Participants:
Series Code: TT
Program Code: TT000412A
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00:00 [Music] 00:10 [Music] 00:21 >>TY: So far, our journey through Revelation has really 00:24 been exciting. 00:25 There have been some dark parts of Revelation that we 00:29 can't help but feel heavy about, but overall, it's good 00:33 news because light is triumphing over darkness, good 00:38 is triumphing over evil. 00:40 Right now, we come to Revelation 18, I think we'll 00:44 get into chapter 19 as well as chapter 20, and this is where 00:48 the battle between good and evil is coming to a kind of 00:53 climax and certain aspects of that battle are brought to 00:57 light that are in greater detail than what we've seen 01:00 before. 01:02 Revelation chapter 18, in the first two verses, tells us 01:07 that God, through his people, is going to do something 01:09 powerful in the world and that's going to produce an 01:15 outcome that is described in the remaining verses of 01:19 Revelation. 01:21 >>JAMES: I like the basis of Revelation 18, at least the 01:22 first 2 verses, because Revelation 18, verses 1 and 2, 01:27 come at a time, I'm gonna say verses 1-4, come at a time 01:30 when we've just gone through this passage of darkness, the 01:34 valley of the shadow of death. 01:35 We've come through the 7 last plagues, if you will, and it's 01:38 as though God has shown us where the ultimate end is 01:41 going to be of the two groups, those who choose for him, 01:44 those who choose against him, and Revelation 18, it's as 01:48 though God's heart can't quite give up on the human race yet. 01:51 I'm not leaving planet earth yet. 01:53 He wants us to know and see his heart and his heart is 01:57 holding out for his people who are still in Babylon. 02:01 I think it'd be good for us to read the first 4 verses and 02:03 just get this picture of God's heart. 02:06 Revelation 18, beginning in verse 1. 02:08 And after these things I saw another angel coming down from 02:10 heaven, having great power, and the earth was lightened 02:14 with his glory. 02:15 And he cried mightily with a strong voice, saying, Babylon 02:18 the great is fallen, is fallen, and has become the 02:20 habitation of devils, the hold of every foul spirit, the cage 02:24 of every unclean and hateful bird For all the nations have 02:27 drunk of the wine of the wrath of her fornication, the kings 02:30 of the earth have committed fornication with her, and the 02:33 merchants of the earth are waxed rich through the 02:36 abundance of her delicacies and I heard another voice from 02:39 heaven saying, come out of her, my people, and be not 02:42 partakers of her sins that you receive not of her plagues. 02:45 That's what I'm talking about right there. 02:47 That's the heart of God. 02:48 God is pleading, this earth is gonna become the cage, the 02:52 prison house, if you will, of every unclean and hateful 02:55 bird, of the devil himself. 02:56 We're gonna see that in Revelation 20 and before that 02:59 happens, before God releases people to the things they've 03:02 chosen, before his wrath is poured out and he honors our 03:05 choices against him, before that happens, he pleading, 03:08 come out of her, my people, please come out, it's falling, 03:10 it's falling, come out. 03:11 And I love that picture. 03:12 >>DAVID: I love that picture, can I just ask you a question, 03:14 James, for myself as much as for maybe our viewers, so, 03:19 Revelation 15 and 16 describes the outpouring of the plagues, 03:23 17 obviously comes after that, 18 comes after that, so where, 03:28 how is this after? 03:30 How is this...? 03:31 >>TY: You meant after... 03:32 >>DAVID: After the plagues. 03:33 >>JAMES: In time. 03:34 >>TY: Yeah, I don't think so. 03:35 >>DAVID: Okay, so maybe my question is not clear. 03:38 >>JAMES: No, I get your question, I think you're 03:40 right. 03:41 It's a good question. It is a good question. 03:43 How can we have Revelation 18 coming after the plagues have 03:45 already been poured out? 03:46 >>DAVID: Yeah, that's what I'm asking, I don't know the 03:47 answer. 03:48 >>TY: We don't. 03:49 >>DAVID: So, is there any textual evidence that this is 03:51 taking place before the seven last plagues? 03:54 >>TY: I think there is. 03:55 >>DAVID: Okay, well, what is it? 03:56 >>TY: I think that, again, we're witnessing a repeat and 04:01 a large process here. 04:03 I think you were asking the question because James, I 04:05 think, said, that in Revelation 18, we have a 04:09 description of what follows after the plagues, but I don't 04:14 think he meant chronologically. 04:16 So, the reason I know, the reason I think there's textual 04:21 evidence that this is not, seven last plagues, and when 04:24 the seventh one is poured out, now, Revelation 18 happens, I 04:28 think that it's describing in the first couple verses the 04:32 final proclamation of the gospel to the world that earth 04:36 is lightened with God's glory, which we should go back and 04:38 talk about, and then, as a result, Babylon begins to fall 04:43 and the remaining parts of chapter 18 are describing 04:48 what's happening under the 7th plague, the complete demise of 04:53 Babylon. 04:54 So, it's a big picture flyby, I think, now, I may be wrong. 04:58 >>JAMES: No, you're right, that's it. 05:00 >>DAVID: Now, that's how I've understood it. 05:01 So, I just wanted to be clear. 05:02 >>JAMES: What I meant was, the way that we're reading the 05:05 book of Revelation, the way the literary structure is laid 05:08 out, God has just delivered to us this picture of the seven 05:11 last plagues. 05:12 And without just following that sequence and going right 05:15 into this detail of the seven last plagues, he just 05:17 interjects, it's just kinda like the battle of Armageddon. 05:21 The battle of Armageddon really doesn't fit in the 05:23 context of the seven last plagues because there's, it's 05:25 a little interject, if you will, to remind us to hold 05:27 onto the righteousness of Christ and his garments. 05:31 It's the same thing in Revelation 18. 05:33 These first 4 verses are an interlude, if you will, where 05:37 God is giving us a picture of his heart in the midst of this 05:42 picture of the 7 last plagues and the final judgments that 05:44 are coming. 05:45 And he's telling us, now, listen, it's very, very 05:47 important for you to understand that I am going to 05:49 plead, I'm going to lighten the earth with my glory, I'm 05:52 gonna make sure everyone, the question we asked, I'm gonna 05:54 make sure everyone has an opportunity to understand, and 05:57 it's not until the earth is lightened and everyone says 05:59 yes or no to me, but I'm gonna let these plagues come upon 06:03 the earth. 06:04 >>DAVID: Isn't one of the best intertextual evidences for the 06:07 timing of it that, back in Revelation 14, you have the 06:10 three angels' messages and the second of those messages is 06:13 Babylon is fallen, is fallen? 06:15 Well, that is being described here in Revelation 17 and 06:19 especially 18, which takes place before the latter part 06:22 of Revelation 14, which is the harvest of the earth. 06:25 >>JEFFREY: I was about to say that because Revelation 14 06:27 ends with the harvest, that's the end, end, but Babylon 06:31 falls before that. 06:32 >>DAVID: The second angel's message comes before that. 06:34 >>JEFFREY: Yeah, so, therefore, chapter 18 has to 06:36 be a flashback to that. 06:37 >>DAVID: It really highlights just how much of a mess you 06:40 get if you tried, which is I think, a basic impossibility, 06:43 to read this chronologically. 06:45 >>TY: That's right. 06:46 >>DAVID: You would miss the cycles, you would miss, you'd 06:49 just miss the recapitulation, the interludes, and I think 06:52 there's so many of them. 06:53 >>JEFFREY: But we would be confused if it was even 06:55 written chronologically, wouldn't we? 06:57 I think there's a reason why it's big picture, then come 06:59 back, magnifying glass, big picture, magnifying glass. 07:03 I don't think we'd be able to even, it would swallow 07:05 everything if it was just, whoosh. 07:07 >>DAVID: Well, like I mentioned before, when we go 07:09 through, for example, the 7 churches, that's like from a 07:12 pastoral perspective, when we go through the seals, that's 07:14 from a larger, historical perspective, when we go 07:16 through the trumpets, that's from the military judgment 07:18 perspective. 07:19 It's like you're telling the same story. 07:21 It's the backpacking, flying over, walking, you know, 07:24 driving, it's that story. 07:25 And here, in 12, correct me if I'm wrong, James, 'cause you 07:29 talk sometimes about the fourth cycle, that really 07:32 starts in Revelation 12, where we came to the woman again, 07:35 who gave birth to the child, and now to the end, am I 07:37 right? 07:38 So, Revelation 12 to 22 that is that big cycle. 07:42 So, you have the churches, seals, trumpets, and then... 07:47 >>JAMES: The woman, the beast, and the dragon. 07:48 >>DAVID: The woman, the beast, and the dragon, which is the 07:50 whole basically second half of Revelation. 07:52 That's really helpful for me. 07:53 >>TY: By which you meant the woman, the child, and the 07:54 dragon. 07:56 >>DAVID: What did I say? 07:57 >>TY: The woman, the beast and the dragon. 07:57 >>JAMES: I say beast because it's got the... 08:00 >>JEFFREY: I think you're thinking the same thing I was 08:01 thinking, I wanted to highlight the whole 08:03 illuminated with his glory. 08:05 >>TY: Look at all my fingers. 08:07 >>TY: Look at all my fingers. 08:09 >>JAMES: You ran out of fingers. 08:10 >>TY: I ran out of fingers, I got a whole bible study here, 08:14 I got all these bullets in the gun ready to go on the point 08:18 you wanna make, so go. 08:19 >>JEFFREY: But I was already on Isaiah 60 in my heart. 08:22 Before you. 08:23 >>TY: Well, one of mine is Isaiah, yeah, I'm there. 08:25 So, you read the text. 08:27 >>JAMES: We're wasting time, people, let's do it. 08:29 >>JEFFREY: Verse 1, arise, shine, Isaiah 60, verse 1. 08:31 >>TY: Oh, no, no, no, don't go there. 08:34 You said Revelation 18, verse 1, so people know what we're 08:40 talking about. 08:41 >>JEFFREY: Oh, you want me to read that first. 08:43 >>TY: Yeah. 08:45 >>JEFFREY: I just wanna go there. 08:46 >>DAVID: He wants you to throw the pass to him. 08:47 Throw him the pass. 08:48 >>JEFFREY: Read that and then I'll read. 08:50 Alright, fine, I'll set you up. 08:51 I'll be a servant. 08:52 Revelation 18, verse 1. 08:54 After these things I saw another angel coming down from 08:55 heaven, having great authority, and the earth was 08:58 illuminated with his glory. 09:00 Ty, what does that mean, Ty? 09:02 >>TY: [Laughter] 09:03 Jeffrey, the reason why I didn't want you to go right to 09:08 Isaiah, the Isaiah passage yet is because I wanted to make a 09:11 point. 09:12 >>JEFFREY: Do it. 09:13 >>TY: And the point is that Revelation 18:1 says the earth 09:15 is illuminated with his glory, but if you go straight to 09:20 Isaiah, you miss the point of defining what glory is in 09:24 scripture. 09:25 If you go back to, I can't even do this. 09:28 If you go back to, I can't even do this. 09:28 If you go back to Exodus 33. 09:31 If you go back to Exodus 33. 09:33 If you go back to Exodus 33, there's something interesting 09:37 here. 09:38 Moses makes a request of the Lord, he says, show me your 09:43 glory, please show me your glory in Exodus 33 and verse 18. 09:48 Then, God answers and says to Moses, in the affirmative, 09:52 yeah, I'll do it, I'll show you my glory, and here's what 09:55 it's like, I will make all my goodness pass before you and I 09:59 will proclaim the name of the Lord before you. 10:01 I will be gracious to whom I will be gracious and have 10:07 compassion upon whom I will have compassion, you see. 10:11 So... 10:12 >>JEFFREY: Describing what he's like. 10:14 >>TY: So, then, then... 10:15 >>JEFFREY: But wait, wait, don't leave yet, 'cause when 10:18 he comes down from the mountain, his face is shining, 10:22 isn't it? 10:23 >>TY: Yeah, that's right. 10:24 >>DAVID: He's illuminating. 10:27 >>JEFFREY: Yeah. 10:28 It's a perfect parallel. 10:29 >>TY: We've said over and over again that Revelation is 10:33 always quoting from the Old Testament. 10:36 Here's the first time it occurs in the Old Testament 10:38 scriptures, Numbers 14:21. 10:40 >>DAVID: The first time what occurs? 10:42 >>TY: The first time where it occurs where Revelation 18:1 10:45 is quoting from this passage, chapter 14 of Numbers, verse 10:52 21, but truly, as I live, all the earth will be filled with 10:58 the glory of the Lord. 10:59 So, this is the first promise from the first biblical 11:02 prophet. 11:03 This is Moses is the one who initiates this idea, God 11:09 please show me your glory. 11:11 God says, I'll show you my glory, it's my character, it's 11:13 my goodness, and then God tells Moses, Moses, I'm 11:17 telling you what's coming down in human history. 11:19 What's going to happen eventually is the earth will 11:23 be filled with the glory of the Lord. 11:27 Then, that same exact prophecy language is used by the 11:32 prophet Isaiah. 11:33 Take us there. 11:35 >>JEFFREY: Isaiah 60, verse 1, arise and shine for your light 11:39 has come and the glory of the Lord is risen upon you. 11:43 For behold, the darkness shall cover the earth, in deep 11:47 darkness, the people, but the Lord will arise over you and 11:51 his glory will be seen upon you. 11:54 The Gentiles will come to your light and kings to the 11:57 brightness of your rising. 11:59 >>TY: That's a powerful passage. 12:01 That's expanding what Numbers 14 said that when the earth is 12:05 filled with God's glory, it will attract kings and 12:10 unbelievers to the brightness of your rising. 12:12 God's people are proclaiming a message and that passage in 12:16 Isaiah and the one in Numbers, first and foremost, they're 12:21 talking about Jesus. 12:22 These are all Messianic prophecies. 12:24 Jesus is the one in whom the glory of God was perfectly 12:28 manifested. 12:30 That's very clear John chapter 12. 12:32 Ezekiel chapter 43, same promise, and behold, the glory 12:37 of the Lord of the God of Israel came from the way of 12:40 the east and his voice was like the sound of many waters 12:44 and the earth shone with his glory. 12:48 Same exact language again, and then Habakkuk 2:14, for the 12:51 earth will be filled with the knowledge, now the word 12:55 knowledge is asked of the glory of the Lord as the 12:57 waters cover the sea. 13:00 So, all of these passages are using the same language as 13:03 Revelation 18:1, earth filled with the glory of the Lord. 13:07 >>JEFFREY: A certain knowledge of God. 13:09 >>TY: A certain knowledge of God is going to be disclosed 13:12 in human history and all of these passages say that it's 13:15 going to be global, it's going to be viral, it's going to be 13:18 something that the whole world is talking about and trying to 13:23 understand. 13:24 God will be exalted in some kind of revelation. 13:29 >>DAVID: What was the Ezekiel passage? 13:31 >>TY: 43, verses 1 and 2. 13:32 >>JEFFREY: And in that Isaiah passage we read, it doesn't 13:34 just say that darkness covers the earth, it says darkness is 13:36 deep in the people, gross darkness, deep darkness, the 13:40 people, and we've been alluding to that, that dark... 13:43 >>TY: And it's not the kind of darkness that you get when you 13:45 turn the lights off or the sun goes down, it's talking about 13:48 darkness of mind, darkness of heart. 13:51 >>JEFFREY: Spiritual darkness. 13:53 >>TY: Theological darkness, even, it's perspectives on the 13:56 character of God that are dark that lead people to turn away 14:02 from God on the basis of false information about God. 14:07 But even, this is Paul, in 2 Corinthians chapter 4, but 14:11 even if our gospel is veiled, it is veiled to those who are 14:15 perishing, whose minds the god of this age has blinded, who 14:22 do not believe, lest the light of the gospel of the glory of 14:26 Christ, who is the image of God, should shine on them. 14:30 >>JEFFREY: So, that's describing the state of 14:32 darkness. 14:33 >>TY: That's the darkness. 14:34 >>JEFFREY: Lack of the knowledge of Christ. 14:36 >>TY: So, when we come to Revelation 18, this is 14:40 describing a global illumination project of some kind. 14:45 There's going to be a proclamation of the gospel 14:47 that's gonna fill the whole world. 14:49 >>JAMES: I hate to put this stick in the mud, and I don't 14:52 mean I hate to do it because I think it's really interesting, 14:54 it's amazing to me that part of the glory of God that's 14:59 revealed in Exodus chapter 34, I just wanna read the verses 15:02 here because the Lord comes and he reveals to Moses his 15:06 glory, and when he actually reveals to Moses his glory, it 15:08 says, the Lord passed by before him and proclaimed the 15:11 Lord, the Lord God merciful and gracious. 15:14 This is when he's revealing the glory. 15:16 He's actually showing him his glory. 15:18 Merciful, gracious, abundant in goodness and truth, keeping 15:21 mercy for thousands, forgiving iniquity in transgression and 15:23 sin, and that will, by no means, clear the guilty. 15:27 Visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children, and 15:29 upon the children's children under the third and fourth 15:32 generation. 15:33 Now, I think what's really interesting here because it's 15:35 the same in Numbers, Numbers God forgives, and he says, but 15:41 the earth will be enlightened with my glory. 15:43 I'm gonna forgive these rebels now, but the earth will be 15:45 lightened with my glory. 15:46 And the point here in Revelation is, it's really 15:48 interesting, I thought that the revelation of the glory of 15:52 God was one event and then you have this judgement coming and 15:57 that's another event in Revelation 18. 16:00 But the context of Revelation 18 is it's revealed in Exodus 34. 16:04 Define Exodus 34 is the lightening of the earth 16:07 with glory of God is also a revelation of justice. 16:13 In other words, part of the glory is that he's calling his 16:17 people out to the gospel and the other part of the glory is 16:20 he's finally visiting justice on Babylon, and what's really 16:24 interesting because it's in this context, you read all 16:27 these verses and that emergence of the earth and the 16:29 kings and they wail and they weep and they're struggling, 16:32 and they're just like, ah, this is terrible, Babylon's 16:34 falling. 16:35 But then, you come to the very lasts part here, and it says 16:37 here in Revelation chapter 18, it says, and I'm looking here 16:42 at verse 20, just to get the context, verse 19 says, they 16:47 cast dust on their heads and they cry, weeping and wailing, 16:49 alas, alas, that great city wherein we've been made rich 16:52 and the ships and by the reason of acutance, one hour 16:55 she's made desolate. 16:56 And then, verse 20, rejoice over her, thou heaven and ye 17:00 holy prophets, for God has avenged you on her. 17:03 Whoa. 17:05 There's an aspect to God's glory that causes heaven and 17:08 earth to rejoice. 17:09 There's an aspect of God's glory, of his character, that 17:14 is there, that is right, and this is the struggle because, 17:20 we talked about this early, but I think if God, God is 17:24 coming to a place in history where he's gonna manifest his 17:26 glory and everyone's gonna be able to say, every knee's 17:28 gonna bow and everyone's gonna be able to say, yeah, it is 17:31 right that he does this. 17:33 Even the lost would say, yeah, this is right. 17:36 This revelation of God's glory hasn't taken place yet because 17:39 God cannot fully manifest his glory without there being a 17:42 question about his character. 17:43 But a day is coming when God's gonna be able to fully 17:45 manifest his glory, even in that sense of that glory that 17:49 consumes sin and everyone's gonna say, this is a good 17:51 thing, this is a right thing. 17:52 Does that make sense? 17:53 >>TY: Totally. 17:55 I think that we, in a previous session, I can't remember 17:59 which one, we pointed out that one of the themes in 18:02 Revelation is that human beings are crying out for 18:06 justice, wrongs have been committed down through human 18:10 history. 18:11 The exact context of that passage is martyrdom, but it's 18:15 bigger than that, there's all kinds of horrors taking place. 18:19 This world is a big nightmare, there are so many horrible 18:23 things going on. 18:24 >>JAMES: The souls of the slaves of men is described in 18:26 these verses. 18:28 >>TY: Yeah, so you have bad things happening in history 18:30 and of course, people are crying out for justice and so, 18:35 part of the resolve of the war between good and evil has to 18:41 be that justice is a part of the good news. 18:44 It's not contrary to the good news, it's not different than 18:47 the gospel, part of the gospel is that there will be a 18:51 complete end to people hurting people. 18:54 That's the bottom line, people are crossing lines all the 18:57 time. 19:01 So, when the people are rejoicing in verse 20 of 19:03 Revelation 18:20, when heaven and earth are rejoicing at the 19:09 demise of Babylon, it's not a sadistic rejoicing. 19:14 >>JEFFREY: It's a sigh of relief, judgment has made 19:17 things right. 19:18 >>TY: Evil is now coming to an end and all the violations 19:23 that have defined human history are now winding down 19:28 and righteousness and goodness and love is going to prevail 19:31 and what's not to be happy about that taking place? 19:35 So, yeah, I think that's a part of the good news, it's a 19:38 part of the gospel. 19:39 Our time is up for this first segment, so we have to take a 19:41 break, but let's come back and continue this discussion. 19:45 [Music] 19:57 >>The bible is a big book. 19:59 It's composed of 66 smaller books, written by more than 40 20:04 different authors. 20:05 It's easy to get bogged down in all the genealogies, 20:09 ancient history and intersecting characters with 20:12 unpronounceable names. 20:14 And yet, the bible is full of rich and powerful truths that 20:18 all of us need to understand. 20:22 Wouldn't you love to have an experienced tour guide take 20:25 you on a step-by-step journey through some of the most vital 20:28 and beautiful truths contained in the bible? 20:31 Well, now, it's here. 20:33 It's called Truth Link. 20:35 Truth Link is a groundbreaking new series of easy to 20:39 understand bible study guides that thousands of people 20:43 around the world are raving about. 20:46 Why all the excitement? 20:48 Because Truth Link systematically unfolds 27 life 20:53 transforming biblical topics, but not as a list of dry 20:58 theological facts. 21:00 Rather, Truth Link takes you on an engaging, biblical 21:05 expedition, demonstrating how every truth of scripture 21:09 reveals some facet of God's beautiful character. 21:13 Truth Link isn't just information, it's a spiritual 21:18 journey that will radically impact your life. 21:21 We would really love for you to have these bible study 21:24 guides because we know they will be a blessing to you. 21:29 You can get them by visiting truthlink.org or by calling 21:34 541-988-3333. 21:39 541-988-3333. 21:41 [Music] 21:47 >>TY: So, in that previous session, I think we said a lot 21:50 really fast, at least for me, it went by really fast and it 21:54 would be good if we just, if we back up and make sure we 21:57 understand what we just said. 21:59 [Laughter] 22:02 So, we're essentially saying that, in Revelation 18, there 22:06 will be a final, global revelation of God's character 22:11 over against the false conceptions of God's character 22:15 that have been popularized through religion and the 22:18 world. 22:19 And that revelation of God's true character will produce 22:24 the fall of Babylon. 22:26 One of the things that is remarkable in the passage is 22:31 this language in verse 2, Babylon the great is fallen, 22:35 is fallen, and has become the dwelling place of demons and 22:40 the prison of every foul spirit and the cage of every 22:44 unclean and hateful bird. 22:46 And this is interesting, in verse 4, come out of her my 22:50 people, that's the language I wanted to focus on. 22:52 >>JEFFREY: I think, I think that, that could be the key 22:56 text in that whole chapter, because Babylon is fallen, and 23:01 there's all this judgment, all this serious, heavy language 23:04 on Babylon, and yet, it says, come out of her, my people, 23:07 God speaking, and so the fact is that there are still God's 23:12 people that are in Babylon. 23:15 >>TY: Which is to say that they're in what? 23:17 They're in every different philosophy, religion, nation, 23:20 country, culture. 23:21 >>JEFFREY: They're in precisely the situations where 23:25 we would have the tendency as believers to say, oh, those 23:28 are not God's people. 23:29 >>TY: So, we shouldn't generalize. 23:31 >>JEFFREY: This text is disorienting in my view, 23:34 because it's, in a good way, it's telling us, God's 23:38 perspective is not the same as our perspective. 23:40 So, God is broad minded, big hearted, there are people that 23:44 may not be, to our eyes and to our perspective, people of 23:49 God, and yet, the text is telling us that God still has 23:54 his people in Babylon, and the reason I think this is heavy 23:58 is because this is John speaking and John hung out 24:02 with Jesus, sat and listened to Jesus, when you read the 24:06 type of stuff that Jesus said, you remember, in John 10:16, 24:10 where Jesus says, I have other sheep that are not of this 24:13 fold, but they also must come because there's one shepherd 24:17 and one fold. 24:18 So, it was part of Jesus's theological framework. 24:22 >>DAVID: His MO. 24:24 >>JEFFREY: To understand that people were not presently 24:27 identified with him in a way that us human beings can 24:32 recognized, have not escaped his attention, his notice. 24:38 >>TY: It just reveals the large heartedness of God. 24:41 >>DAVID: I know, Jeffrey, that you're gonna give us some 24:43 backstory here on the, but let me just say something before 24:47 you do that. 24:48 Something that just dawned on me and I guess I knew this 24:50 before, but it was really helpful when you said, you 24:53 know, we have this enlightenment project, this 24:56 global enlightenment project, as Ty called it, in verse 1, 24:59 that then precipitates the demise of the fall of Babylon 25:03 in verse 2, Babylon is fallen, is fallen. 25:05 That's the very thing that we saw back in Revelation 14, 25:07 where the first angel has the everlasting gospel, as a 25:10 consequence then, the second angel says, Babylon is fallen, 25:14 is fallen. 25:16 So, we see that it might've seemed a little tenuous back 25:18 when we were in Revelation 14, it said, hey, look, here's the 25:21 everlasting gospel, the first angel's message, and look, as 25:23 a consequence of that, this is what happens, but the fact 25:26 that that is the point that John is making is further 25:29 elucidated here, when you have, the earth is illuminated 25:31 with the glory of God, the goodness of God, the character 25:34 of God, and the very next thing that he says is, is that 25:36 the support for Babylon dries up. 25:39 And I think it happens on two fronts, and I think this is 25:41 where you're gonna go, Jeffrey, one is, is that lots 25:44 of people who were formerly perceived as loyal to Babylon 25:48 or Babylonian come out. 25:50 They're like, no, no, no, we're done with this, we're 25:52 going here. 25:53 And then the other is that those who are in Babylon, 25:55 which this takes place at the end of Revelation, well, it's 25:57 actually Revelation 17 and 18, those that were Babylonian 26:00 loyalists eventually turn and say, hey, you cannot deliver 26:05 on what you said you could, so all support is gone. 26:08 The faithful, the residual faithful have come out and 26:12 those that remain loyal in short order turn on Babylon 26:15 and the bible says they eat her flesh, which sounds like 26:19 Jezebel Old Testament. 26:20 Yeah, yeah, yeah, and they burn her with fire, it's just 26:25 this, like, it's pretty heavy. 26:27 >>TY: It sounds like the whole world is imploding around the 26:30 ears of the Babylonian system. 26:32 It's all coming down. 26:34 This system has been built up and built up on false 26:36 principles and false principles of self-serving 26:40 greed, slavery, as James pointed out, false principles 26:44 are not sustainable, they eventually implode on 26:48 themselves like we saw kind of a taste of it in the 2008 near 26:54 financial crash of the whole world because of the greed of 26:57 like 20 or 30 guys at the top of the system. 27:01 Greed is not sustainable, it eventually, and that's just an 27:05 example. 27:06 There is no form of selfishness that doesn't 27:08 eventually come crashing down around the people who are 27:12 participating in it. 27:14 >>JEFFREY: We've been talking about the whole backfiring 27:17 effect of evil. 27:18 It backfires on Satan, you mentioned several passages in 27:22 scripture where it backfired, Daniel in the lion's den, the 27:25 three Hebrews in the fire in the third chapter of Daniel. 27:28 It backfires on them and I think that's what's being 27:31 described in chapter 17 and 18 of Babylon, it backfires on 27:35 Babylon. 27:36 >>DAVID: And one of the things that we've said before and 27:38 it's there, it's very clear, a woman is a church or a 27:41 supposed church, the fact that there is a presumed priestly 27:46 or mediatoral role here that the woman is seeking to occupy 27:49 is really textual, and I wanna just give two very quick ones 27:52 here. 27:54 In other words, Ty, you said earlier, and I love this, 27:55 like, if a nation does something bad, it does it in 27:57 its own name, but if a church does something bad, if a 28:00 religion does something bad in the name of God, well then 28:03 that redacts, or reflects, rather, back on God. 28:06 And so, a lot of people are like, whoa, this is not the 28:10 way God is. 28:11 They're either both, I think both the loyalists in Babylon 28:14 that remain and those that defect and come out will have 28:17 the perception, what you said is not true. 28:19 And the fact that she occupies this mediatoral, priestly 28:23 role, is visible in two passages that I'll just 28:26 mention. 28:27 The woman is depicted in Revelation 17 as being 28:29 arraying in purple and scarlet and gold. 28:32 When you go back and you look at the colors that the priest 28:34 wore, the high priest, in Israel's sanctuary system, in 28:40 Exodus 28, purple, gold, scarlet, and blue. 28:43 And the blue is missing and there's significance there 28:46 that we don't have full time to develop, but it was a 28:48 recognition of the law of God and of the 10 commandments. 28:52 So, there's that element, but then there's this other 28:54 element that when they turn on her, they burn her with fire, 28:58 it says in verse 16 of Revelation 17. 29:01 And there was only one punishment in the Mosaic 29:03 system in which somebody was burned with fire as a 29:07 terminal, capital punishment, and that was when the daughter 29:10 of a priest became a harlot. 29:12 >>TY: And that's what's being referred to. 29:15 >>DAVID: In other words, here's yet two other examples 29:18 of how all of this makes sense within the context of the Old 29:21 Testament foundation upon which it's built. 29:23 Now, here's why I'm going with that. 29:25 I've already said it, but I'll just bring it together. 29:28 People in Babylon, some are gonna be like, no, we're 29:30 sticking to our guns, we're sticking with this system, 29:32 even though it's beginning to crumble, and others are gonna 29:35 say, hey, we're out, we're out of here. 29:38 And in verse short order, the support for Babylon dries up, 29:41 either by defection or by a realization, hey, that whole 29:45 you and God thing, that's not working out. 29:47 >>TY: No, that's right. 29:49 So, I think that's a long preamble by way of saying that 29:52 you're gonna talk about... 29:53 >>JEFFREY: Just the fact that this is mystic Babylon 29:58 falling, but mystic Babylon, symbolic Babylon is based on 30:02 the literal Babylon, the Old Testament. 30:05 And so, this idea of Babylon falling takes our minds back 30:09 to the Babylonian empire and how it fell. 30:12 And the scenario surrounding the actual, literal Babylon is 30:18 super suggestive for what's happening here. 30:20 You alluded to verse 20, rejoice, rejoice because 30:24 Babylon is falling, right? 30:26 So, there's a sense in which God's people are associating 30:30 the fall of Babylon with their deliverance. 30:32 It's one of the same thing. 30:34 It's one coin with two sides. 30:36 So, I just wanted to read briefly, I think this is 30:38 powerful. 30:39 Babylon is falling and there's rejoicing by God's people, as 30:43 they're evacuating the building, it's coming down, 30:46 right? 30:47 In Isaiah chapter 44 and 45, Jeremiah does the same, these 30:52 are the predictions that originally foretold the fall 30:56 of literal Babylon. 30:58 So, the year, what, 539 BC, correct me if I'm wrong. 31:01 So, the year, what, 539 BC, correct me if I'm wrong. 31:02 Babylon, right, on the Belshazzar, this is now Daniel 31:06 5 tells a story, but we're just narrating that in 539 BC, 31:11 Cyrus and the Persians were surrounding the Babylonian 31:15 empire and the Babylonians were inside, the gates were 31:19 closed, the walls were thick, they had plenty provisions to 31:22 last, one historian says, 20 years, without having to exit 31:26 the walls. 31:28 >>DAVID: That's gonna be a long siege. 31:30 >>JEFFREY: Yeah, that's a long siege. 31:31 Anyway, long story short, Cyrus decides to take some of 31:33 his troops upstream, the Euphrates River flows through 31:37 the Babylonian gates and through the empire and through 31:40 the city and they divert the river in order for the 31:43 soldiers to be able to duck under the gates and wade, 31:47 waist high into Babylon and conquer. 31:51 They conquer the kingdom. 31:53 Anyways, this is where we pick up in Isaiah 44. 31:56 I'm just gonna read, bear with me, I'm just gonna read, 44, 31:59 beginning in verse 24. 32:02 And this is my point, as we read, Cyrus takes on Messianic 32:06 significance, he's the Messiah here. 32:08 >>DAVID: 44:24? 32:09 >>JEFFREY: 44:24. 32:11 Thus says the Lord, your Redeemer, and He who formed 32:13 you from the womb, I am the Lord, who makes all things, 32:17 who stretches out the heavens all alone, who spreads abroad 32:20 the earth by Myself, and frustrates the signs of the 32:24 babblers, and drives diviners mad, who turns wise men 32:28 backward, verse 26, who confirms the word of His 32:31 servant, who says to Jerusalem, skipping down, you 32:35 shall be inhabited, to the cities of Judah, you shall be 32:38 built, and I will raise up her waste places. 32:42 Who is Judah in Jerusalem? 32:45 They're captive in Babylon. 32:48 Verse 27, who says to the deep, be dry! 32:50 I will dry up your rivers. 32:51 Verse 28, who says of Cyrus, he is my, and that word there, 32:57 shepherd, that's a Messianic term. 32:59 And he shall perform all my pleasure, saying to Jerusalem, 33:02 you shall be built, saying to the temple, your foundation 33:06 shall be laid. 33:07 Chapter 45, verse 1, thus says the Lord to His anointed, 33:11 Cyrus, so, shepherd, anointed, it's the same language, I 33:16 won't keep reading, but the short end is, in chapter 45, 33:20 as Cyrus storms into Babylon and conquers Babylon, Babylon 33:25 falls, and when that happens, Cyrus then allows the Jews, 33:30 Cyrus and the Persians allow the Jews to return back to 33:35 Jerusalem and to rebuild their city and their temple. 33:39 The people of God experience deliverance as Babylon falls. 33:44 And so, that's the literal setting that you get to 33:47 chapter 18 and now, mystic, symbolic Babylon is falling, 33:51 and the people of God, spiritually speaking, are 33:54 evacuating, and they're being delivered. 33:57 >>TY: And then what, in Revelation? 33:59 >>JEFFREY: By a Messianic figure. 34:01 >>DAVID: Oh, by the Messiah. 34:02 >>JEFFREY: By the Messiah, take us. 34:04 >>TY: And then, in Revelation, what follows in chapter 21 and 34:07 22 is they return to Jerusalem, just like it says 34:10 here, this is all fulfilled, Jerusalem is established, the 34:14 people are delivered and they inhabit Jerusalem for 34:16 eternity. 34:17 >>JEFFREY: Impossible to understand that chapter 34:19 without the Old Testament. 34:20 There's no way you understand chapter 18 of Revelation 34:22 without the Old Testament. 34:24 >>TY: Jeffrey, I really appreciate you bringing this 34:27 to our attention recently and in the event that we were 34:30 preaching together at and now again, this is extremely 34:33 helpful to see that what we're dealing with here is a 34:39 fulfillment of this prophecy in its ultimate form is 34:44 extremely helpful. 34:45 >>JEFFREY: Yeah, our listeners may be aware of the Cyrus 34:46 cylinder. 34:48 This is an archeological artifact, in that Cyrus 34:50 cylinder describes, after Cyrus conquers Babylon, his 34:54 tolerant governmental agenda where he allows people to 34:59 worship God according to their own religion. 35:01 Cyrus takes on this liberating figure. 35:04 Yeah, the Cyrus cylinder is in the British Museum right now, 35:08 you can go see it. 35:09 >>TY: This is significant theologically, isn't it? 35:11 I've never seen this before, what you just said, is there a 35:13 connection here that one of the defining characteristics 35:16 of Babylon is coercion and the marriage of church and state, 35:22 and now, with Cyrus, there's religious liberty. 35:27 Isn't that something? 35:28 There's religious liberty now under Cyrus, ultimately, under 35:32 Messiah, and Jerusalem is a place of free worship. 35:38 >>DAVID: Jerusalem above is free. 35:40 >>DAVID: Jerusalem above is free. 35:41 >>TY: Yes. 35:42 Thanks, man that was good stuff. 35:45 >>DAVID: As the waters of the Euphrates, the literal 35:47 Euphrates, receded, the support that Babylon had, the 35:51 thing that enabled them to be fine for 20 years, dries up. 35:56 That's Revelation 17 and 18. 35:58 Her support dries up, both by the evacuation, hey, we're 36:01 out, this was my point, and the loyalists, it falls under 36:04 the Messiah's attack. 36:08 >>JAMES: And it's also, actually, the wordage, the 36:11 symbolism is he actually used in Revelation 16, you've got 36:14 the river Euphrates drying up the way the kings of the east 36:16 would. 36:18 And so, this is fleshing out Revelation 16 is being fleshed 36:21 out here in Revelation 17, 18. 36:24 >>DAVID: I'm gonna say something that might sound proud. 36:25 I don't want it to sound proud, because I don't 36:26 understand every nuance and detail of each text, but 36:30 that's not hard to understand. 36:32 >>TY: What isn't? 36:33 >>DAVID: Just this idea, like we talk, oh, the book of 36:35 Revelation, it's this mystery, it's this enigma within an 36:37 enigma. 36:38 Well, that's actually pretty clear, you know, just this 36:41 notion of the fall of Babylon and the, when you look at the 36:44 old story, when you look at the, the book of Revelation 36:48 and with the context that, by the grace of God, we have been 36:50 able to achieve, with the focus on these two principles, 36:56 two ways of viewing reality, two ways of doing governance, 37:00 when you get down to Revelation 17 and 18, it's 37:03 exactly what you would expect if everything we've done up to 37:06 this point, we've done on the right track. 37:08 You get that? 37:09 >>TY: So, the reason why, oftentimes, people find 37:14 Revelation to be so difficult is because they're trying to 37:18 interpret it in isolation by just reading the book and 37:21 saying, what does that mean? 37:22 What does that mean? 37:23 What does that mean? 37:25 Well, it's up to interpretation on the spot. 37:27 You know, but if you have the Old Testament background, you 37:31 know the stories. 37:32 If you're Old Testament literate, then you read the 37:35 book of Revelation like, oh, that's referring to that, and 37:38 that's referring to that, and that's referring to that, and 37:40 all of that Old Testament background informs the 37:43 interpretation. 37:44 >>DAVID: I've been keeping notes since we started, just 37:47 of each session and things which I thought were 37:49 interesting or points that I wanted to make, and going back 37:51 to the very first session, Ty, you said something that has 37:53 stuck with me, that in the book of Revelation, evil 37:55 escalates, implodes, then ends. 38:00 That's what we're seeing here, we're saying the implosion of 38:03 this way of doing reality, and then, shortly hereafter, 38:07 Revelation 20, 21, 22, it ends. 38:12 Revelation 20, 21, 22, it ends. 38:13 >>TY: We have to take a break, but this has been good so far, 38:16 I've enjoyed it. 38:17 We'll come right back and continue the discussion. 38:20 [Music] 38:30 [Music] 38:31 Announcer: Truth is not merely a list of theological 38:32 facts, but rather the revelation of God's beautiful 38:35 love in Jesus Christ. 38:37 Truth Link is a series of bible study guides that 38:40 magnify God's love as the center of every bible 38:44 doctrine. 38:45 To receive your free copy of lesson one, call 877-585-1111 38:51 or write to Light Bearers, 37457 Jasper Lowell Road, 38:56 Jasper, Oregon, 97438. 38:58 Once again, to receive your free copy of Truth Link lesson 39:03 one, call 877-585-1111 or write to Light Bearers, 39:09 37457 Jasper Lowell Road, Jasper, Oregon, 97438. 39:15 37457 Jasper Lowell Road, Jasper, Oregon, 97438. 39:16 [Music] 39:19 >>TY: So, in this session, we're attempting to cover 39:22 Revelation 18, Revelation 19, and Revelation 20, and I think 39:27 we can pull it off. 39:28 Piece of cake, Jeffrey says, piece of cake. 39:30 We can pull it off. 39:31 I think one thing that we should do is David, would you 39:35 mind just reading through Revelation 19? 39:38 >>DAVID: The whole thing? 39:39 Well, at least like the first 16 verses? 39:43 Well, at least like the first 16 verses? 39:44 >>TY: Yes, I think this chapter, if you just read 39:47 this, it makes sense in our context and for where we're 39:51 going. 39:52 >>DAVID: Okay, so, after these things I heard a loud voice of 39:54 a great multitude in heaven, saying, halleluiah! 39:57 Salvation and glory and honor and power belong to the Lord 39:59 our God! 40:00 For true and righteous are His judgments, because He has 40:02 judged the great harlot who corrupted the earth with her 40:05 fornication, and He has avenged on her the blood of 40:07 His servants shed by her. 40:09 Again they said, halleluiah! 40:10 Her smoke rises up forever and ever! 40:12 And the twenty-four elders and the four living creatures fell 40:14 down and worshiped God who sat on the throne, saying, amen! 40:17 Alleluia! 40:18 Then a voice came from the throne, saying, praise our 40:20 God, all you His servants and those who fear Him, both small 40:23 and great! 40:24 And I heard, as it were, the voice of a great multitude, as 40:26 the sound of many waters and as the sound of mighty 40:28 thunderings, saying, halleluiah, fourth time now, 40:30 for the Lord God omnipotent reigns! 40:33 Let us be glad and rejoice and give Him glory, for the 40:35 marriage of the Lamb has come, and His wife has made herself 40:38 ready. 40:39 And to her it was granted to be arrayed in fine linen, 40:41 clean and bright, for the fine linen is the righteous acts of 40:44 the saints. 40:45 Then he said to me, write, blessed are those who are 40:47 called to the marriage supper of the Lamb! 40:49 And he said to me, these are the true sayings of God. 40:52 And I fell at his feet to worship him. 40:54 But he said, see that you do not do that! 40:56 I am your fellow servant, and of your brethren who have the 40:58 testimony of Jesus. 40:59 Worship God! 41:00 For the testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy. 41:03 Now I saw heaven opened, and behold, a white horse. 41:06 And He who sat on him was called Faithful and True, and 41:08 in righteousness He judges and makes war. 41:10 His eyes were like a flame of fire, and on His head were 41:12 many crowns. 41:14 And He had a name written that no one knew except Himself. 41:16 He was clothed with a robe dipped in blood, and His name 41:18 is called the Word of God. 41:20 And the armies in heaven, clothed in fine linen, white 41:22 and clean, followed Him on white horses. 41:24 Now out of His mouth goes a sharp sword, that with it He 41:27 should strike the nations. 41:28 And He Himself will rule them with a rod of iron. 41:30 He Himself treads the winepress of the fierceness 41:33 and wrath of Almighty God. 41:34 And He has on His robe and on His thigh a name written, King 41:38 of kings and Lord of lords. 41:40 >>JEFFREY: That's some glorious literature right 41:42 there. 41:43 >>TY: Now, it's not just so beautifully composed, but it's 41:48 telling us something that we've mentioned in previous 41:51 sessions that I think is a good point to start with and 41:54 that is that in verse 1, after these things, I heard a loud 41:58 voice as of a great multitude. 42:01 Voice is singular, great multitude is plural, or it's a 42:07 lot of voices. 42:08 What's happening here, in previous sessions, we've 42:11 pointed out that as Revelation is beginning to open, there 42:16 are proceedings taking place in the throne room of the 42:19 universe and you first have the four living creatures who 42:24 comment on the character of God, then you have the 24 42:27 elders who chime in and say, yep, amen, we agree with 42:30 what's being divulged and discovered regarding the 42:33 character of God. 42:35 Then, you have some singular voice of an angel who chimes 42:38 in, is saying things. 42:41 As the book continues to unfold, over and over again, 42:45 it's like a chorus of voices that are building, building, 42:48 building, building, until you have a whole multitude of 42:51 voices that includes, in chapter 19, that includes the 42:54 24 elders, that includes the four living creatures, it 42:57 includes the voice of a great multitude, like the sound of 43:00 many waters, and all these voices are coming together as 43:05 a single voice, and that's my point, it's a singular voice 43:08 of a multitude, singular voice of a multitude, why? 43:12 Because everyone's realizing and saying the same thing, and 43:19 what are they saying? 43:20 That the God of scripture, the God of history, the one and 43:23 only true God is a God of justice. 43:27 This God is just and true in all his ways, true and 43:31 righteous in all his ways. 43:34 Isn't that incredible? 43:35 >>DAVID: Verse 11, he's called faithful and true, and in 43:37 righteousness, he judges and makes war. 43:39 Verse 2, for true and righteous are his judgments. 43:42 That's the chorus. 43:44 The four times, the repetition of hallelujah, one, two, 43:47 three, four times, literally just means praise Yahweh, 43:51 praise God, praise God, praise God, and the reason is not 43:55 because he's strong and all of that, like a comment on his 43:58 nature. 44:00 God is what God is. 44:01 I love that point you made early on. 44:03 This is a commentary on God's actions, on his behavior, on 44:07 his ways. 44:09 I love that point. 44:11 It takes us all the way back to Revelation 5, where what 44:13 John saw on the throne was a Lamb as if it had been slain. 44:17 Here, he returns, and I love this point, not with a sword 44:20 in his hand, but with a sword proceeding from his mouth. 44:25 He's not just a bigger version of a king, of some normal 44:28 king. 44:29 >>TY: He's not conquering the hitters by hitting harder. 44:30 >>DAVID: No, it's what he says, it's his judgments, it's 44:33 his ways, it's his truth. 44:35 Jesus is the word of God. 44:38 >>JEFFREY: Verse 13. 44:39 >>DAVID: It's the way that God speaks, which of course, 44:41 whenever we speak, that's a reflection of what's in our 44:43 mind, the way we think, it's who we are. 44:45 >>JAMES: And Jesus says the same thing in John 3:16, he 44:48 says, the word that I speak, it will condemn, it's the word 44:52 itself. 44:53 It will judge. 44:54 The word will judge. 44:55 >>TY: Where is that? 44:56 Oh, yeah, yeah, yeah. 44:57 >>JAMES: You know, John 3, isn't it John 3:16? 44:59 I'm trying to think if that's the right verse or if it's 45:00 another one. 45:01 >>TY: It's in John 3, yeah. 45:02 >>JAMES: John 3:16, you know, we looked at the verse where 45:06 it says they loved darkness rather than light. 45:09 it says they loved darkness rather than light. 45:10 Yeah, that's verse 19. 45:13 Yeah, that's verse 19. 45:14 >>JEFFREY: We get what you're saying. 45:16 >>JAMES: It's there. 45:18 >>TY: But check this out, you guys, what do you think of 45:20 this connection? 45:21 You can see here in my bible that in chapter 19, it says, 45:24 in verse 11, that he judges. 45:28 Jesus judges. 45:31 And then, I draw a line over here to chapter 20, it says 45:34 that he committed judgment to them. 45:39 There's this thing about judgment that I find 45:42 fascinating in scripture. 45:44 The Father is ultimate and the Father commits all judgment to 45:48 the Son. 45:49 He defers. 45:50 He says, you judge. 45:52 The Son here has the authority to judge and he says, no, you 46:00 judge. 46:02 There's a collective judgment that's taking place. 46:04 There's, I'm not going to force on you a perspective 46:10 that you don't see. 46:12 I want you to evaluate the evidence. 46:15 And in evaluating the evidence, what's your 46:17 judgment? 46:18 What's your discernment? 46:19 What's your conclusion based on how human history has 46:22 unfolded, how God has conducted himself, what is 46:26 your judgment? 46:27 >>JEFFREY: I don't want you to obey me, I want you to want to 46:29 obey me type of thing. 46:30 >>DAVID: I love the fact that you said based on your 46:32 perspective because that is the thing that gives Jesus the 46:36 right to judge. 46:38 John chapter 5, verse 22, Jesus said, the Father judges 46:41 no man, but has committed all judgement to the Son. 46:43 Just a few verses later, it says because he is the Son of 46:46 man. 46:47 Jesus became a man and is therefore imminently qualified 46:52 to know our situation, to empathize with us, to 46:56 sympathize with us, to enter in. 46:58 So, he can judge in the sense of he can evaluate, he can, 47:02 with fairness and with truth. 47:04 He, then I love this idea that you're communicating in 47:06 Revelation 20, he passes the baton of judgment. 47:09 So, what do you think? 47:10 This is my evaluation, what's your evaluation of my 47:13 evaluation? 47:14 There's actually a word for that. 47:16 >>JEFFREY: What's your evaluation of my evaluation? 47:18 >>DAVID: In court proceedings, that's what's called a 47:20 judicial review. 47:22 So, this has happened, and then you say to these people, 47:24 hey, how did that go? 47:26 And then they review the judgment and the proceedings 47:29 and they say, yeah. 47:30 >>TY: They judge the judgment. 47:31 >>DAVID: They judge the judgment. 47:33 >>JAMES: Isn't there a verse where, in the context of 47:36 judgment, Jesus basically says, or I think it's Paul 47:40 says, since you judge yourselves unworthy... 47:43 >>DAVID: That's in Acts. 47:44 >>JAMES: You're judging yourselves unworthy. 47:45 You're making the judgment. 47:47 >>DAVID: It's Acts 13, you judge yourselves unworthy, lo, 47:50 we turn to the Gentiles. 47:52 >>JAMES: Judgment is not so much about what God decides as 47:53 it is about what we decide. 47:56 We, and the judgment we're making about even ourselves is 47:59 being revealed. 48:00 >>TY: That's a powerful concept. 48:02 >>DAVID: This whole idea of judicial review is what's 48:05 happening in Revelation 20. 48:07 Revelation 20 is one of these difficult, challenging 48:09 passages of scripture for a lot of people, but in the 48:14 flowing context of what we've been discussing here, 48:17 Revelation 20 is a scene in which judgment is taking 48:21 place, but it's a judgment of the judgment. 48:25 It's an evaluation by the saints. 48:28 >>TY: Show us that, David. 48:31 Where is it? 48:32 >>DAVID: Well, as crazy as this sounds, very much like 48:34 Revelation 19, I think you can almost just read it in like 48:37 the first few verses. 48:39 Then I saw an angel coming down from heaven, verse 1, 48:41 having the key to the bottomless pit and a great 48:43 chain in his hand. 48:44 He laid hold of the dragon, that serpent of old, who is 48:47 the Devil and Satan, and bound him for a thousand years. 48:50 He cast him into the bottomless pit, and shut him 48:52 up, and set a seal on him, so that he would deceive the 48:54 nations no longer till the thousand years were finished. 48:56 But after these things he must be released for a little 48:58 while. 49:00 Now, verse 4, and I saw thrones, and they sat on them, 49:04 and judgment was committed to them. 49:06 Then I saw the souls of those who had been beheaded for 49:09 their witness to Jesus for the word of God, and who had not 49:11 worshiped the beast or his image, or had not received his 49:14 mark on their foreheads or on their hands. 49:16 And they lived and reigned with Christ for a thousand 49:18 years. 49:19 But the rest of the dead did not live again until the 49:21 thousand years were finished. 49:22 This is the first resurrection. 49:23 Blessed and holy is he who has part in the first 49:25 resurrection. 49:26 Over such the second death has no power, but they shall be 49:28 priests of God and of Christ, and shall reign with Him a 49:31 thousand years. 49:32 >>TY: So, pause right there, then, unpack that. 49:34 >>DAVID: Okay, well, the thousand years part, some 49:37 people regard as a little tricky, so maybe we'll just, 49:39 let me just put that for a moment, the actual where that 49:42 takes place. 49:43 But what's happening here is, is that Satan is bound. 49:45 He is placed in some kind of incarceration and then, in the 49:49 immediate context of that, John sees thrones that are set 49:52 in place, and they evaluate the history of the world. 49:58 Those that were beheaded, martyrs, those that did or did 50:02 not receive the mark. 50:03 They are evaluating, and you get this sense that Satan is, 50:06 the whole time, in a kind of pre-trial incarceration, like, 50:09 hey, you just sit there while we look at the books. 50:11 Now, I am very much of the mind that this is taking place 50:14 after the return of Christ, which is Revelation 11, this 50:17 is Jesus, this is he's returned, he's got the sword 50:20 proceeding out of his mouth. 50:21 >>JEFFREY: It has to be. 50:23 >>JAMES: Revelation 19:11, you mean. 50:27 >>DAVID: Excuse me, what did I say? 50:28 >>JAMES: Revelation 11. 50:28 >>DAVID: Yeah, I'm sorry, 19:11. 50:29 >>JEFFREY: It has to be at the second coming of Jesus. 50:31 >>DAVID: So, here's a really simple way to think about 50:33 this. 50:34 Every human being at this point in history, or at any 50:35 point in history, I suppose, can be divided into one of 50:37 four categories, it's real simple. 50:40 You're either righteous living or righteous dead, you've 50:43 already died. 50:44 Or your wicked living or wicked dead. 50:47 That's to say, you put your faith in Jesus and you're 50:49 alive, you've put your faith in Jesus or you're dead, you 50:52 haven't, you follow it. 50:54 So, when Jesus returns, you just go down and say, okay, 50:57 what happens to the righteous who are living? 51:01 They ascend to heaven. What's the word I'm looking for? 51:04 >>JAMES: Caught up. 51:05 >>DAVID: There's a word for that. 51:07 >>TY: Raptured. 51:08 [Laughter] 51:11 >>DAVID: So, there's the righteous living. 51:13 Okay, so, what happens to the righteous dead? 51:14 They're resurrected. 51:15 Okay, what happens to the wicked living? 51:18 They're destroyed with the brightness of his coming, 51:20 right? 51:21 They die the first death. 51:22 >>JAMES: 2 Thessalonians 2. 51:23 >>DAVID: What happens to the wicked dead? 51:25 They stay dead. 51:26 So, then you have this interlude, that thousand year 51:28 period where the earth is barren, it's void is vacant. 51:33 Except that... 51:34 >>JAMES: It's a prison house. 51:35 That's what we read in Revelation 18. 51:37 >>DAVID: Yeah, Lucifer and his angels are here alone. 51:41 Alone by themselves. 51:42 In other words, there's no human beings, no tempting, 51:44 none of that. 51:45 And the righteous are in heaven before, and to me, I 51:49 love this point, before any terminal punishments are 51:53 executed upon anyone. 51:54 When I mean terminal, this is second death, no resurrection. 51:59 Then, God's like, hey look, what do you think? 52:02 And there's the judicial review. 52:04 What do you think? 52:06 >>TY: Judge the judgment. 52:07 >>JEFFREY: Before the executive judgment takes 52:10 place, God basically subjects himself to scrutiny so that 52:15 when that final execution of judgment takes place, everyone 52:20 who witnesses it would've said, I would've done the same thing 52:22 had I known what God knows. 52:24 >>TY: The language of the text is he committed judgment. 52:27 had I known what God knows. 52:28 >>TY: The language of the text is he committed judgment. 52:30 This is powerful stuff. 52:31 This means the God of the universe is the God of full 52:33 disclosure. 52:34 >>DAVID: That's what I was just gonna say. 52:35 >>TY: I don't have any secrets. 52:38 >>JEFFREY: No arbitrary decisions. 52:40 >>DAVID: And it's fascinating that here, is again called the 52:43 devil and Satan, that serpent of old, because the primary 52:47 strength, the primary tool, the primary weapon that Satan 52:50 has been using from Genesis to Revelation is deception. 52:54 It's not his strength, it's not his might, it's not his 52:56 force, it's not his power, it's deception. 52:58 So, Satan's primary weapon is deception. 53:00 Check this out, God's primary weapon is disclosure. 53:05 >>TY: Truth. 53:07 I have nothing to hide. 53:09 >>TY: Truth. 53:10 >>DAVID: He's, and then, it can't happen all at once. 53:14 It's like, okay, peel this back with the angels, and then peel 53:16 this back so he's cast to the earth, and we just keep 53:18 peeling it back and then, finally, Satan is left alone. 53:23 There was no place found for him. 53:26 >>TY: What would we think of an earthly ruler, a president, 53:29 a prime minister, a monarch, right? 53:32 >>DAVID: You just opened this up. 53:34 You think about this whole thing that's been happening 53:37 over the last 5 years, 7 years, with WikiLeaks, where 53:40 governments are having, like, some of their secret 53:43 conversations and documents exposed and it's created huge 53:44 amounts of embarrassment. 53:47 >>TY: Because they're saying things that they don't want 53:48 anyone to know. 53:49 >>DAVID: Exactly, but God's like, here's what I've done. 53:51 No need for WikiLeaks, I declassify all of these 53:55 documents. 53:56 >>JAMES: Check this out, 'cause we talk about Old 53:57 Testament types, but we also need to talk about New 53:59 Testament types and the bible itself interpreting 54:03 Revelation. 54:04 Check this out, Jesus is taken to trial, Jesus is taken to 54:07 trial before a secular court, before a religious court, 54:10 Jesus is on trial, and this is what he says, the question is 54:13 asked, and the high priests asked him, and this is John 54:14 chapter 18, and by the way, just doing some feedback on 54:18 John 12:48, that's the place where that verse is, I judge 54:22 no man, but they'll be judged by the word. 54:24 John 18, it says, the high priest then asked Jesus of his 54:26 disciples and his doctrine and Jesus answered him, verse 20, 54:29 I spake openly to the world. 54:32 I ever taught in the synagogue, and in the temple, 54:36 wither the Jews always resort, in secret, I have said 54:39 nothing. 54:42 >>DAVID: What text is it? 54:43 >>JAMES: It's John 18, verses 19 and 20. 54:47 John 18, verses 19 and 20. 54:48 >>DAVID: Thank you, James, for that. 54:49 >>JEFFREY: Ty, you better land this plane. 54:51 >>TY: Was that that whole point? 54:54 >>JAMES: That is the whole point. 54:55 >>DAVID: It's full disclosure, it's vulnerability, it's 54:57 transparency. 54:59 >>TY: Transparency is a very good word. 55:01 And I really love the language. 55:05 I hereby declassify all the documents. 55:09 Everything is on the table, this is a God who has nothing 55:14 to hide, this is a God who wants us to evaluate and pass 55:19 judgment on him because he's confident that his character 55:22 will pass the scrutiny. 55:24 >>DAVID: His conduct is unimpeachable. 55:26 >>JEFFREY: So, God is really on trial. 55:27 >>DAVID: His conduct is unimpeachable. 55:29 >>JEFFREY: So, God is really on trial. 55:30 >>DAVID: By the way, that's not some novel, new idea. 55:32 CS Lewis famously wrote a book years ago, God in the dock. 55:36 >>TY: Or in the hot seat, on trial, God on trial. 55:40 >>DAVID: And you think about it today, that's the question 55:41 that people say, they said why did God, where was God? 55:44 >>TY: Well, pay attention 'cause he's about to reveal 55:46 everything. 55:48 That's right. 55:49 >>JAMES: John 3:4. 55:50 But God forbid, let God be true and every man a lie, as 55:52 it is written that though may be justified in thy stains and 55:56 mightiest overcome when thou art judged. 55:58 >>TY: Man, oh, man, this has been fun, fun bible study, and 56:02 it's fun because it reveals God to be incredible, it 56:07 reveals God to be incredible. 56:08 >>JAMES: In Revelation 19 and 20. 56:10 >>TY: Yeah, God is good. 56:11 [Music] 56:14 >>TY: Yeah, God is good. |
Revised 2018-01-16