Adult Sunday School Revelation Picture

Well, good morning. Morning morning. I'm still not used to Churches this church not being filled on Easter. So weird to me it's like it's like the one time like when I was a pastor in other churches. It's like the one day of the year where I know I'm gonna get a good crowd except for here.

That's true, that's true but the Nominal people don't know that. Yeah. And so let's open it a word of prayer. Our good and gracious God. We thank you that you are sovereign and ruler over history. Lord, we know that all things happen according to that good pleasure and will and.

And father as we endeavor to open your word this morning and one of the more interesting and difficult books of the Bible. We pray God for your illumination for your spirit to lead us and give us insight Into the unraveling of history in the personal work of Jesus Christ.

Lord, we thank you that you've given us this church this ministry these people we pray father for their edification. Pray father for their sanctification and that all these things would be used to bring them to a closer knowledge and image of Christ Onto the glory of the one true and trium God the Father Son and Holy Spirit.

We do pray this in Jesus name. Amen. So since I became your pastor it's been on many of your radars that I've got a Big intrigue with the book of Revelation. I always told you I'd love to go into a teaching On Revelation because I have a verse-by-verse Systematic study of Revelation that would take us probably about two years to go through.

So we can't do that. We can't even do a full recap of all 22 chapters of Revelation. But I want to do is kind of give you a taste and give you the big picture idea of this fascinating book of the Bible.

Everyone will agree that Revelation is Probably the hardest book of the Bible to understand everyone from Theologians to pastors will all say that but I have a little bit of a different take. I Actually think Revelation is one of the easiest books of the Bible to understand.

And the reason I believe that is because if you have a good knowledge and basis of the Old Testament. Then the book of Revelation will make so much sense. One of the things that I've said about the book of Revelation That will sound heretical to you when you hear it is That there is nothing new in the book of Revelation.

Okay. There's nothing new. You might be wondering Pastor where else in the Bible does it talk about? Four horsemen of the Apocalypse. Where else in the Bible does it talk about these plagues. Where else in the Bible does it talk about all?

These you know incredible images and actually Almost every image almost every reference in the book of Revelation has a prior reference in the Old Testament. For instance you might wonder we're in the Old Testament are there four horsemen of the Apocalypse.

Well actually we see them in Zechariah chapter 4. And we see their meaning. Might be wondering pastor. Where else do we see this idea of? Wormwood you know in Revelation chapter 10 11. There's this idea of wormwood of this this this what some people interpret to be a comet that comes hits the earth and then Infects the water supply, and there's all these things where do we find that elsewhere in Scripture?

Where we actually find it in the book of Jeremiah in the book of Jeremiah. It's referencing apostates and it's referencing a apostate people. Everything in the book of Revelation has a basis in the Old Testament.

And so today, I want to give you a recap of the first 12 chapters so halfway through the book of Revelation and kind of give you a Snapshot picture of what this incredible book is about now when we talk about books of the Bible how many books are there?

How many Old Testament books are there? 39 how many New Testament books are there? 27 that's some good math right there good deduction. Okay now of those 66 books. There are what are called different genres, okay?

You have historical. You have prophetic you have poetic you have different types of narratives. You have epistles you have all these types of different genres of literature and of writing. What kind of genre is the book of Revelation.

It's prophetic and it's also another one what? Apocalyptic in fact the word revelation we get it from the Greek which is apocalypses and Apocalypses just literally means when we think about apocalypse it sounds like the end of the world doesn't it?

It sounds scary. It sounds like doom and gloom. That's why people think that the book of Revelation is a scary book. And it's confusing and it's all these things and we just I've heard pastor say I won't even touch the book of Revelation.

Okay but the word apocalypse apocalypses or Revelation actually has a very different meaning. The word means to Unravel or to unveil. Think of a stage with a curtain and Revelation or to apocalypse is to bring the curtain over and open it so everyone can see.

I Want you to turn to the first? Chapter of Revelation. And excuse my sniffles I've got out at bad allergies today and Notice how this book opens in the first three verses the revelation of Jesus Christ.

Which God gave him to show to his servants the things that must soon take place. He made it known by sending his angel to his servant John. Who bore witness to the Word of God into the testimony of Jesus Christ even to all that he saw?

Blessed is the one who reads aloud the words of this prophecy and blessed are those who hear and keep what is written in it. For the time is near. Does it say? Scared and You know Cursed is the one who reads these words.

Instead it says blessed. Blessed is the one who reads the words of these prophecy. What a beautiful invitation that is. It's not a warning sign of saying danger in danger. Stay away. Don't read this book.

You won't understand it. You won't comprehend it. He says no Blessed are you? Who read aloud the words of this prophecy in? Particular why. Because according to John the Revelator The time is what? Near.

Now the question might arise. What does he mean by nearness? What is near? What time is near? We'll get into that in a moment in your insert or in your Paper that you've been handed. I want you to we're gonna briefly go over the four major views on the book of Revelation.

Now several years ago, I think we went through a book on Eschatology and In that material, I think it went over some of this. How to interpret the book of Revelation now that wasn't what book was it wasn't a commentary.

Was it was that's right. That's right. I don't know in that book because I've also read it. He goes over some of this in regard to the four understandings of Revelation. The first one I want you to write down is the one of the first.

One of the views of the four views of understanding Revelation is the idealist view. Can anyone tell me what the idealist view is anyone remember what the idealist view is? Pastor, yeah. Sometimes it's also called the spiritualist view or the spiritual view and it is again similar to a pastor.

Just mentioned it is the view that everything that's in Revelation is to be viewed from the lens of of a spiritual View that this happens. Kind of an airy era of the church. And so the beast there's always going to be a beast that's government.

There's always going to be a struggle. There's always going to be persecution. There's always going to be these ebb and flows of history. And so this view was popularized early on in church history such saints such as Origen or st Augustine in particular held what we would refer to as the idealist or spiritual view and he very much popularized it.

Augustine was you know, someone who is credit in church history with a robust understanding of eschatology and so all millennialism and Concepts of the kingdom that we understand today a lot of it stems from Augustinian writing and thought.

And so certainly Augustine is a huge influence on this view. Then the second view is what is called the preterist view. Anyone know what a preterist view is Gretchen? Yeah, so preterist means pre past and it basically says that everything in the book of Revelation.

It's basically all done. It's it's happened. It historically is fulfilled most likely in the year in the time of the year of 70 AD in the first century. So preterist view would say we look at Revelation.

We say okay all this happened already. So the preterist would say hey, we look at Revelation and we can rejoice in that. This is actually fulfilled prophecy. You might be wondering okay. Well, what about Armageddon?

What about? You know all the plagues what about you know, the the Millennial Kingdom? What about the the world to come? Where does that fit in with 70 AD and so we'll briefly touch on that later. But the preterist view again is that everything happened around the year 70 AD.

So this is a book of fulfilled prophecy. And if you're a partial preterist, you would agree with that view all the way into about Revelation 19 or 20. So a partial preterist would say that's true. All this is fulfilled.

Except for the last like three chapters. And so they would say that is a future event. Okay, the next one would be the historicist view. Can anyone? Reminded us what the historicist view is or no or want to give a hint.

What what does that connotate? Yes, kid. Yeah, it's very similar to the idealist or the spiritualist the spiritual view of Revelation, but they will ground it more so in history. And so they will ground this these events.

That that likely have again an occurrence in every era and they'll try to pin it to various kingdoms or ages such as the Roman Empire then the Turks and then the You know the British Empire the American Empire.

So they're always trying to kind of connect it into history. The other view is the futurist view. So as opposed to the preterist view where it's where the preterist would say all these things have been fulfilled.

The futurist says no these things are yet future. Okay, and so the futurist would look at the book of Revelation say these are all things that haven't happened yet, but will happen. Of these four which is the most prominent in evangelicalism today?

Futurists if you read any literature on Endtimes it is predominantly 98 Futurist views the stuff that gets sensationalized on television on YouTube on various channels. It's all a futurist view like oh, you know.

There's a red blood moon. There's there's there's gonna be this year in particular. There's gonna be a solar eclipse and it's gonna make a cross sign across America. And this is a sign of Jesus return and to look at Revelation and it's like all future future future and it's all nonsense.

Yes. So use the phrase it's not sexy. It doesn't sell it's not appealing. And so you have these four major views idealist preterist historicist futurist. And these are all different ways of understanding revelation.

So the question that that we pose is is which one is the right way? Which is the right? Hermeneutic or lens by which we can interpret the book of Revelation. Is it the idealist? Preterist historicist or futurist.

Anyone have an opinion? Pastor be bold. Okay, the preterist the futurist. Correct. Perfect that's still not an answer. Which one do you hold on to? Idealist there you go. Anyone else want to be brave and label yourself?

Ken. Okay, I like that Hybrid you had your hand up. Yep.

Yeah, I feel like this is a trick question. It is I'm just going based off what he said. But it's like the idea of like yeah this is like good news.

In the back, yeah Historicist is again very similar to the idealist in that there's a there's a you're looking at it from a spiritual perspective. But then you're trying to apply it to history. Right where the idealist is it's a little bit less.

It's a little more vague. It's a little less tangible. It's it's more about principle. It's about looking at the the spiritual application of these prophecies the spiritual applications of these events and how they have spiritual ramifications for our day-to-day.

Versus a historicist tries to more so fit things in history in a more kind of systematic way. Pastor I like it. So Here's yeah, I think a little more of a nuance approach I'd say That the idealists the preterists the historicists and the futurists are all right depending on the verse depending on the context.

Okay the book of Revelation is Apocalypse apocalyptic literature as we have established it is a Genre that is Harkening back to themes that are thematic in the Old Testament in particular so if you have a strong basis of the Old Testament you will truly be well positioned to understand the book of Revelation because again everything is pointing to particularly the reign of Jesus Christ, so if you want me to put kind of a Main theme in regard to a book of Revelation, it's the reign of Christ.

The book of Revelation is describing what all the prophets before have been prophesying and it gives it to us in a climactic dramatic form of literature apocalyptic literature and it's picturing the reign of Christ over his people and so the theme of Revelation which you write this in notes is The revealing of the reign of Jesus Christ as Lord of history.

This is the theme of the book of Revelation. Again, we've read the first Three verses of Revelation, but take a look also in Revelation chapter 1 verse 7 and 8 it says Behold he is coming with the clouds and every eye will see him.

Even those who pierced him and all the tribes of the earth will wail on account of him even so amen I am the Alpha and the Omega says the Lord God who is who was and who is to come the Almighty so again, the notes should read that the theme of Revelation is the revealing of the reign of Christ as Lord of history, yes.

I Have a presupposition when it comes to the book of Revelation I have a presupposition when it comes to the entirety of the of the New Testament. My presupposition is that the entirety of the New Testament was written before 70 AD.

That is an unpopular view. It is gaining traction within scholarship. It is getting traction within you know a modern look at examination of the evidence but I would say every argument for a post 70 authorship of most of the Gospels or and including the book of Revelation and Johannine literatures point to a Quote from a church father.

Where he says in the second or third century? He says that John the Revelator wrote during the reign of Domitian now Domitian was an emperor who reigned in the 90s and so that's why most people would say well some of the earliest witnesses of the early church would point to You know John writing Revelation while under while in prison in the island of Patmos under the reign of Domitian and The reason why I distrust that analysis is because this is the same church father who said Jesus was crucified when he was 50 years old.

Okay, so clearly this guy's not good at math. And so and if that and if that's our strongest evidence in the early church For a dating of Revelation I would then want to examine the internal evidence of the writings of the New Testament and One of the things that stands out in the Gospels is this climactic prophecy that Jesus makes?

Twice and primarily and what's called the Olivet Discourse when the Olivet Discourse Jesus speaks about the destruction of the temple and he speaks of this in very dramatic terms now a Criticism of a critical view of the Gospels and of the New Testament would say well, of course they were able to write this because They wrote this post 70 AD.

So they're alluding to event that had already happened, which doesn't make it prophecy. I believe that the New Testament writers were prophesying that Jesus was prophesying when they speak of the coming destruction and no Reference in the New Testament is there to the destruction of the temple in 70 AD, which would have been huge Vindication of the Christian witness it would have been a huge.

You know, it's like it's like someone writing in in in post 9-eleven context about you know, politics and religion and and Society and not mentioning 9-eleven. I mean, it's it's it's in It's even bigger than that I mean this is this is the center of Jewish worship of which the view was that Christianity was a cult in a sect of Judaism and so for it not to be mentioned is pretty dramatic and it's I think it's Pretty telling so there's an internal Harmony and witness of the New Testament that I would that I would say leads to a compelling case.

And this is just one little point. We don't have time to go into foreign to in-depth in this. But I would hold to a pre 70 AD Authorship of the entirety of the New Testament and so that's that would be my perspective in view and I think the internal witness of Scripture would vindicate and speak to that view.

Yes. Yeah. And I'll just one more thing about the authorship the date of authorship for Revelation. I can I can make a really I'm gonna make A very quick and compelling argument that revelation revelation was written pre 70 AD and it's the identity of the beast.

Everyone debates today, especially all the futurists. Who is the beast? Who is the mark of the six six six about you know, and and again? Revelation chapter 1 makes it abundantly clear that this is a prophecy about things that must soon take place.

Okay soon and in fact, this is one of the underlying thematic themes of the book of Revelation is the soonness of these events. Okay so then Only a futurist can stretch soonness to mean 2 ,000 years of history.

I think there's an immediacy to the things that are speaking and being alluded to in the book of Revelation. Revelation chapter 13 being one of them where it talks about the mark of the beast and I think this is a clear-cut Picture of Nero as the beast.

Two reasons why first John the Revelator invites us to investigate and to calculate the number of The beast which is a man's number and he says it's 666 666. Now what could that possibly mean understand the context of John the Revelation?

John is writing under persecution. He's in prison on the island of Patmos. And so he wants this letter to get out to the seven churches in Order for the letter to get out to the seven churches. It has to go through the hands of the guards.

It's the only way you can get literature in and out. It's the only way you can get mail. It's kind of like a penitentiary today. You want to get a letter out of prison? It's gonna go through the guards and you better believe they're gonna check to see what it is that you're sending.

Because they want to make sure that you're not sending information that could be harmful. To the government or to the Empire in this case. And so John has to write a lot of things cryptically and so he uses a lot of the cryptological language that we find in.

The book in the Old Testament primarily in the prophetic books of Isaiah Ezekiel and Jeremiah and of course the twelve minor prophets. So in order to get it this this radical gospel and very much political message out to the seven churches.

He has to use Sort of symbolic and vague language. But he then invites the reader to figure out figure the mystery out because it's not that hard. Okay, he would not be inviting us to calculate the number unless we could actually calculate it now.

Here is what a young. Maybe let's say a young Christian in the city of Thyatira one of the seven churches that Jesus wrote to. Reading this letter from John and saying to himself and saying to his dad dad.

I don't get it. When John says this in Revelation chapter 13 and six six six, I just don't understand like who's Harry Kissinger. Who's Barack Obama. What is Social Security, you know, it's not what he was thinking of it's not what the reader it's not what the person.

To whom were the original recipients of this book. So again, we need to have a good exegesis hermeneutics of the text. That's not what they were thinking instead. What would have come to their mind? When they're in calculating the number of the beast would be.

Wow the numeric value of 666 brings me to the Greek and Latin numeric value of Neron Kaiser. Okay. Now in the book of Revelation in chapter 13, you'll see in your footnotes. And it's usually in most Bibles have a little footnote there when it's like six six six.

That's some and some of the earliest translations actually or manuscripts have a different number now. This is never mentioned by the futurists. Do you know what the other number is? Six one six. Why the discrepancy?

Why does some line of manuscripts use six six six others use six one six matter of fact the vast majority of the earlier? Manuscripts use six one six. It's kind of concerning. What why the difference?

Because the Hebraic value of the name Neron Kaiser would have been 616. So thus the discrepancy between six six six and six one six depending on which Language you're doing the calculating in make sense.

Yeah. Hebrew correct, correct. Correct. That's right so every other book of the Bible like Daniel is very good at this. Daniel gives us his succession of empires and He names them all as beast. They're all beasts.

One is the shape of a leopard. One is the shape of a bear of a bear. One is the shape of a lion and Then one is a shape of a terrible beast that just goes beyond description that's Rome right and so clearly Daniel understood the beast to be Rome and Daniel prophesies in Daniel chapter 9 of a little horn that would rise up and speak blasphemous words.

I believe this was Nero this is who is being referred to here in that text, and I think it has a spiritual if you took the idealist I think it has actually a spiritual application to the Pope. Because who is the one who sits in the midst of the Sea of Rome today?

It is the Pope in fact that obelisk that sits in the Vatican. Do you know who erected that? Nero during the Neroic Circuses, okay. The so this is the place in which Peter was was martyred, which is why it's called st. Peter's Square this is the place that Peter was martyred and that obelisk was actually erected under Nero and Nero was known as the beast even by Romans.

Did you know that when Nero? He was a this is a nasty guy, and he had his Mom murdered. And you know what his mother said as she was being murdered. She said stab me here in my womb where I nourished the beast for nine months.

Interesting, huh? So if you look at a first century perspective, there's no doubt. Who these people would have been thinking of? What did the numeric values six six six six one six lead to it's? Nero it's Caesar.

It's wrong. So there's another mystery here. Yeah. Okay. Yeah, because they don't have no basis in the Old Testament they have no basis of. You know he break apocalyptic thinking and so these were pagan guards who this would have been.

Nonsense, this would have been you know garble. What does this mean? And so yeah, there's again. I'm not hiding my presupposition. My presupposition is that there is that this book is written prior to 70 and that these are events that are in.

In the first 12 chapters in particular I would take a strongly preterist view of a lot of prophecies that are being fulfilled. And so that is my presupposition as I go into the text but I draw I came to that presupposition because of the text itself and so.

Yeah, I studied revelation for four years reading the four major views and reading the four major eschatological understandings. Dispensation lists historic premillennial. Amillennial and premillennial over post millennial and so.

That I think this is the most compelling view and it makes the most sense to the internal Harmony and witness of the scripture itself. Someone else had her hand up. Yeah, so the point of revelation is the reign of Christ.

It's a description of Jesus's reign over the nations another way of thinking of Revelation. And this is a this alludes to some of the teachings that come from st. Augustine. St. Augustine writes of the tale of two cities and I would say it's a tale of two women.

There are two prominent women in the book of Revelation. One is dressed in purple scarlet and she's whoring herself of the nations. She's giving herself away. She's drunk with the blood of martyrs. And then there's another woman that's described in the book of Revelation and she's clothed in white.

Glorious without blemish and she marries the lamb. It's a tale of two women. Babylon the great the church. Who is Babylon? I would say it's Jerusalem. Jerusalem is Babylon. Why is Jerusalem Babylon? When you look at the Old Testament in particular the book of Jeremiah and the twelve minor prophets Jerusalem time and time again is referred to as a harlot.

She's referred to as being drunk on the blood of the prophets. She's accused even by the Lord Jesus as being the one who kills and stones the prophets and Jesus prophesies in Luke 21 in Matthew 24. That all the righteous that on Jerusalem will fall the judgment of the righteous blood of all the righteous blood spilled on the earth.

So that upon that city would come great tribulations, which has never been seen before nor shall be there after. Okay, and so I look at all What the scripture has to say regarding Jerusalem in particular the prophets and what the Lord Jesus says of her and I can draw the conclusion then as I read Revelation that this woman is indeed Jerusalem.

Yes. So the two cities or the two women would be Jerusalem the old Jerusalem and the new Jerusalem. Yeah, go ahead pastor. He wants to say something. Yeah. Yes in the book of Revelation there's two. There's Egypt and Egypt represents the world.

You know vaguely it represents the nations that are against Yahweh, right? So out of Egypt comes the persecution of God's people in the Old Testament and so forth and Babylon is a representation of spiritual apostasy that comes all the way back from Genesis chapter 11.

We have the Tower of Babel and a Tower of Babel what happens you have the nations coming together in opposition to Yahweh and To erect a symbol against Yahweh and what does Yahweh do? He disperses them confusing the language and now it's Babel, right?

And so it's always been a reference to confusion to apostasy to when a people group comes against Yahweh and so. So Babylon has more of a spiritual implication, which is why? Revelation refers to and elsewhere.

I think Peter writing in first or second Peter Writes You know to Babylon and that's where was Peter prominent. It was Jerusalem, right? And so he says he's writing to Babylon, but he's actually in Jerusalem.

So. Because even in the time of Peter Babylon was already a desolate desert. It was an uninhabitable according and that was a fulfillment of prophecy from Isaiah that that when Babylon's destroyed Literal Babylon the city of Babylon that it would never be inhabited again.

So when Peter says he's writing from Babylon He's not right. He's not saying he's writing from you know, modern-day Iraq. He's writing from Jerusalem. Which is the place of prominence where he was? And so lots of good reasons to to point to Jerusalem as the harlot as the as the Babylon the great and so you have this theme that is being played out of two cities two women and.

Yeah, and so I really wish I had more time to go deeper into this. But let's go a little further into the message that Jesus has for the seven churches. Dispensationalist would say that the seven churches are seven types either represent seven types of churches or seven types of ages or dispensations of the of the New Testament Church, I Disagree with that.

I think that is a stretch because Jesus is Speaking to seven literal churches all with very distinct problems and Things that would only make sense in that particular context so for instance in Revelation chapter 2 Figure which city it is.

Yes, it's the church in Pergamon in chapter 2 verses 12 to 17 Jesus says in verse 13 I know where you dwell where Satan's throne is. Yet you hold fast my name and you would not deny my faith even in the days of Antipas my faithful witness who was killed among you.

Where Satan dwells so there you have some two very important data points one Jesus says a Pergamon is the place that Satan's throne is. Interesting we'll get back to that in a second second. He says this is the days and the days of my faithful servant Antipas right who was killed among you.

So this is talking about historical person historical event why the reference to where Satan's throne is in those days in Pergamon this was the center of Jupiter worship or Zeus worship in Fact anyone ever seen like the Disney cartoon movie of Hercules.

What a great movie, right? And in that movie you have Hercules and he goes into this temple and his father Zeus is On this throne, and then he's made of marble and then he becomes animated and he starts talking to his son Hercules, right?

That was real. Not that that was real, but that is referencing a real place in Pergamon. There was a temple dedicated to Zeus or Jupiter worship. And it was a huge statue of Zeus or Jupiter that sat upon this throne.

And what Jesus is saying is that throne that you know as Zeus that throne? That's worshiped as a as a God. That's actually Satan that speaks to some interesting theological concepts when the Bible talks about powers principalities thrones and authorities.

He's saying that the Bible. I think teaches that. These principalities are very real so those whom the nation's worship as Zeus those whom the nation's worship as Allah these are actual Spiritual Presences.

But they're not what you think they are. They are demons or even Satan himself and so clearly Jesus is making an equation here with Zeus to Satan. So those who who the primary God of that age being Zeus?

He's like, yeah, that's Satan. That's not that's not. Zeus doesn't exist. That's actually Satan people are worshiping. Right, so he's making theological statement with that all things that have to make sense within a literal Understanding that Jesus is speaking to seven literal churches, and he has a particular message to them.

I've heard Futurists and dispensation lists use the seven churches as a means to say hey no look this this teaches a pre-tribulation rapture. And the reason why this teaches a pre-tribulation rapture is because one the churches here says that he will spare them from persecution.

I think it's in chapter 3. See which church is that? Yes to the church in Philadelphia in chapter 3 verse 10 because you have kept my word about patient endurance I will keep you from the hour trial that is coming on the whole world to those who dwell on the earth I am coming soon hold fast what you have so that you may seize your crown.

So in this particular case Jesus says well look I'm gonna spare you from the hour trial that's coming upon the earth. So they say that's argument for a pre-tribulation rapture. Except in chapter 2. It says in verse 22 to the church in Thyatira Behold I will throw you up.

I will throw her onto a sickbed and those who commit adultery wherefore I will throw into great tribulation. Unless they repent of her works. So one church is spared the other isn't. So this is not talking about two dispensations or two types of churches.

This is talking about one church. That's obedient one church that is disobedient the disobedient church will suffer more persecution and harm the other one will be spared again, this makes sense in a Historical context so I would say this is a it's more of a historicist or preterist view understanding of these particular texts.

Right. So again, like I said, which of the four views or is is the right view again? I say it depends on the text and. So here again, the message that Jesus has for the seven churches is one of endurance.

I want you write that in the notes. To each church of the seven churches. He calls them to endurance. Why endure if we're just gonna be out of here if we're just gonna be raptured. I had a Brother who I love so much in the Lord, but he's so wrong on this and he used to tell me pastor I don't worry about that because I'm gonna be out of here I'm gonna be raptured and I said you poor thing.

You have no idea that is such a Terrible mindset to have which is why in the last hundred years. The church has lost its place of prominence in the culture and in the world and in government is because we've given it up.

We said well, why what's the point? We're not gonna be here. We're gonna be out of here. We're gonna be we're gonna be raptured. We're gonna fly away in the morning. That's not what the teaching of the Bible is in fact Christ calls the seven churches all to patient endurance to endure in trial and to be faithful and so Jesus message to the seven churches is one of endurance and faithfulness even unto death.

And all the references are there from Revelation chapter 1 2 3. After the the message to the seven churches the narrative begins to shift a little bit in the book of Revelation. So you have real powerful historical?

Writings warnings admonitions praises that Jesus gives to the seven churches in Asia Minor and Then the literature begins to shift from an epistle to grand Prophetic visions that are likened to what we see in the first chapter of the book of Ezekiel.

Okay, and so you see you begin to see the unraveling of apocalypse the revealing of the of the curtain. And what God is doing through that is he's giving the church Hope and ammunition because what he's doing it.

He's peeling back the layer. He's peeling back the Onion he's he's revealing the stage of heaven and in Revelation chapter 4. It's a vision of heaven. It's incredible God Amongst his crystal sea Serve him and serve from worshiping him throng upon throngs of angels.

And it says in Revelation chapter 4 verse 8. It says in the four living creatures each of them six wings are full of eyes all around and within day and night never cease to say holy holy holy is the Lord God Almighty who was is and is to come.

And then it says in verse 9 It says. And whenever the living creatures give glory and honor and thanks and who sit on the throne who lives forever and ever the 24 Elders fall down before him who is seated on the throne and worship him who lives forever and ever.

And they cast their crowns before the throne saying Worthy are you our Lord and God to receive glory honor and power for you created all things and by your will they existed and were created. So what the scene here in the throne room scene.

God alone is pictured as being worthy of all worship and adoration. Yet in the following chapter in chapter 5 There's a question that's raised and it's a question of worthiness. After this great scene of worship the scene then begins to shift and the heavens become silent.

Why. Because there is a scroll that is presented and it says no one even among heaven was found worthy to open the scroll. So you have again in chapter 4 the scene of a worthy holy God being worshiped and.

Then revelation 5 starts with silence. And with mourning because no one was found to be worthy to open the seals in the scrolls until Heaven reveals the one who is worthy. The lamb who was slain from the foundation of the world.