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 00:00:37,040 --> 00:00:40,120 We believe that most of the prophecy that we read in 6 00:00:40,120 --> 00:00:43,880 Revelation has yet to be fulfilled and it awaits future 7 00:00:43,880 --> 00:00:46,480 fulfillment. We look at everything from 8 00:00:46,480 --> 00:00:50,560 chapter 4 to the end of the book as a very short period before 9 00:00:50,560 --> 00:00:54,120 the 2nd coming of Jesus Christ. The main point though, when we 10 00:00:54,120 --> 00:00:58,200 study this book is to realize that the Book of Revelation was 11 00:00:58,200 --> 00:01:00,800 written to be understood, not to confuse people. 12 00:01:01,080 --> 00:01:04,680 There is much light that can be given to you as you study this 13 00:01:04,680 --> 00:01:06,680 book. My great grandmother loved 14 00:01:06,680 --> 00:01:08,600 puzzles. Despite her dementia. 15 00:01:08,960 --> 00:01:12,480 She could knock out a puzzle quicker than most and attempted 16 00:01:12,480 --> 00:01:16,720 many puzzles, some big, some small, and all with varying 17 00:01:16,720 --> 00:01:19,640 success. Without the box, however, it 18 00:01:19,640 --> 00:01:23,160 becomes much more difficult. Similarly, the Book of 19 00:01:23,160 --> 00:01:26,480 Revelation becomes difficult to comprehend without an 20 00:01:26,480 --> 00:01:28,680 understanding of the bigger picture. 21 00:01:29,240 --> 00:01:32,800 In today's message, Pastor Clark helps us start to assemble the 22 00:01:32,800 --> 00:01:37,640 pieces of John's visions that he has recorded in this final book 23 00:01:37,640 --> 00:01:40,640 of the Bible. Now here's Pastor Clark in the 24 00:01:40,640 --> 00:01:44,800 Book of Revelation chapter one with today's edition of Living 25 00:01:44,800 --> 00:01:47,560 Waters of Grace. The Book of Revelation. 26 00:01:47,560 --> 00:01:50,800 A lot of different views and different parts of the body of 27 00:01:50,800 --> 00:01:53,400 Christ. Confusion for some people. 28 00:01:53,640 --> 00:01:56,880 Some people getting arguments and debates about what this book 29 00:01:56,880 --> 00:01:59,280 means or what it's all about. I'm not going to do that. 30 00:01:59,280 --> 00:02:03,280 I'm not interested in arguing about the Bible, you know, I 31 00:02:03,280 --> 00:02:07,000 just want to follow the Lord. Just have a simple walk with the 32 00:02:07,000 --> 00:02:10,919 Lord and love him and do what he tells me to do and not argue 33 00:02:10,919 --> 00:02:13,600 about things that people seem to get uptight about. 34 00:02:13,600 --> 00:02:16,880 So we want to approach the book from a very practical point of 35 00:02:16,880 --> 00:02:20,240 view, a very simple point of view, and at the same time do 36 00:02:20,240 --> 00:02:24,440 justice to the theology and the history and the teachings of 37 00:02:24,680 --> 00:02:27,640 this book by the person of the Holy Spirit. 38 00:02:28,160 --> 00:02:30,800 So I'm going to give you some background information today, 39 00:02:30,800 --> 00:02:33,360 and I hope it won't prove boring to you, but I think it's 40 00:02:33,360 --> 00:02:36,080 important to have a infrastructure of basis, a 41 00:02:36,080 --> 00:02:40,440 foundation of understanding the book and what it is conveying. 42 00:02:40,760 --> 00:02:44,000 The word revelation comes from the Greek word called the 43 00:02:44,000 --> 00:02:48,160 Apocalypse and that is the unveiling and the uncovering of 44 00:02:48,160 --> 00:02:51,920 what has not yet been seen or revealed up until the time that 45 00:02:51,920 --> 00:02:55,480 this book has been given by the Lord Jesus Christ. 46 00:02:55,680 --> 00:02:58,000 It's called the Revelation of Jesus Christ. 47 00:02:58,000 --> 00:03:02,880 Now the Apostle John wrote this book as he was spoken to by the 48 00:03:02,880 --> 00:03:06,760 Angel of God and at times Jesus Christ directly. 49 00:03:07,240 --> 00:03:11,600 And as a result of that we have some similarities that we can 50 00:03:11,600 --> 00:03:14,720 draw upon from some of his style of writing. 51 00:03:14,720 --> 00:03:16,720 He's the one that wrote the Gospel of John. 52 00:03:17,160 --> 00:03:19,000 He also wrote the three epistles. 53 00:03:19,000 --> 00:03:22,680 Of course, John the Apostle, the beloved one of Jesus Christ, He 54 00:03:22,680 --> 00:03:24,800 had a tremendous relationship with the Lord. 55 00:03:25,200 --> 00:03:29,040 And so this book, as it says in first one, the revelation of 56 00:03:29,040 --> 00:03:32,840 Jesus Christ, which God gave to him to show his servants things 57 00:03:32,840 --> 00:03:37,720 which must shortly take place, things will eventually soon take 58 00:03:37,720 --> 00:03:40,360 place. There's four approaches or views 59 00:03:40,360 --> 00:03:44,320 historically of how to interpret this Book of Revelation being 60 00:03:44,320 --> 00:03:47,840 predictive prophecy. The first reference that I want 61 00:03:47,840 --> 00:03:49,880 to share is called the historic approach. 62 00:03:50,280 --> 00:03:55,120 And the historic approach was sort of the Protestant view of a 63 00:03:55,120 --> 00:03:58,040 lot of people down through the ages, from the time that John 64 00:03:58,040 --> 00:04:01,560 wrote this book till the fulfillment of the second coming 65 00:04:01,560 --> 00:04:05,040 of Christ at the end of time. The people that take the 66 00:04:05,040 --> 00:04:08,840 historic approach look at the fulfillment of the truths and 67 00:04:08,840 --> 00:04:14,600 revelation as a process of progress going from the time of 68 00:04:14,920 --> 00:04:18,959 Christ's ascension to the time that he returns. 69 00:04:18,959 --> 00:04:22,160 And this has been unfolding over the last 2000 years. 70 00:04:22,160 --> 00:04:25,640 That's an approach. Another view is the preterist 71 00:04:25,640 --> 00:04:28,880 view and the preterist believe there's two types of preterist, 72 00:04:28,960 --> 00:04:31,120 the full preterist and the partial preterist. 73 00:04:31,120 --> 00:04:34,440 The full preterist would actually say that everything in 74 00:04:34,440 --> 00:04:36,720 Revelation has already been fulfilled. 75 00:04:37,160 --> 00:04:38,760 That's crazy. But they believe the second 76 00:04:38,760 --> 00:04:42,280 coming of Christ occurred after the destruction of Jerusalem in 77 00:04:42,360 --> 00:04:45,320 AD 70 and that we're living in a Kingdom age now. 78 00:04:45,320 --> 00:04:47,600 And I don't know about you, but if this is a Kingdom age, I'm 79 00:04:47,600 --> 00:04:50,200 going to have to like look for a different savior because this 80 00:04:50,200 --> 00:04:52,920 ain't working, right? So for me, that's absurd. 81 00:04:52,920 --> 00:04:55,120 You know, I've met people to have that view and it's 82 00:04:55,120 --> 00:04:58,360 heretical. I remember Paul declaring about 83 00:04:58,360 --> 00:05:03,120 those in the time that he was living that proclaimed that the 84 00:05:03,120 --> 00:05:06,640 Lord had come and that the people had missed the rapture. 85 00:05:06,640 --> 00:05:08,960 And I mean this. And he said that these people 86 00:05:08,960 --> 00:05:12,640 come to overthrow the faith of the week and they're not 87 00:05:12,640 --> 00:05:15,240 biblical people. Also, we have the view of 88 00:05:15,240 --> 00:05:17,360 partial preterist and partial preterist. 89 00:05:17,360 --> 00:05:20,920 See the final chapters of the Book of Revelation yet to be 90 00:05:20,920 --> 00:05:23,560 revealed. So they're obviously not in the 91 00:05:23,560 --> 00:05:26,480 same camp as full preterist. They are looking forward to the 92 00:05:26,480 --> 00:05:29,240 second coming of Christ. I think like the Bible answer, 93 00:05:29,240 --> 00:05:32,800 man Hank, he's one of those guys that are considering himself as 94 00:05:32,800 --> 00:05:35,880 a partial preterist. I don't know when people call 95 00:05:35,880 --> 00:05:38,440 themselves a Bible answer man, and they claim that they're 96 00:05:38,440 --> 00:05:41,520 speaking for everyone that believes the Bible, think it's 97 00:05:41,520 --> 00:05:43,480 shaky. I think he has some valuable 98 00:05:43,480 --> 00:05:46,080 things to say, but there's some things that he says that I don't 99 00:05:46,080 --> 00:05:49,840 think you're rooted in sound biblical exegesis. 100 00:05:50,360 --> 00:05:52,040 And then there's a spiritual approach. 101 00:05:52,040 --> 00:05:54,960 And this is the group of people that look at everything in 102 00:05:54,960 --> 00:05:57,360 Revelation is symbolism or allegory. 103 00:05:57,720 --> 00:06:01,440 They see it as a drama depicting transcendent spiritual 104 00:06:01,440 --> 00:06:04,280 realities. They see these historical events 105 00:06:04,280 --> 00:06:08,160 throughout the ages rather than time specific fulfillments. 106 00:06:08,560 --> 00:06:11,480 And they believe that revelation can be a part of any age. 107 00:06:11,480 --> 00:06:14,280 So those are three of the major views. 108 00:06:14,280 --> 00:06:18,880 Our view is a futuristic approach and nowadays people 109 00:06:18,880 --> 00:06:22,080 that you listen to on the radio that you might like or respect, 110 00:06:22,080 --> 00:06:26,000 like of course, Chuck Smith, Calvary Chapel, John MacArthur, 111 00:06:26,360 --> 00:06:30,680 Charles Stanley, Chuck Swindoll, guys that you hear on the radio 112 00:06:30,680 --> 00:06:34,240 that are still sound, David, Jeremiah that are very similar 113 00:06:34,240 --> 00:06:37,480 in their approach and teaching the word that we are here all 114 00:06:37,480 --> 00:06:41,320 are futuristic exegetical Bible teachers. 115 00:06:41,320 --> 00:06:44,760 And so we believe that most of the prophecy that we read in 116 00:06:44,760 --> 00:06:48,480 Revelation has yet to be fulfilled and it awaits future 117 00:06:48,480 --> 00:06:51,080 fulfillment. We look at everything from 118 00:06:51,080 --> 00:06:55,160 chapter 4 to the end of the book as a very short period before 119 00:06:55,160 --> 00:06:58,680 the 2nd coming of Jesus Christ. The main point, though, when we 120 00:06:58,680 --> 00:07:02,720 study this book is to realize that the Book of Revelation was 121 00:07:02,720 --> 00:07:05,400 written to be understood, not to confuse people. 122 00:07:05,640 --> 00:07:09,200 There's much light that can be given to you as you study this 123 00:07:09,200 --> 00:07:12,720 book, as we study it in the light of other prophetical books 124 00:07:12,720 --> 00:07:15,880 like Daniel, Ezekiel, Joel, and others. 125 00:07:16,160 --> 00:07:20,040 So when you're studying this book, we encourage that, as John 126 00:07:20,040 --> 00:07:23,760 promised, there's a special blessing for those who read this 127 00:07:23,760 --> 00:07:26,920 book and hear the book and do what it says. 128 00:07:27,320 --> 00:07:29,200 So that's the most important thing. 129 00:07:29,680 --> 00:07:33,200 Now, when we look at futuristic events, they are, to be honest 130 00:07:33,200 --> 00:07:36,320 with you, somewhat obscure. When you read certain things, 131 00:07:36,320 --> 00:07:39,280 you sort of in your own mind, think, well, how will this come 132 00:07:39,280 --> 00:07:41,600 the past and how will this actually work out? 133 00:07:41,600 --> 00:07:43,880 And you have some questions, which is good. 134 00:07:44,200 --> 00:07:46,840 And if you have questions as opposed to thinking you know it 135 00:07:46,840 --> 00:07:49,680 all, that's a good thing because you want to approach this book 136 00:07:49,680 --> 00:07:53,200 with humility, understanding that there's still some things 137 00:07:53,200 --> 00:07:56,360 that need to come to pass. And you'll definitely know them 138 00:07:56,360 --> 00:07:58,800 after they come to pass. But before they come to pass, 139 00:07:59,040 --> 00:08:01,400 sometimes you know, you're looking through a glass starkly. 140 00:08:01,400 --> 00:08:02,720 You just don't know for sure yet. 141 00:08:02,720 --> 00:08:05,760 But the bottom line we one thing we do know for sure is that 142 00:08:05,760 --> 00:08:09,240 Christ is coming back again. He promised he would come back 143 00:08:09,240 --> 00:08:11,080 again. So to gain a correct 144 00:08:11,080 --> 00:08:14,280 understanding of this book, first of all you have to 145 00:08:14,280 --> 00:08:17,440 recognize that this book was written as an epistle to a 146 00:08:17,440 --> 00:08:21,480 certain group of churches at the time that the apostle John was 147 00:08:21,480 --> 00:08:24,680 living. It was very, very important, the 148 00:08:24,680 --> 00:08:27,000 things that he was addressing because they were given to him 149 00:08:27,000 --> 00:08:30,080 by Jesus Christ. And the churches at that time 150 00:08:30,120 --> 00:08:32,559 were in disarray just like they are today. 151 00:08:32,559 --> 00:08:35,880 You could take those seven churches of Revelation and 152 00:08:35,880 --> 00:08:38,880 compare them to churches in our time and you could say, well, 153 00:08:38,880 --> 00:08:41,320 what kind of church is Calvary Chapel, you know, and you would 154 00:08:41,320 --> 00:08:44,880 be able to hopefully look at that list and line us up with 155 00:08:45,120 --> 00:08:47,760 hopefully the Church of Philadelphia that still has a 156 00:08:47,760 --> 00:08:51,320 little faith and is persevering. Hopefully you wouldn't say, 157 00:08:51,320 --> 00:08:55,800 well, recoveries like Laodicea, that would be a real horrible 158 00:08:55,800 --> 00:08:59,120 thing to be in a church like that prior to the return of the 159 00:08:59,120 --> 00:09:01,400 Lord. But in the last days, it talks 160 00:09:01,400 --> 00:09:04,880 about many falling away from the faith as we've studied in Jude 161 00:09:04,880 --> 00:09:08,040 and the epistles of John, giving heed to seducing spirits and 162 00:09:08,040 --> 00:09:11,680 doctrines of demons, people who are believing things today that 163 00:09:11,680 --> 00:09:13,840 they wouldn't have believed 20 years ago. 164 00:09:13,840 --> 00:09:17,480 And so I believe that we are moving more toward the days of 165 00:09:17,480 --> 00:09:19,520 Laodicea. Matter of fact, it says when the 166 00:09:19,920 --> 00:09:23,520 Son of Man comes, he says, well, I even find faith on the earth. 167 00:09:24,720 --> 00:09:28,840 And this the great falling away is the tragic thing where people 168 00:09:28,840 --> 00:09:31,520 will no longer value the truths of the word of God. 169 00:09:31,520 --> 00:09:33,960 They'll no longer find a need to worship God. 170 00:09:34,160 --> 00:09:36,240 They'll have many other things that are capturing their 171 00:09:36,240 --> 00:09:39,840 attention and they'll begin to slip away from what is really, 172 00:09:39,840 --> 00:09:42,320 really important. But this book addresses the 173 00:09:42,320 --> 00:09:46,040 specific needs and interests and issues at the time that it was 174 00:09:46,040 --> 00:09:48,080 written, what these people were actually going through. 175 00:09:48,480 --> 00:09:51,960 But it also needs to be understood how it's applied to 176 00:09:52,200 --> 00:09:55,160 the circumstances and the days that we're also living. 177 00:09:55,840 --> 00:09:58,920 And if you look at the book that way, then you're able to more 178 00:09:58,920 --> 00:10:04,960 objectively transfer certain truths to our own times with our 179 00:10:04,960 --> 00:10:08,320 own specific needs and issues. So Revelation is a book of 180 00:10:08,320 --> 00:10:14,880 prophecy that's designed to encourage you, to warn you, and 181 00:10:14,880 --> 00:10:17,280 to comfort you. Now, if you're a believer today 182 00:10:17,280 --> 00:10:20,000 and you're walking with the Lord, and as the old hymn says, 183 00:10:20,000 --> 00:10:24,080 it's well with my soul, you can be totally engulfed in 184 00:10:24,080 --> 00:10:26,600 everything this book's teaching because you're anticipating and 185 00:10:26,600 --> 00:10:28,360 looking forward to the return of the Lord. 186 00:10:28,800 --> 00:10:32,120 If you're backslidden or you're not following the Lord or you 187 00:10:32,200 --> 00:10:36,200 don't know Christ yet, this book can be a horror for you because 188 00:10:36,200 --> 00:10:40,280 it will begin to expose you to some very, very serious things 189 00:10:40,280 --> 00:10:42,800 that await those who are without Christ. 190 00:10:43,160 --> 00:10:45,560 And if it's what brings you to Christ and gets you saved, 191 00:10:45,560 --> 00:10:48,240 that's a good thing. You know, God doesn't use 192 00:10:48,560 --> 00:10:52,400 illustrations to destroy you. He writes these things that you 193 00:10:52,400 --> 00:10:56,240 might be saved. So chapter 2 and three, as we 194 00:10:56,240 --> 00:10:58,520 will eventually look at that will give us a history of the 195 00:10:58,520 --> 00:11:01,720 testimony, as I said, of the seven churches of Asia Minor. 196 00:11:02,040 --> 00:11:05,480 But as I said, this message of revelation is given to comfort 197 00:11:05,640 --> 00:11:08,200 the persecuted people at the time that they were living. 198 00:11:08,640 --> 00:11:11,400 The persecution on the face of the earth during the days of the 199 00:11:11,400 --> 00:11:15,600 apostles was unbelievable. The Roman Empire was evil. 200 00:11:15,760 --> 00:11:18,600 All it wanted to do was destroy and martyr the Christians. 201 00:11:18,880 --> 00:11:23,120 And so John is writing this book not only to educate them about 202 00:11:23,120 --> 00:11:26,000 what's going to eventually happen, to comfort those who are 203 00:11:26,000 --> 00:11:31,080 persecuted, afflicted in their righteous walks, and also called 204 00:11:31,080 --> 00:11:33,400 a repentance to those who are straying. 205 00:11:34,040 --> 00:11:38,400 So chapters 4 through 22 will give you a predictive analysis 206 00:11:38,400 --> 00:11:42,160 of the events that will be occurring after these things are 207 00:11:42,160 --> 00:11:45,360 established. Now, the Book of Revelation is 208 00:11:45,360 --> 00:11:47,640 apocalyptic literature. As you see this, you might say, 209 00:11:47,640 --> 00:11:49,760 man, what in the world is that? It looks like some guy's on an 210 00:11:49,760 --> 00:11:52,560 LSD trip or something. You know, it's just very, very 211 00:11:52,560 --> 00:11:56,280 bizarre, the symbolism and the metaphors that are used in that 212 00:11:56,280 --> 00:11:59,080 kind of stuff. It's like other than this world, 213 00:11:59,080 --> 00:12:02,000 but as we study it, we're going to see that even though it's 214 00:12:02,000 --> 00:12:06,400 apocalyptic and it's expanse, it's very, very practical and 215 00:12:06,400 --> 00:12:09,200 many things can be actually seen as literal. 216 00:12:09,640 --> 00:12:12,400 Apocalyptic literature during the time of John was very 217 00:12:12,520 --> 00:12:14,360 popular. There was other books that were 218 00:12:14,360 --> 00:12:18,000 written that weren't considered part of the Canon or the Bible 219 00:12:18,000 --> 00:12:20,760 that we have today. And so they talked and they use 220 00:12:20,760 --> 00:12:24,600 this kind of writing back then and it reveals certain mysteries 221 00:12:24,600 --> 00:12:28,080 about heaven and earth, about man and God, about angels and 222 00:12:28,080 --> 00:12:31,440 demons and the life of the world today and the world to come. 223 00:12:31,680 --> 00:12:34,680 So all these things are part of what you're going to be getting 224 00:12:34,680 --> 00:12:37,320 exposed to in this book. It's a very, very important 225 00:12:37,320 --> 00:12:39,480 book, especially for these days that we're living. 226 00:12:40,120 --> 00:12:43,600 The book was written in the times of intense persecution 227 00:12:43,760 --> 00:12:48,040 somewhere around 96 AD, where you had different Antiochus 228 00:12:48,040 --> 00:12:52,520 Epiphanes, you had Cyrus, you had Nero and had Dormition. 229 00:12:53,080 --> 00:12:57,120 These different world rulers at the time were Roman empires and 230 00:12:57,120 --> 00:13:00,560 they were ungodly. And so their whole focus was to 231 00:13:00,760 --> 00:13:04,160 destroy this new group of people called Christians. 232 00:13:04,480 --> 00:13:07,200 John talks in verse 9. He says I'm your brother and 233 00:13:07,200 --> 00:13:11,040 companion in this tribulation and Kingdom and patience of 234 00:13:11,080 --> 00:13:13,880 Jesus Christ. So he's in the situation himself 235 00:13:13,880 --> 00:13:17,440 as well of understanding the times that they're living in, 236 00:13:17,640 --> 00:13:21,440 great suffering at that time and also great suffering that's 237 00:13:21,440 --> 00:13:25,480 lying ahead for those who will still be on the earth after the 238 00:13:25,480 --> 00:13:29,400 rapture, martyrdom, recurring theme throughout this book, the 239 00:13:29,400 --> 00:13:32,520 number of people who have died for their faith since the 240 00:13:32,520 --> 00:13:35,080 inception of the gospel. Is this unbelievable? 241 00:13:35,240 --> 00:13:38,080 We're fortunate enough to live in a country where at this point 242 00:13:38,080 --> 00:13:42,160 in time, we're not being hung on crosses or burning oil. 243 00:13:42,440 --> 00:13:45,560 Now, what's interesting here, these seven churches were in 244 00:13:45,560 --> 00:13:48,040 what today is considered modern Turkey. 245 00:13:48,280 --> 00:13:50,840 Now, if anybody knows anything about Turkey today, it's 246 00:13:50,840 --> 00:13:57,160 primarily an Islamic country. 90% of the population in Turkey 247 00:13:57,160 --> 00:14:00,000 is Islam. There's only a few Orthodox 248 00:14:00,000 --> 00:14:02,320 Christians left there in that country. 249 00:14:02,320 --> 00:14:05,680 And that country initially was one of the Seas of the early 250 00:14:05,680 --> 00:14:07,920 church. Constantinople, one of the 251 00:14:07,920 --> 00:14:11,680 largest churches built in our history, was built in that 252 00:14:11,680 --> 00:14:14,320 particular country. And now it's this, a museum. 253 00:14:15,080 --> 00:14:20,240 But as we look in this book, the vision of John is imagery that 254 00:14:20,240 --> 00:14:23,880 you just in your own mind, outside of looking at Movies 255 00:14:23,880 --> 00:14:27,440 Now, going to the theater, we're all familiar with monsters and 256 00:14:27,440 --> 00:14:32,360 Dragons and that kind of stuff. But he uses all these pictures 257 00:14:32,600 --> 00:14:35,960 in this book to convey deeper thoughts. 258 00:14:36,360 --> 00:14:39,440 And there's also a lot of numbers that are given in the 259 00:14:39,440 --> 00:14:42,880 book, names depicting the conflict between good and evil. 260 00:14:43,520 --> 00:14:46,640 Now, symbolism in the sense of me just making it up as I go 261 00:14:46,640 --> 00:14:48,880 along, I think it means this. I think it means that I'm not 262 00:14:48,880 --> 00:14:51,320 going to do that to you. I'm going to give you some 263 00:14:51,320 --> 00:14:54,160 history from other books of the Bible that will help connect 264 00:14:54,400 --> 00:14:56,880 some of the symbolism and make it more literal. 265 00:14:57,120 --> 00:15:01,000 But you just can't arbitrarily take what's in this book and try 266 00:15:01,000 --> 00:15:03,880 to make everything literal because not everything is 267 00:15:03,880 --> 00:15:05,920 revealed yet. We're still waiting for some of 268 00:15:05,920 --> 00:15:08,040 these things to develop in the future. 269 00:15:08,160 --> 00:15:12,040 And there's an old term in seminaries and Bible college 270 00:15:12,240 --> 00:15:15,320 called hermeneutics. And hermeneutics is a study of 271 00:15:15,320 --> 00:15:18,200 how to interpret Scripture. And it says when the plain sense 272 00:15:18,200 --> 00:15:21,040 of Scripture makes common sense, seek no other sense. 273 00:15:21,320 --> 00:15:24,720 But take every word at its literal meaning unless studied 274 00:15:24,720 --> 00:15:27,600 in the light of related passages, something else is 275 00:15:27,600 --> 00:15:31,400 indicated otherwise. And so when we look at this, 276 00:15:31,760 --> 00:15:34,880 we're going to look at it in regards to the related passages, 277 00:15:35,240 --> 00:15:39,360 But as we think about some of the things that John was going 278 00:15:39,360 --> 00:15:43,920 to be writing about, a lot of these symbols that he's speaking 279 00:15:43,920 --> 00:15:48,640 about really relate to personal and national entities at that 280 00:15:48,640 --> 00:15:52,000 time that they were living and what would eventually develop in 281 00:15:52,000 --> 00:15:54,200 the future. Many of these leaders are 282 00:15:54,200 --> 00:15:57,760 portrayed as animals. We see the symbolism of the Lamb 283 00:15:57,760 --> 00:16:00,760 and it refers to our Savior, Jesus Christ, the Lamb who was 284 00:16:00,760 --> 00:16:03,400 slain before the foundation of the earth. 285 00:16:03,640 --> 00:16:07,120 The dragon is referred, Satan himself and the beast, the 286 00:16:07,120 --> 00:16:10,200 demonic spirits and the mutant locusts, all these things that 287 00:16:10,200 --> 00:16:13,600 we'll read in time. He also discusses cities and 288 00:16:13,600 --> 00:16:15,840 they're depicted as harlots and a bride. 289 00:16:16,120 --> 00:16:19,960 And we look at Babylon and Sodom and Egypt and Jerusalem, and in 290 00:16:19,960 --> 00:16:23,720 the context of those kind of things also at that time, as he 291 00:16:23,720 --> 00:16:27,480 looks at the symbols that he's been given, they represent 292 00:16:27,480 --> 00:16:31,560 political upheaval that will eventually occur and also terms 293 00:16:31,560 --> 00:16:34,920 of cosmic disruptions. We read in Matthew about the sun 294 00:16:34,920 --> 00:16:38,200 and moon, and also in Revelation being darkened, the stars 295 00:16:38,200 --> 00:16:41,240 falling, every island, the mountain disappearing. 296 00:16:41,360 --> 00:16:44,600 Also the number 7 is used throughout this book. 297 00:16:44,600 --> 00:16:49,520 And #7 refers to completeness and perfection in the Scriptures 298 00:16:49,680 --> 00:16:52,920 and throughout the Scripture, Deuteronomy, Psalms, and 299 00:16:52,920 --> 00:16:55,280 Proverbs, this number is used many, many times. 300 00:16:55,560 --> 00:16:58,400 In the Book of Revelation, this number is used to refer to the 301 00:16:58,400 --> 00:17:02,120 seven churches, the seven seals, the seven trumpets, the seven 302 00:17:02,120 --> 00:17:04,960 bowls, the seven thunders, and the seven beatitudes. 303 00:17:05,200 --> 00:17:08,160 There are beatitudes in the Book of Revelation and the first one 304 00:17:08,400 --> 00:17:11,400 we read the day about. Those who read this book are 305 00:17:11,400 --> 00:17:13,480 blessed. Those who hear the words of the 306 00:17:13,480 --> 00:17:16,720 prophecy are blessed, and those who keep those things which are 307 00:17:16,720 --> 00:17:19,119 written in it for the time is near. 308 00:17:19,119 --> 00:17:22,720 That's the first beatitudes of the seven in the Book of 309 00:17:22,720 --> 00:17:24,960 Revelation. There's also fractions and 310 00:17:24,960 --> 00:17:29,960 numbers given like 1/3 multiples of 12, like the 24 elders before 311 00:17:29,960 --> 00:17:33,960 the throne and 144,000 witnesses during the time of the 312 00:17:33,960 --> 00:17:38,440 tribulation, the thousand year reign. 10 days, one hour, a 313 00:17:38,440 --> 00:17:40,640 little while he uses all these times. 314 00:17:41,160 --> 00:17:44,400 As we look at this book, Revelation, it is completely 315 00:17:44,400 --> 00:17:47,520 different pretty much than any other book in the Scriptures. 316 00:17:48,080 --> 00:17:50,360 Matter of fact, there was a lot of controversy in the early 317 00:17:50,360 --> 00:17:53,200 church as to whether it should be part of the Canon. 318 00:17:53,200 --> 00:17:57,160 Now, the apostles, obviously they're the forerunners of the 319 00:17:57,200 --> 00:18:00,760 church, and what they were given is what we have today in our 320 00:18:00,760 --> 00:18:03,360 Scriptures. But there was a lot of confusion 321 00:18:03,360 --> 00:18:06,680 back then because of the inability to even begin to 322 00:18:06,680 --> 00:18:09,960 comprehend in the slightest way what this book was saying at 323 00:18:09,960 --> 00:18:13,280 that time. But it is truly inspired by God 324 00:18:13,280 --> 00:18:17,000 as a prophecy. It identifies very clearly to us 325 00:18:17,000 --> 00:18:21,040 the name of its true author. It actually predicts the future, 326 00:18:21,520 --> 00:18:25,560 and it's an epistle in the apocalyptic mode that predicts 327 00:18:25,560 --> 00:18:29,760 events of the future under the inspiration of God, the Holy 328 00:18:29,760 --> 00:18:34,080 Spirit. Now, the reign of this emperor, 329 00:18:34,600 --> 00:18:39,200 the mission, he was a very, very terrible, mean ruler. 330 00:18:39,720 --> 00:18:43,240 He wanted to persecute the whole region. 331 00:18:43,720 --> 00:18:46,440 Nero just had the ability to affect Rome at the time. 332 00:18:46,440 --> 00:18:50,320 But as the church grew, this man who was in charge, the emperor 333 00:18:50,320 --> 00:18:54,560 at the time, had the ability to deal with the whole area and try 334 00:18:54,560 --> 00:18:56,600 to destroy everybody that lived at that time. 335 00:18:56,960 --> 00:19:00,320 We study in history that Nicodemus was one of those who 336 00:19:00,320 --> 00:19:03,480 were martyred during this time of this reign of this evil 337 00:19:03,760 --> 00:19:05,680 emperor. Also Timothy. 338 00:19:05,960 --> 00:19:09,440 Timothy was out in the streets speaking against the ungodly 339 00:19:09,440 --> 00:19:12,120 role this leader and the things that were happening and the 340 00:19:12,120 --> 00:19:15,400 people came upon him and clubbed him and physically beat him in a 341 00:19:15,400 --> 00:19:18,120 couple days after his beating he he died. 342 00:19:18,320 --> 00:19:22,880 It's taught that John the Apostle was boiled in oil before 343 00:19:22,920 --> 00:19:25,760 he was sent an eggs out to this Isle of Patmos. 344 00:19:26,000 --> 00:19:29,480 And so he, as he said in verse 9, I'm your brother and 345 00:19:29,480 --> 00:19:32,840 companion in the Tribulation. He was experiencing the horror. 346 00:19:33,440 --> 00:19:36,640 And so as we look at these churches, they were all at 347 00:19:36,640 --> 00:19:41,000 different levels in their spiritual foundation as to how 348 00:19:41,000 --> 00:19:43,160 they were following Jesus Christ. 349 00:19:43,640 --> 00:19:46,800 As we study the book, you'll see there's a lot of allusion to 350 00:19:46,800 --> 00:19:50,320 other parts of the Bible, but there's not one quote from 351 00:19:50,320 --> 00:19:53,720 another book clearly defined in the Book of Revelation. 352 00:19:54,040 --> 00:19:58,040 There's imagery from hundreds of Old Testament passages though it 353 00:19:58,040 --> 00:20:01,600 gives a symbol of 2 olive trees referring to the two witnesses 354 00:20:01,600 --> 00:20:08,120 in Chapter 11 at Echo Zechariah 43. 11 through 14 referring to 355 00:20:08,120 --> 00:20:11,360 Zerubbabel and Joshua. There's hundreds of allusions to 356 00:20:11,360 --> 00:20:14,080 familiar images in the Old Testament from the book of 357 00:20:14,080 --> 00:20:18,880 Isaiah alone. 79 times alluded references Daniel 53 times 358 00:20:18,880 --> 00:20:24,800 Ezekiel 48 Psalms 43 times Exodus 27 times Jeremiah 22 359 00:20:24,800 --> 00:20:29,400 Zechariah 15 Amos 9 Joel 8. The Old Testament was the 360 00:20:30,280 --> 00:20:33,000 foundation of what the apostles taught from. 361 00:20:33,280 --> 00:20:35,640 They didn't have everything like you and I have now, so 362 00:20:35,640 --> 00:20:39,080 everything they drew upon was the Old Testament scriptures. 363 00:20:40,120 --> 00:20:45,960 It also gives us the insights of the matrix that are set up in 364 00:20:45,960 --> 00:20:48,160 the book. Like for example it gives the 365 00:20:48,160 --> 00:20:52,560 illustration of the Babylonian exile and Exodus and also 366 00:20:52,600 --> 00:20:54,400 comparing it to the life of Jesus. 367 00:20:54,840 --> 00:20:58,280 We see an evil power in the book of Exodus persecuting God's 368 00:20:58,280 --> 00:21:02,480 people, Pharaoh in Egypt, but we see an evil power persecuting 369 00:21:02,480 --> 00:21:05,200 God's people in the Book of Revelation, the Antichrist. 370 00:21:05,680 --> 00:21:09,080 We see plagues of darkness and hail and locusts and boils and 371 00:21:09,160 --> 00:21:12,840 frogs and water and turn into blood in the book of Exodus. 372 00:21:12,840 --> 00:21:15,920 We also see this revealed in the Book of Revelation. 373 00:21:16,200 --> 00:21:19,480 It talks about being delivered by the blood of the lamb in the 374 00:21:19,480 --> 00:21:21,400 Old Testament. In the book of Exodus, when the 375 00:21:21,400 --> 00:21:24,840 blood was put on the doorposts and the Angel of God spoke to 376 00:21:24,840 --> 00:21:28,480 the children of Israel saying when God sees the blood, he will 377 00:21:28,480 --> 00:21:31,880 pass over that house that the blood is applied to and they 378 00:21:31,880 --> 00:21:34,440 will not lose the life of the first born. 379 00:21:34,640 --> 00:21:37,920 But we also see in Revelation that we are delivered by the 380 00:21:37,920 --> 00:21:40,760 blood of Jesus Christ. Talks about the dragon, 381 00:21:40,840 --> 00:21:45,120 referring to the dragon in the Angel, the demonic forces of the 382 00:21:45,120 --> 00:21:49,320 devil in the Book of Revelation. Also in Ezekiel 29 three talks 383 00:21:49,320 --> 00:21:52,640 about the crossing of the Red Sea where they sang the song of 384 00:21:52,640 --> 00:21:57,120 Moses and the Redeem will sing in the Book of Revelation The 385 00:21:57,120 --> 00:22:01,280 song of Moses and the Lamb. In Revelation 15 it also 386 00:22:01,280 --> 00:22:03,960 discusses the Tabernacle and all its furnishings. 387 00:22:03,960 --> 00:22:06,800 In the book of Hebrews it discusses that the earthly 388 00:22:06,800 --> 00:22:11,640 Tabernacle is a model of the heavenly counterpart. 389 00:22:11,640 --> 00:22:15,080 A matter of fact, when you want to learn about worship, and I 390 00:22:15,080 --> 00:22:17,560 think we all have a lot more to learn about worship. 391 00:22:18,320 --> 00:22:21,840 Even though we worship the Lord here in spirit and truth and we 392 00:22:22,000 --> 00:22:25,200 lift our hearts up to God, we're only we've got a glimpse, a 393 00:22:25,200 --> 00:22:28,080 minor glimpse of what it's going to be like to worship and the 394 00:22:28,080 --> 00:22:29,800 Kingdom of heaven. But if you really want to see 395 00:22:29,800 --> 00:22:36,600 pure, divine, holy, God centered, God ordained worship, 396 00:22:36,600 --> 00:22:39,440 you read the worship in the Book of Revelation. 397 00:22:39,640 --> 00:22:43,280 John describes the atmosphere golden lampstands that are 398 00:22:43,280 --> 00:22:47,640 present in chapter 1 verse 12, hidden man associated with the 399 00:22:47,640 --> 00:22:51,720 ark of the covenant in chapter 2 verse 17, the altar of incense 400 00:22:51,720 --> 00:22:55,920 chapter 8 verse 3 through 5, the holy of holies in Chapter 11 401 00:22:56,480 --> 00:23:00,160 verse one and 15 verse 8, and the Ark of the covenant in 402 00:23:00,280 --> 00:23:04,880 Chapter 11 verse 19. We think about the birth of 403 00:23:04,880 --> 00:23:10,160 Christ and the death and the burial and the resurrection and 404 00:23:10,160 --> 00:23:13,920 his victory over Satan. A reference frequently in this 405 00:23:13,920 --> 00:23:16,080 book because it's all about Christ. 406 00:23:16,920 --> 00:23:20,720 His birth and ascension is depicted in chapter 12, verse 5. 407 00:23:21,120 --> 00:23:24,680 What's fascinating is when they talk about the two witnesses 408 00:23:25,200 --> 00:23:27,880 that will be on the earth during the time of the Tribulation, 409 00:23:27,880 --> 00:23:31,520 proclaiming the Kingdom of God and the coming of Christ. 410 00:23:31,760 --> 00:23:35,600 They mirror Christ's earthly ministry almost identically. 411 00:23:35,920 --> 00:23:38,440 Their ministry lasted 3 1/2 years. 412 00:23:38,440 --> 00:23:42,800 Christ's earthly ministry after the baptism was 3 1/2 years. 413 00:23:43,080 --> 00:23:45,720 Revelation 11 and Three speaks of these two witnesses. 414 00:23:46,040 --> 00:23:48,960 We believe they are Elijah and Enoch. 415 00:23:48,960 --> 00:23:52,640 Some people believe Elijah and Moses, but Elijah and Enoch, 416 00:23:52,800 --> 00:23:55,440 those two were the ones that never tasted physical death. 417 00:23:57,120 --> 00:24:00,720 This has been Living Waters of Grace with Pastor Clark. 418 00:24:01,160 --> 00:24:04,120 We're going through the challenging and also intriguing 419 00:24:04,120 --> 00:24:07,120 Book of Revelation. Whether you're a fan of reading 420 00:24:07,120 --> 00:24:09,920 ahead in books of fiction, there's such a benefit to 421 00:24:09,920 --> 00:24:13,480 reading ahead in the Bible to read about how it all ends. 422 00:24:13,960 --> 00:24:17,440 But in an interesting turn of events, the Book of Revelation 423 00:24:17,440 --> 00:24:21,640 is not really the end, but rather the beginning. 424 00:24:22,080 --> 00:24:25,040 It's the end of life as we know it here on earth. 425 00:24:25,160 --> 00:24:29,080 But there's so much to look forward to for what comes after 426 00:24:29,080 --> 00:24:32,240 all the judgement of the earth and those who reject God. 427 00:24:32,760 --> 00:24:36,520 There's a lot to work through, and it can be heartbreaking to 428 00:24:36,520 --> 00:24:40,120 read through the intense judgements and wrath that will 429 00:24:40,120 --> 00:24:42,880 come on those who hate God with all their might. 430 00:24:43,600 --> 00:24:47,000 The thing is, God has given chance upon chance to these 431 00:24:47,000 --> 00:24:48,600 people. They don't want it. 432 00:24:49,200 --> 00:24:53,440 So the outcome is that there are judgments and consequences for 433 00:24:53,440 --> 00:24:57,760 those who've rejected the good news and the gift of salvation 434 00:24:57,760 --> 00:25:01,200 that's offered through Jesus's death and resurrection. 435 00:25:01,880 --> 00:25:05,400 Are you one who has heard about these things but doesn't really 436 00:25:05,400 --> 00:25:09,520 want it because you want to live life on your terms? 437 00:25:10,080 --> 00:25:13,880 Trust me, living for Jesus is so much better. 438 00:25:14,560 --> 00:25:16,480 That doesn't mean it will be easy. 439 00:25:16,800 --> 00:25:20,440 As you listen and read through Revelation with us, you'll come 440 00:25:20,440 --> 00:25:24,040 to a stark realization that you don't want to be on earth when 441 00:25:24,040 --> 00:25:28,280 the apocalypse happens. So check out Calvary Chapel 442 00:25:28,280 --> 00:25:32,880 online.com to learn how to come to a saving grace through faith 443 00:25:33,200 --> 00:25:36,640 that will allow you to be with Jesus for eternity. 444 00:25:37,320 --> 00:25:40,200 We'd also love to meet you in person at Calvary Chapel 445 00:25:40,200 --> 00:25:43,960 Westmoreland. Come join us at 400 E Pittsburgh 446 00:25:43,960 --> 00:25:50,240 St., Ste. 6B in Greensburg, PA 15601. 447 00:25:50,840 --> 00:25:53,440 This has been living Waters of Grace.