"The Spirit and
the bride say, 'Come!'"
00:00:01.43\00:00:04.00
It's the
invitation of a lifetime.
00:00:04.03\00:00:06.74
But if you're too
busy, you may miss it.
00:00:07.34\00:00:10.44
We've all got an
incredible invitation from this
00:00:32.83\00:00:35.70
incomparable Jesus,
this marvelous Savior,
00:00:35.73\00:00:39.07
this incomparable Jesus.
00:00:39.10\00:00:41.34
He sends an
invitation through the Spirit
00:00:41.37\00:00:44.31
and through His
bride; His church.
00:00:44.34\00:00:46.91
We can hear it in
the book of Revelation
00:00:46.94\00:00:49.11
right down near the
end in Revelation 22:17.
00:00:49.21\00:00:55.28
"And the Spirit and
the bride say, 'Come!'
00:00:55.32\00:00:58.92
And let him who
hears say, 'Come!'
00:00:59.12\00:01:02.59
And let him who thirsts come.
00:01:02.79\00:01:05.83
And whoever desires, let him
take the water of life freely."
00:01:06.03\00:01:10.73
Now that's a
wonderful invitation.
00:01:11.03\00:01:12.87
And Jesus wants you and me
to be part of that invitation.
00:01:13.10\00:01:16.87
We're going to talk
about that invitation today.
00:01:16.91\00:01:18.81
We've seen Jesus,
this incomparable Jesus,
00:01:19.37\00:01:22.58
incomparable Jesus, moving
through the heavenly Sanctuary.
00:01:22.61\00:01:26.68
You know, He did
marvelous things for us here.
00:01:26.72\00:01:29.05
But by faith we watch
Him; and He's moving through
00:01:29.25\00:01:31.82
the heavenly Sanctuary.
00:01:31.85\00:01:33.39
And as He does, He
goes to the candlesticks,
00:01:33.42\00:01:36.32
He goes to the table of
showbread, in chapter 4,
00:01:36.42\00:01:39.39
which is the throne of
God, He goes to the wonderful
00:01:39.43\00:01:43.87
alter of incense where the
prayers of the saints ascend,
00:01:43.90\00:01:47.14
and He takes those prayers and
He presents them to the Father
00:01:47.34\00:01:51.31
for you and for me.
00:01:51.34\00:01:52.77
He's doing all kinds of
wonderful things for us.
00:01:52.81\00:01:55.14
He's answering prayers,
He's sending angels to help us.
00:01:55.18\00:01:58.38
Heaven is a busy place.
00:01:58.41\00:02:00.08
He said He's getting
ready for us to come.
00:02:00.12\00:02:02.88
And this invitation
is all about being ready.
00:02:03.18\00:02:07.69
Being ready for Jesus to come,
00:02:07.89\00:02:10.43
and to
accepting that invitation.
00:02:10.46\00:02:12.59
When will Jesus come?
00:02:13.53\00:02:15.13
We don't know.
00:02:15.36\00:02:16.70
We don't know, but
Jesus Himself made it clear
00:02:17.00\00:02:19.77
that we can know when it's close
00:02:19.80\00:02:21.64
because of the
signs that are coming.
00:02:21.84\00:02:24.84
Now in Revelation 14:6 we
have the three angels' messages.
00:02:25.07\00:02:30.81
And those three angels'
messages are the last messages
00:02:30.85\00:02:33.85
given to the world.
00:02:33.88\00:02:35.22
And it starts out by
saying, "And I saw another angel
00:02:35.48\00:02:38.25
flying in the midst of heaven
having the everlasting gospel,
00:02:38.29\00:02:42.96
saying to those on the earth,
'Fear God and give glory to Him,
00:02:42.99\00:02:47.90
for the hour of His
judgment has come.'"
00:02:47.93\00:02:50.27
Now the next two talk
about Babylon being fallen
00:02:50.30\00:02:53.44
and it talks about
the mark of the beast.
00:02:53.47\00:02:55.24
But everything in
those three angels' messages
00:02:55.34\00:02:57.97
are contained in that
invitation, and contained
00:02:58.07\00:03:01.04
in the gospel of the Lord Jesus.
00:03:01.14\00:03:03.45
The good news that Jesus has
done for us and has won for us.
00:03:03.48\00:03:08.28
Jesus Himself talked
about one of those great signs,
00:03:09.02\00:03:12.62
and I think it's the last
sign, and that's the gospel
00:03:12.65\00:03:15.19
going to the world.
00:03:15.22\00:03:16.56
And He said, "This gospel shall
be preached into all the world
00:03:16.62\00:03:19.19
for a witness to all nations,
then the Son of Man will come."
00:03:19.23\00:03:24.47
My words, paraphrasing.
00:03:24.50\00:03:26.20
So the last sign is the
true gospel of the Lord Jesus
00:03:26.23\00:03:31.27
as found in the New Testament.
00:03:31.31\00:03:32.91
That goes to the whole world.
00:03:32.94\00:03:35.24
Now there are great issues
still before us to be done.
00:03:35.51\00:03:38.05
And that, of course, we're going
to see the mark of the beast,
00:03:38.48\00:03:41.08
and the development of Babylon,
and the overthrow of Babylon.
00:03:41.12\00:03:44.45
We're seeing many
signs, though, around us
00:03:45.02\00:03:47.12
that we are moving very
close to the end of time.
00:03:47.16\00:03:50.29
I think the great time
prophecies are all finished.
00:03:50.89\00:03:54.10
So we know we're living in
this time period that Daniel
00:03:54.13\00:03:56.97
would call the time of the end.
00:03:57.00\00:04:00.24
Daniel mentions something
about this time of the end
00:04:00.47\00:04:03.24
in Daniel 12:4.
00:04:03.27\00:04:06.81
The angel that was
giving Daniel this information
00:04:07.11\00:04:09.44
made this prediction.
00:04:09.64\00:04:10.98
It's a very
fascinating prediction.
00:04:11.01\00:04:12.55
It says that in
the end of time...
00:04:12.91\00:04:14.98
I should read it here.
00:04:15.02\00:04:16.45
"But you, Daniel,
shut up the words,"
00:04:16.48\00:04:19.09
shut up the
words, "and seal the book
00:04:19.12\00:04:22.36
until the time of the end."
00:04:22.39\00:04:24.36
So the message of
Daniel is going to be opened.
00:04:24.39\00:04:28.36
And of course, the
book of Revelation is the
00:04:28.46\00:04:30.20
opening of that message.
00:04:30.23\00:04:31.57
It's the Revelation of Jesus.
00:04:31.60\00:04:34.30
But it's sealed
until the time of the end.
00:04:34.60\00:04:36.60
We're living in
that time of the end.
00:04:36.64\00:04:38.57
As I mentioned, all the
time prophecies are finished,
00:04:38.61\00:04:40.38
so we know we're
living in the time of the end.
00:04:40.41\00:04:42.74
"Many shall run to and fro..."
00:04:43.61\00:04:45.01
It's a very fascinating thing.
00:04:45.05\00:04:46.58
"...and knowledge
shall be increased."
00:04:46.61\00:04:48.48
Now some people say
that's about the book of Daniel.
00:04:48.52\00:04:50.32
I don't doubt that.
00:04:50.35\00:04:51.69
But I think the
implications are much wider.
00:04:51.72\00:04:54.16
He's saying that
in the end of time,
00:04:54.19\00:04:55.76
during this time of the end,
there's going to be huge changes
00:04:55.79\00:04:59.53
in travel and in knowledge.
00:04:59.56\00:05:02.16
Some people say that
knowledge is just increasing,
00:05:02.26\00:05:04.87
doubling for
mankind every few years.
00:05:05.10\00:05:07.60
You can't keep up with all
the knowledge that's going on.
00:05:07.64\00:05:10.84
All the
technological improvements,
00:05:10.87\00:05:12.71
everything that's
affecting our lives today;
00:05:12.74\00:05:15.21
from getting ready, I
guess, they're talking about
00:05:15.24\00:05:18.45
self-driving automobiles.
00:05:18.48\00:05:20.55
And of course we
have all the smart phones.
00:05:20.78\00:05:22.45
Who knows? Everything
that's going on nowadays
00:05:22.48\00:05:25.29
is a huge increase in knowledge.
00:05:25.65\00:05:29.82
And of course,
travel is unprecedented.
00:05:30.19\00:05:34.10
You get on a jet plane
and fly 500 miles an hour.
00:05:34.13\00:05:36.97
It's amazing, really,
when you think about it.
00:05:37.00\00:05:39.63
And it's only
happened in a few short years.
00:05:39.67\00:05:42.10
It wasn't that
long ago that man was
00:05:42.30\00:05:45.47
driving around
in horse and buggy.
00:05:45.51\00:05:47.51
And then, of course,
you have the automobile
00:05:48.24\00:05:49.74
and some of the other
kinds of things that came on.
00:05:49.78\00:05:51.98
Look where telephones have gone.
00:05:52.28\00:05:54.35
From that thing where
you wind it up like that
00:05:54.55\00:05:58.45
to smart phones today.
00:05:58.49\00:06:00.32
So we see this kind of a thing.
00:06:00.56\00:06:02.86
And then, of
course, we're finding that
00:06:02.89\00:06:04.23
the mark of the
beast is going to mean that
00:06:04.26\00:06:05.83
governments are
going to have the ability
00:06:05.93\00:06:07.96
to control populations.
00:06:08.00\00:06:10.33
And with that, you
have to have information.
00:06:10.53\00:06:12.83
Today we know the government is,
00:06:12.87\00:06:15.74
and it's not just the
United States government,
00:06:15.77\00:06:17.64
but they're collecting
information on everybody.
00:06:17.67\00:06:20.04
On your phone calls,
on your text messages,
00:06:20.08\00:06:22.81
on your emails, and everything.
00:06:22.84\00:06:24.18
They may not be
looking at it right now,
00:06:24.21\00:06:25.55
but if you come up
on the radar screen,
00:06:25.58\00:06:27.68
they're going to
have information on you.
00:06:27.72\00:06:29.48
And that kind of information
is the ability to control.
00:06:29.52\00:06:33.92
Government control;
that's going to be a big thing.
00:06:34.22\00:06:35.92
In fact, the book of
Revelation is picturing
00:06:35.96\00:06:37.86
that this thing
becomes, the mark of the beast,
00:06:37.89\00:06:40.60
these powers
become control freaks.
00:06:40.63\00:06:44.07
Maybe I
shouldn't say it that way.
00:06:44.10\00:06:45.43
But they've just become
obsessed with being in control.
00:06:45.47\00:06:49.14
Control of everything.
00:06:49.17\00:06:50.51
Revelation 22:10-11,
it's one of the most solemn
00:06:51.27\00:06:54.78
statements in Scripture.
00:06:54.81\00:06:56.64
And this is what it says
about this time of the end.
00:06:56.75\00:06:59.38
"For I am your fellow servant,"
00:06:59.41\00:07:00.75
says the angel
to the apostle John,
00:07:00.78\00:07:02.72
"one of your
brethren the prophets,
00:07:03.02\00:07:05.29
and those who keep
the words of this book."
00:07:05.32\00:07:07.92
And then the angel
says, "Worship God."
00:07:07.96\00:07:10.23
And then he said, "Do not
seal the words of this prophecy
00:07:10.26\00:07:14.63
of this book, for
the time is at hand."
00:07:14.66\00:07:18.53
In other words, these
prophecies are being fulfilled,
00:07:18.90\00:07:21.34
starting to be
fulfilled in the time of John
00:07:21.37\00:07:24.34
all the way down to the
time of the coming of Jesus.
00:07:24.37\00:07:27.94
And then speaking of the
time just before Jesus comes,
00:07:28.11\00:07:30.98
he says this,
"He who is unjust..."
00:07:31.18\00:07:33.82
It's very solemn words.
00:07:33.85\00:07:35.32
"He who is unjust,
let him be unjust still;
00:07:35.35\00:07:39.52
he who is filthy, let
him be filthy still..."
00:07:40.42\00:07:43.83
We're talking
about moral filth here.
00:07:43.86\00:07:45.93
"...and he who is righteous,
let him be righteous still;
00:07:46.59\00:07:50.33
and he who is holy,
let him be holy still."
00:07:50.67\00:07:54.77
This is talking about a time
that closes before Jesus comes.
00:07:55.67\00:08:00.11
We often call it, and we
talked a little bit about this
00:08:00.21\00:08:02.21
in the past, the
close of human probation.
00:08:02.24\00:08:05.95
As the seven last
plagues begin to fall,
00:08:06.21\00:08:08.48
human probation closes.
00:08:08.58\00:08:10.65
Not because God has run out
of mercy, as I've said before.
00:08:10.69\00:08:13.36
Not because He's
not willing to forgive.
00:08:13.46\00:08:15.82
But because every human being,
as they have faced the issues
00:08:15.99\00:08:19.69
in the end of time of
whether they're going to trust
00:08:19.73\00:08:22.23
the God of the Bible,
whether they're going to trust
00:08:22.26\00:08:24.53
the Scripture, or
trust the mechanisms of man,
00:08:24.57\00:08:28.10
these become the issues
that every person will make up
00:08:28.47\00:08:32.47
their mind one way or another.
00:08:32.51\00:08:35.14
Daniel says the same thing in
another way in Daniel 12 again,
00:08:35.18\00:08:40.08
the last chapter in the
book of Daniel, verses 9 and 10.
00:08:40.12\00:08:43.45
The angel says to
Daniel, "Go your way, Daniel,
00:08:43.55\00:08:47.16
for the words are closed and
sealed up till the end of time."
00:08:47.19\00:08:49.62
Now we've noticed
that the angel said to John
00:08:49.66\00:08:52.49
that they're
unsealed, of course.
00:08:52.53\00:08:54.23
To the end of time, or the
time of the end, I should say.
00:08:54.26\00:08:57.00
"Many will be purified..."
00:08:57.47\00:08:58.80
Notice these two groups.
00:08:58.83\00:09:00.17
"Many will be
purified, made white..."
00:09:00.20\00:09:03.07
Now I want to be
among that group.
00:09:03.10\00:09:04.87
I want my heart...
00:09:05.04\00:09:06.37
I'm a poor pitiful
sinner like everybody else.
00:09:06.41\00:09:08.68
We've all fallen
short of the grace of God.
00:09:08.71\00:09:11.81
I'm so grateful for
the forgiveness of Jesus.
00:09:11.98\00:09:15.28
But I want my heart to be pure.
00:09:15.72\00:09:18.25
Don't you want
your heart to be pure?
00:09:18.29\00:09:19.95
Don't you want your
heart to be like Jesus?
00:09:20.22\00:09:22.09
Don't you want your heart
to be full of unselfish love?
00:09:22.12\00:09:25.19
I want that in my heart.
00:09:25.23\00:09:26.73
Now that can
only be accomplished
00:09:26.76\00:09:28.16
by the power of the Lord Jesus.
00:09:28.20\00:09:30.07
And He has power.
Listen, we sell Jesus too short.
00:09:30.33\00:09:33.64
He's strong. He's powerful.
00:09:33.67\00:09:35.97
He can make a
different person out of you.
00:09:36.00\00:09:37.81
He can change your
heart from the inside.
00:09:37.91\00:09:40.21
If you put your faith in
Him, put your trust in Him,
00:09:40.41\00:09:42.88
He'll
strengthen your will power.
00:09:42.91\00:09:44.45
He can help you
overcome anything.
00:09:44.48\00:09:46.38
And listen to this as it goes
on, "Many will be purified.."
00:09:47.05\00:09:51.25
Many.
00:09:51.29\00:09:52.62
I like that.
00:09:52.65\00:09:53.99
I like that in the end of time
there is going to be a lot of
00:09:54.02\00:09:55.82
people who are
going to turn to Jesus.
00:09:55.86\00:09:57.63
Now not everybody.
00:09:57.66\00:09:58.99
Not the great majority.
00:09:59.03\00:10:00.36
But many. I want
to be among the many.
00:10:00.40\00:10:01.83
"Many will be
purified, made white..."
00:10:02.06\00:10:04.23
Talking about their hearts.
00:10:04.27\00:10:05.67
"...and refined..."
00:10:06.03\00:10:07.67
I want to be refined.
00:10:07.70\00:10:09.27
You know, when the
Sadducees and the Pharisees
00:10:09.30\00:10:11.24
ran into the disciples of Jesus,
00:10:11.27\00:10:12.87
you know what
they said about them
00:10:12.94\00:10:14.28
as they listened to them, their
boldness and their clarity?
00:10:14.31\00:10:17.51
They said,
"They've been with Jesus."
00:10:17.55\00:10:19.98
Don't you want that?
00:10:20.52\00:10:21.85
To be with Jesus so much that
you're refined by His power?
00:10:21.88\00:10:26.45
But, but,
here's the other group.
00:10:27.06\00:10:29.12
"...but the
wicked shall do wickedly;
00:10:29.46\00:10:31.99
and none of the
wicked shall understand..."
00:10:32.63\00:10:35.43
You know, sin has
a blindness about it.
00:10:35.66\00:10:38.27
It makes us blind to our need.
00:10:38.30\00:10:42.00
You think about it, I've
talked about this before,
00:10:42.04\00:10:43.64
the old Pharaoh of
Egypt, how could he be so blind?
00:10:43.67\00:10:47.51
But sin does that to us.
00:10:47.54\00:10:49.94
And I don't want it in my life.
00:10:50.31\00:10:51.81
So there's this great divide
in humanity that's coming;
00:10:51.85\00:10:54.85
a divide between those who
will be refined and purified
00:10:55.08\00:10:59.32
by the grace of Jesus...
00:10:59.35\00:11:01.02
They can't do it themselves,
but they cooperate with Jesus.
00:11:01.06\00:11:03.89
...and those who
refuse to be willing.
00:11:04.29\00:11:06.39
Now they may use
Jesus on their lips,
00:11:06.43\00:11:08.30
but they're
unwilling to be refined.
00:11:08.33\00:11:10.97
They're
unwilling to be purified.
00:11:11.13\00:11:13.13
They're unwilling
to have their hearts
00:11:13.17\00:11:15.14
changed, and their behavior.
00:11:15.17\00:11:16.87
Listen, you're behavior is
just a reflection of your heart.
00:11:16.97\00:11:19.97
Your behavior is a
reflection of who you trust.
00:11:20.01\00:11:23.21
Sometimes people
get hung up on that,
00:11:23.91\00:11:25.85
but we've got to go to the
root of the tree, as it were.
00:11:25.88\00:11:29.88
And it's where the heart is.
00:11:29.98\00:11:31.52
So there's this great
divide in the end of time,
00:11:31.89\00:11:35.32
and a special time of
waiting before Jesus comes.
00:11:35.36\00:11:39.93
Of course, the next
words of the angel were,
00:11:40.23\00:11:42.36
or of Jesus, "Behold,
look, I'm coming quickly.
00:11:42.46\00:11:45.93
You go through this, but
look, I'm coming quickly."
00:11:45.97\00:11:48.67
So as we go to the throne room
of heaven, in Revelation 15:5,
00:11:49.00\00:11:53.41
just before the seven
last plagues are poured out,
00:11:53.44\00:11:55.91
we hear these words, it says,
"After these things I looked,
00:11:56.01\00:11:59.71
and behold, the temple of
the tabernacle," in heaven,
00:11:59.75\00:12:04.55
"the temple of the
tabernacle of the testimony
00:12:05.89\00:12:07.69
in heaven was opened."
00:12:07.72\00:12:10.29
Now we've already talked
about these last messages
00:12:10.93\00:12:14.10
to a dying world of the
three angels, but you know,
00:12:14.13\00:12:16.83
Jesus keeps
repeating those messages.
00:12:16.87\00:12:19.30
He keeps
repeating those messages.
00:12:19.33\00:12:21.27
He'll repeat it again
in Revelation chapter 18
00:12:21.30\00:12:24.37
where He says, "Come
out of her, My people."
00:12:24.71\00:12:27.21
We'll talk about that next time.
00:12:27.24\00:12:28.81
And then He also repeats it in
the last chapter of Revelation
00:12:29.14\00:12:32.31
where He says, "The Spirit
and the bride say, 'Come!'"
00:12:32.35\00:12:36.05
So there's this
special time of waiting,
00:12:36.99\00:12:39.52
and this special
time of getting ready
00:12:39.72\00:12:42.02
for the close
of human probation.
00:12:42.06\00:12:44.66
Now we talk about that
in the book of Revelation
00:12:44.99\00:12:48.36
in a unique way.
00:12:48.40\00:12:50.23
If you look at the Sanctuary
there's a thing called,
00:12:50.27\00:12:53.07
the Jewish Day of Atonement.
00:12:53.10\00:12:56.14
Now we call it
today, Yom Kippur.
00:12:56.17\00:12:59.21
It was a symbolic
time of the end of time.
00:12:59.61\00:13:03.95
It was a most solemn day of
searching and confessing sins.
00:13:03.98\00:13:08.38
Why? Because the
Judge was at the door
00:13:08.42\00:13:12.22
and getting ready to fix
the destinies of all Israel
00:13:12.25\00:13:15.59
for the next year.
00:13:15.62\00:13:16.96
But it's symbolic of the end of
time and the fixing of destinies
00:13:16.99\00:13:20.30
for all eternity.
00:13:20.76\00:13:22.76
So awful was
the Day of Atonement
00:13:23.60\00:13:25.60
that we're told in
the Jewish book of ritual
00:13:25.63\00:13:28.20
that the very angels
run to and fro trembling,
00:13:28.24\00:13:32.94
saying, "Lo, the day
of judgment has come."
00:13:32.97\00:13:38.08
The question is, are we taking
time to prepare for that final
00:13:38.28\00:13:42.62
day of judgment?
00:13:42.82\00:13:44.95
So as we continue, and
the Spirit and the bride
00:13:45.32\00:13:48.22
say, "Come," they
want us to be ready.
00:13:48.26\00:13:52.19