Revelation 4:1-5

Sovereign Grace Family Church iconSovereign Grace Family Church

1 view

0 comments

00:00
I can pull somebody up, so I don't have to wear my hat. And it breaks it off, so when
00:09
I pull it up, I'm like, that's pretty cool. I'll tell you about it.
00:18
It might be me just diverting the business. So there's something wrong with us, but I'm doing it like a perky guy.
00:25
So they call it a backdoor. It doesn't work that way.
00:40
You go through, reframe your way in, and then you go back It's like,
00:45
I'm left -handed, and I'm not, because I'm right -handed, and everything is flipped.
01:01
Did it come on? Hey, go back to that ring -string.
01:18
I did babysit my niece for a while. And she's being raised by, what was my brother -in -law, but she didn't really feel good.
01:36
If I had to put her in a ponytail, I don't think
01:41
I could do it. Because we didn't want a person to have breast cancer.
01:49
And we're doing this for these folks, I suppose. Mike Smith, will you open us up to the word of God?
02:18
I will. Let's pray. Heavenly Father, we are indeed thankful for this day that you blessed us with to come into your house, to come around your word, and we pray,
02:29
Lord, now that you would bless the teacher, pray that you would bless the taught, and pray that you would bless the teaching, and use this time to be profitable for each one of us where we are.
02:41
In Christ's name we pray. Amen. Amen. Well, good morning. And we have reached a milestone, as I said last week in the book.
02:52
We're moving on to another chapter. So if you'll open your Bibles and turn to chapter 4 of Revelation.
03:09
Chapter 4 and 5 actually fit together as a unit. I'm going to read both of them together, and then we'll start walking through it and do some preliminary stuff and see how far we get.
03:24
After these things I looked, and behold, a door standing open in heaven, and the first voice which
03:30
I had heard like the sound of a trumpet speaking with me said, Come up here, and I will show you what must take place after these things.
03:39
And immediately I was in the Spirit, and behold, a throne was standing in heaven and one sitting on the throne.
03:44
And he who was sitting was like that of a jasper stone and sardius in appearance.
03:51
And there was a rainbow around the throne like an emerald in appearance. Around the throne were 24 thrones, and upon those thrones
03:59
I saw 24 elders sitting clothed in white garments and golden crowns on their heads. And out of the throne came flashes of lightning and sounds and peals of thunder.
04:09
And there were seven lamps of burning before the throne, which are the seven Spirits of God. And before the throne there was something like a sea of glass like crystal.
04:20
And in the center and around the throne were four living creatures full of eyes in front and behind.
04:26
The first creature was like a lion, and the second like a calf, and the third creature had a face like that of a man.
04:35
And the fourth creature was like a flying eagle. And the four living creatures, each one of them having six wings, are full of eyes around and within.
04:44
And day and night they did not cease to say, Holy, Holy, Holy is the
04:49
Lord God the Almighty who was and who is and is to come. And when the living creatures gave glory and honor and thanks to Him who sits on the throne and to Him who lives forever and ever, the 24 elders would fall down before Him who sits on the throne and will worship
05:07
Him who lives forever and ever and will cast their crowns before the throne saying, Worthy are
05:12
You, O Lord our God, to receive glory and honor and power. For You created all things, and because of Your will they exist and were created.
05:22
And then I saw on the right hand of Him who sat on the throne, a book written inside and on the back and sealed up with seven seals.
05:32
And I saw a strong angel proclaiming with a voice, Who is worthy to open the book and break its seals?
05:38
And no one in heaven or on earth or under the earth was able to open the book or to look into it.
05:46
And then I began to weep greatly because no one was found worthy to open the book or to look into it.
05:53
And one of the elders said to me, Stop weeping. Behold, the lion that is from the tribe of Judah, the root of David, has overcome so as to open the book and its seals.
06:04
And I saw between the throne with the four living creatures and the elders of Elam standing as if slain, having seven horns, seven eyes, which are the seven spirits of God, sent out into all the earth.
06:19
And He came and He took the book out of the right hand of Him who sat on the throne. And when He had taken the book, the four living creatures and the twenty -four elders fell down before the
06:29
Lamb, each one holding a harp and golden bowls full of incense, which are the prayers of the saints.
06:35
And they sang a new song saying, Worthy are you to take the book and to break its seals. For you were slain and purchased from God with your blood, men from every tribe, tongue, people, and nation.
06:47
You have made them to become a kingdom of priests of our God, and they will reign upon the earth forever.
06:55
Then I looked and I heard a voice of many angels and around the throne and the living creatures and the elders and a number of them was myriads upon myriads and thousands upon thousands, saying with a loud voice,
07:06
Worthy is the Lamb who was slain to receive power and riches and wisdom and might and honor and glory and blessing and every created thing which is in the heaven, on the earth and under the earth and on the sea and the things in them
07:19
I heard saying, To him who sits on the throne and to the Lamb be blessing and honor and glory and dominion forever and ever.
07:27
And the four living creatures kept saying, Amen. And the elders fell down and worshiped.
07:33
That is cool. When we think about someone going to heaven or we hear people write books about how they died and went to heaven.
07:47
Hey, baby. What are you doing?
07:54
Yeah, so when people say they die and they go to heaven and they write this book, how come they never, the first thing that John sees when he's taken into heaven is who?
08:04
Is God sitting on the throne. How come these jack legs that write books, how come none of them say that?
08:11
None of them see Jesus. None of them see the Lamb. None of them see, they might see this light or some, they see grandpa and grandma and they're eating pecan pie and fried chicken and all this other nonsense, but they never see
08:22
God. In this vision, John sees the central focus of heaven and what is that?
08:30
It's God sitting upon his throne. Now, as the immediate, when we go from the epistolary part of the book, which was the seven letters to the seven churches,
08:42
I'm going to be honest with you, you go, wow, this is a crazy shift. Is it not? Would we agree? It seems like, hey, it comes out of nowhere and I think maybe it was me and you were talking or maybe someone else.
08:53
We were talking about, they thought that maybe the seven letters went out and then the rest of the book of Revelation went out after that.
09:00
That they thought they were separate. Well, they weren't, but we do have to make the connection of why is now this throne room in heaven coming about after he has rebuked five churches, two of them with no commendation, and then two of them, and then the rest of them having two of them no condemnation, two of them no commendation, and the rest of them encouraged to stay the course and to repent.
09:30
Why does this fit where it's at? My understanding of the book is because he has set up those churches that will not repent will suffer the judgment of God.
09:43
Will we all agree on that? Right? When he tells one church, I'm going to knock your lights out, basically.
09:49
I'm going to remove the lampstand from you. Doesn't mean that those people are going to lose their salvation, but he's going to remove their place of prominence.
09:57
And I don't even believe in and of itself that that church will be wiped out.
10:03
Let's take as we apply it to our day and time. I don't believe that the church building or the people won't congregate.
10:12
Although some of those places, the churches are no longer there anymore. Smyrna, I think, is the only one that's actually in that same location in the
10:21
Izmir providence of Turkey. But the rest of them are no longer there. But when
10:27
God told them, hey, if you don't repent, I'm going to remove your lampstand. I'm going to remove the very purpose for which
10:35
I put you there, which was to be light. So he's putting an act of judgment on them.
10:43
Then others, hey, I'm going to come and I'm going to make war with you. I don't know about y 'all, but if the Son of God tells you
10:50
He's coming to make war with you, that doesn't sound like that's going to be pleasant. When He makes war with people in the
10:57
Old Testament, He'd wipe them out. And I believe that is in that particular case what
11:02
He's saying. He wasn't going to wipe out everybody within the church because He specifically says those who carry on with this doctrine,
11:09
He doesn't say I'm going to come make war with you. If you look at it, He uses the pronoun them. So He was actually speaking, hey, those that I'm encouraging within the church to remain faithful, don't compromise.
11:20
But for those that do compromise, if you don't repent, I'm going to make war with you. Then we had others where it would show where if they didn't repent,
11:30
He was going to vomit them out of His mouth. Utter rejection.
11:36
And I do believe that just talking about that church becoming apostate. You tell me where Jesus ever rejected any of His children.
11:47
Never. Those whom He loves, He said in that last letter, those whom
11:53
He loves, He did what? He chastised them. Look, man, you spank your children, you discipline your children for what reason?
12:01
Not because you get your jollies off whooping your kids. But why? Because you're trying to correct them and you're doing it lovingly.
12:07
And He says this, hey, I'm going to vomit some of you out, but I'm chastising you because whom
12:13
I love, I reproof. So, as we move from these letters that have been rebuke and encouragement for the church to not compromise or for the church to remain faithful, we have to remember before He gets into the judgment on those who have not remained faithful,
12:33
He wants us to know who's actually in control. Remember, we heard,
12:39
I think it was back in Pergamum, He said you're where the seat of Satan, the throne of Satan dwells.
12:46
Okay, what does that sound like? Let's just be honest. What does it sound like? That and who's running the show?
12:53
The devil, yeah. And it was a place of idolatry and worship.
12:59
If I remember correctly, 41 or 42 times the word throne is used in the book of Revelation.
13:08
34 of those times is referring to Christ and God being on His throne. So, there will be other times where it talks about the beast being on His throne or Satan being on His throne.
13:16
And it's trying to give the idea of what it looks like is ruling and reigning. So, in the place where there was all this idolatry and all of this pagan worship, it looks as if this is the place where Satan dwells.
13:30
And that is, from our perspective, we would see people being put to death, there would be people bowing down into pagan idolatry, and like, man,
13:38
Satan's running the show here. But ultimately, who's running the show?
13:46
God is. Now, you get into what's compatibilistic determinism, and I don't have time to get into that tonight.
13:53
But that's where you go, okay, God's, or concurrence, whichever word you like better, you got
13:59
God working out His plan, and evil having its purpose in that plan. Now, can that be fully grasped by any of us?
14:08
No. Matter of fact, it's one of the hardest things to grasp, although I can explain it, but it's hard to grasp.
14:14
In other words, there will be many things that we'll talk about that we can't comprehend, but I believe we can apprehend them, meaning we can grasp at least and have the idea of what's going on.
14:26
Same thing as we get into the throne room in heaven, we have just read some things that John is describing that have been indescribable from John's perspective.
14:45
John is trying to fathom the unfathomable.
14:52
Is that right? Is that a word? Okay. And he's trying to get us to grasp or apprehend the ingraspable, if that's a word.
15:05
So here it is. John being taken up into heaven in a vision is now, it's called ineffability, and it's not, there is no language, there's no speech that can accurately describe
15:24
God, His purposes, or His description. So understand what he is, do
15:30
I believe that what John is seeing, he's actually seeing? How many of you believe what John is seeing, he's actually seeing?
15:36
I do. I think what John's seeing, he's actually seeing, and he's describing that in a way.
15:42
I don't think he's seeing something else and in trying to describe what he's not seeing, and we'll get to this in a minute, because when he talks about the four living creatures, there's another passage in scripture where those four living creatures are actually spoken of, and we can say, oh wow, he is seeing the same thing that Ezekiel saw, but not identical.
16:06
Not identical because the vision he's seeing is trying to convey something.
16:13
So, as we get to chapter 4, verse 1, he says, after these things
16:20
I looked. After what things? Let's lay that down. Okay, something has happened after what?
16:29
What's that? That's right, after the scolding or the encouragement of the others that had nothing wrong with them, correct.
16:37
Yeah, immediately after, this is why I believe this didn't come in sections, this came at one vision, and at one time he put it all together and sent it out in seven letters to seven churches.
16:49
He says, immediately after these things I looked, and behold, a door standing open to heaven.
16:56
Man, imagine a door. I go, wow, did it have a doorknob on it.
17:02
Remember last time we talked about somebody's heart door of God knocking on it. Well, was there a doorknob on this one?
17:09
He says, I saw a door standing open and the first voice which I heard like the sound of a trumpet.
17:15
So, remember back in chapter 1, what was the voice, whose voice did he hear that was like a trumpet?
17:22
Christ. Now it doesn't mean like he was, it doesn't mean like he was doing that, it's his voice held such power and reverberated that this voice had power.
17:33
And he's saying I heard the same voice, the very first one that I heard at the beginning of the book, he said
17:39
I heard it, and it's speaking with me, come up here, and I will show you what must take place after these things.
17:48
Now, there has been gallons of ink spilled on this statement.
17:55
It is under the premillennial dispensational view, they would say right here is the rapture of the church.
18:04
And it comes from it saying, come up here. And he's talking about the church coming up.
18:10
So they would not then be here to endure the seven seals, the seven trumpets and the seven bowls.
18:18
Okay? I'm going to tell you that is just hugely wrong.
18:27
Because he doesn't say for the church to come up here. Who does he tell? John. And if you say, and I've had this conversation when
18:36
I was at a church where dispensational eschatology was propagated.
18:43
Matter of fact, the executive pastor of that church I was very good friends with, he was that.
18:50
So I say, okay, so if John here is, he's representative of the church, and he is going up, well what are you going to do when other parts, when
18:59
John's coming back down again? And then John goes up again and he's going up and down through the book like a yo -yo.
19:06
Okay, now what are you going to do? He's like, I don't know. I don't know. I just think this is the rapture of the church.
19:11
Okay, well it's not. Let's just be honest, it's not. There's nothing to even prove that.
19:16
There's nothing. It's all conjecture. Do I believe the rapture of the church will take place?
19:22
Well of course I do. Do I believe it's separated by seven years of tribulation before the second coming?
19:28
No. I believe it will all happen in the twinkling of an eye when the dead in Christ shall rise first we'll all meet him in the air we'll come back with him when he's riding on that white chargo he'll speak one word he lays everything to waste and the new heavens and the new earth come in.
19:41
That's how quick it will come and not be separated by seven years of tribulation. He says come up here and I'll show you these things that shortly take place after these things.
19:52
And then he says here I was immediately in the spirit. Now he was already in the spirit on the
19:57
Lord's day. You remember at the beginning of the book when all this took place he's obviously on the
20:03
Isle of Patmos he's taking this vision in he's in the spirit. When it says he was immediately in the spirit how would you understand that?
20:15
Was he in a trance? Was he worshiping in the spirit?
20:23
I would say that he was taken up in the spirit not bodily in the way that Paul was taken when he was stoned to well which
20:35
I believe when Paul was stoned to death outside the Lystra that's just my opinion. Remember Paul he spoke of himself which we believe he speaks of himself in 2
20:44
Corinthians when Keith was doing that we believe that he said he knew a man Paul he knew a man that had died and went to heaven basically and Paul is speaking in the third person of someone else he's not speaking of himself it sounds like but then if you follow the narrative of what he is saying the flow of that whole thought as Paul was talking of himself he says hey whether I was in the spirit or not
21:11
I have no idea. Alright in this case I think
21:16
John may have said the same thing I don't know if I was if I physically went up through the spirit or if I was just my spirit went but he was in the spirit this was a spiritual thing that took place and why is it a spiritual thing that takes place because what is heaven?
21:35
It's a place where spirit what's that? Yeah it's a place where spirit shall be hey is
21:40
God spirit? We're going to get into this tonight in the academy God is spirit where does
21:47
God dwell? This ain't a trick question where does God dwell? Scripture says we'll read it this morning it's in the providence of God this is so cool in the providence of God we're going to read in Isaiah 57 where does
22:02
God dwell? In eternity we often think of God's dwelling place is heaven do you understand that heavens the heavens of heavens couldn't contain
22:13
Him? He's huge that's our problem is our God is too small and I believe that that is what this text is saying look
22:22
John I know that the churches are going through a lot they're being persecuted some have died some of them are about to be wiped out some of them can't stay upright and continue to minister because they're on these fault lines
22:35
I'm going to protect them you got these others that have all of this money all of these things and they're so self -sufficient
22:43
He says but I want you to know that when it looks bad and things looks like they're getting horrible
22:48
I'm still in control I am the one that the God that these people that they are serving is far too small
22:56
I am above the heavens I am above the heavens of heavens I'm the one that inhabits eternity and he says here when
23:07
I saw I was in the spirit and beheld a throne was standing in heaven how many of you here have ever been in a courtroom?
23:16
how many times? no I'm just kidding I'm not going to tell you how many times when you walk into a courtroom whether you come in off the side where they do all their little fancy deal making or whether you come in the front what's the first thing you see?
23:35
you see where the judge sits which to me looks like a man who thinks he's on a throne okay just my opinion if you were to look at any pictures in ancient castles or any drawings of because obviously we don't have any still photos you come in and there is a king there what's the first thing you see?
23:56
there's a throne there's a throne when you come into churches what should be the first thing you see when you walk into the sanctuary?
24:10
or the auditorium some people don't like sanctuary because it sounds like that's the dwelling place of God when you walk into the auditorium what should be the first thing you see?
24:19
what's that? who said pulpit? oh that came from a pastor's wife pulpit!
24:31
pulpit! because the central part of the church is the word that is look we don't have
24:42
Jesus Christ coming in his corpus his body coming and standing on the platform but we do have the logos made flesh this made flesh and it dwells within our spirits why?
24:56
because when Jesus ascended he says hey I gotta go away it's to your advantage that I go away because if I go away then the
25:02
Holy Spirit will come I can't be with you but I can be in you that probably made those people go hey how can this be?
25:09
you've been with us for three and a half years they never had to worry about food they never had to worry about clothes y 'all think about that twelve disciples never had to worry about food hey
25:21
David was hungry what could Jesus do? make food he could take fish loaves feed five thousand people if they never had to worry about dying although they did remember when the storms were throwing the boat all over the place on the sea of Galilee and they were scared to death and one time
25:40
Jesus came walking across the water I do wonder when all that wind was blowing the waves how was he walking?
25:46
was Jesus walking like this? or did he just do like the pimp walk? or the time and then what does he do?
25:53
he gets in the boat first he tells Peter come on out alright slick lip you wanna come on? come on and he comes out walking and then he sees the waves obviously the wind was blowing that says the wind was contrary right?
26:04
so obviously it was wavy it wasn't like Jesus was surfing he was walking and then when he saw that the waves were contrary around him he cried out two words we all should say save me helped him up they got in the boat immediately stopped and there was other times when they thought they were gonna die and what was remember when
26:27
Jesus was doing at the bottom of the boat? he was out and he stands up oh you little faith and he gets up and he says it was like glass and they never had to worry about anything food clother clo -clother clothing shelter and even when it come a time when they needed to pay their taxes y 'all remember this one came a time when he was told to pay they were approached to pay the the tax and Peter said should we pay this?
27:02
Jesus says hey you know Jesus' words are basically no no we shouldn't but we're going to so we don't look divisive so and Jesus broke he says
27:19
I want you to do I want you to throw a hook in the water and when you pull that fish up it's gonna have in there one for you one for me so when it came time to pay taxes and they didn't have money he said go fishing so this year
27:31
Sybil when I have a hard time paying the taxes I'm gonna go fishing they didn't have anything to worry about and then
27:42
Jesus on the night he was betrayed he's having that intimate moment with them you know he's asked by Philip you know hey where you going and he says
27:51
I'm going to the father he said well wait a minute why don't we see the father and he tells him hey if you've seen me you've seen the father and then he says well
27:59
I've got to go and he said where are you going we don't want you to go and he says if I go
28:04
I'll prepare a place for you he goes on to tell them he's going to come back for them and then he tells them it's to your advantage that I go away
28:13
I don't know about y 'all but if I spent three years with a man providing everything that I needed me and my family had raised family members remember what he did to Peter's mother -in -law he said hey hop up and then she went there and went to cooking that's awesome
28:25
I mean everybody everywhere he went he cast out we were talking about this this morning before class he would go into cities he'll everybody cast out all the demons
28:37
I mean and then go hey you know it's to your advantage that I go away he says because if I go away then
28:43
I can send someone that won't be with you but will be in you and he'll be just like me he's talking about the
28:52
Holy Spirit so he says that he would send the
28:59
Holy Spirit to be just like him that's what we should understand is the greatness of the
29:06
Spirit is that hey wouldn't it have been cool to be
29:11
Moses yeah wouldn't it have been cool to be face to face as it says with God that would have been cool but based on the
29:21
Scripture we're in a better place Moses didn't have the
29:26
Holy Spirit living within him I know that's I don't know about y 'all that's hard to grasp imagine hearing the audible voice of God seeing the manifestation of God up on a mountain peals we're gonna see that here peals of thunder what does that sound like you know peals of thunder lightning smoke and then go but you're in a better place because you have the
29:53
Holy Spirit but man you go man those people saw God or at least a theophany of God it says but it's better that we have it because we have the
30:03
Spirit and it says that the Spirit the very
30:09
Spirit that indwelled John was the very one that took him up and he says and he saw that throne standing in heaven and one seated on that throne was like that of Jasper Stone Sardius in appearance now
30:24
I don't think God looks like a green rock okay you know what
30:32
Jasper is it's a green stone it's kinda translucent he's giving us descriptions of what these colors were first of all we know that what
30:42
God is Spirit right God is Spirit he cannot be contained he is not does not have a corporal body the only person of the
30:53
Godhead that has a corpus meaning body is the second person of the
30:59
Trinity and that is the Son and he took on flesh he shed his blood he was resurrected he has a body still seated at the right hand of the throne of God is
31:12
Jesus Christ in his flesh and bone I believe that can I comprehend it?
31:18
no I can't it's unfathomable for me and sitting beside on this throne was one that was a
31:27
Jasper stone Sardius in appearance and there was a rainbow around the throne now we look at this
31:38
Sardius another beautiful stone in its appearance and then a rainbow was around the throne
31:44
I can't help but when you see rainbow what do you think of it? I mean the queer movement right
31:51
I know huh? yeah what else? what? somebody else said it?
31:57
okay anybody else? promise of what? I agree with you that's the first thing
32:02
I think of right well I mean there's the promise given you know after after Noah that's right that's right so if you're going because I am
32:12
I'm not a classic covenant theologian I don't hold to classic covenant theology
32:18
I believe that God unfold his redemption in promise and covenant and if you were with me in the other class over there when
32:27
I did the Davidic promise because I do believe it starts as a Davidic promise and then turns into a covenant later just like the
32:32
Abrahamic promise is a promise at first and then it is it is then solidified with a sacrifice there was a sacrifice involved in every covenant if you look
32:44
I'm not talking about the covenant of redemption it's not explicit the covenant of works covenant of grace all that is not explicit in scripture there is one covenant that begins explicitly in scripture and you know what it is it's the
32:56
Noahic covenant the first covenant given by God was to Noah like the word bread right spit it out it is the word for covenant came with Noah he promised
33:12
Noah you build this boat or this box it's actually what it was it wasn't a boat you build this square barge you do it do what
33:20
I tell you to do you preach righteousness that the judgment of God is coming and as you preach the judgment of God is coming you continue to put pitch you and your boys do your thing your family gets on I'll seal it up once I send all the animals to you and you will be saved you get in do what
33:39
I tell you to do and you do what I have told you to by faith you will be saved now remember
33:48
Noah was justified by faith Hebrews 11 7 it says that Noah by faith built the ark condemning the whole world and he did it with fear and trembling fear and trembling and then after God drowned the whole earth he set the box on Mount Ararat where we believe today was at and he let them out as they come down off the mountain
34:24
God promised them actually tells them to go be fruitful multiply the same thing he told
34:29
Adam to do Adam and Eve in the garden he gives the same commission if you ever one part in there that is was striking to me when you read after they come off I think it's in chapter 9 of Genesis they come out he says and the animals will fear you fear you the animals will fear you they will be of terror of you in other words you don't have to worry about these animals eating you anymore and they then make a sacrifice unto
35:00
God he says I want you to look up into the sky what do you see the first time we see a rainbow and that rainbow was the promise of God that he would never destroy the earth by water again it's explicitly words used there intentionally he said never will
35:21
I destroy the earth by water again so that doesn't mean that he's not going to destroy the earth he just ain't going to do it by water again and if we know from first Peter how's he going to destroy it after that fervent heat from within so when we talk about nuclear war and people get all you know worried about a nuclear globe holocaust that's just nonsense
35:44
I mean how long have we been hearing that Iran's going to have a nuclear weapon within two weeks and they're going to blow
35:52
Israel off the map then we're next I don't know about y 'all I've heard that for I know 25 years it's not going to happen
36:03
God's going to destroy this earth and he's going to destroy it because of the wickedness of men the same way he did in the days of Noah except he's not going to do it by water he's going to do it from fervent heat he's going to burn it from within that's what it says but we have the promise that God's going to save in this passage here that sign of a rainbow around the throne that promised that God's going to save his people that's what he did with Noah and it was a reminder that I saved you
36:38
Noah and every time we see that in the sky that's what I think of I think you're coming over the intercoastal it's been raining on the summer you can see a rainbow going across from the beach to the intercoastal sometimes and that's the first thing
36:53
I think of is man that's what Noah saw that's what Noah saw and we won't get into it because we only got just a few more minutes we're going to go back next week and we're going to read some passages in Ezekiel where Ezekiel sees a rainbow as well and it was over the throne he sees the rainbow around the throne of God except his vision of the throne still had these weird animals and representing stuff but he had the wheels and the wheels and that chariot was rolling around but he saw over that chariot which is representative of a throne and those wheels on that throne meaning that God's not contained anywhere he saw this rainbow around the throne and it said and like an emerald in appearance so once again we're seeing this precious stone conveyed in there and very expensive stone around this throne room and then in verse 4 it says and around the throne were 24 thrones wait a minute wait a minute there's like a little throne a big throne and then a bunch of baby thrones and upon these thrones
38:11
I saw 24 elders clothed in white garments and golden crowns around their head now why 24 thrones?
38:25
yes sir okay the old testament you had 12 tribes under the new covenant or new testament you had 12 disciples or I know this is profound but that makes 24
39:05
I've got a question yes sir was one for apostle
39:12
Paul or Matthias? I don't I understand what you're getting at I don't think that's how we should understand it and here's why these were representative
39:25
I understand and I'm going to answer that question in just a second I will answer that I think it's representative of what did the apostles go do
39:34
Matthew 24 Matthew 28 the end of the book what did he say?
39:40
he's up he's at Galilee he said hey y 'all go to Galilee and we're told go meet him in Galilee that's not the ascension in Matthew 28 that's not the ascension they were told hey you go to Galilee Jesus will meet you there and then he's going to give you some information okay what does he tell them there?
39:58
he tells them now all authority has been given unto me in heaven and earth now I want you to go and make disciples of the nations baptized in the name of the
40:07
Father, Son, and Holy Ghost okay he's given them the authority to go to the nations these were to be a light unto the nations okay they couldn't come and worship at the temple in the way that the twelve tribes could they could only come as far as you had the temple here you had the complex you had this would have been the court of Gentiles the court of ladies and then here which would have led to the temple they could only come to here that's as far as they could go because they weren't
40:49
Jews they weren't descendants of Abraham so they could only come to the court of the
40:57
Gentiles obviously the court of the Gentiles meaning what? where the
41:02
Gentiles could be matter of fact when they were selling things when Jesus ran them out for selling and he said you made my place a den of thieves you know where he ran them out?
41:14
was in the court of the Gentiles because Caiaphas in 26
41:20
AD I think it was 24 or 26 they used to do all the buying and selling up on the
41:26
Mount of Olives which if you've ever been to Jerusalem it is just over the Kidron Valley that's where they would do they would come in for Passover, Day of Atonement wherever it was they would come in for those major feasts and they would sell animals for sacrifice up on the
41:42
Mount of Olives then they would come to the temple and then offer them at the temple well
41:49
Caiaphas they were using obviously Roman money in a way of extorting his own people
41:56
Caiaphas says I'm going to move it off of the Temple Mount I mean off of the Mount of Olives I'm going to move it into the court of the
42:05
Gentiles meaning now it's on the the complex of the Jews the temple complex and now
42:12
I'm going to have them exchange their Roman money for Jewish money for the shekel so that he could extort his people on the exchange rate and then extort his people for it they were paying for a lamb out on the
42:24
Mount of Olives was double when they came in to here that's how he extorted his people that sets the context when
42:32
Jesus comes in and he makes a whip and he runs out some men and women and you know even if he whacked a couple of people
42:38
I wouldn't care you know he ran out the turtle let the birds go and the animals go that's why
42:43
I said you made this a den of thieves why? because they were robbing their own people robbing their own people so the twelve tribes were the only ones that could come into this area here once Christ comes he atones for sin the disciples this actually is irrelevant after Christ's crucifixion irrelevant and when
43:10
I say irrelevant I mean irrelevant its purpose was served it pointed to that sacrifice the day of atonement it pointed to the
43:18
Passover lamb it pointed to all of those things and once it does this is no good all it was was a picture now this is a shadow is gone this is vanishing and now this happens they get the
43:30
Holy Spirit on the day of Pentecost the new covenant church is birthed now they get the commission to now go to the
43:47
Gentiles and to do what the twelve tribes never did that's why Jesus on the night when he was teaching on the
43:55
Temple Mount I think it was on Wednesday Wednesday of his
44:01
Passion Week and he gives the vine the lawless vine the vine dressers or vineyard people whatever you want to call it where he had the tenant he says hey
44:13
I'm going to send my guys to get payment for me loaning out the vineyard and they didn't come and then they beat him up and he said
44:21
I'll send another one they beat him up and he says wait a minute I'll send my son well it's at that point when they say hey we see the son coming across in the parable he says we'll kill him we'll kill the son and then we'll be able to take the vineyard well then when they killed the son the owner of the vineyard said because you've done that to my son
44:38
I'm going to take that vineyard from you and I'm going to give it to someone else who will produce the right fruit hey that was because you didn't do what you were supposed to do
44:47
I've sent my son now I'm going to give it to the twelve disciples which would produce the new covenant church because they'll do what
44:55
I tell them to do why would they do what they tell them to do because now God put the Holy Spirit within them that would lead them guide them in all truth and to cause them to obey his laws and continue in his statutes that is what took place whether it was
45:11
Matthias answer your question or Paul I think it's irrelevant because technically with Paul he said he was one born out of due season you would have thirteen apostles right so it's typological it's looking at things typologically there were twelve tribes of Israel there were twelve apostles that came under the commission of Christ in his messianic ministry you don't have to give me a date how long ago was it before Paul was called it was probably three years or so I could be wrong on my date but I believe it was around three years and he said he was one called out of due time so this here this part was already established to go to the nations before Paul ever came along that's how
46:09
I understand it yeah I don't think we should say hey when we sit up when we get if we get to heaven and there are 24 thrones sitting around there
46:21
I don't think Paul's going hey dude where's mine you know I don't think that's what's happening
46:26
I think it's representative I think everything in this he really saw that it represents something we got to go here question anybody before we wrap it up so you would just say that they represent
46:40
God's people throughout eternity and I want to get into that when we see because next week we're going to see every time they holy holy holy they hit the ground they hit the ground hit the ground and for all of eternity it looks like these 24 elders are smacking their face on the ground
46:53
I mean for all it says it for every time they say holy holy holy they're hitting here well how long does it say they say holy holy holy holy forever so I mean these guys are