Transcription
Welcome to studies in the book of Revelation. I am just so delighted that you have joined us. Over a thousand people have signed up for our class tonight, and I'm thrilled with the large group of people that are anxious to study the book of Revelation.
Let me tell you a little bit about the class. Our class will meet Wednesday evenings at 8:00. It will go precisely for an hour, from 8 to 9. If you have not yet signed up for the handouts for the class, I'd really encourage you to do that. This is a Bible study class. The handouts you can get at hope365.com/biblestudy. So each week, I'll prepare a handout for you that'll summarize the things we've gone over in our class.
Now, this uh class is being streamed on YouTube, the Hope Waves 365 YouTube channel, on Hope Waves 365 Facebook, Twitter, and Rumble. Now, the question is, how can you get the most out of class? Since this isn't a lecture, it's a Bible study. So, if you have your Bible sitting at a table with a notebook and a pen to take sufficient notes, I know you'll get the most out of class.
If you have questions, the way we'll handle questions is this. You can send the questions in to our hopelives365 website. The next week, as I get questions, so you'll want to send your questions again. We've just put up on the screen info@hopelives365.com. So, you'll want to send your questions there. If you have any questions about what we've studied this evening, when I begin next Wednesday night's class, I will then take some time, the first 5-10 minutes or so, to answer questions that have come in.
But again, this is a Bible study class, so I really want you to get your notebook out, your Bible out, get your Bible pen, you'll be underlining words, etc. So, let's pray.
Father in heaven, thank you so much for the opportunity of technology to study the Bible with people all over the world. I pray that as we study tonight, our hearts would be open, that Jesus would be near us. You are the Christ of the book of Revelation. So come, speak to our hearts, lift our spirits, encourage us in Jesus' name. Amen.
Now, the book that we're studying, of course, is Revelation. I'll give you a little background that'll help us understand the book more. Revelation was written by John from the island of Patmos in about 96 AD. What brought John to the island of Patmos? Titus was the Roman ruler ruling at the destruction of Jerusalem in AD 70. Titus died quickly, suddenly, unexpectedly in 81 AD. His younger brother Domitian took over the throne. Domitian ruled from 81 AD to 96 AD.
Now, Domitian was not a friend of Christianity at all. Christianity did okay in the Roman Empire. It was tolerated because Christians did not um make much uh conflict in the empire. But here is the big butt. Why were Christians persecuted in the empire? Not because they were Christians, but because they would not worship those emperors that declared to be God. Domitian claimed that he was deity. He claimed that he was God on earth. He required worship from Christians. John, of course, the last of the living apostles, in his 90s, would not fall for this state religious political union, and therefore John was exiled on the isle of Patmos.
Now, that tells us something about Revelation. The very reason John was exiled is because he refused to go along with the political religious coalition that Domitian had forced uh upon them. He wouldn't worship. We are going to read in the book of Revelation, and Revelation chapters 13 and 17 and 18 in this study, but a time that's coming where church and state again will be united, and they'll be coerced to worship. But that's for another night, another time. But just remember that.
Now, there are those people that say you cannot understand Revelation. That's rather strange because what does the word Revelation mean? It's a revealing. In fact, the literal word is apocalypse. Apocalypsis in Greek, and it means an unveiling. So the book of Revelation unveils the controversy between good and evil.
Now, the book of Revelation has a major theme. The theme is Jesus Christ. Jesus is mentioned in a number of titles in the book of Revelation. He is the Son of Man. He is the Lamb of God. He is the Word of God in the book of Revelation. Throughout the book of Revelation, Jesus Christ speaks to us in powerful, powerful terms, and he is the coming King in the book of Revelation. Revelation chapter 1 starts with the coming of Christ. Revelation chapter 22 ends with the coming of Christ.
So, let's jump right into the book. If you have your Bibles, and I hope you do, for this Bible study, we're going to look at Revelation chapter 1, written by John, the last of the living apostles, writes the last book of the Bible for a final generation of men and women living upon earth. Now, the principles of Revelation apply to every generation, but it especially deals with the controversy between good and evil in the latter days. And so we look, "The revelation of Jesus Christ." Whose re- whose revelation is this, everybody? It's the revelation of who? Of Jesus Christ. Where did he get it? Which God gave to him. Why did God give unto him? Verse one. "Still to show his servants things which must shortly take place. And he sent and signified it by his angel to his servant John, who bore witness to the word of God and to the testimony of Jesus Christ to all these things."
Now, notice the chain of events. God has an eternal message that he wants to give to mankind. God gives that message to Jesus. Jesus sends it by an angel to John. John is exiled by Domitian because he's refused to worship the emperor on the island of Patmos. But there on that rocky, barren island, there when John is all alone, there when John is in exile, an old man, deeply etched lines upon his face, gray hair, hand trembling, there, God illuminates that island with the glory of heaven. And John writes down a message that comes directly from God. As you and I take the book of Revelation in our hands, we take it in our hands sacredly. We take it in our hands recognizing that this is not a common book, a human book. It comes directly from God to us. And it is given to us about things that must shortly take place.
Now, here in verse three, God gives to us a special blessing. How many of you want a blessing from God? Do you want the blessing of the Spirit to touch your life? Listen to verse three. "Blessed." What does the word "blessed" mean? Highly favored. "Highly favored is he who reads and those who hear the words of this prophecy and keep those things that are written in it, for the time is near." There's a threefold blessing as we read the book of Revelation. We'll be highly favored by God. We'll be blessed. So, as you take your Bibles during these Wednesday night studies, and as you read with me the book of Revelation, and as your eyes follow along as I read the passages, God is going to bless you in a special way. You'll sense yourself drawing closer to Jesus. You'll sense the preciousness of Christ. You'll sense the warmth of his Spirit. You'll sense the love of God.
"Blessed is he who does what? Reads." "Those who hear." Now, the word "hear" is a very fascinating word. The New Testament was written in the Greek language. The word for hear is *akouo*. And *akouo* doesn't simply mean hear with your ears. It means hear with your mind. That's why some translations say, "Blessed is he who reads and understands." So, it's one thing to read the Bible. It's another thing to understand it.
Now, you say, "But Revelation is filled with symbols." Why? Why did God give us symbols, and why are they hard to understand at times? God gave us symbols because the book of Revelation condemns religious political powers down through the ages, and particularly in the last days. When the Bible was handwritten, and you know, the printing press was not established until 1456 by Gutenberg in Germany, the Gutenberg press. But look, if the Bible's handwritten, and if it openly exposes and condemns religious political powers, those powers could have destroyed the copies of the Bible. In fact, they actually tried to do that on numerous occasions. But it's written in in code language. But all those symbols, if God gives us a symbol, he often explains the symbol. He always explains the symbol.
There's a second reason. Confucius said, "A picture is worth a thousand words." There are times that God can describe something in symbolic language, and he has the economy of space. You, and once you understand it, you see the beauty of that imagery. So it says, "Blessed is he who reads." We are blessed as we read it, we study it. "And those that hear," that is, that those that understand it. "And then it said, 'and those that keep those things that are written therein.'" The book of Revelation is not designed simply to tickle our emotional fancy, but it's designed to change our lives, to enable us to keep the things that are therein. Another word for "keep" there is "guard." And so, as we guard in our hearts the things that are written in the book of Revelation, our lives are changed.
Now, notice it says, "For the time is near." So, what are those things in the book of Revelation that the Revelation talks about that the time is near? Let me give you kind of an overview of the book of Revelation. Then we'll go back to chapter one. We are blessed if we read. We are blessed if we understand. And we're blessed if we keep those things.
The first 11 chapters of the book of Revelation give you three sequences of seven. Chapter 1 is an introduction to the entire book, and it shares the power of the living Christ. Chapters 2 and 3 talk about the seven churches, which represent seven great epochs of church history. Each of the message of these churches ends with "He that overcomes." "He that overcomes." "He that overcomes." What is Jesus' message in the seven churches? It is that whatever state you find yourself in, whether you are persecuted like the church at Smyrna, whether you're faced with compromise and postmodernism all around you like the church at uh Pergamus, whether your spiritual heart has been eaten out like the church there at Thyatira, whether you have become complacent like the church at Laodicea, wherever you are, Jesus is so powerful that he can enable you to overcome that situation. So the message of the seven churches is the message of the Christ that overcomes and enables us to overcome whatever temptation, whatever trial.
Then you've got chapters 4 and 5. Chapter 4 deals with Christ as the Creator. Chapter 5 is Christ as the Redeemer. Now, that sets the tone for the rest of the book because the devil will attack Jesus as Creator. He'll attack Jesus as Redeemer. He'll attack Jesus as coming King in that crisis of the future.
Then you go to chapters 6 and 7, 8, the seven seals. What's the seven seals all about? What's the main theme of these seven seals? The white horse, the red horse, the black horse, the pale horse, etc. What's the theme? The theme is Christ's church oppressed, persecuted, stomped on. Christ's Church tortured. Christ's Church under the evil oppression of wicked powers will triumph. So the the the horsemen of Revelation speak about the triumph of God's church. It will be persecuted. It will go through the dark ages. But it will come out victorious because how do those seals end? With the victory of Christ.
Seven trumpets dealing with chapters 8 and 9. They're trumpets of judgment. Trumpets are trumpets of judgment. In Israel, when you had the Day of Atonement, the last day of the Jewish year, there were 10 days of trumpet blowing. Judgment was coming. Day of Atonement was the day of judgment. Trumpets of judgment. The wicked, oppressive powers in the controversy between good and evil that have tried to destroy God's people will be judged.
Then you come to chapter 10. There are three chapters in the book of Revelation that talk about the true people of God, or the true church of God. Revelation 10, Revelation 12, Revelation 14. Revelation chapter 10 talks about the historic rise of God's people at end time. And as we study that chapter together in a future time, we will see the the marvels of God raising up an end-time people out of disappointment. Revelation 12 tells the identifying characteristics of God's church, that they'll be faithful to him and obedient to him. Revelation 14 talks about the message of God's true church. So you have three chapters on God's true people at the end. The historic rise in chapter 10, the identifying characteristics in chapter 12, and in chapter 14, the message.
Let's go back to Revelation 11. What, what, what is Revelation 11 all about? It's about a time when atheism would try to stamp out the word of God, but the word of God would triumph. When you look at Revelation 13. So we've looked at the first nine chapters. Chapter 10, the rise of God's people. Chapter 11, the attempt of atheistic powers to destroy God's word and the triumph of God's word. We've looked at chapter 12, the identifying characteristics of the true church. Now, 12, 13, and 14 are really linked. You've got to get those together in your mind. We're going to go over this chapter by chapter, but I want you to see the big picture, then we're going to go to chapter one.
So in Revelation chapter 13, you have two beasts. You have the sea beast and the land beast. The sea beast and the land beast attack God's people. Revelation 12:17 says, "The dragon," that's Satan, "was wroth or angry with the remnant of her seed." That's the faithful people of God at the end that keep his commandments and have the testimony of Jesus. So God has this end-time people. But the sea beast rises. Revelation 13, verse 1: "I saw another beast rise out of the sea, having seven heads and ten horns, and upon his horns ten crowns, and upon his heads the name of blasphemy. And the beast which I saw was like unto a leopard, and like unto a a dragon, and etc. And all the world followed the beast." Here is the interesting thing. The beast rises. Politics and religion unite. No man can buy or sell. God's people are oppressed. Then there's a land beast that rises up, unites with the sea beast. Political, religious powers unite. There's this attempt to destroy the people of God. But God's people are faithful.
Revelation 14 gives the message of God's faithful people who triumph with him over all the wickedness of earth. And Jesus comes to reap the final harvest of earth. What about Revelation 15 and 16? Revelation 15 and 16 deal with the seven last plagues, and how the judgments of God, just like they've fallen down through history in Revelation 8 and 9, they fall at end time. Then God points out in Revelation 17 a woman representing the church, fallen church, rides on the scarlet-colored beast, state powers. And God fleshes out in Revelation 17 what he's already described in Revelation 13.
In Revelation 17 and 18, you have three unions. Now, political union, religious union, economic union. We are going to study very carefully, verse by verse by verse, Revelation 17 and 18. They're incredibly powerful chapters. And we will see that we are right on the verge of the amazing move of God. Revelation 18, verse 1, says that, um, "I saw another angel come down from heaven having great glory, great power, and the earth was filled with his glory." And God gives his final call to those who are in confused religious bodies to "come out of them, my people." So God makes a final call. The Holy Spirit is poured out powerfully. Church and state have united. Economic powers have united. But that coalition does not last. It's falling apart. People are disillusioned. Jesus gives his final call. Men and women unite with God's last, great people.
Revelation 19. You have the four Hallelujahs. "Hallelujah! The Lord our God on the potent reigneth. Hallelujah!" Four Hallelujahs. Jesus comes as King of Kings and Lord of Lords in Revelation 19, ushers in the millennium in Revelation 20. Revelation 21 and 22. You have a new heavens and a new earth. The Bible begins in Genesis 1 and 2 with a perfect world. The Bible ends in Revelation 21 and 22 with a perfect world. Here is the key thing about Revelation. Jesus wins, and Satan loses. What's the theme of Revelation? Jesus does what? He wins. And what happens to Satan? He loses. The book of Revelation is the revelation of Jesus Christ as the Lamb of God who died for us, the High Priest of Christ who lives for us, and the coming King who's coming again for us. And the book of Revelation points out that Christ has never left his people.
Now, let's go down to Revelation chapter 1. Discover some amazing things as we go over this verse by verse. We're going to look at the beauty, the magnificence, the glory of Christ. And we're going to see Christ in such beauty and such magnificence that all the powers of hell will never blot that out of our minds. Once you have Revelation 1 clear in your mind, all the attacks of Satan, all the vile poison of the evil one can't touch you.
Verse 4, Revelation 1. You got it? I hope you got your pen. Hope you've got your notebook. Revelation 1, verse 4: "John to the seven churches which were in Asia." So, these passages were written to them so they would be immortalized for you and for me. "Grace and peace from him who is and was and who is to come." What an introduction to the book of Revelation. Grace and peace. Grace is a Greek term. Greek is written in in Greek. Grace means God's favor. God's blessing upon you. John says, "and peace." Peace is a Hebrew term, *shalom*. Inner contentment, or meaning, as you study the book of Revelation, your heart will be filled with grace. Your heart will be filled with peace because you will have a sense of what's coming upon this world.
Now, who does this come from? "Grace to you and peace from him who is and was and who is to come," God the Father. "And from seven spirits who are before his throne." Now, what's that all about? Seven spirits. There are two ways to look at this. First, seven indicates completeness. So this has to deal with the complete ministry of the Holy Spirit to God's last-day church. Is there any place in the Bible that talks about the sevenfold ministry of the Holy Spirit? Now, incidentally, there are 44 references in the Old Testament. 404 in the from the Old Testament in the book of Revelation. One of the reasons many people have struggled with the book of Revelation is because they don't understand the Old Testament.
Now, is there any place in the Old Testament that John's readers would immediately understand the sevenfold, perfect ministry of the Holy Spirit? There is. Keep your finger in Revelation 1, or put a marker there, because we're going to go to Isaiah, chapter 11. Isaiah, chapter 11. And here Isaiah mentions the sevenfold ministry of the Holy Spirit. Isaiah 11. And you're going to look there at verse 2. So, seven is a number of completeness or perfection. You have seven churches. That doesn't mean only seven churches. It means that they represent the complete Christian church. You have seven seals. Seven trumpets. Seven trumpets. This is the complete judgments of God. Seven seals, the complete ministry of the church. You have the seven-branched candlestick in the book of Revelation. Many, many sevens in Revelation, but seven spirits, the complete ministry of the Holy Spirit.
Uh, Isaiah 11:2: "The Spirit of the Lord." So, what is the first ministry of the Holy Spirit? It's to reveal Jesus. He's the Spirit of the Lord. Remember what Jesus said in John 14, 15, 16? He said, uh, those are the three great chapters in John on the Holy Spirit. He said, "When He, the Spirit, has come, He will testify of Me." So, the first ministry of the Holy Spirit is to be the Spirit of the Lord, to draw us back to Jesus. Then it says, "Second ministry, the Spirit of wisdom." The Holy Spirit gives us wisdom. He reveals to us truth and error. "Third ministry, understanding." When we read the Bible, it's the Holy Spirit that, Jesus said in John 16:14, "He is, when He, the Spirit of truth, has come." So, He gives us understanding. "He's the Spirit of counsel." When you need counsel from God, you come, you get on your knees, and the Holy Spirit reveals you, "This is the way. Walk in it." He deeply impresses you in the decision-making process of life. "He's the Spirit of might." What's might? That's power, strength. When we can't face the devil, we need strength. And Jesus is the Spirit, through His Holy Spirit, gives us strength and might. "The Spirit of knowledge." We need knowledge about decisions, knowledge about the word. That's the Spirit of knowledge. "He's a Spirit of the fear of the Lord." What's that mean? The Holy Spirit, the word "fear" there is not "be afraid of." It's respect. So, the Holy Spirit is constantly drawing us out to give this deep respect of God. So, the complete ministry of the Holy Spirit is to reveal Jesus, to give us wisdom about life, about the word of God, to give us understanding of our own natures, understanding of right and wrong and sin, to give us counsel, to give us power, to give us the knowledge of truth, and to lead us to daily respect God.
Now, back to Revelation chapter 1. So, we've seen here, "grace and peace." We're looking here at verse 4. "Grace and peace from him who is, was, and who is to come." That's the eternal Father. "And from seven spirits," that's the complete ministry of the Holy Spirit, "who are before his throne." And from who else? "Jesus Christ." So, here you have the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. The Godhead, the eternal Godhead. They're linked together. Jesus is eternal, linked with the eternal nature of the Father and the eternal nature of the Holy Spirit.
"And from Jesus Christ, the faithful witness." Now, what does it mean, Jesus the faithful witness? If you want to know what the Father is like, look at Jesus. Look at Jesus. Jesus touched the eyes of the blind, and they were open. Touched the ears of the deaf, and they were unstopped. Touched the withered man's arm, and it was healed. Touched the legs of the man with palsy. Who is Jesus? He's the faithful witness. The Father wants us in health. Jesus came to give us the abundant life. Jesus witnesses of the grace, the goodness, the forgiveness of the Father. A woman is thrown at his feet in adultery, and Jesus writes in the sand the sins of those who led her to that act. He forgives. He forgave that woman. He forgave the thief on the cross. Jesus delivers the demoniacs, the all-powerful Christ. If you want to know what God is like, remember what Jesus said in John 14:9. Jesus said, "Philip, you've been with me for such a long time, and you don't know me. If you have seen me, you've seen the Father." God is not some arbitrary judge. God is not some vindictive dictator. God is revealed in Christ. God has his arms wide open for you and me. He reaches out to us in love. So, that's what we see. Jesus is the faithful witness.
"He is the firstborn from the dead." What does it mean that he's the firstborn from the dead? Because, uh, Jesus raised people from the dead. Obviously, raised Lazarus from the dead, for example. Raised, you know, you look throughout the scriptures, and you find a number of instances where people were raised from the dead. What does it mean, "firstborn from the dead"? The word "firstborn" here in the Greek language is *prototokos*. It's firstborn not in the sense of time, but in the sense of, uh, lineage. And I'll give you an example of that. The Bible says David was the firstborn son of Jesse. But was he? Was he? He was the seventh-born son of Jesse. Why does the Bible say firstborn? Because the firstborn had all the privileges of the father. The firstborn would get the inheritance. The firstborn would get the title deed. So David was preeminent over his brothers. He was the one that Samuel chose, anointed with oil, to be to be the king. When you look, for example, at this expression, "firstborn," Jesus, "firstborn from the dead." Jesus is the preeminent one. There would be no resurrection from the dead if Christ didn't rise from the dead. He is the preeminent one. He is the one that stands above. He was raised from the dead by the life within himself. He said, "I lay down my life, and I take it up again." So, he's the firstborn from the dead in that sense.
"He is the ruler of the kings of the earth." So important to understand Revelation. When we see despotic rulers take the throne, and when we see church and state unite, it's important to remember that Jesus is ruler of the kings of the earth.
"Now we continue to him who loved us and washed us from our sins in his own blood." Revelation starts with this idea of the atonement, the atonement. We come to Christ, and we find in him grace. We find in him mercy. We find in Jesus forgiveness. We come to Christ, and we find in him the one who washed, who loves us, who washes us from our sins in his own blood.
Now, notice next, "He made us kings and priests to God the Father." "To him be glory and dominion forever and ever." He loves us, verb. Washed us, verb. Makes us, verb. He is the one that loves us, washed us, and makes us. Notice, is there any reason to be discouraged? Is there any reason to have your head down in the dirt? Not at all. I serve a Jesus that loves me. When you feel unloved, He loves you. When you feel discouraged, He loves you. When you feel alone, He loves you. When you feel disappointed, He loves you. When you feel nobody cares, He loves you.
But notice, "He loves us and washed us." I love what Romans 8:1 says. "There is no condemnation to those that are in Christ Jesus." There is no condemnation to those that are in Christ Jesus. He washed us in Christ. Our guilt is gone. In Christ, the condemnation no longer haunts us. If you are troubled by something you've done in the past, if you're troubled by the way you're living in the future, there is a Jesus that loves you. There is a Jesus that will wash you. We come to Christ just as we are, but we do not stay as we are. We come, and He cleans us up, and He makes us priests and kings and priests to God.
What's this all about? Kings and priests. First, whether you know it or not, you've got royal blood in your veins. Whether you know it or not, you're part of the royal family of God. You, you, and I one day are going to sit on a throne in the universe, according to Revelation. We're going to reign as kings with Jesus. We're going to travel from star to star, from planet to planet, to tell the story of His goodness and grace. Your king's royal blood. Priests unto God. What does it mean, priests? A priest is is one who represents God to another. We are priests in the sense that we're witnesses for Christ. We are witnesses on this earth of His goodness, His grace, His power.
So, here in verse 4, verse 5, you have set out the majesty of the Christ who died for us, who lives for us, who loves us, who washed us, who's in heaven as our great intercessor to empower us. Then John moves in to really what is the central theme of the book. Notice Revelation 1, verse 7: "Behold, he is coming with clouds, and every eye will see him, and they who pierced him, and all the tribes of the earth mourn because of him. Even so, amen."
"Behold, he is coming with clouds." Let's look at this in the book of Revelation. These great passages on the coming of Christ. Revelation, chapter 11. We'll go to Revelation chapter 11. I want you to take a look there at Revelation 11. And great passages throughout the book of Revelation that reminds us of this great arena of the coming of Jesus. Revelation 11. We're going to begin there with verse 15. Revelation 11:15. You got a pen to write it down. Revelation 11:15: "Then the seventh angel sounded. And there were loud voices in heaven saying, 'The kingdoms of this world have become the kingdoms of our Lord and of his Christ, and he shall reign forever and ever.'" And the 24 elders, we're going to look at who they are at another lesson, who sat before God on their thrones, fell on their faces, and worshiped God, saying, "We give thanks, oh Lord God Almighty, the one who is and who was and who is to come. You You have taken your great power and reigned. The nations were angry. Your wrath has come. [snorts] The time of the dead that they should be judged, and you should reward your servants, the prophets and the saints, and those who fear your name, small and great, and should destroy those who destroy the earth."
Notice Revelation: 17, Jesus says, "Behold, I come quickly. Behold, I'm coming with clouds, and every eye will see." In Revelation 17, we'll read the other about, but it's coming quickly, soon. But Revelation 11 says, "The kingdoms of this world have become the kingdoms of our Lord." You and I can have the absolute confidence that although the days ahead may be dark, although there may be a political, economic, and religious coalition, that the kingdoms of this earth are going to become the kingdoms of Christ, that evil will not have the last word. Jesus will.
Notice verse 18, it says, "The nations are angry. It's the time of the dead that they should be judged." There's a fascinating verse in verse 19. "The temple of God is opened in heaven. The ark of his covenant was seen. There were thunderings, lightnings, great hail." Of course, Jesus comes. But notice verse 18 of just a phrase or two before that. It says he would come to destroy those who destroy the earth. I want you to think about that. Was there ever a time in the history of the world where humanity could destroy itself before? With thermonuclear warheads, we can blast all life off planet Earth. There was a project called the Manhattan Project. The Manhattan Project was developed shortly after Nagasaki and Hiroshima when the atomic bomb was dropped, and so many thousands were destroyed. And in the Manhattan Project, there were a group of eminent scientists, world scientists who developed what they called the atomic clock. And after the destruction of Hiroshima, Nagasaki, they put that clock at 5 minutes to midnight. As nuclear warfare has been developed, they've kept moving it up. I read an article last week. The hands of the clock, by the scientists, have been put now at 90 seconds to midnight. It is the closest time that these scientists ever felt that the world was on the verge of annihilation.
Now, I need to remind you that the clock is just a literary device. It's a visual device to help us understand how these scientists feel. But it says Christ would come at a time people could destroy the earth. Never before in history could we do that. And I need to remind you as well that there never weapons that were made that were not used. But what about this destroying the earth through polluting our atmosphere? What about polluting our waterways? What about the spraying of our crops and the diseases that are coming? He's going to come. Jesus will come to deliver this old planet from the sickness, suffering, heartache, and death. So, that's chapter 11. But this is the theme of the book, the second coming of Christ.
Now let's go to the four Hallelujahs in Revelation 19. We're looking at this great theme. You find the theme in Revelation 1, but it runs through the entire book. Revelation chapter 19. Here you have the four Hallelujahs. Uh, starting Revelation 19:1: "After these things, I heard a loud voice of a great multitude in heaven." No, he says, "After these things." After what things? Revelation 18 talks about Babylon, a false coalition, political, economic, religious. And he says that there will be a great appeal, and thousands will come to become part of God's people. But notice Revelation 19. "After these things, I heard a loud voice of a great multitude, saying, 'Hallelujah! Salvation and glory and honor and power belong to the Lord our God. For true and righteous are his judgments.'" He's judged the great harlot. The great harlot is in verse 18. We'll study that more.
Now, that's the first Hallelujah. Notice the uh second Hallelujah. "Again, they said, Hallelujah. Her smoke arises forever and ever." That's Babylon destroyed. And then you have another Hallelujah. It says in verse 4, "The 24 elders and four living creatures fell down and worshiped God who sat on the throne, saying, 'Amen. Hallelujah.'" Uh, so there's this praise. And then verse 6: "And I heard as it were the voice of a great multitude, the fourth Hallelujah, as the sound of many waters, as the sound of mighty thundering, saying, 'Hallelujah, for the Lord our God omnipotent reigns. Let us be glad and rejoice and give him thanks.'"
See, the whole book of Revelation is pointing to one glorious, climactic event: the coming of Christ. And you look, for example, at Revelation 19, verse 11. "Now I saw heaven opened, and behold a white horse, and he who sat on him was called Faithful and True, and in righteousness he judges and makes war." And it goes down and tells you about this Christ. It says, "His eyes are like the flame of fire. On his head, many crowns. He had a name written that no one knew except he himself." Verse 13: "He was clothed with a robe dipped in blood. His name is called the Word of God. And the armies of heaven, clothed in fine linen, white and clean, followed him. Out of his mouth went a sharp sword, and with it he should strike the nations." That's the Word of God. He himself will rule with a rod of iron. Who is he? Verse 16: "On his throne and on his robe and on his thigh was written, King of Kings, Lord of Lords."
What is the theme of the book of Revelation? The Jesus that came once, the Lamb of God that came, the one who loved us, the one who washed away all our guilt, the one who makes us kings and priests to God. He's not going to leave us in this world alone. He's coming again for us. And how does Revelation end? Revelation 22 ends this way. Revelation 22:12: "Behold, I am coming quickly. My reward is with me to give to everyone according to his work." He says he's coming when? Quickly. And you let your eyes drop down to verse 20. Verse 12. He, and and you look further in the text as well. You go back, uh, to, um, verse 7, and it's the first coming quickly. There are three "coming quickly" actually in Revelation 22. One is verse 7, one is verse 12, and one is verse 20. I read verse 12, but I missed verse 6. Verse 7: He says, "Behold, I'm coming quickly. Blessed is he who keeps the words of the prophecy of this book." Then in verse 12: "Behold, I'm coming quickly. My reward is with me." Verse 20: "He who testifies to these things says, 'Surely I am coming quickly.' So come, Lord Jesus." "The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you all." Three times he says he's coming quickly. In chapter 1 that we're studying tonight, Jesus says, "Behold, I'm coming with clouds." And the theme of the entire book is the Christ that came once is coming again.
As John then shifts his attention, we're going back to chapter 1. We're going to look at verse 9. And then we're going to see something that John saw that was amazing. Revelation 1, verse 9: "I John, both your brother and companion in tribulation, in the kingdom and patience of Jesus Christ, was on the island that's called Patmos for the word of God, for the testimony of Jesus Christ." When we make a decision to follow Jesus, it doesn't mean that we will be healthy, wealthy, and wise. There are times that all of us face tribulation. We face trials. We face difficulties. And John writes to those churches in Asia Minor and to you and to me. And John says, "I, your companion in tribulation." What's John saying? He's saying, "I know what trials are like. I know what heartache is like. I know what difficulty is like." And John is saying, "Here on this island, on this rocky, barren, lonely island, God illuminated this with His presence, and I was closer to Jesus than I ever had been." It's an amazing thing to sense the poss. And I think John is speaking to you and me that wherever we find ourselves in life, whatever our lot is in life, Christ is there.
Then John sees a vision. And I'm going to pick that vision up. "John is in the Spirit on the Lord's Day." We'll talk about that later on another occasion. And he hears the loud voice of a trumpet. And Jesus begins to speak to me. Now, I want you to think about this. When was the last time that John saw Jesus? When was the last time John saw Jesus? It was about 63 years before. 62 years before, in that area, in 31 AD, John stood at the foot of the cross, and there he looked up into the eyes of his crucified Lord. He saw the crown of thorns jammed upon his head with blood running down his face. That was one of the last visions he had of Him. Now, of course, I recognize that John saw Him after the resurrection as well. So, he saw Him after the resurrection as well. But these last scenes, the crucifixion must have been in John's mind. The the nails through his hands, the piercing of his side, that must have been in his mind still. He saw the resurrected Christ. He watched Him ascend to heaven. But for those 60 years, he he hadn't seen Christ. He must have thought often of the time Jesus broke the bread and fed the 5,000. He must have thought often about the time he saw Jesus walk on the water. He must have thought often about the time that Jesus healed blind eyes and unstopped deaf ears and healed withered man's arms. He must have thought often about that. He must have thought often about the night in Gethsemane, the soldiers coming. Must have thought often about the crucifixion, the force of the trial, the nails, the crown of thorns, the whip. He must have thought often about the glory of the resurrected Christ. He was thinking about those things. But years had gone by. That's my point. Years had gone by. 60 years, anyway. But then on that island, he sees a vision of Jesus again. And here it is. Jesus speaks to him.
Now, just imagine it. He's there on that island. He's He's sitting out on some rock. He's worked in the mines as the old man. And he, and Jesus speaks. "I am Alpha and Omega." See, Alpha and Omega. Alpha is the first letter of the Greek alphabet. Omega is the last. Jesus says, "I'm the first and the last." But that has special meaning. It means completeness. It means everything's the beginning to the end. And Jesus says, "John, the story's not over yet. John, I'm the complete Christ. John, I have a work to do through you." Yet, you're going to write down Revelation. John, I have a work to do in the world. John, I am going to complete the task in the world.
Notice what it says. "An Alpha and Omega, the first and the last." "What you see, write in a book." John, write it down. "Send it to my churches." John, be sure that my people get the book of Revelation. And he tells him, "Send at Ephesus, Smyrna, Pergamus." We're going to study about all that next week. Thyatira, you don't want to miss one of these classes. Sardis, Philadelphia, Laodicea.
Then he says, "Then I turned to see the voice that spoke with me. And having turned, I saw seven golden lampstands. And in the midst of the seven lampstands, one like the Son of Man." Now, the Son of Man, here's Jesus. What does he look like, John? What do you see? "He was clothed with a garment down to his feet. He was girded about his chest with a golden band. His head and his hair were white like wool. His eyes like a flame of fire. His feet were like fine brass refined in the furnace. His voice like the sound of many waters." What, what is this picture? It's iridescent glory. It's dazzling brightness. And John sees Him, and I can just imagine the old man. He hadn't seen his loving Lord for 60 years. And he sees Him in vision, but he sees Him in glory. He sees Him in splendor. We will see Jesus in glory. We will see Jesus in splendor when He comes again. The vision that God gave to John is a miniature of the vision that you and I will have of Christ, the living Christ, when He returns.
So, here the Bible says, verse 16, "He had in his right hand seven stars. Out of his mouth went a sharp two-edged sword." See, that's the Word of God. The sharp two-edged sword is the Word of God. "And his countenance was like the sun shining in its strength." "When I saw him, I fell at his feet as dead. But he laid his hand on me and said, 'Do not be afraid.'" Jesus says to you, "I am the living Christ. I am the living Christ. Don't be afraid of what's going to come. Don't let your mind be filled with fear. Don't be focused on all of the stuff that's going on in this world so that you become so fearful. Jesus, don't be afraid. I'm still the glorious Christ, and I'm still going to come again. I still reign on my throne. Do not be afraid."
Verse 17: "I am the first and the last. I am he that lives and was dead. Behold, I am alive forevermore." The grave could not hold Christ. They took his broken, bruised, bloody body and they put it in the tomb. But that tomb could not hold Christ. Sunday morning, an angel descended, rolled away the stone, said, "Son, thy Father calls thee." In all his glory, Jesus came out of the tomb. The Roman soldiers fell over as dead men. The resurrection of Christ is the proof that death cannot hold its victims. When Jesus comes again, "The Lord himself shall descend from heaven." 1 Thessalonians 4. "The Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, the trumpet of God. The dead in Christ will rise first. We which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them to meet the Lord in the air." Have you lost some loved one by death? Do you long to embrace them again? And you wanted to see that smile again. A father, a mother, a grandfather, grandmother, a sister, a brother, a son, a daughter. Jesus conquered the grave.
What Jesus is saying to John is, "John, you're an old man. Don't be afraid because I am the one that lives and was dead and is alive forevermore. I have the keys to Hades." Now, Hades, another word for the grave, not a burning hell here. Hades, the grave. It's a Greek word, and of death. Jesus has the keys to the grave. So what Jesus is saying to His people is, "You are going to go through trying times. Some of you are going to be persecuted. Some of you will lose your life. But do not be afraid because trust in me. I have the keys to hell and I have the keys to death."
"Write these things." Now, this verse 19 is one of the key verses in the entire book of Revelation. If you understand this verse 19 that seems so simple, and you're going to understand the nature of Revelation. Notice what it says: "Write the things which you have seen." What tense is "you have seen"? It's past tense, right? "Write the things you've seen. And the things which are," present tense, "and the things which will take place," future tense. So, the book of Revelation, in the seven churches, tells us about things that are past that John saw, things that are present that you and I are seeing, but things that will yet be. So, there's this historical continuum in the book of Revelation. We start in John's day. Time prophecies always begin where a prophet is. If you start in John's day and you go down the stream of time till the end of time. So, things that are are which you've write the things which you've seen, past, the things which are, present.
And the things which will take place in the future. The mystery of the seven stars which you saw in my right hand and the seven golden lampstands. The seven stars are the angels of the seven churches. Another word for angels is messengers of the seven churches. Many interpreters believe this is like the elders, the leaders of the church. And the seven lampstands are the seven churches.
Where is Jesus pictured in this vision? Is Jesus pictured in this vision sitting on a throne in a high and holy place? Not at all. It says that he, John says in verse 13, "I saw one like the Son of Man clothed with a garment down to the feet, girded about his chest." And where was he? Where was he? According to verse 12, he saw seven golden lampstands and in the midst of the seven lampstands, one like the Son of Man.
If the seven lampstands are his church and he's in the midst of them, where indeed is Christ's picture here? In the midst of his people? That's where Jesus is. He's in the midst of his people. He's there to hold them in his hand. He's there to protect them from the evil one. He's there to guide them and take them through the crisis that's coming.
We can have confidence. Why? Because this is the revelation of Jesus Christ. We can have confidence. Why? Because Jesus says, "Blessed is he that reads and hears and does the things there." And we can have confidence because of a special blessing as we read Revelation. Why can we have confidence? Because Jesus is the one that loves us. He's the one that washed us with his blood. He's the one that made us kings and priests of God.
We can have confidence. Why? Because he says, "Behold, I'm coming with cause and every eye will see him." We can have confidence. Why? Because he is in the midst of the golden lampstands. He is there with us in every experience of life. Face your week with confidence in the living Christ.
Let's pray together. Then I'll make a few announcements. Father in heaven, oh my Father, thank you for the book of Revelation that reveals the living Christ. Thank you for Jesus who loves us, who died for us, who's coming again for us. Help our hearts beat with eager anticipation that Jesus is our Lord and Savior and is coming again. Help us to know that we are in his hands. Keep us until we meet next Wednesday night at 8 in Jesus name. Amen.
Now, a few announcements again. If you want the notes on tonight, I know I went quite quickly and that's why we're in fact, I did, I think, 10 pages of notes for tonight. It's and you can get them by going to hope365.com/weeklybiblestudy. Every week I'll produce notes for you. So be sure to go to hope365.com/weeklybiblestudy.
Now, if you haven't signed up for the class, please feel free to do that. If you have friends that you want to invite to join the hundreds that are studying the Bible, please feel free to invite them. For next week, let me tell you about next week's class. We're going to cover two chapters next week. Revelation 2 and Revelation 3. We're going to look at the seven churches of Revelation, how they apply to every age of Earth history. It's a fascinating study and how they apply to our personal lives today. This will be a foundation for what we're going to study later and you'll understand why as we study it next week. The early chapters, really, some people want to jump right into like Revelation 13, the beast, Revelation 70, and they don't understand it and they get all confused. They get false ideas. But when you give have the foundation that I'm giving you, you'll be amazed at how quickly these other prophecies fall into place.
Thank you for joining us. Remember too, if you have any questions about what we've covered tonight, not the entire book of Revelation, but whatever questions, any questions about whatever we've covered tonight, feel free to go to info@hope365.com. That's info@hope365.com and we'll be happy at the beginning of next week's lecture to try to answer some of your questions. If I cannot answer them because of time constraints, I have a couple young men that work for us, John and Sam, and they are experts at answering questions. They always consult with me if there are any ones that they don't know the answer to. But look forward to seeing you next week. Again, be sure to get the study guide. God bless you.