The Church in Heaven (Revelation 4)

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So let's open to Revelation chapter 4 and we're beginning a new section of the book.
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I had said originally in that handout that I gave you that the book of Revelation really can be broken up into sections with Revelation chapter 1 verse 19 working as sort of a built -in outline.
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John says in Revelation 1 verse 19, or this is Jesus telling
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John, write the things which you have seen and the things which are and the things which will take place after this.
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So the things that John saw, this is the vision mentioned in chapter 1, the things which are, this is what was happening in the first century with the letters to the seven churches, and then the things which will take place after this.
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This is now chapter 4, which is future prophecy. So everything from this point forward is not just in John's future, it's in our future as well.
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You say, well, how do you know that? Well, simple. The events of the book of Revelation haven't happened yet and that should be obvious.
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And this is also why you will hear, chapter 4 in particular, this is why you will hear pastors say something like, the next event on God's prophetic timeline is the rapture of the church.
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Who's heard a pastor say something like that before? Yeah, because Revelation chapter 4 begins, right?
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This is the future. This is future prophecy. How does this start out? What's the first thing John is taken up into heaven, which
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I believe is a picture of the rapture of the church.
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So we'll talk about that. But last week we finished with the seven letters and I've mentioned the different ways that people understand those letters.
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First and foremost, it's Jesus writing to the seven churches of Asia minor.
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But since the number seven is symbolic and it keeps getting repeated in Revelation, we believe it refers to completeness, fullness, perfection.
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So the fact that seven churches are mentioned, we believe these to be seven pattern churches, or maybe they represent seven ages of church history, maybe combination of both.
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Either way, chapters two and three are not disconnected from chapter four and then five and the rest of the book.
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So Revelation four starts out with these words. After these things,
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I looked and of course you have to ask what, after what things? So what we just saw in chapter three, more specifically, remember the last thing we looked at was the letter to the
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Laodiceans, that lukewarm church that just made Christ sick, that he wanted to vomit them out of his mouth.
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So could it be that the Laodicean letter in some way is representative of the church right before Jesus returns?
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Because as we're going to see in a moment before Jesus comes at the rapture, the
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Lord says there will be a great falling away from the faith. And I would argue that's what we're seeing all around us right now.
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So, I mean, that's, that's bad news in, in one sense, but it's also good news because it means that I, I think the
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Lord's coming is drawing near. Okay. Let's read all of the verses. Revelation four.
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It's only 11 verses. So we'll read it all. Revelation four, beginning in verse one, John writes, after these things,
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I looked and behold a door standing open in heaven. And the first voice, which
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I heard was like a trumpet speaking with me saying, come up here and I will show you things which must take place after this.
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Immediately. I was in the spirit and behold a throne set in heaven and one sat on the throne.
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And he who sat there was like a Jasper and a Sarda stone in appearance. And there was a rainbow around the throne in appearance, like an
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Emerald around the throne were 24 thrones. And on the thrones, I saw 24 elders sitting clothed in white robes.
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And they had crowns of gold on their heads. And from the throne proceeded lightnings, thunderings, and voices.
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Seven lamps of fire were burning before the throne, which are the seven spirits of God before the throne.
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There was a sea of glass like crystal. And in the midst of the throne and around the throne were four living creatures full of eyes and front and in back.
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The first living creature was like a lion. The second living creature, like a calf, the third living creature had a face like a man.
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And the fourth living creature was like a flying Eagle. And the four living creatures each having six wings were full of eyes around and within.
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And they do not rest day or night saying, holy, holy, holy Lord God almighty, who was and is and is to come.
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Whenever the living creatures give glory and honor. And thanks to him who sits on the throne, who lives forever and ever.
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The 24 elders fall down before him who sits on the throne and worship him who lives forever and ever and cast their crowns before the throne saying, you are worthy.
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Oh Lord, to receive glory and honor and power for you created all things.
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And by your will, they exist and were created. So I realized someone might read that and they're thinking, what is going on?
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Like, how do I make sense out of all this? Well, if you go through every little word, every little phrase, yeah,
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I admit the book of revelation can be very difficult to understand like everything that's happening.
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So what we want to do is just get the main idea, the main picture, what's being communicated.
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So we'll go through these verses more closely in a moment, but the main takeaway is number one,
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John is caught up into heaven. That's how it starts. And the reason that's significant is because revelation is heavy on symbolism.
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So you have to ask, what does that represent? The fact that John is taken up into heaven. That's, that's a fairly uncommon thing.
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So what does that represent? I believe that this is a reference to it's alluding to pointing to the rapture of the church.
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Now, the reason I say that is because the, the author Jesus, right?
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It's the revelation of Jesus Christ. He makes it a point to kind of focus in on these 24 elders.
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So John sees 24 elders and nearly all commentators. This is, this is something you'll find in revelation.
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If you look at commentaries, it's all over the place. People are disagreeing. What does this mean?
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What does that mean? But almost every commentator agrees that the 24 elders is representative of the church.
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Oh, I have not found a single commentator who would disagree with that. So John is taken up into heaven and he sees the elders.
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What is that telling us? The church is in heaven. The church is represented in heaven in revelation four.
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Yes. Well, another thing that stands out talking about the rapture, you can't help it because that's description of that.
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Of course, his first Thessalonians 4 16 for the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel and with the trump of God.
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So here it says in the first voice I heard was like a trumpet.
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Right. You can't help it. Yeah. It sounds just like the rapture passage in first Thessalonians four, right?
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So in revelation, the church is depicted as being on earth in chapters two and three. Chapter four, the church is in heaven.
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The church is not mentioned again for the rest of the book as being on earth. So the tribulation period is chapter six through 18.
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The church is not said to be on earth. And this just perfectly lines up with what we see in first Thessalonians chapters four and five, which we looked at a couple of weeks ago.
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Okay. So the church is in heaven, or we might say the 24 elders represent the whole of God's redeemed people as a whole.
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And you say, well, why, why is that? Why is 24 elders represent the church? Well, I mean, the number 24 really has no biblical significance, except that it's 12 plus 12 equals 24.
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Like this, this is the reason people believe that there's the 12 tribes of Israel plus the 12 apostles of Jesus Christ, 12 plus 12 equals 24.
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Okay. And if you're not convinced on that, like I said, nearly every commentator out there, they all say the same thing.
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Okay. So John is caught up into heaven. The church is in heaven. What ends up happening next chapter five, the lamb,
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Jesus Christ, he takes the scroll from God, the father, presumably who is seated on the throne.
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Jesus loosens the seals that's on the scroll and each seal is a judgment.
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And that just starts the tribulation in chapter six. Okay. So chapter six through 18 is the seven year tribulation period.
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Jesus returns in revelation 19, the kingdom is set up in chapter 20. So does
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Jesus come back before the kingdom or after or what it's before, right?
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Therefore, the, the position that I'm putting forward to you tonight is called pre meal, pre trip.
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You all know these terms by now, right? If you don't know the terms, it just means you haven't been paying attention the past six months.
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We know the terms. Yes. Can I just add to that? When we talk about Jesus' second coming, his first coming is for the church in the raptures.
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And then his coming is with the church at the end of the tribulation. So he comes for his church and in the air, but he doesn't come to earth until he comes with the church at the end.
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So in what, eight months ago, 10 months ago, did a video, did a lesson here
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Wednesday night about the second advent. So we covered all of that. So I believe this is the only position, the pre meal, pre tribulational rapture.
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This is the only position I believe that, that really fits the chronology of the book of revelation.
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And it harmonizes all the other writings from Peter and Paul and, and Jesus.
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So the pre tribulation rapture, pre millennial return of Jesus Christ. The final judgment is at the end of revelation 20, then the new heavens and the new earth is revelation 21, 22.
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And that's the end of the story. I think it is very simple. I know people will say, well, you know, it's just not clear to me the order of the events.
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And I just don't take a position because I don't think it's, it's clear. Well, I understand why people think that because there's all these different voices.
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You know, this church teaches one thing, this church teaches something else. And if you're listening to all these different voices, it will leave you confused.
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But if you just look at revelation, literally at face value, to me, it's just laid right out what happens event to event.
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So we're going to work through, through these verses in a moment, but it's important to remember revelation.
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It's all connected. John being caught up to heaven. Remember in the letter to Philadelphia, we talked about this, what, two, three weeks ago, how the
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Lord said to the faithful church that I will keep you from the hour of trial, which is coming upon the whole earth.
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Remember that statement. So all of this speaks to a pre tribulation rapture.
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Nearly, I guess it was 30, 40 years ago when I was younger, nearly every
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Baptist church, independent church, Bible, you know, evangelical Bible church, nearly all of them were teaching what
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I'm teaching tonight. Obviously there were exceptions, but this view is falling out of favor.
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I'm not sure why, but I'm convinced this is what the Bible is teaching. So even though this topic usually gets ignored these days,
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I believe, Hey, it's in the Bible. You need to take a position. So let's, let's, let's do it.
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All right. Let's turn to second Thessalonians chapter two. Yeah. Another one.
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The first Thessalonians five, nine, God has not appointed us to wrath. Yep. No, I, I got that one.
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I'm going to mention that in a little while. So second Thessalonians two return in their scripture says second
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Timothy three 16, uh, all scripture is profitable for doctrine.
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So yeah, it's the trend now to ignore the book of revelation, but Hey, it's scripture.
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It's profitable. Uh, God has told us the future because he wants us to know about it.
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Uh, it's also a command. Don't miss this in the new Testament. It is a command that we need to be what ready watching.
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We need to be looking for the return of Jesus. So we don't want to be one of those who ignores it when that's a command to be ready and look for it.
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Second Thessalonians one, second Thessalonians two, one through five. And I think this passage will help clarify what's going on in revelation.
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All right. Second Thessalonians two verse one says now brethren concerning the coming of our
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Lord Jesus Christ and our gathering together to him. We ask you not to be soon shaken in mind or troubled either by spirit or by word or by letter as if from us, as though the day of Christ had come, let no one deceive you by any means for that day will not come unless the falling away comes first.
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And the man of sin is revealed. The son of perdition who opposes and exalts himself above all that is called
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God or that is worshiped so that he sits as God and the temple of God showing himself that he is
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God. Uh, that's called the abomination of desolation. Jesus mentions that in revelation 24.
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Um, and then verse five, Paul says to the church, do you not remember when I was with you that I told you these things?
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So it's possible, obviously Paul taught them this in person, but it's also possible that he alluded to this in his previous letter.
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Uh, so we looked at the church of Philadelphia a couple of weeks ago. We, we saw how
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God's people are going to be kept from the hour of trial in first Thessalonians. If you remember when we looked at that, uh, the rapture triggers the day of the
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Lord. Okay. So first Thessalonians four, the rapture happens. Paul then in chapter five is like, well, concerning the time, you don't have any need that I tell you about that.
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Cause you remember the day of the Lord comes as a thief in the night, it's going to happen suddenly. And then he said that day is not going to overtake you as a thief.
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And then he says, you're not appointed to wrath. So all of these statements, not appointed to wrath, that won't overtake you.
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Uh, it's going to happen suddenly. Uh, you'll be kept from the hour of trial. I mean, every statement is hinting towards or explicitly telling us about the rapture coming before the tribulation question.
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Yeah. And verse three here, second Thessalonians two, three, let no one deceive you by any means for that day will not come that day, the day of the
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Lord, the seven year tribulation that day, unless the falling away comes first, which
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I agree with you. I think we're seeing, we're seeing a great falling away. All our evangelical leaders that we once loved their readings and followed them are, are starting to compromise.
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But it says here, and the man of sin is revealed. Yeah. Is that man of sin?
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Is that not the antichrist? It is the antichrist. And so when do you, do you feel that the,
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Oh, this will be the, he'll be revealed during the seven year tribulation, but we won't necessarily see him because we won't be here.
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Right. All right. Yeah. I mean the antichrist people will not know for sure that he is the antichrist until the midpoint when he walks into the temple of God and declares himself to be
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God. That's when everyone knows he's the antichrist up until then it's speculation.
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And it's like right now, if you ask people, who do you think the antichrist is? Well, I think it's this guy.
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I think it's this president. I think it's this person. I think it was Henry Kissinger.
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Yeah. Nobody knows, but they will know in the middle of the tribulation.
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Okay. So verse five, again, do you not remember that when I was still with you,
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I told you these things. So basically what happened was, um,
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Paul writes this letter and he's speaking here.
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Uh, they're, they're concerned that maybe they're, they're in the tribulation.
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They're going through persecution. It looks like somebody wrote them a letter saying you're in the day of the
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Lord right now, the persecution you're facing. This is, this is the tribulation.
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And somebody may have forged a letter pretending to be Paul and letting them know that.
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And Paul says, no, that's not the case. Remember when I was with you, I told you that this isn't going to happen until the falling away comes first.
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So the falling away, I believe, and I've told you this before, I believe we are living in the great falling away.
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It's not something that happens in an hour or a day or even one year. I think it's a whole time period because Christianity was just spreading all over the world, spreading, spreading, spreading, and then you get to the middle of the 20th century, sometime in the 20th century, it reached its
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Zenith and it's been kind of shrinking ever since things have been going downhill ever since.
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And it doesn't take a genius to figure out, you know, churches in, at least in the
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Western world are in severe decline, right? You've heard me say this many times,
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Europe is almost completely finished apostate. And now it's starting to happen in the
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United States. So that might discourage somebody to hear that. But as one
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Bible teacher put it, he said, things are looking really, really good because they're looking really, really bad.
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In other words, the falling away is an indicator. I mean, that is a bad thing, but it's an indicator that the return of Christ is drawing near.
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Here's what pastor John MacArthur writes about second Thessalonians two. He said, this is the fifth mention of Christ coming in the
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Thessalonian letters. He said the aspect of his particular coming in view here is identified by the next phrase of quote, our gathering together, which conveys the idea of all believers meeting together with the
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Lord. Jesus MacArthur says, obviously this is a reference to the rapture of the church.
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Okay. So our gathering together to him as a reference to the rapture. So it's easy to understand the church is on earth, right?
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We're to be ready watching. Paul says concerning the rapture, second Thessalonians two to look at it.
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He says to them, do not be shaken in mind or troubled. And he makes reference probably to this forged letter, supposedly from Paul, as though you're living through the tribulation right now, because they were facing persecution.
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So Paul tells them, no, you're not. If I can paraphrase, because I told you this, the falling away has to come first.
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So the rapture isn't going to happen until you see the falling away. Any questions on that? All right.
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So Paul is easing their minds. So once the falling away occurs, and there is a mass defection from Christianity, which again,
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I argue is happening right now and has been happening for a while.
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Once that happens now, the rapture can happen at any moment.
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You say, pastor, can the rapture happen tonight? Yes, I believe the rapture can happen tonight.
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Am I dogmatic about it? No, I guess I'm not dogmatic about it, but I believe it could happen tomorrow.
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It could happen at any time. Once it happens, Paul goes on in second Thessalonians two to talk about the restrainer or that which restrains.
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So once the rapture takes place, the restrainer is then taken out of the way.
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And then the man of sin is revealed, who is the antichrist.
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Now, who or what is the restrainer? Holy spirit. Yeah. Most agree that the restrainer is the
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Holy spirit. Now we need to be careful because if I've heard this once, I've heard it a thousand times. People will say during the tribulation, the
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Holy spirit, the restrainer is taken away or removed from the earth. What's the problem with that?
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Yeah. The Holy spirit is God and God is omnipresent. David and the
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Psalms, where can I go? Where can I flee from your spirit? If I send to heaven, you're there. If I make my bed in hell, you're there like the
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Holy spirit. You can't remove the Holy spirit. This is why it always makes me like scratch my head when
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I see sort of these, these worship services where people are inviting the Holy spirit,
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Holy spirit, we invite you to join us for our worship. It's like, he's already here.
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He's everywhere. But, uh, yeah, the, the restrainer is the Holy spirit.
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He's not going to be removed from the world, but the restraint is that he's working in and through the
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Christian church. So once the church is removed, the Holy spirit's influence upon the world through the church, that's what is taken out of the way.
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Okay. So once the church is raptured, I mean, you know, you know how bad things are in this nation.
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Imagine if every Bible believing Christian disappeared tomorrow from the
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United States, there'd be no restraint. I mean, believe it or not, we are keeping things in check a little bit.
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You remove the church, all the Christians, I mean, it, hell is going to break loose on the earth.
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All right. Any questions on that? Again, to me, all this, what he's explaining, it all fits together.
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And to me, it's clear. I mean, I know I've studied this for years, but hopefully it's clear for you as well.
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Yes. Meg. Yeah. Just the promise that, you know, he would come and gather all the wheat before the tears.
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Yeah. Yeah. He's going to gather all the, all the wheat into the barn. He's going to rapture the church.
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And then, then comes the fire, right? Specifically says he needs the time to let it grow to make sure right.
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And it's growing now, but the time's coming where there's going to be that, that sifting.
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Well, the Holy Spirit, we are the temple of the Holy Spirit. He in dwells us.
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So when, when we all go, he won't, he won't have these, these hands, these feet, these mouths to use, except for those that do become born again during the tribulation.
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And they're going to have it worse than, than we could ever imagine.
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All right. Let's go back to revelation chapter four. And again, if you have the outline that I gave you, or if you remember it, there's that a built -in outline revelation, one 19 things, which you have seen, right?
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The things which are in right. The things which will take place after this. So John saw the vision and chapter one.
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It's what he saw the things, which are that was happening then in the first century and John's day chapters two and three.
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So now we're dealing with future prophecy starting in chapter four through the rest of the book.
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So let's just go through these verses with the time we have remaining revelation for one.
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And after these things, I looked and behold a door standing open in heaven.
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And the first voice, which I heard was doesn't say it was a trumpet, but it makes the point to say it was like a trumpet, like a trumpet speaking with me saying, come up hither or come up here.
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And I will show you things which must take place after this. So the, the trumpet sounds, so to speak, and then
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John is caught up again, a veiled reference, or maybe not so veiled reference to the rapture, because as Marcus pointed out at the beginning, first Thessalonians four, it's at the last
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Trump or that's first Thessalonians 15, but the trumpet sounds in that rapture passage.
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And then the church is caught up. Believers are caught up. That's, that's what you're seeing here. Uh, church again is seen in heaven with the 24 elders, never seen on earth again for the rest of the book.
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Verse two, John says he was in the spirit. Okay. It's not per it's not the rapture itself because John isn't resurrected.
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He never died. So it's not a perfect analogy, but it serves its purpose.
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And what does John see? He sees heaven, but more specifically, he sees heaven's throne room.
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And we have to assume that it's God, the father sitting on the throne.
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And then John sees all these beautiful colors, you know, the, like an Emerald and, and the rainbow.
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And it's just telling us that heaven is just beyond our comprehension in its beauty.
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John, I'm sure is just doing his best to describe what he sees. And I'm sure it doesn't really live up to what he actually saw, but immediately the focus is on the 24 elders.
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So the author who is Jesus himself, he emphasizes these men verse four around the throne were 24 thrones.
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And on the thrones, I saw 24 elders sitting clothed in white robes, and they had crowns of gold on their heads.
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So again, 24 elders, 12 plus 12, 12 tribes of Israel, 12 apostles of the land.
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This is the redeemed people of God. Remember Jesus says about God, his people, they shall rule and reign, or we will rule and reign with him, right?
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Well, that's what's happening. The church is ruling and reigning with Christ sitting on thrones, the crowns and the white robes represent salvation and rewards pastor and commentator.
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John MacArthur writes this, that the elders represent the church, which sings the song of redemption.
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That's going to be in chapter five, eight through 10. He says, they are the overcomers.
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I remember in, in the two, in the letters to the seven church, he who overcomes, well, they are the overcomers who have their crowns and live in the place prepared for them, where they have gone with Jesus.
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Do you remember, what would you say is the first reference to the rapture of the church in all of the
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Bible? If you're just reading chronologically from Genesis through the Bible, when's the first illusion, the first time the rapture is promised?
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Oh, there's a lot of things that picture the rapture, but the first time it's explicitly mentioned or promised is in the gospel of John chapter 14, where Jesus said in my father's house are many mansions for not.
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So I would have told you, I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, what
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I will come again and receive you and receive you to myself that where I am there, you may be also that's the rapture.
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Jesus comes back. He doesn't come to earth and fight the battle of Armageddon and just lay waste to all his, that's not the rapture.
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He comes in the clouds, takes his people to be with him, which where is, where is he now in heaven?
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And that's what John is seeing in heaven's throne room. So the rapture is referred to as the
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Christian's blessed hope. Is that your blessed hope tonight? I don't know what you're hoping for.
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Maybe you're hoping for a promotion at work. You're hoping for, you know, all sorts of different things.
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You're hoping for that vacation coming up soon, but the greatest hope, our blessed hope is
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Christ coming in the cloud. So just knowing that, that there will be a generation of believers who never die.
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Just that thought. I mean, how amazing is that? I've always thought that I was going to be in it ever since way, way back.
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We should all, this generation shall not pass away until all these things be accomplished.
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But yeah, who has had that idea that you, you're hoping for it, right?
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But here's the thing, even if it doesn't happen, it doesn't end up that way. You hope for it.
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You want it. You're looking forward to it. Yeah. So there will be a generation of believers who never die.
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Could we be that generation? Maybe, maybe not, but we should live as though we are that generation live in light of that hope.
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All the evil in the world today, God is going to take his church to be with him.
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And then he's going to deal with all the wickedness, Larry.
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And it's easier to live the Christian life thinking that it could be today because then
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I want to live my life to please him. And so today, I mean, that's why, you know, we're supposed to live today, right?
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Because tomorrow's the future. Yesterday is a history, but we have today, you know, and it's easier to live to please
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God today because one's the history. The other is a mystery.
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Today is a gift, a present. That's why they call it the present. So if you think of the next 40 years and what could happen and I, you know,
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I need to stay faithful for the next 20, 30, 40. I mean, it can be a little overwhelming thinking about all this time in the future and what could happen, but yeah, just take it one day at a time.
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And Lord could come back today. If he doesn't, it'll have the same minds one day at a time.
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We can, we can all do that. So this is the day
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Jesus is coming back. Then the urgency is also there. Right. It's pretty easy to get complacent when you think you got 40 years to convince your friend to come to Christ.
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Right. Right. There's a lot more urgency to it.
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Yep. Believing in the rapture will give you an urgency. Yep.
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Obviously we don't want to say, well, it's going to happen tomorrow. So I'm not going to bother doing anything because I'm just going to go wait on a hill.
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I mean, give me a break. Nobody, nobody really does that. There is that one group that did it, but let me, let me only have a little bit of time.
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Let me address one thing, this idea that people have that. Okay. I don't,
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I don't know if people really think this way, but they say, okay, I'm just going to do my thing. And then once the rapture happens, once I see it, then
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I'll get serious. Or people think, okay, if I saw the rapture, then
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I'd believe. I mean, there are some people who have sat in a church, they've listened to this and it's okay. I'm not going to give my life to Christ now, but if the rapture happens, then
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I'll know. And then I'll get serious. If you won't serve God now, if you won't give a testimony for the
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Lord now, when we're all living on easy street, there ain't no way you're doing it when it can cost you your life.
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I mean, is it possible someone could have that attitude and get saved? I'm not going to say it's impossible, but the odds are, if you have that attitude now against the
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Lord, it ain't going to change when you see the rapture. It could, it could, but I doubt it.
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That's not, that's not a plan, is the point. Larry? Isn't there a verse that says that God will send a strong delusion so they won't believe?
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Right. Yeah. That's 2 Thessalonians 2 as well, if we kept reading. So, I mean, there is an argument to be made.
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If you knowingly rejected Christ now, then you couldn't believe.
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I'm not sure that I would say that it's impossible to believe, but yes, there will be a strong delusion that people will believe the lies of the antichrist.
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And I think there's a strong delusion going on right now with the things people believe, but it's going to be that much worse in the future.
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And during the tribulation, there will be at least, I think at least literally 144 ,000 that will be saved.
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The tribulation saints, don't, don't you agree? Yes, I, I agree.
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So beginning to wrap all this up, I'll give you a chance to ask questions when we're done.
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If there's anything you want to bring up, but, uh, a lot more going on in this chapter, there's a lot of symbolism and I just don't want to get bogged down in every phrase and every detail, just kind of cover the, the, the main takeaway, the big picture, but just to touch on a few things, verse five, the lightenings, thunderings, voices, it all kind of paints this ominous picture of the judgment to come, you know,
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God's fiery wrath. The seven spirits of God is a reference to the Holy spirit.
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We talked about that in the past. Verse six, the sea of glass, uh, helps to emphasize,
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I think heaven's beauty, uh, and just all these descriptions, the four living creatures are likely a reference to the cherubim angels mentioned in Ezekiel.
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Commentators slightly disagree about the meaning of the four faces, you know, like a lion and an ox and a eagle.
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Uh, one idea is that, uh, the four faces symbolize like bravery, like a lion or, um, you know, swiftness, like an eagle.
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I like this, uh, interpretation where it's connected to the four gospels and how
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Christ is depicted in each of the four gospels. So if you think about it, Matthew, it's
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Christ, the King, that's the lion, right? Yep. Mark Christ, the servant, that's the ox.
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Uh, Luke depicts Christ's humanity. That's the face of a man. The E John, his deity, that's the eagle.
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I'm not quite sure why an eagle represents divinity, but I mean, I think that's the best explanation
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I've heard. You know why the eagle, that's in the flies in the heavens. Okay.
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But you know, that's one of those things we're not exactly sure about. Verse eight, uh, worship is going on in heaven day and night, right?
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Day and night, the angels cry out, Holy, Holy, Holy. So there's like this never ending worship service in heaven.
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Not that that's what a person's going to be doing 24 seven for eternity, but it's just ongoing forever.
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Uh, the angels are worshiping God and then the elders join in.
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So the 24 elders, they fall down, cast their crowns before the Lord. That's, you know, where you kind of get that, that idea that we're given our rewards, which is a crown.
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And then we cast our crowns back before us. Why would you do that? If God gives you a crown, why would you just throw it back down before his feet?
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Well, the idea, and I think this is how it works, uh, a crown, your reward is going to be tied in with how you serve
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God through eternity. So give it through casting it before his feet is like saying, okay,
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I'm taking my reward. I'm giving it back in service, whatever that, whatever that looks like.
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And then you see this great doxology in 11. Uh, the word doxology means an expression of praise.
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But before we close, what's the takeaway? Let's turn to second Peter three. Let's try to get a takeaway from this passage.
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Peter also spoke of the end times, second Peter chapter three.
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And here I'm going to steal Peter's application. Is that okay? It's not plagiarism.
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I'm giving Peter credit. Okay. Here's Peter's takeaway. Second Peter three, 10 through 13.
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And he says, but the day of the Lord, I'll give you one more minute to find it or one more second.
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Okay. Second Peter three, 10, but the day of the Lord will come as what a thief in the night, right?
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It's sudden because the rapture triggers the day of the Lord in which the heavens will pass away with a great noise and the elements will melt with fervent heat.
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And Peter's kind of just compressing it all into one. So he's taking the whole thing and just kind of putting it into one statement, both the earth and the works that are in it will be burnt up.
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Therefore, okay, here's the application. Here's the takeaway. Since all these things will be dissolved.
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What manner of persons ought you to be in holy conduct and godliness looking for and hastening the coming of the great day of God because of which the heavens will be dissolved, being on fire and the elements will melt with fervent heat.
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Nevertheless, according to his promise, we look for a new heavens and a new earth in which righteousness dwells.
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So hearing these things, it should stir us up to have that urgency to live holy lives, knowing that Jesus might be his coming might be right around the corner.
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If you knew that Jesus was coming back tonight at 11 o 'clock,
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I bet you would live a pretty holy life from now until 11 o 'clock, wouldn't you?
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So that's what we need to do. We need to have that mindset. The Lord could return at any time.
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And if we live in light of that, we will live a more godly life.