(Timeless Doctrines) Revelation's Timeless Doctrines - Part 1 — Denny Kenaston

Hello, this is Brother Denny. Welcome to Charity Ministries. Our desire is that your life would be blessed and changed by this message. This message is not copyrighted and is not to be bought or sold.

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The Word of God and the Fruitfulness of Ministry

I wonder if you heard them. I just feel like we could stop right here on that and not go any further. The Word of God. Such a treasure. Such a treasure we have. God has been so good to us in this land.

We all have one of these. I have my own. I get to mark in it and write in it and circle it and study it. And I can do it in freedom. Aren't you glad for that this morning? God has been so good to us. But to whom much is given, much is also required.

So, we thank God for the emphasis this morning already and the stirring in my own soul as I listen to the exhortation. I want to remind you that there's something else that D .L. Moody said at the end of his life when he was about to die.

Someone asked him what the key to the success of his ministry was. You know what he said? He said, There came a point in time in my life when I blocked out all my schedules and all my busy life. And I set aside hours of time to soak my heart in this book.

And there, my ministry began to be fruitful. God is no respecter of persons. At least, I'm one. I believe that. What God did for one man, God will do for another. If he's willing to rise up and follow it and do it, God will do it for someone else.

And I'm glad for that. Well, this morning, we're going to have a little study on the book of Revelation. I don't know how that sets with you. Some people are afraid of the book of Revelation. But it's part of the Bible.

Revelation's Timeless Doctrines

God has put it there for our learning, for our instruction, for correction and direction for our lives. The book of Revelation. I'm going to give a little title to the series that I'm teaching on here.

We're going to call it, Revelations, Timeless Doctrines. Revelations, Timeless Doctrines. And I'm giving it that title because I'm not planning to go into all the little details and interpretations in the book of Revelation.

But rather to draw out of the book of Revelation the timeless doctrines that can sanctify our lives, even in these last days. I have been reading the book of Revelation for the last two years. And it's in the course of my regular Bible reading.

But I do it a little bit different with the book of Revelation and the book of Hebrews. I kind of shift my Bible reading around so that when I read those two books, I can read them in one sitting. I don't know if you've ever done that with the book of Hebrews or the book of Revelation.

But I tell you, it's a revelation to read the book of Revelation in one sitting. Chapter 1 through chapter 22. So I've read it many times in the last two years. And I read it a little bit different maybe than you do.

I read it out loud. I go up in my study where I can be alone and I preach the book of Revelation to my own heart as I read it. Out loud, slowly, meditative, with strength and meaning, verse by verse. It's an awesome experience.

God has begun to unfold to my own heart, my own personal life, the tremblings, the exhortations, the challenges and the warnings that are in the book of Revelation. And I'd like to share some of those practical gleanings that I've gained from this experience over the last two years.

This little study is actually for the Bible school students. It was set aside for Bible school. But the Lord, He's in charge and He said no to the Bible school. He said yes for this weekend. So the young people have to get the tapes.

The Veiled Nature and Purpose of Prophecy

I want to say a few words about the nature of the prophetic. Because the book of Revelation is a prophetic book. It is a prophetic utterance. It is full of dreams and visions. It's full of future predictions.

It's full of all kinds of things that as we look at it we may not even understand it. This is the nature of the prophetic. It is supposed to be that way. In the prophetic we find veiled realities. Can I say it that way?

They are there. They are realities. They speak very clearly to our hearts. Yet at the same time we look at them, like Paul said in 1 Corinthians 13, through a glass, darkly. They are veiled realities.

We see them, yet we don't see them clearly. But you see them enough that they have a gripping effect upon your heart if you will open your heart to them. This is the nature of the prophetic. Also, the nature of the prophetic is to have mysteries in it.

Mysteries that you don't understand. Statements that you cannot figure out. Things that make you scratch your head. Things that make you put question marks in the side of your Bible. That's what I do when I don't understand something.

I just put a question mark there and hope maybe I'll find it some day later. But I know that some day later I will have all those answers. Question marks. God has designed the prophetic that way. That it brings question marks to our own heart and our mind.

It causes us to ponder and to wonder. And it has an exercise of searching in our heart. What does this mean? God wants it to do that to us. It is the nature of the prophetic. Another thing about the prophetic that I would like to note before we get into the study here is that the prophetic, in fact, it is given to those that it was written for.

When God moved upon the heart of a prophet to speak forth words, He moved upon that prophet in the midst of the situation and circumstances that the prophet was living in. So, the nature of the prophetic is for those who were living in the day that it first came.

However, it also reaches out into the future. And you cannot put the prophetic in a box. It reaches out into the future and it could go two or three jumps down into the future before you will get it all figured out.

An example of that would be Joel 2, where it speaks about the outpouring of the Spirit of God in the last days. And that was given in Joel, which would have been, oh my, maybe 500 years before Pentecost.

And so there we have the nature of the prophetic. And God used it in Joel's day, in the lives of the people of Joel's day. But then we jump over into the day of Pentecost and there Peter uses those scriptures and says, this is that which was prophesied by the prophet Joel.

But I want you to notice that there are also verses that he listed there, that were listed in Joel and also listed in the book of Acts that have not been fulfilled yet. And so God stretches that thing way out here.

And we sit there looking at it and wonder, what does this mean? That's good, brothers and sisters. It's good for us to be there. God, what does this mean? And so we find ourselves gazing into the future with awe and wonder, but not knowing exactly what we're looking ahead to.

This is the nature of the prophetic. The prophetic is designed, it is supposed to make us think and wonder and question. The prophetic is supposed to make us ask God questions. If I could just illustrate that, you know, it was the prophet Daniel who was reading the Word of God and came upon those verses by Jeremiah that said something about 70 years.

And Daniel wanted to know what that meant and he sought to seek the Lord and he fasted and he prayed 21 days for an answer to his question as he gazed into the mysteries of the prophetic. And aren't we glad he was serious enough about it to seek God the way he did there.

Maybe we ought to be doing a little more of that, amen? We live in the last of the last days. The nature of the prophetic is designed to make you alert to current events. You read into the prophetic, you live in the world that you live in.

And the prophetic makes you alert to the current events that are happening around you. You cannot help it. These are days when all kinds of things are unfolding before us that we do not understand. But the prophetic and current events often run side by side.

And lastly, the effects of the prophetic is that it tries and proves us and should affect our will. It should affect our will. And what I mean by that is simply this. God, it's alright if God veils powerful things in the mysteries of the prophetic.

And it's alright if He does that and calls upon us to make decisions though we do not see it all very clearly. That's okay. We shouldn't have to see everything. We shouldn't have to know everything. You shouldn't have to wait until the day you see the locusts with scorpion stingers in their tail to all of a sudden decide you're going to wake up and get serious with God.

You ought to be able to just look into that book and wonder what that means and say in your heart, I'm not sure what all that means, but I'm going to get serious with God. This is the nature of the prophetic.

Reading Revelation and Daniel Together

Now, I want to hasten to say as we get into this study, I am not an expert on prophecy. I am not. I do not claim to be. In fact, I feel very ignorant on the subject, but I still spent the last two years going through the book of Revelation.

So, there are things that have come out to my heart that I want to share with you. I'm not an expert on prophecy. And my motivation here in these sessions is not that at all. May I say it this way? Rather, I feel very ignorant when I think about prophecy.

There are many, many other brethren who have studied prophecy way more than I and have very good insights into all of that. And I'll leave it to one of them to teach us all the intricate details and what they think they mean in the book of Revelation.

That is not my motivation as we look into these things, but rather I desire to draw out of the book of Revelation the timeless doctrines, the teachings that are in there that are practical, that affect our everyday living.

And we want to look at those in these three sessions. I must admit, though, that I am forming my opinions as I read and as I study, and I'm planning to be wrong on some of them when the Lord Jesus Christ doth come.

I am not one of those dogmatists about prophecy that I believe I see what this means and that means and what this is going to be and all that. I'm not one of those. I think we're all going to be surprised.

But let's be ready while we are surprised that it came out different than what we thought it would. That's where I would be at. I'm not dogmatic on the details of these things. And I would encourage you, as children of God who live in the last days, read the book of Revelation through, then read the book of Daniel, then go back and read the book of Revelation, then read the book of Daniel.

You'll find some very interesting things in there that will speak to your heart about the present age in which we live, if you will do that. Gleaning will come and a carefulness will also come with the gleanings that you get as you go back and forth reading in those two books.

The word revelation in the book of Revelation is the word apocalypsis. That's the Greek word and it simply means revelation or the revealing. And it's interesting to me, you know, it says here in my Bible, the revelation of Saint John the Divine.

And the word divine there in the Greek is theologian. Saint John the Theologian. Well, whoever thought of the book of Revelation being a theology book. But there's much theology in the book of Revelation as we will see as we begin to go down through it.

Without nitpicking on little details of what this is and who this might be, this book of Revelation is filled with theology. It is filled with a theology of God. It is filled with a theology of God's people and how that they should relate to the end of the age that they live in.

We want to look at it that way. In Revelation chapter 1 and verse 1, it's interesting to note the words in which this book begins. The revelation of Jesus Christ. I don't know if you ever considered that, but maybe we could say that the book of Revelation is the revelation of Jesus Christ.

Go through it one time that way. Just take that little thought which begins the whole book and read through it saying, this book is a revelation of Jesus Christ. This book is the revelation of Jesus Christ in the end of the age.

The Revelation of Jesus Christ and His Coming Judgment

You could do it that way. Consider these words found in other places in the New Testament. Peter, the book of Peter chapter 1. Notice what Peter says. I find it very interesting in light of that verse that we just read in chapter 1 and verse 1.

First Peter chapter 1 and verse 13, Peter says these words, Wherefore, gird up the loins of your mind, be sober and hope to the end, for the grace that is to be brought unto you, when? The revelation of Jesus Christ.

Just hide that one in your heart. And also, 2 Thessalonians and chapter 1 verse 7 through 10. Again, note these things. Hide them in your heart and you ponder them like I ponder them and wonder what all of it means.

First, 2 Thessalonians chapter 1 verse 7. And to you who are troubled, rest with us, when the Lord Jesus shall be revealed from heaven, with his mighty angels in flaming fire, taking vengeance on them that know not God and that obey not the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ, who shall be punished with everlasting destruction from the presence of the Lord and from the glory of his power, when he shall come to be glorified in his saints and to be admired in all them that believe, because our testimony among you was believed in that day.

To be glorified in all them that believe in that day. What day? In that day when the Lord Jesus Christ shall be revealed. We've been studying the book of Daniel in our family devotions for just a few days now.

And you know how it is when you study your Bible, connections get made all the time in different ways because of where you were just reading or where you're going to be reading. And we've been reading in the book of Daniel and we read about the dream, the vision that King Nebuchadnezzar had.

You know, he saw that big image and the image had a head of gold and it had a chest and arms of silver and it had loins of brass and it had legs of iron and it had ankles and feet which was made of iron and clay.

And according to that revelation that was given to King Nebuchadnezzar, there was a stone that was hewn out of a mountain and that stone smote that image and broke that image into pieces and the stone which was hewn out of the mountain became a great mountain which covered the whole earth.

Beautiful! Well, maybe that's what the book of Revelation is, huh? It is the stone hewn out of the mountain that breaks the image in pieces. The stone that became a mountain and covered the whole earth.

That's a different way to look at the book of Revelation. Now, in Daniel, you see it all in one thing. Up stands this big image. This big stone is hewn out of the mountain. The stone smashes into the image and breaks it into pieces and the stone grows into a great mountain and covers the whole earth.

Boom! Just like that. Well, in the book of Revelation, maybe we have 22 chapters to explain that one little picture. And Brother Mo says, Amen. So maybe that's right. I don't know. I don't know a lot about those things.

The theme of the book of Revelation is the conflict of Christ and His church with anti-Christian powers and their ultimate defeat. There's a nice theme, isn't it? The conflict of Christ and His church with anti-Christian powers and their ultimate defeat.

Hallelujah! We read the last chapter. Everything's taken care of. It's not a matter of whether those things are going to come to pass. The matter is whether you're going to be in the midst of it all. Whether you get to be on the glory side of it all when it's said and done.

And the last chapter is sealed. That's the question this morning, brothers and sisters. Reading in Revelation again in chapter 1, if we could. Chapter 4, I'm sorry, verse 4. Revelation 1, 4 through 10.

Just to get the, I'd like us to get the pastoral aspect of this old apostle John. John, to the seven churches which are in Asia. Grace be unto you and peace from him which is and which was and which is to come.

And from the seven spirits which are before his throne. And from Jesus Christ who is the faithful witness. There we have the Trinity, isn't it? Right there in those first few verses. From Jesus Christ who is the faithful witness and the first begotten of the dead.

And the prince of the kings of the earth. Unto him that loved us and washed us from our sins in his own blood. Aren't you glad for that this morning? That he loved us and washed us from our sins in his own blood.

And hath made us kings and priests unto God and his Father. To him be glory and dominion forever and ever. Amen. Behold he cometh with clouds and every eye shall see him. And they also which pierced him.

And all kindreds of the earth shall wail because of him. Even so, amen. John begins to give us a glimpse of what he's going to describe in detail in the chapters to come. Behold he comes with clouds and every eye shall see him.

And the tongues and tribes of the earth shall wail. I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the ending, saith the Lord, which is and which was and which is to come, the Almighty. Now listen to John. I, John, who also am your brother and companion in tribulation and in the kingdom and patience of Jesus Christ.

What a wealth of wisdom he just gave in those words. The great apostle, the wise apostle, this old man, ninety years old. Your brother, your companion in tribulation and in the kingdom and patience of Jesus Christ.

I, John, was in the isle that is called Patmos. Why were you there, John? For the word of God and for the testimony of Jesus. They put me here because I love the word of God and because I love the testimony of Jesus.

Because I love the word of God and because I testified of my Lord Jesus. I am here on the isle of Patmos and I am a companion in tribulation. But John goes on to give a bit of his credentials. I'm glad these are here in verse 10.

I, John, was in the spirit on the Lord's day and heard behind me a great voice as of a trumpet. We're not going to read any further there, but I want you to note that, that John was in the spirit on the Lord's day.

Do you know what it is to be in the spirit on the Lord's day? I went to church on the Lord's day. I read my Bible on the Lord's day. I sang the songs on the Lord's day. But John was in the spirit on the Lord's day.

That's where God wants every one of us to be, brothers and sisters, in the spirit on the Lord's day. But that's where John was. And that made the way for the great apostle to minister to us 1900 years later.

Because he was in the spirit on the Lord's day. Praise God. I want us to also notice here that there were things to be gleaned for these seven churches. The book of Revelation was written to those seven churches.

It wasn't just written as a prophetic revelation for somebody who lives off in the future, but it was written to the church, those seven churches of Asia. It was written to them. It was for them. It was breathed out by God to them and for them.

And there's a wealth of understanding as you go through the whole book of Revelation, if you just think of it in light of that. It's not just some mysterious thing that is going to happen way down there somewhere.

And many people have just kind of pushed the book aside because of that. Many, they look at it and say, I can't figure that thing out, I'm not even going to read it. Others have looked at it and said, it's so confusing, it can't be inspired.

But I'm here to remind you this morning that it is the word of God and a revelation of things to come. And it is packed full of wisdom for us to glean from in 2002. I hope that we can do that through these sessions as we go through them.

Practical Teaching Beyond Prophetic Speculation

Having said all this, I want to move into the practical teachings of the book of Revelation. Many men have made many predictions. And these predictions have filled many conferences with people who want to hear these predictions.

I'm sure you're aware of that. Thousands of people gather together to hear the latest man give the latest interpretations of the things that are happening in the book of Revelation. And I'm not against some of that.

I think we need to do some of that ourselves. But I believe there are some deeper things in the book of Revelation than the tantalizing, interesting interpretations of what we think this head means and this crown means and on and on and on it goes.

Because I believe if we come to grips with that which God is trying to get across to our hearts in the book of Revelation, those kind of prophetic conferences would change the whole United States. But yet they go in their tens of thousands to look at what the ten toes mean, the ten crowns and all those things.

But how much of it does change their everyday life and prepare them for the end which is drawing nigh so fast? It's a question that I raised this morning. Not critical of them. I'm not against some of this.

But there are clear, simple, practical teachings that these seven churches receive for themselves in their day. And there are clear teachings for us in our day. Us upon whom the end of the age has come.

Amen? Paul said that to the Corinthians 1900 years ago. How could he say that to them and then God let another 1900 years go by? Hey, I don't understand all those things. I don't understand it. Except that that is the nature of the prophetic.

It's just that way. I ponder many things. I'm sure you do too. Israel became a nation again in 1948. I ponder that. I wonder what that means. I watch that little nation. Little bitty Israel. One of the smallest nations in the whole world.

And it gets more attention than the United States of America. Why? I'm not sure why. But it seems like God, in His wisdom, just keeps focusing the eyes of the whole world on that little piece of land called Israel.

I ponder those things. What do they mean? Communist Russia fell. In a moment, the face of the whole world seemed changed. Communist Russia fell. I ponder those things. God, what does this mean? I'm living in this age when these things are happening.

The European nations are aligning themselves and becoming a world. I ponder those things. I look at them and I think, What does that mean, Lord? How does it fit into Your book? Give me wisdom. I want to be like David's mighty men who had understanding of the times and the seasons that they lived in.

I want to be that way in the day that I live in. Having understanding in the times and the seasons that I live in. Financial calamities abound in every part of the world. We need a Savior. We need a Savior.

That's what the world would say. We need a Savior who can come and save the world. You will get one. You will get one. The New World Order is in the news all the time. They're constantly talking about getting everybody together and putting all the money together and making just one kind of money.

All these things they're talking about. I ponder those things. I wonder what they mean. I don't know that I have all the answers to it, but when I ponder those things and I read through the book of Revelation, things go on inside of my heart.

It makes me wonder what day and age we live in. World religions are coming together. The Protestants are opening their arms to Rome. And Rome is opening its arms to all the religions of the world. How can that be?

Oh, God can allow anything to happen. You know, even a hundred years ago, if you would have told the people who lived a hundred years ago that the Pope would bless the Muslims and their religion, they wouldn't have believed you.

But today, he blesses them and invites, who's that man from Tibet? What do they call that guy? I can't say it, but all the world leaders of the world religions gather around Rome for a blessing. I ponder those things.

I do. Because you know, and you know this, religion is religion the world around. You know, it might have some different shapes, some different flavors to it, but religion is religion the world around.

And true Christianity is the dividing line for every one of those religions. I ponder these things. The things that we are going to be considering will help you and keep you, even if you never know what the ten toes in Daniel's image represent.

So, we want to look past the ten toes these next three days and look at Revelation from a very practical standpoint. There are many sevens in the book of Revelation and they are significant, no doubt.

But I discovered that there are many twos in the book of Revelation also. And that's where we're going to be looking throughout these sessions. We're going to be looking at the twos and not the sevens.

Sorry. Not going to look at the seven seals and the seven trumpets and the seven plagues and all those things. We're going to look at the twos. Okay? There are two kings, two armies, two peoples, two worlds, two cities, two women, two reapings, two judgments, two marks, two places, two kingdoms and two types of Christians in the book of Revelation.

That's what I want to look at. And therein is much wisdom for us. Much wisdom. Brothers and sisters, we better be on the right side of those twos as the day approaches. We had better be on the right side of those twos.

The Two Kings: Christ and the Antichrist

First of all, two kings. The first king is the king of all kings that you find in the book of Revelation. He is the Lord Jesus Christ who is the faithful witness. He is the Lord Jesus Christ who is the first begotten of the dead.

He is the Lord Jesus Christ who is the Prince of the kings of the earth. He is the Lord Jesus Christ, the One that loved us and washed us from our sins in His own blood. He is the Lord Jesus Christ, the One who has made us kings and priests unto God and His Father to give Him glory and dominion for ever and ever.

He is the Lord Jesus Christ who cometh with clouds and every eye shall see Him. He is one of those two kings in the book of Revelation. Chapter 5. If we could read there, Revelation chapter 5, we get a glimpse of this king.

He is a different kind of king. He is a beautiful king. Like Isaiah said, Mine eyes have seen the King. Mine eyes have seen the King. This King that we see in the book of Revelation, Isaiah said, Mine eyes have seen the King.

Revelation 5, verse 5 and 6. And one of the elders said unto me, Weep not, John. Behold, the Lion of the tribe of Judah, the root of David. That's a king, by the way. The Lion of the tribe of Judah is the ruling king over all the kings of Judah.

The Lion of the tribe of Judah, the root of David, hath prevailed to open the book and to loose the seven seals thereof. He hath prevailed. My King hath prevailed. My King hath prevailed. My King prevailed.

Let me tell you how He prevailed. Other kings march into a city with His royal robes on, holding His golden scepter in His hand. That's not the way My King prevailed. But My King prevailed. Oh, the Lion of the tribe of Judah, the root of David, He hath prevailed to open the book and to loose the seals thereof.

How did He prevail? What did He do to get such honor, to open up such book, when they couldn't find anybody to open the book? No, not in all the earth. No, not under the earth. No, not anywhere around the earth.

Only this One prevailed. What did He do to prevail? Did He march into the city with all the pomp of a king, with an army behind Him? No! He marched up a hill called Golgotha and laid His life down on a cross for you.

Yes, the Lion of the tribe of Judah hath prevailed. He's My King! Like the old black preacher used to say. You ever hear that little sermon? He's My King! But My King marched up a lonely hill and laid Himself down on an old rugged cross and gave His life there for you and Me.

That's one of the kings in the book of Revelation. So John, he hears this word, this encouraging word. Don't weep, John. The Lion of the tribe of Judah hath prevailed. And I beheld and lo in the midst of the throne and of the four beasts and in the midst of the elders stood a Lamb as it had been slain, having seven horns and seven eyes which are the seven Spirits of God sent forth into all the earth.

What a different picture that is! He turned expecting to see a Lion. He saw a Lamb. That's right. That's right. You see, my brothers and sisters, that's how you become a Lion in God's Kingdom. You lay down like a Lamb.

That's how you become a Lion. The strength of God is made perfect in weakness, brothers and sisters. And Jesus is the most beautiful example of that to all of us today. And He's the King in the book of Revelation.

Do you know Him today? Do you know Him? It doesn't matter if you know President Bush today. It matters if you know the King of Kings that is revealed in the book of Revelation. When everything is said and done, when all the pages are done, and we stand before God, it won't matter one flip if you were the best friend of the President of the United States.

What's going to matter is whether you know the King that is revealed in the book of Revelation. He's the stone hewed out of the mountain. Have you fallen on the stone which the builders, the religious people rejected?

The stone that has become the headstone? Have you fallen on the stone that was hewed out of the mountain? Oh, may I recommend to you this morning that you fall on the stone which is hewed out of the mountain, because that stone is going to become a great mountain and it will grind everything to powder that has not fallen upon it in brokenness and yieldedness and reverence!

Have you fallen on the stone which is hewed out of the mountain? Or do you wait for it to grind you to powder? It's a good question for us to ask ourselves here today. You know, I wonder how many testimonies I've heard of people who were not right with God, but had lots of knowledge about the Bible and the end times.

I wonder how many times I've heard the testimonies of people say, as God was bringing them under conviction, I hoped that Jesus wouldn't return because I didn't know Him. This King is the lowly Lamb. This is the lowly Lamb who became our Savior.

He is the One all heaven adores. He is the One all hell fears. He is the King revealed in the book of Revelation. We need to be rightly related to the King. The Creator has become our Savior. The Word made flesh and dwelt among men.

Have you met the King like Paul did? Have you met Him? Have you said, Who art thou, Lord? And have you said, What wilt thou have me to do? This is a proper response to the King that's revealed in the book of Revelation.

Who art thou, Lord? I am Jesus, King of kings and Lord of lords. I am Alpha and Omega. I am the beginning and the end. And I have the keys of death and of hell. And I am the King. Yes, Lord! And what will you have me to do, Lord?

O thou King of all kings! Have you met the Deliverer and been set free? There's another King in the book of Revelation. Not quite the same. Not quite the same at all. But we need to look at Him. We may deal with Him someday.

We just may deal with Him someday. Another King in the book of Revelation. The Antichrist. We need to know about Him. You decide after we look at Him also which one you want to relate to. Revelation 13, if we could read there a little bit.

Revelation 13, verses 1 -8. And I stood upon the sand of the sea and saw a beast rise up out of the sea having seven heads and ten horns. And upon his horns, ten crowns. And upon his heads, the name of blasphemy.