accept the amillennial view. 318 00:17:49,200 --> 00:17:51,520 I hope some of that help. But let's look at chapter 1 319 00:17:51,520 --> 00:17:54,720 again and verse 1, the introduction of 1st 8 verses. 320 00:17:54,720 --> 00:17:56,760 We're just going to look at a few of the verses this morning. 321 00:17:57,200 --> 00:18:00,600 9 through 20 talks about the vision of the risen, glorified 322 00:18:00,600 --> 00:18:05,640 Christ, the Lord of the church. Verse 1, the revelation of Jesus 323 00:18:05,640 --> 00:18:09,520 Christ which God gave Him to show His servants things which 324 00:18:09,560 --> 00:18:13,480 must shortly take place. God's intention all the time for 325 00:18:13,480 --> 00:18:19,000 His people is to be alert and aware of what is on the horizon. 326 00:18:19,320 --> 00:18:22,160 He does not leave us ignorant. The reason people are ignorant 327 00:18:22,160 --> 00:18:24,480 today is that they don't study the scriptures. 328 00:18:24,720 --> 00:18:26,040 They don't listen to the scriptures. 329 00:18:26,040 --> 00:18:29,840 That's why people have so many wild and crazy ideas. 330 00:18:30,040 --> 00:18:34,680 But God's intention through the apostle John, given this 331 00:18:34,680 --> 00:18:39,680 revelation by the angels of God and by Christ himself, was that 332 00:18:39,680 --> 00:18:43,640 we might understand the things that will occur at the end of 333 00:18:43,640 --> 00:18:45,760 time. Now he says that these things 334 00:18:45,760 --> 00:18:49,040 will shortly take place. You might say, well, he wrote 335 00:18:49,040 --> 00:18:51,640 this over 2000 years ago. It doesn't seem like it's too 336 00:18:51,640 --> 00:18:54,000 short, you know, seems like it's a long time. 337 00:18:54,520 --> 00:18:57,680 Well, Peter tells us, especially in regard to the end of time, 338 00:18:57,960 --> 00:19:01,360 that one day with the Lord is like 1000 years and 1000 years 339 00:19:01,360 --> 00:19:05,280 is only one day. So we got 2000 years that have 340 00:19:05,280 --> 00:19:08,480 passed. And God's time, what we call 341 00:19:09,360 --> 00:19:15,720 Kairos, is 2 days. Earth time is chronological 342 00:19:15,880 --> 00:19:22,040 chronos, God's time is Kairos. And as a result, there has been 343 00:19:22,040 --> 00:19:26,520 little time that has gone by. From the perspective of the one 344 00:19:26,520 --> 00:19:30,280 that sits on the throne. The time is at hand and it's 345 00:19:30,280 --> 00:19:33,480 imminent. The Cairo's focus of God's 346 00:19:33,480 --> 00:19:38,000 timing is the expectation that Christ can return at any moment. 347 00:19:38,000 --> 00:19:40,800 And that's how the apostles live, and that's how we're to 348 00:19:40,800 --> 00:19:43,280 live. Jesus himself said, look up. 349 00:19:43,720 --> 00:19:46,160 Even when he was on earth, he said, your redemption draws 350 00:19:46,160 --> 00:19:49,440 nigh. And so John bears record of 351 00:19:49,440 --> 00:19:51,600 these things. He saw and he heard, and Jesus 352 00:19:51,600 --> 00:19:54,920 revealed these things to him. John saw it and he recorded 353 00:19:54,920 --> 00:19:59,000 these things without air, that Christ would be revealed for our 354 00:19:59,120 --> 00:20:02,200 benefit. And so he sent and signified by 355 00:20:02,200 --> 00:20:06,720 his Angel to his servant John, who bore witness or bear record 356 00:20:06,720 --> 00:20:10,480 to the word of God and to the testimony of Jesus Christ. 357 00:20:10,480 --> 00:20:16,520 All the things he saw blessed. Is he who reads and those who 358 00:20:16,520 --> 00:20:19,440 hear the words of this prophecy. I've talked to some people and 359 00:20:19,440 --> 00:20:20,880 they say, oh, I don't like Revelation. 360 00:20:20,880 --> 00:20:23,200 I'm confused or I think it's boring. 361 00:20:23,200 --> 00:20:24,560 How can anybody think this is boring? 362 00:20:24,560 --> 00:20:27,400 This is like the most exciting book they could read on the face 363 00:20:27,400 --> 00:20:30,400 of the earth. But people don't like reading it 364 00:20:30,400 --> 00:20:35,280 because it causes anxiety for some folks, which it should if 365 00:20:35,280 --> 00:20:37,320 you aren't a follower of Jesus Christ. 366 00:20:37,880 --> 00:20:39,640 But it's a blessing for us today. 367 00:20:39,640 --> 00:20:42,920 Even just the fact that if I did nothing else today, guys, and I 368 00:20:42,920 --> 00:20:46,320 just read this book to you and you listen to it and we live 369 00:20:46,320 --> 00:20:48,840 these things out. The blessings are promised by 370 00:20:48,840 --> 00:20:52,400 God. We're blessed whenever we read 371 00:20:52,400 --> 00:20:54,600 the whole Bible. But there's a specific blessing 372 00:20:55,280 --> 00:20:59,920 in regards to reading this book and to do this thing that it 373 00:20:59,920 --> 00:21:02,000 says. Now in the early church, they 374 00:21:02,000 --> 00:21:04,480 didn't have the Bible like this. So when the church gathered and 375 00:21:04,480 --> 00:21:07,440 they didn't gather in buildings, they gathered in homes, the 376 00:21:07,440 --> 00:21:12,920 teacher would read what was in the letters wasn't a bound book 377 00:21:12,920 --> 00:21:14,120 like this. It was pages. 378 00:21:14,440 --> 00:21:16,440 And the people didn't have this to look at. 379 00:21:16,440 --> 00:21:18,600 We're so blessed. You guys can pull out of the Pew 380 00:21:18,800 --> 00:21:21,240 or your own Bibles today and follow along. 381 00:21:21,560 --> 00:21:25,320 But back then, the people listened to the person who was 382 00:21:25,320 --> 00:21:27,560 reading it. One person would read this 383 00:21:27,560 --> 00:21:29,120 epistle while the others listened. 384 00:21:29,520 --> 00:21:31,840 And there was again, I said, promise blessings. 385 00:21:32,400 --> 00:21:35,840 So as we study this book in the days ahead, the most exciting 386 00:21:35,840 --> 00:21:38,440 thing for each of us. And I get discouraged sometimes 387 00:21:38,440 --> 00:21:41,440 when I see the things that are going on in the world and the 388 00:21:41,440 --> 00:21:45,040 government and the heartache and the horror and tribulation and 389 00:21:45,040 --> 00:21:47,560 the insanity of the economic system. 390 00:21:47,880 --> 00:21:51,520 Everything seems very unstable to me in these days, very 391 00:21:51,520 --> 00:21:54,520 uncertain. But one thing I do know for sure 392 00:21:54,720 --> 00:21:58,480 is that God's on the throne and that nothing is out of control 393 00:21:58,760 --> 00:22:01,080 because He's sovereign. Everything is coming along 394 00:22:01,080 --> 00:22:05,080 according to His plan. And the final triumph of God 395 00:22:05,080 --> 00:22:09,400 over sin and of Satan and the final safety of the believer in 396 00:22:09,400 --> 00:22:13,280 the Kingdom one day is 100% assured by the things that are 397 00:22:13,280 --> 00:22:17,840 taught in this particular book. As we study this book, we focus 398 00:22:17,840 --> 00:22:21,800 on one all the allegories assembles, the fascinating 399 00:22:21,800 --> 00:22:26,720 events, the judgments, all the focus on futuristic events. 400 00:22:26,840 --> 00:22:30,000 All well and good exciting, but this is what we focus on. 401 00:22:30,000 --> 00:22:34,680 The him who loved us, Jesus, the one who washed us from our sins 402 00:22:34,680 --> 00:22:37,880 in his own blood. That's the most important thing 403 00:22:38,760 --> 00:22:42,640 and has made us kings and priests to his God and Father, 404 00:22:42,960 --> 00:22:48,320 to him be glory and dominion forever and ever, all men. 405 00:22:48,640 --> 00:22:53,840 So today I look at you as students of God's Word, but I 406 00:22:54,040 --> 00:22:57,760 must also see you as kings and priests here today, as you would 407 00:22:57,760 --> 00:23:01,320 see me that way. We have been given a royal 408 00:23:01,960 --> 00:23:07,160 privilege to be called not only the sons and daughters of God, 409 00:23:07,160 --> 00:23:09,520 but to be called priests and kings. 410 00:23:10,440 --> 00:23:13,440 I don't have a big empire. You don't either. 411 00:23:13,760 --> 00:23:18,440 But He has the empire that extends throughout all the 412 00:23:18,440 --> 00:23:23,520 universe, and He's chosen you to be a priest and a king within 413 00:23:23,520 --> 00:23:26,360 His Kingdom. So as we look at what's going on 414 00:23:26,360 --> 00:23:29,160 today and the struggles and the difficulties, the best is yet to 415 00:23:29,160 --> 00:23:31,800 come, isn't it? For those of us who know Christ 416 00:23:31,800 --> 00:23:33,800 and are called according to His purposes. 417 00:23:34,160 --> 00:23:35,840 So I encourage you to read ahead. 418 00:23:35,840 --> 00:23:37,400 We're going to go slow through this book. 419 00:23:37,640 --> 00:23:40,120 We'll be working through this first chapter in the weeks to 420 00:23:40,120 --> 00:23:42,280 come. May the Lord open your heart. 421 00:23:42,280 --> 00:23:45,400 May He excite you about what He has planned to teach you through 422 00:23:45,400 --> 00:23:49,440 this, and may He cause the Person of Jesus Christ to become 423 00:23:49,440 --> 00:23:52,280 more real. I'm more alive to you than He's 424 00:23:52,280 --> 00:23:54,840 ever been before. That's my hope, my prayer for 425 00:23:54,840 --> 00:23:58,760 all of us. Thanks for being with us today 426 00:23:58,760 --> 00:24:01,920 here on Living Waters of Grace. We are in the Book of 427 00:24:01,920 --> 00:24:06,040 Revelation, and we find it fascinating how influential and 428 00:24:06,040 --> 00:24:09,080 involved the angels are in this book. 429 00:24:09,640 --> 00:24:13,640 They bring about whatever it is that God has instructed them to 430 00:24:13,640 --> 00:24:17,000 do, but it's through their actions that much of the 431 00:24:17,000 --> 00:24:20,920 judgements come on the earth. The angels are in submission to 432 00:24:20,920 --> 00:24:25,000 God as their authority, but He utilizes them in unique ways 433 00:24:25,000 --> 00:24:28,440 throughout this book. Like angels have a specific 434 00:24:28,440 --> 00:24:32,120 purpose from God, you have a unique purpose and plan to. 435 00:24:32,640 --> 00:24:36,360 God wants to use you in your life as a testimony to others 436 00:24:36,640 --> 00:24:39,840 and to bring others who are currently lost into the fold of 437 00:24:39,840 --> 00:24:42,520 God. God would love more than 438 00:24:42,560 --> 00:24:45,960 anything for all who are willing to come to Him for salvation. 439 00:24:46,640 --> 00:24:50,480 He wants it to be their choice, not a forced situation. 440 00:24:51,000 --> 00:24:55,320 This is the way God works, not forcing himself on anyone, but 441 00:24:55,320 --> 00:24:59,520 giving each person free will. If you're interested in learning 442 00:24:59,520 --> 00:25:03,440 about this choice that's free and that it's a gift, go to 443 00:25:03,440 --> 00:25:08,560 calvarychapelonline.com and click on the About Us tab and 444 00:25:08,560 --> 00:25:11,240 then find the link for what we believe. 445 00:25:11,800 --> 00:25:14,960 We'd love to be a help and a resource for you as you walk 446 00:25:14,960 --> 00:25:18,040 through what it means to be a follower of Jesus. 447 00:25:18,560 --> 00:25:22,040 If you find the contact tab on our website, you can get in 448 00:25:22,040 --> 00:25:24,760 touch with us or submit a prayer request. 449 00:25:25,160 --> 00:25:28,680 We'd love to hear from you. That's all for today's edition 450 00:25:28,680 --> 00:25:32,600 and Revelation, but there's much more that Pastor Clark plans to 451 00:25:32,600 --> 00:25:36,040 share with us from this culminating book of the Bible. 452 00:25:36,520 --> 00:25:39,200 Stay tuned for that and make sure to mention this radio 453 00:25:39,200 --> 00:25:42,800 program to others. Invite them to tune in to Grace 454 00:25:42,800 --> 00:25:50,040 FM 91.7 FM and they can stream worldwide at Grace Radio dot FM. 455 00:25:50,480 --> 00:25:53,320 This has been living Waters of Grace.