Welcome to Anchors Of Truth live
from the 3ABN Worship Center.
00:00:12.88\00:00:17.93
Well, welcome once again
to the 3ABN Worship Center
00:00:24.04\00:00:26.97
this wonderful
Sabbath afternoon.
00:00:27.00\00:00:28.90
And if you're joining us from
Australia, it's already Sunday.
00:00:28.93\00:00:32.72
But bear with us as
we enjoy as the Sabbath
00:00:32.92\00:00:36.02
continues to carry on.
00:00:36.05\00:00:37.60
And with it, the blessing once
again that Pastor James Rafferty
00:00:37.63\00:00:41.28
will bring to us as we
walk again together through the
00:00:41.31\00:00:43.78
pages of the book of Revelation,
and importantly how to be
00:00:43.81\00:00:47.92
prepared for these events
that are coming upon the world.
00:00:47.95\00:00:50.42
We must go to the Lord
in prayer, we must ask for
00:00:50.75\00:00:53.46
God's leading and guiding.
00:00:53.49\00:00:54.91
For these final
movements, we can see,
00:00:54.94\00:00:57.44
will truly be rapid ones.
00:00:57.64\00:00:59.87
Stay with us for
this next hour or so as we
00:00:59.90\00:01:02.32
open the Word of God together.
00:01:02.35\00:01:03.38
But before we do that,
let's go to the Lord in prayer.
00:01:03.41\00:01:06.99
Gracious Father in heaven,
how wonderful it is to know
00:01:07.44\00:01:11.59
that You loved us so
much You sent us a message
00:01:11.62\00:01:15.46
for these last days
through Your faithful servant
00:01:15.67\00:01:19.89
and prophet, John on
the island of Patmos.
00:01:19.92\00:01:23.94
And Lord, as we look through
the pages that chronicle the
00:01:24.43\00:01:27.30
heartbeat of America and
the world, we pray that as we
00:01:27.33\00:01:31.15
see these frightful events
transpiring before our eyes,
00:01:31.18\00:01:36.07
that we will look
to You and be saved.
00:01:36.47\00:01:38.84
Father, think not so much
of the price of the amenities
00:01:39.35\00:01:42.31
and the luxuries around
us, but may our focus be on the
00:01:42.34\00:01:47.49
great high price You
paid for our salvation.
00:01:47.52\00:01:50.94
Bless Your servant as he
breaks the bread of life,
00:01:51.36\00:01:53.92
and strengthen us that we may
find light in these dark times.
00:01:54.19\00:01:59.00
In Jesus' name we pray, amen.
00:01:59.03\00:02:02.66
I have the privilege of ending
these meetings with a song
00:02:03.35\00:02:06.01
that really encapsulates what
I've just uttered in my prayer.
00:02:06.04\00:02:09.97
You know, when you think of
what the world is calling us
00:02:10.00\00:02:12.16
to purchase and buy, and
what we're paying our lives for,
00:02:12.19\00:02:15.68
and whether high interest
rates or all of our investments,
00:02:15.71\00:02:18.95
think of what Jesus paid for us.
00:02:19.05\00:02:21.57
And if you think of the
great price He paid for us,
00:02:21.67\00:02:24.47
it should activate us
by His grace to serve Him,
00:02:24.50\00:02:27.54
to love Him, and
to live for His glory.
00:02:27.57\00:02:30.29
Because He paid so high a price.
00:02:30.32\00:02:34.34
Your love endured the cross,
00:03:05.57\00:03:11.31
despising all the shame;
00:03:12.77\00:03:17.65
that afternoon
when midnight fell
00:03:19.04\00:03:24.73
Your suffering cleared my name.
00:03:24.93\00:03:30.90
And that sin-swept hill became
00:03:32.18\00:03:37.64
the open door to paradise;
00:03:38.33\00:03:43.84
because You paid
00:03:43.87\00:03:48.42
much too high a price.
00:03:48.74\00:03:55.80
You paid much too
high a price for me;
00:03:58.82\00:04:07.68
Your tears,
Your blood, the pain,
00:04:07.71\00:04:13.39
to have my soul
just stirred at times
00:04:14.22\00:04:20.65
yet never truly changed.
00:04:20.68\00:04:25.86
You deserve a fiery love
00:04:26.62\00:04:32.02
that won't
ignore Your sacrifice;
00:04:32.73\00:04:38.14
because you paid
00:04:38.17\00:04:42.40
so high a price.
00:04:43.25\00:04:51.48
Now Your grace inspires my heart
00:05:00.81\00:05:06.27
to rise above the sin
00:05:08.18\00:05:13.28
and all the earthly vanities
00:05:14.46\00:05:20.14
that seeks to draw me in.
00:05:20.39\00:05:25.50
I want to tell this
tainted world of the love
00:05:26.12\00:05:33.33
that truly saved my life;
00:05:33.36\00:05:41.24
a love that
paid so high a price.
00:05:41.51\00:05:51.25
You paid much too
high a price for me
00:05:54.73\00:06:04.31
with Your tears and
Your blood and all Your pain
00:06:04.34\00:06:10.64
to have my soul
just stirred at times
00:06:10.79\00:06:16.87
but never truly changed.
00:06:16.90\00:06:23.31
Lord, You deserve a fiery love
00:06:23.76\00:06:30.61
that won't
ignore Your sacrifice;
00:06:30.64\00:06:39.36
because you paid
00:06:39.39\00:06:44.58
so high a price.
00:06:45.37\00:06:52.18
Because you paid
00:06:53.71\00:06:59.66
much too high a price.
00:07:00.41\00:07:10.41
Amen.
00:07:30.34\00:07:31.78
Praise God.
00:07:32.43\00:07:33.46
That is really probably
the most important truth
00:07:34.41\00:07:40.07
that we can study here
in this series on prophecy.
00:07:40.48\00:07:43.92
And we've been looking at a
lot important and significant
00:07:44.33\00:07:47.11
truths, haven't we.
00:07:47.14\00:07:48.17
But there's none that
is greater than the cross.
00:07:48.48\00:07:50.38
In fact, that's where
we're going to be landing
00:07:50.41\00:07:54.25
this ship, this
plane, in our last meeting;
00:07:54.58\00:07:58.19
How to Prepare for Final Events.
00:07:58.22\00:08:00.76
And really,
there's only one way to
00:08:01.02\00:08:03.15
get ready, get ready, get ready.
00:08:03.18\00:08:04.57
And that is to
connect with Jesus.
00:08:04.60\00:08:07.74
That's really
what it's all about.
00:08:08.11\00:08:09.41
That's what
prophecy is all about.
00:08:09.44\00:08:11.13
I know that we have spent a lot
of time emphasizing, you know,
00:08:11.38\00:08:14.87
the events and
things that are happening.
00:08:14.90\00:08:17.37
We've looked at Revelation,
we've looked at Daniel.
00:08:17.40\00:08:20.36
We've looked at
Matthew and Mark and Luke.
00:08:20.73\00:08:23.53
And we've highlighted certain
key prophetic declarations
00:08:23.75\00:08:28.32
that God has made that I
think are being fulfilled today.
00:08:28.35\00:08:31.77
As we look around, we
think, "Yes, that's amazing."
00:08:31.80\00:08:35.17
Even the words and the
terminology and the way that
00:08:35.20\00:08:37.37
God described
these prophetic events
00:08:37.40\00:08:41.35
we see them taking
place in the world today.
00:08:41.38\00:08:43.38
And it can be a
little bit unnerving,
00:08:43.65\00:08:47.08
perhaps even scary.
00:08:47.66\00:08:50.66
But the book of
Revelation is blessed by God.
00:08:51.19\00:08:56.44
It's not there to scare
us, it's there to prepare us,
00:08:56.81\00:08:59.20
to get us ready.
00:08:59.23\00:09:00.26
And yet I think that in my
own personal life I struggle.
00:09:00.88\00:09:04.41
I mentioned the
struggle I had with
00:09:05.08\00:09:07.85
gaining weight, for example.
00:09:07.88\00:09:09.59
Which I know some
of you can't relate to,
00:09:10.54\00:09:12.11
but it's been a real
struggle for me for many years.
00:09:12.14\00:09:14.82
And it was interesting, because
we moved down to Loma Linda
00:09:14.85\00:09:17.82
temporarily in August.
00:09:17.85\00:09:20.02
And when I got
there, I weighed 155.
00:09:20.05\00:09:23.13
Which is about 10
pounds, give or take, more than
00:09:23.16\00:09:27.09
I use to weigh when I
was really underweight.
00:09:27.19\00:09:29.14
In other words, I
had lost a lot of weight.
00:09:29.45\00:09:31.85
I had been failing to exercise
and I had lost a lot of weight.
00:09:31.88\00:09:36.81
And I didn't
feel good about that.
00:09:36.84\00:09:39.27
I felt like, you know, when
I travel I lose weight anyway
00:09:39.30\00:09:42.22
for various reasons.
00:09:42.25\00:09:43.47
And so, but where
we're living in Loma Linda,
00:09:43.50\00:09:46.17
we just step outside of our
door and we look down the road,
00:09:46.20\00:09:49.02
and there's this place
called the Drayson Center.
00:09:49.05\00:09:51.75
And the Drayson Center
is like this exercise place.
00:09:52.24\00:09:55.19
And my wife is a
student at Loma Linda, so we get
00:09:55.49\00:09:58.53
to go to the
Drayson Center for free.
00:09:58.56\00:10:00.74
We're just members.
00:10:00.77\00:10:02.05
And I said, I'm going to start
going to the Drayson Center
00:10:02.39\00:10:04.83
and working out again.
00:10:04.86\00:10:05.92
Something about exercise
that's really interesting,
00:10:06.59\00:10:08.89
I don't know if you know this,
00:10:08.92\00:10:09.96
I started exercising
intensely in, well I was 39.
00:10:10.86\00:10:14.89
So I don't know when that
was, but it was many years ago.
00:10:14.92\00:10:17.40
And it took a long
time to really get in shape.
00:10:17.67\00:10:22.82
I told you it took me
a year to gain 10 pounds.
00:10:22.85\00:10:25.04
And so now I'm down to
155 pounds, and I haven't
00:10:25.52\00:10:28.42
exercised
consistently for many months.
00:10:28.45\00:10:30.56
And I started going to
the Drayson Center again
00:10:30.87\00:10:33.45
every single day.
00:10:33.48\00:10:35.47
And, you know, it was kind
of humiliating because I was,
00:10:35.96\00:10:39.07
you know, I was way
behind where I use to be.
00:10:39.10\00:10:42.05
Cardiovascular,
strength wise, etcetera.
00:10:42.41\00:10:44.56
But I said, "I'm
going to do this."
00:10:44.59\00:10:45.68
But here's the
interesting thing.
00:10:46.13\00:10:47.46
Because I had been
exercising consistently,
00:10:47.65\00:10:51.45
even though I had
quite, once I started again
00:10:51.48\00:10:55.19
it was much faster,
it was much quicker,
00:10:55.59\00:10:58.96
to actually get back
up to where I use to be.
00:10:58.99\00:11:01.42
Right now, I weigh 175 pounds.
00:11:01.45\00:11:03.88
So from August to
now, I have gained...
00:11:04.28\00:11:07.51
Let's see, 55, 65. 20 pounds.
00:11:07.54\00:11:10.04
Now it took me a year when I
first started to gain 10 pounds.
00:11:10.69\00:11:13.99
But just in six
months I gained 20 pounds.
00:11:14.28\00:11:16.84
And I feel good
again, I feel strong again.
00:11:17.23\00:11:18.95
I feel like I'm, you
know, back in shape again.
00:11:18.98\00:11:21.60
I can handle these long
flights and these cold climates
00:11:21.63\00:11:24.91
because I've got a
little bit of insulation on me,
00:11:24.94\00:11:26.89
etcetera, etcetera, etcetera.
00:11:26.92\00:11:28.19
What I basically realized
in this illustration is,
00:11:28.54\00:11:32.60
sometimes we backslide.
00:11:33.38\00:11:35.86
Sometimes we're not as
spiritually fit as we once were.
00:11:36.18\00:11:42.36
Or perhaps, as we could
have been if we kept exercising
00:11:42.39\00:11:46.11
our spiritual muscles.
00:11:46.14\00:11:48.10
And we can kind
of get discouraged.
00:11:48.42\00:11:50.22
We can kind of
think, oh, you know.
00:11:50.25\00:11:52.04
But I've learned
that just like exercise,
00:11:52.07\00:11:55.91
picking up the habit again,
you actually get a lot further
00:11:56.37\00:12:01.80
a lot faster than
when you first started.
00:12:01.83\00:12:04.50
It's not like you're going all
the way back to the beginning.
00:12:04.53\00:12:07.38
But you do have to start back
at those beginning principles.
00:12:07.67\00:12:12.17
I'm thinking about
this in relation to a verse
00:12:12.37\00:12:14.41
in the book of Hebrews.
00:12:14.44\00:12:15.47
If you want to open up there
with me to Hebrews chapter 5.
00:12:15.50\00:12:19.38
And this is really on target.
00:12:19.41\00:12:22.66
How do you prepare, how do
we prepare, for final events.
00:12:22.69\00:12:26.18
Now we're going to be looking
at some verses in prophecy
00:12:26.21\00:12:29.39
that I think are to the point,
00:12:29.42\00:12:32.21
but they're still
along these lines.
00:12:32.41\00:12:33.76
Because we've been studying
prophecy, and I don't want to
00:12:33.79\00:12:35.87
jump clear out of prophecy and
say, "Well, the way you prepare
00:12:35.90\00:12:38.32
is over in these verses."
00:12:38.35\00:12:39.38
I want to stay right
in the line of prophecy
00:12:39.41\00:12:41.27
and understand how in
the context of prophecy
00:12:41.30\00:12:43.69
God is telling us to prepare.
00:12:43.72\00:12:45.50
So, but Hebrews chapter
5, just to get us going here,
00:12:45.67\00:12:48.91
beginning with verse 12.
00:12:49.67\00:12:51.07
Paul is speaking here to, I
think, the Hebrews specifically.
00:12:51.37\00:12:55.47
And it's interesting, because
when you look at the history
00:12:55.50\00:12:58.14
of the Hebrew nation, you
find that they're a lot like us.
00:12:58.17\00:13:02.67
And when I say, "us,"
I'm talking about Adventists.
00:13:02.70\00:13:04.77
They were given, you
know, the commandments
00:13:04.97\00:13:06.94
and the law and the sanctuary,
and all of these truths.
00:13:06.97\00:13:09.85
And they had this knowledge,
this intellectual knowledge,
00:13:09.88\00:13:13.29
that set them apart, perhaps,
from the rest of the nations.
00:13:13.32\00:13:16.38
And yet they failed,
to some degree or another,
00:13:16.91\00:13:22.17
to have this
relationship with Christ.
00:13:22.20\00:13:25.20
This intimate abiding
relationship with God.
00:13:25.23\00:13:28.60
And so when you look
at the book of Hebrews,
00:13:28.99\00:13:31.36
Paul has this
burden for the Hebrews.
00:13:31.39\00:13:33.61
He has this burden
for the Israelites.
00:13:33.64\00:13:35.58
And you'll recognize as
you read the book of Hebrews,
00:13:35.61\00:13:38.46
it's a very relational book.
00:13:38.66\00:13:40.71
There's not a lot of
doctrine in that book.
00:13:41.03\00:13:43.64
And if it is there, if Paul
does talk about the sanctuary,
00:13:43.67\00:13:47.13
which he does a lot in
here, a lot of it has to do with
00:13:47.16\00:13:49.83
breaking down the
symbolism of the sanctuary
00:13:49.86\00:13:52.53
to lead to a
relationship with Christ.
00:13:52.56\00:13:55.37
What did that mean?
00:13:55.40\00:13:56.82
What did the Holy Place mean?
00:13:56.92\00:13:58.14
What did the
Most Holy Place mean?
00:13:58.17\00:13:59.28
What was the
priesthood all about?
00:13:59.31\00:14:00.50
It was all about
this relationship.
00:14:00.53\00:14:02.01
In fact, he opens up
the book of Hebrews saying
00:14:02.04\00:14:03.75
"God, who at sundry
times and in divers manners,
00:14:03.95\00:14:06.31
spake in time past to
our fathers by the prophets,
00:14:06.34\00:14:11.28
has in these last days
spoken unto us by his Son."
00:14:11.31\00:14:15.11
See, it's communication,
it's relationship.
00:14:16.04\00:14:19.59
You know, if you have a
relationship with someone,
00:14:19.62\00:14:21.50
you speak with them.
00:14:21.53\00:14:22.56
If you don't have a
relationship with someone,
00:14:22.59\00:14:24.23
you don't speak with them.
00:14:24.26\00:14:26.33
Right?
00:14:26.36\00:14:27.39
I know this because there are
times when my wife and I have
00:14:27.76\00:14:30.85
intense moments of fellowship.
00:14:34.02\00:14:35.56
And we may go to sleep,
you know, and she'll be on
00:14:39.01\00:14:41.60
one side of the king
size bed that we sleep in
00:14:41.63\00:14:44.48
and I'm on the other side.
00:14:44.51\00:14:45.77
And there's enough room between
us for both of our children.
00:14:45.80\00:14:48.12
And I'm going to sleep
and she's going to sleep.
00:14:49.48\00:14:51.48
My wife is a communicator.
00:14:51.51\00:14:52.77
I'm kind of like, the
way I operate is, you know,
00:14:52.80\00:14:55.83
everything will be
good in the morning.
00:14:55.86\00:14:57.05
So just stuff it.
00:14:57.57\00:14:58.60
And so I don't
want to talk about it.
00:14:58.70\00:15:00.40
"I'll feel better in the
morning, you'll feel better.
00:15:00.43\00:15:01.99
It'll all be gone and we'll just
wake up, smile, and you know."
00:15:02.02\00:15:05.09
But she's not that way.
00:15:05.12\00:15:06.42
She knows better than that.
00:15:06.45\00:15:07.56
And I know better than
that now, but you know, I'm not
00:15:07.59\00:15:09.68
always ready to admit that.
00:15:10.44\00:15:11.76
So I know she wants to
talk before we go to sleep.
00:15:12.59\00:15:14.85
And of course I can't
sleep either, but I try to sleep
00:15:14.88\00:15:16.75
and I pretend I'm sleeping.
00:15:16.78\00:15:17.81
So when she asks me, "James,
you know, are you awake,"
00:15:17.84\00:15:20.51
I don't answer,
because if I answer then she'll
00:15:20.54\00:15:22.39
think I'm awake, but I'm asleep.
00:15:22.42\00:15:23.65
At least I want her
to think I'm asleep.
00:15:23.68\00:15:25.23
So we're there and,
you know, she'll persist.
00:15:25.26\00:15:28.21
And finally I'll say, "No,
I'm not awake, I'm asleep."
00:15:28.24\00:15:30.83
And we'll begin
to talk, communicate.
00:15:31.50\00:15:34.74
When there's no communication,
that means there's a problem,
00:15:34.77\00:15:38.05
there's an issue.
00:15:38.08\00:15:39.11
And so God is saying here,
"I know you may have a problem,
00:15:39.14\00:15:41.97
but I don't have a problem."
00:15:42.00\00:15:43.17
God has always communicated.
00:15:43.20\00:15:45.12
He's always been a communicator.
00:15:45.15\00:15:46.67
He's initiated communication,
He's been speaking to us
00:15:46.70\00:15:49.56
"in sundry times
and in divers manners."
00:15:49.59\00:15:52.11
I love the King James
Version of the Bible, because
00:15:52.14\00:15:54.03
we don't have a
clue of what that means.
00:15:54.06\00:15:55.14
But it sure sounds
beautiful, doesn't it.
00:15:55.17\00:15:57.58
Sundry times and divers manners.
00:15:57.61\00:15:59.05
It means, in every way and
in every variety of way He can.
00:15:59.35\00:16:02.47
He's communicated to
us through the prophets.
00:16:02.50\00:16:04.50
And in the last
days, He communicated by
00:16:04.53\00:16:06.37
His Son, Jesus Christ.
00:16:06.40\00:16:07.76
So it's all about relationship.
00:16:07.99\00:16:09.89
That's how we prepare,
that's how we get ready.
00:16:10.53\00:16:12.47
And so Paul is earnest about
this in the book of Hebrews.
00:16:12.50\00:16:15.76
And he says to these former
backslidden or backsliding
00:16:15.79\00:16:21.69
Seventh-day Adventists, in
verse 12 of Hebrews 5 he says,
00:16:21.72\00:16:26.38
"For when for the time
you ought to be teachers,
00:16:26.41\00:16:28.56
you have need that one
teach you again which be the
00:16:29.15\00:16:33.35
first principles
of the oracles of God.
00:16:33.38\00:16:36.11
You are become such as have need
of milk and not of strong meat."
00:16:36.82\00:16:41.06
Now just pause
there for a second.
00:16:41.48\00:16:42.77
When I go to work out at the
gym, and I haven't been in the
00:16:43.41\00:16:45.55
gym for a long time and
I haven't been working out
00:16:45.58\00:16:47.08
for a long time and I haven't
been exercising for a long time,
00:16:47.11\00:16:49.36
I can go in there,
I've got a chart and outline
00:16:49.58\00:16:51.34
and I can say, "Well,
this is what I use to press,
00:16:51.37\00:16:53.62
or this is what I use to run.
00:16:53.65\00:16:54.69
And so I'm just
going to do it again."
00:16:54.72\00:16:55.97
It's not going to work.
00:16:56.26\00:16:57.42
I'm going to kill myself,
I'm going to hurt myself,
00:16:57.74\00:17:00.40
if I try to do that.
00:17:00.43\00:17:01.78
And I've tried to,
you know, pretend that...
00:17:01.81\00:17:03.67
It just doesn't happen.
00:17:03.70\00:17:04.98
I've got to go back.
00:17:05.01\00:17:06.22
I've got to take weight
off, I've got to take time off.
00:17:06.25\00:17:08.43
I've got to start back
here and then build up again.
00:17:08.46\00:17:11.99
And I tell people, I say,
if you haven't been walking
00:17:12.02\00:17:14.42
with the Lord for a
while, just forget everything
00:17:14.45\00:17:17.26
you know and
start all over again.
00:17:17.29\00:17:20.23
Go right back to
the very beginning.
00:17:20.61\00:17:22.37
All that stuff will come back,
but you start with Christ today
00:17:22.40\00:17:25.90
from the foot of the cross.
00:17:26.00\00:17:28.67
You accept Christ
as your Savior today.
00:17:28.70\00:17:30.62
And today you read His Word
and forget what He's told you
00:17:30.65\00:17:34.72
in the past, you haven't been
there for a year, two years,
00:17:34.75\00:17:36.88
months, whatever, and
just let Him convict you today
00:17:36.91\00:17:39.74
of what it is that He
wants you to do today.
00:17:39.99\00:17:42.09
And then continue to
read and continue to grow
00:17:42.12\00:17:44.13
and continue to learn
as you build strength.
00:17:44.16\00:17:46.29
Sure enough, all of that other
stuff will come back into place.
00:17:46.39\00:17:49.30
So he says, you need to
go back to the beginning.
00:17:49.33\00:17:51.12
Notice verse 13, "For
everyone that uses milk
00:17:51.15\00:17:55.77
is unskillful in the word of
righteousness; for he is a babe.
00:17:55.80\00:18:01.07
But," verse 14, "strong
meat belongs to them who are
00:18:02.02\00:18:05.45
of full age, even those
who by reason of use have their
00:18:05.48\00:18:09.65
senses exercised to
discern both good and evil."
00:18:09.68\00:18:12.49
So there's this principle
here that he's talking about,
00:18:13.19\00:18:16.28
and he goes on to
elaborate on it in chapter 6.
00:18:16.31\00:18:19.08
He's talking about how
that when we don't exercise,
00:18:19.28\00:18:21.42
when we don't spiritually
exercise, we're not strong.
00:18:21.45\00:18:24.33
And because we're not
strong, even though we ought
00:18:24.36\00:18:27.18
to be strong, we ought to be
teachers, we need to go back.
00:18:27.21\00:18:29.76
We need to go back to babyhood,
we need to go back to the milk.
00:18:29.79\00:18:33.25
And as we go back to that milk,
we develop strength, we gain.
00:18:33.53\00:18:37.45
And then the strong meat comes.
00:18:37.48\00:18:40.68
So I think for all
of us there are times...
00:18:41.36\00:18:44.12
Well maybe not for all of us.
00:18:44.15\00:18:45.19
But for me, there are
times when I need to go back
00:18:45.22\00:18:47.50
to the milk; when I
need to go back to basics,
00:18:47.53\00:18:50.71
so to speak, and
allow God to teach me again
00:18:50.74\00:18:54.84
the first
oracles, the foundation
00:18:54.87\00:18:57.24
of the oracles and
the teachings of God.
00:18:57.81\00:19:00.40
And I think it's
good for all of us.
00:19:00.43\00:19:01.91
I see this in the
book of Revelation.
00:19:02.68\00:19:04.53
And I just want us to look
at it again from an overview
00:19:04.56\00:19:07.84
in relation to our
subject this afternoon.
00:19:08.18\00:19:12.88
And that is, how to
prepare for final events.
00:19:13.49\00:19:19.75
What is the first thing we need
in preparing for final events?
00:19:20.28\00:19:23.73
Revelation
chapter 1 and verse 1.
00:19:23.98\00:19:27.10
What is the first thing we need
in preparing for final events?
00:19:28.08\00:19:30.78
The revelation of Jesus Christ.
00:19:32.05\00:19:34.02
That's the first thing we need.
00:19:34.42\00:19:35.49
The book of
Revelation has been given to us.
00:19:35.52\00:19:37.55
I believe the
book of Revelation is a
00:19:37.58\00:19:39.15
distillation of
the entire Bible.
00:19:39.18\00:19:40.62
The book of
Revelation has been given to us
00:19:40.65\00:19:43.05
so that we can be
ready for final events.
00:19:43.08\00:19:45.99
Now if you understand that
this is a special book given,
00:19:46.56\00:19:50.62
of course, to all of God's
people from John's time onward,
00:19:50.65\00:19:53.57
but especially
applicable to God's people
00:19:53.60\00:19:56.64
in the end of time, especially.
00:19:56.67\00:19:58.28
"The revelation
of Jesus Christ..."
00:19:58.71\00:20:00.29
Here's how you get
ready for the future.
00:20:00.32\00:20:03.27
It's an outline.
00:20:03.30\00:20:04.34
It's a step by step outline.
00:20:04.57\00:20:05.98
Whatever you do, do not
jump into Revelation chapter 13
00:20:06.24\00:20:13.56
and think you're going to
be ready for end time events.
00:20:13.76\00:20:15.83
And do not take other people
and plop them into Revelation 13
00:20:15.86\00:20:19.75
and think they're going to
be ready for end time events.
00:20:19.78\00:20:21.52
Now I know we've done
that to a degree here,
00:20:21.55\00:20:23.07
because we've had a
shorter more intense study time
00:20:23.10\00:20:26.96
with a special emphasis.
00:20:26.99\00:20:28.80
But now we're getting to
the meeting where we prepare for
00:20:28.83\00:20:32.38
all the things
we've talked about.
00:20:32.41\00:20:33.77
So we kind of put the
cart before the horse,
00:20:33.97\00:20:35.73
so to speak, but now we're
going back and we're saying,
00:20:35.76\00:20:38.04
"Okay, how do we get
ready for all those things
00:20:38.07\00:20:39.76
we've been talking about?"
00:20:39.79\00:20:40.82
Well the book of Revelation
tells us how to get ready.
00:20:40.93\00:20:42.99
If God wanted us to be in
Revelation 13 from the get go,
00:20:43.02\00:20:46.06
He would have put it in
chapter 1 of Revelation.
00:20:46.09\00:20:47.65
But He didn't. Right?
00:20:47.68\00:20:49.62
He put Jesus first.
00:20:49.65\00:20:51.00
In fact, there is no
dragon in the first half of the
00:20:51.03\00:20:55.80
book of Revelation.
00:20:55.83\00:20:57.03
Just pause on
that for a bit, selah.
00:20:59.43\00:21:01.30
Just think about that.
00:21:01.72\00:21:02.77
There's no dragon in the first
half of the book of Revelation.
00:21:02.80\00:21:05.02
There's no beast coming
up out of the earth in the
00:21:06.50\00:21:08.12
first half of the
book of Revelation.
00:21:08.15\00:21:09.48
Or out of the sea,
excuse me. Or the earth.
00:21:09.51\00:21:11.52
There is one coming
out of the bottomless pit.
00:21:11.83\00:21:13.33
That's in Revelation 11,
but still it's almost halfway
00:21:13.36\00:21:15.93
through the book before
we encounter any of those
00:21:15.96\00:21:18.02
beasts or dragons or any
of that type of terminology.
00:21:18.05\00:21:21.48
And by the way,
here's something that might
00:21:22.50\00:21:23.57
surprise you, but maybe not.
00:21:23.60\00:21:25.32
There are no commandment
keepers in the first half
00:21:25.71\00:21:30.73
of the book of Revelation.
00:21:30.76\00:21:32.12
There's mention of the
people who keep the commandments
00:21:32.68\00:21:34.53
of God in the first half
of the book of Revelation.
00:21:34.56\00:21:36.55
Because beasts and
dragons and commandment keeping
00:21:37.23\00:21:40.82
and the conflict is
something that God holds
00:21:40.85\00:21:45.51
until we're ready for
it, ready to encounter it.
00:21:45.89\00:21:49.56
And in order to get ready...
00:21:49.76\00:21:51.22
Well you know the
words to that song,
00:21:51.25\00:21:52.82
"Anywhere with
Jesus, I can safely go.
00:21:54.35\00:21:56.58
Anywhere, anywhere.
Fear, I cannot know."
00:21:58.18\00:22:02.17
Before we encounter any of that,
we need an encounter with Jesus.
00:22:03.59\00:22:08.55
That's what the
book of Revelation
00:22:08.87\00:22:10.05
is actually explaining to us.
00:22:10.08\00:22:11.27
That's the way it's written.
00:22:11.30\00:22:12.47
It says, "The
Revelation of Jesus."
00:22:12.50\00:22:13.83
God have given this unto Him.
00:22:14.03\00:22:15.36
It's from Him, verse 5,
"who loved us and washed us
00:22:15.46\00:22:18.06
from our sins in His own blood."
00:22:18.09\00:22:19.92
The first thing that John
sees, the first vision he sees,
00:22:19.95\00:22:23.14
the first thing, the
first person he sees is Jesus.
00:22:23.17\00:22:25.31
Doesn't see a beast,
doesn't see an image.
00:22:25.34\00:22:26.59
He sees Jesus.
00:22:26.62\00:22:27.82
The first message he gets
is the message of the gospel.
00:22:27.85\00:22:30.56
"I love you, I've
washed you from your sins.
00:22:30.59\00:22:32.52
I've done this for the world.
00:22:32.55\00:22:33.92
I want you to focus on
Me and I want you to know
00:22:34.12\00:22:36.66
the message of My life.
00:22:36.69\00:22:37.99
That'll get you
ready for the beast,
00:22:38.02\00:22:39.31
that'll get you
ready for the dragon.
00:22:39.34\00:22:40.39
But I'm not done yet.
00:22:40.42\00:22:41.46
I understand all of
your weakness, all of your
00:22:41.49\00:22:43.38
failures, all your faults."
00:22:43.41\00:22:44.63
Revelations seven churches.
00:22:44.76\00:22:46.24
"I know you from A to Z.
00:22:46.64\00:22:48.87
In fact, those of you who
are living in the last days,
00:22:49.19\00:22:52.29
you really make
Me want to upchuck.
00:22:52.39\00:22:55.52
You really nauseate Me.
00:22:56.50\00:22:58.27
Because you have this
attitude of being rich,
00:22:58.52\00:23:00.20
increased with
goods, and in need of...
00:23:00.23\00:23:01.76
But, I love you.
00:23:02.66\00:23:03.96
I'm with you.
00:23:04.44\00:23:05.47
I'm among the churches."
00:23:05.67\00:23:07.11
So don't hide from God.
00:23:07.14\00:23:09.65
Don't hide your
failures, faults, imperfections.
00:23:09.68\00:23:13.71
I know we hide
them from each other.
00:23:13.74\00:23:15.24
I hide them from my
wife, she hides them from me.
00:23:15.27\00:23:17.44
And it is hard,
because sometimes when we
00:23:17.64\00:23:19.57
reveal our failures to even
people that are close to us,
00:23:19.60\00:23:23.41
they don't quite treat
us as God would treat us.
00:23:23.71\00:23:26.06
They don't quite relate to
us the way that maybe God would.
00:23:26.09\00:23:29.15
And we don't want to
spoil that, you know.
00:23:29.18\00:23:31.40
It's difficult for us
to be real with one another
00:23:31.43\00:23:34.21
because, you know, it
lowers people's estimation.
00:23:34.24\00:23:37.78
I mean, we could
spend the rest of this time
00:23:37.81\00:23:39.31
just telling you all
the things about myself.
00:23:39.34\00:23:41.09
But as you realize
that Jesus Christ is the one
00:23:41.19\00:23:45.13
that we please, He's the
one that weighs the heart,
00:23:45.17\00:23:49.06
He's the one that we
are to stand in front of,
00:23:49.09\00:23:54.03
not each other
but His judgment seat,
00:23:54.06\00:23:56.32
and that He loves us,
and that He longs to reveal
00:23:56.35\00:23:58.86
so that He can heal
rather than condemn,
00:23:58.89\00:24:01.26
we gain security.
00:24:01.73\00:24:03.17
It becomes okay,
we become healthy.
00:24:04.43\00:24:06.54
And we're okay with
the way other people see us
00:24:06.94\00:24:08.88
or don't see us, or
know us or don't know us.
00:24:08.91\00:24:10.52
Because we have a
Savior who sees and understands
00:24:10.74\00:24:14.39
and accepts us.
00:24:14.42\00:24:15.48
And He's the author
and the finisher of us.
00:24:15.71\00:24:17.87
And He's going to
take care of all of that.
00:24:17.90\00:24:19.66
And so we become freer,
we become more able to handle
00:24:19.86\00:24:22.92
the criticism
and the faultfinding
00:24:23.12\00:24:24.87
and the negativism, and
all of the other things.
00:24:24.90\00:24:26.76
Because we see Jesus now
and we claim His promises.
00:24:26.79\00:24:31.26
And even though He
reminds us through the Spirit;
00:24:31.29\00:24:33.96
overcome,
overcome, overcome, overcome,
00:24:33.99\00:24:35.72
we're not overwhelmed by that.
00:24:35.75\00:24:37.17
Why?
00:24:37.27\00:24:38.30
Because He's
showing us how this works.
00:24:38.33\00:24:40.76
He tells us in
Revelation chapter 5,
00:24:41.40\00:24:43.32
there's no man in
heaven, there's no man in earth,
00:24:43.35\00:24:44.83
there's no man under the
earth, that can overcome.
00:24:44.86\00:24:46.90
That's what John is
told, and he begins to weep.
00:24:47.71\00:24:49.41
And then the elder comes
to him and says, "Weep not.
00:24:49.44\00:24:51.95
Behold, the Lion of
the tribe of Judah,"
00:24:52.05\00:24:55.01
I'm reading Revelation
chapter 5 right now verse 5.
00:24:55.04\00:24:58.07
"Behold, the Lion of the tribe
of Judah, the Root of David;
00:24:58.10\00:25:00.38
He has prevailed.
00:25:00.41\00:25:02.19
He has prevailed."
00:25:02.70\00:25:04.24
And that same
word, same word, "nikao;"
00:25:04.52\00:25:06.93
the same word that's
used for, "overcome,"
00:25:06.96\00:25:08.78
through all the churches.
00:25:08.81\00:25:10.03
What we need is what
Jesus Christ has done.
00:25:10.06\00:25:12.19
He's prevailed
where we have failed.
00:25:12.22\00:25:14.90
And so then the book of
Revelation goes into chapter 6.
00:25:15.46\00:25:18.76
Jesus begins to
unseal the scroll.
00:25:18.79\00:25:22.93
One seal is
broken after another.
00:25:23.13\00:25:25.41
And by the way, the
Lamb opens the seals.
00:25:25.70\00:25:27.42
Calvary, the cross, reveals
the mysteries of the seals.
00:25:27.45\00:25:29.88
Those things that
we don't understand.
00:25:29.91\00:25:31.32
And as He opens the
first one, there's this
00:25:31.63\00:25:33.67
white horse and its rider.
00:25:33.70\00:25:35.17
And of course, Zechariah
chapter 10 explains that
00:25:35.38\00:25:37.91
we are the horse.
00:25:37.94\00:25:39.45
And of course, Revelation 19
explains that Jesus is the Rider
00:25:39.75\00:25:42.76
of the white horse.
00:25:42.79\00:25:44.04
In other words, the
horse is a symbol of people.
00:25:44.30\00:25:47.43
There are four horses
in Revelation 6 because
00:25:48.03\00:25:50.15
we have four as a symbol of
the four corners of the earth.
00:25:50.46\00:25:53.78
Just like the four winds.
00:25:53.81\00:25:54.99
There's more than four
angels hold four winds,
00:25:55.02\00:25:57.56
but we've got north,
south, east, and west.
00:25:57.59\00:25:58.97
We've got the whole world being
symbolized by the four winds.
00:25:59.00\00:26:01.59
We've got the whole world being
symbolized by the four horses.
00:26:01.62\00:26:04.88
And those four horses
represent our response
00:26:05.33\00:26:09.81
to the unsealing of history
as it relates to the Lamb;
00:26:09.84\00:26:15.33
Jesus Christ.
00:26:15.57\00:26:16.79
He has prevailed,
He's taken the scroll,
00:26:16.82\00:26:18.69
He's unrolling that scroll,
He's unrolling that history.
00:26:18.72\00:26:20.95
And the first thing we see is
this white horse and its Rider.
00:26:20.98\00:26:23.71
That represents God's
church, the apostolic church.
00:26:23.74\00:26:26.73
The white
represents God's people.
00:26:26.93\00:26:29.29
And the Rider,
of course, is Jesus.
00:26:29.32\00:26:30.65
Because God's
people united with Christ.
00:26:30.68\00:26:33.17
They're connected with Christ.
00:26:33.20\00:26:34.45
They've given Him the
reigns and He is directing them.
00:26:34.48\00:26:37.47
And as we connect with
Jesus, as He becomes our Rider,
00:26:37.50\00:26:40.63
as He takes the
reigns of our lives,
00:26:40.66\00:26:43.05
we go forth
conquering and to conquer.
00:26:43.08\00:26:47.32
We need to
overcome. We can't overcome.
00:26:48.29\00:26:49.81
Jesus has overcome.
00:26:49.84\00:26:50.98
As we connect with
Him we go forth to conquer
00:26:51.01\00:26:52.75
and to overcome.
00:26:52.78\00:26:54.01
That's the
message that we have here.
00:26:54.04\00:26:55.67
In other words,
everything centers in Christ.
00:26:55.70\00:26:57.74
It's all about
connecting with Christ.
00:26:58.11\00:27:00.38
Not being
overwhelmed by where we fail,
00:27:00.51\00:27:02.69
but putting our
trust in where He prevails
00:27:02.72\00:27:05.65
not where we have failed.
00:27:06.07\00:27:07.44
And then we move on.
00:27:07.98\00:27:09.01
And as you go through the
horses, it's really interesting,
00:27:09.04\00:27:10.90
parallel them with the parable
of the sower and the seed.
00:27:10.93\00:27:14.21
It's a perfect parallel.
00:27:14.24\00:27:15.28
Because the sower and
the seed is, the seed is
00:27:15.60\00:27:18.27
sown into the world.
00:27:18.30\00:27:19.47
The world is the field and you
have how many types of ground?
00:27:19.65\00:27:22.09
Four. How many horses?
00:27:22.73\00:27:24.17
How many types of
ground are good ground?
00:27:24.57\00:27:26.32
One. How many horses are good?
00:27:27.09\00:27:28.72
One. How many are bad ground?
00:27:29.12\00:27:31.04
Three. How many horses are bad?
00:27:31.07\00:27:32.62
Three.
00:27:32.65\00:27:33.69
It's a perfect parallel.
00:27:33.80\00:27:35.03
Jesus is teaching the same
thing in the horses that we see
00:27:35.66\00:27:39.36
being taught in the parable
of the sower and the seed.
00:27:39.39\00:27:41.55
And parables are symbolic,
just like these in Revelation
00:27:41.58\00:27:44.07
are symbolic.
00:27:44.10\00:27:45.17
And he repeats now.
00:27:45.20\00:27:46.42
And by the way, before
he goes into the trumpets,
00:27:46.45\00:27:48.26
it's really powerful, he
gives a picture of those who are
00:27:48.29\00:27:51.37
going to be saved in heaven.
00:27:51.40\00:27:52.76
Just to encourage us.
00:27:52.79\00:27:54.40
In Revelation 7 verse
9, he says, John says,
00:27:54.71\00:27:56.98
"After this I beheld,
and lo, a great multitude..."
00:27:57.01\00:28:00.20
I love these next five words.
00:28:00.23\00:28:02.83
King James,
"...which no man could number."
00:28:02.86\00:28:07.18
Isn't that powerful?
00:28:08.51\00:28:09.57
That's beautiful
gospel truth there.
00:28:09.60\00:28:11.42
And he does it in
just the right place.
00:28:11.45\00:28:13.76
Because he's just
finished describing the
00:28:13.86\00:28:16.34
sealing of the 144,000.
00:28:16.37\00:28:19.16
And you know how we are.
00:28:20.20\00:28:21.43
We're thinking, "Yeah, 144,000.
That's a pretty small number."
00:28:21.46\00:28:24.43
That's what we're thinking.
00:28:25.56\00:28:26.59
And the idea some of us
get is, you know, God is
00:28:26.79\00:28:28.59
standing at the pearly
gates, "143,997; that's Shelley.
00:28:28.62\00:28:33.13
143,998; that's J.D. 143,999...
00:28:33.16\00:28:38.27
144,000; who's...
00:28:39.10\00:28:41.22
Alright Bill, we'll let you in.
00:28:43.65\00:28:44.68
That's it, sorry
folks. No more room."
00:28:44.71\00:28:47.56
That's the idea
we get sometimes.
00:28:47.59\00:28:49.78
And so John
immediately is shown a company
00:28:50.33\00:28:53.32
that no man could number.
00:28:53.35\00:28:54.65
And guess where they are.
00:28:54.68\00:28:55.71
Because we think, "Oh, a
company no man can number.
00:28:55.74\00:28:57.14
That must be the lost.
00:28:57.17\00:28:58.27
That must be
the people outside."
00:28:58.30\00:28:59.87
No, they're
standing before the throne.
00:28:59.90\00:29:01.76
And that's the
question that was asked,
00:29:01.79\00:29:02.88
"Who's going to be
able to stand when He comes,
00:29:02.91\00:29:04.36
and before the Lamb?"
00:29:04.39\00:29:05.42
And they have palms in
their hands and white robes.
00:29:05.45\00:29:08.62
And they cry with
what kind of voice?
00:29:08.65\00:29:10.23
A loud voice. Of course.
00:29:10.66\00:29:13.02
We're not going
to be quiet then.
00:29:13.28\00:29:14.31
We're quiet now, we're
not going to be quiet then.
00:29:14.34\00:29:15.82
And what is their cry?
00:29:16.05\00:29:17.27
"Salvation to our God."
00:29:17.47\00:29:21.23
Now, the reason we're so
quiet about that is because
00:29:21.33\00:29:24.08
we're not sure at this
point if salvation is to our God
00:29:24.11\00:29:27.70
or if it's to Him and us.
00:29:27.73\00:29:29.27
And so we sit in our pews
and we think, "Well, I know
00:29:29.81\00:29:32.28
that God loves me and He
saved me, but I also know that
00:29:32.31\00:29:35.30
if I'm here, I've got to
be here in order to be saved.
00:29:35.33\00:29:37.55
You know, I've got to pay
tithe in order to be saved.
00:29:37.58\00:29:39.09
I've got to eat my veggie
dogs in order to be saved."
00:29:39.12\00:29:41.21
Whatever it is.
00:29:41.24\00:29:42.27
You see what I'm saying?
00:29:42.30\00:29:43.33
But a time is coming when
we're going to figure it out;
00:29:43.47\00:29:46.13
salvation is to our God.
00:29:46.16\00:29:47.79
Because we're going to realize
none of that other stuff we did
00:29:47.82\00:29:50.84
actually merited our salvation.
00:29:50.87\00:29:53.50
We're going to realize that.
00:29:54.50\00:29:55.67
Does that mean
we shouldn't do it?
00:29:55.91\00:29:57.80
Well, it depends.
00:29:58.51\00:29:59.54
It depends on why you do it.
00:30:00.34\00:30:01.60
If you're doing it
to merit your salvation,
00:30:01.83\00:30:03.92
yeah, it's about time you quit.
00:30:04.64\00:30:05.90
But if you are doing it
because you have fallen in love
00:30:07.15\00:30:09.65
with Jesus, because
there's no other way to live
00:30:09.68\00:30:12.63
but the way He wants you
to live and do the things He
00:30:12.66\00:30:15.27
wants you to do, then
you're going to keep doing it.
00:30:15.30\00:30:17.22
It's not going to
make any difference
00:30:17.25\00:30:18.48
that it doesn't save you.
00:30:18.51\00:30:20.29
That has nothing to do with it.
00:30:20.57\00:30:21.76
You have a
Savior and you love Him.
00:30:21.98\00:30:24.21
And you want to
do what pleases Him.
00:30:24.24\00:30:25.87
And by the way, what pleases
Him is what's best for you.
00:30:25.90\00:30:28.82
It's best for you too.
00:30:29.08\00:30:30.11
So it's like a
win, win situation.
00:30:30.14\00:30:31.95
But the love has to be there.
00:30:32.47\00:30:33.99
That's why the
first church is, you know,
00:30:34.02\00:30:35.40
"You've got works and faith.
00:30:35.43\00:30:36.46
You try those that say they're
apostles and they're not.
00:30:36.49\00:30:38.00
But you've lost your first love.
00:30:38.03\00:30:39.95
And all that other stuff you're
doing isn't going to make...
00:30:39.98\00:30:41.75
It's not going
to get you through."
00:30:41.78\00:30:43.13
That's the first church message,
the last church message.
00:30:43.35\00:30:45.37
And here we are being
reminded of this truth
00:30:45.40\00:30:48.52
over and over again in
the book of Revelation.
00:30:48.74\00:30:50.36
It's righteousness by
faith in Jesus Christ.
00:30:50.72\00:30:53.93
It's trusting in
Him for salvation.
00:30:53.96\00:30:56.42
It's a gift, He
gives it to us as a gift.
00:30:56.45\00:30:59.25
We can't merit
it, we can't earn it.
00:30:59.28\00:31:01.00
And when we realize
that, it grabs our hearts.
00:31:01.15\00:31:04.67
It motivates us. It takes over.
00:31:04.70\00:31:06.67
Do we need to realize
that at least once in our life?
00:31:07.59\00:31:10.90
No, it's not good enough.
00:31:10.93\00:31:12.59
We need this realization
repeated every single moment
00:31:12.69\00:31:17.40
of our Christian experience.
00:31:17.43\00:31:18.84
Otherwise, it'll be
ripped out of our hands.
00:31:18.87\00:31:20.38
Our natural inclination is
to trust in our righteousness.
00:31:20.41\00:31:25.18
It's to trust in ourselves.
00:31:25.51\00:31:26.90
And Jesus warns us about this.
00:31:27.36\00:31:29.59
If you look at
this in Luke chapter 18
00:31:29.62\00:31:31.49
it's really interesting
because Christ is talking about
00:31:31.52\00:31:33.66
whether or not He's going to
find faith when He comes back.
00:31:33.69\00:31:36.28
This is an end
time prophetic verse.
00:31:36.31\00:31:40.01
It fits perfectly with how
we prepare for final events.
00:31:40.04\00:31:42.58
Luke 18, He says,
verse 8, "I tell you that
00:31:42.79\00:31:46.32
he will avenge them speedily.
00:31:47.37\00:31:48.40
Nevertheless," it's
halfway through the verse,
00:31:48.43\00:31:49.75
verse 8 of Luke 18,
00:31:49.78\00:31:51.03
"Nevertheless, when
the Son of man comes,
00:31:51.06\00:31:53.99
will he find
faith on the earth?"
00:31:54.19\00:31:55.81
It's a prophetic question.
00:31:56.57\00:31:57.72
He's talking
about His second coming,
00:31:57.92\00:31:58.96
will He find faith on the earth?
00:31:58.99\00:32:00.18
Will He find a people
that keep the commandments
00:32:00.44\00:32:01.76
of God and have
the faith of Jesus?
00:32:01.79\00:32:03.01
Will He find that?
00:32:03.04\00:32:04.07
And then, verse 9,
He spoke a parable,
00:32:05.11\00:32:07.91
"...unto certain
which trusted in themselves
00:32:08.54\00:32:10.97
that they were righteous..."
00:32:11.00\00:32:12.27
So the contrast here is
really interesting, because
00:32:12.91\00:32:16.53
in Revelation we're
preparing to meet the dragon,
00:32:16.56\00:32:19.35
we're preparing
to meet the beast,
00:32:19.38\00:32:20.89
we're preparing to
meet the final crisis.
00:32:20.92\00:32:23.10
And in that
preparation, there's no emphasis
00:32:23.13\00:32:25.24
on those entities or
even on commandment keeping.
00:32:25.27\00:32:27.88
The entire emphasis is building
toward a faith relationship
00:32:28.08\00:32:32.18
with Jesus and
trusting in His righteousness.
00:32:32.21\00:32:34.11
So we go back here to Luke 18,
will He find faith on the earth?
00:32:34.42\00:32:38.50
Then He talks about a
group of people who trust in
00:32:38.53\00:32:40.60
themselves that
they're righteous.
00:32:40.64\00:32:42.13
And you're
thinking, "How can I know?
00:32:42.16\00:32:43.85
It's so difficult sometimes."
00:32:43.88\00:32:45.78
Especially when you want to
do what God wants you to do.
00:32:45.99\00:32:47.62
How can you know if you're
actually trusting in yourself
00:32:47.65\00:32:51.16
or you're trusting in Jesus?
00:32:51.19\00:32:52.82
I mean, that's a
good question, isn't it?
00:32:52.85\00:32:54.21
Where here's where
Jesus gives us the answer.
00:32:55.09\00:32:56.69
It's a beautiful
answer, it's a simple answer.
00:32:56.72\00:32:58.39
But it's...
00:32:58.49\00:32:59.53
Well let me just read it to
you and you'll know what it is.
00:33:02.72\00:33:06.20
Verse 9 again, Luke 18,
"And he spoke this parable
00:33:07.34\00:33:10.77
unto certain which trusted
in themselves that they were
00:33:10.80\00:33:12.78
righteous, and despised others."
00:33:12.81\00:33:17.72
There it is.
00:33:18.59\00:33:19.62
That's how you can know.
00:33:19.90\00:33:21.08
You can know if
you're trusting in yourself,
00:33:21.45\00:33:24.36
in your works, in
your righteousness,
00:33:25.17\00:33:26.96
if you despise other people.
00:33:27.67\00:33:29.31
Now that's deep, that's heavy.
00:33:30.95\00:33:32.62
That says, how do
you feel about Baptists?
00:33:33.18\00:33:39.32
Catholics? Muslims? Obama?
00:33:39.86\00:33:43.59
Not the
healthcare, you understand.
00:33:48.86\00:33:50.48
That's a thing,
that's not a person. Right?
00:33:50.51\00:33:52.14
You can not like
that if you don't want to.
00:33:52.73\00:33:54.07
That's okay.
00:33:54.10\00:33:55.13
But people.
00:33:55.16\00:33:56.23
People for whom Christ died.
00:33:56.26\00:33:58.19
How did Christ
feel about people?
00:33:58.22\00:33:59.59
Were there certain
people that Christ hated?
00:33:59.62\00:34:01.63
Think about it.
00:34:02.66\00:34:03.69
For whom He did not die?
00:34:04.15\00:34:05.61
Because we are Christians.
00:34:05.91\00:34:08.07
Christians.
00:34:08.60\00:34:09.67
And honestly I have to
say, I'm not there yet.
00:34:10.03\00:34:13.31
There are people I don't like.
00:34:13.34\00:34:14.60
I just don't.
00:34:15.10\00:34:16.13
I don't like the way they treat
me, or I don't like the way they
00:34:16.16\00:34:18.63
look at me, or I don't
like their interaction with me,
00:34:18.72\00:34:21.12
or I don't like the
history I have with them.
00:34:21.15\00:34:22.87
And I have to
praise the Lord and say,
00:34:23.80\00:34:24.89
"Wow, I'm still trusting to
some degree in my righteousness.
00:34:24.92\00:34:28.42
And when I know that I'm saved
totally by the grace of God,
00:34:28.45\00:34:31.31
that but for the grace of
God there go I, I, I, I, I.
00:34:31.77\00:34:34.44
That's me."
00:34:34.47\00:34:35.50
When my righteousness
is completely decimated,
00:34:35.74\00:34:38.55
then I know finally
God has taken it all out.
00:34:39.58\00:34:42.81
All of it is gone.
00:34:42.84\00:34:44.13
And I'm ready.
00:34:44.24\00:34:45.27
I'm ready for the crisis.
00:34:45.80\00:34:47.24
Because when that crisis comes,
my test is to gather warmth
00:34:47.44\00:34:50.42
from the coldness of others,
00:34:50.45\00:34:51.48
encouragement
from their cowardice.
00:34:51.51\00:34:52.55
My test is going to
be to give kindness,
00:34:52.58\00:34:56.34
to turn the other
cheek, to go the extra mile,
00:34:56.37\00:34:58.44
in the face of all of that.
00:34:58.47\00:34:59.71
If I'm not doing that now, how
am I ever going to do it then?
00:35:00.08\00:35:02.70
It's got to be completely 100%
trust in Christ and not in me.
00:35:03.40\00:35:08.28
So I'm thankful that I
have a gauge that tells me
00:35:08.31\00:35:12.70
how I can know I'm
trusting in myself.
00:35:12.73\00:35:15.22
And a red flag goes
up, a red light goes up,
00:35:15.25\00:35:17.36
and it reminds me that
when I judge someone else,
00:35:17.51\00:35:19.72
when I think
negatively of someone else,
00:35:19.75\00:35:21.05
it reminds me, oh, there's
a fiber of Babylon there.
00:35:21.08\00:35:24.99
There's a fiber of
self-righteousness there.
00:35:25.30\00:35:27.21
God wants you to
know and understand it.
00:35:27.99\00:35:29.84
And then He, of
course, is going to...
00:35:29.87\00:35:31.70
You can't remove it.
00:35:31.73\00:35:32.76
You can't love others
by trying to love others.
00:35:32.85\00:35:35.80
What you need is the
love of Christ in the heart.
00:35:37.82\00:35:39.72
So that's the focus,
that's where we want to focus.
00:35:39.75\00:35:42.13
And that's what Revelation does.
00:35:42.16\00:35:43.36
It's so
beautiful, it's so powerful.
00:35:43.39\00:35:45.08
John then opens
up the seven trumpets
00:35:45.11\00:35:47.33
and he gives us this picture.
00:35:47.36\00:35:49.08
It's a picture of an
angel with, it says in verse 3,
00:35:49.73\00:35:53.46
a golden sensor.
00:35:53.88\00:35:55.42
"And he's given much incense
that he offers it with the
00:35:55.45\00:35:58.19
prayers of the
saints upon the golden altar
00:35:58.22\00:36:00.80
which is before the throne.
00:36:00.83\00:36:02.02
And the smoke," verse 4 of
Revelation 8, "of the incense,
00:36:02.05\00:36:04.85
comes with the prayers
of the saints and it ascends
00:36:04.88\00:36:07.30
up before God out
of the angel's hand."
00:36:07.33\00:36:09.29
Now this picture is
beautiful, because so far we've
00:36:09.94\00:36:12.87
seen the incarnation of Jesus;
Revelation's seven churches.
00:36:12.90\00:36:15.72
He's with us.
00:36:15.75\00:36:16.78
We've seen the crucifixion
of Jesus; Revelation's seals.
00:36:16.81\00:36:20.27
Christ crucified in
the midst of the throne,
00:36:20.30\00:36:22.28
the Lamb slain in
the midst of the throne.
00:36:22.31\00:36:23.62
And now we're seeing
the intercession of Jesus.
00:36:23.65\00:36:26.54
The angel, the incense,
the prayers of the saints
00:36:26.78\00:36:29.31
being mingled with the incense.
00:36:29.34\00:36:31.14
And by the way,
even though in Revelation
00:36:31.37\00:36:33.23
chapters 4 and 5,
incense, especially in 5,
00:36:33.26\00:36:35.97
represents the
prayers of the saints,
00:36:36.00\00:36:37.44
in Revelation 8 incense
represents the merit of Jesus.
00:36:37.47\00:36:40.48
Because it's being mingled
with the prayers of the saints.
00:36:41.41\00:36:43.71
It would be redundant
for the prayers of the saints
00:36:43.74\00:36:45.72
to be mingled with
the prayers of the saints.
00:36:45.75\00:36:47.24
So according to Ephesians 5:2,
that Christ's sacrifice for us
00:36:47.62\00:36:51.54
is a sweet smelling
savor, a sweet smelling incense.
00:36:51.57\00:36:54.52
And that's what's
being depicted here.
00:36:54.55\00:36:56.09
That the incense, the
righteousness of Christ,
00:36:56.27\00:36:58.65
is mingled with our prayers.
00:36:58.68\00:37:01.17
And we need it
desperately, don't we?
00:37:01.20\00:37:02.55
Especially now that we've
realized that when we despise
00:37:03.25\00:37:05.47
other people, it's an
evidence that we're trusting
00:37:05.50\00:37:07.25
in our righteousness.
00:37:07.28\00:37:08.43
So our prayers go up and we
say, "Oh Lord, please forgive me
00:37:08.46\00:37:10.36
for trusting in
my righteousness."
00:37:10.39\00:37:12.11
Or our prayer goes
up like in Luke 18.
00:37:13.34\00:37:16.33
Remember the prayer of
the publican and the Pharisee.
00:37:17.05\00:37:19.55
The Pharisee says,
"Oh, I'm so thankful
00:37:19.58\00:37:21.17
that I'm not a
Baptist and I'm not a Catholic
00:37:21.20\00:37:24.86
and I'm not a
Muslim and I'm not Hindu.
00:37:24.89\00:37:26.24
I'm so thankful I'm not
like that guy over there.
00:37:26.27\00:37:28.05
I fast twice a week, I
pay tithe of all I possess.
00:37:28.08\00:37:29.85
I'm so thankful I'm a
Seventh-day Adventist."
00:37:29.88\00:37:31.51
How far up do you
think that prayer goes?
00:37:33.12\00:37:34.86
Well, the context of it
says the guy prayed to himself.
00:37:35.66\00:37:39.45
So God doesn't hear prayers
when you pray to yourself.
00:37:40.64\00:37:43.27
Anyway. Though
He does hear them.
00:37:43.41\00:37:45.20
We know He hears all prayers.
00:37:45.23\00:37:46.58
But our prayers need the
righteousness of Jesus Christ.
00:37:46.61\00:37:50.74
Our prayers are still
tainted with selfishness.
00:37:51.14\00:37:54.17
I mean, there are good
reasons why I'm up here at 3ABN.
00:37:54.20\00:37:58.23
You know, I want
to preach the gospel.
00:37:58.26\00:37:59.29
I love the gospel, I
love preaching the truth.
00:37:59.32\00:38:00.64
And then there are other
reasons, selfish reasons.
00:38:00.67\00:38:02.23
You know, I'm on
3ABN. I'm a speaker on 3ABN.
00:38:02.26\00:38:04.60
Right?
00:38:05.53\00:38:06.56
All of us have those
issues that we're dealing with.
00:38:06.93\00:38:10.03
The things that God is working
out through our characters
00:38:10.06\00:38:14.47
and our growth.
00:38:14.50\00:38:16.19
And sometimes it
can be overwhelming.
00:38:16.22\00:38:17.74
I remember one year, I
said, "Lord, show me myself.
00:38:17.77\00:38:19.54
Just go ahead
and show me myself.
00:38:19.57\00:38:20.60
Yeah, I can handle it."
00:38:20.63\00:38:21.66
Boy, that was a tough year.
00:38:22.28\00:38:23.56
That was a tough year.
00:38:23.73\00:38:25.12
And you know, I rarely
will watch or listen to myself,
00:38:25.86\00:38:29.15
because I'm like,
"Man, I am so vain."
00:38:29.18\00:38:32.47
You know what I'm saying?
00:38:32.50\00:38:33.53
That whole thing,
you're just like, uugh.
00:38:33.56\00:38:35.67
I wish I could
be more like Jesus.
00:38:35.70\00:38:37.04
Well, I have to
trust Him for that.
00:38:37.07\00:38:38.67
I can't give up.
You can't give up.
00:38:38.70\00:38:40.78
There's nothing...
00:38:41.02\00:38:42.05
You know, the disciples
left Jesus, in John 6, and Jesus
00:38:42.20\00:38:46.24
turned to His twelve and He
said, "Are you going to go?"
00:38:46.27\00:38:47.67
And they said,
"Where are we going to go?"
00:38:47.70\00:38:49.57
What options are there
other than following Jesus?
00:38:49.94\00:38:53.81
I mean, I've been there, I've
done that, I've experienced it.
00:38:54.16\00:38:56.98
I mean, it just
is empty. It's void.
00:38:57.01\00:38:59.64
There is nothing
but Jesus. Really.
00:38:59.67\00:39:02.74
He's our hope.
00:39:03.13\00:39:04.20
And so, you know, if He's
willing to finish the work
00:39:04.23\00:39:07.03
and if He's not
going to give up on me,
00:39:07.06\00:39:08.19
certainly I don't
want to give up on Him.
00:39:08.22\00:39:09.81
Though I think I would
do that before He did on me.
00:39:10.06\00:39:12.10
And I praise Him for that.
00:39:12.67\00:39:14.77
Praise God that
we have that Savior.
00:39:15.14\00:39:16.48
And so
Revelation chapter 8 reveals
00:39:16.51\00:39:20.24
this righteousness
that is given to us.
00:39:20.44\00:39:22.43
Revelation chapter 10
builds on that a little bit.
00:39:22.46\00:39:25.78
I don't want to go into that,
I want to get to Revelation 12
00:39:25.81\00:39:27.50
because we're
going to run out of time.
00:39:27.53\00:39:28.56
Revelation chapter
12, what do we have here?
00:39:28.59\00:39:30.64
We have a
wonder, we have a sign.
00:39:30.67\00:39:32.56
This is our destiny.
00:39:32.59\00:39:34.75
Revelation 12
verse 1 is our destiny.
00:39:34.78\00:39:37.80
Now I'm not going to deny
that Revelation 12:17 is not our
00:39:38.05\00:39:41.30
destiny, or Revelation
14:12 is not our destiny.
00:39:41.33\00:39:43.73
What I'm going to
suggest is that many times
00:39:44.12\00:39:46.41
when we think about
preparing for final events,
00:39:46.44\00:39:49.61
we point to the commandments
and keeping the commandments,
00:39:49.64\00:39:52.54
and keeping the Sabbath
day, and having that as the
00:39:52.57\00:39:55.25
seal of God, having that day.
00:39:55.28\00:39:56.74
And we neglect the
other prophetic verses
00:39:56.94\00:40:02.51
that are not only included,
but precede those verses.
00:40:03.71\00:40:09.61
What I mean by that is, before
we get to Revelation 12:17,
00:40:09.64\00:40:15.02
we get to Revelation 12:1.
00:40:15.05\00:40:16.86
And I think that is
depicting our experience.
00:40:16.89\00:40:21.23
This is our walk,
this is our experience.
00:40:21.26\00:40:23.22
God wants us to get to
Revelation 12:1 before,
00:40:23.25\00:40:25.98
that's why He put it
there, before Revelation 12:17
00:40:26.01\00:40:29.09
in our experience.
00:40:29.12\00:40:30.19
He wants us to be, notice,
"And there appeared a great
00:40:30.22\00:40:33.68
wonder," sign, something
out of the ordinary, "in heaven;
00:40:33.71\00:40:36.95
a woman..."
00:40:37.08\00:40:38.16
What does a woman
represent in Bible prophecy?
00:40:38.19\00:40:40.25
A church. A pure
woman; God's church.
00:40:40.28\00:40:42.57
An apostate woman;
an apostate church.
00:40:42.60\00:40:45.24
And this woman is
clothed with the sun.
00:40:46.78\00:40:50.93
And she is standing on the moon.
00:40:51.61\00:40:53.92
And she has a crown of
twelve stars on her head.
00:40:53.95\00:40:56.40
Oh, what a picture is this.
00:40:56.43\00:40:58.68
The sun, according
to Malachi 4 verse 2,
00:40:58.91\00:41:02.13
represents the
righteousness of Jesus Christ.
00:41:02.16\00:41:06.49
He is the Sun, S-u-n, of
righteousness, in Malachi 4:2.
00:41:06.93\00:41:10.48
So here you have a
church that is clothed with the
00:41:10.64\00:41:14.52
righteousness of Jesus Christ.
00:41:14.55\00:41:15.81
This is before they
keep the commandments.
00:41:15.84\00:41:17.26
See, when I came to Jesus,
when I got on my knees and said,
00:41:17.66\00:41:19.79
"Lord, please,
come into my heart.
00:41:19.82\00:41:21.40
Forgive me for my sins.
00:41:21.43\00:41:22.46
Take those sins,
give me Your forgiveness."
00:41:22.49\00:41:25.76
See, in that moment I didn't
have any clue about Adventism,
00:41:25.97\00:41:30.68
or the Saturday
Sabbath, or anything like that.
00:41:30.71\00:41:33.42
I was raised a Catholic.
00:41:33.56\00:41:34.80
I learned how to
accept Christ as my Savior.
00:41:34.83\00:41:36.59
I asked Him to
come into my heart.
00:41:36.62\00:41:38.03
He took my sins, He
gave me His righteousness.
00:41:38.34\00:41:41.08
And I was clothed with the
righteousness of Jesus Christ.
00:41:41.11\00:41:43.51
Didn't even know
about commandment keeping.
00:41:43.54\00:41:44.92
I was this before I was this.
00:41:44.95\00:41:46.40
Now some of us were
raised Adventist and we are
00:41:46.75\00:41:48.51
this before we're that.
00:41:48.54\00:41:49.69
I'm talking about
verse 1 and verse 17.
00:41:50.50\00:41:52.84
We get the cart
before the horse.
00:41:53.49\00:41:54.95
We've got to get
back to chapter 12.
00:41:55.16\00:41:57.49
We've got to go in
Hebrews to chapter 5 before we
00:41:57.59\00:42:00.87
go on to chapter 6.
00:42:00.90\00:42:02.88
We have to go
back to the basics.
00:42:02.91\00:42:04.64
They have to come first.
00:42:04.67\00:42:05.99
And God works sometimes in
difficult and challenging ways
00:42:06.27\00:42:10.06
to get us to that place
where He is the foundation.
00:42:10.09\00:42:14.28
And then we're
standing on the moon.
00:42:14.57\00:42:15.73
Now the moon to me is,
you know, Psalm 119:105,
00:42:15.76\00:42:18.91
the moon to me, the
Bible teaches that the moon
00:42:18.94\00:42:22.22
represents the Word of God.
00:42:22.25\00:42:23.88
"Thy word is a lamp unto my
feet, a light unto my path."
00:42:23.91\00:42:25.93
Or, "A light unto my
feet, a lamp unto my path."
00:42:25.96\00:42:27.49
It's one or the other,
but it's Psalm 119:105.
00:42:28.06\00:42:31.10
In other words, God
wants us to be clothed with
00:42:31.13\00:42:35.03
Christ's righteousness
and standing on His Word.
00:42:35.06\00:42:37.28
And then the crown of twelve
stars, I believe, represents...
00:42:38.15\00:42:40.65
That's the kingdom number.
00:42:40.75\00:42:41.89
We are to be lights shining.
00:42:42.35\00:42:45.69
Twelve Old Testament
tribes, New Testament apostles.
00:42:45.72\00:42:49.12
We'll talk about that a little
bit when we get to Daniel.
00:42:49.49\00:42:51.44
Now, now, okay,
think about this.
00:42:53.31\00:42:56.95
We've just come to the
halfway point in the Bible.
00:42:56.98\00:42:59.73
I mean in the
book of Revelation.
00:43:00.20\00:43:01.28
We're halfway. Okay?
00:43:01.31\00:43:03.42
There are 22 chapters; we've
just finished Revelation 11:19.
00:43:03.61\00:43:06.79
By the way, the center
of the book of Revelation is
00:43:06.82\00:43:10.34
Revelation 12 where it says,
and I'm just going to read it
00:43:10.37\00:43:13.21
to you here, verse 10,
"And I heard a loud voice
00:43:13.24\00:43:16.62
in heaven saying, 'Now is
come salvation, and strength,
00:43:16.65\00:43:18.53
and the kingdom of our God,
and the power of his Christ.
00:43:18.56\00:43:21.27
For the accuser of our brethren
is cast down, which accused them
00:43:21.67\00:43:24.97
before our God day and night.'"
00:43:25.00\00:43:26.03
That's the halfway
point of Revelation.
00:43:26.06\00:43:27.59
If you count the words,
in English and in Greek,
00:43:27.62\00:43:30.15
on each side
that's the halfway point.
00:43:30.18\00:43:31.69
It's the cross up,
and Satan cast down.
00:43:32.16\00:43:34.78
That's the center of it all.
00:43:34.81\00:43:37.04
Okay, so we just got
to the halfway point.
00:43:37.07\00:43:38.98
The focus of the halfway
point; no commandments yet,
00:43:39.43\00:43:41.90
no beasts yet, well one beast,
but no dragon, no crisis yet,
00:43:41.93\00:43:45.83
mark of the beast yet, the focus
here of this halfway point is,
00:43:45.86\00:43:49.12
we're clothed with
Christ's righteousness,
00:43:49.15\00:43:50.40
we're standing on His Word.
00:43:50.43\00:43:51.57
When you are clothed
with Christ's righteousness,
00:43:52.72\00:43:54.27
standing on His Word,
and part of His church,
00:43:54.30\00:43:56.02
twelve stars, now you're ready.
00:43:56.05\00:43:58.64
Now you're ready.
But wait a minute.
00:43:58.67\00:43:59.70
Hold on just a second.
00:43:59.73\00:44:00.82
Just so we get this
clear, Revelation 12:11.
00:44:00.85\00:44:03.07
Here it is, "And they
overcame him by..." What?
00:44:04.77\00:44:09.70
"...the blood of the Lamb,
the word of their testimony,
00:44:10.11\00:44:14.04
and they loved not
their lives unto their death."
00:44:14.07\00:44:18.46
Self is gone. Self is dead.
00:44:18.49\00:44:20.72
Self is gone.
00:44:21.28\00:44:22.37
They're 100% clothed
with His righteousness.
00:44:22.83\00:44:25.74
They're depending on
the blood of the Lamb.
00:44:25.77\00:44:27.38
They have a testimony.
00:44:27.41\00:44:28.44
And you can't have a testimony
unless you have an experience
00:44:28.47\00:44:30.10
and a relationship with Jesus.
00:44:30.13\00:44:31.39
Nothing to talk about.
00:44:31.42\00:44:32.62
But if you're
connected with Him...
00:44:32.65\00:44:33.82
If you're connected with the NFL
you're talking about football.
00:44:33.85\00:44:35.98
If you're connected with
cars, you're talking about cars.
00:44:36.06\00:44:37.75
Right?
00:44:38.55\00:44:39.58
Whatever you connect
with, that's what comes out.
00:44:39.95\00:44:42.33
Whatever it is you
spend your time doing,
00:44:42.36\00:44:44.05
that's what's going to
come out of your mouth.
00:44:44.08\00:44:45.37
That's what's going
to be on your brain.
00:44:45.40\00:44:46.60
These guys are connected with
Jesus and that's what they're
00:44:46.63\00:44:48.32
talking about; Jesus,
Jesus, Jesus, Jesus, Jesus.
00:44:48.35\00:44:50.37
"You wouldn't believe
this... Da, da, da. Da, da, da."
00:44:50.40\00:44:52.44
It's just a testimony.
00:44:52.47\00:44:53.63
It's just coming out of them.
00:44:53.66\00:44:55.69
And what do they overcome?
00:44:56.04\00:44:59.57
Verse 10, "And I heard a
loud voice saying in heaven,
00:45:01.25\00:45:05.13
'Now is come salvation,
and strength, and the kingdom
00:45:05.16\00:45:07.16
of our God, and the
power of his Christ.
00:45:07.19\00:45:08.54
For the accuser of our brethren
is cast down, which accused them
00:45:08.57\00:45:12.15
before our God day and night.'"
00:45:12.18\00:45:13.39
They overcome the accuser.
00:45:13.42\00:45:15.28
Now this is significant, because
they're not just overcoming
00:45:16.67\00:45:19.57
the accuser like, "You're
a sinner, you're no good.
00:45:19.77\00:45:22.35
You can't do anything..."
00:45:22.38\00:45:23.59
They're overcoming the
accuser who says through us,
00:45:23.62\00:45:27.36
you are this,
that, and the other.
00:45:27.67\00:45:29.55
In other words, we are no
longer pointing the finger.
00:45:29.58\00:45:32.24
Jesus says they will
know you because you have
00:45:33.55\00:45:36.40
love one for another.
00:45:36.43\00:45:37.76
I think the biggest thing that
is eating out our evangelistic
00:45:38.62\00:45:42.86
outreach in the church
is our judgmental, critical,
00:45:43.06\00:45:47.97
gossiping tongues.
00:45:48.00\00:45:49.91
We just can't stop
talking about each other.
00:45:50.23\00:45:52.71
And the reason we can't
stop talking about each other
00:45:52.74\00:45:54.42
is because we are insecure.
00:45:54.62\00:45:56.46
And we're insecure
because we don't have
00:45:56.98\00:46:00.23
Christ's righteousness.
00:46:00.53\00:46:02.70
And we don't have
Christ's righteousness because
00:46:02.90\00:46:04.40
we don't think
we're good enough.
00:46:04.43\00:46:06.16
And we'll never be good enough.
00:46:07.61\00:46:09.21
That's why He gives
us His righteousness.
00:46:09.47\00:46:11.36
And when we shed that and
realize it and take hold of it,
00:46:11.68\00:46:14.52
we will no longer be
grabbing people by the throat
00:46:14.55\00:46:16.61
and saying, "Pay
me what you owe me."
00:46:16.64\00:46:17.96
You understand what I'm saying?
00:46:18.68\00:46:19.77
We're going in
to God on our terms.
00:46:20.39\00:46:21.99
God says, "Hey,
you've got a big debt here
00:46:22.02\00:46:24.14
and I'm going to have
to hold you accountable.
00:46:24.17\00:46:25.83
You're going to have to pay it."
00:46:25.86\00:46:26.89
And we say to Him...
00:46:27.63\00:46:28.66
The servant, right? Matthew 18.
00:46:28.69\00:46:30.44
"Give me time, I'll
pay the whole thing."
00:46:30.47\00:46:32.52
Right?
00:46:32.55\00:46:33.58
And God has compassion.
He says, "I forgive you."
00:46:34.32\00:46:36.68
And we're like, "Oh, good."
00:46:38.35\00:46:39.62
And then we go
out and what do we do?
00:46:39.65\00:46:41.16
We grab someone by the throat
and say, "You need to pay me."
00:46:42.20\00:46:44.33
Why do we, why do
we, why do we think
00:46:44.36\00:46:46.60
that person needs to pay us?
00:46:46.63\00:46:48.42
Because we went
in with our terms.
00:46:48.90\00:46:50.58
Our terms were, "Give
me time and I'll pay You."
00:46:50.61\00:46:52.84
"Oh you're going to...? Okay.
00:46:52.87\00:46:53.97
Now I've got some
time, I've got to pay Him."
00:46:54.00\00:46:55.86
We missed the whole point.
00:46:56.47\00:46:58.18
And the whole point was
He forgave us because He had
00:46:58.28\00:47:00.62
compassion on us.
00:47:00.65\00:47:02.00
And He wants us
to do the same thing.
00:47:02.50\00:47:04.12
That's the point.
That's the gospel.
00:47:04.68\00:47:06.68
And the gospel
does change the life.
00:47:06.72\00:47:09.12
And if we don't grab the gospel,
it won't change the life.
00:47:09.15\00:47:11.08
And so we'll be just the same.
00:47:11.11\00:47:12.36
And so Jesus says,
"I've got a people now.
00:47:14.36\00:47:16.90
Now that I've got this
people that are clothed in
00:47:17.10\00:47:19.11
My righteousness, standing on
My Word, overcoming by My blood,
00:47:19.14\00:47:21.86
the accusing is gone.
00:47:21.89\00:47:23.36
They've got a
testimony about Jesus.
00:47:23.46\00:47:24.87
They're not in it for
themselves, self is forgotten.
00:47:24.90\00:47:27.61
Now I've got a people who
keep the commandments of God
00:47:27.75\00:47:31.15
and the testimony of Jesus."
00:47:32.85\00:47:34.16
Revelation
12:17, there they are.
00:47:34.19\00:47:35.89
Here they are.
00:47:35.92\00:47:37.16
"If you love Me,
keep My commandments."
00:47:37.19\00:47:38.91
Why do we love Him?
Because He first loved us.
00:47:38.94\00:47:41.27
It's all there.
00:47:42.18\00:47:43.36
Revelation is a masterpiece.
00:47:43.39\00:47:46.25
Not because of its
prophetic declarations only,
00:47:46.54\00:47:49.63
but because it's a basic outline
of the plan of salvation,
00:47:50.05\00:47:53.69
and how we get
ready, how we can be ready,
00:47:53.72\00:47:57.15
for the second coming of Jesus.
00:47:57.53\00:47:59.01
And that manifestation,
the preparation that we make,
00:47:59.61\00:48:03.60
is to focus on Christ.
00:48:04.44\00:48:06.91
And, Revelation
chapter 14, notice this.
00:48:07.46\00:48:10.54
The beast power is
introduced in chapter 13.
00:48:10.57\00:48:12.82
We've got all the
warfare coming against us,
00:48:13.12\00:48:15.41
all of the
deception coming against us.
00:48:15.44\00:48:17.08
Everything is coming against us.
00:48:17.11\00:48:18.36
No man is going to
be able to buy or sell.
00:48:18.39\00:48:20.71
Economic boycott is coming down.
00:48:20.74\00:48:22.61
It's going to be
heavy, it's going to be hard,
00:48:22.64\00:48:24.37
it's going to be fast,
it's going to be overwhelming.
00:48:24.40\00:48:26.76
But, out of all of
this, Revelation 14.
00:48:26.79\00:48:32.35
"John looked, and behold
a Lamb stood on Mount Zion.
00:48:33.06\00:48:35.40
With Him 144,000
having the Father's name
00:48:35.43\00:48:39.42
written in their foreheads."
00:48:39.71\00:48:41.12
How did it get there?
00:48:41.15\00:48:42.49
We're going to find
that out in a second.
00:48:43.14\00:48:44.39
"And I heard a
voice from heaven..."
00:48:45.01\00:48:47.06
If we haven't
figured it out already.
00:48:47.09\00:48:48.44
"...saying with a loud voice.."
00:48:48.47\00:48:50.19
Excuse me, "I heard a voice
from heaven, as the voice of
00:48:50.22\00:48:53.97
many waters," verse 2, "and
as the voice of a great thunder.
00:48:54.00\00:48:56.46
The voice of harpers
harping with their harps.
00:48:56.49\00:48:58.84
And they sang as it were a
new song before the throne,
00:48:58.87\00:49:01.63
and before the four beasts..."
00:49:02.27\00:49:03.51
I want to learn
that song. Do you?
00:49:03.54\00:49:04.92
"...and the elders.
00:49:05.96\00:49:07.02
And no man could learn
that song but the 144,000
00:49:07.05\00:49:10.36
which were
redeemed from the earth.
00:49:10.39\00:49:11.81
These are they which
were not defiled with women;
00:49:11.84\00:49:13.89
for they are virgins.
00:49:13.92\00:49:15.07
These are they which follow
the Lamb wherever he goes."
00:49:15.10\00:49:22.40
They're just following
Jesus, following Jesus,
00:49:23.81\00:49:25.74
following Jesus.
00:49:25.77\00:49:27.22
"They were redeemed
from among men, being the
00:49:28.70\00:49:30.36
firstfruits to
God and to the Lamb.
00:49:30.39\00:49:31.77
In their mouth was no guile.
00:49:31.80\00:49:33.72
For they are without
fault before the throne of God.
00:49:33.75\00:49:36.01
And I saw another angel
fly in the midst of heaven,
00:49:36.04\00:49:38.03
having the everlasting gospel."
00:49:38.06\00:49:39.15
Do you see the connection here?
00:49:39.18\00:49:40.44
Here they are. Here they are.
00:49:41.06\00:49:44.07
And in the midst of all of that
crisis and all of that terror
00:49:44.94\00:49:49.11
of Revelation 13,
there's a people that have their
00:49:50.24\00:49:53.24
name's written in
the Lamb's book of life.
00:49:53.27\00:49:54.61
And their focus is Christ.
00:49:54.64\00:49:56.40
And they're going
to deliver a message.
00:49:56.43\00:49:57.97
It's not going to
be terrifying for them,
00:49:58.00\00:50:00.20
because they're
just sold out for Jesus.
00:50:00.23\00:50:02.08
It's just what they do.
They can't help themselves.
00:50:02.11\00:50:04.16
They weigh the consequences,
they think about it,
00:50:04.65\00:50:06.80
but then they just say,
"Yeah, what else can I do?
00:50:06.83\00:50:10.83
I just have to live for Jesus."
00:50:11.10\00:50:12.55
They're filled with His Spirit.
00:50:13.42\00:50:14.46
Look at it in Daniel.
00:50:14.49\00:50:15.53
Daniel has another way of
presenting this same truth.
00:50:15.56\00:50:19.31
This beautiful picture
that we see in Revelation
00:50:19.34\00:50:22.87
is also filled out
in the book of Daniel.
00:50:23.26\00:50:25.46
It might be a little bit
different in the way that
00:50:26.35\00:50:28.10
it's approached,
but in Daniel chapter 12
00:50:28.30\00:50:30.72
you have this picture.
00:50:31.00\00:50:32.18
Now this is interesting,
because we're going to
00:50:32.21\00:50:34.49
look at the last verse of
the prophetic picture of Daniel.
00:50:34.52\00:50:38.18
Now remember this morning
we talked a little bit about,
00:50:38.38\00:50:40.50
you know, Daniel 2,
Daniel 7, Daniel 8, Daniel 11.
00:50:40.53\00:50:43.09
And I said there were two
principles that could help us
00:50:43.72\00:50:47.57
to understand end time prophecy,
coming economic control,
00:50:47.60\00:50:52.13
and the connection
between Daniel and Revelation.
00:50:52.33\00:50:54.92
And I mentioned, of
course, one of those principles
00:50:54.95\00:50:56.78
was that if we could
find another prophetic section
00:50:56.96\00:51:01.11
of Scripture that
had the same outline;
00:51:01.14\00:51:03.51
Daniel 2, Daniel 7,
Daniel 8, Daniel 11;
00:51:03.54\00:51:05.64
Babylon,
Medo-Persia, Greece, Rome;
00:51:05.74\00:51:07.27
Babylon,
Medo-Persia, Greece, Rome;
00:51:07.67\00:51:09.00
Medo-Persia, Greece,
Rome; Medo-Persia, Greece, Rome;
00:51:09.03\00:51:11.05
second coming, second coming,
second coming, second coming.
00:51:11.08\00:51:13.02
Remember that was one of
the principles we talked about?
00:51:13.05\00:51:15.08
But I didn't tell
you if there was another
00:51:16.92\00:51:18.90
section of Scripture.
00:51:18.93\00:51:19.96
And I was wondering, did anyone
figure out if there is another
00:51:19.99\00:51:21.91
section of Scripture
that actually goes through
00:51:21.94\00:51:24.07
that same outline?
00:51:24.10\00:51:25.17
Babylon,
Medo-Persia, Greece, Rome.
00:51:30.10\00:51:32.02
And then takes us further
and outlines in more detail
00:51:32.18\00:51:35.33
events in the end of time that
aren't clear in Daniel 11:40-45,
00:51:35.49\00:51:40.81
but actually could become
clearer if we compared the two.
00:51:40.84\00:51:44.09
Yeah, there is.
00:51:45.71\00:51:46.74
There actually is
another prophetic section
00:51:46.77\00:51:49.62
of the Bible that has the
same outline that we see in
00:51:50.05\00:51:53.83
Daniel 2, Daniel 7,
Daniel 8, and Daniel 11.
00:51:53.86\00:51:56.10
And do you know what
that prophetic section is?
00:51:56.13\00:51:58.09
Revelation 13.
00:51:58.74\00:52:00.14
"Revelation 13 doesn't talk
about Babylon and Medo-Persia
00:52:01.20\00:52:04.74
and Greece and Rome, does it?"
00:52:04.77\00:52:07.30
Think.
00:52:08.10\00:52:09.18
"I saw another beast
coming out of the sea,
00:52:09.87\00:52:12.00
and it had seven
heads and ten horns."
00:52:13.03\00:52:17.30
Right?
00:52:19.01\00:52:20.04
Nations of Europe.
00:52:20.13\00:52:21.28
John's looking back now.
00:52:21.65\00:52:23.04
"And the beast that I
saw had a body like a..."
00:52:23.32\00:52:26.34
Leopard; Greece.
00:52:27.48\00:52:29.02
"...and it had the
feet like the feet of a..."
00:52:29.22\00:52:31.05
Bear; Medo-Persia.
00:52:31.34\00:52:32.58
"...and it had a
mouth as the mouth of a..."
00:52:32.61\00:52:34.89
Lion; Babylon.
00:52:35.10\00:52:37.43
There it is.
00:52:37.71\00:52:38.74
The whole first half of
Revelation 13 is a prophetic
00:52:39.26\00:52:42.95
glance back in history
to the same basic outline of
00:52:42.98\00:52:47.32
Daniel 2, 7, 8, and 11.
00:52:47.35\00:52:49.33
And then after the wound
is inflicted, which is 1798,
00:52:49.84\00:52:53.55
time of the end, we see
the rise of another power
00:52:53.58\00:52:56.46
that allies with this.
00:52:56.72\00:52:59.59
They have a holy alliance.
00:52:59.62\00:53:00.74
They connect
together, this second power that
00:53:00.77\00:53:02.80
rises up out of the
earth and the first one.
00:53:02.83\00:53:04.76
And they continue now
to dominate the world.
00:53:04.86\00:53:07.06
So if you look at Revelation
chapter 13 verses 11-18,
00:53:08.06\00:53:12.04
you can parallel them
perfectly with Daniel chapter 11
00:53:12.07\00:53:14.55
verses 40-45 and onward.
00:53:14.58\00:53:16.75
It's a perfect parallel.
00:53:16.78\00:53:18.06
And there are a number of
connections that we see there.
00:53:18.09\00:53:20.25
We made a few of them today.
00:53:20.28\00:53:21.31
But I just
wanted to get to that.
00:53:21.34\00:53:23.27
Because I'm not
sure if I covered that.
00:53:23.30\00:53:24.46
And of course we're
running out of time again here.
00:53:24.66\00:53:26.05
But hopefully, I'm hoping,
I'm planning on, I'm praying
00:53:26.08\00:53:30.62
about coming back next
year and doing another series
00:53:30.65\00:53:32.82
just focusing on Daniel 11
and opening up those verses.
00:53:32.85\00:53:35.79
There's a lot of information
there and a lot of stuff
00:53:36.20\00:53:37.81
we need to look at, and
we can take more time on it.
00:53:37.84\00:53:40.03
But I want us to look
at one thing right here
00:53:40.06\00:53:41.91
in Daniel 12 and verse 3.
00:53:42.21\00:53:45.64
It's the last verse
of the prophetic picture
00:53:45.67\00:53:48.85
that God gives Daniel.
00:53:48.88\00:53:49.91
Because in verse 4 Daniel
is told to close up the book.
00:53:49.94\00:53:52.30
It's kind of like
a prologue, a close.
00:53:52.33\00:53:55.87
"Okay, close up the book.
00:53:55.90\00:53:56.93
It's going to be
sealed for this many years.
00:53:56.96\00:53:58.37
Then you're going
to stand in your lot."
00:53:58.40\00:53:59.43
So verses 4 through 13 are
just instructions to Daniel.
00:53:59.46\00:54:02.46
But verse 3 is still part
of the vision that he's given.
00:54:02.56\00:54:05.43
The interpretation that he's
given, at least, of Daniel 11.
00:54:05.46\00:54:09.23
And so in verse 3, you
could actually say that
00:54:09.26\00:54:11.48
verse 3, 2, and 1
should be part of Daniel 11.
00:54:11.51\00:54:14.57
And then verse 4
should be Daniel 12.
00:54:14.92\00:54:17.75
It should start
with verse 4, really,
00:54:17.78\00:54:19.40
in the context of how it flows.
00:54:19.43\00:54:21.28
So the last
thing Daniel is told...
00:54:21.52\00:54:24.16
This is it, this is
it. It's closing out.
00:54:24.19\00:54:25.92
The whole thing,
all of his visions are
00:54:25.95\00:54:27.66
closing out with this thought.
00:54:27.69\00:54:28.80
"They that be wise
shall shine as the brightness
00:54:30.11\00:54:33.05
of the firmament; and they
that turn many to righteousness
00:54:33.08\00:54:37.47
as the stars for ever and ever."
00:54:37.50\00:54:40.19
That's what he's told.
00:54:40.63\00:54:42.02
"They that be wise..."
00:54:42.28\00:54:43.71
And then it's kind of a repeat.
00:54:44.63\00:54:45.79
"They that be wise
shall shine as the brightness
00:54:45.82\00:54:47.41
of the firmament; and they
that turn many to righteousness
00:54:47.44\00:54:49.64
as the stars for ever and ever."
00:54:49.67\00:54:51.15
Now in Jeremiah chapter 23
and verse 6, we are told that
00:54:51.67\00:54:55.33
Jesus Christ is, "The
Lord our righteousness."
00:54:55.36\00:54:58.67
So sometimes we put
these big words in there
00:54:58.95\00:55:00.90
and we're like, "Well,
what is righteousness?"
00:55:00.93\00:55:02.21
Jesus is righteousness.
00:55:02.24\00:55:03.56
Jesus is our righteousness.
00:55:04.07\00:55:05.31
So, you could
actually read this verse...
00:55:05.34\00:55:06.90
I'm going to read it this way.
00:55:06.93\00:55:08.10
"They that be wise
shall shine as the brightness
00:55:08.72\00:55:10.87
of the firmament; and
they that turn many to...
00:55:10.90\00:55:13.77
...Jesus as the
stars for ever and ever."
00:55:14.19\00:55:17.52
See, that's the bottom line.
00:55:18.31\00:55:19.64
To direct people to Jesus.
00:55:20.16\00:55:22.25
To get out of the way
so people can see Jesus.
00:55:22.28\00:55:26.02
So the weaker you are,
the more faulty you are,
00:55:26.20\00:55:28.32
the more you fail,
the more opportunity
00:55:28.35\00:55:30.55
you're going to
have to reveal Jesus.
00:55:30.58\00:55:32.93
If you allow
yourself to just be humbled
00:55:32.96\00:55:36.92
and let Jesus
just shine through.
00:55:37.36\00:55:38.80
The more of you that's
there, the less of Jesus
00:55:38.83\00:55:40.75
people are going to see.
00:55:40.78\00:55:41.90
I'm fully aware of that in
my own life and experience.
00:55:42.18\00:55:45.13
But the more we fall on
our face and the more we just
00:55:45.16\00:55:47.79
put our hearts out
there and give it to Jesus,
00:55:47.82\00:55:50.06
the more people are
going to have the opportunity
00:55:50.33\00:55:52.62
to see what Jesus can do
with us and in spite of us.
00:55:52.65\00:55:55.47
And one last verse that
I want you to look at here
00:55:55.50\00:55:57.67
that I think is really powerful.
00:55:57.70\00:55:58.74
Because it says everyone
that's going to be delivered
00:55:58.77\00:56:01.48
is going to be
written in the book.
00:56:01.51\00:56:03.42
Malachi chapter 3 verse 16.
00:56:03.45\00:56:08.41
"Then they that feared the
Lord spake often one to another.
00:56:10.40\00:56:14.51
And the Lord hearkened,
and heard it, and a book of
00:56:15.38\00:56:18.53
remembrance was written
before him for them that feared
00:56:18.56\00:56:22.86
the Lord, and
thought upon his name.
00:56:22.89\00:56:26.41
'They shall be mine,'
says the Lord of hosts,
00:56:27.12\00:56:31.16
'in that day when
I make up my jewels.
00:56:31.19\00:56:33.04
I will spare them, as
a man spares his own son
00:56:33.07\00:56:36.28
that serves him.'"
00:56:36.31\00:56:37.47
"They will be Mine."
00:56:37.50\00:56:38.53
So when we look at
this, when we recognize
00:56:39.04\00:56:42.15
that the prophecies come
right down to the very end
00:56:42.58\00:56:47.08
and direct us to Jesus,
and direct us to direct others
00:56:47.11\00:56:49.43
to Jesus, that it's all
about Jesus, we realize that
00:56:49.46\00:56:53.54
the book of Revelation
is the revelation of Jesus.
00:56:53.64\00:56:56.73
It's not the revelation
of the beast or the dragon.
00:56:56.76\00:56:58.89
It's not the
revelation of the judgments.
00:56:59.21\00:57:00.43
It's the revelation...
Satan has stolen this book.
00:57:00.46\00:57:02.80
He has made this book a
scary book, a terrifying book.
00:57:02.83\00:57:06.13
We need to take it back.
00:57:06.16\00:57:07.55
It's not his, it's
ours. It's our book.
00:57:07.85\00:57:09.71
And we want it back.
00:57:09.98\00:57:11.06
Right? We want it back.
00:57:11.59\00:57:13.10
Because God has
a blessing in it.
00:57:13.76\00:57:15.11
And I'm tired of
hearing Christians say,
00:57:15.14\00:57:16.35
"I don't read Revelation.
I'm scared of Revelation.
00:57:16.38\00:57:17.70
I don't want anything
to do with Revelation."
00:57:17.73\00:57:19.11
This is God's
book and it's for us.
00:57:19.63\00:57:22.13
And it prepares
us, not scares us.
00:57:22.16\00:57:24.79
And we've got to
know what's in it.
00:57:24.89\00:57:26.59
Because God has blessed it and
he wants to bless us with it.
00:57:26.62\00:57:29.26
Amen?
00:57:29.36\00:57:30.39
Father, I just
want to thank You again
00:57:30.75\00:57:32.29
for the revelation of Jesus.
00:57:32.32\00:57:33.93