Participants: Pr. Stephen Bohr
Series Code: 24ELD
Program Code: 24ELD000002
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00:34 Shall we bow our heads for prayer?
00:35 Our Father and our God, what a privilege it is this evening 00:39 to come before Your majestic throne in prayer knowing that 00:43 You hear our pleas. And we ask, Father, that You will be with us 00:48 as we study Your Word. Open our minds and hearts, 00:51 and send Your Holy Spirit that we might be able to understand. 00:55 And we thank You for hearing our prayer 00:57 for we ask it in Jesus' name, Amen. 01:00 Well, hello everybody! We're going to do a little bit 01:06 of review in our study today of what we studied last time. 01:11 We're doing a series on the twenty-four elders 01:13 of the book of Revelation. 01:14 And, basically, what we studied last time was that Jesus, 01:19 when He came to this earth, had a twofold mission. 01:22 His first mission was to live the perfect life that the law 01:27 requires from us. And then Jesus had to take upon Himself 01:31 our sins, and suffer the death penalty that we deserve. 01:35 So basically Jesus had to come to live in our place, 01:39 and He had to come to die in our place. 01:43 This is the only way in which Jesus could recover the throne 01:47 that Adam lost, as well as the territory that Adam lost 01:51 as well. Now we also studied that it was Satan's mission 01:56 to prevent Jesus from doing these two things. 01:59 It was Satan's mission, first of all, to infect Jesus 02:03 with the virus of sin so that He would not be an unblemished 02:07 sacrifice. We also notice that it was the devil's mission 02:11 to prevent Jesus from reaching the point where He would offer 02:15 His life as a ransom for many. 02:18 So basically the devil's mission was to prevent Jesus 02:22 from fulfilling His mission. 02:24 Now we noticed in our study that Satan used four methods to try 02:29 and prevent Jesus from living His perfect life, 02:32 and from offering, at the correct time, His life for sin. 02:37 First of all Satan attempted to kill Jesus. 02:42 In the second place, Satan attempted to infect Jesus 02:47 with the virus of sin. Then we also notice that the devil 02:51 attempted to lead Jesus down a different path than the path 02:56 that the Father had established for Him. 02:58 In other words, the devil tried to convince Jesus to take over 03:01 the throne instead of dying to recover the throne. 03:05 And finally, we notice that Satan made every attempt 03:10 to discourage Jesus in such a way that He would just pick up 03:15 and leave, and go to heaven where He was loved, 03:18 and leave the human race to perish. 03:21 But as we noticed in our study, Jesus on the cross, 03:26 the last three sayings that He uttered from His lips were, 03:31 My God, My God, why hast Thou forsaken Me? 03:35 And then He said, It is finished! 03:38 And finally He spoke to His Father and said, 03:41 Father, into Your hands I commend My spirit. 03:45 At that moment Jesus had gained the victory. 03:48 Jesus had lived the life that everyone should live, 03:51 and He had died in place of everyone. 03:54 Jesus had gained the victory. 03:57 But, of course, we notice that the devil wasn't about to 03:59 give up. And so he said, if I can keep Jesus from resurrecting 04:03 the plan of salvation is still going to fail. 04:05 And so the devil influenced the Roman, Pilate, to place a large 04:14 stone in front of the tomb, and to place a Roman guard. 04:18 And, of course, the devil also had his demons present there, 04:21 as if somehow the devil was going to be able to keep 04:26 the life-giver in the tomb with a little pebble in front 04:29 of the tomb, and a guard of Roman soldiers, 04:33 as well as a group of demons. 04:35 Impossible to keep Jesus in! 04:37 Very early the first day of the week two angels descended 04:41 from heaven. One of them removed the stone, 04:44 and the other one stood in front of the tomb and exclaimed 04:48 in a loud voice, Oh Thou Son of God, Thy Father calls Thee. 04:52 Suddenly Jesus appeared at the mouth of the tomb, 04:56 and He proclaimed the words, I Am the resurrection 05:00 and the life. As we noticed also, Jesus did not resurrect 05:05 by Himself. There was a group of individuals, 05:07 a multitude of individuals, that resurrected with Jesus 05:11 when Jesus came out of the tomb. 05:13 And they went and appeared to many in the city to confirm 05:16 the resurrection of Jesus. 05:18 Now the question is, what happened to those who 05:21 resurrected with Christ? Did they die again, or did they 05:25 have a special function in the plan of salvation? 05:28 This is what we're going to take a look at in our study today. 05:32 Now I want to say that when Jesus resurrected He spent forty 05:38 days on planet Earth teaching His disciples the things 05:42 concerning the kingdom of God, according to Acts, chapter 1 05:45 and verse 3. In other words, Jesus explained to His disciples 05:49 the prophecies that had been fulfilled in Him that they had 05:53 misunderstood. And Jesus also explained to the disciples 05:57 the prophecies that were going to be fulfilled fifty days after 06:01 His resurrection on the Day of Pentecost. 06:04 In other words, He explained Bible prophecy to them so that 06:08 they could understand the past, and they could understand 06:11 the future. Now when Jesus left heaven He told all of 06:14 the heavenly beings, I'm leaving to that rebellious planet 06:19 to face Goliath. But I guarantee that thirty-three 06:23 years from now, I will return victorious to the heavenly 06:28 kingdom, so you'd better start preparing the party. 06:31 Now, do we have any information in scripture about what the 06:37 reception of Jesus was like when He returned to heaven? 06:41 I believe that we do. 06:43 Let's turn in our Bibles to Revelation, chapter 4, 06:47 and this topic that we're going to study today deals with 06:52 two chapters in the book of Revelation: 06:54 Revelation, chapter 4 and also chapter 5. 06:58 Now in chapter 4 we find all of heaven preparing the heavenly 07:04 throne room for the return of Jesus to heaven. 07:08 In other words, in chapter 4 Jesus has not arrived in heaven 07:12 yet. In chapter 4 of the book of Revelation all of heaven, 07:17 all of the heavenly beings, are preparing the throne room 07:20 for the great reception of the war hero. 07:23 Now let's begin in Revelation, chapter 4 and verse 1. 07:28 Here John, inspired by the Holy Spirit says, 07:31 After these things I looked and behold a door standing open 07:38 in heaven. Now notice this is not the door to heaven, 07:41 it is a door in heaven. Now obviously, there's not just 07:45 a door standing there. A door leads into a building. 07:49 So the question is, where does this door lead to, 07:52 this door that is in heaven? We're going to find our answer 07:54 a little bit later on. So it says: 08:12 And so John is invited to go through the open door, 08:15 and I want you to notice what John sees inside that open door, 08:19 inside the building where that door leads to. 08:23 Revelation, chapter 4 and verse 2: 08:27 That means that John was in vision. 08:30 He didn't go there personally. He's in vision. 08:32 He's seeing this in his mind. 08:34 And so it says: 08:45 So he goes through this open door. 08:47 Inside the open door he sees a throne, and upon the throne 08:51 there is One being sitting. 08:54 Now it's interesting to notice that when Jesus went back 08:59 to heaven, the Bible tells us that Jesus sat with His Father 09:03 on His throne. Notice Revelation, chapter 3 09:05 and verse 21. This is the immediately preceding chapter. 09:09 And we're going to see that when Jesus went to heaven, 09:12 and actually arrived in heaven, He sat with His Father 09:15 on His Father's throne. It says there in Revelation 3 verse 21, 09:19 here Jesus is speaking: 09:26 notice 09:29 past tense 09:31 This speaking about His victory on earth. 09:39 So where did Jesus place Himself when He ascended to heaven? 09:43 He sat with His Father on His throne. 09:45 But what's strange about Revelation, chapter 4 verse 2 09:50 is that it describes only one being sitting on the throne. 09:55 So this must be taking place before Jesus arrived to sit 10:00 with His Father on His throne. 10:02 Because if this was taking place after Jesus ascended to heaven, 10:05 then there would be two on the throne instead of one. 10:09 Now verse 3 gives us the physical appearance of the One 10:14 who is seated on the throne, who just happens to be 10:17 God the Father. Notice verse 3. 10:25 Now jasper and sardius are deep red stones. 10:29 In other words, its like God is surrounded by fire. 10:32 That's the idea. And so it says: 10:45 Now the rainbow represents a mixture of justice and mercy, 10:49 which means that this scene, when this scene is taking place, 10:53 the door of mercy is still open, as indicated by the rainbow. 10:58 You remember that after the flood God showed Noah 11:01 the rainbow, indicating that He would not destroy the world 11:04 with another flood, representing God's justice which He had 11:08 meted out in the flood, but also His mercy in saving Noah 11:12 and his family. So basically, this scene is taking place while 11:16 the door of mercy is still open. 11:18 Now verse 4 tells us about another group that is present 11:23 there in the midst of the throne, or around the throne. 11:26 It says there in verse 4: 11:45 Now I want you to remember these details. 11:47 They're very, very important. 11:48 Notice they're called twenty-four elders. 11:52 They're sitting on thrones. 11:53 We're told that they are clothed in white robes, 11:57 and that they have crowns of gold on their heads. 12:01 We will come back to this in later presentations. 12:04 So I want you to imagine this throne inside a door. 12:09 There's One seated on the throne. 12:11 He has this rainbow over His head. 12:14 He's surrounded by fire. 12:16 And then we find that around the throne there are twenty-four 12:20 thrones, with twenty-four elders sitting. 12:24 And, of course, we wonder who are those twenty-four elders? 12:28 And that's the reason why we're having this series 12:30 is to identify the elders, and to find out what their 12:33 particular job description is. 12:36 Now let's skip verse 5 just for a moment. 12:39 We'll come back to verse 5. 12:41 And let's go to verse 6 because we're going to notice that there 12:45 were also some other beings present there in the midst 12:48 of the throne. Notice verse 6. It says: 13:04 A better translation would be four living beings. 13:11 So now we're introduced to a new group there. 13:13 Besides the twenty-four elders you have four living creatures 13:17 that are in the midst of the throne. 13:18 And immediately we ask the question, who are these living 13:22 creatures? Well, if we go to verse 8 we'll find some help. 13:27 Notice, Revelation, chapter 4 and verse 8. 13:29 It says here: 13:49 Two characteristics that we notice about these living 13:51 creatures: 1. We're told that they have six wings. 13:55 2. We're told that they sing, Holy, holy, holy. 14:00 Now who were these beings? 14:02 All we have to do is go back to the book of Isaiah, chapter 6, 14:06 and verses 1 to 3 to identify these living beings, 14:11 or these living creatures. 14:12 It says there, and this is speaking abut the call of the 14:15 prophet Isaiah. 14:22 See, once again you have a being sitting on a throne. 14:30 Now notice this: 14:33 That is above the throne: 14:57 So notice, the same characteristics that we found 15:00 in Revelation, chapter 4. 15:02 The living creatures, or the living beings, represent 15:06 the seraphim, which is a class of angels, very high angels 15:13 in heaven. Now its interesting that the Bible also describes 15:18 the cherubim in similar terms. 15:21 Only the cherubim have four wings whereas the seraphim 15:24 have six. Now the question is, where is this scene 15:28 taking place? What is this building that the door leads to? 15:32 Let's go to verse 5. It says in verse 5, 15:35 which we skipped before: 15:43 And now listen carefully. 15:54 What was burning before the throne? seven lamps of fire. 15:57 Now my question is, where in the sanctuary were the seven 16:02 lamps of fire, or the seven branched candlestick? 16:04 It was in the holy place of the sanctuary. 16:09 And here we see that before the throne are seven lamps of fire. 16:15 Incidentally, the Greek word is lamp avis, which is the same 16:19 word that is used in the Greek Old Testament to describe the 16:22 candlestick in the Hebrew sanctuary. 16:25 So you're dealing here with the seven branched candlestick. 16:28 This would lead us to believe that this scene is taking place 16:31 in the holy place. The door led into the holy place 16:35 of the heavenly sanctuary. 16:37 But we have another clue that indicates that this is taking 16:40 place in the holy place. 16:42 Go with me for a moment to Revelation, chapter 5, verse 8. 16:46 Revelation chapter 5 and verse 8. 16:48 Revelation 5 is occurring in the same place as Revelation 4. 16:53 We're going to see that in a few moments. 16:55 So, in other words, Revelation 5 is not taking place in another 16:58 apartment, or in another building. 17:00 It's occurring in the same place as Revelation, chapter 4. 17:04 And I want you to notice a very interesting detail. 17:06 It says there in Revelation 5, verse 8: 17:11 We'll talk about this. 17:26 Now my question is, where was incense offered in the Hebrew 17:31 sanctuary? It was offered at the altar of incense 17:34 in which apartment? In the holy place of the sanctuary. 17:39 So we find the candlestick there, and we find also the 17:43 altar of incense there. So this door leads into the holy place 17:49 of the heavenly sanctuary. 17:50 And, of course, the One who is seated upon the throne 17:53 in the holy place is none other than God the Father. 17:58 Now it's interesting to notice here that it says that the 18:02 seven Spirits of God are before the throne. 18:06 Now there are a not seven Holy Spirits. 18:08 There is one Holy Spirit. 18:10 But the number seven indicates fullness or totality. 18:15 In other words, present there in the heavenly throne room is the 18:19 Holy Spirit in all of His fullness. 18:22 So present there is God the Father, the twenty-four elders, 18:27 the four living creatures, and before the throne the fullness 18:32 of the Holy Spirit, are all present there. 18:34 Now I want you to notice the song that is sung by the 18:40 living creatures and the twenty-four elders 18:43 who are present there. 18:44 They're singing a song in honor of the One who is seated on 18:48 the throne. We find this in Revelation 4 and verses 9-11. 18:52 Revelation, chapter 4, and verses 9 thru 11. It says here: 19:19 Now notice what the central theme of the hymn is. 19:38 Now in our last topic that we studied we noticed that the 19:42 Creator was Jesus Christ. So you say, Now wait a minute. 19:46 This is God the Father sitting on the throne, and it says that 19:49 God the Father created all things. 19:50 Well, the fact is that the New Testament tells us that the 19:53 architect of creation was God the Father, but the master 19:56 builder was Jesus Christ. 19:58 The Father created through the Son. 20:00 The Son performed the Father's will. 20:03 And you'll notice here that it clearly says, You created all 20:07 things, and by Your will they exist and were created. 20:10 Jesus simply implemented the Father's will. 20:14 So you'll notice that this hymn is being sung to only one being; 20:19 the Father who is sitting on the throne. 20:21 And He's being exalted and praised, and honor is being 20:26 given to Him because He is the Creator. 20:29 Nothing is said in this chapter about redemption. 20:32 The hymn of praise is because the One who is on the throne 20:37 is the Creator. Now when chapter 4 ends we're left 20:41 with some questions. Where was Jesus in chapter 4? 20:47 He wasn't there! God the Father was only sitting on the throne 20:51 by Himself. The other question that comes up is where were 20:56 the angelic hosts? In other words, where were the multitude 21:00 of angels, ten thousand times ten thousand, and thousands 21:03 of thousands? Where were they in chapter 4. 21:07 You look in chapter 4. The angels are not there. 21:10 And Jesus Christ is not there in chapter 4. 21:14 So we're left with a couple of questions. 21:18 Now we need to move to chapter 5. 21:20 In chapter 4 all of heaven is preparing the heavenly throne 21:25 room for the return of the war hero; 21:28 for the return of Jesus Christ. 21:30 Now let's move on to chapter 5, and verse 1. 21:34 And I saw in the right hand of Him who sat on the throne, 21:39 notice it's continuing in the same place in the 21:42 previous chapter. It says: 21:57 Now as long as this scroll was rolled up and sealed with seven 22:03 seals the contents of the scroll could not be divulged. 22:07 The contents of the scroll could not be seen. 22:09 And so in verse 2 a question is asked. 22:28 Now that word worthy means, who is qualified, 22:33 to break the seals, to open the scroll, 22:36 and to reveal its contents? 22:38 You see, not anyone, not just anyone, could unroll the scroll 22:43 and reveal what the scroll contains. 22:45 There had to be an individual who was qualified to do so, 22:50 who was worthy to do so. 22:53 And now notice verse 3. There's a crisis. 22:56 It says in verse 3: 23:08 Interesting! No one in heaven! 23:12 God the Father was sitting on the throne in heaven. 23:15 Not even God the Father was qualified to break the seals 23:20 and open the scroll; not Moses, not Elijah who had been 23:25 transported to heaven, not Enoch. 23:27 No one in the universe, no one on earth, no one in heaven 23:31 could open this scroll to reveal its contents. 23:35 And so now John reacts. 23:38 In verse 4 we're told, John is speaking about his experience. 23:51 That is qualified. 23:56 Now the word wept here is a very strong word in the Greek 24:00 language. It's not just a little weak word that means just 24:05 to shed some tears. It means to cry out in anguish. 24:09 For example, its the same word that's used when Peter denied 24:13 Jesus for the third time. 24:15 The Bible says that he went out and he wept bitterly. 24:19 In other words, this is crying out with anguish. 24:22 Its the same word that's used to describe the ruler of the 24:27 synagogue when his daughter died. 24:29 The Bible tells us that the people wept and wailed greatly. 24:34 It's the same word that is used to describe the disciples' 24:38 mourning and weeping when Jesus died. 24:42 And its the same word that is used to describe Jesus weeping, 24:46 or agonizing, over Jerusalem as He contemplated the city 24:50 upon the triumphal entry. 24:52 In other words, John is crying out in anguish. 24:55 This is a calamity not to have this scroll opened. 24:59 There's something that is a life and matter. 25:01 Now the question is, why was this scroll so important? 25:06 We noticed in our study, in our first study in this series, 25:10 that Adam lost his position as king, and he lost the territory 25:15 over which he ruled. It was necessary for Jesus to come 25:20 to the earth to buy back, or to redeem that which Adam had lost. 25:25 In other words, Jesus, by His life and His death, was going to 25:29 buy back the lost inheritance of Adam and Eve, 25:34 and all of their descendents. 25:35 Now you say, why is this important? 25:38 Because really what this scroll contained was a will or 25:43 testament; the will or testament of the entire human 25:47 race. Allow me to read you a statement from an individual who 25:52 was my teacher when I went to the seminary in Michigan. 25:55 He studied the book of Revelation very intensively. 25:58 His name is Kenneth Strand. 26:00 In his book, Interpreting the Book of Revelation, page 55, 26:04 he describes the contents of this scroll. He says: 26:25 And, by the way, that can be corroborated by archeology and 26:30 by history. The way that Romans wrote wills or testaments 26:34 is they would write them on scrolls. And then what they 26:37 would do was they would put seven strings around the scroll. 26:40 And where the two ends of the string met they would place 26:43 a blob of wax, or a blob of clay, that stuck to the two 26:47 ends, and also to the scroll. In that way they could be sure 26:50 that no one had tampered with the scroll. 26:52 A person that was not authorized had not opened the scroll, 26:56 by the seals that the scroll contained. He continues saying: 27:21 In other words, the title to the lost possession that human 27:25 beings lost when Adam sinned. He continues saying: 27:59 So what this scroll is a will or testament; 28:03 the will or testament of the human race. 28:05 Now let me ask you, can just anyone open a testament 28:08 or a will? No. There's an individual who has been given 28:13 the responsibility, and who is qualified to open the will 28:17 or the testament. Usually its a lawyer or a family member. 28:21 Now what does a will or testament reveal? 28:26 It reveals who will inherit, and what they will inherit. 28:32 So if this is the will or testament, or if this is the 28:36 title deed to the inheritance that Adam lost, and all of his 28:40 descendents lost by their sin, if the will or testament remains 28:45 closed, what happens? No one will inherit 28:48 the lost possession. It was a calamity in the mind of John. 28:53 Now Ellen White adds some important details that describe 28:58 the contents of this scroll. 29:00 Actually, this scroll contains the entire history of the human 29:04 race, and the decisions that every individual has made 29:08 within the history of the world. 29:11 And their decision determines whether they're going to inherit 29:14 eternal life with Christ, or whether they are going to 29:18 inherit death. Notice this very interesting statement that we 29:23 find in Manuscript Releases, volume 9, and page 7. 29:28 Here Ellen White, speaking about this scroll, 29:31 says the following: 29:38 Now listen carefully. 29:47 What does this scroll contain? 29:49 It contains the prophetic history of nations 29:52 and the church. She continues saying: 30:24 Basically, what the scroll contains is the entire history 30:29 of the human race. And the decisions that have been made 30:33 within the course of history, (individuals have made within 30:36 the course of history), that will determine whether they will 30:40 receive the title deed to the possession which originally 30:45 belonged to Adam, or whether they refused to accept Christ 30:49 and they will lose the inheritance. They will lose 30:51 eternal life. Now allow me to read you another statement. 30:55 This is very interesting because Ellen White is going to describe 30:59 a specific historical event that was written in that scroll. 31:03 The quotation is found in the book, Christ's Object Lessons, 31:07 page 294. Listen carefully to what she says. 31:10 She's speaking about the moment when Pontius Pilot brought 31:15 Barabbas and Jesus and put them side by side, and said to the 31:19 multitude, Choose whom you want me to release. 31:23 Will it be Jesus the Christ or will it be Barabbas? 31:27 And, of course, the multitude said, Release unto us Barabbas. 31:32 Now notice what Ellen White says about this particular 31:35 historical event. It was written in that scroll. 31:38 She says this: 31:44 See it is all about choices that people make in human history. 31:49 Now listen carefully. 32:03 Their choice, or their decision, was written in that book. 32:07 Now notice what she continues saying. 32:24 Are they going to face their decision once again? 32:27 Yes, it was written in this book and someday they are going to 32:31 see their decision. Now, we must examine more carefully 32:36 what she's saying here. 32:37 Let me ask you, when Ellen White wrote this, (it was in 1900 that 32:41 she wrote the book Christ's Object Lessons), had this scroll 32:44 been opened yet in 1900? 32:46 No, because she's saying that this decision will appear 32:51 before them when the scroll is opened. 32:53 It had not been opened in 1900 when she wrote this. 32:56 The opening of the scroll was still in the future. 32:59 Another important detail is that she says that those 33:03 who made this decision, they will see their decision 33:07 once again. Now let me ask you, where are all those people 33:10 that made that decision? 33:11 Where are they today? They're all dead. 33:14 Could they see the decision that they made if they're dead? 33:17 No. What would have to happen in order for them to see their 33:20 decision? They would have to what? 33:22 They would have to resurrect from the dead to see the result 33:26 of their decision, if its in the future. 33:27 Now my question is, when is it that those who made their 33:31 decision are going to face their decision again? 33:34 It is going to be after the thousand years 33:38 of Revelation chapter 20. Now we might not have time to read 33:42 a passage from Ellen White in The Great Controversy that makes 33:45 this absolutely clear. But after the millennium, when the people 33:48 are outside the holy city, all of the wicked, a great panorama 33:52 will be shown above the city. 33:55 The whole history of the human race will be shown again. 33:58 And everyone who is outside the holy city will see where, 34:03 by their choice, they went astray, and why they lost 34:06 the title deed to the inheritance that was repurchased 34:10 by Christ, and why God's people were saved, 34:13 and why, by their choices, they were lost. 34:16 Are you understanding this? 34:19 Extremely important! And so John is weeping. 34:24 He's crying out because he says, Hey, if nobody opens this 34:27 will or testament, nobody's going to inherit. 34:29 We're all lost! We're never going to get the title deed 34:32 back. We're never going to get the throne back. 34:35 We're never going to get back the inheritance that we lost. 34:38 Ah, but now comes the good news. 34:41 Verse 5 of Revelation, chapter 5. 34:57 Now listen to the tenses of the verbs. 35:01 What tense is that verb? Future, present, or past? 35:06 Past! It says the Root of David has prevailed. 35:12 And because He prevailed, what does that give Him 35:14 a right to do? It says: 35:18 Which would be future, right? 35:24 What gives Jesus Christ the right to break the seals, 35:27 and to reveal the contents of the book? 35:29 The fact that He what? The fact that He prevailed, or the fact 35:33 that He overcame. And then I want you to notice verse 6. 35:38 Suddenly Jesus is there. And the question is, where did He 35:43 come from? He wasn't there in chapter 4. 35:46 Suddenly in chapter 5 He's there! 35:48 You know this scroll is sealed with 7 seals. 35:52 It's a title deed. It's a will. 35:54 Who's going to open this will? 35:55 Who's going to reveal who will inherit that which was lost? 35:59 Ah, in verse 6 John says: 36:17 Who is this being? Jesus Christ. 36:20 At this point has Jesus died? 36:23 Yes, because it speaks of Him as a Lamb as though it had been 36:27 what? slain. But let me ask you, is He alive when He appears 36:31 here? Yes, He is. So what has happened? 36:34 He has died and now He has come into the heavenly throne room. 36:39 And He has the wounds fresh on His body that He received 36:44 while He was on the battle ground. And so it says: 36:53 Now here comes a very important detail. 37:03 Now that's interesting because in chapter 4 it says that the 37:07 seven spirits were there. But now in chapter 5 we're told that 37:11 when Jesus arrives what happens with the seven spirits? 37:14 They're sent to the earth. 37:16 Question, what historical event is being described by the seven 37:21 spirits, or the fullness of the spirits sent to the earth? 37:24 What is being described is what happened 37:27 on the Day of Pentecost when the Holy Spirit was poured out 37:31 on earth in its fullness, which was the signal that Jesus 37:35 had arrived in heaven, and that Jesus had taken the scroll 37:39 from the Father's hand. And He was going to guide in history 37:44 so that this scroll eventually could be opened. 37:47 And then notice verse 7. See Jesus wasn't there. 37:51 It says in verse 7, then He what? 37:54 He came. So if He comes, He wasn't there before. 37:59 Where is He coming from? 38:00 He's coming from Earth because He's just been wounded 38:05 as the Lamb. But He's coming up there alive. 38:08 He's standing in the midst of the throne. 38:10 He's just died. He's resurrected. 38:12 Now He's arrived in the heavenly throne room. And so it says: 38:22 Jesus is saying, I can take the scroll. 38:25 I can break the seals. I can reveal who will inherit eternal 38:30 life, and who will not inherit eternal life. 38:33 And then when Jesus takes the scroll, in verses 8 thru 10, 38:38 the twenty-four elders, and the living creatures break out in 38:43 a hymn of praise. Notice Revelation, chapter 5, 38:47 and verses 8 thru 10. And incidentally, 38:49 there's a translation problem here that we're going to deal 38:53 with in the next few lectures in our series. 38:56 Ah, you know, it gives the impression, as we read this 38:59 passage, that the twenty-four elders were redeemed from the 39:04 earth, and that the twenty-four elders are going to reign 39:07 upon the earth. Just for now, I want you to understand that 39:10 there's a translation problem, which we will deal with later. 39:13 But I want you to notice the central theme of this song. 39:17 It says in verse 8, Now when He had taken the scroll, 39:21 the four living creatures, and the twenty-four elders, 39:24 fell down before the Lamb. 39:26 See the Lamb has taken the scroll. 39:27 Now He's going to break the seals, and He's going to open 39:30 the scroll to reveal who is going to receive the lost 39:34 inheritance, the title deed. And so it says: 39:49 Notice that this song is in honor of the Redeemer now. 39:52 In chapter 4 it was in honor of the One on the throne, 39:55 because He was the Creator. 39:57 Now the Redeemer comes into view because the Redeemer has 40:00 come from Earth and presented Himself in the heavenly throne 40:02 room. And so it says, and they sang a new song saying 40:11 Why could Jesus do this? Notice, for, that means because. 40:21 That word, redeemed, means to buy back by paying a price. 40:24 He bought back the lost inheritance. In other words: 40:39 Notice that this hymn is now in honor of the Redeemer, 40:43 who has now taken the scroll. 40:45 He's going to open the scroll and reveal who will be 40:49 in the kingdom with Him. 40:51 And then I want you to notice that after the elders, 40:56 and after the four living creatures sing this song 40:59 in honor of the Redeemer, suddenly all of the angelic 41:04 hosts are there. The question is where were they in chapter 4? 41:08 Suddenly, when Jesus arrives, the angelic hosts arrives, too. 41:12 Where did they come from? We're going to notice. 41:16 Verses 11 and 12 of Revelation, chapter 5: 41:33 Now the angelic hosts have made themselves present. 41:36 They were not there in chapter 4. 41:38 Jesus wasn't there in chapter 4. 41:39 But now the Redeemer arrives from the battlefield. 41:42 He has the wounds to prove it. 41:44 And now the angelic hosts also have arrived, because they went 41:47 to earth to pick up Jesus and bring Him back. 41:50 And so it says, Then I looked and I heard the voice of many 41:53 angels around the throne, the living creatures, 41:55 and the elders, and the number of them was ten thousand times 41:58 ten thousand and thousands of thousands... 42:03 Now notice once again the central theme of the hymn. 42:17 And so the elders are singing. 42:19 And we find the four living creatures are singing. 42:22 The angelic hosts are singing. 42:24 And now in verse 13 the entire universe is singing. 42:28 Notice what verse 13 says. 42:47 Are you catching the picture? 42:48 Now I want to read you a rather lengthy passage from the book, 42:54 The Desire of Ages. See the little old lady 42:59 knew all of this. We've studied it from the Bible. 43:02 Now I want to read the inspired commentary in the book, 43:07 The Desire of Ages. And immediately you're going to 43:09 see the connection. This is in the chapter titled, 43:13 To My Father and To Your Father. 43:15 It's the last chapter of The Desire of Ages that deals 43:19 with the ascension of Christ. 43:22 Now listen to what she says. This is page 833 to 835. 43:26 She says, All heaven was waiting to welcome the Savior 43:32 to the celestial courts. See, that's Revelation 4, isn't it? 43:37 She says, As He ascended He led the way. 43:41 And the multitude of captives set free at His resurrection 43:47 followed. Now you know, there's this idea 43:51 in the Seventh-day Adventist Church that the twenty-four 43:53 elders are those that resurrected with Christ; 43:56 that Jesus took to heaven with Him when He ascended to heaven. 43:59 That is not possible because the twenty-four elders were there 44:04 in chapter 4 before Jesus arrives in chapter 5, 44:08 with those who resurrected. 44:09 Are you understanding what I'm saying? 44:11 And we'll develop this in our coming lectures all the more. 44:16 And so it says: 44:28 That's the angels, the ten thousand times ten thousand 44:31 and thousands of thousands. She says: 44:41 So all of the angelic host are coming back with Him. 45:15 Why would He be called the Lord mighty in battle? 45:18 Because He is coming back from the battlefield. 45:21 He is the war hero that is coming back alive. 45:25 And then they continue singing. 45:38 This is quoting Psalm 24. 45:49 And now I want you to notice the description that Ellen White 45:52 gives. You know Ellen White does not talk about twenty-four 45:55 elders, four living creatures, doesn't speak about One 45:59 sitting on the throne. She doesn't describe a Lamb 46:01 as though He had been slain. 46:02 What Ellen White does is she interprets these symbols 46:07 in matter of fact language. 46:09 Now let's see if we can identify the beings that were present 46:13 there. Who the four living creatures were. 46:15 Who the twenty-four elders are. 46:17 Who is the One seated on the throne? 46:18 And who is the Lamb as though He had been slain? 46:20 She says, Then the portals of the city of God are opened wide. 46:24 And the angelic throng, (see the angels are coming with Jesus). 46:28 The angelic throng sweep through the gates... 46:35 And now she says: 46:41 Does that ring a bell? Then she says: 46:48 Who would those be? The four living creatures. 46:51 Then she uses three phrases to describe another group that's 46:55 present there. She says: 46:59 And we're going to talk about this in the next three lectures. 47:11 Those are three terms that are describing the same group. 47:15 The commanders of the angel hosts, the sons of God, 47:18 the representatives of the unfallen worlds are assembled. 47:21 What group would that be? Well, we've already identified 47:25 the four living creatures. What group would that be? 47:28 It would have to be the twenty- four elders. 47:30 Then she continues saying, notice: 47:54 But now something is going to happen. There's going to be 47:56 absolute silence in heaven. 48:06 Now listen carefully. He enters into the presence of His father. 48:10 Also we know who was on the throne now. 48:12 Who was on the throne? Ah, the Father! 48:15 Was Jesus there before? No! 48:17 In Revelation chapter 5 it says He came. Now it says: 48:24 And now I want you to notice how He presents Himself. 48:39 What is Jesus presenting Himself as? 48:42 As the Lamb as though He had been slain! 48:45 But Ellen White doesn't use the symbolic language. 48:49 Ellen White interprets the symbolic language. 48:52 She says the One on the throne is the Father. 48:55 The four living creatures are seraphim and cherubim. 48:59 She says the twenty-four elders are the sons of God; 49:02 the representatives of the worlds that never sinned. 49:05 She continues saying: 49:46 That is that His life would be in place of His people, 49:51 and His death would be in place of His people; the surety. 49:55 That's what it means. So she continues saying: 50:12 When He said, It is finished, He was talking to His Father. 50:17 Now notice the burden of Jesus. 50:20 The reason why He wants to open the scroll is to reveal 50:23 who He can take home with Him. 50:24 Notice what it continues saying. 50:44 What is it that the will or testament reveals? 50:47 Who is going to inherit with Jesus? 50:50 Ah, now listen to this. 51:29 And then Ellen White quotes Revelation 5, verse 12, 51:34 and Revelation 5, verse 13. I'll read it. 52:03 In case you were wondering whether she's describing 52:05 Revelation 4 and 5. Then she says: 52:34 So what we have in Revelation, chapter 4 and 5 is the return 52:40 of the war hero. Now we have a couple of minutes left. 52:46 If you want to read the whole description 52:50 in The Great Controversy, page 666 through 669, 52:55 you'll find the description that Ellen White gives of the moment 52:59 when this scroll is opened after the millennium. 53:02 You know, she actually mentions a great panorama 53:09 that will be shown above the holy city. 53:11 And she describes how the entire history of the world 53:16 will be seen in panoramic view by those who are in the city, 53:19 and by those who are outside the holy city. 53:23 In fact she mentions several individuals by name. 53:29 Who does she mention? 53:30 She says that the panorama begins with Adam in his 53:34 innocence in the Garden, and ends at the very end of history. 53:37 But she mentions that outside the holy city will be Annas 53:41 the high priest. Was he one of those that cried out, 53:45 Release unto us Barabbas? She says Pilot is there. 53:52 She says Herod is there. 53:56 She mentions also Herodias as being there; 54:00 the woman who led to the death of John the Baptist. 54:05 She says that priests and rulers are there. 54:09 And then she goes on to mention the period of the Apostles. 54:13 She speaks about all of the martyrs that were killed 54:17 by Nero. She mentions Nero by name. 54:20 She mentions Nero's mother being present there, 54:25 seeing this great panoramic view; the decisions that they 54:28 made within the course of human history. 54:30 Then she moves on to describe the history of the church 54:35 in the middle ages. She says papist priests and prelates 54:40 are there. She says the proud pontiffs are there. 54:44 The pretended fathers of the church are there. 54:47 And she ends by saying: 55:08 Do you understand the moment when this scroll is going to be 55:12 unfurled? It's when the entire history of the human race, 55:17 and the decisions that each person has made within the 55:21 course of history is revealed. 55:23 The decisions that we make will determine whether we inherit the 55:30 lost possession, whether we inherit the title deed 55:34 to recuperate what was lost, which was bought back 55:37 by Jesus Christ, or whether we will be outside the holy city 55:42 on that great day. And it will be revealed from the scroll 55:46 as its unfurled before the human race, that we had all 55:50 sorts of possibilities of accepting Jesus Christ 55:53 as our Savior, and as our Lord. 55:55 God will show the opportunities that we had to receive Jesus. 55:59 And it will be seen that at each time that Jesus gave us 56:03 the opportunity the individuals who were lost said, No, not now. 56:08 Later. I'm not going to do it now. 56:12 I'm going to live my own life. 56:14 And everyone outside the holy city, after they had seen this 56:19 magnificent repetition of human history, of the decisions that 56:24 they had made within human history, Ellen White describes 56:27 the climax. Satan and his angels and all of the wicked outside 56:34 the holy city will kneel. Every knee will bow, and every tongue 56:39 will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord. 56:43 And we find Ellen White saying that from the very lips of Satan 56:49 himself it will be said, Righteous and true are Your ways 56:55 Oh God. For the first time in human history the whole universe 57:00 will be in absolute harmony. 57:03 Everyone in the heavenly realms will agree that God was right 57:07 in the way that He dealt with sin. 57:10 All of the redeemed within the holy city will agree that God 57:13 has been right in the way in which He has solved the sin 57:16 problem. Even Satan and his angels, and the wicked, 57:20 will agree that God is righteous, and loving, 57:25 and merciful, and true. Let's just make sure that in that 57:30 great day we are there. |
Revised 2014-12-17